Official VAIO FW Series Owners Thread

I think you posted your comment in the wrong topic.

BTW, GOOD NEWS: there's a 200$ coupon available for BlackFriday.
BAD NEWS: configuring an FW right now on sonystyle you can only choose 2GB of RAM and the standard 160GB 5400rpm HDD as everything else is out of stock.

Use code BLACKFRIDAYVAIOFW to save $200 off the Sony VAIO FW 15.4" screen notebook at SonyStyle.com Coupon expires November 28th. FREE Shipping!

 

Vista 64bit is nice. I installed on my older Studio17 and it worked very well. Seemed faster and more stable than 32bit but that was probably more because of taking advantage of the full 4gb RAM on board. Vista can be XP-like fast as well, by disabling some of the processes which eat too much memory (superfetch, readyboost, hard-drive indexing, aero interface).

 

Hi
a month ago i bought a VAIO FW140E notebook with these specs:
cpu p8400
3 GB of RAM
Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family (intel 4500MHD)
vista 32bit HP

i have these questions:
1. what is my lcd type? (eco or something else) how could i know?

2. when i play some mkv (matroska) 720p files, my cpu load is so high? is this normal? i mean if with 720p video, cpu is so high, what about 1080p ones?

3. in normal avi files (with approximately 600x400 res) quality is so poor, specially in dark areas of the picture. i reduce the gamma setting on my gpu settings, a little bit better but not good.

4. how can i take into action my gpu hardware acceleration functions? (it minimize cpu load during playback of matroska files)

thanks

 

I'm afraid to send my FW back to repair the broken barrel on mine because I'm worried about exactly this happening. I tried to disassemble my FW to fix it myself and I see that it's extremely difficult to take apart the case without breaking anything. I stopped half way through and put it back togther. Now I don't know what to do....

 

when u say that it expires on november 28th it means that i can use it until friday at midnight?

Thx in advance

 

I watched my first Blu-ray movie on the FW last night. Looked stunning but there were black bars at the top and bottom. Is there a setting that might be able to get rid of them or are they just there on certain movies and not others?

It was a bit irritating because part of the marketing for the FW concerned eliminating such bars.

 

Wide screen movies have different sizes, not actually being perfect 16:9 aspect ratio all the time.

 

The 16.4" is not true widescreen, i.e. 16:9 ratio, I think it's 16:10 or something similar, so some small black bar should appear if the video isn't stretched...

 

The 16.4" is a 16:9 screen unfortunately most movies are shot in even wider formats. You should just learn to live with the black bars so that you don't loose any of the picture. Most TV shows that are in HD are shot in 16:9

 

I sent my FW in for repair on my keyboard. Without telling me, they swapped the black keyboard for a white one because the black was OOS. What kind of company does something like this without even explaining up front what needs to be done? So now I have white on silver instead of black on silver. Forget about if you like the color change, I can't believe Sony would do this w/o telling me up front.

 

maybe they didn't know it was black? I remember the FW190 silver (or gray i don't remember) also had the option of a white keyboard...some people like it, I personally don't. Just call them to see if they can give you a black one instead.

 

I called when I got the laptop back and was told black was OOS and that's why they gave me white. Sheer arrogance if you ask me...

 

Hi guys,
I see this laptop VGN-FW290JQB at NewEgg: newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834117803
I am not sure about the ATI Radeon 3600 Series (M86-LP). Can you explain this?

Thanks

 

You should buy the 290JAB if you're ordering from newegg, it's a much better deal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834117832&Tpk=FW290JAB

 

Hi the 1,
Thanks your suggestion. I need to know about the ATI Radeon 3600 Series. I know the ATI Radeon 3650 but this one is strange.

Thanks

 

It's probably the 256mb 3470 otherwise they would have mentioned it's the better GDDR3 3650.

JQB is currently more expensive than the better configured JAB anyway, so go for the later and you won't regret it.

 

They've updated the spec sheet a bit, saying the GPU is a 512mb card. So, it must be the 3650, as Sony doesn't even use 3470 for the FW290 series anymore. The price went down as well, it's 899$ now, but the FW290JAB is still the better buy as it has the much, much better Full-HD display, a the bigger & faster 7200rpm HDD.

 

Has anyone installed an SSD hdd in their FW? Does anyone see an issue in doing so? TIA!

 

why nobody answer!?

here is another question:
5. how should i know exact refresh rate of lcd? "display options says 59Hz, my gpu settings says 60Hz. which one is correct?

please answer my 5 question. please...

