Official Sony VAIO F Series i5/i7 owners thread *Part 3*

True.

I could really care less other than I want to see how it stacks up with the F11 for value. I received a 15% discount when I bought mine (I bought several others also), but I am interested in seeing if the refresh is less expensive.

I also wonder if perhaps I got an updated screen as mine is fantastic.

Also, a few days ago posters were asking about an updated MoBo and I gave my motherboard and Bios per CPU-Z, but never got a response as to whether mine was different from anyone else's. My machine scored 2042+ on Performance Test 7.0 and is the highest score of any Core i7 820QM laptops tested, even though many of them have faster graphics cards, which can greatly increase scores. Even my processing score was 3rd highest. I would think that that would show an efficient MoBo/processor/memory interface. Either I got a stunning machine, or perhaps my machine may be what the F12 will be. I don't know. I bought late and seem to have received a gem.

I simply want to compare price, features and performance with the F11 that I received.

Bill

 

On the first point, have you posted any decent photos of your fantastic screen? I'd be curious to see what makes it so nice.

On the second point, I agree heartily, I think that there wont be much of a price drop, and feature/performance-wise, from what people have posted there is little difference at all.

Glad you are happy with the F though.

 

Actually Zebra,

Back on 5-13 I posted several pictures which I have since eliminated from my hosting site (I keep them for 1 month, then delete). You commented that I probably didn't have a decent screen as I did not use a Hulu black screen to show it. Instead, I used the windows black desktop. So, I found a nearly black video on youtube and took a picture of that. You could then see the slightly less than black video with very black blackout bars on each side. It was very close to perfect, leading Melody to call my screen exceptional, from what he could see in the picture.

It IS exceptional!

Bill

 

Hi all

I will be collecting my F12 by end of this month. Wish me the best luck!

 

That's false as shown in previous posts OTOH maybe CPU speed & HDD capacity means nothing to you. Unless you have Superman's X-Ray vision, how can you see the sticker with the model brand & number behind the LCD of the US_F12 LCD? A user critical of the US_F11 1080p LCD said that the_F12 he saw in-store had a better screen according to his Hulu "test". Same for the mobo & other components as maybe the issues reported by some owners like whistling fan, Morse code, etc have been resolved. Your "same everything" is based on what proofs exactly?

A massive proportion of F11_owners with the 1080p Premium matte LCD said that their display was awesome in the F11_display poll (151 votes so far) so why_Sony should change it?

People were speculating on a_F11 "refresh", not an entire new model re-design so what did you expect exactly?

I could post a photo showing that my display is the best in the world or the exact opposite. It means nothing if you know photography a little bit. I rather take the word of Willscary.

Bill, this does not say anything about the mobo model # or revision. If you download the free stand alone (no install) SIW 2010 > Hardware > Motherboard, I can read from my VPCF115FM:

C603ENDZ
North Bridge Intel DMI Host Bridge Revision 11
South Bridge Intel PM55 Revision 11
CPU Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU Q 720 @ 1.60GHz
Cpu Socket Socket 989 rPGA

And under the BIOS tab:

BIOS Vendor American Megatrends Inc.
Serial Number 27514932-xxxxxxxxxxx
BIOS Version R0250Y6
Firmware Version 2.50
BIOS Date 12/07/2009

 

The price is the same with previous F11 price, but your F11 price is on discount right now.

The screen is actually somewhat different, I compared it side to side at local best buy store and the light bleed is not there anymore, I would say its evenly distributed. The viewing angle is improved however not as much as I would like.The processor is a bit faster, GPU is the same and no morse code issue.

The envy 17 start at 1399 its a bit expensive compared to F, buts its better to spend more a bit to get better stuff. HP have tons of codes/promo which sometimes discounted the price a lot further. This one labeled "Premium" and designed by the "Voodoo" department, I would agree the others HP laptop is a crap, but this one should have better quality.

 

Currently restoring factory settings on my F11 so I can ship it back...I'm on my ASUS G1S, and I'm so spoiled with the brightness of the F11...it's so dark here!

