Official Sony VAIO F Series Owners lounge

I also have the European premium black version:

https://www.sonystyle.dk/SonyStyle/VAIO-Laptop-PCs/F-Series-16-4/VPCF11Z1E/BI.EC1

First impressions are very positive.

Pros:

1. Awesome screen, very bright with great contrast and matte (not semi gloss or whatever you would call it, it's matte, just as I like it). Colors are very vivid, but quite accurate even without calibration. It's one of the few notebooks I've tried that passes my little color accuracy test shown here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=443043.
2. It's very quiet during surfing and light office work.
3. Keyboard is excellent, just as good as MacBooks, I I haven't noticed any flex. Very nice rubber-like palmrest.

Cons:

1. It does get kinda loud when playing HD video, haven't tried games yet.
2. Battery seems small, I don't expect more than 2 hours max, but I don't mind as I use it as a desktop replacement.
3. Only 2 USB.
4. Lots of crapware, really needs to be re-installed with a fresh Windows 7, I will do that asap.
5. Kinda slow harddrive (5400rpm).

Windows Experience Index:

Processor: 7.0
RAM: 7.4
Graphics: 6.5
Gaming Graphics: 6.5
Harddisk: 5.9

Video:

Video showing Avatar streaming from Apple.com in Full HD, which the VAIO F does perfectly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGM366GcjgA

 

Crap, that pisses me off.

The US version, which i custom ordered, only has plastic as a palmrest. It appears the Euro version has some kind of rubber which is TOO DAMN COOL!!

That rubber is probably way more comfortable on the wrist and palms than this hard plastic. Is Sony afraid of some European law that compensates for carpal tunnel injuries??!!!

Wonder why Sony can't be more consistent in their models.

FYI -- when i ordered mine from SonyStyle.com, i requested a neoprene sleeve. It appears they sold me the same one they use on the FW.

 

Thanks a lot for the link!

Here are some more results:


Look at the difference in OpenGL support between ATI and Nvidia.
I hope Sony got a great deal with Nvidia on these, because the GT330M pulls the Vaio F11 down in my imho.
I need good openGL support because CAD programs lean heavilly on it during work.

The Acer is too big and heavy for me, but I put it in the equasion for comparisson reasons. I wonder how it got such exceptional scores in Cinebench..

The Dell's: the Studio 17 can't be configured with a HD panel at the moment, and unfortunately I missed a good deal with the XPS16 (with HD RGB panel) last week...


Looks like I have some more time to contemplate.

 

I received final status of my F1190, which was returned last Friday due to backlight bleeding on the screen. My credit card has been refunded because replacement screens are on backorder, with no definitive shipping date, and the computers themselves are being held back until technical issues with the first run have been resolved. Shipping is expected in Canada the final week of February.

So I can place the new order with exactly what I now know I want based on having had one for a few hours, and with regard to various comments in this thread.

Another four weeks, oh well.. :cry: :smile:

 

This premium model looks different that official photos

The rubber near the palm rest in sony web is darker than between the buttons
its simply the opposite in the bright of the tonalities.
And keyboard zone(between buttons) looks totally black,no dark grey.

Is an effect of the photo or finally sony makes this design?

 

Yeah, the rubber is darker than between the buttons. Once my video is done processing, you should be able to see it.

 

Please you have a pics?

 

Not yet, look at my post above or here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5802033&postcount=2051

 

Sorry to hear you have to wait so long; it will be interesting to see what changes Sony makes re: what they believe to be "technical issues".

 

I run 3D Mark Vantage on it, here the score

 

Hi guys, my VAIO was delivered earlier today (UK).
No mysterious noise, or any other hardware issues.

However, if I download a program off the web (e.g. Firefox or even Microsoft Security Essentials) the program will not install due to a corrupt file. This started as soon as I booted for the first time and no settings had been changed.
Looks like I will be calling technical support in the morning, I think there might be something wrong with the OS install. :|

 

He told me specifics, but I shouldn't post the details here. There's no fatal flaw, no basic design issue.

 

Any chance of the premium black coming to Canada soon?

