Official Sony VAIO F Series i5/i7 owners thread *Part 5*

Alright good looks
What are the widgets above the Rainmeter?

 

Hello everyone

It is some time ago I've last posted something on this thread. I still follow this it but till now I didn't really have the time to participate in it.

After searching the internet for some days I've finally found an external HDD casing (I'm not sure it's called that way) with the 'power over e-sata function'. My plan is to replace my current OEM 500gb 5400rmp Samsung hdd with a OCZ vertex 2 ssd, and then use the Samsung for in the casing.

At a Dutch online computer shop I've found a casing made by a company called Delock, and to be honest it looks quite like the casing posted by Joe Bleau some time ago. Unfortunately his casing isn't sold in my country.

So far so good but there is one detail in its specs that worries me a bit. According to the specs the casing is designed to use Sata I and Sata II disks. I'm not sure if it's possible to use the samsung in this casing, so I hope you guys can give me some clues. And if it's possible will it still be faster than usb 2.0? Otherwise it would make no sense to buy one off course.

Thank you in advance.

Sorry for my (probably) not very good English)

 

I'd say you're good to go. And yes it is faster! The biggest difference between eSATA and USB2 being seen when writing smaller files to the external drive - eSATA being approx 3 times faster. The least difference being the reading of smaller files from the external drives.
Maybe this one? DeLOCK > Products > Enclosures > 42465 Delock 2.5 External enclosure SATA HDD > Power Over eSATA

Also, looking at their express card to USB 3, too bad they stick out from the laptop. I'm looking for one that does not protrude this much- the mod girl (Lucy on the computer) has one but I cannot find in the US. If anyone has a good recommendation please let me know.

 

Ik heb ook mijn originele HDD eruit gehaald en er een andere ingestoken. Ik kan je verzekeren, het is veel sneller dan USB 2.0.

Sorry guys for this few phrases in dutch but it's late (have an early class) and it's a lot faster in dutch.

 

Yeah, you're right, it actually doesn't really bother me that much at all if I'm honest. Not enough to lose my laptop for a couple days for a replacement. I'll probably be on the look out in case more crop up- I'm one of those "got to have it just so" kind of people if you know what I mean

 

Ok. Here goes:
1. iTunes Accessory has a good range of control and access with iTunes; launch, close, music, playlists, ratings, volume...
2. Intel Core Series Sidebar Gadget
3. Intel Turbo Boost Technology Monitor
4. Stickies. So aweseome. More versatile than the Windows stickies. Can set default color and transparency.

The following are all Rainmeter:
5. Enigma\Sidebar\Reader\ Gcal-Reader - Slightly modded to change the display order of the date/time and title font. Reads from my google calendar, which is synced with Outlook, which is synced to my cell phone. Can edit from any of the three locations with ease. This skin is just to remind me of my appointments.
6. Enigma\Taskbar\Combos\ Date + Week - Variant = Week.ini
7. Enigma\Taskbar\ System-PWR - Variant = PWR.ini
8. Enigma\Taskbar\ Clock - Variant = Time.ini
9. Enigma\Taskbar\ Notes - modded title in notes.txt to "To-Do List"
10. Enigma\Sidebar\ _Sidebar - set to 40% transparency
11. Enigma\Sidebar\Reader\ Gmail-Reader - modded to show less emails and be a less tall skin.
12. Enigma\Sidebar\ Network - This is a hybrid of the Network and System skins to combine the two. I replace the network info with the system info, but kept the meter bars. If you want my combo version, I'm happy to send you the text to replace in the .ini file
13. bHitman Weather 2.02 Glas - Only the BEST weather rainmeter skin I've found so far. Looks great and has tons of info.
14. Moonlite skin - comes included with the Bhitman weather skin. Need to be launched separately.

both 13 & 14 require editing for Weather location and to make the current temperature color changes match with F temps rather than C temps. Otherwise 49F shows up as HOT.

All of the script like fonts are Segoe Script and font color/heights might have been changed to make them appear readable.
Sorry if this is too much info. I'm a little detail oriented.

p.s. - the unnumbered image just above the iTunes gadget is a Picture Browser from Taboo Vision for Rainmeter. Mine is heavily modded to display 3x4 images without stretching. Might make it bit bigger soon.

