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

Is the new version 6.3? Because this version was released in EU a long time ago. Because there isn't a new one at the european support page. Could you provide a link?

 

Same question here...

 

It is version 6.4
Sony eSupport - VPCF126FM - Drivers & Software
It also asks your country somewhy in the beginning

 

Thanks for the link.
On the European support pages the last version is 6.3.0.09020.

 

Well , I just got off the chat with one of the Live Chat people. Since I troll them as a little fun thing to do since I see them all the time to ask if they are going to update this series you might be able to contribute a lot of this to just me being confusing. But, basically what he said is that they will never update the series with Sandy Bridge. Take from this what you will. But, I actually need/want some input so that I can put money down and actually buy a Vaio sometime before I die.

Spoiler

Please allow a moment for an agent to respond.
You are now chatting with 'Jason A'
Jason A: Welcome to Sony! My name is Jason A and I will be your Sales Product Specialist today. How can I help you?
you: Hello, I was looking forward to buying a Vaio F Series with Sandy Bridge proccesors
you: But not the 3-D one. The F1x series
you: Is there any ETA on when that series will be updated ?
Jason A: Unfortunately no. The only model with the Sandy Bridge processors is the 3D F Series. However, the whole model is 2D unless you switch it over to 3D by the push of a button.
Jason A: May I ask where you saw the F1X Series?
you: Haha. Clever.
you: But yeah. I saw that some college school mates got it as graduation gifts
Jason A: Do you know where from as I have not heard of a model with the new processors without 3D.
you: Oh no. There are plenty other models with the new processors. But the ones I saw with my friends didn't have those. I'm just playing the waiting game until the F 1x Series gets updated with them.
Jason A: We do not have an F1X Series.
Jason A: That is what I am a bit confused about.
Jason A: That is why I wanted to know where they got it from.
you: ahhh. The non-3D F series laptop is what I'm talking about.
Jason A: We are not going to be updating this model.
Jason A: The 3D F Series is the only model released currently with the new processors in this size screen.
you: Ouch. It's just not ever going to happen?
Jason A: No, that is why we released the new 3D F Series with the Sandy Bridge. That is why I am confused as to how some of your school mates have an "F1X Series" as I am not finding it in our system.
you: I guess if that's never going to happen then I'll just look into either something else , or other Sony laptops
Jason A: Is there anything else that I can assist you with today?
you: By F 1x I meant. F11, F12, F13's and so on. Ummm nope. That's all.

 

Don't feel like you're missing anything - I downloaded the 6.4 update last week and there is no noticeable difference from 6.3. I do not have any new diagnostic categories either so I think that must be for some non-F models. I suppose there could be a difference between F11, 12, and 13 but it's the same app and update so not likely.

 

If you need a computer now and want Sandy Bridge, then look at computers that currently have SB or are known to be coming out very shortly with SB. While Sony support personnel often have no idea what they are talking about and may be wrong, you also don't have any reason to believe the F1 series will be updated with SB. So if you must have Sandy Bridge and do not want to wait and see what new computers come out with or get updated with SB, then look at computers that are known to have it or be getting it. No one on here can tell you for sure one way or the other whether the F1 will someday get updated with new processors. It's a possibility of course but it also may get discontinued entirely for all we know. If you have the money, the F2 3D is supposed to have an incredible screen that can be used soley in 2D if you want. You're paying extra money for the 3D, which you may not use, but the great screen could be worth it to you if you don't have a limited budget (like me). Otherwise, look at other laptops entirely would be my advice.

Edit: And many people on here would be happy to pay that price for such a great screen and with no 3D, as would I if I could afford it, so only discount the F2 if just can't afford it, not because you don't need 3D.

 

Probably not, but I like to stay up to date and I'm annoyed that there is a difference between Europe and The United States in support on the web.
Look at the European support pages:
VAIO Support Europe
And then the US pages:
Sony eSupport - VPCF1190X - Model Home

 

Yeah, I've seen the Euro support pages before while trying to help people get their computers working. I'd be banging my head against a wall with the EU pages. Some other countries are even worse. I don't know why Sony can't get a uniform support page in place internationally. Sometimes, however, you guys actually get updates we don't get too, like the F13 BIOS, which has still never appeared on a US page. I don't remember which country it was, but there was one person I was helping and their support page had a total of 5 downloads, including originally installed and updates. Totally useless.

 

Thank you, I did it. I also disabled the wireless driver then (I never use it) and now it's processes don't run in the background anymore.