 

Bloatware is relative see: F11_Series: Installed Vaio_Software Comparison with screen captures from 3 F users. Microsoft Works is bloatware if you have Office or something else but it's not if you don't have any, for example.

See also my Vaio_F Series Windows 7 64-bit Clean Install Guide Using OEM Recovery Discs



*************

F compared to X?

That's for a 2 core with 900p display. Apples to oranges? Anyway, this is off topic so let's get back to the F's as we were blessed w/o any mods intervention since a while. Go to the What Notebook Should I Buy? forum if you want to compare to brand x or y or z or whatever.

 

Go to the HP Envy 17 owners thread and read up on all of the quality of build and heat issues with that laptop. It's a little scary.

 

They even have their own: HOW TO FIX THE "TWEATING/NOISES/MORSE CODE" PROBLEM. ("MIC FIX").

 

For the record, CPU-Z reports my Bios version as R02 80Y6
(5/14/2010). The motherboard revision is still listed as PM55 rev 11.

 

Check with SIW, about a zillion more info. Does it show your mobo as Sony_C603ENDZ? PM55 is just an Intel chip, not the mobo itself.

 

Thank you Joe Bleau for redirecting me to the guides, these have some extremely useful information. Cheers!

 

Joe, I would guess that on the MoBo, your first entry is the serial number? The program gives me a serial# for the Mobo, but only lists it as Sony Vaio and the version is unknown. After that is a number like yours, but on mine it says it is the serial number. Everything else is the same as mine other than my CPU being a Q 820 @ 1.73GHz.

With the BIOS, my version is different...it is R0260Y6. Also, my firmware version is 2.60 DATED 2-26-10.

That being said, this is a neat little program. I can see that my two memory sticks match and their serial numbers are in sequence, so they are a matched pair. If I ever decided to overclock, it tells me exactly what the memory allows for timings and speeds. ( I don't forsee ever doing this!)

I like the sensors and devices tabs also. Thanks!

Bill

 

As someone who (thanklessly) went through official parts lists and compared parts numbers on major features of each of the FW refresh models looking at the differences and the constants to report on to this forum (when people were engaged in screen swaps, etc.), I'd say that what is happening here from the early reports in the North American market is that the screen and processor have changed and there are likely upgrades in other aspects of the F12 that will, as reports so far attest, eliminate the problems that had been encountered earlier.

Any price differences that have been discussed so far for the North American market are likely reflected in a CTO with the faster processor and hard drives and the early reports of an improved screen (which likely means a dual-lamp CCFL to replace the single-lamp which so disappointed the North American market). BTW There are lots of things that can vary in an SSD of the same size which can affect price (RAID, etc.) so it is not clear that it's the "same" SSD that costs more, either.

In other words, if one configures the refreshed CTO F12 with the same processor and the same screen, etc. it will likely cost the same as the F11 -- but likely won't have any of the problems that the same configuration had on the F11.

Which is exactly what happened throughout the FW's refreshes. More options, improved features available, but with the same/similar options as the earlier model available at the same (and sometimes lower) price.

Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose -- the price, that is.

 

Yea, I know PM55 is the Intel chip bridge, but someone had been asking about before, so I figured I would include it.

I don't see anything like C603ENDZ. SIW actually seems to be giving me less information (but I like the program). Manufacturer/Model is Sony/Vaio, version is N/A, it gives me my serial number, and lists the two chipsets (both rev 11). The Bios tab gives exactly what I had above.

 

I'm glad you like SIW 2010, besides, the price is right (free). I donated $5 to support development after using it & seeing how useful it is. Use the "Buy me a coffee" button, it's the little coffee cup on the right on the task bar.

You can produce a full one page HTML report with it (File > Create Report File) & then open it in your browser to make it searchable and you don't have to navigate through all the tabs anymore to find all the info including your software licenses & browser's saved passwords. You can also use it to optimize your power consumption on battery by enabling/disabling some stuff (wifi, Bluetooth, background processes, external drives, screen brightness, anti virus in silent mode, etc) & observe the discharge rate & estimated running time in the battery tab. Just hit the white arrow in the blue circle refresh button after each tweak. That discharge rate should be in the Win 7 battery meter IMO.



