Official VAIO FW Series Owners Thread

Nothing to do with the topic, however I would not click on that link for the simple reason that the link name displayed differed from the link that shows when you hover over it. I just can't let that pass. The very obvious sign of fishiness.

As I said, nothing to do with the topic - totally agree on the spam / advertising stuff (I love Firefox - I never see ads on MY machines). Wouldn't buy a Dell, so can't speak to that.

 

No, I found the actual replacement screen (for a lot less money than Sony charges) from this ebay seller.

 

Anyone know anything about updating FW4 Series ATI Mobility 4650 drivers? The laptop I just bought is the first one with a dedicated graphics card. Any help would be appreciated.

 

THAT was certainly no 'deal' on that Dell. Derrida makes good points. You know what's really annoying. Having your hovering mouse over text pop up advertising. Surfing at work is such a drag. IE6 (snicker). DailyTech is horrendous for that. I'm old, so my eyes are bad - I use the the hovering mouse to try to follow the text, especially when there's ads flashing and moving around all over the place.

To be on topic for this forum... I like my FW, but the toy Netbook I just got puts lust in my heart for a USB port on the other side of my FW for my USB mobile broadband. I wanted one before, now I'm lusting for it.

 

Is this de rigueur or something new?

VAIO® Applications Uninstaller Software​

Is it actually "needed" beyond the normal Add/Remove applications procedure? I'd certainly try that before going through all the trouble of a clean install.

 

I'm going to be buying a FW 490 in a week from now, and I've been searching all over the net for answers to my question, but I wanted to get an answer from someone who had experience with the laptop's screen.

Is the FullHD really better than the Eco because it'd come out to $150 more.

Thank you for your help.

 

The fonts size is smaller but shaper and clearer. Really worth 150 usd to upgrade imo. But since u play alot of games instead of hd movies ppl saying the eco is better for gaming. But i chose the hd one ^^ I love the colors in hd screen.

 

Brightness is more of a factor than Resolution since I won't be doing much more than DVDs, some editing, and a couple games. If brightness in both the Eco and FullHD is the same or not much of a difference then I'd get the cheaper version. Not having 1080p resolution won't matter much.

 

There are two things on a laptop very hard to change once in place (i.e. what you buy/order) the keyboard and screen. Both are your constant interface to the system. The FW keyboard is fantastic - love the spaced keys. The screen is what you'll spend countless hours staring at (or into). Why not get the best quality you can afford? I've seen the eco and hi-color side-by-side - big difference. I have the hi-color and glad I chose it. Granted font size can be small, but image clarity and sharpness are excellent. I'd recommend the hi-color version.

 

Careful, though. HiColor is NOT FullHD. Just mosey around the notebookjournal.de site and look at the brightness and contrast of the HiColor of the FW190 series and the FullHD of the FW390 series (they haven't reviewed the FullHD on the FW4 series yet, only the Eco). BIG DIFFERENCES.

Somewhere on NBR I took the trouble to post all of the links to the pages of those reviews. (And I think "Phil" then also took the trouble to cut and paste out the specs from those links into a single posting.) BOTH the current Eco AND the FullHD are coming out with dramatically less brightness and different (but sometimes equivalent or better) contrasts than the HiColor. Most likely Sony stopped making its own HiColor and has contracted out its screens to Sharp, etc. Oh, and contrast is a notoriously difficult thing to standardize, objectify, etc., BTW.

What you DO get with FullHD is a double-lamp screen and, sure, a right-out-of-the-box better visual experience. But the trade-off for someone who games (or works with a lot of text) is the higher resolution which is not necessarily a boon over the long haul.

So, why not see an FW4 Eco in retail and play with the ATI Catalyst Control Center to improve saturation and see if that isn't the better trade-off in the end. What's the use of a much better video card if one doesn't use it? ;-)

 

Sony corrected the FW490CTO to only allow Fresh Start for Vista Business. Also, my computer sat in Bloomington, CA for 16 hours. I can only hope that it got on a plane last night.

 

Would the 4650 on this laptop be able to run upcoming games such as Modern Warfare 2 and Diablo 3 on good resolutions?

 

i have a fw390, i don't want to use battery.
do i need to charge and discharged it per day or two day in order to not disintegrate?

 

Ok.....Problem

I reinstalled vista 32bit & I can't find bluetooth HW @ device Manager. When I try to install drivers it keep saying there's no supported HW available.

What I need to do now? (Recovery is my final option.)

 

Does anyone have a link for a service manual or disassembly guide for the FW? I will be buying one and want to upgrade the Hard Drive to an SSDI already have. I have no idea how to crank open an FW.

Thank you very much!

 

Turn the FW upside down with the screen hinge at the top and then unscrew the bottom left panel (1 screw) the HDD is screwed in right under there. It's so easy that a lab rat with its frontal lobe removed could still probably do it.