I have a few more question, if anyone is willing to help me:

1. What exactly is VAIO Event Service for? Do I need it or can I uninstall it?

2. Do I have to calibrate my display (VAIO F13 series with Windows 7 x64)? I've read that F11 series laptops should be calibrated, what about F13?

3. Should I turn on and calibrate the ClearType Text? Will it be really more "visible" then?

4. Audio marks (Windows Sounds)" are sometimes delayed. Could it be the Realtek driver? Is there a newer one (newer than the one on the VAIO support site)?

5. Is "Never notify" UAC setting safe/OK? I'm the only one who uses this laptop and am bothered by constant warnings.

6. I updated the latest nVidia driver and it left stuff (over 200 MB) in C:\NVIDIA folder. Can I delete this folder and it's contents?

Thank you very much!

 

You can't possibly be asking this after everything we've all been through with you. You're clearly trolling. Stop it.

 

1. Vaio event Service: is needed for the function keys (FN and others) to work ( www.google.com).
2. It's always better to calibrate: Vaio_F Series Monitor Calibration and Users Created Profiles Roundup
3. Yes: Microsoft Typography - What is ClearType?
4. You could try the latest from Realtek: Realtek
5. No it's not: Why you should never disable UAC
6. Yes you can: TweakGuides.com - Nvidia Forceware Tweak Guide

 

So, after being away for the morning, I've just returned home with my new indoor/outdoor thermometer/humidity meter to replace the one that mysteriously broke this weekend after I squeezed it too hard to turn the night light on to read it in the middle of the night.

It's currently 59.4f in my apartment and 46f outside. A slight drizzle just began, which is preventing me from trying on my new garden gloves and doing some much needed pruning on the rhodies. Oh, WHY has the sun forsaken us?

Anyway, turned on my lappy and it booted around 2400. When the boot was done, it dropped down to 0. I connected to the web and opened IE9, then walked away. Given my environmental temps, it's idling at 0, and was even at 0 for the first several seconds of reading/typing around here.

At this very momeent, it hovers at 1860-1980, and bursts up to 2600. WAIT... it just dropped back down to 0 again and is still at 0 after 1 minute has gone by. Now that I say that, it's up to 900, then burst to 3400, down to 2040. How do you like my "live, streaming feed"?

I have about 70 processes at boot. I'm sure I could clean out services better. My clean install has 46 process and I just have a lot of things that make me happy when they start at boot up.

I love how the chat rep you got shows that he either never took, or doesn't remember his basic algebra skills and repeated asks you what the "X" is in the F1X model. Seriously, how can any information he provides be credible when he's not even familiar with writing variable model numbers as a single number? Geesh!

 

First of all...UNDER 60F in your home!!! Are you nuts????

Second of all, cool beans! Even with a few programs running your fan shuts off due to cool temps. This further reinforces the theory that those with high fan speeds most likely have high temps due to environmental surroundings or to running processes.

If you turn off everything except for the Everest sensors and walk away for a few minutes, does the fan shut down completely with 60F ambient air?

Also, a comment...I should probably report that switching from the OEM HDD to an SSD has lowered the temps in all of the F series machines that I work with by about 2C, which seems to equate to about 200-300 RPM of fan speed at 70F ambient air. The heat from the HDD seems likely to be the culprit for those whose right palmrest seems to get warm. (I have read this complaint a few times in the past).

Thanks ansieo! I will +1 rep you when I can!

 

I noticed this happening when I was trying to install my new LCD. The laptop was wide open when I powered it up, so I could see the fan spinning up initially, then stopping completely for a little while. At first I thought I had damaged something (didn't make sense that the fan would just stop at boot ), but it restarted shortly after.

Edit: In other words, I don't think this has something to do with ambient temperature- My room temp was not that low and I saw this behavior every time I booted.

 

If I am right he uses notebook cooler. Perhaps it was turned on. That is exactly why fan reached 0.

About temperature. 60F = 15.6C, yes? It is OK. 20C is Perfect for human. This winter I used to save natural Gas (too expensive) so basing on my not good windows and doors (I live in house) sometimes temps was 12C. Which was very good for laptop If you want to be healthy you need to harden.

I believe that right palmrest is warmer because of that stick. Left one is smaller but the same warm. Hard drive really makes laptop lil bit hotter but what if it will be in optical bay? ANSEIO? What temps does your hard drive show?

