Official 2012 Sony S Series Owners Thread

Yes, that's pretty much how mine looks too.

 

Hi nicholfd,
Would you please tell me where you get that 20% coupon? I was about to order the 256G SSD. If I get that 20% I would def go with Samy. Thanks!

Also, the S15 does not need the spacer, right?

 

Thanks for the quick reply! So I'm guessing it's more "matte" as compared with the previous SA?

 

I just received my S15 today! It's pretty sweet. The screen is gorgeous, it's my first laptop with a backlit keyboard, and the build is pretty nice. My ssd should arrive tomorrow, then this thing will really fly.

A question to those swapping hard drives for ssds. Should I clone my hdd or do a fresh install? The ssd I bought comes with norton ghost and a bracket. Also, I noticed the laptop didn't include any discs for windows or drivers, so how would I do a fresh install in the first place?

 

The coupon was an e-mail coupon that was sent directly to me from NewEgg. The coupon was good for only my account and for 72 hours last week.

NewEgg does this periodically to frequent buyers. I am a too frequent buyer...

No spacer is needed with the S15.

 

It's a happy day, forum. I successfully got my ODD bay hard drive to work. I now have my 120gb solid state AND the 640gb from Sony successfully working together.

 

Do a fresh install and then download drivers and software from the Sony website. Take care to read Sony's instructions as some of the software needs to be installed in a specific order, or it wont work right. Your SSD will be much faster with a clean install.

Also, you have a valid Windows 7 key on the bottom of your laptop, so use that to activate your media. You can download Windows 7 from many websites, or you could torrent it if you're careful. Microsoft itself may still have some download links, although I'm not sure.

 

Wow, that's just amazing! How did you manage it on the software side?

If you could post detailed instructions, and links to the hardware you bought, (maybe as a separate thread, copying over your earlier steps), I'd be much obliged

 

See my post for a clean install: Clean Install

I'm pretty happy with the results and the the system is VERY quick. The only down side with a clean install is that you will lose the DVD/BluRay playback software that Sony includes...

 

CCCP ( CCCP - Combined Community Codec Pack) is a great alternative to that software. It's a lot less clunky and supports a TON of codecs, not just BluRay.

 

I second that request.

 

Hey everyone, just read the last 20 pages of this thread, thanks to all for the reporting. I wonder if there is anyone here who has used both the SB and IB versions, and can comment on comparative fan noise? I returned the SB S15 because the fan cranked up to seemingly max while watching youtube videos. What does it take to the get the fan to noticeably loud on the IB? Thanks in advance, been a great read thus far.

 

This notebook sleeve/case(?) called BookBook is said to work exclusively with Macbook Pro products but I see no reason why a Sony wouldn't fit the dimensions: BookBook Case - BookBook Case - Twelve South


I have the Iphone version and its fantastic. I've dropped my iphone several times and it has not taken any damage. it also doubles as my wallet and holds my credit cards.

It's expensive but what I really like about this laptop sleeve is that it has a hard surface, so you can actually use it in bed for a hard surface so your sheets wont block the vents as can happen when the laptop is only resting on the sheets/pillows!



It says that they dont recommend the product with white macbooks who I think are made of plastic due to staining! Do you think that there would be stains on a carbon fiber/magnesium lid?

if the aluminium unibody is fine, shouldn't the Vaios building materials also be? after all the difference between plastic has to be further away from the macbooks aluminium and vaio S carbon body?

 

Has anyone tried putting in a non-low-voltage (1.5V) ram inside the S15/S13? I heard the one onboard uses 1.35V. Would the (1.5V) ram work fine??

 

Thank you for your reply. I found one (samsung 830 256G) on ebay for $229. pretty good deal for me

 

Thanks for the link. My system doesn't have a BluRay drive, and I never watch DVDs on my laptop, so this might actually work for me.

 

Are there images of Premium S with Gunmetal Colour? Ones I could find are all so air-brushed I can't really tell what it looks like.

[Edit] As well answer my own question:

this JP site seems to have some decent pictures of Gunmetal SVS13A.






Sony's site also has a gallery of gunmetal colour.

 

Hey guys. I've been really considering the Samsung Series 9 13", Asus UX31A, or the Lenovo Carbon X1 lately due to their screens. I need something with a high resolution screen, great viewing angles, matte, and color accuracy. I've always wanted the Z series but it was too expensive. The new one seems to be cheaper than it used to, but still quite expensive.