 

Ahhhh, thanks much! Thats seems easy enough, unlike on the Vaio Z where you have to take 17 screws out and rip-open 1/2 the laptop before you can ever access the HD compartment

Now, if only I can make the FW work properly with XP... that will be the real challenge, finding the necessary drivers and get it all configured. I dont even know where to start getting all drivers, etc...

 

VGN-FW465J/B Drivers Download

You'll get Vista Home Premium 64-bit, with free upgrade to Windows 7 when it's released. Dropping back to XP sounds like a real PITA, hardly worth the trouble.

 

I would definitely go for current 7 then upgrade to real one. Using both XP and Vista, Vista sucks for audio so have to use XP but I miss Vista functionality, using XP only for what have to.

 

Hi guys!
Where i can find the Xp driver HD4650 for my vaio? (f41j\h)

I try to modify them thx mobility modder, but the hd4650 is not supported

Help

 

Gaming smackdown: Windows XP vs Windows Vista vs Windows 7
The benchmarks don't lie!

 

I just wanted to put up a link to the New York State Attorney General's site covering a U.S. judgment against Dell for deceptive advertising practices, including (according to press coverage) for pressuring customers to do the repairs themselves that were covered by onsite warranties.

Also, inasmuch as other states' settlements with Dell have been the subject of postings at NBR and some commentators noted that NY was not among them, this link explains what the situation was and is for New Yorkers. Most people probably do not know that the NY Attorney General actually runs a mediation program for consumer complaints. Such a service could be used for complaints about any manufacturers doing business in New York State, including Sony.

This link responds to earlier posts on this or a related FW thread where comparisons were made between Dell and Sony practices (including Sony's insistence on doing its own warranty repairs). In fact, since my recounting of personal experiences with Dell of a highly disappointing nature are borne out by these sorts of rulings against Dell (and had drawn criticism from some Sony thread commentators who considered my allegations impossible to believe), this link may be "eye-opening" as the saying goes....

http://www.oag.state.ny.us/bureaus/consumer_frauds/dell_lawsuit.html

P.S. No need for anyone to give me any points for helpful posts. Man does not live by points alone!

 

make sure the wifi button is ON

 

Of course if the drivers you are trying to install are not those that correspond to the installed operating system of your originally configured FW, then Sony's site will be telling you that you have no supported HW available. Sony will only support for your system the OS which it came installed with.

So, if you're at a support site for your model that does provide the 32-bit drivers, don't enter your system ID and all that (which will trigger the refusal to recognize a supported system), and just download.

Perhaps download the drivers to a DVD using a different computer so that the site doesn't recognize the computer model? I haven't tried this but it is clear that the Sony support site does try to block the user from downloading anything incompatible (i.e., not related to) what was originally installed on the machine.

 

WiFi working well. No idea! what went wrong?

 

I read somewhere, that the extra vram, its actually beneficial to play 1080p games. So i intend to play GTA IV on this machine, and i need to hear some expert advice if it actually needs the hd4650 1gb (instead of the hd4650 512mb) to 1920X1080 resolution.

I noticed too that sonystyle when constumizing a FW490 only allows to select the 1080p screen if selected the hd4650 1gb..

Thanks in advance!

 

Let me start by saying you will not be playing GTA4 in 1080 on this laptop. Even the 1GB graphics card won't handle it. You'll probably get frames between 10 and 15.

 

i'm considering getting the 128gb ssd that is offered for the fw490 CTO.

has anyone gotten this?
what brand is it?

 

I don't know about the FW490, but a few months ago in the FW390 CTO it was Samsung MMDOE28G5MPP-OVA (i.e., the MLC 128GB SSD).

Good luck. Let us know if you get one, what it is, and how it performs.

 

Does the FW490 touchpad support multitouch gestures?

 

Anyone know what AV mode button use for?

 

Normally brings up on screen buttons to launch Photo Gallery, Internet and the Web cam. I don;t use mine much, but does offer some time savings from searching the menu

 

Ordered today my FW:

■Intel® Core(TM)2 Duo 2.53 GHz
■320 GB Serial ATA (5400 rpm)
■4 GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM
■DVD disc drive
■Vista® Home Premium - (32 bit)
■ATI MobilityRadeonHD4650 512MB
■16.4" LCD, 1600 x 900 webcam

Ended specing the processor up from 2Ghz and opted for the lower resolution screen. Cant wait to get it n slap on left 4 dead .

 

I'm looking to get the Vaio FW customised version. Who here has this laptop configured with premium specifications? Have you guys had noise and heat issues? When I say premium specs I mean faster processors and good GPU. I need a good computer to do architectural CAD drawings and Modeling but noise and heat are really important concerns.

My desired system:
P8700 at 2.53ghz
320 GB 5,200rpm
4gb 800mhz DDR2 SDRAM
Vista 64bit
Ati HD4650 512mb
1600x900

Anyone with vaguely similar specs please let me know how yours runs.
Thanks very much.

