Official Sony VAIO F Series Owners lounge

Oopss. thanks for correcting that

 

@Derrida
@MelodyMaster
@Joey123

I stand corrected

So when the refresh comes we're stuck with Nvidia all the way through and no switch to ATI because of difference in MB design? If it will change, I would buy that refresh and either sell or give this unit away.

This will be my first Nvidia card ever in a personal unit and I have no confidence in it yet (I'll do some trial renders when my unit actually arrives)
I've not had great user history with Nvidia Quadro's in my old office's Precision workstations. We had a videocard breakdown from a faulty fan in two different offices and in one office it was cheaper and hassle free to farm out all render work at that point.
(In all fairness, it could be a number of issues and not the card itself.. We did have interns that have caused havoc by messing around with settings)

I hope their consumer class cards hold up well and I hear Nvidia's top-class mobile cards are great. Anyone with good experiences with Nvidia??

Note: I had to edit this post a number of times as I was trying to figure out which ones had the videocard problem. Only two in total but I initially quoted more but the rest were a mix of ram and scsi harddrive failure and interns with itchy fingers..

 

On a side note and completely unrelated to this thread, this is my first time participating in a forum.

I have to say, it's very addictive!!! Lol - I check it all the time on my iphone much to the irritation of my colleagues and gf.

 

That's what I did, have made dual boot win 7 and XP Pro. Basically the have two partitions of 250Gig each, that's plenty of space for what I need.

The reason I need to run XP Pro, is I need to run Nortel IPSEC VPN Client to access the corporate network. I can't upgrade to a newer version of IPSEC (that runs under vista/7, as the VPN server I need to connect to doesn't support the newer versions of the VPN client. So I'm totally stuck here.

Still looking for the x32 drivers for the GT 330M can't seem to find them anywhere, nothing is been released on the nvidia site, they stop at the 200M series.

 

I probably will be able to find a tech I'm just lazy sometimes.

Also, how do I get windows to auto-log into my main account?

When I installed postgreSQL it created a "postgreSQL account" at startup and forces me to choose instead of auto booting into my main account....i can't seem to find it in the settings?

Thanks!

 

I don't like Nvidia GeForce cards at all, they seem to be all about gaming speed while neglecting other aspects of performance, such as GL and layered (alpha channel) outputs. ATI cards scale better for non-native video resolutions and handle deinterlacing better. Also FireGL seems to be a more dependable card than the Quadros. We had an old FireGL that had unknowingly been run for a year with the GPU heatsink fallen off. Upon noticing this we tested it briefly and the heat after a minute of turn-on was just tremendous, but still it kept going. Heheh, the card finally did fail a couple of weeks after the heatsink had been remounted. .

ATI's newest scaling model is more effective than Nvidia's brute force approach to calculating speed. Having said that, the GT330 does seem to be holding up well as a mobile card, and Alienware and Asus have had great success with the larger-die GT2X0 series.

 

Try this : http://www.ncp-e.com/en/solutions/vpn-products/secure-entry-client.html

 

Sigh...I manned up and took off my spacebar key, blew some canned air down there and reseated it....doesn't squeak anymore. Simply amazing some of the things I can do

Now that I'm typing without the squeak, it's amazing how much nicer it is. I hadn't realized how much that squeak annoyed me. Next time, use a lmgtfy link and advice me to quit crying

 

The following works for me with multiple accounts, I assume postgreSQL is just another account name?

http://www.howtonetworking.com/windows7/win7autologon.htm

 

My neighbour had the same probem, when working at home she HAD to run the secure VPN client provided (on a non-standard formatted, uncopyable, floppy) to access the office system, and it would not work on anything later than XP SP1 - so she discovered after updating to SP2. And, too, my RT2500 editor won't work beyond XP SP1, I just use it on W2K.

Try doing the complete XP install and then using the automatic find feature at Nvidia's site. The GT330 was supposed to have been especially developed to take advantage of new aspects of Win7's design though.

 

Just found a similar link in google. You beat me to it! Thanks!

Woke up early and got my keyboard and log in issues fixed. Rock on!

postgreSQL is a database program of sorts, no idea why it creates a second account, didn't do that on XP.

