Official Sony VAIO F Series i5/i7 owners thread *part 4*

What brand and make of a mouse is this? Is this for real?

 

It's..... mad catz

BUT it's actually manufactured by Saitek (I think mad catz bought saitek a while back) and the reviews look promising so far on build quality:

Amazon.com: Cyborg R.A.T. 7 Gaming Mouse for PC: Electronics

Newegg.com - Saitek CCB437080002/04/1 Black USB Wired Laser 5600 dpi Cyborg R.A.T. 7 Gaming Mouse

It's cheaper on newegg right now, but the prices on Amazon have been fluctuating a bit so I'm going to wait a few and see if they get back down.

 

I have to share the love before I can give somebody else some rep so I'll give yours to Willscary.

I agree for 100%. The M705 is just a bit smaller than a normal desktop mouse but has a very good ergonomy. After 8 months (and everyday use) the battery discharge lies in the line of expectation, the readings of the battery charge (measured in days or procent) is maybe a day or two behind (so it could work even longer).

 

The premium panel of 100% adobe coverage is based on the (U,V) axis rather than the (X, Y). If you convert that profile into the adobe RGB standard, the premium panel is roughly about 95% color gamut.

 

Theoretically, yes. I'll flesh in details if I ever buy the thing.

Apple Magic Mouse Works on Windows 7 | Redmond Pie

 

Time waster: virtual keyboard (no install)

Counterpoint to Mangosango's tech mouse from Creative mouse designs for the nerd in all of us (30 Photos):

 

For approx $1600 to $1800 more than I paid for my F11, I could have a HP 8540W DC2. I've complained about the F's vertical viewing angle, wished for a better graphics card, and griped about the lack of TRIM support on my SSD, but man, this laptop is expensive! And it does not have SSD! Does seem like an awesome screen and an all around excellent laptop- one of the best. Just sayin everything is relative.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/notebook-news-reviews/503121-hp-8740w-review-full-metal-jacket.html

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/e...ile Workstation (ENERGY STAR )&lang=en&cc=us

 

Yes, expensive is relative.



Computer NOT included!



From 10 Funny Old Computer Ads.

 

Oh, the memories! Did you ever see Brainstorm? They carried around those big telephone briefcases.

 

That's awfully nice of you JefLathouwer!

 

Sadly the first one does not work with the F_Series. I did not try the other one yet...



From 12 Alternative ways to use your laptop.

 

@ Joe - I remember reading a review of a quadruple-SLI setup where the reviewers cooked their breakfast on four overclocked gtx 480's Just goes to show how much energy is lost as heat in a computer.

mmm. HP and dell make some amazing enterprise laptops. Although the gpu in that laptop wouldn't be too good for gaming (probably blows through CAD and 3d modelling for professionals though

 

That's a 17" PowerBook G4, not a MacBook Pro, and that's a 5+ year old laptop that (from experience) does NOT get that hot (unless there's a serious malfunction, anway).

For one, the fried egg is next to the battery where there aren't any really hot spots in a powerbook g4 - they all get hot towards the hinge, and you generally couldn't BURN yourself with them (100+ degree weather, running it at full tilt I wouldn't have wanted one on my lap, but you could do it without getting real burns).

Statistically, the MacBook Pros do NOT run hot, the 15" i7 actually runs within the same temperature range the F series does - and I think notebookcheck is wrong about the 17" because it's a bigger machine with better cooling and the same cpu/gpu, it can't run hotter.

Likewise, Apple didn't recall 500,000+ MacBook Pros for overheating/causing fires/injuring people.

Joe, I used an Envy 15 - the machine that was notorious for burning people and had tons of complaints about the 'horrible' cooling system and all, and while it did get quite warm it wasn't THAT bad. 80c from the 17"? It has a much ballsier GPU than the 330m our F series has that will likely delaminate from the board and cause artifcating/crashing 3 years in as they have on the other Vaios (this is a pet peeve with MBPs too,lol).

I hate to bring it up again, but I think your comments about other manufactuers' hardware, however you back them up, are inflammatory troll-bait and not backed up with any real-world usage.

It seems like you're really insecure about your purchase and have gone through some pretty extreme measures to prove that yes, the Vaio F series is the best laptop on the market. Absolutely, and heaven forbid anyone disagrees with Joe Bleau, he's got the screenshots and pictures to prove it.

*Sigh*

 

He's a Fanboy. It's in his blood. He can't help but to passionately advocate the hardware/software that moves him to such depths.

Is loving someone/something too much wrong?

If it is... does Joe_Bleau want to be right?

 

lol

*shrug* I like my PB, and my Vaio

 

If you hate to bring it up... don't do it.

