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

Follow Gandalfs link, ask questions if you have problems following it, if you don't and it works. Purchase an upgrade from Win7 HP to Ultimate from wherever the upgrade keys aren't that much, type in search box at start anytime upgrade. Upgrade it and it'll do it's thing, boom it's done and clean install + win7 ultimate.

If anything goes wrong it's not a big deal you can wipe to factory state with the recovery disks. If you can't figure something out or don't know which programs to reinstall just ask. Search before you ask something that's been answered 5 times especially if you asked the question.

About the F12 I'd be interested to see the dent also as it sounds weird, also if the screensaver idea of ansieo could be done with a black background would be nice to see what lightbleed you have from the monitor. If the speaker grille is dented it happened for a reason maybe something tapped the screen too and it would be sub par to other matte premium screens. Take a good quality picture without glare and front on to the laptop and we'd give opinions.

This is to omaroo.

 

That's the microphone level. Try talking or clapping, you'll see it spike.

 

After removing the stickers, if there is glue left, apply the sticker to that spot and remove it again... works really good for getting rid of the glue.

 

Review of the F13:

Sony VAIO F13 review | Laptops | Reviews | PC Pro

Unfortunatly of the 1600*900 version and no mention of noise.

 

Hi All,

I figured out the problem I was having and thought I would post the results in case someone else also has it in the future.

Problem: Sony Vaio Control Center wasn't allowing me to change the color scheme because it though that I was outputting to an external display.

Solution: Pressed the external display key on the keyboard to toggle between external display and laptop display and once I switched back to laptop display, this solved the problem.

Best,
Alex

 

I never found pc pro reviews to be particularly useful. They are too short, too vague and often contain recycled content from earlier versions of the same model. The bit about the GT 425M being the first mobile iteration of Fermi is wrong? I thought the GTX 480M claimed that honour.

There is also apparently some confusion about the 2x versions of the 1080p screen available, one being the glossy 1080p VAIO Display and the other being the matte 1080p VAIO Display Premium which is only available on the F(X) series so it means quad core only. The review makes no distinction between the two.

No mention of the noise as you noted is also a problem because its a well known issue with the F series from the very beginning. You'll get more out of Notebookcheck's review of the F12 and comparing at the fps spreads for the GT 330M and 425M than this review sadly.

 

Are there any port-replicating Express Cards that fit into the F's slot - without any rest (or rather: bulky black plastic monsters) sticking out the slot?
For PCMCIA, there are such cards with 2x USB 2.0 that disappear completely in the slot, but I didn't find some for Express Card. Especially for a machine with ports only at its sides, it would be very nice to have more USB ports available at the left side. That's where my sound device and hdd are located - the right side is for my mousing arm.

Concerning the dented sound ribbon: Out of the shipping box, the ribbon of my F12 appeared to be "dented"/deformed (it's plastics) until I pressed it to the chassis - the part just wasn't clicked in properly. More serious, it also had flawed varnish in the middle of it - a quality control issue, too. (And, these two phenomenas made me think someone had the ribbon opened for some after-production repair?!)

 

Hi,

Do you mean something like this: New short Inside hide AKE Express To USB2.0 Expresscard

Best regards

--- Lars ---

 

I'm still anxious for my F13 to ship. I ordered on 9/26, the ETA on shipping is still 10/13. ugh.

First thing I'm going to do, is make the recovery discs, then install the 8gb of memory and the 500gb momentus xt. I'll do a clean install according to the available guides.

Cant wait to finally have a decent notebook.

 

Exactly! Thanks for the help.

 

Looks great.
Now I would like to see a card like that for USB 3.0

 

Exactly! and the card needs to be full USB 3.0 ... not the slower speed ExpressCards that have been out for a while.

 

The only time I get feedback is when I check 'listen to this device' and set to 'Speakers/Hp'. Setting it to 'Default Output' or 'Digital Output' my F11 is silent and never has had the morse code sound. Not sure if this is obvious to all but I've presented my info.

 

That is exactly what I said...If you do not check the "Listen To This Device" box, there should be no output. No output should mean no morse code.

I have an older F11 and I have no problems. I did not check this box because I have no reason to listen to this device.

 

Sorry, but i searched for an USB 3.0 inside hide expresscard 34 and all i found was the USB 2.0 Version. I think in a while there will be an USB 3.0 version available.

As far as i know there are some speed issues with the current USB 3.0 controller chips and Core i processors. Maybe this will be fixed in the next generation of controller chips.