 

Has anyone tried to replace the wireless card in their F series?

 

This post has a step-by-step guide to replacing the wireless card, with some photos in the posts below it.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...s-owners-lounge-part-2-a-246.html#post6097933

 

Purchased my F11 a little less than a year ago. Went to the Sony site today and matched my purchase (the best I could) from a year ago. To those looking now, unfortunately pricing have not dropped at all. Not sure what type of SSD they now offer, and you certainly get USB 3, no fresh start option, but prices have not dropped. I do not know if this is industry wide, but the adage that technology becomes cheaper over time, and for the last year, this is not the case with the F series laptop.

 

Well, you *do* get a slightly better CPU (QM740) and GPU (GT425M).

 

Yes, and while I agree paying approx $200.00 more for both of these features is worth it, I did factor that in, which is why I said prices are the same.

 

Ah OK, my mistake then

 

Hi anseio, it's been long!

I've just installed WinXP SP3 32-bit for my Vaio. The 260.99 64-bit does not work on 32-bit system. It'd be cool if you can help me find a 32-bit version.

For the time being, I am using the driver you modified for someone in the other thread, as I found the hardware ids were the same. It's working well, but an updated driver would even be better.

Thanks a lot!

 

I'd be happy to look at it for you, if you provide me the hardward id's again.

I don't think it's crucial for you to have the most up to date driver when using XP. The performance improvement couldn't be THAT impressive.

 

Ok I posted awhile back about my on site repair fri nov 12 2010/ The motherboard was changed out and my cpu started to overheat when I went to use my laptop. Anyone who goes threw what I did which I hope you dont make sure the tech brings a new thermal unit with them when they change the mobo. This is according the on site tech support company which apologized for bricking my f11. The thermal unit contains the pad and thermal paste which is the only official method by sony. The tech cant just apply for example artic 5 or sumthing we are familar with. It must be a certified sony applicator for those who do not know.

Now you would hope and think the tech would know this since this is their job.

At this point my laptop is still bricked i had a hell of a week dealing with Sony to get another tech out. I dont have the energy to post all of it but the biggest gripe is a I feel like they dont give a crap. I called 2 different consumer affairs dept/ people both in Manila(No Offense) they both fell on deaf ear with my complaints.

I biggest issue besides the fact that they want replace the unit since now the monitor has been displaying pure white rectangular blocks vertically during and after post boot up is this: My laptop was over heating! I tried to explain to the highest authority at Sony that I could get in touch with is this. My CPU life expectancy might be reduced. Now when my 1 year warranty is over and the CPU dies that's it, warranty over. If they Sony change the CPU I will get a piece of mind that it is covered for sometime longer.

Sony jerk off tells me it not my CPU its the thermal unit and that will fix everything. I said Ya U think. But that's not the point. The point is a tech touched my laptop like driving a car without engine oil and then you expect me to be happy about my engine lasting the life of my cars normal wear and tear rate. This clown did not grasp the concept what so ever. There is a strong chance the CPU is fine but what would my fellow notebook enthusiasts here think or do? Would you guys demand another CPU? I have less than 5 months left on my warranty. And im concerned.

I love this laptop I just think Sony or their computer dvision has lost touch with the consumer IMO. Im sure others here havnt had any problems and others might end up in my situation.

I wouldnt mind getting some feedback from some of you guys here. Some of the forum members here are top notch with help and support. Thanks in advance.

 

Out of curiosity why would you want xp on this vaio model. Can you get drivers that utilize the machines full performance? I just figured xp wouldn't work as well as windows 7 because windows 7 is been built for the newer hardware etc.

Maybe I missed a post or something but I have tried using the xp vm on my f it works pretty decent.

 

The hardware ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0A29&SUBSYS_9067104D&REV_A2

I think it's psychological to feel better with a more updated and official driver, although your modded driver works just perfectly.

There are some outdated programs I need which just don't run on Windows 7, even on a Virtual Machine with a 64-bit based OS. I tested and it didn't work in Windows XP Mode.

