Official 2012 Sony S Series Owners Thread

I did a fresh install on my OCZ vertex 3 240gb. I simply downloaded from digitalriver the corresponding version that came installed on my Vaio. operating systems - How can I reinstall Windows 7 if I lost my installation DVD? - Super User As the link above seemed to be organized well I will not provide the link directly to digitalriver.

In addition then I had to install all the drivers which are available from Sony directly, the links for that were provided by another user a few pages back.

 

I think someone mentioned this much earlier. But if this is your only computer (rare these days) make sure you have downloaded the drivers all associated with the Wifi, ethernet.

All in it took me more time to install the drivers then it did Windows. By my recollection there was more then 10 of those unrecognized inications in the device manager after a clean install. They all downloaded quickly so as I was burning the copy of WIndows install disc from digital river I was downloading the drivers from sony and storing them on a USB stick.

As this is my first SSD, I am amzed at the speed. I would find it hard to imagine the need for hibernation with how fast a cold boot is.

 

Anyone know if you can see the S13 or S15 in stores besides Sonystyle. Closest sonystyle is around 70 miles from me so would be cool if something like sams/costco/bestbuy had them in stock so i could take a look in person.

 

I don't know what stores are around you, but I was able to take a look at the 2012 S15 at my local Fry's. I've checked my local BBs (x2) and neither had the '12 model in stock.

 

No spacer needed for a 7mm drive. I just installed a Samsung 830 Series SSD in my 15" (SVS15118FXB).

SSD: SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC256B/WW 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - $220 with 20% off coupon

 

Yeah, I read that heads up as well. Though it's not my only computer, I think I'll just download it all to an usb beforehand anyway, and it should be a breeze from there.

Regarding Nvidia drivers: Does anyone know of/use the NVIDIA MobilityModder?

 

I have the model SVS15118FXB.

I did a clean install of Windows 7 Pro on a 256GB Samsung Series 830 SSD. I installed Windows 7 Pro from a USB stick. Total Windows install time, including reboots to create account screen: six (6) minutes!!! The laptop reboots in nine (9) seconds!

I installed the following software (some from Sony ( download link) & some from the hardware manufacturer if I could find newer) in the following order:

Sony - Intel® Chipset Driver 9.3.0.1019 (reboot)
Sony - Intel® 7 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI / SATA RAID Controller 11.1.0.1006 (reboot)
Sony - Intel® Management Engine Interface 8.0.0.1262
Sony - Intel® SATA Driver Registry Patch 120417 (reboot)
Sony - Synaptics® PS/2 Port TouchPad 16.0.0.5 (reboot)
Sony - Microsoft® Hotfix KB2708549 Update 6.1.7601.17832/6.1.7601.21854 (reboot)
Intel - Intel Wireless Driver & Tools - Wireless_15.1.1_s64.exe
Intel - Intel Graphics Driver - Win7_64_152612.exe 8.15.10.2761 (reboot)
Intel - Intel USB 3.0 Driver - Intel®_USB_3.0_eXtensible_Host_Controller_Driver.zip 1.0.5.235 (reboot)
Intel - Intel Wireless Display Driver - Setup 3.1.29.0
Sony - NVIDIA® GeForce® GT640M LE Driver 8.17.12.9618 (reboot)
Sony - Intel® Centrino® Wireless Bluetooth® 4.0 + High Speed Adapter 1.0.13.30079 (reboot)
Sony - Realtek® PCIe GBE Family Controller 7.53.216.2012
Sony - Realtek® PCIE Card Reader Driver 6.1.7601.92 (reboot)
Sony - Realtek® High Definition Audio Driver 6.0.1.6570
Sony - Audio Driver Registry Patch 20120308 (reboot)
Sony - Sony® Firmware Extension Parser Device Driver 8.0.2.3 (reboot)
Sony - Sony® Shared Library 5.10.0.12150
Sony - Hotkey Utilities 1.0 (reboot x 2)
Sony - WebCam Companion® 4 Software 4.0.21.457
Sony - VAIO® CPU Fan Diagnostics Software 1.1.0.09200 (reboot)
Sony - VAIO® Hardware Diagnostics Software 4.5.1.1424000 (reboot)
Microsoft - 3-4 passes of Windows updates after all of the above

The Sony Shared Library & Hotkey Utilities are required to get the Stamina/Performance switch and other hotkeys working. This also allows the auto screen backlight dimming and the rapid wake feature.

