Does this laptop have montevina?

It is the Canadian Sony FW. Here is the link...

http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/se...Id=1005349&navigationPath=32009n100299n100490

I'm not sure as to whether it has the montevina platform or not...does somebody know?

 

yes, it is based on the montevina platform

 

Also, does this laptop have the xbrite ECO or HICOLOR screen???

 

that might be an eco.

 

Since most pre-configured FW's have eco screens, I'd assume that this one does too.

 

thats too bad.

 

i could have gotten this model at employee pricing (my friend works at sony style) but I think ill have to talk to him about doing a CTO instead.

 

the hi color is only with CTO afaik.

 

ascariss you're the other guy in Canada who wants the FW right? What specs are you planning on getting and when?

 

The specs for the model listed are pretty darned sweet. It seems that the gpu is the Radeon which means that it would very likely be the HiColor screen. Just confrim with your buddy if that's the case - it's a well-balanced, ultra-sweet set up.

 

I don't think so. When I went there yesterday he had to unpack the 140 model (low end) and it had the ATI card. It did not have the hicolor screen.

 

well I am still on the fence about it, the review provided here for the FW doesn't bode well regarding the ATI card with older games as well not running that great. So am not sure if I will get it for 100%. I may have to import the FW from germany with the 3650 card if it won't be offered here in canada. When I asked a sony representive from toronto (found the person via the sony press release) she mentionedt that the video card (3650) is not available in canada.

I am in no hurry to get a laptop, so unless sony doesn't add any new cards to the FW before october, I may get another brand.

 

I have a VGN-A290 - a magnificent older 17 inch laptop.

It has an ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9700 with 64mb of video memory - technically a dinosaur.

And yet, it can handle most but not all games pretty darned well.

While I do agree that it's almost an essential and required really super good idea to get the Radeon 3470 instead of the x4500, I don't really think it's super critical that it be the 3650 or it's a no go. At least, it's not something I would any sleep over.

 

I see. in my case I do not game at all on laptops. I have a desktop built for that. I am mainly using this for school stuff, storing music/photos (no editing), watching lots of movies and general stuff. I find this perfect for that.

Then again , any laptop will suffice but I've always wanted to own a Sony Vaio ever since I was a kid in high school.

 

I've worked on Dells, HP's, Compaqs and Toshibas....with the exception of certain Toshibas, I think those other brands are largely generic, unpleasant crap.

IMO, can't really beat the Vaio - it's just been a real pleasure to have and use.

 

again I've yet to test the 3470 on any games, but according to this review

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4524

The disappointing part was trying to play semi-modern games such as Half-Life 2 or Portal, and getting very poor frame rates. The ATI 3470 graphics didn't really help with much besides offloading video decoding while enjoying a Blu-ray movie. I would have much rather seen a 3650 series graphics card, considering notebooks like the Toshiba A305 which fall into the same price category offer this. To give you a quick example of what the game play was like, here is my average FPS while playing HL2: Episode 2 and Portal.


I know this is not a gaming laptop, but at the size of the FW, not including an option for a GPU that is more competitve is a mistake. A higher end gpu can always be added with CTO and not come standard.

although reading this
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=272679

which comes with the 3650, it only scores 0.1 more on the vista for video compared to the 3470, but much higher on the 3Dmark06.

 

I've played Half-Life 1 & 2 on the older laptop of mine I just mentioned with NO problems (other than HL2's maddening initial verification sequence). Therefore, I don't know what the reviewer of this notebook is talking about.

 

If you're looking for gaming performance would not he XPS 1530 do the trick? Prices would be comparable...

 

I don't need gaming performance, if I did, I would buy an alienware. Plus I don't care for dell design nor quality.

 

They why are you so hung up on the graphics card in the FW?

 

pshsshsh screw that i would get a sager. AW = overpriced dell cr... better when they used clevos.

as for the reviewers comments i think he just expected better card on just a big comp. However if half life 2 on the FZ was decent so i don't have qualms on how it'll be on the FW.

 

I have owned quite a few sony products in my day, camcorder, tv, dvd player, vcr, mp3 player, discman, etc. And most were very competitive and offered amazing features that rivaled competitors and at many times surpassed what the competition had. The premium I had to pay was not a problem since I knew I was getting a good solid product. Somehow I don't feel that is that case with the FW and the card offered.

perhaps so, but sager design leaves something to be desired.

 

How about external graphics cards? They may do the trick...