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

What???

That's not fair, I want a red pixel too!

Congrats for your negotiating skills.

 

Lol my Sony is also brand new how do you test it? Hope i have it too

 

theres no way of testing it...just look carefully at your screen see if any pixels are out of place...im sure if you had one youd have noticed it by now..

also considering these laptops run exceptionally cool is there any way of overclocking them slightly?

 

I don't think CPU is possible

GPU is ridiculously easy. Download EVGA Precision. Drag the Core/Memory/Shader MHZ up. Use small 10-20MHZ increments first.

Unstable overclock will result in driver crash and locking to 2D clocks. Requires restart to reset. Doesn't damage your computer unless it's overheating.

My stable overclock so far is 700 Core, 1540 Shader, 820 Memory.
Done on stock 0.95V

Good luck and have fun enjoying FPS boosts!
use at your own risk

 

Dead Pixels Test

Found this site

 

No biggie, not going to do anything about it unless I have to send it in for repair at some point anyway.

And actually quite impressive when you think about it... Not even when you push the HW to the limit and force the fan to operate at very low rpm. it overheats.
F's are indeed cool running machines!

 

Got EVEREST? Computer Diagnostics & Network Audits Software | Lavalys.com

If so, there is a "Monitor Diagnostics" included with a bunch of test screens.
Very useful for testing for dead pixels, calibrating, etc.

 

I've had some bad slowdown/freezing myself. First time I was just opening tabs and it kept freezing each time about 5 - 8 mins. Second time I was updating something and installing it. Third time I was watching non HD youtube videos and when loading it it began to freeze up. A few other times I was unable to view youtube videos without it stalling but it didn't freeze up. The videos would just not play.

So I thought it was a Firefox compatibility/performance issue. Then it happened when I was using Live Messenger too. Never got BSOD but everytime it freezes, my window that is freezing turns a pale white and the circle arrow keeps spinning. I'm not prevented from opening other programs or going into task manager but nothing stops the freezing but waiting it out. When frozen it seems that I cannot shut down the program by closing it or doing it from task manager processes tab.

 

- so on my F12 the grinding noise seems to be constant now when I put in the large capacity battery pack (on or off AC Adapter) so elevation seems to affect the consistency of the noise.

- decided to test for battery drain. my battery had zero juice on it from the get go so I charged it up to 100%. unplugged it for 5 min to move to another room and it dropped to 99%. charged back up to 100% and left it overnight unplugged and in hibernate. 9 hours later it was down to 93%.

- decided to charge up to 100% and leave the battery out of the laptop for a couple of hours to see if it drained at all on its own. stayed at 100%.

- decided to leave it overnight on shut down unplugged and 6 hours later it was down to 92%.

I'm currently draining it via use and going to recharge it up to full capacity again. Thinking I need to regulate a cycle or two for it to begin working properly. Also going to try to leave the battery out overnight and see if it drains at all that way and also in the laptop on sleep. How much did all your batteries drain in shut down/hibernate/sleep when new? This seems quite a lot considering it loses around 1% per hour.


On another note, I tried some of the F11 calibration profiles. Slrosenfeld's was done on a NA glossy FHD if I'm not mistaken but gives me a purple push I didn't like. So I settled on Joe's own profile preference. It's a tad better but still doesn't give me the accurate results I need. Does anybody have a link to a NA F12 profile done on Spyder? Maybe my issue is some slight difference between F11s and F12s.

 

Haha ... well it wasn't easy. But it worked out. They renewed my extended warranty too so it will start on the replacement as brand new.

So as soon as I get the replacement ... I'm going to send the other one back for a credit.

So bit of a hassle ... but i can't complain.

to that one red pixel ... thank you.

p.s. watch them get it back and not be able to find the defect lol

p.p.s. - it will be interesting to compare the screen on the new comp to the one i have now ... since I'll have 2 identical f12's (minus the upgrade to 8GB) until i send the defective one back ... I can see if the screens look the same ... minus stuck pixels of course.

 

As philm94 said, maybe your system was writing something else to the HDD. I usually run the same benchmark 2 or 3 times to see if it's constant & to eliminate occasional quirks.

This community collaboration is fun as so far we are 4 F owners with exactly the same Seagate 7200.4 (or ST9500420AS) running the same benchmark on F laptops. If somebody else want to contribute, that would be great as I can add their screen captures to this post.

I redid the HD Tune benchmarks & also ran it in Safe Mode as you guys. My HDD is partitioned in 2 and now has 240 GB of data on it. The second capture is in Safe Mode. I also have a dip as our Norwegian friend ( ) that seems to correspond to the D partition size @ 201 GB. What is interesting is that the transfer speed is a tad faster in regular OS & the curve is smoother but the burst rate is faster in Safe Mode. Note that in both cases, the curve gradually falls down which is the normal pattern for an HDD with this benchmark. All our tests are made after cleaning & defragmenting the HDD, all other programs turned off including the anti virus.