I found all the necessary drivers to get my Lap work with Windows XP. The Shortcut keys ASSIST and VAIO doesn't work though, as there is no program associated with them. Fn keys for Brightness and Zoom doesn't really work. But the internal hardwares work all fine. And I have to admit, Windows 7 is the best choice here, unless you have something only works with XP.

 

Hi Guys,

I got my new VAIO VPCF1390 S a few weeks back.

Everything worked well out of the box. I really like it.
Today I run VAIO Care and under the downloads it takes me to the sony eSupport site and there are a ton of downloads available.

Should I get them?
My Vaio care is 6.2 is there a newer version?

Thanks
Justin

========================================================
Sony Vaio VPCF1390S | i7- 840QM | 1920 x 1080 HD Premium Display | GT 425 GPU | 500GB/7200rpm HDD | 8GB RAM | Blue Ray | Back-lit KB | Windows 7 Professional

 

There is a newer Vaio care. You can click on the links or on the "+" for information about versions, fixes, etc. There should not be a ton of new software to download though. There should only be a few. It's very easy to tell the updates by either the word "update" in the name, or the date of the software or the lack of the word "original" in the name.

 

Latest version is 6.3, much better user interface, imo.

 

I'll see what I can do for you.

Now... what programs are you trying to run in XP? Except for programs that need full screen GPU, you shouldn't have any problems with legacy applications. I'm curious to try one out on my hacked XP Mode.

 

I just downloaded
NVIDIA DRIVERS 260.99 WHQL
and looked in the devices file (for compatibility). You're hardward id is listed. You should not have any problem installing the 32bit version of this driver.

 

I had a feeling you were going to say that Btw how is the os running its got to be pretty snappy IMO using xp.

 

I used XP briefly back when I thought I wouldn't be able to access XP Mode for my needs. It's snappy for sure.

 

So I deleted some vaio bloatware and apparently I deleted one oft he wrong ones which was whatever one that had the shortcut to my S1 key and now I have no Backlight Keyboard. How can I restore it and/or which program is it so I can find it and download it.

 

Vaio Control Center

 

VAIO Event Service is what makes your S1 button work and VAIO Control Center is what opens when you press S1.

Can't go w/o the backlit keyboard. It's too sexy!

 

Guys just one quick question:
Is it normal that premium display in vaio f1390 is so much brighter at the bottom?? Dark scenes in movies look really bad, and there is practically no black color just some ugly dark grey I'm asking because I thought it's supposed to have LED backlight and it looks to me like low quality CCFL I'm really by far more satisfied with my Samsung NC10 or old Inspiron 6000 screens!!! Maybe my screen is broken? I don't know what to think

 

I'm happy to hear the casing should work with my F.
The product you' ve posted is the exact one I'm planning to buy. I don't have any products from Delock, so when I receive it I will post my expierence here.

My first idea was to buy an USB 3.0 express card, but as you say these things are really big and stick out the laptop. I tried to find one that is small and doesn't have this problem but I couldn't find one. One of the reasons I' ve bought this machine is because of it's design, and a bulky expresss card sticking out would spoil the looks

I still find it strange that e-sata is slower than usb 3.0. All new desktop computers use sata to connect the hdd to the motherboard, so I gues e-sata although using the same technique is a class apart.

 

What configuration do you have and in which continent/country did you buy it? The core i7 versions in Europe for example are ought to be very good, while the core i5/i3 versions use cheaper screens.

 

Sorry to hear about your experience. Your state 'now the monitor has been displaying pure white rectangular blocks vertically during and after post boot up'. Is this still the case? If so, obviously they need to get this corrected. If in fact this only occurred before they fixed it, and not now, then your issue is the 'car without oil' analogy. How hot did it get? Degradation occurs above 100c.. If you CPU did not go over 100c you're okay. Now concerning the incorrect thermal paste. Does it leave a lasting residual that cannot be removed- something that may be a problem down the road? I do not know the answer to that question but I would research as well. As far as your experience with customer service, try to escalate any big problem with a case number where you are assigned one service manager. You will receive better customer service that way. When speaking stay calm and courteous (most importantly even when they start acting like something else), be informed not irrational, but stand your ground. Call weekdays during business hours and you will get US customer service.