I don't think we need posts like this every VAIO_F owners thread.
There is a search function

 

OoTLink, it was a lighthearted post linking to 'funny' photos but if you insist: yes when I ordered the F & shipped it to my friend coming to Costa Rica, it was the best laptop on the market for my needs, budget & time constraint. 7 months later, I'm glad I made that choice.

Now here are some screen captures that I posted 5 months ago here. Seems to show that the most recent Macbook_17 is in fact much hotter than my F when running Cinebench with the same GPU but with a lesser CPU: 2 cores vs my i7 quad. Sorry if once again I have some data to sustain my observations.



While I could not fry an egg on the external body surface, I sure could cook an egg in boiling water using the Mac's CPU. FYI, water boils @ 100c in most parts of the world.

From the "12 alternative" link above, here is something that can be done with both MacBook_and F:

 

I bought a Vaio F12Z1E/BI with the European premium display two weeks ago.
I have to get used to the sound level of the cooling system - my old Vaio GR215SP had a perfect low-key sound design.
I also have a slightly worn-out (shiny) space key on the F12 already, after a week of very moderate usage.

Due to enerving CPU whining, the F12 currently is in repair service. The motherboard is supposed to be replaced. I hope everything will work well together after this.
By the way, did your new F Series come with any protection foils other than the stickers and the soft rubber packaging, maybe on the LCD? Mine didn't, and it had some minor scratches on the back lid, so maybe the device was sent back to Sony once and then resold.

I didn't know that the ASSIST button leads directly to the Vaio Recovery platform when pressed on a shut-down device.
Is it possible to install the Vaio E-Series Quick-Web feature on a F 12? The Assist button could serve as starter then? (I really like this feature, as it brings essential Internet features even closer) Has anyone tried this?

 

Today I received my backlit keyboard from Hong Kong.
Everything works fantastically. I bought it for $ 24 + $ 10 shipment through ebay.

SONY VPC-F11M1EH Series Keyboard US Backlit Black Frame on eBay (end time 29-Sep-10 10:18:33 BST)

You can also buy it here
SONY VPC-F11M1EH BLACK FRAME Backlit US 9Z.N3S82.201 148781111 Laptop keyboard - KeyBoard|SONY|Gemwon - Laptop / Notebook

for $ 19 + $ 6 shipping.
It is cheaper because, I think, you do not pay for ebay commission.

Thanks again Joe.

 

Macbook Pro helps Core i7 hit 100 Degrees - News - PC Authority

 

Excuseme is anyone can give me a copy of 115fm recovery disc ,via torrent i'm already lost recovery drive. i can't use my function key.now i'm live in Thailand. please help! Thank 4 help.

 

I used Joe Bleau's clean install, but after, I can't seem to install VAIO Update properly, I restarted after every reinstall, but when I installed the "Original VAIO Update 5 software" from Sony's eSupport site, nothing happens, when I downloaded and installed the "VAIO Update 5 Software Update", it installs fine, and I click check for software updates, and it says No software updates available and I get directed to the Sony eSupport website, mentioning nothing about VAIO Update 5.

Please don't say "just download it manually" from Sony's site

 

I remembered your username & looking at your posting history, you said more than 4 months ago that you formatted your drive w/o burning the recovery discs. Why would you need them now?

 

Had the same problem installing an US version of VAIO Update on an European VAIO.
The best thing to do is uninstall VAIO Update (preferably using Revo uninstaller) completely and use VAIO Care to install VAIO Update of your recovery partition.
Afterwards VAIO Update will update itself to the latest version

 

Hmm I tried that, but still, after installing nothing happens, VAIO Update doesnt even start

 

Maybe there are "No software updates available". Did you checked "manually" if there were any?

What is your model?

BTW you never posted some feedback about your destroyed recovery partition nor replied to my question here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...7-owners-thread-part-4-a-102.html#post6713779

 

VPCF116FX/B

 

i'm just install new os and fn doesn't work

 

To state the obvious...
You do have to start VAIO Update manually of the startmenu for the first time to be able to accept the license.

 

Hahaha, thanks mate, stating the obvious indeed did solve my problem

 

Hi all my friend gave me an extra battery for my F12 brand new. Now both my batteries are calibrated with the help from joes guide.

What should I do with the extra battery? Do I store it in my closet with a 40% charge? I am using the other battery on my notebook with an 80% charge due to Sony battery care software. I would have stored both away but I heard that it is a dumb idea to do so even if I use the A/C adapter a lot.

Also I ordered the black vaio by it looks gray. I saw pics online and it looks pitch black. Is the USA version of black different compared to other regions?

 

That's scary. And it's with the i7-620. The lowest we have here is the i7-720.