Best regards

--- Lars ---

 

Tries to find a hdd caddy for F12 from a store that shipps wordwide. But I do not know which of these models to choose from. :S

12.7mm SATA TO SATA items - Get great deals on Computers Networking items on eBay.com!

 

The morse code noise returns if the listen to this device is unchecked. We all went through all theses settings early in the first part of this thread and those of us with this issue could only solve it by checking that setting.

Fishon, you are right you can get feedback when you have listen to this device and then select speakers. I set it to listen to this device and select digital output and leave at that setting all the time. I had forgotten about changing these settings until recently reading some posts here reminded me.

 

2.5" USB 2.0/eSATA Aluminum External SATA HDD Enclosure (Black) - Supports up to 500GB & Power over eSATA! HE-2521B

This is the one most on this thread like to much and I love mine. This company is approx 25 miles away from me. If they do not send abroad I would be willing to mail to you. PM me if you wish.

Edit: Oh, this is an internal caddy. Never mind.

 

Hi.
yeh, thats a useless review.

edited due to post move.

 

Hi sorry for changing the topic - just wanted to get your opinion on the eu display premium?

Thanks

 

You need the 12.7mm SATA to SATA caddy. Any of the first of those search results will be fine. Just don't get IDE or PATA or something that's not SATA to SATA.

I so want one of those black enclosures. Will get a few soon enough.

 

Will and DeWint, is it possible that this dent is on ALL f12's, because i have tried to take a photo on my phone of the laptop but its not clear enough, but what is worrying me now is the lightbleed issue, how can this happen when i heard the EU screens are great and better than the US ones. Plus the little mark so to speak is on the speaker grill and not on the screen, its really hard to see the dent/mark, unless you check froma specific angle.

 

Post a picture!!!!!

We can't comment unless you show us!

 

Maybe he comments on the design.
Useless post, sorry for that. But the speaker grill was one optical detail I actually liked at the F - I feel it's a pretty good counterpart to the big rectangular Win7 taskbar.

My European 1080p matte premium screen had a bad-lighted field in the taskbar area - which was not noticable unless I played any full screen (black) content, but then it was very disturbing, and a stronger anomaly than I used to know from previous LCDs.

 

mate i will post them ASAP, im having problems with phone but will post them in next few days.

I need to clarify one thing in regards to a clean install, i might just use my recovery disks to do so, but if i get a a windows 7 home premium disk, would i be able to update to ulimate from that disk by extracting the contents and make a dvd then. I really dont want to pay for ultimate.

GR-FAN, how can that be though, i though the EU version was one of the best screen as it provided full colour and no light bleed, but seems like there problems with the screen.

 

You will have to pay for Ultimate regardless of how you install Home Premium.

 

but what was that link where ultimate and other versions were on a windows 7 disk and it was done by extracting the disk by a program. So its not possible to do it for free.

 

What memory speeds does the F13 support?
Can I install faster memory?
If it supports faster memory, is it worth it?

 

1333

not according to anything I have ever read

no. 8GB of memory will cost you close to $500. IF it would be possible to install higher clocked memory, most likely no real speed gain would be seen. Search the net and you will find how little performance gains are with slightly faster memory. You will gain more with an SSD, or, if you only have 2 or 4 GB of memory, you will get better gains by simply maxing out the memory with 2 sticks of matching 4GB 1333 DDR3 dual channel notebook memory.

 

Please just post pics of your F12.

You have to pay for ultimate.

If you truly have an F12, you can't see if the screen has a problem? You have been raving about your machine and now, you are apparently on your second one. Yet, you are worried because gr-fan says that HIS screen has light bleed?

Show us the dent and show us your screen with the black background. If your phone can't take pics now, how will it be able to take pics in a few days?

 

ok Will i will definately post the screens friday evening, its the just the quality of my camera is weak. Also how would i check my screen what do you by doing a screen on the black background.

 

@ omaroo

Thats great post the pictures , so that the guys can assist you further

Friday PM is good, as we have a pool going on this, and I could use the money for the weekend





Alex

 

Ok, I live in the US and I just ordered F13 custom with Quad i7-740QM , NVIDIA 425M, Full HD Premium Display (1920x1080), and 4GB memory. They wanted an extra $300 for 8GB of memory. I looked for compatible memory online and I can get 8GB for $180 so I can save $120 by installing my own memory.

I'm going to put Crucial RealSSD C300 128GB SATA III MLC SSD into the laptop. Im going to get this memory that some one else put into a VAIO with no problems.
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Laptop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBSQ

I chatted with the lady on Sony and asked if the screen is glossy and matte and she said it is matte so I hope she is correct.

When I get the laptop I will let you guys know how it is going.