 

I bought it on sonystyle.com (US).

Specifications:
Product: US-VPCF1390X-LBOM
Component: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1333
Component: Intel® Core™ Quad i7-740QM processor (1.73GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 2.93GHz
Component: 16.4" VAIO Full HD Premium Display (1920x1080)
Component: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 425M GPU (1GB VRAM)

When I powered it up for the first time I was really surprised how bad the backlight looked and how poor the black color and horizontal viewing angles were It just seems like something I would expect in a $600 lower end laptop but not in sony's F series! Bright scenes look much better but still I would expect much more for the price I paid

 

At the moment not such a straight answer:

USB 3.0 vs. eSATA: Is faster better? | ITworld

eSATA is Still Faster Than USB 3.0 | Maximum PC

USB 3.0 will crush eSATA, FireWire | Cutting Edge - CNET News

 

It is not possible to fix your viewing angle problems, but a different screen profile could really help for the rest. This is a profile made by Slrosenfeld:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/5784440-post1572.html
Just follow the included instructions to install it.

If this one doesn't work for you there are some othere profiles in this thread that you could search for.

 

Got it, there were only 2 files with Update flag

Thanks
Justin

 

Initially looking at the screen freaked me out as well. The topic has been discussed in great detail within the thread- please go back and look into. Vertical viewing angle is bad with the black blotches, but do a monitor calibration (other generous posters bought a monitor calibrator and offered their calibrations) and view directly, not at an angle. As far as the light bleed all have some, some worse than others. Understand what is considered typical, make a judgment for yourself, and you did the right thing buying from Sony. If you do not like within 30 days you may return without stocking fee. The monitor is not the best feature on the F, really bothered me at first, but I find mine acceptable.

 

if you want you can try mine
its from an F13 with premmium screen

 

Just to add on to what the others have said, unfortunately you were mistaken thinking it was supposed to be LED backlight - it is CCFL. There can definitely be good CCFL but this isn't one of them (the US version). Mine looks just like you described and I also have an old Inspiron 6000 and that screen looks a 100 times better than this one.

I decided to keep mine because I had to have a laptop right now and the other ones out there that would fit my specs seem to be having major issues that I can't afford to deal with. If I could've waited a few months to get a new laptop, I definitely would have sent this one back though. The screen on mine is really hard to look at, even after spending days calibrating. I'm mostly happy with the rest of the laptop but of course I have to look at the screen constantly so that's a huge thing for me.

My 30 days just passed so I'm keeping it now. I did pick up the phone several times to call Sony and return it, but I ended up hanging up because there isn't another computer I could get right now. If I were you, I would try calibrating it as best as possible and then decide whether what you're looking at is acceptable compared to your other choices out there. Depending what you need in a laptop, you may be happier with something else or you may decide to keep what you have.

Like I said, if I didn't need a new computer right this minute, I certainly would've sent mine back. My screen does seem to be worse than others describe and maybe yours is too. Individual screens, even with the same part number, will have differences. So I guess I got unlucky, but it's not something that would be covered under warranty. Since I had to choose from what 's available right now and what my needs are, I decided to go ahead with this and am just trying to make the best of it.

 

Thanks fishon for the reply thumbs up man.

Firstly to answer your question about how hot the cpu will go before it shuts down well I used HW monitor, Intel core clock gadget and speedfan. 100c Unit goes down I watched the temp graph on all 3 apps.

