Official Sony VAIO F Series Owners lounge

Have you looked at tcklim's video he took the time to make, upload and linked here?

He comments about his fan @ 7:46 here:
Son*y Vai*o F*11 (F Series) Review UK/EU Premium Black - Part 3/4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEvJCu06cg8

It's not quiet as a brick but fully normal for a quad core i7.

F Noise emission measurements (data!) from this Review Sony Vaio VPC-F11Z1:



So... if @ idle it's @ 31.3 dB (audible in a very quiet room) or less, it's a normal & healthy baby!

 

Ok i gotcha, but you managed to get the 330 in the end eh, so there is light at the end of the tunnel mate.

 

Mine is the same. Ordered from sony style US on Jan 28 and Received on Feb 8.

 

Going to a show tomorrow night, so Sat Morning, or even Sunday are my only options.

Unless I sneak up there for an early lunch in the AM.

I have no issues, I'm just going to say, unfortunately, I can't happily do my video and graphics work with this screen, and it's no fun to watch movies on.

All of that is true.

 

I'm not jumping up and down with joy about it, and I have had the computer for two weeks. There may be more to the story, my computers usually do pay for themselves, eventually.

I did buy it in good faith, so no worries there.

It's only the last two days when I really started looking at the screen, and I watched a movie and it kept getting that messed up look.

I'm not a really fussy person, but I really don't have to move my head very much to affect the way the image looks, and now that I notice it, it's really bugging me.

I'm going to end up returning this, and selling my 2008 15" MacBook Pro and probably buy a new 17" MacBook Pro when they get around to releasing new ones.

It's a business from both sides of the register. I do need to get things I'm happy with for the money.

Not a slam against Sony, I'd almost certainly strongly consider Sony again, though I would do my research here a little bit more. It was a bit of an impulse buy.

I have two Sony TVs in my house. I have to admit, I really did not expect to have an issue with the screen. I've always had Sony TVs and used to rock Trinitron CRTs back in the day.

Not a slam against Windows. I love Windows 7, OS X and SuSE Linux. Right tool for the job and I'm happy. I own Adobe Production Premium CS4 for both Mac and PC.r

 

I hope you realize that the Hardware Id is just the slot or device number or address that Windows uses to describe the monitor? It's nothing to do with what model the panel actually IS. Bad is bad, good is supposed to be a more consistent characteristic of the displays in the F11's newest production runs.("Refresh")

 

Something like Everest give any better clue?

I remember getting useful IDs on a Dell once. Same issue. Some people had good screens from one supplier, and others were getting sparkly screens from another supplier. Same laptop.

I had the good screen that time.

 

BTW, it's important to note, that I would not really consider myself shafted if I got stuck with this laptop. I don't want people to find this thread and think the laptop was total junk. That is not my impression of it at all.

Morse code fix was ace.

Tape over the light sensor is kinda ghetto.

Screen vert view is a little less that what I need, but, may not bother other people and again, for $1350... otherwise, I think this laptop is a pretty sweet buy and it works as advertised.

I'll end up paying 2x for a 17" MBP and it will have an i5 or dual core i7. Not the quad. Just guessing the current MBP case can't handle a quad from a thermal point of view.

 

That's correct.

Maybe somebody could try to identify their monitor serial number with: EVEREST Ultimate Edition v5.30 > Click here to download EVEREST Ultimate Edition limited trial version.

 

Tried Lavalys Everest, doesnt identify the manufacturer.

 

Which version? What info did it give?

I'm suggesting the most recent version with their latest hardware database: EVEREST Ultimate Edition v5.30

 

I dunno if anybody has posted game performance stats on here yet, but I got fraps a little while ago and have been playing some recent-ish games on the F. So far, it's performing quite well.

My Vaio F has the slower proc (720QM, I believe), an nVidia GT330m (1gb mem) and 4gb of ram. It has the base (5200rpm) hard drive as well. So any performance stats you see here will probably be slightly raised on your machines if you have a better spec'd laptop (which I assume many of you do). Just fyi - the GT310m probably won't get similar results.