 

Understood why you don't want to post the details. I can imagine all the returns all at once they'd have to deal with, but could you give us a hint if it may have to do with the mic Morse code issue? I've been wondering if they were going to fix that with a driver update or if we're stuck with having to use the workaround unless we opt to send it in.

The only issue aside from the mic issue I seem to have is the fan making a very faint whining, but I can live with it since I'm only going to get older and thus less likely to hear it as time goes by.

Happy Friday.

 

Interestingly there are promo shots on the european sony style website of a premium black with a US-style backlit keyboard, so it looks likely that Sony will add the extra colours in a refresh (earliest 3 months or so...)

 

Is it normal that there are no cd/dvd delivered with the computer? had hoped to do a clean install of Win7, but guess i can't do that :-(

 

They wouldn't give you a free DVD at the same time as trying to charge an extra couple of hundred quid for windows pro/ultimate so you can get fresh start

 

Srosenfeld,

I'm now looking at your pics with a netbook and the difference is still huge.

Good work man!

also from Italy still nobody with the whine!!

So sad for You. The only consolation is that you already 'touched' it and you know what you're waiting for

 

In most cases you can't get fresh start also with pro or ultimate, actually I thought that fresh was only offered in the US.

Still there are dozens of topics in this forum about 'fresh installing'

 

Golly, sounds all rather secretive!

 

Don't know what the secret is but I called into support today regarding the buzzing noise and after doing the usual driver uninstall/install routine I called back and was told that Sony is aware ( we all know that of course ) of the problem and is working on a solution. Parts will not be available until after February 8th. I asked about repair/return options and got a very interesting answer. I was told that I could either send it in for repair or return it to the vendor ( in my case SonyStyle ) but that I would not be able to exchange it for the same model. I further asked if Sony was stopping production on the VPCF1 series and once again the support agent reiterated that if I returned the unit I would not be able to get the same model again. Any body else hearing this story from Sony??

 

That's weird. Most places tell you that you could only exchange in FOR the same model. Maybe the rep was reading the card upside down.

 

No, but only particular laptops are affected with particular problems. However, everyone would start looking for ALL the problems in their own unit, and exaggerate in their mind some normal function into a potential fault which doesn't exist. And indeed, as mentioned a few posts back, that would increase unnecessary returns. I will say that two different screens have been used for the North American Premium 1920 X 1080 option; however, regarding defects, I don't know if only one type has a number with defects, or ALL of one type are defective, or just a number of both types have backlight bleed. Also, my laptop did NOT indeed suffer from the buzzing noise requiring the microphone fix. That was confirmed by the techs. A few others here have also posted that theirs didn't have the buzzing.

 

They would never stop production of a series if they could help it (i.e. move on to an early refresh). The PR repercussions would be pretty big. It's beginning to sound like a batch problem - no EU owners have said they have problems, and Sony's apparent attempt at an initial fix of extraneous noise was only released in the US...

 

Yes, there's an early refresh. -- Which to be clear just means a minor production line level revision. The model number suffix, such as S, will change, or maybe it will be 1191.

 

I ordered my F series recently, and I have a few questions some of you might be able to help me with. I ordered from SonyStyle Canada on the 21st of January.

Firstly, when I ordered, the estimated shipping date was 16th of February. If you try to order from the website (.ca) now, the estimated date is somewhere in early march. Is my laptop still slated as shipping on the 16th?

Secondly, since you say part aren't available until 8th of Feb, would they build my F-series with these new parts, or is that parts for repair on already shipped units?

Thirdly, I read somewhere in this thread about fresh installing W7, and how that info could be found in many places on the forum. I searched, but found nothing about the F-Series. Is there a similar model's guide that I can follow, or is there a general guide for all Vaio models? (I have Home, not Pro nor Ultimate).

Thanks all!

 

So with the speculation about parts for a fix to the buzzing issue not being available until Feb 8, if I read correctly, and the uncertainty over which model will or will not be available, would it be wise to wait until then or is it ok to order now?

Do you guys think that the matte Premium Black will be offered on sony style US in near future?