The reason the read rate graphic representation gradually drops is that the test starts reading on the outer edge of the drive's platter where for 1 full spin of the platter carries much more data then near the center of the platter hence faster read speed from outside slowing down gradually. An SSD does not have that mechanical characteristic hence the flat graph.

So... if you clean the HD & defrag with Win 7, it should put the most frequent accessed stuff on the outer limits & make sure your anti virus is disabled & no other program is running.. Run HD Tune 3 times & post best results is the best practice to eliminate quirky results due to some services starting in the background or whatnot.

Mine (normal OS vs. Safe Mode):



From this Seagate ST9500420AS review:

So danielh97 also has faster read rates in normal mode vs. Safe Mode!

anseio's (normal OS vs. Safe Mode):



lundstrom.emil's (normal OS vs. Safe Mode):



Nygaard's (normal OS vs. Safe Mode):

kcirtaP's (normal OS, Safe Mode missing):



*****

Now I have an other Seagate 7200.4 and the only way I can get the flat curve as you guys is when it's an external Power Over eSATA enclosure so I presume it's the enclosure's board & chip that slows down the read rates but then it's similar to your main C drive speeds!



And it's not the eSATA/USB combo port that slows it down has I have high benchmarks with an external LaCie drive connected via that port with a normal eSATA cable:



*****

OEM Samsung HM500JI 5400 rpm Benchmarks

MaxieHQ's main drive in normal OS mode vs. Safe Mode:



My Samsung HM500JI in a HDD caddy in the ODD bay as a secondary drive:



@ people with other brands or models of HDD's, post or PM me to be added. @ SSD owners: ya, ya, we know that yours are much faster than ours.

*****

 

No jumper and have made a copy of the HDD label.
Did the Safe Mode test and I got similar result as you.
Hooked up the HDD to main stationary computer (not in safe mode) and got slightly better results then you, however could not see if it was Sata I or II

Stationery: Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit

intel i7 920 @ 2,66GHz
Corsair DDR3 6x2GB @ 1600 MHz
3x500 Seagate
2x250 Maxtor

...

Safe Mode: Vaio F12Z

What Sata Generation is it on your laptop, 1 or 2, check them both

 

That's bad advice to newbies, CCleaner is to be used with caution. OK, it was very helpful for XP for example but a lot less for Win 7.

"I highly recommend CCleaner, it is a lot more comprehensive than Vaio_Care" - For an advanced user: yes.

Vaio_Care TuneUp or One Click Care cleans the registry & defrag's it as well has the HDD, etc plus the Vaio_Care report has valuable reminders about backups, recovery discs burning, updates, security, etc, etc.

And it's not made by twits and it's customized for the F:



Why not run TuneUp twice then your CCleaner to see if it can find some important stuff & prove your point?

*****

 

If having an extended battery is causing grinding noises I'd suspect your fan is ready to crap out.

90% of the time I'm using my laptop it's.. on my lap. The fan is a magnetic levitation type fan, so any kind of movement will cause it to shift a little and that may cause noises, but you shouldn't hear GRINDING.. maybe a slight change in pitch (mine gets slightly lower pitched and occasionally has a quiet groan when I move the laptop), but it IS a portable, and it should be designed with that in mind.

 

well the noise can be there even without the battery in. though not constantly there. with the battery in, it's constant. it can also be described as a "whirring" that goes high and low high and low. from the audio clips i've heard and videos i've watched it seems like the F noise is basically air blowing out? that normal Fs don't have any type of mechanical whirring noise?

btw, does your battery drain at all when unplugged and not in use?

 

Hey guys, I'm thinking of upgrading my stock 5400RPM hard drive to either a 7200RPM 500GB (no size upgrade) or a 1tb 5200RPM..

My current hdd is almost filling up
But I really want the 7200RPM speed boost, but i cant find any drive thats 640GB and above with 7200RPM:/

Should i go for slower speed large storage or faster speed same?

if someone could find a 640GB+ hdd with 7200RPM I would be very happy

 

Maybe this?
Seagate Momentus 7200.5 ST9750420AS 16MB 750GB

or this

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=817

 

No sir, I don't have any problems with the customized for the F clean install using the OEM recovery discs. It's quite the opposite.

 

@Joe: Can this HDD slowdown be a bug in bios?
The F11 and F12 has the same north- and south-bridge, same HDD (for some) same drivers and so on, so it should not be any issues?

 

Why i have really bad results with the 2D Graphics Test?

