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

I cannot for the life of me figure this out...and Sony reps told me it's an unpublished specification. Is the ExpressCard slot in the F series 1.0 or 2.0?

 

It's Expresscard 1.0. Expresscard 2.0 requires USB3 support, which the F doesn't have yet. Furthermore the Expresscard 2.0 specs weren't standardized until March this year, WAY after the design window for the F11.

 

Perhaps the new F12 will have USB3.0.

 

I've suggested that in the past, it now seems unlikely. The F12, like the F11, is still a BUDGET laptop, with the cheapest design allowable to meet its cost versus performance target.

 

I know. It would mean a different motherboard with USB3.0 support. I was just getting in on the speculation side of this thread!



Bill

 

that stinks. that means no vidock.

 

While it will not transfer @ the USB3.0 max speed, you can buy an Expresscard/34 adapter in compliance with the ExpressCard specifications 1.0 & add some USB3 ports to the_F11. Like this card for example. Try this search: Expresscard/34 NEC UPD720200.

I added an eSATA/USB two-in-one Port to my_F11 with a cheap Expresscard/34. Photos & benchmarks here.

 

Well, basically as an F2 she has short hair, that's why she's called a Variant. Somalis should of course have long hair and a big ruff. Erm, that IS what you were asking about? Since you didn't quote anything I had to take a wild guess.

 

I beg your pardon?

The US 1080p semi-glossy display on my_F11 does not cover 100% of the Adobe RGB color space but the sRGB coverage is wide enough for me to do critical photo editing & once the monitor is calibrated, the color representation is brilliant with accurate true colors, proven with an electronic X-Rite Colorchecker chart on the desktop vs. a $70 physical one hand held next to the F's display like this photo from the interesting (especially if you use Photoshop) Introduction to Color Management article:



"A monitor profile's accuracy is checked against a physical sample".

Naturally you need to calibrate your monitor for accuracy instead of "pretty" over saturated or skewed colors for gaming as described here: Vaio_F_Series Monitor Profiles Roundup & US glossy vs. EU Premium Displays. That is true for ALL monitors.

 

He was talking about the 16.4" VAIO Display (1600x900)

 

By turning that into an eSATA/USB 3.0 combo...how much faster is it than USB 2.0, and you just made me realize I can use that ExpressCard slot to give me more USB ports, but is it worth making it USB 3.0 when all of my devices are 2.0?

 

Well, your 2.0 devices will only operate at 2.0 speeds but if you buy a 3.0 device such as an external HDD, then you'll reap the rewards.

 

Unless somebody calibrated a 900p with a colorimeter & compared it to a physical chart, it's just speculations as there is probably nothing more relative than eyeball color evaluation.

Try this for fun: X-Rite Color IQ Test.



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Re: VAIO_F11 Expresscard/34 & USB3.0

I did not see any "eSATA/USB 3.0 combo" yet. Follow the link above for USB 2.0 vs. eSATA/USB 2.0 combo card benchmarks. Interesting: USB 3.0 vs. eSATA: Is faster better?

"... is it worth making it USB 3.0 when all of my devices are 2.0" - Well installing F1 tires on your car will not give you a higher top speed.

 

Hi guys,

Im from Australia and this is the only F12 we can order here so far

From the Sony Asia Pacific website VPCF127HG : F Series : VAIO Notebook : Sony Asia Pacific

 

Thanks for the link, it led me to the PCF127HG/BI vs. VPCF117HG/BI page.

 

My score...I'm tired.

 

And there we have it! Official specs! I do not see anything about an illuminated keyboard...that should be in the U.S. models...I hope...right?

 

So there you go, no difference; a faster 6Mb i7 CPU, and Office Starter instead of the obsolete Works. Differences in memory and hard drive size etc. can be ignored since those are selectable and not tied to the actual capabilities of the machine. Hopefully the refresh does have fan and screen fixes.

 

Hi friends .
What is a chipset of F115FM ?
HM55 or PM55 ?
Thanks .