Even if it says serial number of the motherboard, my guess is that C603ENDZ is the model # (note below: System Version), not the serial because it's so short.

Everest Ultimate Engineer v5.50.2143b Portable reports (I replaced some numbers with xxx's in System Serial Number and in System UUID):

DMI BIOS Vendor American Megatrends Inc.
DMI BIOS Version R0250Y6
DMI System Manufacturer Sony_Corporation
DMI System Product VPCF115FM
DMI System Version C603ENDZ
DMI System Serial Number 27514932-xxxxxx
DMI System UUID 20844ACD-4BD7DD11-xxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxx
DMI Motherboard Manufacturer Sony_Corporation
DMI Motherboard Product VAIO
DMI Motherboard Version N/A
DMI Motherboard Serial Number C603ENDZ
DMI Chassis Manufacturer Sony_Corporation
DMI Chassis Version N/A
DMI Chassis Serial Number N/A
DMI Chassis Asset Tag N/A
DMI Chassis Type Notebook

I updated the Vaio_F Series Windows 7 64-bit Clean Install Guide Using OEM Recovery Discs article with some screen captures & stuff. Comments welcome.

 

Off topic video a little bit but there is a laptop involved: BP Spills Coffee.

 

An article that may be of interest to some: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20008024-1.html

Not mentioned that it will be available on the F's

My guess is because the F is not really meant to be a portable laptop - and rather advertised as a desktop replacement.

 

I think that feature is dumb. Especially if everyone has access to the same router. If everyone connected to the laptop for internet access...it would be slow as hell...the bandwidth usage would be way too high.

 

Windows has a built in feature where you can actually share you internet connection already.
How to configure Internet Connection Sharing in Windows XP

You could also just download the program Connectify and it does the same thing.

 

You can already do that with the Connectify software. (free)

 

Thanks for the info. I personally don't need it myself, just thought that some other people might find it informative.

 

Wow, I tried to submit that about three hours ago, then switched tabs to keep pretending to work. Weird. Anyway, I didn't think I needed it either, but it has come in handy exactly once at work. One more thing for the toolbox. I would like Sony to make a statement about the Remote Play PS3 thing they mentioned a while ago however. I kind of expected we'd hear something since E3 is on now, but nothing yet. Again, I don't think I'll ever use it, but one never knows.

 

Hmm i a problem well it really isnt one but maybe you guys can tell me whats wrong. i ran pcwizard2010 and for processor it says i have an i7-820 but i really have an i7-720..

weird...


by the way did anybody here install the latest 257.21 driver for the GPU with success?

 

anyone get an F12 yet?

 

Another random article for everyone

Sony unveils new summer line of VAIO PCs [Updated with US pricing - SlashGear

"The F-series notebooks range from 255,000 to 175,000 yen and all have 16.4-inch screens. The high-end version has dual digital tuners, dual AVC, BD drive and more. The next step down has dual terrestrial tuners, dual AVC transcoder, and a BD drive for 195,000 yen and will land on June 26. The low-end version has dual digital terrestrial tuners and a DVD drive for 175,000 yen."

Hmmm...June 26...date sound familliar to any of you?

(If you divide the yen by 90 - you get an approx. Canadian/US dollar equivalent)

 

Here is why I got the_F11 w/ a quad i7-720QM in the first place: importing & creating previews for 8,100 images (half are RAW .nef) into Adobe Lightroom 3.0. The 100 GB+ Catalog is on the secondary HDD in the ODD bay working @ SATA transfer speed, the photos are in an external 1 TB drive connected to the F via eSATA. On the side, I'm downloading some large files @ 205 kB/s, surfing w/ about 10 tabs opened, working with Photoshop CS5 on some images and during (fequent) breaks: catching up on an exciting Moto GP race I missed a while ago.