Is this a good disk? Suit's to F11Z1EI?

 

Hello, everyone! I've spectated this thread/community for quite some time now and I believe I am ready to make my first ever laptop purchase! I currently own an i7 950/nvidia gtx 295 ftw setup, etc. type desktop for hardcore gaming but I have decided I am just about ready to pull the trigger on a VAIO F to handle only games based on the source engine or others that will not exceed what the F can maintain as playable. I have compared it to the Toshiba Qosmio line, the Envy 17, the Asus G73 series and a few others; but the F is just too visually irresistible for me. I have decided to go for a slimmer form factor/visual class rather than raw power since I can use my desktop for such things. Before I make my purchase, is the 7200rpm 500GB HDD from the sonystyle site acceptable in terms of its performance or would purchasing a separate drive be more desirable? Also, can anyone recommend a good bag to use for me? I plan on carrying it around along with my Tritton AX 720 headphones/headset. And what would anyone recommend for someone that insists on using a mouse with their laptop? I'd like to find some sort of cooler with an extended mouse rest. Does such a thing exist that would fit the F? Thanks a lot and I'm glad to finally have joined the community.

 

I kinda like my stock 320GB 7200rpm drive since I don't move large files around.

Bag-wise, I've carried this laptop through trips and i've come to realise that a backpack or a messenger bag that can strap close to your body to keep the weight a part of you works better than an over-the-shoulder bag that can swing like a pendulum and hurt your shoulder like crazy after a short while. Oh, also forget holding it in a briefcase type of bag. Have mercy on your arms Choice-wise, it's subjective as long as it's roomy enough to allow for your adapter and headphones.

I'm also looking for a good mouse to use and would like some recommendations as well. Bluetooth preferrably. I had the pebble-like Vaio BMS33 bluetooth mouse which looks great with the F series but sadly only durable for casual use. Autocad and gaming basically wore the left click out of commission in just a few months.

Get the vaio neoprene case for the F series as an addition. It's cheap, well made, and adds further protection especially if you end up with other stuff in your bag.

 

Try powercfg -energy, see this post: Vaio_F Battery Drainage & Power Efficiency Diagnostics Report.



Sony_support docs:

- Why does the VAIO_computer consume battery even when the power is completely switched off?

- The computer is completely turned off but the battery is still being drained

And on the Google: laptop battery discharging overnight

 

Is there any problem if we don't make the calibration profile? Will out battery stop working after some years? Or will have less effectiveness?

 

What 2D Graphics test?

It should certainly be a good HDD, far better then the 7,2k drives but the heat and size should be a big problem. I linked it as a little joke.

Take a SSD and the make the internal to en external eSATA-disc.

 

Then why do you guys have faster rates in Safe Mode? It's running on the same BIOS as when in regular OS. That points to settings or processes/services running on your systems.

My read rates are similar in regular OS vs Safe Mode. The first HD Tune benchmark I posted a few pages back was ran on Win 7 Home Premium, the ones I ran last night are on Ultimate as I upgraded my Home via Anytime Upgrade, just by inputting a key. It just unlocked while offline: XP mode & Domain Join which I don't use & the OS language packs which I needed. Similar HD Tune results because the core of the Os's is exactly the same.

 

Are you sure you don't know omaroo?

Read, follow the links.

"Will out battery stop working after some years?" - Yes, they all do. Just like us & our pets too.

 

I don't know nor omaroo, neither kabamaroo and i am not a kangaroo!

In the Passmark software.

What's the problem with the size and the heat? SSD are very expensive. I have a 7200rpm hard disc also, but it's only 100GB

 

This one:



:wub: :wub: :wub:

 

Have you tried these tweaks?

The SSD Review: Windows 7 SSD Performance Optimization Guide

I don't agree with some of them.

 

I mean a combination of the bios (a bug?) and a service that is the problem. Can you post a list of all you services (both OFF and ON ones)? In regular OS I terminated of all services that I could (on a clean installed F12z) and no change in performance.

I did test in Home premium and Ultimate, same result as before.

Maybe it will fit, but is hotter then a 7,2k drive and in tight places the heat can not be moved away. This kind of discs is used in stationary ps:s.

HAHAHA

EDIT: I did get the same result as you Joe on man stationary pc with the momentus disc with the same untouched clean install with my own copy of win 7. But the F12 gives 30% performance decrease with an identical installation of win 7. :/

 

I overclocked my GPU...check out my clock speeds. They're stable. No game crashes. Was playing Counter-Strike: Source Maxed out @ 1920x1080 over 60 FPS. And was playing Just Cause 2 @ 1280x720, High Texture, Medium shadows, then AA 4x and AS 16x...at an average frame rate of 37 FPS.