EDIT:\\\ Mine fan oftenly just shuts of when I am playing a game with overclocked GPU while it is 60C. Also I noticed that when I push Alt+Tab exiting Crysis 2 my fan starts to work much louder (and of course temps going down because i am not push GPU work hard at that moment).

 

This just isn't true in my case. Like I said, with 0-1% CPU usage, less than 70 processes, no extra programs opened after boot, in a very cold room, the very lowest I've ever seen my fan is 3200 RPM. If I open even one program, any program, and leave it idle, it's in the upper 3000s. In normal use for me, it is in the 4000s and occasionally hits some number in the 5000s (don't know what the max is). Until Friday (when we finally got anseio's missing sun - don't worry, anseio, it's leaving tomorrow), the temp in my apt has been in the 50s ever since I got my computer back in October. It's usually so cold in my apt that I'm wearing 6 layers of clothes, a hat and a couple pair of gloves and still feel very cold. Not only does my fan never shut off under any circumstances, but I cannot do anything at all to get it under 3200RPM. That's why I said that something is clearly different and wrong about my laptop compared to others and am worried it may produce some problem in the longterm. It's not environmental temps or processes/CPU usage pushing the fan for me.

 

I don't disagree that your fan speeds are that way. there are perhaps 20 people who post here that their fan speed is high and whiny. I deal with a dozen of these machines on a daily basis. I have not seen any major differences in any of the machines I handle and anseio's results pattern mine.

I believe that you may have a problem. Either some sort of obstruction, perhaps a poorly set heat sink or thermal paste, or you have a software conflict.

My fan starts at perhaps 2400 RPM at startup also, and this is normal. When booting and in BIOS prior to Windows starting, I believe that the fan is programmed (in BIOS) to rev a bit simply because the processor is working to fire everything up. I also see this when booting to BIOS in other machines...Dell, HP, Toshiba and Acer. Not all, but many other machines seem to have this trait when in BIOS.

I don't discount what you say one bit, but I don't see yours as normal either. I have posted several times on this thread that I installed an HP printer driver that caused my machine to heat up to where I thought it would burn up. I have found other machines (not F series) where software conflicts cause steady 2-5% CPU usage that causes temps to rise.

In your case, if temps are in the 43-45C range for CPU and motherboard, I would guess that your fan speed programming (supply voltage) is incorrect.

Can you post sensor temps and fan speeds?

Bill

 

My CPU temps are usually in the 50s, except right after I boot. When I'm home I will get specific numbers. When I run my virus scan the cpu gets to 71. When I'm actively using multiple programs 60s are common but usually I'm just using my browser and in the 50s. It never feels hot at all.

Sorry for multiple edits -phone is acting up.

 

The laptop cooler will not cause the internal fans to shut off. the fan shuts off on all of my machines when the motherboard and CPU temps are under 42C. The cooler will help to force the cooler ambient air into the chassis, but the only way that the internal fan shuts off when the laptop is on is when the internal sensors tell it that it is not needed.

 

That is warm. I have been surfing for about an hour. My security is always running in the background. My email is open and I am listening to music MP3s from the hard drive. Everest is up and my sensor readings are 44C for the mobo, the CPU ranges from 46-48C and the GPU is at 44C. My fan is a steady 2,280 RPM...oops, it just dropped to 2,220 RPM.

Again, a few degrees in ambient temperature will make the fan speed go up. If my room temp went up by 2C, I would expect my sensor temps to rise by the same amount because the air cooling them is warmer.

I hope this helps!

 

So, for an example, with Firefox open but sitting idle, Everest open, 1-2% CPU utilization, room temp of 60F and back of laptop elevated so vents are clear:
CPU 57F
Motherboard 52F
Fan 3800 RPM

If I reload a single webpage once:
CPU 62F
Motherboard 56F
Fan 4200 RPM

Of course, if I actually start working like normal then things go up further. I've decided I'm going to do a clean install and test before installing anything to eliminate software/driver issues. Trying to figure out a time to do that since I can't have any down time right now so not sure when it will happen.

 

Yeah, those numbers are really high for the environment that you're describing. I forget, have they always been that high? Did we already talk a while back about cleaning out dust?

 

They've been like that since I first installed Everest the very first day I got the laptop. I had already installed programs and drivers for external devices before downloading that so that's why I'm going to do the clean install when I get a chance to eliminate those variables. My laptop actually doesn't feel hot, even when my temp are up high - warm but not hot. I use compressed air to blow out the dust every week, but it's unlikely it's dust since it's been like this since the first day and it was a CTO model, so it wasn't sitting around anywhere before I got it. I haven't opened it up yet though to see if they did a sloppy job with the heatsink or anything.

