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

Correct, the VAIO hangs over the edge by .5-.75" on either side. Funny how our OC's are different. I'm OC enough for the overhang of the U3 to annoy me. HAHAHA

yes, the fans can be placed most anywhere. Of course, when you go to store the VAIO in the U2/3, you need to remove the fans. Transporting them is a different tangle, I'm sure.

 

Hehe - it just bugs me when the top is wider/larger than the base. lol it drives me especially nuts when I see a stack of books with a tiny book at the bottom

It's supposed 'notify you about relevant updates' but imo its pretty useless and eats ram. I just got rid of it.

 

I don't like it when the bun is bigger than the hot dog.

Seems vestigial (sp?). VAIO Update does the same thing, if you allow it to.

 

Mango...

Feel the sides of your F. They slope inward so that the bottom is narrower than the top (from side to side). The U2 is within 1/8" of this narrower bottom. It is not out of place at all. Also, you only need the two fans. The 3rd will not be beneficial as there are really only 2 ports on the bottom...the grill at the HDD cover is false.

Also, the fans can only go to a certain point before they are mounted too close to the table. It just so happens that if you place them both at this low position and left of center, you will find max cooling nirvana!

I have now purchased 9 of these coolers. The first 5 were bought in March. One fan on one cooler went bad nearly right away. I have not yet tried Cooler Master's Customer Service, but I have had much worse luck with other computer fans and none were Cooler Master branded. I use them in all of my machines now with great luck.

 

After dinner, I'll disassemble my setup, place my VAIO inside my U2 and take a few photos. Expect them w/in 4 hours.

 

does the F13's trackpad support 2-finger scrolling?
cuz my F11's trackpad does.
Obviously, not as good as apple's, but still.

 

Are you sure your F11 supports 2-finger scrolling? I cannot find where mine does. What my F11 supports for scrolling is sliding finger up/down, left/right along the right side and bottom of the pad.

 

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

Here are the photos of my VAIO on and in the Notepal U2. .75" overhang on either side. Like I said earlier... I don't like it when the bun is bigger than the hot dog. MangoChowderClam, I get the impression you like it the opposite way. LOL

 

Hey, that's cool. Thanks!

Which driver version do you have for ALPS?
I've got 7.105.505.304 from 07/24/09

Would be nice to update it.

 

I've done the clean install on the F13. It went pretty easy, I did the the Task Manager kill after the computer had restarted after having installed the Restart driver. Even after installing the necessary VAIO software and McAfee, startup time went from about 1:50 to 0:50.

Since I'm not a techie: what's the easiest way to test Heavy Use?

 

You mean like loading the CPU and GPU?

You can download Everest, which a great info/diagnostic tool that has a free trial period. You can also get FurMark for GPU stability and benchmarking. Together, you can put your system under heavy load and monitor fan speed and temps.

In Everest, you'll need to go to File > Preferences > OSD (on screen display) and play with that to display the settings you'd like to see. Then, open FurMark and run the stability test with your desired screen resolution for the test. Right after starting the FurMark test, go back to Everest > Tools > System Stability Test > and make sure that only Stress CPU is checked > Start.

Run it for as long as makes you happy, and follow the stats.

Here's one of my old ones. Most of FurMark is cropped out. The Blue box is the OSD from Everest.

 

Will be nice to compare a furmark test on the 330m vs the 425m .

 

Hi stevievg - hope all is well - just wanted to find out about the fan noise on your new f13 - How are you finding it?

Also how easy was it to do a clean install and did you use the discs that Sony provided.

Thanks in advance

 

My old Vaio GR notebook has a nice touchpad feature: When you drag an object with the mousepad and your finger reaches the border, the dragging goes on, whilst speed is depending on how much pressure you put on the border point. This is amazing and I use it every day, but in the Vaio F, I wasn't able to find such an option. So the dragging process just ends somewhere midways, which is of no use obviously. Has anyone get this option enabled? Hopefully this is a software feature merely, as the GR has "Synaptics Touchpad" driver program. It's somewhat essential for a (Full)HD system.

