Official Sony VAIO F Series Owners lounge

Yeah, but the discounting of the software, may be to get rid of the machines. I always felt that the older machines on sale on Sonystyle are overpriced a bit.

 

Once more, with feeling:

For the price of a return shipping (likely $30 US from the post office) you can return what you ordered and get what you want.

This happens all the time -- thus Sony is featuring its Outlet this weekend where computers refused during the 30-day period are gone over and then listed under the "Type of Deal" link as "Clearance."

Unlike Dell and others, Sony does NOT charge a restocking fee; it prefers to have happy customers who finally get EXACTLY the order that they want!

 

My FW with Core2 (but with an SSD) makes no noises -- nada, nichts, rien, nothing, except once in a blue moon when the fan comes on every so quietly.

As for support from Sony, if you're in the States, call after hours so that you land in the Philippines. Friends have found the Philippine techs solved problems in one call that several Sony statesider techs scratched their heads over for weeks.

 

Yeah' I'd like to know that as well. I ordered mine off of the Sony website, and I'd rather not have to return it. I'm at school in New Hampshire and there aren't any Sonystyle stores around for miles

 

And CPU caching really does affect encoding speed. 1 meg is abysmal. I find that transcoding (AVI -> AVIsynth with filters -> CCE or HCencode) in addition to cache size is also affected by system memory timing. DDR3 seems to have higher latency than DDR2, so MAYBE some types of encoding will be slower on this i7 system than with the optimized X38-Q9450? But then the i7 has hyperthreading for encoders that can handle multithreading, on the other hand the clock slows down when all cores are used, unlike the Core2Quad. And so on.. We'll see...

:confused2: :laugh:

 

understand: that is a true exception.

 

So that supports my suggestion the issue may be Hard Drive power management.

 

Is everybody talking about the same noise? I imagine the whine sounds something like the youtube link above.

 

Well, maybe a backlit keyboard would interfere with a screen light sensor that adjusts the display's brightness.

And a matte screen likely also interferes less with scatter ambient light which might influence a light sensor.

So far, I have not heard of an F model that has both of these features: backlit keyboard and ambient light sensor for display brightness adjustment.

Just some observations from a non-engineer....

 

Well if every laptop on the market does the same thing (nowadays) then I'm not going to worry if the F11 is one of many models with the noise.

Can't wait to get my I%^*!@$ laptop to start playing with it.. Another week, and maybe not even by next Friday (sigh.)

 

Agreed and if the "high pitched whine" that everyone is now referring to, was not present in my computer, I might have felt guilty in returning a product that is otherwise perfect, for no fault of the retailer.

But if there is no fix for this "whine" from Sony in another 3-4 days, or at least a statement on an upcoming fix, I might just take up your suggestion and send it back.

 

If the F11 will boot from an external drive connected via USB (It should, even my Asus Netbook will do so) then the internal drive can be removed, then a quick and dirty install done on the external drive to see if the noise from the laptop is still there.

 

Yes, as I mentioned earlier, this is the same EXACT noise.

Mine has both backlight and the display brightness light sensor, which controls both the brightness and the backlight.

which brings me to two other design flaws i forgot to mention.

First of them being that at around 70%+ screen brightness, the light sensor fails to turn on the backlight. The brilliant engineers at sony positioned the sensor directly above the keyboard, inches away from the monitor. The only work around is to manually cover the light sensor. There is no setting to control this...searched everywhere.

The other flaw is that the light sensor limits the MAXIMUM brightness at which you can set the screen brightness. The only problem with this is that it drastically over estimates ambient light, probably of course because its positioned next to the screen. This tend to leave you with squinting. . .

This lack of 'apparent' brightness was picked up by laptopmags review.

Luckily this issue is resolved by going to the "VAIO control center" and disabling the light sensor's automatic brightness setting. This gives you access to the full range of brightness, without being limited by what it 'thinks' is the most you would need.

My sony Bravia tv had the same issue with the light sensor.

 

Sit put guys and gals...

By chance I just got my hands on a new HD. Will copy the HD and swap it... If the HD turns out to be the problem I will take up Sony's offer to send out a tech and just have them replace the HD.

will keep you all updated.

