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    Good news: FW US now comes with Radeon 3650, 512MB VRAM!

    Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by hendra, Sep 17, 2008.

  1. hendra

    hendra Notebook Virtuoso

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    Sony finally listen to their customers. They now offer FW with Radeon 3650. Previously, FW US models only come with Radeon 3470.

    http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...Id=10151&langId=-1&LBomId=8198552921665527715

    http://www.sonystyle.com/wcsstore/S...tore/pdf/VGN-FW292_CTO_GraphicSplash_spec.pdf

    There is a catch though, the screen is only XBRITE ECO, no XBRITE Hi-Color :( . Had it came with Hi-Color, I would jump right away! Now I would wait. Why did Sony not just offered this terrific model with XBRITE Hi-Color?

    Anyway, if you still want it, buy now since this is a limited model. They only make 300 units, 100 for each design model.
     
    hendra, Sep 17, 2008
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  2. Xirurg

    Xirurg ORLY???

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    So it is 1 good news and one bad?still,with 3650 it becomes a good multimedia+gaming laptop.
     
    Xirurg, Sep 17, 2008
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  3. hendra

    hendra Notebook Virtuoso

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    Yes, especially with 512MB VRAM! But it is the screen that holds me back! Dumb decision on their part!
     
    hendra, Sep 17, 2008
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  4. Xirurg

    Xirurg ORLY???

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    i don't think that Ati 3650 is powerful enough to use all 512MB.and i think that they will bring screen option back.
     
    Xirurg, Sep 17, 2008
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  5. niki_b

    niki_b Notebook Enthusiast

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    Is there some current avaiable coupons/rebates etc for this model?
    Thanks!
     
    niki_b, Sep 17, 2008
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  6. Flounder911

    Flounder911 Notebook Consultant

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    so this makes me excited a little...

    if the 3650 fits in the FW will it be possible at all to switch my FW140 with the 3470 with the 3650 ?

    or is the transplant essentially impossible...
     
    Flounder911, Sep 17, 2008
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  7. hendra

    hendra Notebook Virtuoso

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    Yes, the the transplant would be impossible. The video card is soldered. It can not be removed. Here's a picture of FW soldered video card from another thread.

    [​IMG]
     
    hendra, Sep 17, 2008
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  8. hendra

    hendra Notebook Virtuoso

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    I surely hope so. When they bring the Hi-Color back, I would jump right away. Come on Sony, I offer you my money, just bring Hi-Color back and I would jump right away!
     
    hendra, Sep 17, 2008
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  9. miki69

    miki69 Notebook Evangelist

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    miki69, Sep 17, 2008
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  10. hendra

    hendra Notebook Virtuoso

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    Yes, but 3650 is still much faster than 3470. Even if it only comes with 256MB VRAM. Previously, 3470 is the only 3D card you can get with FW US models.
     
    hendra, Sep 17, 2008
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  11. Wolf04

    Wolf04 Sony Fanatic

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    omG, if this becomes available in Canada, I'm gonna have some real buyer's remorse. I can't believe this, especially only after like 2 months of the laptop release, thanks a lot Sony. :(
     
    Wolf04, Sep 17, 2008
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  12. Elite Cataphract

    Elite Cataphract Notebook Evangelist

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    Great news! Sony finally decided to add a more powerful graphics card to the FW series. Now the Hi-color screen is missing. What a dissapointment... There's also one problem though...too LATE!
     
    Elite Cataphract, Sep 17, 2008
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  13. JohnTitor

    JohnTitor Notebook Consultant

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    lol @ it requiring the crappy screen
     
    JohnTitor, Sep 18, 2008
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  14. makitaki

    makitaki Notebook Enthusiast

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    yeah, buyer's remorse is right. I just bought my FW yesterday :(

    I wonder if a mobo swap could be done in the future?
     
    makitaki, Sep 18, 2008
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  15. gr00vy0ne

    gr00vy0ne Notebook Consultant

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    Wow, that was fast. I'd say the thing that excites me the most is the option for 8GB of memory and the fact that two of the three OS choices are 64-bit Vista!

    Yes, please get those Sony VAIO Vista 64-bit software and drivers out for the rest of us. :p
     
    gr00vy0ne, Sep 18, 2008
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  16. hendra

    hendra Notebook Virtuoso

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    hendra, Sep 18, 2008
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  17. Elite Cataphract

    Elite Cataphract Notebook Evangelist

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    So there won't be a Hi-color screen with the HD3650?
     
    Elite Cataphract, Sep 18, 2008
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  18. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    I am not sure but I expect there will be a retail model. Just like we saw with the first FWs.
     
    Phil, Sep 18, 2008
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  19. Elite Cataphract

    Elite Cataphract Notebook Evangelist

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    The only model with the HD3650 graphics card that is available right now on Sonystyle.com is the VGN-FW292 CTO Graphic Splash notebook.

    New:
    8GB DDR2 RAM
    250GB and 320GB SATA Hard Disk Drives [7200 rpm]
    Ati HD3650 512MB vRAM
    Graphics splash (Available colors: Kaleidoscope, Sound Waves and Colorful)

    Missing:
    Hi-color screen (disappointing, considering the better GPU)
     
    Elite Cataphract, Sep 18, 2008
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  20. ascariss

    ascariss Notebook Deity

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    hmm, I'll wait and see what sony canada does before deciding whether to get the FW still.
     
    ascariss, Sep 18, 2008
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  21. Skyshade

    Skyshade Notebook Deity NBR Reviewer

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    If you can, you are probably better off just return it and buy the new one. Not to defend Sony, since they didn't just put 3650 in there in the first place, but the fast refresh is mostly due to Intel's problem that delayed Sony's summer releases to fall and now the fall refresh is already out. :rolleyes:

    Both SR and Z will get refresh, too -- probably why Amazon was giving Z huge discount for the past couple of days.
     
    Skyshade, Sep 19, 2008
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  22. Elite Cataphract

    Elite Cataphract Notebook Evangelist

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    Isn't a refresh of notebooks supposed to bring something new? What's with the absence of the Hi-color screen?
     
    Elite Cataphract, Sep 19, 2008
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  23. ascariss

    ascariss Notebook Deity

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    best thing to do is wait for the new macbooks, since prices may drop then or new components may be added onto the current vaios.
     
    ascariss, Sep 19, 2008
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  24. hendra

    hendra Notebook Virtuoso

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    Are you saying that we are going to see more of FW2xx series pretty soon?
     
    hendra, Sep 19, 2008
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  25. Artimeis

    Artimeis Notebook Guru

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    Do a search on "vaio FW" on Amazon.com, and you will see the answer for that one.
     
    Artimeis, Sep 19, 2008
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  26. hendra

    hendra Notebook Virtuoso

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    Wow, thanks so much. They will have new FW 2xx coming soon. No mention of what kind of GPU though. Hopefully, they will have the CTO model with HiColor and Radeon 3650 or better. I am glad I wait, I will be looking forward for more information from Sony.
     
    hendra, Sep 19, 2008
    #26