 

The ALPS drivers don't have that feature, but something similar. Open the Mouse Properties > Tapping tab > Drag Lock Settings > Drag Lock checked > Tap Release

Tap release allows you to double tap to grab and move a window. You can run out of pad space, lift your finger, drop somewhere else and keep moving. You won't let go of the window until you tap to release it.

I enjoyed that feature a lot, until I got a mouse.

 

I have just found out from a chat conversation on the sony uk website that the F13 UK model will not ship with a backlit keyboard.

Its a shame they have taken this option away.

 

Hi all,


Quickstory: I'm a very recent Vaio convert. I had a trusty little HP for years that could do nought, but only bailed on me once, when that finally gave up the ghost, I bought a beastly 18.4" Acer Aspire which was horrid! The design was lovely... that's where it ends. Slow, clunky, blue screens, unreliable wireless... you get the idea. Replaced it with a Sony Vaio Vpcf12s1e/B (UK) yesterday and I've a feeling I won't regret it! Well, I hope not anyway

I've gone from 8gb to 6gb ram which I wasn't too happy about (I needed the laptop asap and they didn't have the 8gb in stock) but it's running faster and cleaner due to the 7200rpm as opposed to 5400 on the Acer.

I was initially worried about the brightness of the screen- it seemed ridiculously dimmed, but that was fixed in minutes when I turned the ambience setting off. I love the matte display- no it's not as crisp as glossy, but I can use it in any lighting and I have (I think) better viewing angles and no glare so it's worth the trade off.

The noise coming from the harddrive (or fan?) is ludicrous though. I heard somewhere that there's a driver update to fix this? Any help?

My optical drive seems a little wobblier than usual. The 2 USB ports on the right are too close together. Those are my only issues.

Just thought I'd add my thoughts- I'm not a computer buff so forgive any noobiness please!

 

Hi - Congrats on the Vaio

I'm glad your liking it.

Just wanted to get your opinion on the Sound quality of the speakers? How are your finding it with music?

Also you said that the screen is not as crisp as a glossy but what to pictures and videos look like? Do you feel the brigtness is slightly more dull especially for a 1080p screen?

Thanks

 

The speaker is pretty average-low-endish.. but what can you expect from most laptop speakers? And Yea, it has practically no bass.

I always use my earphones when outside and 2.1 speakers when at home, so it's not a problem for me

Has anyone upgraded their F11/12 RAM from the stock 1333MHz CL9? To other brands or higher speed or more capacity? I have opened up my RAM slot, I just need confirmation that it's upgradeable
Also, what about thermal paste replacement? I'm looking for any after-market upgrade I can use

 

My F12Z1 had a high droning sound that permanently appeared at certain states of load, each for seconds. A loud whining, like when you're blowing over a glass. I sent my F12Z1 back for repair because this is a major distraction to me, in addition to the regular loud fan noise (which for itself is too unpleasant for me, sounddesign-wise - if the sound was less "tonal", I wouldn't mind). The thing they wanted to do was changing the motherboard, but because the whole F12 series has this high pitched sound issue, they implied it wouldn't be a safe repair option. So they mailed to Sony with no answer yet.
A guy at Sony Style told me it's a problem with the Intel Chipset, HP Envy machines have problems with this too. The BIOS update concerns fan control, making it run more smooth, but that has nothing to do with the whining issue.

 

I was pleasantly surprised by the speakers. Better than the "surround sound" on the acer i had which were tinny and empty. There's a touch of texture to these. But ultimately, they're still laptop speakers, still a bit naff you know. Any serious music lover will buy speakers/headphones. got myself a nice lil 5.1 going on at home so i'm good

Like I said, once I adjusted the brightness, the screen seems good to me. Haven't really had a chance to test pictures and movies... well I watched a bluray yesterday which looked great even if the film itself was a snorefest. I don't think the blacks are fantastic though.

 

Only works with quad core CPUs.

UltimateComputers.net Forum - View topic - Disable Core Parking Windows 7 Tweak may improve performance

While there are few programs out there that utilize multiple cores, I see no downside except for increased energy usage. I've made the change. Some people have noted increase frame rates playing games.