 

It's almost definitely not the HDD.

 

Not a detailed test but just a quick observation on battery life:

After being on battery for 2 hours and 10 minutes (Internet browsing wire-lessly), the system shows there is 21% of power remaining. This is with the standard battery. I am fine with the battery life, since my HP does not give me even 2 hours on a full-charge.

The whine is annoying, however.

 

LMAO. I agree.. whining is always annoying.

 

I noticed this too and agree that it is a design flaw. So just because I have brightened up my screen to the maximum, the backlighting does not turn on in a less well lit room.

 

LOL...yeah, but the good thing is that if a firmware/software patch/fix for the "whine" does not happen soon, I can send it back without losing a beat. You cannot do that with your "dino", can you ?

 

your getting so tired......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz........

no problem here....co-signed by derrida. Good luck tho...its been funn..
I think its the chip cuz the HP envy has the same issue with the same chip. Just trying to warn you.

 

Can anybody post some quality pictures with the grey (silver) model? And, why all you people are complaining about the whine? My old core 2 duo had a wine and I lived with it two years... is no big deal! You are returning these wonderfull machines for a little whine. I'd prefer to hear some good reviews about it, not complaints...

 

Try to keep in mind guys that I have not detected whining as of yet. Could be my ears...could be the processors....could be different batches....could be the laptop Gods. I've seen forums get hysterical over a few people having a problem. Certainly not enough of us have the laptop for statistical confidence either way.

 

We are still waiting patiently for your wife's opinion on the laptop and of course on the experiences of @LuvrGirl. Just so we can put the statistics right. It would be nice if there would also be some silent laptops around, or if it would turn out the whine is hardly noticeable at all.

As an anecdote:
Some time ago, there was this anchorman who had really big eyebrows that would move a lot as he was reading the news. After I noticed that and started paying attention to it, it was impossible for me to watch the news.

 

Can someone post decent pictures or a video of the laptop. (Preferably the grey one)

 

I got my VPCF115FM a couple days ago (@Best Buy) and it makes the squealing noise. Debating if I want to take it back or not. (I hate reinstalling software.) Sony technical support claimed it had a bad hard drive and should be taken in for warranty repair.

 

I have been moving back and forth between noticing the noise and not noticing it. I will wait for my wife's feedback today evening, to provide an alternate view on this. If I pay attention, I can certainly hear the VERY dim but high pitched noise in the background.

People used to say the same about TVs with DLP technology. Some people noticed the "rainbow color effect" (based on how DLP works) on the screen while others did not. But once a person (who never had a problem with the effect) does notice the "rainbow color effect", he/she would observe it in every single frame....in other words, the TV was just unwatchable after that !

 

Good...for you?

 

I am considering getting the F....is the whine that bad?

 

To be quite honest, I personally might never have noticed it, if it was not mentioned on this forum for the past few days.

But after being mentioned, I was specifically listening for it when I got my machine, and yes, I did/do hear the noise. I have a feeling that I just might get used to it after a while, just like getting used to the sound of the fan running etc but on the other hand, maybe after a few days I just might realize that the sound is just unbearable....we'll see.

 

I was trying to record the noise using windows sound recorder, but as soon as i opened the recorder, the noise disappeared!

I don't even need to start recording, simply leaving it open does away with the noise.


Putting the sound recorder in my start up programs should, in practice, solve the problem??? only if i could open it without having to see it in my task bar.

 

I'm all set for the whine. I have Tinnitus so I hear a whine all day long.

 

im so anxious to turn on my F to see if i have this "noise" everyone's talking about! darnit! =)

im stopping by best buy on my way home from wrk for some blank dvds to make the recovery discs and hopefully i can squeeze it in this evening to play with it!

 

LMAO you and me both. My doctor can put his ear to mine and hear my tinnitus.

 

Then how come those with SSD drives apparently DON'T have the noise?

 

That wasn't about an F laptop but about an FW with Core 2 Duo.
See
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5741120&postcount=303

 

"Chips" don't make noise. A finely built multistrata die consisting of millions of transistors does not vibrate like a cheap piezo speaker at some audible frequency that has no relation to the microwave operating frequency of the device. There MAY be some commonality in the supporting electronics, the method of power regulation required for various voltages required by the CPU.