 

There's a security feature in Vista that prohibits an outside secure account from using an existing account that accesses programs in Window's path, or something along those lines, so a new key has to be created. I probably garbled that explanation completely but it is widely discussed in support forums.

 

I understand what your trying to say. Makes sense.

 

@MelodyMaster

Not bad with the Ati card holding out!!
One of our Quadro's fan just died (we realised this once we we're getting regular BSOD's in a unit. The other one had a fan blade that chipped and that chip just rattled through the surface of the card and most likely took apart a tiny albeit important component on the card. BSOD again..

With that said, we did run those cards thoroughly having full on large-scale renderings that took days to complete at a time.

 

Automatic find doesn't find anything.
What is frustrating, when I ordered the the notebook, I checked nvidia site, and at that time drivers for the 330M had been available, but now for some reason they are no longer there.

 

FYI if you are waiting your UK order like me. Schedule of emails as follows...

25.01.10 - Placed CTO order
28.01.10 - Order in Production
03.02.10 - Factory Dispatch
06.02.10 - Shipping Confirmation

The UPS tracking says...

BRUSSELS, BE 08/02/2010 8:50 DEPARTURE SCAN
BRUSSELS, BE 06/02/2010 0:18 ARRIVAL SCAN
EINDHOVEN, BEST, NL 05/02/2010 22:30 DEPARTURE SCAN
05/02/2010 20:12 ORIGIN SCAN
NL 05/02/2010 12:55 BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

So, hopefully should be tomorrow?

matt

 

If they WERE available then they will be. The 330 is new enough that there are no revisions from the one supposedly native to Windows 7. I remember having this same dearth of drivers from Nvidia when Vista was coming out, though in that case drivers were plentiful for the OLDER platform rather than the newer OS's.

Anyway Linux and FreeBSD have drivers for the GT330M have they not? I can't imagine Microsoft being left out..

 

Just for your info, if you use the automatically find drivers option at Nvidia's site for Win 7 64 bit you get this message:

NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 187.83- The manufacturer of this system requires that you download the driver for your GPU from their support site.

The GeForce M series and GeForce Go series notebook GPUs use drivers that have been customized by the notebook manufacturers to support hot key functions, power management functions, lid close and suspend/resume behavior. NVIDIA has worked with some notebook manufacturers to provide notebook-specific driver updates, however, most notebook driver updates must come from the notebook manufacturer. Additionally, the desktop GeForce graphics drivers will not install on Geforce M series and Quadro M series notebook GPU's.

It seems Nvidia is saying you have to get your video drivers from Sony, but I don't know if I believe this or not.

As far as Nvidia's quality I would say I have been quite happy with their video cards through the years. My first Nvidia card was a TNT 16mb card and then I owned the very first Geforce Original card that came out. I have owned maybe a dozen Nvidia cards as Well as a few ATi cards and also even a couple 3DFX cards. My main need for upgrading video cards was for 3d gaming. Over the years Ati and Nvidia seem to leap frog each other in performance and both put out a lot of good cards at least for my uses. I remember when Nvidia video drivers, which they like to call Forceware now, were called Detonators and I have installed several 100's of their drivers through the years. Some drivers have added extremely nice improvements in performance so I know it is important to stay on top of driver updates.

A good source of video card drivers has been Guru3d.com where they hold archives of most video card drivers. Also check out laptopvideo2go.com for drivers they might have something for 330m for XP, but right now I am unable to access their site b/c it seems to be down right now.

 

I thought that this was the usual history of consumer electronic




For instance I have an Ipod touch 2g and now what? They've made it bigger!

 

Just for interest, if you try putting together a CTO from Sonystyle.ca or .com right now, it becomes unavailable - no shipping date - if you opt for a GT330M instead of a 310.. So it seems there's a shortage of the higher-specced video card.

 

I wonder if anyone is getting it with the 310?

 

A lower percentage than Sony expected. Bestbuy appears stuffed with their cheaper F11s.

(edit) My God! here's a nasty thought, due to a shortage of faster Nvidia parts they switch to ATI's better offerings! I would be so pissed.....

 

Yes seen that message too. Where it was not like that before, you could just select if from driver download, when I check a month ago or so.

