i sent my vpcf11 to vaio to be fixed for overheating and all was well, for a couple of weeks. i updated my bios but i didnt see any changes either (do we know what changes were made to that bios?)

now though i opened my vaio and made some holes behind the fan and i noticed max temp dropped by 25C ( it reached easily 97-99C and now max is 75C while playing skyrim at "ultra" graph options) and iddle temp from 65-67C is now 57-59C.

perform operation at your own risk (if u are willing to open ur vaio be carefull because the wireless switch brakes EASILY)

Hi Austin. Sorry for the delay in replying. Initially I contacted Sony about the problem, but no action was taken. After reading my posts, Sony contacted me and had a record of my initial communication with Sony support about this problem, and this time decided to address the issue (very satisfactorily, I might add).

My VPC-F11S1E/B still makes a gentle "whirring" noise when under load, but it's no longer a harshing noise that grinds on your nerves and makes you want to throw your laptop against a wall. Under light load (browsing the web, checking emails, blogging), it's completely silent. It's actually quite impressive considering the CPU is first generation core-i7 (45nm wiring, I believe).

I'm thinking about selling the unit now and upgrading to the Sony SE series (the one with the HD screen), although I still can't decide if the screen is comparable to my F series (I love the screen on this baby - can't stare the reflective screens that come with most laptops).

Hi, Guys. I have exactly the same case and would like to know if Sony would be able to replace it with a new one unless it still covers the warranty? Thanks in advance.

Interesting, i have a vaio F11S1E too. Probably some more holes close to the fan at the right place will increase the air flow cooling the cpu more. i might try that if there is no other solution. But the RAM (at the position where the excisting air intake is) will be less cooled then, so the hole must not be too large. I dont have the microphone issue fortunately. The computer gets very warm when idling, and i dont think there is much dust in my computer, as it usually stands on a table and i dont use it all that much. I just have to make sure it's not under warrany before i make holes.  Dont know if sony will cooperate since, the computer works, it's just extremely annoying with all that noise. (I did the bios update too, doesnt seem to affect noise)

I also have a vaio Z21 which just the other day started to shut down each time i stream video. I assume the graphic card overheats. The weird thing is that it shuts down also if i use the stamina/speed button to switch graphic card before i power it on (and yes the button works) Reinstalling the copper heatsink might do the trick (as the GPUs connection to the heatsink wear out). Not only vaio had this problem with overheated graphic card though. Usually, instead of having it's own heatsink, the GPU uses some ad hoc solution to connect to the CPU heatsink, and after some time has too low cooling capasity. Guess i could use a flexible copper wire to lead heat from the GPU to the heatsink. The CPU heatsink is not able to cool the GPU perfectly since the heatsink is not flexible, and thus, it cannot be perfectly allignet to both the CPU and GPU surfaces.

Anyway, It's amazing how so many vaio computers seem to overheat and be noisy and maybe even become unusable. I have to check how old mine is now, how long is the warranty valid for anyway? I should check if my z21 is still under warranty. I hope sony cooperates, if not, i will certainly never buy VAIO again, neither recommend vaio to friends or family, and they often ask me for advice since i'm an engineer.

Maybe it's also wise, next time to buy a computer with less power, since a computer with the newest, most powerful CPU and GPU might be the warmest and most noisy computer too, especially the laptops. Guess i7 cpus of todays generation produce less heat then the nehalem one in my computer.

I have even though about installing water cooling on the F11, that would be great, but that way it would no longer be a laptop. I have seen some small pumps on ebay selling for about GBP 50. i was wondering if one can install something like that on the rear of the screen with  a lot of copper tubing connected to silicone tubing going into the computer and then simply solder a copper tube to the copper heatsink. That way i dont need to remove anything and the fan will even still work as before if necessary.

Hi everyone,

Please learn my lesson..and take care of this very sensitive and obviously very flawed machine... I own a VPCF11S1E, model PCG-81112M

The computer started overheating after exactly a year. Nice considering, it then became out of warranty. I installed the Bios update, which basically just slows your computer down and does not fix the problem. Then my computer stated to shutdown for no reason, possibly due to overheating. The nail in the coffin was when the screen started to crackle and go to the black screen of death... After a few times of hitting the black screen of death, it just stopped booting at all. I took it to a 3rd party computer techincian and he said the GPU had blown and as it is fused to the motherboard, you have to replace the whole motherboard. The motherboards for this machine are very rare. The only one i found was listed at over 350 dollars, and had a shady machine number that did not quite match my machine.