The CPU, GPU, 3 HDD's & fan are all working hard but the F stays cool, well under the 100c max operating temperature. Here are some screen captures of Resource Monitor & the SIW Sensor panel:



I don't use my DTR for quiet & light text editing on battery for 5 hours in some coffe shop with girl watching on the side.

 

Run CPU-Z. What does it say your processor is?

CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting

Tuners?!?!?! :O is this true?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :OOOOOOOOOOOOO

So this is gonna be different than the UK models?? I mean I went to Sony's Japanese site from the site you gave and there's a picture of it with a remote...I hope the backlit keyboard isn't gone.

 

well guys, i'm having another problem with my vaio vpcf115fm... This laptop disappoints me a lot... Now suddenly some pixels turns red a starts to flicker randomly on my screen, even in safemode... I thoght that mi video cad was the problem but i connected my laptop to my tv vi hdmi, and in my tv theflickerin pixels does not appear... Those damn things can show up at the very star when i turn on my computer or 15 minutes later... I don't know what to do, if somebody have exerienced this, please telle what to do... please... Claim warrant is not an option because a bought that computer when i went to the USA, and i'm from south america... I hope somebody could help me...

 

Almost $2000??

 

That price doesn't make sense.

 

anyone... pleas i really need some advice...

 

I'm considerung the NB for photoediting. Did anybody have a chance to compare the matte screen of the Sony F with the display of the Macbook pro (15" or better 17") and/or the Dell studio XPS 16 (WLED or RGBLED) ? Sorry if this has been asked before but i Could not find a thread on this matter.
Thank you

Wolfgang

 

Is there some reason my VPCF111fx still keeps on detecting a bad battery? I know for sure that it is a good battery. Sony even sent me a new one. The amber battery light is flashing as we speak. I have already disabled ISBmgr, uninstalled it, reinstalled it, da da da da da, and nothing. I even did a clean install of windows, hoping maybe that that would do the trick. Still nothing. Please, I need some help here. Where else can I be looking at?

 

Can't comment on a solution for the Sony battery problem, but at work we have several Dell laptops that have had a similar issue. We tried a new battery in the laptop and the error message was still there. Ended up getting a replacement motherboard for the laptop and the error message was gone. On the 30+ laptops we have at work 4 have had this issue and all 4 were fixed with a new motherboard.

 

At notebookcheck.net they did the evaluations of these screens:
Sony Vaio F with Premium matte display
Dell Studio XPS with glossy RGBLED display
Apple Macbook Pro 17 with glossy display

In short:
For color-gamut: 1) Dell XPS RGBLED, 2) Macbook Pro 17, 3) Vaio F Premium
For contrast: 1) Macbook Pro 17, 2) Vaio F Premium 3) Dell XPS RGBLED
For illumination: 1) Vaio F Premium, 2) Macbook Pro 17, 3) Dell XPS RGBLED

I've seen the Macbook Pro 17 glossy display and the Vaio Premium matte display and I liked more the Vaio, because it is matte (and the Macbook Pro is out of my budget )
The Dell XPS WLED is nothing special.

 

So I was on TigerDirect.com entering a computer giveaway they were running and I happened to take a look at the Sony quad core laptops they are selling. They are listing the F12's!

Laptops & Notebooks Guided Search at TigerDirect.com

I have included a screenshot of all 10 laptops compared side to side. Couldn't save the URL to post here for quick access, sorry. See the bottom of my post.

Specs from the most expensive machine, Sony VAIO VPCF127FX/B at $1500.

 

Parece que tu pantalla tiene problemas con algunos pixels por eso te salen los puntos rojos en algunas ocasiones y cuando lo conectas a otro monitor estos no se ven, por tanto no va a ser problema de la grafica sino de la pantalla. Si no recuerdo mal hay programas que ayudan a reactivar esos pixels pero no es seguro que lo solucionen.

Un saludo.

 

Sony's got a new EC series with LED backlit and bigger screen with ATI graphics. but why no 1080p? It even has better battery life. It's like, with a little tweaking, it could beat out the F but they decided not to.