Default clock speeds: 575/790/1265
OVERCLOCKED CLOCK SPEEDS: 730/930/1550

It's great! If the card is not overclocked, it's impossible to play JC2.

I ran a stability test using FurMark for OVER AN HOUR. NO artifacting, NO freezing, NO locking up. Everything was perfectly stable! My max temp was 71C!

I'm using nvidia's latest drivers from nvidia's website. -- 257.21

And I used NVIDIA System Tools to overclock: NVIDIA SYSTEM TOOLS 6.05

 

FYI:

- The latest Nvidia driver is 258.96, works fine on my F.

- Your "NVIDIA SYSTEM TOOLS 6.05" is dated 2009.11.19 while the 6.06 is 2010.04.09. Sorry!

Tip: uninstall both old stuff & reboot before installing the new driver first, reboot, then the tool.

 

As one who has been using compuers since 1981, I have learned one thing, and it's a cliche, "It's better to be safe than sorry." Sure one can use registry cleaners, clean installs, non-approved drivers, to get just maybe a BIT less memory usage, and a tiny bit more speed, but at the expense of throwing out the security of the actual restoration programs and drivers developed FOR the computer in question. I'm using the stock install, and Microsoft updates (except one) and have had almost NO trouble, and the system runs fine. A couple of times an error has developed, and VAIO CARE absolutely perfectly solved the problem, without depending upon third-party software not written with the F-series in mind.

Once I was the guy always trying to get the last ounce of performance, experimenting with third party cleaning apps, and my boss at the computer sales and repair shop at which I was working said "You're wasting time, and gaining nothing." He was 100% right!

It is SO much more relaxing just to USE the computer, enjoy it, but I've said that several times here already.

 

Play it again, Sam.

I agree with you but you forgot to mention that you got your F11_with the Win 7 Pro CTO with the Fresh Start option which is quite clean out-of-the-box as your screen grab (that I included in the OEM discs clean install article) illustrates. In fact it's that image that pushed me to explore the OEM clean install thing, so thanks!

 

Since there has been mention of Ccleaner here I thought I would chime in and say that I do use Ccleaner and I find it helpful. I mainly use it as a tool to clean all my history, internet cache, etc from my web browsers. As far as the registry scan I don't bother with that.

 

Does anybody know if something like this exists to fit the VAIO F?

Portable Lapdesk N315

 

So I presume that you never explored Vaio_Care's options, right?



Note: If you select Empty Profile, you will loose your Windows 7 Jump Lists!

 

Could someone also recommend a suitable cooler for the F also? Thanks!

 

Already done many times, including photos & benchmarks.

Search this Thread with: laptop cooler to find stuff like Willscary's Cooler Master U2 Laptop Cooler w/ photos w/ his F on it.

 

Question for you JB, or anyone else. I'm having fun playing with my machine and doing all this stuff and stuff. So, I've got my HDD partitioned 80GB for C:/ and 375ish for other stuff. If I clean install, do I lose my partitions? Will I lose my data on Z:\?

 

Ooh, I see that now. It is now in my newegg cart, thanks!

Is there anything like this though for non-bulky mouse use?

Portable Lapdesk N315

 

Found my answer.

HD Tune will be the first test I run to see how the numbers differ. typing on my old toshiba a25. Ugh, the keyboard is near awful compared to the vaio.

 

I like the Zalman N-1000. However ... they have since changed the design from when i bought it ... they are all plastic now so the cooling is all air based.

Mine looks the same ... but is solid aluminum. So i get passive and active cooling.

anyhow ... it fits the F like it was made for it. its super slick. check to see if you can find the all aluminum one somewhere.

 

Only if you format the entire hard drive. If you just format the Windows partition and not the other one, you should be fine.

 

can anybody here recommend what laptop cooler would best support the f series?

zalman nc2000
zalman nc2500
zalman nc3000

price really isnt the issue i just want the one that would cool the best and a line best with the cooler

 

Joe, I didn't really check vaio care out that thoroughly so thanks for pointing that out. However, I still would rather use Ccleaner for cleaning up my browser cache, history, etc. simply b/c I know the program and it seems to give me more control of what I select or choose not to be cleaned.

 

Slowly and successfully in the process of a Clean Install using recovery discs. Taking a few screen captures and benchmarks along the way.

 

Hello

I own the Sony VPCF11M1E. but it makes a sharp noise when I plug a USB device or using my bluetooth mouse. I tried to mute the microphone, but without result.
Can you help me? Thank you

 

Again, Processor Power Managment disappeared from the power plans after 2 days. Anyone else is missing this option to control cpu state in their F11/F12s ? Or its just me and my machine ?