I want the Sony Network/Radio control piece (to disable/enable WiFi, BlueTooth, etc.). I couldn't find it on the download site. Per support (phone call), for some reason it is not on the download site yet and she said she would escalate it.

Just an FYI for those going the clean install route - you will lose the BluRay playback software. It is not available for download and Sony has no intentions of making it available outside of doing a full system restore. I had that discussion on the support call...

 

After I cloned it I used Gparted (free) booted from a USB stick (made with Tuxboot, also free) to do a manual alignment. You can avoid using Gparted, but I missed a diskpart command in the cloning process so it was way off alignment.

I used EASEUS Home Edition (once again, free) to shrink the size of the HDD partition and clone it.

 

About to pull the trigger on a S13A - just a couple of questions...

- I have a 256gb Samsung 830 SSD (notebook edition) - will it be compatible?
- Is it true that the base model with a 320GB 5400rpm hard disk has only SATA 2 and if so will this make a big difference to the ssd?
- I also have a stick of 8GB Corsair 1600MHz DDR3 laptop memory - can this be installed?

 

1. I've heard varying results; some people say 7mm SSD works out of the box, some people say they needed a spacer

2. Already been discussed -- it'll be slower than SATA3, but you won't notice it that much because it's way faster than HDD, plus the SATA3 speedup is only for sequential data write, and you're not going to be doing much of that anyway, unless you do video editing or stuff like that. (just reiterating what's been discussed, not my thoughts)

3. Yes, but it will be underclocked to 1333MHz which the laptop has on-board.

 

Excellent, and seems the SSD comes with a spacer

Thanks for your help!

 

Sorry if I am being obtuse but a few people have mentioned Rapid Wake as an alternative to hibernating. Where do I find Rapid Wake or how do I access it?

TIA.

 

It should be enabled by default. Otherwise, go to "VAIO Control Centre", and look under "power options".

 

Samsung 7mm SSD works out of the box on the 15". Not sure about the 13".

 

There are 3 x retail versions of the Samsung SSD - Drive only, Desktop kit & Notebook kit. The Drive only version is usually ~$20 cheaper. If you think you need the spacer for the 13", be sure & buy the Notebook kit.

 

So after doing a far amount of testing with the 640m le, I've come up with a couple observations:
(heads up, playable for me means 40+fps)

-For some reason, most source games don't go past 50-55fps no matter how much you change the settings. I saw this across tf2, l4d2, portal 2, dota 2, and counterstrike: source. If you run the game at 1080p with everything on high, AA at x8 and AF at x8 (no vsync) you will get 40-50 fps in game. This is playable, but I'd personally like 60fps for tf2. If you then drop AA to x0 and af to trillinear, you get 45-55 fps, which isn't much of a jump considering how much difference there is between the two settings. However, if you drop the resolution to even 1600x900, fps jumps to 80-120+ (with aa at x8 and af at x8). I'm not sure why this happens, but I have a feeling it has to do with the total bandwidth the 640m le has. Most games tend to follow this pattern.
-Skyrim works flawlessly on the s15. It's especially beautiful with the s15's screen. You can basically max out Skyrim and it still stays very smooth. I think this in part ahs to do with how much effort nvidia put into making sure their drivers worked well with a AAA title like skyrim.
-Battlefield 3 and BFBC2 work very well at 1080p, and are playable on high with no AA or HBAO. However, as they are competitive shooters, I run them on medium, and at 1600x900 in order to get a few more frames per second.
-The only Unreal engine game I have tried so far is killing floor (standalone), which isn't a particularly demanding game. Not surprisingly, it's playable maxed with aa at x4.
-Starcraft 2 runs great on high, even in borderless mode. It is playable by my definition of playable on ultra, but it drops to unplayable in larger firefights.

Another heads up: I have been installing all my games to a usb 3.0 external drive (my steam library, origin, etc) so if you have a smaller ssd but you still want to keep a large game library, pick up a usb 3.0 drive. The ~70MBps is more than enough for pretty much anything. This could potentially be skewing my results, but hdd speed has a negligible impact on fps in most cases.