 

I have not been keeping track of this thread so I don't know it was already known. I was in a Bestbuy in Florida today and saw the F series with Full HD screen. By the looks of it it's single lamp screen. Contrast and brightness looked average. The double lamp Full HD screen on the FW is a lot better.

Seems like Sony has cut some corners on this screen to keep the costs down. On the good side, it will consume less power than the double lamp screen.

 

I suggest that you hope that yours arrives in March. The 8th parts arrival at manufacturing to arrival at your house a week later isn't long enough.

 

SOME of the F-series laptops out there have poor screens. Also default settings result in low contrast. The right screen under the correct adjustment can equal the FW.

 

Is there a way to tell if the screens we have are affected? Are the problems similar to what you ran into with yours?

 

Maybe there are differences I don't know. But I doubt that a single lamp CCFL screen can come close to the double lamp screen.

 

You sure you don't want to "increase unnecessary returns"?

We are at 2,000 posts in this thread and I saw only one other user besides you who reported light bleed or defective screen so far!

Yes, "some" Ferrari's have problems out of factory. Take any of the top rated products in any field and "some" will have some defects. That's why there is a return policy and a warranty.

 

Two people in this thread besides myself have said they returned their laptops due to excess backlight bleed. The tech who worked on my F1190said they were backordered on replacement screens, thus couldnt repair my unit, BECAUSE they had had to do so many replacements so far.

Imagine your brand-new F430, with a complaint of clunking when going around corners, was stuck in the shop because they'd "run out" of the planetary for the electronic differential..

 

I knew something didn't look right. I may just wait until the next refresh to pick up a Vaio F or get an Envy 15 Second edition.

 

It depends on the resolution amongs other things. In this post for example, the author says that the single CCFL Qosmio Q830 is brighter than the 2 CCFL Q850:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5725667&postcount=334

 

Also, seems like in some of the markets where they get the "premium" matte full-HD screen with full Adobe-RGB color gamut coverage, the new F-series screen way exceeds what came on the FW.

 

Brightness isn't the point. A two-lamp CCFL has a wider viewing angle. And there's better light control by the LCD gates because of the more favourable angle at which the light hits the gate, making for richer colour.

 

Is there an easy test to determine how badly the backlight bleed is on a given screen? I know mine is not pure black when I set the background of the screen to black. I can see some light coming through but I thought that was normal with an LCD display.

 

So that's 3/2085 posts. What is your point exactly?

 

Last I read and saw, it is a double lamp not a single. Without you taking it apart, you can not tell if it's a single.

 

So bottom line question - for those that already ordered, assume you didn't - would you order now or wait?

 

Ordered mine today, hope it doesn't have any problems!

i7-820QM | 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3 | 16.4" VAIO Premium Display (1920x1080)
500GB Hard Disk Drive (7200rpm) | Blu-ray Disc™ player | Keyboard Backlight
Standard Capacity Battery | Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit | Black
Vaio Messenger Bag VGP-AMB14/B | 3 day shipping free
Total Price: $1804.07
Best deal all week in my opinion!

 

Wait.

My ship date is 2/9. I don't know what to do. I want to call up and say 'don't ship me a unit that squeals...'.

Can't believe they would.

 

My point is that my point is proven. I very specifically said that I would NOT discuss the issues that were described to me concerning the F-series, because it would be a focus of contention. The one documented issue, that Sony knows about, that I DID mention because I had personally experienced it, indeed becomes a point of contention by you.

 

Order now.

 

If you call and ask in the US you can get free 10% off and free 3 day shipping like i did lol!

 

I'm pretty sure there's supposed to be 3 USB.
2 on the right & an esata connection on the left, which doubles as an extra USB

 

Keeping mine. I set the screensaver to a blank screen and checked it out. If I have "excessive" backlighting, it's uniform through the whole screen. That coupled with the fact that I'm not sure what "excessive" is, means I'm happy. Ignorance is bliss.

 

There's a hot spot on the bottom third of the screen on the bad units. The screen reminds one of a concave mirror.

If the whole image has a single best viewing angle without any bleed or loss of contrast in a particular area, then your screen is fine.