So I looked up the S13 and noticed they offer the 1600 x 900 matte display. My issue is that the SB model I used was very washed out so it turned me away. Has anything changed with the new IB version? Have there been any tests on it to show improvements or is it the same display carried over? Thanks.

 

If you read the thread, then yes, some people (including myself) have tried it, with no problems whatsoever.

 

I'll be honest with you -- the colours do look washed away. But I think that's a side effect of a matte screen (vs glossy).

 

Thanks for the input. Do you have the 1366 x 768 or 1600 x 900 display?

Some matte screens I've noticed are washed out. Most of Toshiba's line, the Samsung Series 9 15", Vaio S series, etc.

On the other hand, the Samsung Series 9 13" and Vaio Z looked amazing. I heard the Asus Zenbook Prime series are even better. I was hoping the S13 fixed this with the IB model.

 

hi all, im really interested in getting the 13" s premium. can anybody tell me about the overall performance of it, as in gaming, and the usability of the touch pad? im really having a hard time deciding between this and the updated mbp 13" - the battery life and gestures and feel of the touchpad drawing me back to the latter of the two

thanks for any and all help!

 

The 1600x900 Premium display.

 

Maybe I should look at the Vaio Z or something else then. Not that there's anything wrong with the screen on the S. But that's one of the more important features to me since I'm a graphic designer. I appreciate the feedback!

 

Here's more...if you didn't see these.

VAIO Sシリーズ13P 徹底レビュー　-　ソニーショップ里内

 

Yeah I wasn't planning on OCing it that much. Besides, I hear the kepler core GPUs (and more specifically 640M LE) run very cool and are power efficient, therefor granting a lot of OC headroom. I only plan on boosting it to 640M speeds (non LE) for now.

 

Actually, it's a little embarrassing , I simply didn't push the hard drive snugly into the connectors in the ODD adapter. It looked like it was all the way in, but I had to give it a really firm push. Once I did that, it was recognized in windows along with my ssd.


Basically, any optical drive adapter will do, you can find them on ebay. The sony slot load is standard size. The hairy part is dissassembling the laptop, because there are 3 ribbon cables that connect the top half of the laptop to the bottom half. I didn't find this out until I had completely separated the two halves, but if you look underneath where the primary hard drive is located, there is a flap of plastic. If you pull that up, you will see 4 ribbon cables. 3 of those need to be disconnected before you separate the laptop otherwise you are going to have a really unfun time putting it back together.

 

I am trying to get a deal as HKINGS, but still no luck.
Talked to a sony sale guy today and notice a interesting thing.
He told me S13 has option to upgrade to Core i7 "4 cores".

 

I am dying waiting on this laptop to ship.

Ordered June 14th, expected ship date June 27th. Hopefully it ships before then.

 

Hello Sony thread! I've mainly been living in the Dell threads (been waiting on the L521X for far too long and I need a laptop soon) but have decided to purchase my first Vaio (of the 15" variety)!

I have a couple of questions before I finalize my order and I'm hoping one of you is both knowledgeable and kind enough to help me out:

1) I'm really liking the option of installing my own SSD instead of paying $300 for whatever crap Sony wants to put in there with their odd RAID 0 setup. However, I see that to upgrade on the Sony Store, you must have the 2GB NVIDIA card. If I want to buy a Samsung 830 ( Amazon.com: SAMSUNG 830 Series 2.5-Inch 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Desktop Upgrade Kit MZ-7PC128D/AM: Electronics) from Amazon and install it myself, but only have the 1GB NVIDIA card, will there be problems or is Sony just trying to bleed money out of people who want SSDs?

2) For the sake of this question, let's assume that I've never opened a laptop before (I have but I have a strong aversion to breaking expensive things and even more so when I own them). I've looked over this thread and think I have a decent grasp on what it would take to install that SSD, but is someone willing to offer a thorough step-by-step from first screw removal to the end of driver installation?

3) RAM installation is also appealing as Sony wants about $50 for every additional 2GB. I'm less worried about installing this than the SSD (I just open the laptop, slide it into the open RAM slot, and close the pins on the sides, right?), but I'm less knowledgeable about what would be the best RAM to buy for the S15. Any suggestions? I'm mostly concerned about reliability and cost. I think I'd like either 4GB or 8GB of the lower voltage stuff.

4) Speaking of drivers, I've heard bad things about Sony and drivers (I'm a Dell guy to this point, so I know very little about Sony). How much truth is there in this and how difficult is it to fix if it's an issue?

5) When people say the screen is creaky and flimsy, am I going to need to treat this thing like glass or should I just not be dropping it and picking it up by the screen (which you shouldn't do anyway)?