 

Solid info, thanks. I'm so set on buying a Z3, but all these positives things about the 2012 S has me second guessing myself :\

 

Another quick question - what are the black levels like at low brightness (10% ish) on the S13A (with premium display)? Any backlight bleed etc?

Good low brightness performance is probably the most important factor in a display to me

 

How are the surface temps/fan noise? Do you use it on your lap or a desk/table, etc.?

 

Good deal bad deal?

I just bought this off the Sony Outlet because they had a special deal going.

It was at the price of a refurbished computer because it was an old CTO. (someone customized it, but before it shipped out of the factory he cancelled the order)

S15, 2011 model

i7 2640 (2.8ghz, Sandy Bridge -- how much better is Ivy?)
6630M
750gb 5400 rpm (switching SSD in)
8gb ram
Blu-Ray player.

For $760 + tax.

And then I bought a sheet battery for $40 from ebay, and a crucial M4 256gb for $180.

Worth it or should I have bought the new model (640M) and just sold the PS3? (I didn't get a PS3 with this cause it was under multiple specials already)

 

I think most people in this thread, by its nature, would have advised you to go for the new model - especially if you can get the free PS3 or Vita (and sell them). The initial impressions have, i think, been unanimously positive.

Petrov.

 

To other S15 owners; Are you guys loving this gaming ability as much as me?

I got my wisdom teeth out this morning, and since then I've been playing Counter Strike: Source @ 1920x1080 with AA and AF maxed, all details maxed, and I'm still getting 85 fps consistently. I'm extremely impressed.

Between purchasing the S15 and waiting for it to arrive, I had some buyer's remorse, wondering if maybe I should have gone for a Clevo instead. I just didn't think a thin and light Vaio would handle my games. I was totally wrong.

Also, I hope it's not just my eyes, but as I mentioned a few pages back, this red/orange thing is non-existent for me. I love this display!

 

Where did you get the sheet battery for $40 from? Do you have a link handy?

 

so i just had a little chat with an online advisor via the vaio website. He said that some customers had reported that the 2gb 640m was the non-LE version..

i found it odd that he couldn't confirm this and that he wasnt sure..any chance theres some truth to this?

 

Well the issue is that if I bought the new model, I would still be constrained to the same budget. Thus, for $700 (900-200 from sale of Vita/ps3) I would have:

i5-3210m (2.5ghz)
640M 1GB
500gb (as opposed to what will become a 750gb external in the old model)
4gb (so add $30 for new ram)
DVD burner (which doesn't bother me much, actually)

So, given that they still have the same screen. Is the newer model with an i5 better than a Sandy bridge i7? And is the blu-ray worthless or should I value it, given that I now have a 1080p display to watch on?

I've heard the 640M is about 20-30% better than the 6630, correct?

 

It was in an auction from an individual. But many resellers have them for about $100 through buy-it-now with free shipping and no tax. Does the 2011 sheet battery still work on the 2012?

 

this is a very good deal. of course, the new S13A has a more powerful GPU and a slightly more powerful CPU, but depending on your use of the computer, you might not even need that much extra power. what you've bought is a very powerful machine.

 

The website shows 2GB option as "NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 640M LE" too.

The battery which works for S13A is shown to be: VGP-BPSC24. If you got it for $40, it's a mindblowing deal.

I agree -- you got an amazing deal right there.

 

Going off-topic here, but how are you guys planning to sell the PS3? I have been looking at Amazon and eBay, but with shipping + commission from both of them, I don't stand to get more than 150 for it.

 

What I'm asking is that given that to get the new model I wouldn't have an i7 or blu-ray should I still get it?

Is an ivy bridge i5 better than a sandy bridge i7?

 

Also do the S13 and S15 use the same sheet battery?

 

I sold my PS3 to my co-worker for $180. I probably could've gotten $200 cash for it too.

I wanted to try Craig's list or eBay, but I was fortunate that his nephew accidentally dropped his PS3. Not so fortunate for him.

I purchased a S13A with an i7, but I also have a SA4 which I purchased ~2 months ago. It's too late to return it, so what would be the best way of selling it? It's still in perfect condition.

 

Hello everyone.

