Product description Ideal for HD movies with Quad Core processor, Blu-ray Disc Player and pro grade Full HD screen. Manufacturer's Description One touch of the VAIO button takes you straight to your favourite videos, photos and music with Media Gallery. View larger Experience a new dimension of entertainment with the VAIO F12S1E/B. Its combination of a real-wide Full HD VAIO Display with a Blu-ray Disc™ Combo drive opens up the possibility of more immersive gaming experiences and movies packed with all the colour and detail of real life. Add to that cinema-style surround sound from Dolby® Theater v3 and you've got total entertainment, all in the comfort of your own home. Performance is guaranteed, thanks to the powerful combination of the cutting-edge Intel® Core™ i7 processor and NVDIA® graphics. Built-in Bluetooth® and a super-speedy eSATA port make data transfer quick and easy, and with a 500GB hard drive, there's plenty of storage space for all your movies, photos and multimedia files. Completing the package are a number of energy-saving technologies, helping you to conserve power. Power to you When you're editing images and exploring HD, you want to know that your PC has the technology to support your activities. Leading the pack on the F12S1E/B is the top-of-the- line Inte® Core™ i7 processor, which not only makes multi-tasking a pleasure but also incorporates Intel® Turbo Boost Technology to give you extra speed and precision when you need it. 1GB of video RAM and the NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 330M GPU graphics means fast-moving action will be smooth and crystal clear. A massive 6GB DDR3 memory enhances the notebook's rapid response, and a 500GB hard drive means there's plenty of space to save multimedia files. Completing the package is Windows® Home Premium, offering easier access to all your programs and files and faster networking. Your personal Full HD theatre Movies and games will spring to life thanks to the high contrast and vivid colours of the generous 16.4" VAIO Display Premium screen. With Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio, this real-wide screen lets you enjoy movies as the director intended. Pop a movie into the Blu-ray Disc™ Combo player andyou'll enjoy five times the picture quality of DVD. Got a big DVD movie collection? Blu-ray will make them look better than ever at near HD 1080. Movies and games will sound great too, thanks to Dolby® Home Theater v3, which delivers a powerful, immersive soundtrack. Connect the notebook to your HDTV with an optional HDMI™ cable and watch all your Blu-ray Disc™ movies, High Definition home videos and HD photo slideshows in style. Experience cinema on the move with Blu-ray playback, a high-contrast Full HD display and integrated surround sound technology from Dolby®. View larger Bringing your creativity to life Make the most of your photos and videos with Picture Motion Browser (PMB). Use the eSATA port to transfer your multimedia at up to five times the speed of a standard USB connection. The files will automatically be stored in the PMB calendar for easy access, then get ready to have some fun. Advanced editing features mean you'll be able to adjust images, add special effects and make them look more professional. You can also create your own movie in three easy steps: just select the images and videos you want to use, choose a theme, and let Picture Motion Browser do the rest. When you're ready to share your creations, just click ‘Create Disc' to automatically save them to DVD. Get connected With Integrated Wireless LAN you're free to get online whenever you want. If you'd rather have a face-to-face chat with faraway friends or family, just power up the built-in Motion Eye webcam, and get together in an instant. The VAIO F Series offers a range of interfaces to work with for link-ups to power, digital camcorders and external drives. Cable-free connection to a range of devices is also possible, with Bluetooth®. Another way of getting connected is by using your VAIO as the central server, linking all your home digital devices. Innovative DLNA technology means you can stream movies, music and photos to your HDTV, no matter where in the home they're located. Cutting energy, and cost The F12S1E/B comes with a range of innovative technologies to conserve energy. An in-built ambient sensor will detect the brightness of your surroundings and adjust the screen accordingly, saving battery power and making it easier on your eyes. You have the option too, to turn the screen off when you're listening to music just by pressing Display Off.