 

Ok, let's hear it from a F-series owner with solid state drive, or, as I say, run the laptop with external drive only.

I'm not saying it IS the hard drive, or that it's not an electronic problem, but I'm pointing out that no one has ELIMINATED the issue as originating with the hard drive. The troubleshooting required to confirm or deny the HD as the source of the noise has not yet been carried out by anyone in this thread.

 

Maybe it is my imagination but when the CPU is under load (doing some intensive processing), the noise subsides but at other times, when it is not under load, the noise is heard. Is the noise related to the way the cores are idled (when not needing to be active) ?

In the above post, when the sound recorder was turned on, the noise disappeared completely (I am assuming the CPU came under load when the sound recorder was turned on ?).

 

First rule of scientific discovery is that you don't use the device under test as the test device! Or the indicator of the Control's Statistical Reference. Record the whine with another computer or plain old cassette recorder.

The CPU having a light load may be resulting in the noise, but where's the leap of logic that says the CPU itself is MAKING the noise? ... Which it can't.

 

It isn't your imagination.

This behavior has been observed by others, as well as myself.

 

Well by what people are saying, I think it does have something to do with the cpu, and it seems like it only happens when the cpu is being throttled. Perhaps it's something to do with the VRM? Whatever. A better question would be whether this is only affecting a certain batch of computers, and whether it is fix-able. Any luck for anybody from Sony support? Or is there anybody who definitely does not have the issue?

 

Just picked up the F11JFX/B from the Sony Style New York store on my way home from the office. (For anyone buying retail, note that the unit rings up for 1,579.99 (in the New York store) instead of 1,529.99 (online)- you have to request a price match in the New York store until they fix this.) Can't wait to test drive. First need to backup everything on my Dell Inspiron 6000 (over 4 years old) - so long overdue. I'm sure the whine on the F Series can't be any loader than the dying fan on my Dell.

 

The problem isn't volume, but frequency. The whine is really high so it's really irritating. My friends and I could hear it right away. I sent an email to Sony today, but I doubt we'll get anything good from them.

 

Little request - could any of you happy owners of the new F have a look in system>device manager and see express card and Firewire if they are TI - Texas Instruments. It was main reason for buying Vaios since years,in last few years most of company started using cheaper chips, unsuitable for using professional sound cards. Will really appreciate finding that out for me, thanks in advance.

Regarding whinning.
There is issue of high pitch sound caused by dimmer, intensifies with darkening display disappears at full brghtness, that issue can be solved with proper driver. Could be that or anything else, unfortunately too many possible causes of high pitched sound.

 

i get the strong feeling that the "whine" you guys are hearing has something to do with a capacitor (or 2) on the mobo.

the suggestion that opening certain things reduces the noise all but confirms it for me. a Bios fix should indeed change that.

 

Could people who have had the whining perhaps post just a few simple bits of info? Such as model, country, whether it's best buy etc so we can see if there are any patterns?

 

Maybe a new "whining F" thread should be started, with stats on SSD/mechanical drive, Bios revision, video card, and 720/820 CPU, against whine, to look for a pattern - and keep the current thread more for general discussion. I'm new here so I don't want to start anything. (heheh.)

Since I build systems, set up networking, and repair desktops and laptops, I'd love to actually have one of these in my hands to see what's what, to run a full diagnostic. But it still looks like another full week before mine arrives.

 

I went to sonystyle NY to check out the F they had on display since this issue is kind of freaking me out...(possibility of a second laptop return in a span of a month) Well.. I did not hear anything discernible apart from fans kicking in once in a while and I stood next to it for quite a while too.

Well, we'll see what happens when mine gets delivered this coming Tuesday.

 

@sheebp

By the way, that F spec on store display was an i7-720Qm with a 500gb 5400rpm drive and 310 GPU. worked just fine...no whining noise

 

Actually, a few months ago I made this same suggestion (use the Philippines Sony tech support, not the stateside team) and other forum members posted that they, too, have had excellent experiences with the Philippines team.

So, give them a whirl...so to speak.