 

Hi Everyone,

I would like to add an external monitor to my Vaio F. The problem is, since the lid cannot be laid flat and it would stand in the way of an external monitor (or my neck would hurt), I guess the best solution is to keep the lid closed and get an external keyboard.

1. Is it possible to keep the lid closed and have the laptop running?
2. How to add an external monitor?

And, btw, I couldnt find anywhere info for calibrating glossy 1600*900 screen - does anyone have any advice on that?

Thank you so much.

Emma

 

Maybe like this?

 

My F11 will be arriving sometime next week. I had to order it with the 1600x900 display because the 1920x1080 was not an option at the time. If the F12 gives the option for the better screen and has minor fixes to things people find annoying, I wonder if Sony would let me return my F11 and get an F12 instead. I really would like that FullHD screen.

 

I still have that annoying headphone issue which really bugs me, so I'm still contemplating on returning it for the new one. If I just touch it, it moves and then sound only comes out of one side of the headphones, let alone the system sound problem.

 

The specs doesnt say anything about LED screens so i am guess its just the screens used in the F11, btw anyone got the screen model number yet for the EU 1080p matte screen?

 

I would call them, cancel, eat the shipping cost & get the new model with the 1080p. I hesitated a long time between the 900 & the 1080p, I'm grateful to the people in this forum that helped me make the right choice.

 

Unfortunately, neither of these applications test DirectX (more specifically, Direct3D) performance. Even FurMark is limited almost solely by hardware, as there are no real benefits to be gained in driver optimization once a driverset's OpenGL calls are stable.

In other words, I'd use a FutureMark product or similar tool to assess 3D performance between driver revisions.

 

Hi there Mangosango. Thankyou for posting those vids, I will check them out tonight when I get home from work.

Quick couple of questions for you:

How does the game look at the non-native resolution you have tried it at?

What sort of graphics settings can you get decent fps at 1920x1080?

Thanks again!

 

I'm facing a similar dilemma. I'm looking for a 15-16" notebook with 1600x900 screen, and (for various reasons) keep coming back to Sony. I won't use the notebook to play games or watch movies - browser, office programs, etc. I'm pretty sure FullHD screen (in this size) would be too much for my eyes in native resolution. Would you still recommend I get the FullHD screen, and change dpi setting in Windows 7 to make everything more readable? I'm actually looking at Vaio E w/FullHD vs. Vaio F 1600x900 - if that makes a difference.

TIA

 

The display scales AMAZINGLY to 1280x720 (you can hardly tell the difference unless you're on the desktop).

You will probably need to scale some settings (shaders, shadows, terrain) back to medium, as running at 1080p will begin to stress out the GPU, but otherwise its smooth as silk. Again, it depends on the map. Twilight fortress for some reason just takes a lot of power to run, but other maps (without the wet shader, I'm guessing) will run with high shaders, shadows, and terrain at 1080p with 40+ fps.

For best visuals, however, I would recommend running with higher settings at a lower resolution, especially because the display scales so well.

 

Right, and even scores on benchmark utils like 3DMark don't necessarily have a direct correlation to real-world performance in games, programs, etc. The best way is to assess real world performance is to put the machine through its paces. TBH though I don't think that there are any significant gains to be had in the 256.xx drivers over the 197.xx drivers in terms of gaming performance in the 330m. It's mostly gains for the gtx 4xx series.

 

@joeBleau

Yes, something like on the pic you provided!. How to keep the lid closed and the pc running?

The post with all the tips and tweaks doesnt mention how to calibrate the 1600x900 screen. Any tips?


Thank you
Emma

 

I remember reading a performance loss or some other issue due to keeping the lid closed but I have no empirical information.

 

Is the Sony return policy a no-questions-asked-within-30-days type of thing or what? I don't want to cancel my order (the one with the 1600x900 display) until I see the specs offered on the F12. If at that point I decide I want to "exchange" the one I bought for a new one, would I be able to? I just purchased it on Monday, May 31st.