 

Recieved and opened FW490 this afternoon. Good first impressions of the laptop. However, Sony eSupport is horrible. I don't feel comfortable doing a clean vista install without the audio, blu-ray, cd-rom, and pointing device drivers.

 

Congratulations on your new purchase. If you have time, please post reviews, pictures, and videos of your new found love. Thanks a lot!

By the way, does the touch pad support multitouch gesture like zooming, scrolling?

 

Looking at the touchpad properties, scrolling (both vertical and horizontal) is supported, while other gesturing does not appear to be natively supported.

 

Not sure if anyone cares, but I ordered a FW93JS last a few days ago:

P8700 2.53GHz
6GB RAM
320GB 7200RPM HDD
ATI Mobility Radeon HD4650 1GB
DVD Drive
HD Display
Vista Home Premium 64 bit

It'll arive next week

 

Hi, I posted the other day.
Basically I want to know from those who have an FW laptop with P8700 2.53ghz processor or faster if you guys have had any heat and noise issues.
Thanks
JM

 

I did notice that the T9550 ran hotter than a P8600 on the FWs I saw (FW3 for the first and FW1 for the second). As for noise, I suppose you mean frequency of fan onset and duration. Yes, more frequent and a bit louder. BUT these CPU's were not on the FW4 series but earlier ones.

In general the P series should run cooler than the T series.

 

i got a p8700 too and it's running at 55 C max with laptop cooling fan after hours of playing it only 50 C.

 

Any of you guys have this problem with your FW? Im really starting to question the build quality of the FW... after 10 days of owning it I noticed pressing the Tab key makes a strange clicking noise because it is separating the keyboard section from the outer frame of the laptop. Heres a youtube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gdeCrOcZEY

 

If you are planning to use your FW for architectural work, CAD and 3-D rendering, you will get much better performance from a T-series processor, which will have 6 MB cache vs. the 3 MB cache of the P-series processors.

Actually if you are going to be doing video intensive work, most lilkely you will be generating less heat if you have a T-series processor, as the FW will be able to utilize its bigger L2 cache.

Most of the heat (and the corresponding fan noise) will be generated by the HDD, the wireless card (if it is on) and the ATI video card. The CPU cooling in the FWs is very good and handles both P and T processors extremely well.

The only down side of the T-series processors (beside the higher price) is that they are not so energy efficient and will drain the battery faster. But if you are going to do heavy computing, you will be better off with a T-series processor.

 

Is Sonystyle the only place that sells configure-to-order FWs? I'm in the US. I can get a small educational discount there since I'm a student but if there's a cheaper place maybe I should compare. The discounts are bigger on some pre-configured systems, but I really want the following configuration (leaning towards getting this rather than a similar DELL XPS 16 due to the heat issue):

It seems most people who have this model, or the previous version of it, are pretty happy. Then again, most people with the XPS 16 seem happy too, but I've had bad experience with laptops that run too hot and so that puts me off. Anyone have this? What do you think?

----Sony Vaio VGN-FW490 CTO----

* IntelR Core 2 Duo Processor T9600 (2.80GHz)
* ATI Mobility Radeon? HD4650 graphics card with 1GB vRAM-great for games and movies
* 16.4" widescreen with XBRITE-FullHD LCD technology (1920x1080)
* 320GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [7200 rpm]
* Blu-ray Disc playback/burning [Reg. Price $180.00]
* WLAN (802.11a/b/g/n) with integrated BluetoothR technology
* Large Capacity Battery
* Black
* MicrosoftR Windows VistaR Ultimate 64-bit
* 4GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 2GBx2)
* 3 Year Express Ship Service Plan with ADH for Notebooks

Total (incl. edu and program discount, tax, and shipping): $2121.10

 

Forgot to ask one more thing- how's the on-board audio on the FW? If I get back into doing any DJing to music creation I'll get an external audio interface for that, but I listen to a lot of music so it would be nice to be able to hook some good headphones/medium sized speakers straight into the unit and crank it up.

 

You can try PortableOne - they have FW490DFB, which is very similar to the above config (it has a BD-ROM instead of BD-Writer) and even with adding a large battery as an add-on and the 3-year ADH warranty it comes to $1761:

http://www.laptopsinc.com/config.asp?config_id=VGNFW490DFB

 

Hey guys, so I bought the new FW-490 JFT model. Everything is wonderful except for every single time I play Team Fortress 2, the computer locks up, the sound loops and crashes. No way for me to get around it but to physically hold down the power button until the computer turns off.

Can anyone help me figure this problem out? I tried turning off the firewall etc (Running Vista 64)

 

Quick question... I have an FW450J/B. What is the chipset? GM45 or PM45?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834117926

 

PM45. Here's everything there is to know about your model: http://www.docs.sony.com/release/SPECS/VGNFW450JB_mksp.pdf

 

Thanks! I owe you.