New Vaio F Model

This is the reason why sony is putting the mobile version of i7 in their laptops. Also, next to the F11Z1E with mobile core i7, they are also bringing out a model with i5 (F11M1E), which is basically a Nehalem based dual core processor (with hyperthreading because it is Nehalem).

The mobile core i7s have much lower TDP than their desktop counterparts, and for regular desktop usage, I think they will not make your desktop hot. Having 4 cores with hyperthreading available is a good thing for software development though because this can deal more with peak loads. Other applications, like transcoding videos, and scientific computing wil profit as well. Another application is virtualization which I will use as well on the new laptop (running windows as a virtual machine).

Of course, when it comes to regular usage of a computer like reading mail, web browsing (e.g. visiting this forum), or writing a document, the industry could have stopped hardware development 10 years ago. Gaming is a big driver for hardware innovations and server applications too, but regular desktop usage is not. For instance, I am still happily using my Pentium M 1.6GHz Sony Vaio A215M for writing this post on linux, and I can tell you, that this is lightning fast.

For regular users like us the problem is that the software is being written for newer versions of OSes and applications that make use of this new hardware. So if we want to keep up we need to get faster hardware. For me personally, the problem is that some of the (software development) software I use has been requiring more and more resources over the years so now I am running into limits. Another problem is that one of the hinges on the laptop has broken. Now, I want to make a future proof choice buying a laptop today that will still handle the workloads of 3-5 years in the future. That is the reason for getting a core i7 with 8GB of RAM. Today, this is overkill but in 3-5 years it will just be enough.

 

The F-series has just been formally announced by Sony at the CES and is already available at sonystyle (shippable 24-1), at least for the US. No sign of it yet on the European sonystyle stores. To be monitored...

 

I have to slightly disagree with that. For a simple text based website like this forum, may be. But for watching videos online, such as msnbc.com or cnn.com, my PIII 700MHz is hardly adequate. The video is very jerky, even with a fast Ethernet card.

 

Ship date now says January 14 for me. This is damn tempting. I was thinking of going with an Asus for a better GPU, but the new F looks damn good. I'm so torn lol.

 

torn between this and the Y....
honestly, i use my laptop majority of the time at home, so portability isnt a big deal....and i liked the FW when I owned one....but at the same time, I love my SR....oh god the confusion!

how good will the F's screen be? hicolor awesomeness? or what?

 

Since it is custom-made for high-end graphics type applications, I would go with the "awesomeness" moniker.

 

not sure if this has been posted before
review of the new vaio F
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/sony-vaio-f-series.aspx

 

Not that my thoughts matter, but I think he design looks uglier. However, the addition of LED back-light screen, back lit keyboard, DDR3-1333 and a mobile i7 processor all seem like steps in the right direction. However, people complaining of the Nvidia GT 330M are being silly. The Radeon Mobility HD 4650 was under clocked... I presume that the 330M is not and thus offers an improvement in power and possibly efficiency as is supported in the LaptopMag review (it is compared to the Dell Studio 17's normal ATI 4650). I would prefer a Radeon Mobility HD 5650, but it is too late. A screen that is flush with the surrounding bezel a la Mac Book would be nice. Improved speakers and a sub woofer would be much appreciated. If I saw correctly, it only has 2 USB ports which is upsetting. All in all it looks like a solid successor to the FW series.

 

wasn't too sure at first after the leaks, but now its kind of growing on me.....

@gdansk
yeah it has 2 USB ports, was hoping for 3 at the least but its not a deal breaker, not for me anyway

 

disappointed they removed the volume keys

 

It looks good, I wonder about the screen, the review at laptopmag.com mentions that the screen is glossy, but all the Sony product page mentions the screen as anti-reflective.

 

it mentions anti-reflective on the sony uk site as well
http://www.sony.co.uk/product/vn-f-series

 

It does have 3 USB ports, the eSATA port is as combo. And the good news, it's on the left side of the laptop.

 

Well, my local Sony Center will have it in store sometime next month, so I will have to see it person before I decide, but this could be my new laptop, the features and specs are amazing for that price.

 

In that case, may I recommend a Pentium M 1.6GHz. At least, with linux on it (almost never use windows), it rocks, no delays or jerkyness. A more modern choice would be a Pine Trail based processor.