 

Has anyone managed to get the FN keys working with Windows XP yet? I'm putting together an XP on FW thread/guide, and that is one of the few things I can't get working still.

 

zexin, you have the integrated GPU so I am sure it might have issues with some video decoding, atlhough perhaps you are missing some vital codec drivers for the videos, so that is why it might be running jerky?

Also make sure your laptop is set to performance in the battery area since this will affect performance of playback.

Your model the 140E has the eco screen, only the higher end models came with the x-brite hicolor

http://shopping.msn.com/specs/sony-...o-fw140e-h-core-2-duo-p8400-2-26-ghz-16-4-tft

Features X BRITE-ECO

Check to see that your screen brightness is to full, use the Fn key and f6 to bring up th brightness

As for hardware acceleration you will find that info in the device manager.

 

Hello all, I've just received my fw-21z (UK model) and haven't even started it up yet. On the box it says Vista Home Premium SP1, but I don't think it's the 64 bit version. I've had a look at the Sony USA site for the FW CTO option and it gives Vista 64 bit as an os - does anyone know if the UK version is 32 or 64 bit and if it's 32 bit, how can I get hold of the 64 bit version? I'm thinking an official Sony version/download would be the best option as it would have original drivers, function key ability etc. without my having to source them elsewhere.
Any help is much appreciated.
Cheers
Rick

 

Sorry gang also forgot to ask if anyone knows why they've shoved in a 4500rpm drive instead of a faster one in the UK models? Can this be changed for a quicker drive?

Rick

 

Rick go to control panel, then system and check there was OS you have installed, it will say either 32 or 64 bit.

You can install the 64 bit os using your 32bit serial with no issues. as for the hdd, you can swap it.

 

1 questions guys.

do any of you use the battery care program?
and if so what do you have it set to?


Also an observation i made today.

I was in a quiet quiet room no fan running on the laptop.. i turned the brightness down,and you could hear the screen hum, then i turned it half way and the humming went away.. its faint but it hums!

 

Not using the battery care program, and I've not noticed the screen humming on the account that my pc is in the same room and it's much louder than the laptop.

 

overall i am fairly happy with this laptop the fw285

the touchpad is driving me though. scrolling up and down is not a smooth process at all, very gittery.

track pad movement is not very smooth, even at high notches in the alps panel its way to fast, and a few notches down its still kind of slow.

the touchpad feels like paper or something can't describe it, but they could of put something better i feel

 

thanks man for support...
i didn't say playback is jerky, i just said in 720p ones, it uses fairly high cpu usage. i've done some research on internet and i've found that 4500mhd is a good one for video playback and has some features for decoding AVC and VC1 videos. so i don't think it's because of gpu.

about eco screen, could you please give me some comparison between my FW vs. {xps, hp dv4, vaio cr, ...}. mine is not so bad, is it?

and about screen refresh rate; how can i know the exact refresh rate. as i said gpu says 59Hz but "display setting" says 60Hz.

 

Thanks mate, I'll do that. With regards to the 64 bit os though, is there a bespoke Sony one I can get hold of (i.e. like doing a system restore but using 64bit instead of 32bit) which will negate my having to search out bespoke drivers for function/S1 key etc as per older threads on this topic? Or even better is there a cheap 64bit backup I can order from Sony?

Also if I were to keep the 32bit os but went into bios and increased video ram allocation would this negatively affect system performance in general use as I would have taken say 1gb of ram from the system in addition to the 512mb already in use by the graphics card?

Cheers
Rick

 

Of course it's not that bad, but it's not great either.

 

Just received from Best Buy Outlet Store a FW139E/H. It was still sealed with the Sony tape. Not a return or opened box from what I can see. Paid $880 plus 5% VA sales tax. Got free shipping which was a promo a week ago for several days. Local Best Buy stores previously had the FW140 for $697 and the FW139 for $950 but after researching them went back after a few days and they had sold out. Outlet Store has both the FW139 and the FW140 ($830) but decided to go with the dedicated ATI 3470 card instead of the X4500 integrated. So for anyone wondering what they may get from the Best Buy Outlet Store, this was my experience, a sealed box.