Mass Effect/Mass Effect 2
All settings turned up (all settings except film grain, 16x AF) @ 1280x720 - FPS never dips below 30, often hovers around the 40-60 fps range. At 1920x1080 with all settings turned on, the framerate drops to about 29-34 fps. Not bad, but noticeably more jittery than at 1280x720.

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Oetxf8iPe0
http://www.youtube.com/watch#v=sH2rt-7pakA&feature=channel

Crysis
I haven't played Crysis SP on his yet, but in Wars (multiplayer) with all settings on high and resolution at 1280x720, the framerate hovers around 22-26 fps. This doesn't sound stellar, but the minimum and maximum frames are always very close to each other, so the game doesn't feel that laggy. I'm currently using Eazy's custom crysis config, and on medium range level 4 (settings visually close to that of high/very high stock) it gets 29-32 fps at 1280x720. I turned on 2xFSAA, but the game's shadows started bugging out so I turned AA off. It's not that noticeable in Crysis anyway - the console command "r_useEdgeAA 2" makes a bigger visual impact with a drop of only ~ 1fps. The game isn't playable in 1080p unless you turn all of the settings to low. This isn't a bad thing, as only the most powerful desktop graphics cards can play Crysis at 1920x1080 smoothly these days.

BFBC2 Beta
With a mix of low/medium/high settings and HBAO/FSAA/Anisotropic filtering turned off, the FPS never dips below 40. Often stays in the 60 fps+ range. With all the settings on, the game runs between 28-34 fps, but it's far too jittery and can get annoying after a while. Keep in mind that this game is still in the beta stages so the performance will probably go up when the game is actually released, but even now, the game looks very nice and runs very smoothly on the laptop.

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QinjoLdUABs
http://www.youtube.com/watch#v=0Q03hexmwaY&feature=channel

I'll have more videos of Crysis, ME2, and performance stats of NFS:Shift and Dirt2 up soon. This laptop is actually very capable in terms of gaming. And even with the slower processor, this thing flies. I was able to have a skype video chat with a friend while playing ME2 in a window without any noticeable drop in performance. This thing is a beast

 

Oh that's a cool game! I'll be getting it for sure, If the F11 can play the newest Battlefiled that well, then this system shouldn't be sneezed at for occasional game-playing, especially for something that's supposed to be a business/multimedia laptop. I notice that the action does stutter a bit when the enemy starts firing. That's not HD access, it's almost as if the CPU isn't fast enough, but being an i7 that's surprising.

(edit) you certainly die a lot..

 

It might be lag on the server as well, but I think it's because of FRAPS. I didn't notice any stutters when I wasn't recording. Hehe yeah I do. Not too good at this game yet. The only way I ever get a decent K/D spread is if I snipe (and thats usually because I don't die , not b/c I get kills).

 

I burned with no issues and my drive read them with no issues when I was using Sony extractor.

I only use Verbatim DVD DL 2.4x made in Singapore. These are premium quality. Been using them exclusively since I started modding xbox 360's. They are the only discs that work reliably in all variations of 360 DVD drives.

Like I said, no issues with DL discs. If anybody wants, I'll do a full recovery tomorrow on my external hdd.

 

It's not recommended to cross a street blindfolded, that doesn't mean one hasn't done it and got away with it. It is not recommended to burn critical data on a dual layer DVD, that doesn't mean it hasn't been done successfully.

Dual layer media is more prone to fail due to moisture ingress.

Has the quality of the burn been tested with Nero tools? Has this particular burner ever been tested with these particular discs? (The best blank media in the world may burn poorly on the best burner if the firmware doesn't recognize the media ID and set burn density properly) Is the burner for SURE Ok? Isn't single layer burning more cost-effective anyway?

 

As there's no any answers on my previous questions - here's another one

Vaio Care says my first boot time was 21 second and an average is 30 But my first HDD test showed something but not 7.4 performance index (before I installed a few drivers), so this info might be a bit incorrect. By sight it seems to take about 15-20 seconds before a logon screen appears.