6) Does anyone have experience with Sony laptop support? Dell has always been good at replacing things I've broken for free, even when out of warranty. I'm worried that they've spoiled me and was wondering to what lengths Sony will go. Would something like RAM or SSD installation violate warranty? What about defects, etc?

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to help!

 

I'm trying to decide on a Sony S premium with student discount/PS3 (would sell it) or the Asus ux32vd i7 1080P model

For the Sony I'd get:
i7
buy a Samsung 830 SSD (would also get for the asus)
base ram for either, then another 4GB
2GB 640

The asus has one of the best small 1080P IPS displays on the market right now, is smaller and lighter, sounds like it has better battery life. Still has discreet graphics (although I wonder how much worse the 64bit 620 is compared to the 640) and IMO is a much sleeker looking and more portable option. As previously mentioned, I would swap the hybrid drive for a SSD and upgrade the ram (yes, it is possible).

The sony has some serious guts with its better gfx, processor and matching ram option at 8gb (the asus has 2gb onboard so I would stick an 8gb in) and it is still fairly portable.

I used to game a lot, but lately not so much. I would like to play some mass effect 3 though.

Usage
I make a decent part of my income from photography and I'm constantly using somewhat demanding software (lightroom 5, photoshop CS6 and occasionally after effects). Some Photoshop tools and plugins can be pretty demanding and usually lightroom and photoshop are running simultaneously. An extreme case would be stitching a huge gigapan pano where the PSD file might be multiple gigabytes in size.

I would also take the laptop on shoots or meet multiple clients in a day so durability and battery life is important.

I actually preordered the UX32vd and I've been waiting for a few days, but I keep thinking about the Sony. Back in my gaming days, the Sony would be a no brainer.

Any opinions?

 

So I ended up calling the Sony support about the order I placed on Friday, to see if they could add the slice battery that's currently offered as a free upgrade. Of course they can't add it, I'll have to cancel my order and place a new one. Oh well, I guess that'll mean a week more waiting for me (the last order had an expected arrival date of 1-4 July).

 

Actually, Sony provides you with instructions on how to replace the HDD, since it's meant to be user serviceable, along with the battery and a stick of RAM.

It's two Phillips screws to remove the battery/RAM/HDD cover, four Phillips screws to remove the HDD from the laptop, detach the cable, then four more Phillips screws to remove the mounting rail. Installation is the reverse. Turn on machine, install a fresh copy of Windows and you're done. Cloning will take longer (and there's any number of guides on how to clone a HDD to a SSD) but is pretty easy as well.

Go ahead and order the 1GB GPU version if that's the one you want, there's no relationship between the GPU and an SSD other than what Sony wants to package and upsell and that doesn't matter to you if you're doing a DIY SSD upgrade.

The screen is flexible, more so than a lot of people are comfortable with. But the top is magnesium and the inner bezel is aluminium, and the top surface of the display is plastic, not glass, so there's not likely to be any long-term issues with the flexing, it's built to take it. Remember, flexible, not flimsy. You'd have to make a concerted effort to twist it enough to damage it.age it.

Flexible does not mean poor build quality. It was a design decision to keep things thin and light, and that flex is the price you pay for a 4.4 pound full-power 15" with 1080p display. Well, that price, or Apple's 2X price and no upgrade potential.

Display drivers will be slower coming from Sony, but there's a tried and true .inf hack if you want the latest and greatest from Nvidia. Flip side is, Sony drivers should be very stable, and they fully support the Speed/Stamina slider which I personally prefer over the uncertainty of Nvidia's Optimus graphics switching software.

 

Me 2 TUT. Mine is 7 05 2012, and it is still processing, do you guys have any idea how long it will take to process a vaio S13?

 

Thanks! You may have perhaps sealed the deal for me here! That's saying something...I've been singing Dell's praises since I bought my first Latitude many years ago.

A quick follow-up:

1) SSD installation really sounds like nothing at all. When I first turn it on, can I expect it to look as though I had just wiped the machine? Basically, all I'd have to do to get it running is install Windows and drivers?

2) Any other downside to the 1GB CPU if I don't want to run games of Battlefield 3's caliber? I like the price a lot better.

3) While I'm still worried about it's fragility, I'm not too hard on my notebooks (on the outside at least).

4) I need stable at this point. Any downside to Sony's rehashed drivers other than they don't contain the latest features/fixes?

5) Anything on RAM? I'm assuming that's equally as simple to install and I'd be fine with any 204-pin, PC3 10600 chip? Plug and play? Also, what sort of difference would 1.35v make compared to 1.5v? 10 minutes of battery? (Thinking this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148492)

Thanks again!

