Official VAIO FW Series Owners Thread

Why do you feel the MBP will be better than the FW?

 

They were selling you the MBP because they want more money.

 

On the whole, I wouldn't go by what the sales people at BestBuy would recommend any more than what the Sony sales people would say.

My observation and experience with these folks suggests that most of them have no idea what they are talking about and regurgitate sales points without really understanding what they are saying, much less how computers operate.

 

by bestbuy and futureshop employees? HAHA yeah they are clearly the people who are in the know...any drone is gonna tell you to get a mac...1) a moron could use it and 2) the higher cost puts more money in their pocket

 

Guys, it's not only the salesmen. and Bestbuy isn't on commission so why would they try to get me to buy the most expensive thing? trust me, i WANT the FW, but Everybody, not only the salesmen, but also the people on the Internet and other designers have recommended that i get the macbook pro. i LOVE the Sony Vaio screens, that is what made me want one, they are unbelievable, and yeah like the salesman said, it's a GREAT laptop for entertainment, to watch movies. but, the picture is so bright and colourful, and bold and vivid that it's not real. what they said the mac is, is that if i am editing a picture, i am getting the exact colour i am seeing... if you know what i mean.

I am just trying to get the best one for college, that will give me the best performance. i'm not sure what that is yet, but everyone is recommending the Macbook pro...

 

lol, they are just trying to justify by making it out to be a much better computer than it actually is. And they have drank the Kool Aid. I've owned a Powerbook, Mac Mini, and Macbook. They aren't any different from PC except you get a different OS and you get to join the 'Club'.

 

Do any of you FW owners have it with the extended battery?
How's battery life on it?

 

Let the sheep buy a Mac.

Anyways, I've decided I might not get a m860tu & just get an FW & a PS3, whats the cheapest way I can get an FW in Canada. They are going for $1100 USD on Amazon, any better prices?

 

nevermind, the GPU isn't up to par

 

ARom you can get it from best buy or the sonystyle website for about the same price plus taxes. whoops just saw your 2nd post, the vaios are not meant to be gaming laptops/

 

I have Sony FW now and had Dell XPS m1330 for about 3 weeks. Sony has better fit and finish. Dell had some tacky plastic film covering touch sensitive buttons above keyboard...looked like I did it myself. Also the Dell slot-load optical drives are clunky, loud, and unreliable. The first CD I burned was a coaster. I've had no such problems with the FW. And the Dell will get much hotter than the FW...look at the temperature measurements for both in NBR reviews.

 

Linah4, I totally agree with your decision. A 17" Macbook Pro is the best system for your requirements (and it'll run Vista if you need). Graphic designers and artists ALL use Macs. Make sure you get the LED-backlit display. Good luck.

 

You know why?

FACT: Apple will release a redesigned MBP and MP line-up late September or early October, so they want to get rid of their outdated, overpriced stock before getting in the new stuff.

 

Not true. Not for a long time.

 

Indeed, that's an age-old myth, or maybe they loved using the OSX because it's so "easy" to use and they don't like getting their hands dirty a bit.

 

actually not true, they use macs a lot but not all. I personally think Photoshop and Element runs better on windows, so ... pick one that suits the way you wanna use it.

 

I'm glad you said that. I myself am considering the Dell m1530 over the FW. As a loyal Dell guy, it's hard to switch camps.

 

I am waiting too before I make a switch. I am mostly concerned with how the Sony FW would be able to handle TF2 since that's really the only game I plan on playing. I think I will make a trip out today to see the Sony FW at BestBuy though.

 

Don't expect too much. The Eco screen has much to be desired... and that's all BestBuy carries.

 

yeah I know they just have the base model. I mostly just want to see it in person to get a feel of the different AR.

 

FYI: for those interested in a deal on the FW, officemax.com has the FW140E/H for $999.99. This is through their website only and this model comes with the integrated intel graphics.

 

Thanks

Yeah, it just seems like the right thing to do, to better benefit me as a designer, then after college, when i start making money i could buy my toys lol i will definitely be getting a Sony Vaio when i'm done as a multimedia laptop!

but i can't really afford the 17" . nor do i really want the extra weight, right now i can only afford the $2100 one, which means i will be getting the 256mb dedicated ram instead of the 512mb on the 17" and higher 15". but i had to choose the cheaper one since i am getting them to upgrade my RAM to 4GBs and getting them to put Vista on there. so my total is going to be around $2600 without extended warranty, because i can't afford that either. if i were to get the one with 512mb i would be looking at just over $3000, and although i can pay for it using credit, i don't want that extra to have to pay back. and i am getting the led-backlit display , and i really like how it's got the backlit keyboard. teton, do you think that the 256mb RAM is more than enough for me? i know that's what i was looking at with the FW, so it should be fine for college and after college, right?

 

256MB is plenty. Sounds like a real nice machine you'll be getting. Too bad Apple doesn't care about Blu-ray (yet).

