Sony FS

Alright, I think I've settled on the Sony FS as long as I read a review that says it seems somewhat durable and has a decent battery life. This will be my first laptop, so I'm not too sure on the plausibility of the substitutes I suggest below. My two concerns with the laptop are:

1) No DDR2 RAM. Hmm, I'm hoping this can be remedied either manually (post-purchase) or by request from Sony. Anyone know if a simple swap is possible?

2) 4200 RPM HD. I think it is going to be pretty rough coming down from my SATA RAID array in my desktop. Going all the way down to a 4200 RPM HD may hurt too badly. Does anyone know if the HD in this laptop can be replaced by a 7200 RPM drive or at least 5400? Also, does anyone know if I did make this swap, what would the battery consumption difference look like? (I really look forward to the day where we can store things quickly with no moving parts... like a super fast and large flash memory drive)

I'm basically trying to make the lightest, best performing, most stylish, longest battery life laptop possible. (the perfect laptop) Money is what I'm willing to compromise.

-Jim

 

1) You can add after you buy, but I doubt you'll see much of an improvement. Swapping RAM is easy.

2) You'll probably want to get the 7K60. I don't know for certain, but I'm fairly sure the FS will let you upgrade the drive.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

Hey LordJim, this would be my first laptop/desktop replacement purchase aswell. Unfortunately all my research has lead me to a dead end.

1) The Intel 915pm express chipset that Sony is using does support DDR2 400/533 so I dont see an issue with the swap (unless sony uses some weird slot design, but in that case some manufacturer will develop it somewhere), make usre you buy one with low Latency and you should see a 5-15% boost in performance.

2) The harddrive would need some disection but is most likely accessible

3) The graphics card is another Story, I've been unable to find out if Sony will ever offer the Geforce Go 6600 TE (this is the integrated version 300 core / 600 memmory speed, with a DEDICATED 128mb memory sitting right next to the chip, fits in the same space as the 6200 turbocrap, and takes an additional 10 watts max from 6200 TC's 8.5 watts to 6600 dedicated 128mb 's 18 watts). This would certainly turn this machine into the gaming monster it can be with a beautiful display screen, just with a slightly shorter battery life. Will Sony take the opportunity? who knows... anyone?

Ahsan

 

I have basically narrowed it down to the Sony due to high build
quality. I know they are pricey, but barring the Hitachi HDD problems,
it is a good computer.

A few comments on your posts:

- Be very very careful when you are trying to replace the HDD. The
K-series is very easy to change, but with A and now a thinner FS, it
can get very tricky. I know people who have damaged their motherboards
trying to swap out on the A-series. Given that FS is even thinner, the idea is the Sony must have gotten more creative into where the drive goes and therefore make it more difficult to change it.

- Swapping RAM is easy, but do not do a mix and match of DDR and DDR2.
Also as I understand, DDR2 DIMMS may have different connectors. Just
because the chipset supports DDR2, does not mean that the motherboard
design has it. So in case this is really important for you, call Sony
and check.

LEt me know if you find good instructions like this one for the A-series, on how to change the HDD (in German)

http://www.user2user.info/forum/notebook/viewtopic.php?t=2259

-f

 

So I happened by a Fry's Electronics this weekend and got to try out the FS in person. The thing is really gorgeous. The screen is of course what I fell in love with first. It has unbelievable brightness and contrast. (plugged in) The weight is comfortable, and from the limited testing I could do in the store, the case felt very durable and well crafted. I'm almost willing to overlook the shortcummings we all know about and pick one of these up ASAP. I'd love to wait on the potential improved graphics chip and memory, but I think I need to feed this impulse soon.

-Jim

 

I bought one last week and absolutely love it. I'm not a hard user or gamer so the integrated graphics should suit me fine for quite a while.

If you're not a power user I think you'll find the system quite adequate for your needs.

 

After several days playing with my FS550, I am happy to report that the batt life is not as bad as I first thought. The FS550's power comes factory-setting at the max, that's why it drains the batt so fast. If you go to Power, and changed a couple settings, it would be totally different. Also, adjust the brightness of your screen has been huge help too. Here's what I found out.
- Highest brightness: ideal for watching movies (batt last around 1h30m)
- Medium brightness: ideal for web surfing, viewing pictures (batt last 2h-3h)
- Lowest brightness: ideal for listening to music, word, excel (batt last 2h30m-3h30m)
When I just listen to music, I set the screen goes off after 2min. I haven't wait to see how long the batt last, but I'm sure it last a long time.
Overall, I am happy with it. By the way, when I set my screen lower than the max brightness, I did not hear any loud buzzing noise like LastDon said. Has anyone have similar problem as he does?
Thanks

 

I don't get the buzzing sound at lower brightness' It's just as quiet at max and anything lower.

 

For the gamers: I glimpsed a copy of the new What Laptop today as i passed through a railway station and it (the magazine, not the station) gave the Turbo Cache version of the FS a score of just over 8,000 in 3D Mark 2001 - the magazine claims the review was an 'exclusive'....

 

thinner in the front and gets fatter towards the back

 

As there are one or two FS owners in this thread, maybe you could clarify for me? The site states the thickness of the notebook as 1"-1.41", for both models (FS550, FS570). Is that to say the thinnest point (probably front) is 1", and it's 1.41" thick at the rear? Or is the FS550 1" thick, and the FS570 1.41" thick?

Thanks!

 

Unfortunately I dont think that magazine is available in the US. Hakford you got a link to it on the web? Any benchmarks on updated games like HL2 or Doom3? With Dell's introduction of the X300 ATI chip in the USA at a considerable discount, I'm afraid Sony FS is starting to lose the battle for my money. Unless it gets a 6600 Go or something fast! Ofcourse I'm not gonna buy the Dell I6000d either as the X300 is on par with the 6200 turbocrap! Still waiting OEMs....

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by GregP888

 

Ouch, looking at those benchmarks the GF6200 TC looks almost like a downgrade from GF5700..... and nvidia kept specifying it is just as fast as dedicated memory [:0]

Such a waste, beautiful screen, sleek design, thin and light, fast processor...... marred by an imperfect GPU.

 

Ahsan:'Any benchmarks on updated games like HL2 or Doom3?'

Don't think so: spent maybe 2 minutes scanning the review. I'm afraid What Laptop is typical of much Brit computer journalism: great pictures, masses of layout, waffly prose that takes ages to say very little, and this review was typical..

 

Ahsan, yep this is their website:http://www.whatlaptop.co.uk/

I don't think the review will be on the site yet, but in the hard copy of the magazine - the website contains mainly oldish reviews, but there is a reasonably active forum.

 

Well Hakford,

Looks like I'll be writing the stylish Sony Vaio off my wish list as as usual Sony fell through with providing the component I needed and now with the launch of the Inspirion XPS and the Inspirion 9300, I can get what Sony didnt even offer. Sad that a company responsible for much of the gaming worldwide with their PS2 would not even consider computer gamers need...... I would have loved to have a FS with a Geforce 6600 even... anyhow... Live and Learn... farewell

 

If you're considering a full size laptop like the 9300/XPS, there is the A series and its stellar screen. The X600 isn't revolutionary performance, but it's acceptable.

--------------------
Toshiba Hard Drive (40GB 5400rpm) finally blew on my 2.5 year old Compaq 2800T.

 

Well I have considered the new A series with the X600 but its as bulky and old fashioned as the new Inspirion XPS 2, while the XPS2 costs about 500 bucks less and has far better top of the line components..... Sony when will you learn.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Ahsan