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guys dont screw about with sonystyle.ca and fs/bb their ads are SCREWED!!!!!!!! go in store and ask them for the specs otherwise don't trust sonystyle or the store websites. This will be official thread for TRUE specs so if you have a fw please list your serial number and specs (NO customized ones plz)
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What do you mean? I know resellers have had a bad reputation when writing specs(once they actually wrote a laptop had an ATI card when it had an Nvidia chip lol
) and their sales reps are not always the most knowledgeable, but there are always a few which know what they're talking about thank god lol
).
But Sonystyle having the specs wrong?? How do you conclude this exactly? Did you buy a laptop and open it to realize they had the wrong parts? I mean, I doubt the very manufacturer will have the specs wrong >.>
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Actually, I sympathise with the OP as I've seen several errors in specs for Sony notebooks on Sony websites. Sonystyle especially seem quite poor at accurately detailing specs. They tend to get the headlines right - e.g. CPU type/speed, HDD capacity, RAM in GB - but mess up the details, leading to a lot of confusion.
For example, when the Z was first released, some Sony sites listed it as using DDR2 RAM. There were hundreds of similar posts on here asking which models used DDR2 and which used DDR3, etc, etc. The truth was that all Z series notebooks use DDR3 exclusively, and that Sony just botched the specs on some of their web sites. There have also been mistakes in detailing which SR models use integrated vs discrete graphics, and that sort of thing.
A smaller example which seems to puzzle many is that some Sony spec sheets list integrated webcams for e.g. the TZ or Z as "0.3 megapixel" and others list the same camera as "1.3 megapixel". The truth is it's the same camera... it uses 0.3 megapixels for video but can interpolate to produce still images up to 1.3 megapixels. So although the 1.3MP figure is weasel words, it could be claimed that it's accurate. The problem is that Sony isn't consistent in the way it describes the same hardware on its various sites.
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Well it's always technically better to check out the thing in person anyways, this isn't the first time websites aren't fully accurate (retailer websites are the best example). The website specs are mostly there for general information.
In this case though it isn't a problematic thing... The HD3650 in the FW is a 128bit bus interface so it can only use 256mb of VRAM anyways so it's not really any loss saying it has "256mb of dedicated memory" because technically, the GPU can only use 256mb...
But I agree with Infy that Sony's way of labeling their parts leads to confusion among the buyers although from the examples shown it seems they are not totally wrong(they just write the truth badly lol), simply that they word it really bad. It's not as though they're outright lying to you(ex; telling you the GPU is an Nvidia when it's an ATI...)
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Yes, just check the bus interface of the GPU to see how much dedicated memory it can use(for this you can actually use notebookcheck, it has this info lol
). It's been a nice marketing ploy by GPU companies to play with VRAM when it really does not provide the most significant boost.
Think of it this way, on a GPU box, most of the time you'll see the VRAM on the top of the box, but the pixel shaders, core clocks and all the important stuff are either on the back or the sides. Why do you think this is? It's specifically for companies to make the consumer think there is only VRAM which is important when it isn't necessarily the case. A good example is comparing a desktop Nvidia 8800 GTS with 320mb to say an ATI HD2600 with 512mb. The 88000 GTS outperforms the HD2600 by a large margin. Another nice marketing ploy GPU companies tend to have is the re-branding of cards.
Nvidia tends to be good at this, the most recent example is the 8800M GTX which was re-branded the 9800M GT, but was the exact same card, yet some people rushed to "upgrade" thier laptop, thinking they were getting better
Anyways, long story short, it's nothing new for GPU companies to put more VRAM than the card is capable of handling into their cards. It's a nice marketing ploy to get people to buy them lol
Both ATI and Nvidia cards have different bus interface GPUs. The 256bit bus interface cards(which can really use the 512mb) are those labeled "high end" such as Nvidia's 9700M GTS and higher or ATI's HD3850 and higher.
But this is going a bit off-topic lol
For specs, when in doubt, you should always have a second opinion, but normally the manufacturer should provide accurate specs.
*OFFICIAL* Real Sony VAIO FW specs
Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by w0lfking, Dec 2, 2008.