I'm in the market for a new laptop and came across this thread.
I'm coming from a LG P300 13" laptop. I really dont want something heavy or thick, but it has to be able to play casual games. (The LG was great for its time for this)

I think I want to pick up the S13A (Although I'm torn between that and the S15, just not sure if I want to go back to a 15" Laptop)

I've read this whole thread and I think I have a pretty good idea of what the laptop can do, I just have a few questions for current owners.

1) I want to play D3, WoW, and CounterStrike Source.
I'm pretty sure I don't need to bother with the 2GB card, but I'm not sure which processor to go with. Will I notice a big enough difference to warrant the price of the i7-3520M 2.9GHz?

2) Does anyone own the Lustrous Gold model? and if so could you post a few quick snapshots of it? The Sony website has terrible pics and I can't seem to find any online either. I would like to get a better idea of the colour before I go for it.

3) Any Canadians able to get the free PS3? Im going to try calling and asking, since the Samsung I was looking at has similar specs and includes an Xbox I'm hoping sony will do something similar in Canada.

Thanks!!

 

I believe they use different sheet batteries.

 

Table. The fan gets noticeably loud, but it takes a while, and its not bothersome. The other two laptops Ive had (asus g50, acer 4820tg) got much louder.

Huh, I am not able to get constant 85 fps in css with those settings. Add me on steam? I'd like to talk more with you.
Steam Community :: ID :: ()Serious Business

 

I'm on the edge of purchasing my S13, still doubting i7 or i5?
As you can see the price difference is 180 EURO. I'm really afraid of feeling sorry next year that I didn't get the i7 .

Intel®Core(TM)i5-3210M, 2,5GHz
met Intel® Turbo Boost Technology tot 3.10 Ghz met 3 MB L3 Cache


Intel®Core(TM)i7-3520M, 2,9GHz [+ 180.0 € ]
met Intel® Turbo Boost Technology tot 3.60 Ghz met 4 MB L3 Cache

 

I can understand taking the i7 option for $50, but I wouldn't pay 180 € for it. Not to mention the 440 € they were asking for when I configured mine.

I just found out about a campaign on the Finnish Sony site - they're saying a battery upgrade should be -50%, however when I configure an S13 and select the slice battery it doesn't increase the price at all. Guess I'll be calling Sony tomorrow and see if it can be added to my order.. shouldn't be too much of a problem, since otherwise I'll just cancel my order and place a new one.

 

On the Belgian sony site it says -50% on the configuration page but on the main page for the S13 series it says free battery upgrade until 25 june.

So I guess it's a no go for the i7? would it really give an impressive performance gain?

 

Guys I'm not understanding.. on the S13/S13A does it fit a 9mm SSD/HDD or a 7mm?

 

I got a "free" external 750GB HDD with the purchase of my SSD. Well, ok, it cost me $14 for the cheap plastic (but functional) SATA III to USB 3.0 enclosure.

 

What? Either I'm doing something wrong...or something. If I max out CSS at 1080p, but NO AA or AF, I get 50 fps....

 

Jamesman and I have been talking. I noticed that when playing source games my gpu load only goes up to 70%, whereas skyrim goes up to 100% usage.
You can check this by running gpu-z, going to sensors, then looking at gpu load. It's only source games that do this, and I'm still trying to figure out why...

 

I am going to sell the PS3 to my friend for 220$..... he accepted it though i havent received the item yet.

 

Dutchman over here. It says 50% off on the Dutch page for me as well, but it was a free option on the configuration page.

just placed my order through the education store. came up to about 890eur

Sony S13 in Black
4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3-SDRAM
320 GB Serieel ATA (5400 rpm)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 640M 1GB
Batterij : Batterij met lange levensduur
Processor : Intel®Core(TM)i5-3210M, 2,5GHz
Display : 33,7 cm LCD, 1600x900+camera

boom

 

Yeah, it is the same case on the french store but the sheet battery is no more available on the S15, I hope that this is temporary.

 

Is the graphics card in the UK sony s15 the normal kepler 640m? Or the LE version

 

Wow, you're really lucky! Find me a friend like this too

 

Does anybody know how much the slice battery for the S15 weight and how thick it is? Thanks

 

It's the Kepler LE

 

Okay, so I just ordered a CTO S13A. I also plan on installing a 256 Crucial M4.

I was wondering for those who have already received theirs, does the black look exactly like these pictures:





Also, mine says its going to ship out on July 4th, has anyone's shipped out earlier?