 

Another problem my Touchpad isn't working.....? Whats the software i need to install, might have deleted it...

 

I was also worried about the DPI as I'm not that young anymore... but this display is really sharp & Win 7 has great scaling tools. Check this post.

 

Go to Power options, and change the lid close setting to "Do nothing".

 

And be aware that it has been reported by several users, not only on this F-series but with other laptops from other brands, that closing the lid while running a second monitor results in stuttering and slowdowns in screen refresh, which doesn't occur with the lid open. Just try it anyway.

 

Thanks .

 

You need to switch the display to "Projector only" with Fn+F7 to avoid this.

 

Pointing Device / Touchpad Driver
Vaio : Sony Europa

 

I don't belive this, the only tiny difference between F11 and F12 is the processor, still GT330m? F12 is off my list.

 

Those look like pre-built machines. You never know what the CTO options may be....

This is depressing to hear:

Battery Life

Bundled Battery
VGP-BPS21A Lithium-ion battery: up to 1 hours of use

Optional Long Battery
VGP-BPL21 Lithium-ion battery: up to 2 hours of use

 

tbh if you're looking to game (which I assume you am, because the gt 330m is good for accelerating photo/video editing programs), I doubt that Sony will ever come out with a good gaming pc. Namely, this is because they would rather you buy the PS3 and buy games for PS3. Asus is probably the best place to look for high-performance laptops. HP/Dell enterprise workstation models are very nice as well.

 

lol, makes perfect sense, damn sony has PS3... I like the specs of asus and the appearence of sony, Alienware is kind of sum up both but the price is high and weight is tooooo heavy, that's why I returned my AW M15x. I got so disappointed because the only reason hold me from F11 is the graphic card, I was hoping sony will put something better on F12 but my dream blows.

by the way the F11 silver with i7 720m and GT330m is only 1199 in here:
Newegg.com - SONY VPCF11NFX/H NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 16.4" 4GB Memory DDR3 1333 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M

is it a good deal? I am thinking buying this one right now, should I wait for the F12 to come out or get this one now?

 

If I put another Intel 160 gig SSD in my F11, using the optical drive slot, will the notebook support raid array? Has anyone done this? My apologies if this has already been discussed, I did a search on raid and came up with zilch.

 

Don't forget Newegg's return policy: if not defective, it's yours. No order & return game.

Why not wait for the pricing on the_F12? No need to worry about the 33% wage increase the Foxconn employee will get soon as in term of real $, it's still peanuts:

Cropped from a Sony_Vaio_F11 mobo photo found in > Unification Post > Pictures of internals:

 

For the F12 - that site doesn't tell if the US is getting the Matte screen which is the most important thing for me personally, and even if it doesn't then what? it'll be the same price if not slightly cheaper.

Honestly, im going to college next year and i like playing games like WoW/ StarCraft and watching movies (DVD and Blu-Ray). The main thing this laptop has going for it is the nice screen and very nice price...anyone have any suggestions for something else? My uncle has a 17 inch laptop that he can fit in his swiss army book bag which is probably what i'll lose so i dont think being mobile with this is going to be a problem.

 

No. RAID is not supported by the motherboard.

Bill

 

Hi, got the F11 over a month ago and its squeaking like a leaking ship: when I rotate the display, pressing down on the area around the touchpad, lift and move the laptop around, even the space and backspace keys. I went to local mall today and gave every laptop I can find a good shakedown and sure enough, the F series is squeakier than most. I am worried about the durability of this laptop now, since I do carry it around (sometimes). Has this been an issue for anyone else?

 

Put a towel on a table so not to scratch the lid & tighten the screws found in the bottom (not too much). Maybe it was assembled on a monday morning @ Foxconn?

Is it as bad as this Acer_Aspire Squeaking video? Or more like these_Macbook Pro's heard here and here?

Nothing else to say about your_F11?

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