Official VAIO FW Series Owners Thread

imho you should defo go for it, end of the day-you can always adjust the font size by changing dpi, and as someone stated above-this forum looks very readable and it is comfortable to read without any issues... it does take only a tiny bit to get used too but is WELL worth it

 

Yeah - will prob do so

tx for all the input



...

 

here's a nice link for anyone that has doubts about the power of their HiColor screen
http://www.prowallpapers.com/list/1920x1080/15
http://www.hdwallpapers.net/

 

very nice,tx

ok - here's the specs on the fw298 @$1549
which is what they recomended when I called
best buy(even tho they don't have any to look
at - can order) Comments?

Type: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9400
Speed: 2.53GHz
Front Side Bus Speed: 1066MHz
L2 Cache: 6MB
Technology: Intel® Centrino® 2 processor technology

Type: DDR2 SDRAM
Installed: 4GB PC2-6400 (2GBx2)
Maximum: 8GB
Speed: 800MHz
Hard Drive
Capacity: 320GB
Speed: 7200rpm
Interface: Serial ATA
Optical Drive #1
DVD+R DL Write: 4x max


Screen Size: 16.4"
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
XBRITE-FullHD™ Technology: Yes
Graphics
Processor: ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 3650 with Total
Available Graphics Memory of 2280MB (max.)
Video RAM: 512MB of dedicated video RAM
Chipset: Mobile Intel® PM45 Express Chipset
Interface: HDMI™ and VGA out with Smart Display

 

Well, having almost exactly same spec as the one you're looking at I'd say YES-that's the one, especially that you have an option to go for a decent HDD and I'll be stuck with my crappy one for some time now I wonder what's others' opinion?

 

mine is 1200 free shipping at newegg

yours has a t9400, mine a P98600

depending on your useage, you may want to get the one from newegg, sell the p8600, get a t9600, and prolly still come out on top

just a food for thought :O

 

To add to my previous reply.

If anyones willing to help me hunt down drivers for windows xp pro......I will pay for your time (if thats legal?)

I don't have the laptop in front of me, so I cannot find which parts I need drivers for (thats where yall come in)

Will pay well :O

 

Hello I have just bought a FW21E (two months ago) and I am very dissapointed with Sony. This is my third laptop (due to dead pixels...) and I have a lot of issues yet. I get an error of the Ati driver when playing 3D games (atikmdag.dll), and my AV mode button doesn't do anything. I have called to Vaio Link and they say the could pick up my laptop for repair it but I wonder if there is some fix to the Av Mode problem.

When my computer is off and i press the av mode button the laptop doesn't do anything, the only purpose for this button on my pc is the vaio launcher when vista is already running..So I want to ask you? Does anyone with a FW model have the Av Mode working?

 

i wish i could tell u, but im having problems installing the drivers!!! THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING!!!

I followed the instructions exactly how its stated on their website:

http://support.vaio.sony.co.uk/down.../Updates/EP0000173630.exe&ip=EP0000173630.htm

click windows orb
right click computer
manage
device manager
uninstall ati driver
then double click on new driver

here it begins to extract the contents, then a black command box opens for a couple of seconds then it closes and then nothing happens. A few seconds later a message comes on saying that no ati device has been detected etc.
So i reboot and when it starts up no new driver has been installed, i know this because the screen is low res. At this point in my system tray it begins to install the factory ati graphics driver automatically and i cant stop it!

can somebody with experience in installing sony's updates tell me what im doing wrong?

 

I have the same problem, i was so glad for the update but following sony's intructions to update the video driver I get a black command box that dissapears with no result. I have re-installed original driver back, I think it could be a Sony mistake (one of many more...).

P.D.: Has anyone the AV Mode in the FW Vaio working?

 

has anybody had any success in updating to the latest graphics drivers?

 

Wow-I'm a bit surprised to hear that as my installation went smoothly-if a bit lenghty tho. it may sound lame but I was silly enough not to read their instructions and simply install the drivers once they've been downloaded and left the old ones untouched. Maybe try it this was so-do NOT uninstall the old drivers first
oh, and it does take few minutes to install with the annoying black window showing no text in the background so please be patient

 

wow i dont believe it, i'll give it a try...

edit: didnt work

 

Are you sure, I try too but it didnt work, if you check the driver version you get 8.512.1.4000 or 8.512.1.0?