And tbh, I don't give a damn about hotkeys, just a generic driver would be fine.

Tried to contact Sony, they just don't give a F***, sorry not supported OS, bye

 

I think that should be expected since it's a 16' multimedia laptop why would you pick the low end gpu

And furthermore the 'top' one isn't really at the top

I rather think that if they gave the option of a better one this latter would have been sold out!

 

I would recommend asking on gur3d's forum or at the laptopvideo2go forum. i have a feeling someone there can help with your situation.

 

Was that regular or express shipping Matt? Mine is scheduled for shipping confirmations from the logistics center tomorrow (9th) via Express, the UPS website estimates next day delivery to my postcode so im hopeful for a doorbell ring on the 10th (Wed)

 

Or shortage of higher res screens, since the GPU and screen are tied. Or they could be switching over to the matte full gamut walks-on-water screens now that they have rid themselves of the older last-model screens.

BTW, the last paragraph is an attempt at merging others' wild speculations from this thread and are not my speculation at all. For me it's all just that, wild speculation. So maybe the hold up is due to the switch to ATI walk-on-water parts. Actually I do have a recommendation. Next week or month or year Sony will make a better laptop for a better price. Don't ever buy anything until the company goes out of business. Then at least you are sure they won't make anyting better. I had this same discussion with my Dad a couple years back about TVs. Yes, some technologies are not ready for prime time such as 3D TV. Others are at a stage where they are developing so fast that it may make sense to wait and not buy anything at all now (e.g. e-readers) unless you have a must have now reason. But laptops like the F Series are a fairly mature product that is just following a normal development cycle. Buy it when you need a new laptop and try not to obsess about what comes out next week.

Sorry, I didn't mean to make this so preachy. Speculation is fun. But we should remember that it is still just speculation.

 

I wasn't offered express delivery by Sonystyle but I rang UPS this morning and they confirmed that the delivery will be attempted at my home address tomorrow between 9am and 7pm so I am impressed with the speed so far.

The tracking has changed to...

BARKING, GB 08/02/2010 14:46 ARRIVAL SCAN

matt

 

Giddy with anticipation i'm sure ... Wednesday seems so far away. I'll post a side-by-side vid with the laptop im currently using just so you guys get an understanding of why i've been so anxious! (it took 10 seconds after my typing that paragraph for it to actually appear on-screen).

Here's hoping I get an early dispatch e-mail today. If I get a late afternoon arrival scan i'll just go pick it up tomorrow.


EDIT: Wow my account on Sony Style says it's been dispatched! Though I haven't gotten an e-mail yet Maybe im expecting a ring tomorrow after all! Expect unboxing pics / vid and thoughts!

 

That, dear friend, is exactly what refreshes are for.

P.S. to another forum member: Refreshes are usually less than a year away when they appear. If a year or more goes by before a change, it's often called a different model series.

 

Exactly. That's why my own suggestions are always couched as: If you can wait, wait a bit if there is new technology involved. If you need it now, get it.

 

I'm sorry but I find it nuts that your only way of monitoring CPU, GPU & mobo temperatures in an office is BSOD's & fried components.

I live in the tropics & cooling & temperature is very important. In the office, we have an old Dell 4600 running 6 days a week since 2003. The only servicing needed so far was replacing fans on the PSU & CPU/PC case. We did not cook anything as we use a temp monitoring utility that can sound an alarm & run exe's like auto-shutdown.

Temperature monitoring with HD Sentinel showed me that 2 external HDD were overheating @ 51-53 c, a small external 12v fan fixed that: 38 c. Beats loosing 2 TB of storage.

Here is a freeware that monitors CPU & GPU, works w/ Win 7, 64 bit & i7. Only 290 KB and "High temperature alarm and shutdown feature based on CPU or Nvidia GPU temperature" and "No installation or registry modifications required": Real Temp.

 

Could you explain how to remove the space bar without breaking it?

Thanks,
Andre

 

Yes, refresh will be made & the next best thing is coming-out next month.

But I needed a powerful laptop now and the F has the best performance/size/features/price point that fits my needs at the present.

If I could wait 6 months, I would do my notebook research only in 6 months as the goal posts keep on getting moved on the technology bleeding edge.

