Sony VAIO FW Review

After unclicking 'hardware acceleration' full motion video worked great. hulu.com stuff works especially well.

 

kaustubh_d, turn off hardware acceleration do solve the youtube problem, it will just make it normal ratio when full screen, black bar on both side.

Seems to me that the ati video card only support 16:9, or it might cost problem

 

Weird. FW photo in Kevin's review shows no rubber feet around Motion Eye...only in the corners of the lid. Is FW11E a European model? Do you have HiColor screen?

Update: Ok. Found FW11E on Sony UK site. Not HiColor. Photo on Sony site shows no rubber feet around Motion Eye either. ????

 

Photos of my FW.

Closeup of the Motion Eye and the second shows the location of all 8 rubber feet on the lid.

 

Just by curiosity , what are the games you tried?
And the new ratio aspect any burden on any of the games?

 

Great!! Thanks for showing that....it was hard to see on those other photos. Seems that Sony did their homework then. I think we need to get more FWs in peoples' hands to see if there is a real problem. A sample of 1 just isn't enough.

 

HL2, Civ 4, Medieval II Total War, Rome Total War, Combat Mission: ShockForce. Rome TW I had to edit the config file to get 1600x900, the others all detected it fine. We've got the builders in at home atm so I'm stuck with the games I've got on Steam for the moment.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834117792
989.99 w/ free shipping at newegg
i think they should of released a model with a better graphics card - i would have paid an extra 100 for one!

 

That really is an outstanding deal. I can't believe I paid another grand just for Blu-ray burner, HiColor, 4GB, 320GB HDD, and 2.53Ghz CPU. Sheesh.

 

If it had HiColor I'd be sold. No deal without it.

Sent by iPhone.

 

Is the HiColor screen actually worth the extra money and how bad is the wear at the front of the laptop (as one of the members stated on here after a week of use). I'm really curious to see how badly it looks.

I'm planning on getting the FW for my 2nd year of university starting in September but I'm still not sure about it due to the:
- screen quality / screen differences (eco vs. hicolor)
- video card (this laptop will actually replace my aging "gaming" computer with a BFG 6600GT w/ 128 mb vRAM, so will this Mobile 3470 actually perform better than the desktop 6600GT) and will it be able to play ripped 720p .mkv files (because my 6600GT can't, it lags)
- visual wear (as one of the members has stated)

 

But so far, it's only one member. I haven't heard anyone else complain except him. I think I'm going to get the FW with t9400, 4 GB ram, hi-color and blu-ray reader. If Sony only added an hd 3670 option, then I'd get the blu-ray burner as well and I would be in heaven as far as this laptop is concerned. The FW is definitely one of the best looking laptops that I've seen in awhile.

Does anyone know if Sony is planning to add a hd 3670 or higher video card on the FW anytime in the near future?

 

Sony already offers the FW with an ATI 3650 256MB option in europe.
I live in Italy and this configuration is already available!Just check this link:

http://vaio.sony.it/view/ShowProduc..._cons&pageType=Overview&category=VN+FW+Series

Therefore, i assume that it is just a matter of time, bringing the 3650 on US configurations.

 

I doubt it. We North Americans always get screwed. I remember for the FZ, we got the crappy Nvidia 8400, while Europe got the 8600. I might have to order the FW from a website in Europe.

 

Why does Sony have to do this? What is their reasoning for giving North Americans lower quality graphics? Also, which European website do you go to make your FW purchase? Please tell us. Thanks.

 

I haven't bought the FW yet.I can wait a bit more, let's say September. I would like to see first the centrino 2 revision of the Asus M50 or G50V and possibly the successor of the Dell XPS M1530. Anyway i have been able to play with the FW in retail stores.

One Italian website that i use often is this:
http://www.eprice.it/default.aspx?sku=1849389

It is not the more convenient but you can also search on www.kelkoo.it
http://www.kelkoo.it/cp_113501_brand_sony.html?view=List&sortBy=-price&numPerPage=60

The top model number is Sony FW11ZU. The lower price i found it here in italy is 1470 euro.