 

Aunt Jemima almost ruined my laptop. I asked a buddy of mine, who was at the cupboard across the room, to hand me a box of Aunt Jemima pancake mix and instead of handing it to me he threw it to me while I was using my laptop on my lap. I didn't expect it and tried to catch the Aunt Jemima box, but it ended up hitting my keyboard knocking off a key in the process and then bounced off the screen. I put the key back on with no problem, but then after looking at the screen I noticed a 2" scratch across the screen. I could feel the edge of the scratch too. Luckily I managed to get the scratch not to show after buffing it a bit. I can't tell there was a scratch at all unless I use a bright flashlight shined on it while the screen it off, but while using it I don't notice anything there.

I promptly called my friend a moron and threw the Aunt Jemima box at the floor spewing a dust cloud of pancake mix.

 

Other than simply buying the exact memory that someone else has said works, what is it that I need to look for when shopping for memory for the F13? What's the minimum specs that I need to verify to make sure it will be compatible, and also what other memory features may not be necessary but would be advantageous (if this question even applies in this situation). Thanks.

 

WOW! Prices have come way down! Four months ago a pair of 4GB sticks was $500! If compatible, go for it!

 

I am not a memory expert but I will try to give some advice. Check what chip set the motherboard has and what it supports. Memory has standards so as long as the memory you buy follows the standard you should be alright. Of course keep in mind how many slots you have and how mush each slot accepts and the max the motherboard accepts. In this case it is 2 sticks of 4GB for a max of 8GB. These are good tips and should be the only thing you need to worry about but not all memory works perfectly on motherboards. Now although I mentioned some one said it worked fine on their VAIO it was not a F13. It was a Z series. Just search the feedback on Newegg. I am not sure what would be advantageous so I can't comment on that but the lower the timings the better. For example the memory I am looking at is 9-9-9-24. I looked at other memory and they all seem to be that timing so in this case I cannot find one slightly better than the other. I have always had good luck with GSkill and their memory is priced great so I use GSkill now. I was on Crucial's website and they list compatible memory for the F13 and it was the same price as the memory that I am buying on Newegg.

 

Hayte, is this version going to be able in the US? I know it is available in Europe and Asia but the Full HD Abobe screen has never been available in North America has it?

Thanks.

 

Yes, the retail versions of Windows 7 carry all 3 versions on the same disc. It is your activation code that gets you a specific version. You must pay for the activation code for the version you want.

Looking forward to your pics! Don't forget to set the 3D screensaver to say "omaroo", too!

 

Ooh! I want in!

 

The matte screen has never been available in the US but I don't know about the F13. Still waiting to hear from buyers in the coming weeks.

 

Omaarroo, ommaarrrrro!

 

Seconded .

Price of a Vaio F £lots, Price of Win7 HP to Ultimate upgrade £Cheap. Why do you need ultimate Omaroo? Does it just sound good.. Or you actually really need something it offers over Win7 HP.

Oh if I need to finish the crap joke, pics of the_F12 £Priceless

 

If you're mean, scratch his iPod or phone. Or just be upset about it etc . Manipulative yes...

 

Here's my weekend picture:



*whistles the F12 fan sound*

 

What is the big sticker on the Palmrest? Looks annoying to me....

Best regards

--- Lars ---

 

Yeah, it's the spectacular advertisment sticker that states: "F Series: Newest VAIO screen technology" . . .
All of this stuff is dedicated to the people passing by the notebook department of local stores, to catch their attention. There's a second one at the left side. I thought all of the laptops came with this? I bought mine online. I didn't try to remove the stuff as it was a faulty device.
By the way, did your F12 smell new in a noticable way, or had it any protection foils applied? My device didn't smell at all and had only kind of foamy plastic bags applied to screen and chassis.

 

Nice one actually

Omaroo I hope for your sake you deliver , there's more riding here than money ...

(There ... perfect cover for my faked f11 purchase )

 

I only have the 5 small stickers on the right side of the palmrest (they are annoying too, but i'm afraid it looks worse if i remove them). I ordered my F12 online from sony-style.de .
As far as i remember my notebook came without protection foils too. It only had a foam-sheet between the screen and the keyboard and was covered in a plastic bag. It didn't smell new to me, but i've a very bad nose and had a cold so it was worse

Best regards

--- Lars ---

 

oh so i have to pay for the activation code lol should have read it properly. I heard ultimate is top one and best one, plus i can get ultimate for £20. Are you guys betting on me or something, am i some kind of clown to entertain everyone.

Anyway my usb is not work for me to upload the pictures.