My FW Blu-ray is just phenomenal...I watched an entire movie today and it was very enjoyable. I wish the FW's sound output was a little more powerful though...max volume is not even what I would call loud. Anyway, you need to study so we should stop talking movies!!

 

i know i wish they had blu-ray, lol that was the first question i asked was if they were planning on putting blu ray on their machines any time soon, and they said not until at least a few years.

so 256mb is good, i'm just a little scared about that, but i think i'm just going to go with that one. yeah i'm getting a little excited about it .

i didn't realize how expensive Macs really are though. i mean with the Sony vaio FW, i was getting a good Laptop with a good Warranty that i was happy with cause there's a Sony Repair Service in my city, and i'de be getting it ll for about $2000. with the Mac, i'm paying $1000 EASY extra if i wanted the warranty and better machine., but i'm not getting the warranty on that. oh well, i can't have it all!

 

That was something that surprised me when I started looking at laptops recently.

So while I was at one of the local malls, I stumbled upon the Sony store (while looking for the Dell store) and took a gander at one of the FW books. Not a bad looking piece of technology!

 

... ...

 

I took a look at the FW today at Micro Center. It's definitely a nice looking machine. Hopefully Dell unveils their offering shortly so that I can decide here soon.

 

I'm sorta in the same boat. Have a few weeks before school starts though!

 

Can anyone give me battery life #s for the standard battery vs the extended battery?

Thanks

 

FwhyI:

The charge time on the extended battery is a joke - I'm talking **several** hours;

Extended Battery life at HIGH Performance browsing the net and puttering with the fw lasts somehere between 2.5-4 hours. I consider this "Average" at this point all things considered

You can play games on this (haven't tested yet) but you WILL NOT be playing them with a battery.

I can't imagine in even optimized mode ever getting 5.5 per the qualified Sony claims.

UNless of course you are sitting in the dark and it's sitting in your lap with the screen turned off, and you are doing absolutely nothing

 

I just bought my fw11zu and can wait for collection wich is today after 4pm

For anyone in uk that seek to buy one i recomend - Tesco Direct with the price 1099 for the fw11zu and 1049 for fw11s - that's 200 pounds less than sonystyle !!!

 

TetonWolf, any more thoughts or comments now that you've had the FW a couple of days?

 

Maybe it´s a silly question but... how do I know if my screen really comes with double lamp?

Thanks in advance

 

the specs for double lamp will be mentioned, otherwise if it is not mentioned it should be single lamp.

 

There's a sticker on the bottom-left side that says 'double lamp'

 

And then there's a little star and small letters under it saying: '* on selected models'. At least that's how it is here in The Netherlands.

 

Not a silly question. There should be a way to know definitively. Sticker or no sticker.

 

There is. At the highest brightness the screen does not look good

 

Anyone know where to find a driver for the SD-card reader in the FW that works under Vista 64-bit? The one that's on the sony website doesn't work..

 

PhilFlow is our designated driver.

 

Exactly, I´ve got the FW11J and according to specifications it takes double lamp. There are stickers but as PhilFlow says also appears '* on selected models' (in my notebook "para modelos seleccionados").

It´s my first laptop and that´s why I was asking for something that I didn´t know if it could be checked. I wanted to know if specifications don´t lie.

Thanks again

 

I have seen, the ATI control panel has a bug

I cant save the settings (brightness -25) because with double lamp I like the brightness of Fn to maximum and -25 in control panel.

Although I put save and apply,next time I restart o turn on the computer the settings come back to origin.

 

So I'm typing right now on my new FW. It's awesome.

I'm overwhelmed by Vista, which I'll learn to deal with, and all the bloatware. Does anyone have any tips on removing all this crap?

 

How's the screen ??

 

Screen is beautiful, as everyone else has noted.

I'm draining out the battery (they also gave me an extended one) on my first use, and I'm a bit concerned that the notebook is a bit warm. It's mainly in the area near where I place my palms, next to the touchpad.

 

Quick question for those that have already received their CTO's if any... How long did it take to build and then how long to ship ( where you are would help as well)

I just want to know cause i ordered a Z series and want to know abt how long mine will take... THanks

 

That's where your hard-drive is located. I just replaced mine with a 7200rpm Western Digital model and it's running fine, so you shouldn't worry

 

I put in my cto on 3rd Aug (which was a Sunday). They gave me an initial estimate of 'shipping on 12th Aug'. However, they shipped it on the night of 6th August itself. I got it today(i.e. 11th Aug).....San Diego to Dallas by fedex ground. havent opened it yet.

 

ouuu ... nice... ive got estimated shipping on the 15th... somehow i dont think itll go early... thanks for replying... anyone else with a story of their own??

 

small favour to ask anyone that has the FW, how are the new programs like that shipped with the device (the ones discussed in the berlin video), specifically these:

VAIO® Movie Story - Movie Creation

VAIO® Music Box - Playlist Creation

VAIO® Media plus - Multimedia Streaming Software

thanks.