 

Because you don't live in Europe. We've got the option 1080p on Vaio EB and EC and you've got the option of a Keyboard-skin

The screen and building qualities however are not as good as those of the F-series
The E-series also have no quad-core options

 

anyone got any info regarding the F12.

 

Are you incapable of reading any poste here?

 

how do i order the sony vaio f series with 1080p display and 1gb dedicated nvidia card. it does not show up on the sony site and the specs says it is available

 

Alright,
So the F12 is officially here.
I think it's rather strange that TigerDirect has the product before SonyStyle but at least the wait is over and it's time to draw your credit card.

I logged into my bing.com cashback account, then navigated to Tiger, added the top shelf model to my cart and... froze.

Is there any good reason to wait and order this through SonyStyle aside from the possibility of a clean install?

Bing cash back is currently at 12% for TigerDirect, that means I can get a i740, 6gb, 1080p, 640(5400), backlit, blueray dvdrw for 1500*.88 =$1,320 with free ship and no tax.

Do you guys think the screen on the Tiger config is the most advanced option that may possibly be made via the config on sonytyle?

If I wait until the 26th, or whenever, I should be able to buy through Sonystyle and custom order, no? I guess I could live with a 500gb drive and no blueray, but given the 12% discount, me thinks I should complete this purchase.

 

I would wait because with SonyStyle I could get a 7200RPM drive, a bluray burner, and a better processor via CTO.

 

Nugg,

Agreed.

I held out for the F12 for the dual lamp screen and whatever fan/mobo fixes they may have implemented.

I wasn't going to configure my machine with Blueray at CTO, nor was I going to add the faster processor since you usually have to pay a generous amount (relative to the price of the machine) for that extra step up in power. I was however going for a 7,200RPM drive. Hmmmmm. Most of the photos I'll be working with anyway will be read and written to a network attached storage device.

Free ship, no tax and a 12% discount off the top was what swayed me and I went ahead and placed the order.

I configured an F11 with the same specs and came in at $1,4XX not including tax and ship.

 

I had hoped my Bing cash back would be instant but I have to wait 59 days to have it deposited in my account. Oh well, at least the transaction went off without a hitch;

TigerDirect.com $181.20 Pending

 

Thank you for the info & taking the time to post specs & screen capture ddmeightball! +1 for your Rep power

Detective work: with the model # you provided VPCF127FX/B, I searched esupport & checking to which model an original software listed apllied to, I found the models offered by Tiger but also other models missing:

Offered by Tiger:

VPCF121FX
VPCF121FX/B
VPCF121FX/H
VPCF122FX
VPCF122FX/B
VPCF122FX/H
VPCF123FX
VPCF123FX/B
VPCF123FX/H
VPCF125FX
VPCF125FX/B
VPCF125FX/H
VPCF127FX
VPCF127FX/B
VPCF127FX/H

Missing:

VPCF126FM
VPCF126FM/B
VPCF12AFM
VPCF12AFM/H
VPCF12FFX
VPCF12FFX/B
VPCF12GFX
VPCF12GFX/B
VPCF12HFX
VPCF12HFX/B

Sony_offers updates usually only when they fix a bug or problem (video drivers for example, they don't care about better performance for game x or y). I did not have time to check my theory & compare versions yet but maybe there is some newer software that are applicable to the_F11 on the VPCF127FX support page here?

Maybe some could be used for a clean install on a_F11 w/o installing the old stuff & then update as we need to do for certain stuff @ the present?

Compairing the VPCF127FX @ Tiger pricing to my VPCF115FM @ BB pricing:

- $109 more
- Faster CPU, larger HDD w/ same 5400 RPM speed
- Speculation: revised motherboard & BIOS
- No clues about the LCD being different
- No clues about if the fan was replaced by an other model
- We don't know yet what CTO options will be offered in North America
- 1080p, 6 GB memory (DDR3/1333MHz) & GPU seems the same but the GT 330M could be revision x?

*****

 

Joe Bleau are you using some extra cooling ? Those temps are very good