 

I would like to try the silencing mode of UAC. But When I look up the register value, it hasn't the same value as stated on the site. I have a hexadecimal value of 5 and I don't want the screw my register by changing it to 0 without knowing what to do. Does anybody has experiance with this?

Thank you

 

Hope this link sends you to the correct place - look at page 575-576 of this book on google for an explanation.

 

An alternative method is using a program called TweakUAC it was originally created for Vista, but like written on their site it also works with 7.
Disable annoying Vista UAC popups with TweakUAC (FREE)
It works for me

 

Hi guys,

I havent checked in for a while so apologies if this has already been covered or mentioned before, however incase it hasnt, here is the new vaio F series 3D model.

VPCF217HG : F Series : VAIO Notebooks & Computers : Sony Australia

 

I tried the program and it works. Thank you both.

 

Dammit you guys. I've disabled UAC settings since Vista, but since the topic came up here I've done some research and have come to the conclusion UAC does more to protect system than anything. I hate to click but I've currently changed my mind and will use it. What else in life am I doing wrong?

 

I don't care for the additional clicks either, but i can tell you that my security works well. I use Microsoft security Essentials and Windows defender...both freebies. I have not had problems. Outlook has a wonderful spam filter built-in. UAC has saved my butt a few times when I have clicked on an innocent looking site only to have the site instantly attempt to harm the computer. The UAC has then popped-up and asked me for permission for the "program" access. There have been perhaps 10 times where this has worked for me!

I also use Web Of Trust with IE 9. No matter what the fans of other browsers want to say, IE 9 is pretty incredible. It is faster than Firefox 4 and Chrome, and is supposed to be more secure (MUCH more secure than the so-so IE 8). Web Of Trust works with most browsers (you have to download the version that works with your particular browser) and allows you to see before hand if the site you are clicking on is noted for having problems with malware. If you use Norton Internet Security, then you have seen WOT, as Norton uses the same program, but with their own "Norton" look.

 

This is Lifehackers overall browser scores:



Lifehacker, tips and downloads for getting things done

Not sure how you come to the conclusion IE 9 is the fastest. In my mind one has to consider what the browser can do as well i.e. add-ons. Light on resources is great until the convenience of executing a task is lost. People say 'Opera is so fast but I wish it has add-ons.' Well that's a major reason it is so fast in the first place.

I've used AVG and F-Secure in the past and they both had a website checker (both allow a choice to use this particular service or not) I'm sure just like WOT. Now that appeared to slow things down and I found the little star/icon or whatever next to each website would spin as it was 'connecting' to each site. Not for me.

I use both MSE and Malwarebytes (paid version)- now using UAC.
Malwarebytes often states it's blocking potential malicious IP's. Not sure how often it's a false positive.

A recent pic of what appears to be some happy Vaio 'users'. All smiles. See what a Vaio can do for you.

 

I use Chrome, FF4 and IE9 and to me, IE9 is faster than Chrome and both fly past FF4. I read the debates all the time. Each site has its own conclusive tests. IE9 fails certain HTML5 tests, but they are outdated and FF4 fails them also.

I don't use addons. I just don't, so this does not concern me. perhaps my internet connection speed helps me, but IE9 simply loads faster.

At first load, WOT took like 200ms to load, but now, according to IE9, it is a 0.00ms lag time and the WOT helper (toolbar) takes 0.01ms to load, so to me they are a non-issue.

Several of the staff swear by FF, so I installed FF4 for each of them. Two of the four have now begun using IE9 (32 bit) more often.

I do not use IE9 64 bit simply because I see no real speed increase, but I do see problems where pages use flash (at times).

By the way, I recently began trying a RamDisk for TEMP and TMP files as well as temp internet files. With this new procedure, I have actually STOPPED deleting my temp internet files upon exit of the browser. Allowing these cashed files to remain until the computer reboots MIGHT give me some additional speed, but I am a little worried about security. The computer is much more secure (in my opinion) if I delete all temp internet files upon browser exit.

Also, I manually handle all cookies. In the Privacy tab, I set the browser to override factory settings, then check to prompt for first party cookies, block third party cookies and always allow session cookies. This is another "clicking" pain in the butt, but you only have to click your decision the first time you visit a website...after that the computer remembers it.

Just my opinion.

