New Sony FW available @ CC

Hey the new FW (possibly SR as well since the black one isn't an FW) Sony's are listed at Circuit City. Supposedly they are are available locally, but none show up in any of the stores in my area. They look very nice. Anyways, take a look for yourself.

*Removed dead link*

 

Circuit City says these two machines are the same size, so is the keyboard bigger on the black one or what? The silver one has way more space on the sides yet they are supposedly the same width ("mid-size", according to CC, hehe).

PS: They don't have them here (Chicago burbs) yet either...

 

How is it possible that design of FW looks even better than SR ? From the first pictures (as it really looks like SR) I hope the Z line will look better

 

Finally some PICCA's!!! NICE! +rep for duffy!

 

The FW looks amazing! Like 100 times better than the FZ!

 

Nice find. Here's a backup of the pages just in case: http://www.mediafire.com/?wmymq5nemji

 

About the FW: They have the processor wrong, it is the P8400. And is 16.4" really a "midsize laptop"?? And why does it say no fingerprint reader when there is one in the photos? And what graphics card (if any does it have)? Why did CC not show that info?

 

Note that the bottom 3 pics aren't FW models.

 

So the SR really looks like an updated SZ model. interesting.

I think the FW looks a bit better than SR, but that may have to do with the boring color of the black SR. SR will be available in different colors so that would make it more interesting.

 

Impressed with the pics of the FW! Great job Sony, even if I will never take a 16''4... If it was 13''1 I was sold!
The SR seems the SZ with the keyboard of the TZ. Looks nice but is quite dissapointing that is not so slim. Can't wait for the Z series too.

 

Great find duffy!

I also like more the FW, great design and colour. SR in the pics looks fat, is more similar to CR than the SZ for me.

 

Is there any sign of a pcmcia slot on any of the new range of vaio's?

 

New FW reminds so much to Sony's old PCG-Z series:

 

Nope, all models seem to have a 34mm Expresscard slot, they could have at least put the larger 54mm slot on the larger models like the FW.

 

woah the old PCG-Z series looks fantastic, would be hard to believe it's an old design.

 

If SR is really the successor of CR it will be a hit

 

I'm not seeing it. I love the Z1, but it really doesn't look like the FW at all. The FW looks more like an updated HP dv6 with a couple of Sony touches (keyboard and badging).

 

Seems to me like Sony has always had great designs

 

any specs on the 13.3? seems to be very light and slim. hopefully the will come up with a wxga+ and the thing is mine. keyboard looks really better then the older sz modells.

 

Here you go http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=264339

 

ok, totally confused the sr with the fw. damn, this isnt slim

so i have to look into the z-line...

 

Looks like Circuit City has removed images. Maybe not final design?

 

More like they were leaked too early.

 

Its almost definitely the final design, and I'm pretty sure they were pulled because they were leaked early against Sony's wishes.

 

As I mentioned on the original post these are fairly nice looking machines. I had a TZ for a while and I liked the overall design. The 11" screen was a bit much for my eyes, but the design was quite nice. I'm glad Sony migrated their other machines in that direction. Thank goodness they finally got rid of the touch typist's nightmare of a keyboard. My only wish is for Sony to finally drop Alps as the touchpad OEM. I don't know why Sony continues to use such subpar hardware.

 

yea it was an early leak, sony is expected to make announcements on July 15th, so they weren't too happy with the early leaks.

Also if u match the designs with the sketches in the leaked manuals (also available in the orginal new design post) they match up pretty well so i think these are most likely the final designs

 

yeh, Alps is horrible. the synaptics touchpad on my Asus W7J- is a joy to use. the Alps on my TZ is a pos...

 

I'm really liking the looks of the VAIO FW. The only time the F series looked nice (and not tawdry) was with the VAIO FS. What's best, the FW not only look very much like the FS, it also manages to capture key design elements of Sony's most stylish laptop to date - the VAIO Z1.

I'd get one in a heartbeat if I had the chance. Too bad though, doesn't look like it'll happen cause I already have a decent gaming desktop. Maybe early next year.

 

I am using that laptop right now!!!! It has amazingly lasted for about 5 years now! Still runs like a charm. Can't to anything hard core, but is great for email and web.