 

Store the extra batter with a partial (not 100%) charge. People here have stated that it's supposed to store better.

The Black VAIO has a charcoal grey panel around the keyboard. The grey model has a light grey. So, the black isn't fully black on the inside, and is a super super dark grey on the outside. Practically black, but it's matte black.

 

In "Premium Black" it's a charcoal grey, but in full light exposure, it also has a strong brown color aspect. It's a bicolor kind of thing, most pictures on the web don't do it justice.

 

Are you sure it's worn out? I use a microfiber cloth and an optical lens cleaner solution to clean my keyboard and screen. It could be looking worn when in fact it's the oil from your fingertips. For the exterior of the laptop I use a 100% carnauba wax. Keeping fingerprints off the exterior of this laptop has proved difficult and only by rubbing it out with a lot of elbow grease will they disappear.

 

Yes. Away from heat and humidity and at 40% charge.

 

I have had my F11 for a few months now and have shiney spots on my left shift, the left hand end of the space bar and the WASD keys. There again, I'm a gamer and those keys take a hammering every day! The letters havn't worn off at all yet, but I assume they will at some point.

Every keyboard I've ever had has eventually gone the same way but not after a week! That does seem excessive. You don't dip your fingers in acid before you type I assume!

 

Hi all F11/F12 Owners,

In order to use the get performance while using virutal machines with virtualization SW like VMWare or XEN, the core-i7 processor allows to set 2 switches: VT-X ("Multicore-Processor Forwarding to VMs") and VT-d ("Hardware-Forwarding to VMs").

Did anybody figure out in the BIOS settings (must be under processor virtualization) if both Intel VT-x and VT-d switches are present and can be set/cleared on the F11/F12?

If not, could anybody just have a quick look in the bios?

Thank you for your feedback.

Best regards.

 

In my experience with BIOS we don't get that many options. There's an option to enable/disable virtualization and that's it.

 

Search Vaio_support in your language for this document: Sony_support > Clean Install Instructions for Windows 7 > Step 3 ... IMPORTANT: It is strongly recommended that you install the files in the following order (in bold by_Sony).

Or look for the red box Installing the Useful VAIO_Software here: Vaio_F Series Windows 7 64-bit Clean Install Guide Using OEM Recovery Discs

 

I also don't believe it's worn out after a week. Repeated use wears off the asperities that make the satin or matte finish of the keys & polishes them. I did not try it yet but I guess that just like paint, using lightly an extra-fine sanding paper may restore the matte look. That's after cleaning off the finger grease like Fishon mentioned above.

On the US keyboard the letters & symbols are translucent, not printed so they will not wear off unless you go through the entire thickness of the plastic.

Maybe a non-backlit keyboard owner (EU or other country) could remove a key or shine a flashlight under it to see if it's also translucent?

 

The letters & symbols are glued on the keys. Nothing is translucent.

 

For which language?

As a consolation: your power button is translucent.

 

I can confirm that the uk model has keys where the letters are 'glued' on. They are raised and look like they are transfers.

 

This is for the Belgian Dutch azerty keyboard.

 

joe quick question about battery eater. I have my notebook fully charged and it is set to your calibrate profile. Do I unplug the ac adpater and let the notebook just run on battery until it dies? If so while running on battery, on batteryeater i just put a check mark on " Begin test when disconnecting AC" ?

 

When plugged, start Battery Eater > select: Begin test when disconnecting AC, close all programs & disconnect all peripherals & then unplug the F.

After the F is turned off automatically & the battery drain is completed, for good measure & help the calibration process: remove battery, press the main power button for 5 sec or more to drain residual power, re-seat the battery and make sure it's locked in place.

Then plug the F, wait a couple of minutes & boot OR let the battery recharge completely before using. The first window after full boot will be Battery Eater's stats. Screen capture or write down data for future reference.

From VAIO_F Battery Calibrator Plan Creation.

 

I can not for the life of me see how these symbols can be glued onto the USA lighted keyboard. I see no seams or stickers, and the symbols light up when the LEDs underneath each key illuminate.

My guess would have been that these are opaque white (and blue in the case of certain FN type keys) and perhaps they have a black coating of some sort over them.

Upon reviewing them for the first time (really, I never thought about how they might be made!) I see no seams and can feel no paint or coating, so I would think that these must be fully manufactured as single pieces without paint or stickers...at least in this lighted USA version.

 

That's correct.

I presume that the Belgian Dutch's are not buying enough F's to justify the production costs of this technique & backlit LED. You need mass to cut cost with mass production.

@ Jef: did you try to direct some light under the keys? BTW it's easy to pop off & reset a key.

 

Same for the German model. But this is talking about the non-backlit keyboard, so it's nothing of a surprise.