| Keyboard Layout | QWERTY |
| Control Method | Touch |
| Keyboard Description | Chiclet |
| Human Interface Types | Buttons |
| Hardware Connectivity | Bluetooth, USB, HDMI, USB 3.0 |
| RAM Memory Slot Total Count | 1 |
| RAM Type | DDR3 SDRAM |
| RAM Memory Technology | DDR3 |
| RAM Memory Installed | 6 GB |
| Available Memory Slots | 1 |
| Bluetooth support? | Yes |
| Wi-Fi Generation | 802.11n |
| Wireless Compability | Bluetooth |
| Network Connectivity Technology | Bluetooth, USB, HDMI |
| Wireless Technology Type | Bluetooth |
| Graphics Ram Type | VRAM |
| Chipset Type | Intel HM55 |
| Hard Disk Rotational Speed | 7200 RPM |
| Optical Storage Device | Blu-Ray |
| Is Electric | Yes |
| Video Output | HDMI |
| Specific Uses For Product | Multimedia |
| Webcam Capability | Yes |
| Graphics Card Ram | 1 GB |
| Automatic Backup Software Included | Windows 7 Home Premium |
| Form Factor | Laptop |
| Hard Disk Interface | USB 3.0 |
| Hard-Drive Size | 500 GB |
| Operating Systems | Windows 7 Home Premium |
| Special Features | Webcam |
| Graphics Description | NVIDIA GeForce GT 425M |
| Graphics Coprocessor | NVIDIA GeForce GT 430M |
| Hard Disk Description | HDD |
| Video Processor | NVIDIA |
| CPU Model Speed Maximum | 2.93 GHz |
| CPU Codename | core_i7 |
| CPU L2 Cache | 1 MB |
| CPU L3 Cache | 6 MB |
| Processor Count | 4 |
| Processor Brand | Intel |
| CPU Model Number | i7-740QM |
| Processor Series | Core i7 |
| Processor Speed | 1.73 GHz |
| Lithium Battery Energy Content | 54 Watt Hours |
| Battery Cell Type | Lithium Ion |
| Screen Finish Type | Glossy |
| Display Type | LCD |
| Maximum Display Resolution | 1920x1080 |
| Display Technology | LCD |
| Screen Size | 16.4 Inches |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Native Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| Audio Recording | No |
| Microphone Form Factor | [Tentative] Boundary |
| Audio Output Type | Headphones |
A**R
Poor build quality, warranty not honoured by Sony.
Having been the happy owner of two Sony laptops previously I was very disappointed with the build quality of this new machine. The power jack (the bit where the power lead plugs into he computer) broke after 2 months and Sony refused to fix it, despite being well within the 12 month warranty period. They claimed it was due to wear and tear, however the laptop has been stationary since initial set up. I noted that on the Sony Vaio forums this seems to be a common fault with the new generation of Sony laptops. It appears Sony are using cheaper parts which are flimsy in comparison to the robust machines of two years ago. I paid £135 to have it repaired by an independent laptop repair company who said they'd had lots of the new Sony laptops in recently with failed power jacks.The other issue I had was that the buffer bits around the screen (the little bits of rubber that protect the screen when closing) left noticeable dents in the keyboard casing.Finally, the machine makes an awful high pitched whining noise that really distracts while working.The machine itself has a great spec but I'm annoyed that A) I paid a premium for a quality brand that has failed to deliver a quality build and B) The aftersales service from Sony is atrocious - It took me three calls to get through, then the operator couldn't help because of a technical difficulty with the phone system - Then they refused to fix a 2 month old machine with what appears to be a common fault.Doubt I'll be buying a Sony in the future unless they can reassure me that they've dealt with the inferior build/service issues.
C**R
Great machine spoiled by constant noisy fan
This is a well specced machine which I use for Web Development and photo editing.It has a great screen and the core i7 and 6Gb ram ensure plenty of power, but the damn thing is like a little oven, always running hot and the noisy fan is on 90% of the time.After 2 dell laptops, this is my first, and probably my last vaio laptop.Sorry Sony, but for over a grand, i expected better than this.