 

Hey everyone, I wan to buy F1390 on http://www.sonystyle.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SYCTOProcess?storeId=20153&catalogId=100803&langId=200&catgroupId=1001560&LBomId=8198552921666252160

I have the couple questions:
1. This model has USB 3.0 or USB 2.0?
2. I can't decide between CPU, i5-460M (2.53GHz) or i7-740QM (1.73GHz).
The difference between them is $70.00. Worst i7-740QM the additional money or i5-460M is enough?

Please help me! Thank you!

 

I believe it has USB 3.0 For me the additional $70 would definitely be worth the increase in performance. Of course this depends on your budget and what you be using your F for now, and remember, into the future.

 

Thanks for respond. Is the big difference in performance between i5-460M (2.53GHz) or i7-740QM (1.73GHz)? Why i7 better if i5-460M is 2.53 GHz compare with 1.73GHz of i7-740QM.

 

The mobile Core i7s have very aggressive turbo modes when only 1 or 2 cores are active, pushing it (the i7 740QM) to 2.53GHz on 2 cores and 2.93GHz on a single core. Compared to the turbo on the i5 460 that tops out at 2.8GHz with either 1 or 2 cores active. So if it's a battle of raw clock speed, the i7 hardly falls behind.

When you're talking about modern games, the automatic switch between more cores versus higher clock speed will shift the balance in favor of the i7. Also, the 740QM has double the L3 cache of the i5, padding a few extra FPS the i5s will never be able to attain.

 

Thank you! I will go with i7-740QM. I called to Sony and asked about backlit keyboard because there no option to choose it. The representative told me that F1390 has it by default. I forgot to ask about USB 3.0 but I hope it has it too.

 

Guys sorry if this is a dumb question but, is it necessary to make a NEW system repair disc every time you do a new system image ? I would hope not !

 

Just made the change so I do not know. Looking like a minor increase in performance under certain circumstances along with minor increases in energy, temp and fan. Should prevent turbo boost if it more evenly divides core usage would be my logical deduction. I side on performance when making my choices.

Checked resource monitor and none of my cores are parked.

 

The F13 does have USB 3.0. At least in the US it does. Saw it for myself at the Sony store.

No, you just need the one set, or maybe a backup set buried in the backyard for safety. Your VAIO recovery discs only have the information that puts you back at the beginning. So, you keep those for when everything else goes bad and they're you're only option. The system image is for all others.

System Restore - go back a step or two
Restore from Image - go back a week or more (ish)
Recovery Discs - completely start over.

 

I'm curious to know how it affects your gaming before I make the change myself.

Have you upgraded to IRST 10.0.0.1043 (or whatever it is) for your latest chipset driver? It's pretty good for my SSD, though the benchmarks are lower actual performance is increased. Shaved 2 seconds from my 17 second boot time.

 

Hayte made a post several weeks ago making a case for why i5 is better for gaming than i7. I cannot remember the thread it was in and can't pick it out from his posting history. Had the same problem the last time I went to look that post up. It was an interesting read.

Dang! Searched again and still can't find it.

 

so this issue with the high pitch whistling sound is still in the F12, is there no solution to fix the whistling noise, i understand the fan may be loud to the the processor, but i had thought the high pitch noise would have been sorted out, dibt know what to say.

 

I found it!

The rationale is based on the idea that if you can afford an i7 740QM then you can afford an i5 or i7 dual core that turbos quite a bit higher. In reality you really have to push your system hard with a non heavily threaded application. For instance, I've got the Intel turbo boost widget and I've never seen my CPU go the full turbo boost range (- I've never seen it hit 2.93ghz). 2.8ghz was the highest I've seen when firing up Mass Effect 2 and that was only very briefly.

I personally feel like Arrandale (dual core) is the real notebook cpu range right now because of the low TDP, the integrated graphics - it all says that this range of cpus was designed for notebooks whereas Clarksfield (quad cores) with the higher TDP and absense of integrated graphics suggest that they are cpus designed for desktops and were later miniaturized for notebooks. Someone on this forum made a point that Clarksfield is essentially a cherry picked Lynnfield.

