Sony Vaio FS Graphics and Ram Drawback.

Ever since the launch of the Sonoma platform on Jan 19th, I've been searching frantically for a 15.4 inch excellent wide screen, Any speed Pentium M 533mhz FSB, 915pm express chipset chipset, 533 DDR2 ram, and most importantly a mainstream graphics card ATI X700 128mb or Geforce 6600 128mb. You would think with so much competition and configuration options out there, it would be a walk in the park, considering its been a month since the platform launched. think again.

My top three candidates (since I cant afford $2000 laptops), budget $1500.

Sony Vaio FS series
Dell Inspiron 6000
Acer Travelmate 8100

Sony FS is by far the best looking laptop out there, my beef if that Sony again took the short cut into included outdated components into their laptop and hence cutting me out, wouldnt be that bad if there was a configuration option but they simply dont exsist (yet).

One issue is the DDR333 single channel ram. The 915gm/pm chipset support single channel DDR333, dual channel DDR2 400 and DDR2 533 along with Pentium M with 533mhz FSB. It makes no sense to pair a new 533mhz bus with a single channel DDR333. Basically you starve the processor waiting on the memory since they are both running on different bandwidths. You might aswell get the old 400FSB since the FSB is not what is going to contribute to your performance gain with the new processor (bigger cache will help and other little things).

To make things worse, with an integrated graphics solution, such as Intel GMA900, now your trying to share the already constricted memory at DDR333 with the 533FSB (which alone is starving) with the graphics card which now a days with games require a lot of bandwidth. Its just horrific to think about buying a fast car and sitting idle in traffic.

Why did Sony make this decision, $$$$$$$$$$$$$. Thats it, DDR2 actually runs cooler and uses less energy then DDR, although its latency is actually worse in many cases, it doesnt starve the CPU.and yes it would easily fit into the tight FS casing, would actually be better. Other manufacturers have stuffed them into tighter 12inch chasis, why cant Sony, who knows, but atleast they could make it an option?????? I'd be willing to pay extra for it.

Other thing, graphics, the integrated graphics are not game worthy PERIOD. The CPU and Integrated are like siblings fighting over the same toy, useless, the geforce 6200 is a step up with great features but again the memory is the issue, it has 32mb on board, but wants to use 96mb from the main memmory which is already slow. Granted it could all change if Sony offered DDR2-533 dual channel which would essentially give the extra 533 channel (with the Pentium M 533 using one) to the Geforce, the result would still not be enough to run halflife or doom 3 at 30fps at medium resolution, I'm sorry but if you want my 1500 bucks, I want to atleast be able to play last year games on it .

So Will Sony offer the Geforce 6600 with 128mb (no turbocache mind you) which would be the solution, who knows, nVidia hasnt announced it yet so maybe they are waiting? (it fits in the same slot as the geforce 6200, takes the same amount of space and consumer 4watts of more power, all do-able options) who knows..... if someone does please tell me.

With the 533DDR ram and Geforce 6600 (ATI X700 128mb for all I care) I would be willing to spend the extra couple hundred, just offer it damn it,

Now Dell on the other hand was supposed to introduce the Inspiron 6000 with X300 or X600 or Xsomething graphics..... where are they?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!? No one knows, the Inspiron 9300 is no where in sight either, its horrible. Though they do offer everything else I'm looking for at a much cheaper price, DDR2, Ultrasharp AKA Xbrite AKA CrystalBright bunch other names, same technology and such, the case design pales in comparioson to the Sony FS. So the Wait game goes one

The Travelmate 8100 from acer in specs matches almost everything I'm looking for, I'd even over look the cheap 333DDR since I can upgrade that myself later on. but that keyboard? and no LCD technology, the thing blurs if you nod your head, what good is doom 3 at 60fps if you have to be able to sit in the dark room to make things out? Again no option to make the screen better?!?!?!

So the waiting game goes on, the search for a Pentium M 533mhz bus, Sufficient memory and mainstream graphics in a chasis with a bright screen and no laptop maker wants my money.... Whats wrong with this picture here, if you guys know of something that could meet my needs please post

 

Interesting points. Take a look at this website which gives detailed feedback on how the FS performs for games:http://www.beyond3d.com/

 

I feel your pain Ahsan, I am in the same predicament as you and despite a great case I will not settle for the FS' underutilized sonoma platform or weak Nvidia Go 6200 shared memory GPU, not to mention the lack of WSXGA LCD which is available in Japan.

This something I posted a couple days ago:
I wish Sony would actually do some market research and release the FS series with WSXGA

(1680x1050) option here in the US. I'd also like to see a more powerful video card such as

an nvidia go 6600 w/128mb or a Mobility Radeon X700 w/128mb.