 

it says it's 8.513.1.4000

 

the device manager also advises that the driver date is 29/11/2008 which makes no sense... i used the device manager to check for any updates but it advised me those are the most utd ones...

 

Mmm I don't know what's going here. Furthermore this update is suposed to appear at vaio update (that performs updates automatically) but it doesn't.

P.S.: I hope not to be annoying but i really need to know if you have AV Mode working, when the computer is off.

 

i think that the drivers were released by ATI on that date, and Sony used those to tailer to our Vaios...

 

i will check to see if Av mode is working on mine, hold on a sec...

and yeah, it does not appear on vaio update for me as well, i think this is happening on Vaio FW21E series only

 

That is what I thought as well but the drivers' version still doesn't to match those stated above, anyone recalls exact driver number on the website? btw I presume we're all talking about the hd 3650, unless there's no difference between those when it comes to drivers?

 

The FW21e comes with the hd 3470, but I presume that the driver is the same.

P.S.: Thanks DaRonRon, I dont know if the AV mode is not available on the whole FW series or it's a hardware problem of my Vaio, that's why I want to know if you can boot AV mode.

 

jandroa it seems i cant boot AV mode too...

can anybody else confirm this with their vaios?

 

right, so I read the manual which says to configure the AV button we need to press it for few seconds, then a screen comes up which allows us to setup some short-cuts for the media but it looks a bit like black magic to me so i left it unchanged.Now the AV button works when pressed while Vista is running but with the pc switched off it does nothing :/

 

Ok, so I also now assigned Winamp and PowerDVD to relevant options in the AV menu and the AV still doesn't boot the pc from shut down... maybe the AV is not meant to boot the pc in the first place and is to be used only when Vista is tunning?

 

yeah i thought so too, i dont think its meant to...but it doesnt matter anyway

sorry to bring this up again, but hasnet anybody else tried updating their graphics card yet? I find it hard to believe its just me and jandroa..

 

Thanks for your help, I think FW doesn't have that feature. Concerning to the graphics card update I am going to set up a case in the vaio link support and wait for a explanation from sony. I will post any solution that they could bring me.

 

Ref your graphics card update, recommend try this option instead. I have the FW285J and did a clean install. Wanted updated versions compared to the stock (somewhat dated) Sony drivers.
http://www.driverheaven.net/modtool.php
Follow the directions there for how to install the latest driver.

As for the AV Button, simply a shortcut key while Vista is running.

 

I updated mine a while ago using the catalyst modder, and haven't bothered since I don't game much now.

 

jandroa i already emailed them and got a response just now lol, here it is:

"Dear Sir/Madame,

Thank you for contacting us.

I have escalated the case and will email you as soon as possible.
Please email us if you require any further assistance.

Regards,

Justin
Sony Vaio-Link Team:"

Seems like they're looking into it.

J&Sinkto, i know about that way, but i prefer an official way of updating rather than using mods. A lot of people on their forums report problems using those drivers...

 

It seems that wee must wait for a fix...
I prefer too an oficial way of upgrading.

 

Care to direct me towards these many reported problems?

I've been using them since I got the laptop and the only problem was sometimes NFS: Undercover would crash and Microsoft would say it was the ATI driver's fault but this was a long time ago and the problem never popped up with the newest problems.

 

Why stuck?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136280

 

still have 1100 euros to pay off my mastercard for the fw

 

http://www.driverheaven.net/driverheaven-tools-discussion/175537-lost-my-ati-mobility-radeon-hd-3650-a.html

 

that would be great except newegg doesn't list
the VGN-FW298Y/H;
the above link shows gaming headphones

 

I didn't have any problems updating the video driver but the date is also off.

 

Hi guys,
I own an HP HDX16t, i received it few days ago. I am very disappointed with the sound. It is loud enough, but it crackles badly it is really distracting and u cannot listen to music on it. So i am thinking of returning it and buying a Sony FW if HP doesn't solve my problem.

I would really appreciate it if you guys who had had the laptop for some time now can tell me what are the main issues you face with the FW.
Mainly, how does it sound. How loud is it? Any crackling?
Does it heat too much with normal internet browsing?
Is it comfortable being used on the lap?
What times do you guys get on the standart battery? Do you recommend the large battery?
Any other general issues/advice would be highly appreciated.