 

The sony FW is an excellent design, very thin for the size and the screen resolution is very nice for all-round use. Way ahead of the crappy 1280x800 displays on the 15,4" laptops. I love the keyboard too.
I have only seen the ECO version.It is ok but not very bright as the FZ LCD's.
No graining at all. If the dual lamp version is much better this will be my next notebook.

The only things that i do not like:
- All 3 USB ports on the right corner where the mouse should be.Very annoying.
- The 3650 memory is "only" 256MB. I know that it doesn't make much difference, performance wise, but i would have preffered 512MB.
- 300GB 4200rpm harddisk on top model!But i don't care much.I will change that with a 500GB 5400rpm version as soon as possible!

Do you know if i lose the warranty doing a harddisk change? Thanks

 

You may want to read this review about the Samsung 500GB/5400rpm. If you want maximum performance have a look at Hitachi 7K320 or WD3200BEKT.

 

Quick question regarding FW series- I purchased a FW11M model for £999 last week, but have since realised through my work I can get a FW11ZU (the top spec UK model) for the exact same price. The retailer I purchased from apparently won't accept returns, so I'd have to sell on eBay. Do you think it would provide a noticeable performance increase? As you can see the hard drive speed is slower in the high end model- would this again be noticeable?

I've had this laptop for over a week now, so if anyone has any questions they'd like answered I'll do my best to help out.

FW11M specs: http://vaio.sony.co.uk/view/ShowPro...11M&site=voe_en_GB_cons&category=VN+FW+Series
FW11ZU specs: http://vaio.sony.co.uk/view/ShowPro...1ZU&site=voe_en_GB_cons&category=VN+FW+Series

 

Did you buy it in a shop? If so, it may be difficult to return unless you find it does not comply with the advertised information.

If you bought it by phone / internet then see page 18 of the Distance Selling Regulations. You have a minimum of 7 working days from receipt of the goods (some suppliers allow more) in which to change your mind.

John

 

Shop unfortunately- my impatience got the better of me!
I can't decide now whether to stick with what I've got or upgrade for just a fraction more cash (since I'll lose out a bit on eBay) and a fair bit of inconvenience...

 

If you're a serious gamer you would benefit from the better videocard.

If you're not it seems like a waste of money.

(plus the more expensive model has a bluray burner)

 

It's also got the double lamp screen I noticed, which is apparently really good.
It just depends if I'd notice a slowdown due to the slower hard drive- I'll be using it to store and access all my music on a daily basis.

 

wrong thread

 

ok this laptops look amazing but i just hate the video card.. from what was said in the review about it and i do play Half Life.. it played flawlessly on my current laptop..so i guess i just have to wait or just shop around ..nice one thought Sony.

 

I just got my FW190 and I LOVE IT!! It's beautiful, well-made, blazing fast, and the bloatware isn't too bad at all.

I do have one issue - whenever I play Divx or Xvid movies, they look absolutely horrible! On most movies I can actually see the horizontal lines and the jagged edges. How do I fix this? What settings should I be using?

Thx!!

 

kaustubh d
i just tried what you said removing the tick for hardware acceleration on youtube and it works, i can see videos full screen now! thanks for that.
i just got the fw139e and i'm quite impressed by it

 

Try installing K-Lite Codec pack and play the movies with the included Mediaplayer Classic. If that does not work try updating your video driver.

 

I wonder if anyone here has used Graboid to download a movie and watch it on there FW. Could you let me know if you have and what the out come was.

 

ok right now i notice this runs on the ATI 3650 HD... is there a really big difference between this and the Nvidia 9xxx series? (hear ppl say the ati isn't very good) cuz thats all thats stopping me from buyin it right now...

 

Is there a way to output Digital Audio without using the HDMI port? How can I connect the notebook to a Digital Surround Receiver?

 

Does anyone know what typical Sony refresh cycles are like/when the next one might be coming?