If you don't use software which is heavily threaded then the quad cores aren't worth the extra money, not to say anything about the loss of battery life, the extra heat and the extra noise from the cooler which has to work harder to get rid of that heat. So when you buy think carefully about what you want to do and whether its worth defeating many of the things that make a notebook portable and mobile in order to get there. At a certain point it makes more sense to get a desktop PC and a netbook/subnotebook unless you must have limited range with your main work PC (i.e. you need to move around the room alot like for recording instruments or you are a persistent LAN partygoer).

Most of the time its not worth it. I ended up with the quad core because Sony didn't offer the dual core F12 (V) with the nice EU screen and the camera grip palm rest. I'd still prefer to have an Arrandale but right now the trade offs are mostly acceptable to me as long as its easy on the eyes. I'd like to use my notebook on my lap but Sony decided they wanted to put a heat exhaust in the middle of the base plate. When used on the lap for more than 30 minutes, it usually results in intolerable discomfort accompanied by the smell of roasted chestnuts.

 

To my understanding, the FAN noise in the F12 is NOT the high pitch noise from the F11. It's just the noise of a fan under heavy load.

 

Yes, but as I wrote, the high pitch sound from the Intel chipset ("CPU whining" being another popular tag) is also an issue of the F12 (and other i5/i7 notebooks). I wanted to have my whining F12 replaced, but I was told that the entire series is "in danger of showing this problem".
Maybe the F13 with its new mainboard finally has this fixed?


For details on the nature of this sound, I'll quote an elder post of mine:

 

I am confused What is better for me i5-460M (2.53GHz) or i7-740QM (1.73GHz). Basically I use the my PC for internet surfing and few processes in background like music etc. Sometimes I use Virtual Machine and run the few machines in the same.
Help me to choose! The question is not in $70, the question about performance for specific tasks.

 

I never updated to the beta because of the strange looking website it comes from. intel drivers pour Raid/Sata/Ata/Ahci Website comes with a pop up window as well- lame. Why wouldn't Intel have the beta on their site? I do not understand the difference between AHCI and IDE mode as well. I know I call roll back drivers but I do use this laptop for work so I have to be a little conservative at times. More info please.

Instructions on how to change:
AHCI to IDE mode:

* Press [Win] + R or take the RUN option from the start menu.
* Now type regedit there and press Enter Key to open up the Registry Editor Window.
* If you receive the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue.
* Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
* HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Pciide
* In the right pane, right-click Start in the Name column, and then click Modify.
* In the Value data box, type 0 [3 is default], and then click OK.
* On the File menu, click Exit to close Registry Editor.
* Restart your computer
* Go to BIOS and enable IDE, Save & Reboot
* Another restart will be required to finish the driver installation.



IDE to AHCI mode:

* Exit all Windows-based programs.
* Press [Win] + R or take the RUN option from the start menu.
* Now type regedit there and press Enter Key to open up the Registry Editor Window.
* If you receive the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue.
* Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
* HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\msahci
* In the right pane, right-click Start in the Name column, and then click Modify.
* In the Value data box, type 0 [3 is default], and then click OK.
* On the File menu, click Exit to close Registry Editor.
* Restart your computer
* Go to BIOS and enable AHCI, Save & Reboot
* Another restart will be required to finish the driver installation.

Note. This came from another website- not my doings.

 

If you run lots of virtual machines then thats something a quad core is better at than a dual core. But if you want a quad core in a notebook you have to deal with the fact that you will have terrible battery life and the fan is going to be fairly loud.

Nobody can tell you which is better and there is no out and out better choice between the two anyway because it depends on what you want to do and what you think is an acceptable trade off. For alot of people, the poor battery life you get with quad cores isn't worth it. But if you are ok with being near a wall socket at all times then feel free to go for the quad.