But in reality I doubt they will put anything better than a X600 in the FS (and that

probably won't happen for 6 months). I am puzzled by Sony, they have some of the best

aesthetic style yet they ALWAYS put some low end components in their laptops; and without

sounding arrogant I am willing to pay for the better video card option but it is not even

available.

I understand that the FS is a supposed to be a budget laptop but surely they can have the

options available for those looking for high end specifications.

I was all set on buying the FS but the lack of a WSXGA LCD and the inferior video card has

detered me from the purchase(the nvidia go 6200 has lower benchmarks scores then a radeon

9700 and is esentially a 32mb card that shares 96mb with the system ram = not 128mb as

sonystyle claims but esentially a video card with SHARED memory and ONLY 2 pixel piplelines

while the radeon 9700 has 4 pixel pipelines even though it is 'older' technology.

Attrocious! Forget about gaming at an ACCEPTABLE levelon this 6200 garbage!)

For a while sonystyle had a description by the nvidia option that was HONEST and explained

that the 6200 was actually only 32mb dedicated and 96mb shared but they have since reverted

it to '128mb' when it really IS NOT a 128mb dedicated video card.

I wrote sonystyle to inquire about these options and did not receive a response and I doubt

I will. I was thinking about the S-Type but the customizable S-270 at the high end only

comes with a 64mb radeon 9700 - not good enough.

I'm sure some may suggest a sager but to me I should be able to get a high end laptop with

function and form, meaning good aesthetics (magnesium alloy case) and good performance (a

solid video card. I wish I could get my message across to decision makers at Sony USA!


HKG852

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels this way. Hey Hakford, I looked and looked and could not find the FS review on the website you gave. So far I've not found any review with real live benchmarks from HL2 or Doom3 for the FS series with Geforce Go 6200. Hopefully someone will post them soon.

My last hope is now on nVidia's official Geforce Go 6600 launch. Since if you notice it is not even on the website yet, just shows the 6200 and the 6800 Gos. If Sony does mirror the Launch and has the G6600 Go with 128MB dedicated ram, I'll buy the FS and switch out the DDR myself.... if anyone has any gossip or news on this let me know.

 

Can the FS, if the memory is changed to DDR2 533 type, work at 533mhz?

I thought I read somewhere that for the DDR2 533 RAM to work at full speed there was a special type of connector on the mobo to allow it.

Can anyone confirm this?

 

You'd be wanting this model then:

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rakuten.co.jp%2Fmikasacamera%2F100076%2F126548%2F129677%2F%23136849&langpair=ja%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8

Steve

Sony A190 WUXGA

 

Raider....

Your link didn't work.....Is there a way you could post them without the Google translator, I think that's why the links are dead.

 

Sorry. These guys will ship you a WSXGA FS series with the nVidia 6200. Model is the FS70B.

Steve

Sony A190 WUXGA

 

Well, its saturday and I decided to attend the grand opening of the new Circuit City here in Savannah and just as I thought, they had all the new Laptop models out there including the Vaio FS550. Well as suspected its slick to look at first hand. I played with it a little while. Interesting thing was I kept noticing the gap between the screen and the laptop (maybe because they dont leave the battery in).... anyhow, still want one with a nice graphics card, hoping the launch of Geforce 6600 Go will solve that issue next week (I can wish right), also still looking for ANYONE to post benchmarks of HL2 or Doom 3 of the FS series with the Geforce Go 6200 (retard cache).... anyone know if anyone has seen one online?

 

Ahsan, the website reviewing the TC 6200 is:http://www.beyond3d.com/previews/nvidia/nv44/index.php?

It's a pretty technical and thorough review, and the general drift is that the processor will play the latest games at the lower resolutions. For example it gives fps of 47.6 for Far Cry at640x 480, and 34.4 at 800x600, and 21.9 at 1024x768. For Half-Life 2 the corresponding frame rates are 45 and 29 respectively, and it dipped below 20 for 1024 x768. Doom 3: 640x480 =37.8 fps, 800x600=26.7. Splinter Cell gives the poorest results, and the fps does not get above 20 at any resolution, and the reviewers suggest lowering the detail levels!

 

Now here is a shocker. I write my little rant and go online to find out the Geforce Go 6600 was apparently launched Friday? Well the nVidia official website has no sign of it? webmaster slacking? who knows. Well found too some what reviews of it confirming that the Watt requirement for the 6600 and 6200 are very simmilar and the packaging pincount remains the same for the 2 so Sony would technically have no issue popping out a 6200 and sliding in a 6600 at will (only a marginally shorter battery life if used at full gaming speed all day)... so now question remains.... Sony you want my money or not? lol.... P.S HL2 and Doom 3 BOTH playable on a Sony FS with 6600..... cant wait


http://www.bit-tech.net/feature/75/

http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=1027

 

There's more stuff about the TC 6200 on Tom's Hardware http://www20.graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20050208/geforce_6200-10.html#3d_mark_2005.