E**N
Great Sony Laptop
Great laptop! I mainly use it for running VM's and 3D design applications.The Core i7 740QM with 6GB Ram and a Geforce GT 330M graphics adapter delivers all the performance I need.The Full HD screen is excellent quality once calibrated.The built in speaker sound quality is good for a laptop. When connected to an external surround sound decoder via the optical out the sound quality is excellent.The spacing between each key on the keyboard took a few days to get used to, other than that it has been plane sailing.A great powerful laptop, recommended.
S**S
Great screen, and fast processing; ideal for picture editing.
I wanted a laptop to do two main things for me: Photo editing and processing of RAW files using Adobe software, and also as a replacement for my CD player to stream both ripped CDs and stream internet music. I also needed a machine that had full functional compatibility with MS Office, which pretty much ruled the Macbook Pro out for me. I bought the Sony from a Sony Centre discounted as it was without the original box, as it happens I only saved about £70 from the current Amazon discounted price. I have had it now for a couple of weeks, and whilst I have not yet had the screen properly calibrated, the results are acceptable out of the box. I use Adobe Lightroom, and I have got some great results already, I am impressed with the quality of the screen. It's a conventional matte finish, so it doesn't suffer from glare or reflection like a lot of modern screens do. The processing speed is very fast, you can convert several RAW files at a time into high quality JPGs in seconds rather than minutes.I haven't tried it out yet in my hi fi system, as I have yet to get a separate DAC as my amp doesn't have one built in, but I am impressed with the built in speakers which are better than the average laptop. Hi fi they are not though. Picture quality of DVD both std and blu ray is very impressive indeed, and Dolby sound processing works very well with headphones. I don't game so cannot comment on its ability in that area, but with a 1Gb nVidia card its probably going to be pretty good. Some review have mentioned noisy fans, but I have no issue with it at all, its mostly silent.The only downsides are really software related - Google Chrome is the default browser from the Sony factory set up of W7 installation, and IE8 is hidden deep inside the programme files. A quick un-install and re-install of both programmes solves that however. Other points of note are the optical spdif link so that I can connect it to a DAC using an optical cable, ideal when using it for a music source. There is also an HDMI output, so you could use it as a blu ray player straight into a TV set, and its pretty close to the picture quality I get from my Sony BD370 player.In summary, it is an excellent choice for anyone who wants an accurate high quality screen, it might even be better than the Macbook Pro in this respect, though I am sure there will be a legion of flat earth creative types who will disagree! It is certainly a high resolution at a full HD 1920 x 1080 as opposed the Mac's 1440 x 900 - I can easily tell what is now truly in focus and wht is not. Ironically, I recently sold a Canon EOS50D for its noisiness, but with this machine I can actually see the advantage it actually has over the 40D body that replaced it! The keyboard is also nicely weighted, with no flex from the keys, though personally I prefer a little more positive resistance, but its big enough for the most ham fisted. The trackpad is a bit odd, it's not located dead centre, its positioned slightly to the left of the machine which centres it with the qwerty part of the keypad. There is a full numeric pad, to the right, but it still doesn't look "right"....So only 4 stars because of the annoying Sony / Google tie up, whilst I prefer Chrome for 90% of tasks, some things just don't run it it, which means I revert to IE. I have no problems with Firefox. I salso think thats it probably not as well built as a Mac, it doesn't feel quite so solid, though it is better than most in this respect, but if gunmetal grey isn't your black then you will be disappointed. Personally makes no odds to me, and once you fire up that great screen then you might not notice either.NB - Have now had the screen calibrated using Colour Munki and it was pretty close out of the box. Uisng Lightroom am getting some excellent results, and the conversion speed from RAW to JPG or TIFF at max quality is unbelievable, it is as fast at processing as a friends Powermac! However, the only downside to this is the constant whirring of the cooling fan, it's becoming a nuisance now, and even monitoring the activity with taskbar, there is no logical reason why its on so much other than the i7 processor must run hot. If it wasn't for this, and now that the software installation is owrking as I like it, I would give it 6 stars!
Trustpilot
4 days ago
1 month ago