And... just ordered a VPC-F11X on sonystyle.nl. Luckily they allow some customization now just like in the US. Put in a 500GB 7200RPM disk, 8GB of memory, and the blueray writer. Also bought 2 years extra warranty. This little beast should last me at least the coming 5 years. :yes:

 

Notebookjournal mentions the Premium screen will cover 100% RGB color space and it will be matte.

http://www.notebookjournal.de/news/ces--sony-spricht-vom-gaming-notebook-nkrt-1620

 

I was under the impression that the 1920x1080 Full-HD *was* the premium screen and that the non-HD screen (1600x900) option was the non-premium screen. Is it not ?

Because if not, then the US CTO does not offer a separate premium screen in addition to the full-HD screen. All it offers are the Full-HD screen and the non-HD screen.

 

Correct.

I wouldn't be surprised if they are the same screens as used in the current FW, except for the matte finish.

 

I hope they moved to a matte finish in the F-series full-HD screens. Either way, I will know shortly when I get mine.

 

They did, according to NBJ.

 

That is excellent news, from my perspective ! I am not a big fan of glossy screens.

 

Seems like I jumped the gun a bit....the F-series screen is glossy, as per the below review which states (from page 2 of a multi-page review):

-----------
The viewing angles from the side were good despite the glossy finish, which means various people can sit around this big-screen laptop and watch a movie together
-----------

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/sony-vaio-f-series.aspx?page=2

 

However, the following is what it states in the CTO option in the F-series, beside the full-HD screen choice:

-----------
16.4" VAIO Premium Display (1920x1080) with NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 330M GPU (1GB VRAM) [add $150.00]
-----------

Of course the above has the term "premium" in it, which could very well mean a non-glossy full-HD display or the word "premium" is just a way of distinguishing it from the non-HD display.

I will know for sure after I get mine !

 

Two things I noticed:
1. The F seems to be significantly thicker than the FW.
2. Is there a white model with a white keyboard?

Reading through the review, it seems that not only did they fix the barrel but they also fixed the easily-scratchable palmrest area and the touchpad is multitouch, interesting...

 

Does this mean the Sony F11 has same quality as the RGBLED Screen of Dell SXPS 1645 laptop?

 

There's not really a way of knowing now. It will be a subjective call. The previous Full HD FW screen did a little better in contrast and brightness than the RGB LED.

The RGBLED of Dell has a wider gamut but many users have reported problems with color accuracy, especially red.

 

I was looking at the CTO model and noticed it stated you can get a backlite keyboard, is this true? Is it a backlite like on the Alienware & Asus laptops ?

Thanks

 

This review says the screen is anti-glare.

http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs...w-sony-f-series---huge-screen-nice-lappy.html

Anti-glare means matte. This is a deal-breaker for me. I hate matte screens.

 

They've been matte for a while now. The FW490 and FW590 were both matte already.

 

At least here in the US, there seems to be only 2 color options for the F-series: Black and Grey.

 

Okay, thanks. Different reviewers seem to be stating contradictory things. I guess I will simply have to wait for mine to get in, to know first-hand.

 

Yes, backlit keyboard is an option on the CTO model ($25) and I added it into my order.

 

When you get yours would please take some pics for us. Take a couple pics of the keyboard in a dark room if you would please.

Thanks

 

I can take them after I get mine but it may be quite a few days....the shipment date is supposed to be Jan 14th.

There are already pretty high resolution pictures....links below:

http://news.sel.sony.com/images/lar...pheral/notebooks/F_Black_-_Front__copy_lg.jpg

http://news.sel.sony.com/images/lar...heral/notebooks/F_Black_-_Transfer_Jet_lg.jpg

http://news.sel.sony.com/images/lar...ipheral/notebooks/F_Black_-_Back_Right_lg.jpg

http://news.sel.sony.com/images/lar...ral/notebooks/F_Gray_-_Hero_Back_Right_lg.jpg

Edit: Sorry, just noticed that you wanted pictures of the backlit keyboard. I will take them when I get mine.

 

I'm going to order this thing without knowing the exact colors used. I've seen a few different shades of gray and black. Why oh why can't Sony make black, BLACK and complete from top to bottom. In some pics I see 3 different colors; the lid, the inside and the bottom. Dark grey is ugly but the light grey used in some of the pics on Sony style looks very nice.......Am I the only one who has issues like these? If I wanted ugly, I wouldn't go with Sony........