UPD: My own test showed about 22 +/- 2 second of boot time from the very moment of pressing the button to a logon screen appearing. But I use the original SSD driver which is a bit old now. And maybe there are some checks and stuff that should be turned off in BIOS (like VAIO label). I'm going to upgrade as soon at my OBHD arrives, so that I cam make a ghost copy...

As for the screen identification with Lavalys - it says that I've got an unknown motherboard Downloaded the latest (?) version using Joe Bleau link. But it says the following about the display:

[ Digital Flat Panel (1920x1080 60Hz) ]

Monitor Properties:
Monitor Name Digital Flat Panel (1920x1080 60Hz)
Monitor ID MS_0025
Model Nvidia Defaul
Manufacture Date Week 45 / 2002
Serial Number None
Max. Visible Display Size 36 cm x 20 cm (16.2")
Picture Aspect Ratio 16:9
Gamma 1.00
DPMS Mode Support Standby, Suspend, Active-Off

LOL, it's even 16.2" instead of 16.4"

 

wow, great review mate. Nice to get a users perspective on it.
Didn't realise the screen profile would make a big difference...wow.
could you pm the profile, looks like I will need it when my lappy arrives.

 

ME2 and Crysis videos up:
ME2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm6fxWtWpDM
Crysis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8_z1ci52Bs&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9DUabcVlNM&feature=response_watch

 

Hello,
Does anyone know where to find Sony Vaio F drivers?
I'm planning to install a clean Windows 7 Pro to my Vaio.

 

Thanks! The colour profile was the one posted by matt800 below:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5862633#post5862633

Definitely makes a big difference. Thanks Matt

 

Goto http://support.sony-europe.com/hub/hub.html, select your country, your model and there you are I've made a clean install using all the drivers provided by sony and everything works fine!

A stupid question: how do I activate the profile? Just Add it through the color management from control panel pressing the use my setting button? I've done that but don't see any difference...

 

If You download it from the link above You'll find enclosed all the instructions made by Matt

 

See slrosenfeld's excellent post on this subject:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5784440#post5784440

 

I was so stupid to ignore the existence of this file Thx!

UPD: I don't have a Color Mode Setting in Vaio Control Center/Display

 

By the way if you use Mozilla Firefox you can let it use your color profile by changing the value from gfx.color_management.mode in about:config to 1
according to C!t magazine.

 

If I remember well You fresh-installed 7 right? Maybe it's an option that You haven't put back*.

In any case It should not be important in this process I think.


BTW Have You checked my suggestions about reinstalling 7, maybe You've missed a step.


*I' dont know if I now have it since I'm not with the Vaio now, I'll check later.

 

Hey, that was me on the telly!













Great job TC

 

Does anyone think the speakers on this thing suck? I believe they seem to rattle where they shouldn't. I believe it's called 'distortion'...

I know that built-in speakers aren't supposed to sound so hot, however i have an HP DV9000 (cough, cough) that sounds great comparatively.

I expected much more from this sound system.

 

Yup if you do a clean install i don't think you can get that option back, I installed everything from the Sony Site and it still doesn't appear.

But you don't need it anyway Just skip that step.

 

My F11 (VPCF11Z1E / BI) has just arrived at my house. Im at work at the moment and looking forward to giving it a go.

I have only ever had Dell laptops / PC's before and they have so much bloatware installed on arrival a clean windows install is essential. Is this the case for the Sony F11?

Many Thanks

 

I was unaware that Acronis is a problem - I have had it on my F from the beginning, although I haven't had any performance issues as of yet other than outlook initially taking awhile to retrieve email right after boot up.

 

nm, solved

 

OK, Thank you

 

with the drive plugged in via e-sata, go to Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Computer Management>Disk Management>Action>Refresh and your disk should show up.

 

Actually Dell's have less than the Sony F I received. I was actually surprised.

 

A fresh install it is then, Ill start downloading the drivers at work.