Whichever choice you make, you'll have to give something up. Personally, I'd go for the dual core most of the time but if we are talking about the F series here its not that simple. In the UK you can customize a dual core F13 but you don't have the option for the really nice matte finish VAIO Premium 1080p display. You might find that trade off acceptable. I wanted the nice matte screen. Shrugs.

 

I'll stand by my first response to your question but I will add this. Core i5 products will not be as quick under heavily multi-threaded work loads as Core i7 products. You do not mention gaming where some/ many claim current games perform better with the i5.

Also, the i5 has 3MB of cache vs. 6MB in the i7. Cache - for every megabyte of cache that one CPU has over another , as long as there technologies are similar - add about 100-125MHz in processing speed.

example.. a 2.6ghz 2core CPU 3Mb cache vs a 1.6ghz 4core CPU 8Mb cache . The 1.6 has 5mb extra cache , so 5x100 = 500mhz , making the 1.6 run around 2.1

2.6 x 2 cores = 5.2ghz processing power
2.1 x 4 cores = 8.4ghz processing power

The cache handles the info needing to be processed by the CPU , so the more cache , the more simultaneous processing can happen - this translates to a speed increase at lower ghz.

 

In Canada they give an option VAIO Premium 1080p with i5 but I don't know its matte or glossy.

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/3673/41430748.png

Who know about the Premium 1080p display? Are they glossy or matte in Canada/USA?

 

Where did the AHCI to IDE question arise?

From what I've read, it should only be done before an OS has been installed. Could be messy otherwise. Anyway, you're VAIO should be in AHCI mode anyway.

It's a questionable looking site, but reliable enough. It's where I got all of the drivers when I was testing out which was fastest with benchmarking. OT, benchmarking is an unreliable concept with the SSD's. I've got lower numbers with IRTS 10.0.0.1043, but faster boot times.

I've already downloaded the file from that site, and scanned it. It's a 7zip file. Would you like me to email it to you?

 

I have used the silicone keyboard skin overlay, as found by Joe Bleau, on my f11. As he posted , it does help cut down on the glare of lightbleed around the edges of the keys.

I thought I would try to take this a step further, and used a black felt pen on the skin (applied to the outer side) to block out more light bleed.

The images are taken in darkness (sorry about the PQ, taken with my iPhone):

1- f11 with no skin
2- f11 with felt pen outlined to skin keys

It would be good if they could manufacture the skin this way to do a proper job, better than this.

 

How interesting. I actually really like the light bleeding out from around the keys. I believe it was intentional in the design.

 

Its funny, but I didn't really mind the lightbleed until I had started using the skin. Now without it on it dazzles my eyes a bit .

 

ill see what happens with the high pitch noise when i use it heavily, hope it wont happen but as one person said its consistent with the f series

 

Hmm, so I'm supposing there's no solution this at present? At first I thought I could live with it but the noise is actually very irritating, and I have my laptop on for long periods of time.

I've hardly used my F12 for more than light usage- just web browsing since I bought it, so I don't imagine it's the fan under pressure which is causing the noise. Should I be worried, or is that consistent with other people's issues?

 

Have you done a clean install of your OS yet? If not, then there are about 40-50+ processes running that don't need to be. For me, that was about .88GB of RAM usage. Those processes will drive up your fan usage as well.

Also, some of us here HIGHLY recommend the CoolerMaster Notepal U2 laptop cooler. The fans can be moved anywhere on the bottom and they make a real difference.

Re: the high pitched sound... I can't help you there. I don't think that ever got really resolved.

 

The sound occurs when the CPU usage drops a certain value.
Via random Google use (keyword "CPU whining"), I found a workaround like this in a Macbook thread: Install an animated wallpaper e.g., to hinder the CPU from dropping under the "critical" usage value. =) This should work, but of course it is terrible botch. I returned my F12, but I didn't need the quadcore (i7) at all, so a Core 2 Duo notebook just will be fine for me and is a quick solution.
I'd say it's a buzzing of a transistor or something - but definitely it's not an airstream or fan-related sound.

PS: I'd really like to know what percentage of F12 devices suffers from this.