 

I own a VPCF11Z1E , bought in Romania, so that makes it part of the Europe releases, and the laptop doesn't have backlit keyboard, didn't notice any settings, didn't turn on, and asked the VAIO Support team, no backlight.

 

How to fix the VAIO SZ spacebar Note that adding the white thing is a specific fix for the SZ but you can see how easy it is to remove & re-install. It takes about 5 sec to remove & re-install & DIY has a much smaller carbon footprint than shipping the unit for servicing or getting on-site support.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtX2z7ZoRRY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpIq7-xYzcg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L61Y2HsjANU

If a key is squeaking, after blowing air, you can use just a tiny bit of graphite (pencil dust), it's an excellent lubricant that will never dry-up and beats WD-40 which is a dust magnet in this case.

 

Only some F US & Canadian keyboards are backlit at the present. It depends on the model & is an option in CTO's configuration.

I'll trade a US back-lit keyboard for a EU premium matte screen anytime!

Could you contribute some feedback, do you like it?

 

Thanks for your reply. I'll be near Russell Square in London. Do you know the best stores near there?

 

Joe bleau hit it. I just used a small flat head screwdriver and popped it up and re-seated it. TBH, I think it just wasn't sitting right.

 

Same here. If someone were willing to swap with me, I would willingly trade my backlit keyboard for an EU premium Matte screen - assuming all other specs are identical.

 

I'm not sure what the best would be, i haven't seen these in high street shops except for official Sony ones. Here's the closest Sony Stores to Russel Square:

Tottenham Court Rd Sony Centre
22 Tottenham Court Road London W1T 1BW
Tel: 0845 634 0350

Mayfair Sony Centre
16 North Audley Street London W1K 6WL
Tel: 0207 3552040

Bayswater Sony Centre
150 Queensway London W2 6LY
Tel: 020 7229 9110


Although it's out of stock at all 3 of those locations. To be honest your best bet if you want to buy direct from Sony is to call them on 0845 6000124 and arrange next-day deliery from whatever store happens to have it in stock at the time.

Otherwise there are plenty of online shops that will have it for cheaper (hopefully) when you arrive, such as:

play.com
dabs.com
www.shop.bt.com
oyyy.co.uk

and more ... search google http://www.google.co.uk/products?q=f11s1e&hl=en

Just make sure they guarrantee delivery before you leave. Also, since you live abroad, you realize you are entitled to get a refund on VAT upon departure? Make sure you find a retailer that offers duty free sales to foreign visitors. You'll save A LOT (17.5%)

 

I would add: popped it up from the top as shown in the video's.

Beats looking for a tech in South-Korea, no?

There is an added psychological benefit: it's a little bit more YOUR laptop after tweaking & fixing-it.

 

That's a really good feeling I can tell.

 

Chop Chop with my dispatched email sony !!

 

I'm talking to them right now about something, posting the answers soon.

EDIT okay they told me OFFICIALLY that the Sony Vaio F Series CTO model IS RETURNABLE. So if anyone ever had any doubt, let it be rested eternally.

 

LOL, have you checked your account on sony.co.uk. I haven't received my dispatch e-mail but the online account lists it as dispatched and I called Sony who confirm it has left the logistics center and could possibly be with me tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

 

https://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wc...ryId=8198552921644691998&N=4294953518#gallery

Anybody else notice a serious difference in color of the gray areas?

 

I'm def happy doIng it! I popped from bottom . Also did my backspace key as that had a minor squeak too. I love my vaio

i'm in the military and all my stuff is gonna be in storage in Japan while I'm at S. Korea for a year. This is gonna be my poker/movie/game machine for the next year or 2. Def made a good choice.

I'm adding an SSD drive in it in March. I'm stoked.

 

What's the sound quality like on the Sony F laptop? I'm based in the UK and there don't appear to be many reviews of the Sony F here but from what I've read online, the speakers are something of a weak point.

We get Dolby Theatre with the Sony F laptop here. Surely, with something like that the sound quality must be decent?

 

yes i check sony account every 5 minutes.

hope your going to report back your views when you get it.

hope i get mine before we get snowed in again

here's to waiting. hope its worth it