 

roweraay, in your first photo link, I just noticed that the frame around the screen is not the same length as the bottom half of the notebook on both ends. I don't think I've ever seen this before on a Sony notebook?

 

I'll be ordering mine tomorrow. Just got an RMA from Sonystyle for my FW590.

While I still prefer the look of the FW, the number pad will be a big help for me using autoCAD. This was what made me decide to return the FW. Well that and no bluray.

backlight will be helpful on long haul flights. Shameful battery life though...

With regard to the new i7 processor, well my 2.8 IC2D is plenty powerful even working on large CAD files. I doubt i'll be using i7 performance all that much. Considering that in my line of work, it's cheaper and easier to outsource 3d work to dedicated graphics companies rather than waiting a full day or two to render hi res images.

Just a few questions.

1. Will the FW neoprene sleeve(AMC7?) still work with the new F model?
2. Do you guys think the front cover of the grey version is the same greyish black matter as the FW black/silver? this is really just nitpicking because i got the vaio bluetooth mouse to match the FW.
3. what's are the glaring performance issues between the blu ray writer and rom version?
--Sorry--I came across some posts a while ago about how the rom version seems to play better but can't seem to keyword search properly with satisfying results.

thanks

 

The gray is definitely ugly, even on the FW. The only nice colours are white (silver with white keyboard and LCD cover) or fully black (or chocolate brown which was the closets on the FW).

 

I remember almost ordering an FW in what seemed to be white and I really liked the look of that one. But seriously, notebook manufactures need to stop with all the funky patterns on the lids and palm rests and enough with the off colors………To many of us, laptops and other gadgets are like cars in that we consumers make our purchases based on looks too, not just price and features.

My Vaio AR790 design has been around since 2006 and I still get complements on the looks in airports and coffee shops. The Glossy Piano black lid is still amazing and although the inside is not real black, it does have a very nice metallic finish that looks very nice under lights. And I still love the chrome covered ports along the side; but I’ve given up on ever seeing that again on future notebooks………

While I'm at it, I am so bothered by Sony no longer putting USB ports in the back. I have always loved how the AR's have both the power and 1 USB port in the back, out of my way, along with the heat vent back there too. For those of us that like to use a Bluetooth mouse, having something plugged into a right side USB port can really get in the way.

 

F series DOES NOT have a back-lit LED screen. Some one correct me if i am wrong.

 

1. Does ESAT port support USB connection by default ?

 

Yeah, but the laptopmag.com review mentions it as glossy, didn't they have the premium screen to test?

 

Agreed about the funky patterns that Sony even sells as even their "Signature series". However, I am assuming there is a market for it, else they would not sell those.

The F-series I ordered, is black. Flat black (which I personally like). However, from the pictures, it is not black all over and seems to have a bit of grey accents around.

 

There seems to be some confusion here and also contradictory information in the reviews posted. Also, based on feedback from one of the German links, there seems to be 2 versions of the HD screen (1920x1080). One is glossy, while the other one is matte. The matte seems to be referred to as "premium".

What is interesting is that the CTO option in the US, refers to the HD screen as "premium" but that may just be a matter of terminology and just a way of distinguishing the HD screen from the non-HD screen and not because it is a matte HD screen.

I will know for certain, once my F-series gets to me - hopefully shortly.

 

Hi, I have one of the older 1920x1200 VGN-A497XP models, trusty laptop but it is time for a replacement after 5 years.
It is a mine field out there but I would have liked to keep the 1920x1200 on a similar laptop but have an SSD, faster CPU,memory etc. I was hoping for an i7 but from what I have read on this forum its not that important, and espically as I am not a gamer. Battery life and size more important to me
Does Sony have anything.
Thanks

 

The premium screen will be available in my country, I will know next month if it's matte or not.

 

You could go for the F series model with i5 processor. That is basically dual core instead of quad core and still quite performant. I am not sure if you can get a laptop with 1920x1200 screen from Sony with lower specced CPU.

 

i like the F series model, but I'm not happy with the rebadged GT 330M which is a slight downgrade from the older 4650

 

Just got a mail with a shipping estimate between 12-19 January. (Netherlands). That is fast....

 

Has anyone actually tested out the NEW GT330M, yet ? All we hear are postulations that it is similar to an overclocked GT 240M but seems like none of these postulations are accompanied by hard test numbers.