Ok 2ndly my part order came in the form of 2 different emails and I will provide them here. One is a double order of the heat sink unit, new mobo, thermal pads for all chips, thermal paste and a laptop display cable. Sony uses proprietary thermal applicators which are around 7 dollars according to the Sony parts list for professionals "https://www.servicesplus.sel.sony.com/sony-parts.aspx"

Here are the parts if anyone is curious on revisions and such:

Part Number: 412100111 Quantity: 0 Description: VGA PAD 13*13 Subtotal: 3.92
Part Number: 417435001 Quantity: 0 Description: CPU PAD 16*24 Subtotal: 5.78
Part Number: A1759308A Quantity: 0 Description: M930 THERMAL MO Subtotal: 99.69
Part Number: A1765405B Quantity: 0 Description: M930 MB ASSY PM Subtotal: 594.87
Tax: 0
Shipping Charges: 0
Order Total: 704.26
and
Part Number: A1759308A Quantity: 0 Description: M930 THERMAL MO Subtotal: 99.69
Part Number: A1772164A Quantity: 0 Description: M930 LVDS CABLE Subtotal: 55.99
Tax: 0
Shipping Charges: 0
Order Total: 155.68.

When the tech comes I will make them aware that I am really concerned about the life of the cpu due to thermal overheating that occurred. The motherboard is a week old and they ordered a new one which I dont mind but since they are replacing just about everything internally I dont think asking for a new cpu is too much to ask for.

Also Sony told me that if the tech thought the cpu needed to be changed they/he/she could have the authority to do so.
Thanks for everyone's support!

 

I have a toshiba e-sata 1tb drive and it is fast for me. I like many others have 2 usb slots but when my laptop is hooked up to my Mobile cart like a docking station I use a mouse/kb 21.5 HP HD LCD, 7 port powered USB hub, 1 portable seagate hdd, and 1 lg super burner dvd player read/writer and to top it off my m-audio firewire 4/10 connected to my i-link port. i also connect my Axiom m-audio 25 key keyboard for jamming out unti i get the cash for a 64 key.

So that was a 1 reason why I went with the e-sata hdd I have a lot of devices connected and I wanted to utilize the port and it works great. Now with that being said I have never ever used usb 3.0 so I dont know how much different the access times are without doing some research on it but on the other hand I think freeing up resources on the USB ports and having a direct connect to the e-sata port is a plus IMO.

I don't recall the rpm on my e sata drive but it feels almost like a dedicated internal drive.

 

hi finaly i have the f13 laptop now,in egypt,,my uncle bought it to me from bestbuy,US
the laptop is very nice,,but i had a problem,,i dont know wat to do in the first charge??should i charge it for 8 houres? and should i shutdown it or adjust it to the sleep mode in the first charge??

thanks

 

New BIOS Update for the F Series (F1290X in particular) dated 11/17:

Sony eSupport - VPCF1290X - Software Updates & Drivers

 

Hi,

Is there a docking station for F 13 series?

I can't find one on Sony's web site.

Thanks
Justin

 

I suppose it's nice to charge it fully and let it discharge fully. I don't think that'll be much of a problem. I'm glad you like it!

 

Hey guys, I'm trying to decide between the Sony Vaio F1390 and the Dell XPS 15. I made a thread here to help me decide so any help is appreicated!!

http://forum.notebookreview.com/wha...34769-dell-xps-15-vs-sony-vaio-vpc-f1390.html

(This is for Canada, and on the Canadian Sony Style website it does not mention whether the current listed model has a backlit keyboard or not).

 

Several people have reported the Canadian model had backlit keyboard by default.

 

Thanks for that information! I see that you have a F13 yourself. How do you find the battery life? Since I plan to get the i5 processor I will hopefully get slightly better battery life at the cost of performance (though I don't use many programs that would take advantage of 4 cores sans Premiere).

 

Oh, battery life with the i7 is not very good. I got about an hour and a half the one time i ran it down all the way. But that is expected with an i7. I think if you have all power saving features turn on to max you are supposed to get around 2 hours. Should be better with an i5 but we don't get i5 here in the US. There are some European models with i5 but not sure if anyone who posts on here has one. Maybe someone will chime in.

 

I see Sony US is now offering an SSD on the F13 for the first time. I know someone was asking about this recently so just posting a heads up. It must be new in the last week because it wasn't there a week ago. There's just one option right now - a 256 GB. It's listed for $550 but on sale right now for $400. No idea who makes it or what model it is of course.

 

Ouch that's not very good. Out of curiosity, is that the standard battery or the bigger battery?