 

for the people who managed to update, do u get any performance gains in games? Also are there more resolution options in CCC. Oh and what version of CCC is it now, i think the latest is 9.1 right?

 

1.there's still only 3 res avail 800x600 1024x768 1920x1080
2. I don't play any modern games bar ra3 but see no difference-my beloved nfs underground2 tho seems to freeze all the time when loading races
3. You're right that's the latest ccc version-as found on the ati website link, speaking of which, i've some screens somewhere where there was an overdrive option listed just below the Avivo options in the ccc. anyone knows how to 'activate' this option?

 

It seems people with the HD3650 have the same number of resolutions but people with the HD3470 will definitely get more resolution options (in Vista and in games) and I tested this multiple times by switching between factory drivers and modded ones.

In terms of performance gains, I haven't really noticed any improvement but I haven't compared it either since I never went back to the factory drivers and I just installed games on the modded driver and they work fine.

 

Does it make that much difference to use modded drivers vs factory (ati) drivers? Do you have problems with your current drivers because you want to upgrade them?

 

thanks for the info guys.. but for those who want custom resolutions i found a nifty program called PowerStrip and its great. I can run games at 720p, 640p, whatever u want, there are about 100 different resolutions u can chose from.
U gotta go into:
configure display profiles > advanced timing options > custom resolution
pick what u want and then reboot, you'll see the new res in CCC

 

I don't really find any laptop sound to be very good. That said, my wife's HP 17t sounds the best, my Sony FW290 CTO is next and my Macbook Pro is last.

I have never used it on my lap so I can't comment on the heat. No popping or crackling on the sound though I don't turn it up too loud. I bought the one with 2GB RAM and 160GB HD and upgraded them with components I already had (4GB & 320GB). I play lots of games and while the fans come on, they are much quieter than the Macbook Pro fans.

Cheers,

 

The main problem I had with the factory drivers was that I didn't get many resolution options in games, especially widescreen 16:9 options and I didn't want to use 3rd-party software to get those resolutions.

Trust me, you're making too much of a big deal out of this. I was skeptical at first too and I admit, I had problems with earlier modded drivers (like I said, NFS: Undercover would crash and Windows would report it was the ATI Driver's fault) but no problems with the newest ones.

 

Will you have problems running games if the only resolutions you can select are the standard ones? Do you see an performance increase if you can select a lower resolution. (maybe 1600 x 900) With the newest modded drivers

 

I am using a moded ati driver for my 3650 and I have 17 resolutions available.

 

Well, when you only have like 800x600, 1024x768, and 1600x900 and most new games don't work at 1600x900 with the HD3470, I don't want to be playing games at 1024x768 and have big, black borders on either side and no, I don't want to stretch and fill the screen because that just looks horrible. My preferred resolution right now for playing games is 1280x720.

I was referring to in-game options, not Vista Display Settings resolutions. Lots of people with the HD3650 reported the lack of resolutions available.

 

Just curious as to what games you folks are talking about. I play all my games at the 1920x1080 of the internal display or 1920x1200 of my external monitor. It looks great and is better than my Macbook Pro with the overheating nvidia 8600GT.

I play mainly RTS, RPG and simulations, none of which have the requirements of some FPS games. Company of Heroes has the most stringent requirements and I cannot use DX10 and DX9 supports a combination of Ultra, High and Med settings without AA. I would never consider using lower resolutions even on the external monitor (where there are more choices).

Cheers,

 

Just got my FW VGN-FW373J/B in, along with my MX5500 duo, and my friend who owns a computer shop, didnt mean to order a viewsonic vx2233 i think is the model, so i bought it from him

this is awesome

but which software should i delete? 75 processes is a bit much :O

also, anyone have a good link to some vista tweeks?

 

Well, I just reformatted my FW but before I had these game installed:
- Burnout Paradise
- C&C: Red Alert 3
- NFS: Undercover
- Prince of Persia 2008
- UT3
- UT2K4
- Worms: Armageddon

All games except UT2K4 and Worms were played at a combination of low-medium settings and a resolution of 1280x720. UT2K4, maximum settings, 1360x768 and Worms at maximum settings, 1600x900. AA doesn't even come into play at all.

The HD3470 is pretty weak so of course playing on a FW with the HD3650 would be a completely different experience.