He gives various test results, depending on the exact variant of the TC 6200 (he acknowledges 3) for instance Half Life 2 does between approx 27 and 33 fps on high quality at 1024 x 768, and Far Cry gives him between 41 and 72 approx on 1024x768 at low quality.

 

More on the TC 6200 at Gamespot Hardware:http://hardware.gamespot.com/Story-ST-15144

Their verdict, at the end of various tests:

'As our tests show, the GeForce 6200 TurboCache can play a decent game of Doom 3 or Half-Life 2 if you keep the resolutions low.

The GeForce 6200 TurboCache can play all the latest games, and will fit your needs if you're looking for an inexpensive card for bare-bones gaming, but serious gamers should look to higher-end cards if they want to play at resolutions above 800x600 and enable image-quality features such as full-screen antialiasing. '

 

Oh ok I see the review, but like the other reviews out there this one is for the desktop non "Go" version using DDR400 (dual channel) ram and a super scaler AMD Athlon 64 fx 55 processor, the difference is that the Vaio Fx has Pentium M (almost half the floating point average of the FX) and DDR 333 (single channel).... so I'm guessing that these frames rates would realistically be over projected and impossible to reach for the Vaio with the Go-Go chip. Our only hope seems like a Go 6600 or X700 for now

 

Point taken Ahsan, but in the absence of other data that's all we have to go on at the moment. Like you I am eager to see what the reviewers and testers say when they get their hands on an FS equipped with one of these cards. Hopefully they'll at least be able to play the less demanding games at reasonable rates - my needs are simpler than those of the rest of you - I'll be quite happy playing things like Stronghold 2 rather than Doom!

 

I guess my frustration with Sony has to be that they are marketing the Vaio FS series as a affordable laptop solution, I dont know. There is nothing affordable about $1699 when you can pick up a Dell laptop with less features for literally half the price. I mean if Sony thinks this is the low end? whats the high end? the A-series? Which design would you want for your money?

People who are looking for Affordable are not in the 1500+ range Sony!!!!! Anyway......

 

This is off topic, but I wonder if you have any advice - when I'm typing on line (email or forums ), every line or two the cursor goes dead - I type letters and nothing happens -I have to click again on the page to get the typing going again - this is incredibly annoying but what worries me is that it might mean someone has hijacked my machine online! I just don't know enough about it..

I have 1MB AOL broadband with McAfee firewall and Sophos antvirus, and I use Spybot and Ad-Aware -funnily enough the problem doesn't happen so much on this site...

 

You got me on this one, sorry dude, no clue here. If I think of something I'll post.

 

Did it ever occur to you that the A6XX series could be a good compromise unless portability is a concern? It has a beautiful WUXGA screen and a 128MB MR X600. Not ideal, but it may get a bump up to the X700 in the future. As it stands the ultraportable S series is sadly the better gaming machine. The X600/6600 aren't that much better than a 9700. You'd need an X800/6800 to really reap the benefits.

--------------------
Hard Drive finally blew on my Compaq 2800T - Looking to get a new laptop.

 

hey, guys! I gotta buy a new laptop soon cause my old-SR is no good for my school stuff. CAD, Photoshop etc... I am thinking toget FS or A, but so far reading all helpful review here, I completely lost my interest for FS. Slow HDD, bad graphic card, etc.. So I decide to get A series. Prbably custom A series from sonystyle.com. For a while, I thought I should wait for new intel mobile processor with 64-bit (Desktop processor w/ 64-bit available now!) but since there is no software that I use requires 64-bit processor and not near future it will not be required. Well, think about it. Probably 2 years later, I will be probably looking for new laptop anyway.

Well, I wrote something other than main issue here, sorry[V]

So, what everybody thinks new A series with DDR2, Intel chipset 915, and Radeon X600? I know X600 is not as good as X700 or X800, but way better than Nvidia 6200, right?

Or is there any other laptop other than sony budget w/ $2000?
I like Sony and I have 10% coupon from sonystyle.

 

All I can tell you is that Sony was supposed to update the A series line up (15.4nch and so with dedicated graphics but I guess its struck a chord with the stylish FS which is selling like hot cakes so its in no rush anymore)... so apparently Sony has figured out that the average user doesnt understand the specs but loves the style so make money... I'm gonna tell you to hold on to your money till the New A series launches

 

Ahsan, I'm as frustrated as you are about the FS. I ended up ordering a Dell M70 due to its weight/power combination, best I can find right now. But if Sony ends up offering the FS with WXSGA+, DDR2 memory, 6600 graphics, and a faster hard drive, I'll get that instead.

I guess all we can do is wait, or try to upgrade the system ourselves...

Basically Sony used their best-looking case to make a budget laptop by using outdated components, not even current low-end components.