 

any chance for the GPU to be better than AMD's? FW looks very impressive.

 

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4473

Depends which config you get I'd imagine, but the HD3470 should be at least double as fast as the HD3200... which by itself isn't anything you'd write home about IMHO.

 

HD3470 is equal to what geforce 8400gs? or 8600gs?

 

the HD3470 is more like a 8400M GS, than a 8600m GS.

Position:
40. 8600M GS
64. HD3470
67. 8400M GS

benchmark-comparison of grafic cards: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

 

The FW/Z will have ATI HD3650 with 256 MB

 

Im really beginning to warm to the sony FW now, a great looking laptop. But i was thinking does it have the performance to match? At the moment i have riddled the choice of lappys down to the Xps 1530, and the Vaio FW.

The specs to match the xps1530, as in: does the FW have: hdmi port, hi res led screen, good cooling and low fan noise, high end cpu/gpu??

The only thing i know about the FW is the graphics card which was rated by notebook check; If you play Crisis you have to set all the options for the graphics to the lowest possible setting. For a laptop which is nearly the size of a 17" lappy this is very disappointing.

GPU: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 graphics card with 128MB of VRAM is a pretty crap GPU... If this is what we can expect from sony i probably won’t much rate the rest of the hardware going in to this thing. Hopefully somebody will tell me that this is part of the very lowest package, and that much more is available. If not I’m off to dell for good value with high performance.

If you pay top dollar for a sony you expect they should throw in some decent hardware. Why not use the GPU's that Ailenware use? Or some of the latest nvidia GPU’s? Ow sony, give us a stunning 16.4 movie screen like lappy, without the performance to boot, what is the point!

 

I'm in the same boat as you Tristan, it is toubling that sony might not have any nvidia cards in the FW, although maybe that will change.

But if FW is supposed to be just a multimedia book, meaning playing movies and music, then I guess the ati is fine, but then depends what they mean with multimedia . Guess only one thing to do is sit and wait.

 

Guys, FW is clearly positioned as a best-in-class Blu-ray laptop. Just look at the features:

1) 16:9 aspect ratio
2) 1600x900 (lots of pixels for HD)
3) bigger screen 16.4" for all those pixels
4) Best HD video card (ATI) instead of gaming card (NVidia)
5) HDMI port
6) Blu-ray drives in a lot of preconfigured models

Sony is the evangelist of Blu-ray....would you expect them do anything less here.

 

i second what tristan says, it comes down to that or dell xps i dont believe HP will come out with geforce 9600GT on thier 5 series

 

I believe that the other GPU option mentioned was the HD3650 256MB.
I definitely agree with you Tristan. This is definitely insufficient for hard-core gamers looking for a high-end GPU. Look at the Acer 6920 Gemstone Blue. A much cheaper company offers a decent 9600GT GPU as an option, with 512MB VRAM. Sony is a more expensive company, and should definitely offer a high-end GPU. Shouldn't we expect more from them when were're paying a premium price? I hope Sony offers an option for an HD3870 512MB, which is pretty much the equivalent of the 8800GTS.

 

Both look great. no doubt about it. but my eyes are on the FW. Does any one know wat the specs are for these machines???

 