I took it to sony that quoted me about $100 dollars for it to get shipped to see what the problem is then.... at their guesstimation about 300-500 dollars for the repair..I could not afford this at the time, and curently in the US you can buy a perfectly good laptop for 499...

This laptop has caused me nothing but angst. Do not purchase sony products, the post care you get is aweful if out of warranty. I paid about 1400 hundred pounds ( when this machine had just first come out 1800dollars!), I rarely used it for anything more than surfing the web, music playback, and the like. I just wanted a reliable, fast computer i could rely on, and was willing to pay up for it. WHAT A MISTAKE.

I hope someone at sony reads this ... curently im living off a HTC phone and have all my documents on google cloud services.. until i can cough up enough money for a new workstation.

Lesson to be learnt... always buy a warrany...and dont trust Sony products....

Like everyone else I have the same problem. The machine,VPCF11Z1E, cpu and motherboard are reporting temperatures of 104 degrees centigrade when streaming video.

I contacted Sony support somewhere in Egypt to complain and voice concern under safety grounds as I am worried that myself or one of my kids will get burnt by touching the air vent and area around the DC jack.

Sony take NO resposibility for this issue which is disgraceful as there are clearly design faults here and most likely hardware issue. The BIOS update was released to dodge the real underlying issues.

Here is my response from Sony.

"This is Samir from Sony VAIO Support.
I wanted to inform you that as per our escalation the repair will be repaired out of warranty.
The warranty expired more than a year ago, thus the repair will be chargeable.
If there is anything else that I can do to make things easier for you, please do not hesitate to let me know and   I will be happy to assist you using all of our resources here at VAIO."

Basically pay Sony loads more money or get lost.

I recommended Sony in the past to many friends and have purchased many of their products but this is the final straw for me. I'm going to contact consumer advice and have words with a friendly solicitor to see what to do next.

From the comments here and Sony's lack of response, they clearly don't care about the customer. Sony are a disgrace.

Message was edited by: kennymaciver

Message was edited by: kennymaciver

Message was edited by: kennymaciver

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Hi all

I have a sony viao VPCF11C5E. I bought it back in april 2010. I have experienced all of the previous problems that have been talked about;

The overheating started early - within a year - so much so that the palm rest (which is made of some rubber or something) has melted and distorted. it popped out of the area meant to constrain it,. But at a similar time i dropped the laptop which casued some minor visual damage and thought that i had voided my warranty.

I then decided (as i wouldnt be sending the laptop back) to trim the rubber bits back and use superglue to stick the palm rest back into its housing.

The noise is overwhelming. I have to apologise about it frequently. I generally run some CPU greedy 3D modelling, rendering and adobe programs. The heat generated is enought to heat my flat.

If i ever try to watch a video i have to plug in some speakers in order to hear whats going on. Using skype means i have to plug in a headset because the inbuilt microphone just picks up the noise of the fans.

Recently it has started shutting down even when its not that hot. it shut down about half an hour when i was just browsing the internet, which has prompted enough anger to write this down.

I tried updating the bios update when it came out but when i tried to install it i was informed that i already had a more updated version and i couldnt get any further.

Also i have moved to austalia and i am now so pissed off with the state of my laptop that i am considering sending it off to get fixed. Can i send it off to sony australia?

I removed the dust off the fan from my 3 years old out of warranty laptop. To do that I removed 2 parts only, the speakers and the keyboard following the instructions here: http://www.insidemylaptop.com/take-apart-sony-vaio-vpcf1-laptop-replace-lcd-screen/ The procedure was very easy. To remove the dust I used a vacuum cleaner and a small brush.

After doing that my laptop turned from a hair dryer to completely quiet and the GPU temperature dropped from 93 to 55. In my opinion it is definitely worth trying cleaning the laptop yourself but obviously you will have to be extra careful not to break anything. Also note that you should not try this if your laptop is still under warranty. If you don't think you'll be able to clean it yourself then find someone who will (and even pay if you have to).

Message was edited by: cogeogr