 

Hey everyone,

Although I love my F series, I need to get a smaller laptop. I want maybe a 12 inch vaio of some sort. But I was wondering if I could have all of your opinions on the price for my laptop. It's model number is VPCF13PFX and it has the it i7 740, nivdia 330, usb 3.0 and all that. The only problem with it is that the trackpad doesn't work. It can still scroll and move around the screen, but clicking with either the left click or the trackpad doesn't work for some reason. Any ways I was thinking about 850 for it. But I would really like all of your opinions. Thanks!

 

I also forgot to ask, what are the best smaller size vaio laptops in all of your opinions? thanks again!

 

definitely not sb series.it has awful build quality. I read this on this forum.
How can it be 330m GPU if it is F13??

 

Oh crap, my bad. 310m. Sorry about that.

 

here is my temperature status. About 62-67F at home

 

Your fan is running very fast considering your temps. With temps as low as yours, I would rule out processes, and with the ambient temp as low as it is, everything looks good other than your fan speed. With my experience, your fan speed is about 800 RPM too high.

I would be a bit concerned.

Just my opinion.

 

The new version of vaio care 6.4 also shows up at the european supportsite.
But the version I downloaded from the american supportsite, installed without a problem.
VAIO : Sony Europa

 

Downloaded the new Vaio Care version 6.4.0.15030 but it has not changed the fact I always get these two issues even though there are no Windows updates to install. Not a big deal at all, just informing.


I've also have enabled UAC and IE 9 override automatic cookie handling. Many many additional clicks. Kind of like the sofa cover analogy. Just don't know if all the hassle is worth it.

 

@Willscary My powerplan is set to high, not balanced, maybe that is the reason. And I almost do not hear the fan noise. I know it can be MUCH louder

@Fishon Maybe you hid some possible windows updates? There is a button to show them if they exist

 

James you are correct. I installed IE 9 via the web and afterward when it popped up within the update menu, I hid it. I don't use Vaio Care to update anything. I check my esupport site and the NBR Sony Vaio F Series thread.

 

Hey I think you misunderstood me in the pm. I wasn't trying to sell you my laptop I just wanted to know what the going price is for these. Nonetheless thanks for your input.

 

Well I answered on your question no matter of understanding. I wouldn't buy it even for 500$. Because it is not fully working, no warranty, old graphic card, used laptop. This means that on my opinion going price is 500$ and less. I understand that it's not good news for you but it is only my opinion. If I would be a serious man, not gamer at all, banker who has not enough money and lives in USA (or wherever you live) only then I perhaps would like to buy it and perhaps the prise would be little higher.

P.S. Sorry if this price made you unhappy.

 

No no, I'm fine with the price. And thank you for taking the time to respond. I really do appreciate it.

 

Hi all, sorry in advance for this (part numbers aren't fun)

I've been looking for the keyboard hood/cover (the top plastic that covers the speakers) in silver, with little luck so far.

In the F13 service manual that jpride found, the part number is A-1802-805-A, with description M932_KB-COVER_M_ASMSUB(SILVER).

However, on sony services plus, the description is M930 KB-COVER ASMSUB (SILVER): http://bit.ly/fCM5Tl

And then... there's this part number (which I tend to find more often in reference to the silver keyboard hood)- A1759311A. The description on sony services plus is again M930_KB-COVER_M_ASMSUB(SILVER): http://bit.ly/hn2fNH

Are these two essentially the same part? Anyone know if the F13, F12, and F11 use exactly the same keyboard hood?

 

My power plan is set to beyond high. I use the high performance settings and then change them to where the HDD never shuts off, the min and max CPU power is 100%, no hibernation or sleep, etc.

The only fan setting I can think of is that my System Cooling Policy is set to "active" for both battery and plugged-in.

Your fan speed seems high.

 

I am used to it now. UAC only pops up when installing a new program and the cookie override only happens once for each website. Also, you should add to favorites all sites that require a login. If you do this, you can tell IE to delete cookies with the exception of cookies from favorites. then you will never need to sign in at forums, ebay, etc. again.

On another note, I have uninstalled the RamDisk. It was causing errors when I tried to install the new beta video driver and it was causing an error when I tried to run WEI. It was a little faster, but it caused problems.

I changed my temp internet files back to being deleted when the browser closes. this costs me a little time when surfing, but at 60+Mbps download speeds, it is not bad at all. This is MUCH safer than keeping a cache.

Just my opinion.

 

Quick question, and how to check this on other laptops:

Does VAIO F13 have Express card, or Express Card 2 port?

Express card slot =2.5 Gbit/s
Expres card 2 slot=5 Gbit/s

thanks