 

In my opinion, this was a much better deal for $899:

4GB of memory
64-bit OS
Blu-ray player
Free movie

Sold out online for Black Friday but might be available in a store near you

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9999101400050008&type=product&id=pcmprd101500050008

 

Yes, had looked at the FW245J/HC but Blu-ray really doesnt interest me. I still have laser discs from the 80's and a small dvd collection. Also the processor according to the Best Buy offer is the 35 watt T5800 series. Not the more efficient newer 25 watt P series as in the P8400 FW139/140.

 

Any day now going to bite the bullet and order a FW11E model for around £573, is that a good deal. Any thing i should know about the FW series in particular?
i.e any negatives

 

QUOTE Originally Posted by ascariss View Post
Rick go to control panel, then system and check there was OS you have installed, it will say either 32 or 64 bit.

You can install the 64 bit os using your 32bit serial with no issues. as for the hdd, you can swap it. QUOTE

Anyone able to help with this?

 

all the drivers for the 64bit or 32bit os for vista are available on sony's support site, drivers for the s1 keys, fn keys, you name it, its all there, all you need is just regular vista 64bit and the drivers from sony's support site.

search the sony forums for "vista clean install on fw" or along those lines, in that thread, there should be a link to the support site with the drivers.

You can call sony and ask about the recovery disc, but you have to pay for it.

 

how much battery life are some of you getting?

anyway to get the maximum out of the battery?

 

I am getting about an hour and 25 minutes on 50% with the maximum power saver settings and wireless on and surfing. So on a full charge, I'd expect to get MAXIMUM 3 hours.

 

I've been working with it for about two weeks now and I have few complaints. I love the screen and as a semi-portable desktop replacement I think it's unmatched.

Go bite that bullet.

 

I have FW290 and I heard (after a week) some low noise (like sparkle noise) in right-front side. Is it normal or not? I don't now if it's related HDD?

 

I think I hear that sound as well, I have the 320 7200 hitachi hdd, it doesn't bother me, and I get a kick out of it since it is a funny little sound.

 

i just ordered a CTO FW for Black Friday and they're still processing my order...any idea how long it might take?

 

Is it my sensitivity about new laptop or not? any exprience can help me. I have about 20 remaining days in refund Guaranty.

 

if it is bothering you I guess return it and get another brand or anothe version, but otherwise the sound does not mean the laptop is broken or anything.

 

Hey there~~ I just bought a Vaio FW285J yesterday-and so far I am loving it! ONLY problem is...I REALLY need VT to be enabled--does anyone have any tips/ ideas how I can get VT enabled? I know that sony disabled it...and there should be a way to enable..if the right place is found--anyways--ANY info/ help is much appreciated! Thanks-

 

Hey anyone with a vgnfw285dh from bestbuy or futureshop canada? Whats the video memory is it 512 GDDR3 or 256 GDDR3 ATI RAEDON 3650? The futureshop site says it has 512 at the bottom of spec sheet online but the bestbuy doesn't even mention the dedicated memory at all ...

 

wolf, I mentioned how you can find out the memory amount at the store, but unless it is not not on display, then you can't check, but sony's site says it has 256 megs of ram, both the 512 and 256 in the 3650 are ddr3.

 

I've been testing out the battery life (not benchmarks, just real world testing) of my FW290CTO. For this test, I was watching a blu-ray movie with the wifi switch turned off.

Set to Maximum Performance, I got about 1 hour and 50 minutes.

Set to Power Saver (40% brightness), I get about 2 hours and 20 minutes.

I have to admit, I was hoping for a bit more battery life with the extended battery.

 

hey wolf

i bought it from futureshop
its the 512MB memory for the video card

 

I noticed that several weeks ago there was a lot of talk about the Sony FW245J that was expected to be in the Best Buy Black Friday Ad. I bought the computer this Friday and after using it for a day, I noticed that the bezel below the monitor says VGN-FW200. I went back to the store to check them out and they did not have anymore 245s. However, they did have an FW235J and an FW270J. Both came in boxes marked as such and the bezels say VGN-FW235 and VGN-FW270 respectively. So did anybody else pick up this Sony and if so can you tell me if your laptop is marked VGN-FW245 ot VGN-FW200? The laptop jas some antivirus software and other stuff done by the Geek Squad, however it was the only one they had left so I took it. Now I am not certain that they didnt put a different computer in the box either intentionally or unintentionally. I asked at the store today, and they did not know the answer. Their assumption was that it was marked that way because it is the 200 series. THis is a fair assumption, one I would feel much better about if the 235 and 270 were marked the same way.

Can anybody help?

Thanks