 

I actually don't get why they included the Speed/Stamina switch in the 2012 S series. It was necessary before when the 2011 S series used AMD/ATI graphics and they didn't have their Optimus competitor called Enduro. Now it's Nvidia graphics and all handled through software, the hardware switch is totally unnecessary. Nvidia Optimus has been around for years now, and there's not much uncertainty left these days in how it works.

I just hope that the presence of that switch doesn't break anything if you do the .inf hack and install Nvidia's stock drivers. Sony won't update the graphics drivers forever. We'll be lucky if they even keep up for a year. Has anybody done the .inf hack and installed the Nvidia stock drivers and seen what happens when you play with the Speed/Stamina switch, if anything?

 

Which model you ordered offers a free battery upgrade?

 

does any1 have a link to this .inf file hack (thread or post)?

 

All models, this offer is available on the Finnish site (and according to replies here, on other European sites too). I ordered the S13.

 

Oops! US site doesn't have that offer.

 

If it helps, when I got my production commencement email, it estimated 22 to 27 June for completion and dispatch. I received a dispatch email this morning. Unfortunately, I am in the UK so it has to go to Holland first and is then sent by a 3 day courier to the UK. So it will be another week to get to me.

 

when did you order? And how soon after ordering did you get the production commencement email (and ETA), if i may ask?

 

Ordered 12 June lunchtime on phone. Email acknowledgment (with ETA) received an hour later. Order in production email received late evening 13 June.

 

The free battery upgrade was on the UK store yesterday (19th), but not the day before (I think it was a £100 option that I wouldn't have went for). I was quite lucky - I tried to order on the 18th, but my payment failed to go through. Tried again yesterday, and nice, free battery upgrade

Went for the basic 4Gb RAM and small HD - Planning to put a 256Gb M4 in there, and probably an extra 4-8Gb stick of RAM too

Got the 2Gb GPU upgrade as it was cheap, and the more pricey WWAN option as it'll be nice to not have to plug in an external 3G dongle

Product ID : SVS13A1C5E
Description : Laptop SV-S13A1C - Configurable
Memory : 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3-SDRAM
Hard drive : 320 GB Serial ATA (5400 rpm)
Graphics : NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 640M 2GB
Battery : Long-Life Battery
Keyboard Style : Backlight keyboard
Optical Drive : DVD disc drive
Wireless LAN : Wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11abgn)
Processor : Intel®Core(TM)i7-3520M, 2.9GHz
Display : 33.7 cm LCD, 1600x900+webcam
Finishes : Gun Metallic
Connectivity : Wireless WAN
USB Port(s) : 1 x USB2.0 + 2 x USB3.0
Operating system : Windows® 7 Home Premium

And now the waiting begins...

 

AFAIK Optimus use the Intel GPU to display the screen even when using dedicated graphics. That forces parts of the Intel GPU to be powered up and causes the nVidia GPU to run slower.
I prefer the hardware switch solution.

 

I just got my shipping/tracking email last night (19th) that it is on the way from Germany to the UK. Hopefully get it by Friday (S13 Premium). So the overall timing was:

Ordered: 7 June
In production: 9 June
Produced: 16 June
Shipping/tracking: 19 June
Received: ?

Petrov.

 

UX32 is a sleek computer but my problem with it is;

1) Battery aint that great. How could it be when its so thin?

2) It uses an ULV processor. thats a low voltage processor. its not for speed but power management. the Sony is thicker but you get a full dual core CPU.

3) 620m reaches 90 degrees after mere minutes (check the UX32 review) of gaming. I wouldn't dare gaming on it it becomes 95 degrees so fast.



But it seems like you want the Asus. Go for it! Sony has drawbacks too! And the 640m (and sheet battery)! are the big features here.

 

I currently own a Dell XPSM1530 and use it (amongst other things) for processing large photos. I'd recommend you're very cautious about buying a laptop with a GPU that gets that hot so easily.

Do a Google search for the XPSM1530 and you'll see it has its fair share of heat problems mainly due to faulty GPUs - I can't risk playing games on mine (it tends to overheat and auto shutdown) and I am reguarly cleaning out the fan to give it as much cool air as possible. I know my laptop is on because its fan is on!

I've ordered a S15 to replace the XPS and I'm encouraged so far by what the stats for the GPU show on this forum.

 

I think your S13 is keeping my S15 company Petrov

 

Make sure she doesn't try anything funny in the cargo hold!!

Petrov.