Thank you

 

Definitely recommend a clean install. Not sure what Dell comes with (mine have been imaged at work) but the Sony comes with a lot less than HP loves to fill their notebooks with. Still - performance before the clean install was dismal in comparison to afterwards).

 

I'm having problems downloading the drivers from the Sony site. I click accept disclaimer to begin the download but nothing happens.

 

Thanks, but that wasn't it. It was the eSATA cable. I had to really push it into the external drive. Several people seem to be cutting the plastic of the cable to make it fit better. I'll test if it keeps working like this, else I'll do the same.

Impressed with eSATA though. It seems to be maxing out the external HDD at a little under 100MB/s.

 

Weird. Working here. What browser are you using and do you have any blockers on your work machine (assuming you're using it)? Try holding down CTRL-SHIFT while clicking the Accept button on the disclaimer page.

 

No, you DO have issues: the computer has a defective screen. Restocking fees are for voluntary returns of non-defective merchandise.

If you really like the Sony F and would keep it but for the defective screen, then tell them to get you a replacement from the new stock with a green/yellow sticker on the box -- or to refund ALL of your money.

Me, I'd want the refund -- to get the refresh models in a couple of weeks. Paying the store anything when the screen is defective makes no sense.

 

I don't think it's defective. I think it sucks.

ie, it functions as spec'd.

I see what you are saying though, I should go for a straight return and see where that gets me.

I love Sony TVs though and their old Trinitron monitors, I really can't say I expected screen issues, especially when so many laptop screens have been so much better lately.

 

I'm using IE8, Nothing is blocked as far as im aware and Ctrl + Shift don't help. Its as if the button is not linked to anything. Im in the UK and finding the driver's through the UK site.

Thanks

 

Awesome!!! These vids helped a lot! Gave you rep...

 

I loaded IE8 and was able to download from http://support.vaio.sony.eu/computing/vaio/downloads/preinstalled/index.aspx?l=en_GB&m=VPCF11Z1E_BI

Seems like some piece of software is blocking your download attempt (CTRL-SHIFT is meant to skip the pop-up blocker only). Maybe try downloading Google Chrome and using that? It's a small install.

If you paste me the link I can try your exact download, but I selected your model.

 

I got my new F-series CTO model yesterday and I am totally pumped up about it. I need to buy an anti-virus software (since I chose Fresh Start with Windows 7 Pro) and currently leaning towards either Norton Internet Security 2010 or Kapersky. Seems like Norton has improved a lot and no longer is a resource hog (unlike in the past).

Yes, I would definitely have preferred the EU Matte screen but considering the overall package and the price paid, I am totally satisfied with the new F. Comparing the screen of the F-series (1920x1080) side-by-side with the screen of the HP/Compaq 8710W (1920x1200), I would give the overall edge to the HP screen, simply because it is a Matte screen and the viewing angles are better.....but the edge in the overall "pop" goes to the Sony F-series Screen. I need to calibrate the F-series screen and compare again.

PS: I bought the F-series as soon as it got released but then decided to return it and get the version with the SSD and with Vegas Pro 9.0 pre-installed on it. I don't think I will need another laptop for a few years now. Seems close to perfect - except for the glossy screen !

PS2: I will be doing quite a bit of RAW file editing and also Video Editing on this machine and I believe as long as the screen is calibrated, it will get the job done.

My specs include i7-820QM, 8GB RAM, Full-HD display with GT 330M GPU (1GB VRAM), Windows 7 Professional (with fresh start), Blu-ray Burner, 256GB SSD, Vegas Pro 9.0, Black.

 

I tried your download link with IE8 with no luck. Installed chrome and its now downloading. Very strange. Thank you for all your help.

 

Went from Norton to Zone Alarm for years and back to Norton last year. It is really light, I hardly know it's there. On occassion I'll get a small pop up telling me that Norton complete a virus scan during idle time.

Congratulations on your machine.

 

I think I read somewhere in this thread that I can download a copy of my Windows 7 from Microsoft and do a clean install using the same Product Key provided by Sony. Is that correct???