The Vaio FW is a 16,4" multimedia notebook with Bluray option, replacing the FZ. GPU option: Intel GMA 4700MHD, ATI HD3470 with 256mb, ATI HD3650 with 256 MB. Resolutions: 1600*900. HDMI output. Height 10.3 inches, Width 15.1 inches, Depth 1.5 inches, Weight 6.4 lbs. (Will be available in different colors. BTO configs in the US)
European models:
VGN-FW11E 16,4Zoll P8400 2,26GHz 250GB 3GB ATI Radeon HD3470 256MBDL DVD+-RW/RAM silber VistaHP 1050 EUR
VGN-FW11L 16,4Zoll P8400 2,26GHz 250GB 2GB ATI Radeon HD3470 256MB BD-ROM/DVD+-RW/+-R/DL/RAM silber VistaHP 1.100 EUR
VGN-FW11M 16,4Zoll P8400 2,26GHz 250GB 4GB ATI Radeon HD3470 256MB BD-ROM/DVD+-RW/+-R/DL/RAM silber VistaHP 1250 EUR
VGN-FW11J 16,4Zoll P8400 2,26GHz 250GB 4GB ATI Radeon HD3650 256MB BD-Rom/DVD+-RW/+-R DL/RAM silber VistaHP 1.400 EUR
VGN-FW11S 16,4Zoll P8400 2,26GHz 300GB 4GB BT ATI HD3470 256MB BD-R/-RE/-ROM/DVD+-/RW/+-R/DL/RAM silber VistaHP 1.500 EUR
VGN-FW11ZU 16,4Zoll P9400 2,53GHz 300GB 4GB ATI HD3650 256MB BD-R/-RE/-ROM/DVD+-/RW/+-R/DL/RAM silber VistaU 1.700 EUR
US models:
VGN FW139EH P8400 2.26G 3GB 250GB DVDRW 16.4-XBRT WVHP GREY $1,135.97
VGN FW139NW P8400 2.26G 3GB 250GB DVDRW 16.4-XBRT WVB SP1 WHITE $1,184.97
VGN-FW198U/H (2.53GHz PC Intel Core 2 Duo P9400 , 4GB RAM, 320GB Blu-Ray Disc)
VGN-FW160E/H (2.26GHz PC Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 , 4GB RAM, 250GB Blu-Ray Disc)
VGN-FW150E/W (2.26GHz PC Intel Core 2 Duo P8400, 4GB RAM, 250GB )
VGN-FW145E/W (2.26GHz PC Intel Core 2 Duo P8400, 3GB, RAM, 320GB)
VGN-FW140E/H (2.26GHz PC Intel Core 2 Duo P8400, 3GB RAM, 250GB)
VGN-FW190E
VGN-FW190N
VGN-FW198U/H 2.53GHz T9400, 4GB, 320GB, Blu-Ray, $2,149.99

By the way, do you speak Ukrainian?

 

I love FW and would buy it at once, but currently I have T61p with Nvidia FX 570M and looks like FW will not be able to beat this 1 year old IBM...crap
Always the same with Sony - they make nice hardware, nice screens, but graphic cards are not great and resolutions are not great...
Let's wait and see for final specs...

 

I am still having a problem deciding between the Macbook pro and the upcoming Vaio Fw:

I was totally heading for the FW, But c'mmon Sony, use LED, will you. What the deal is with the 4200 rmp hhd, my washingmachine goes faster
and 3.1 Kg ?! you gotta be ****ting me.

 

Hartendief, I can't believe sony make anything worse in the new models, I really can't, how are they gonna put worse screens than in old models? there is something we don't know... btw, at least in some specs the hd is 5400 rpm, so I guess that's the right. About the weight, the FZ weighs 2,8kg so considering the FW is larger 3.1 kg is a good weight.

The logic says, if anything, the screens, and everything, will be better, or at least equal, I totally refuse to believe other thing.

 

Yeah agree with Dito, I am not sure the harddrive will be 4200rpm. Too hard to believe.

The weight is not the best but makes sense for a 16,4".

About the screen, the FW uses a LCD with 100% color accuracy and a double lamp CCFL backlight. Knowing Sony a bit I would not be surprised if it delivers excellent image quality, maybe even better than LED screens.

LED screens makes sense when you want maximum battery life and portability. FW was build for neither.

 

yes i speak fluent ukrainian. i was born in Ukraine.

 

From my experience, old hardware is better than new hardware. Old hardware is more reliable because you know wat its capable of and you know its limits. on new hardware you dont know the limits so you cant push it cuz you dont know it. so new hard ware can be worser or weaker than old hardware. Like the LED Screens. the ones from the old computers are gonna be just as good on the new ones. same with the graphics cards.

 

Arent LED LCDs much more expensive?

The FW suppose to be a "gamer" machine, battery should not matter here. So its better to use cheaper LCD and put the price more afordable.

 

hm... FW might not be too bad... I've sized it up and it's not a whole a lot of bigger then FZ

15.1 x 10.3 x 1.5in (FW) vs 14 x 10.05 x 1.4in (FZ)

 

The FW isn't a machine for gamers (maybe the AR is?). The FW is for people who want to watch movies on their notebook, via their notebook on their television and perform some video editing. The graphic cards only already indicate that.