Hands-On with the Sony Vaio F Series 3D Multimedia Notebook

Until recently, Vaio was one of the few notebook makers that didn't have any 3D-enabled models to show off to the public, but all that changed during CES 2011 when the company introduced its first ever 3D notebook, the Vaio F series 3D. During a local event that took place earlier today we got a chance to witness this laptop in operation and Sony's creation really managed to impress us.

Just as most other 3D notebooks that have reached the market, the Sony model is also built using an Nvidia discrete graphics card, the Nvidia GeForce GT 540M to be much more precise, paired together with a second-generation Intel Core processor.

In this case, we are talking about the Core i7-2630QM that packs four processing cores and comes clocked at 2GHz (up to 2.9GHz in Turbo Boost mode).

In the Vaio model that we had at our disposal, the CPU was accompanied by 8GB of DDR3 memory as well as by a 640GB hard drive, that has a spindle speed of 7200RPM, and a Blu-ray burner.

Other configurations are also available, so users who want to swat the HDD for one, or even two, SSDs can do so, provided they are willing to pay for the extra cost.

Whatever configuration you may end up choosing, the display will remain the same and the notebook features a 16-inch diagonal screen that has a refresh rate of 240Hz.

Its native resolution is set at 1920x1080 (Full HD) and the viewing angles (even in 3D mode), as well as the screens brightness, seem to be a step above the competition.

In addition, the display even features an anti-glare coating that does a more than decent job at reducing that amount of light reflected by the screen.



To underline its commitment to 3D, Sony has also packed an integrated 3D transmitter inside the system, and the notebook is shipped together with a pair of active shutter glasses, so you should be up and running your favorite 3D content in almost no time at all.

If you could say that noting is really new until this point, the F 3D features a function that I haven't seen installed on any other 3D-enabled multimedia notebook announced until know.

I am talking about a special button that allows the user to switch seamlessly between 3D and 2D mode.

This can be used for quickly going into 2D mode if your eyes get tired or if you reach a game area where the frame rates are too low for 3D, as the switch is indeed seamless and the button is pretty easy to reach.



Finally, I'll let you take a look for yourself at the Vaio F 3D to get a much better idea about this multimedia notebook.