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    Official 2012 Sony S Series Owners Thread

    Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony Owners' Lounge Forum' started by Petrov, Jun 9, 2012.

  1. Moobke

    Moobke Notebook Geek

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    Lightning bolt means it has charging capabilities right?
     
    Moobke, Jun 28, 2012
    #1301
  2. Frozer

    Frozer Notebook Guru

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    I was in doubt and did some google searching which led me to the below guide from these forums:

    http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...t-upgrades/167472-dual-channel-ram-guide.html
     
    Frozer, Jun 28, 2012
    #1302
  3. shlomi84

    shlomi84 Notebook Consultant

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    can u post a picture of the side with the cd drive.?
     
    shlomi84, Jun 28, 2012
    #1303
  4. i_have_a_bike

    i_have_a_bike Notebook Consultant

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    Correctamundo
     
    i_have_a_bike, Jun 28, 2012
    #1304
  5. ZugZug

    ZugZug Notebook Evangelist

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    The lightning bolt means you can charge an electronic device from that port even when laptop is shut down (i.e. port is always powered).
     
    ZugZug, Jun 28, 2012
    #1305
  6. thrysty7gc

    thrysty7gc Notebook Guru

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    I think you're right - it can be used to provide power to charge mobile phones etc when the laptop is off. I'm also guessing its been beefed up a bit to provide enough current to drive 2.5-inch external drives, etc. I always hated how some ports on laptops never had enough power (or dropped the current when running on battery). I was never a fan of using those double cables either to provide enough power.
     
    thrysty7gc, Jun 28, 2012
    #1306
  7. Malmer

    Malmer Notebook Guru

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    Powered USB port when turned off? So cool =)

    Mine looks exactly like this.
     
    Malmer, Jun 28, 2012
    #1307
  8. jano_lapino

    jano_lapino Notebook Guru

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    Lightning bolt = charging while computer off

    blue USB means USB 3.0
     
    jano_lapino, Jun 28, 2012
    #1308
  9. V.man

    V.man Notebook Enthusiast

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    In the german configurator, it definitively says "NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 640M 1GB" which you can update to 2GB

    I called sony support (Germany) to make sure and they told me that it is not the LE version of the GPU when you use the configurator.
     
    V.man, Jun 28, 2012
    #1309
  10. Moobke

    Moobke Notebook Geek

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    It says the same in the configurator in Belgium but I asked the support and they said it IS the LE version.
     
    Moobke, Jun 28, 2012
    #1310
  11. shlomi84

    shlomi84 Notebook Consultant

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    k thanks, do you know where i can buy a caddy for newer versions like ours.?
     
    shlomi84, Jun 28, 2012
    #1311
  12. Shorty66

    Shorty66 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hiho

    Maybe someone from the proud owners can tell me if there is a kepler or fermi GT640M LE inside. A GPU-Z screenshot would be nice.

    Thanks :)
     
    Shorty66, Jun 28, 2012
    #1312
  13. specLegacy

    specLegacy Notebook Enthusiast

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    specLegacy, Jun 28, 2012
    #1313
  14. specLegacy

    specLegacy Notebook Enthusiast

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    I don't know how accurate their ship date estimates are. When I first placed my order on 6/17, it had an estimated ship date of 7/10.

    Decided to change something in the order, but they said I had to cancel the first one and create a new one completely. This was 6/20, and this time it said the laptop would ship on 7/24, which was disappointing, but figured it was worth it.

    Checked again on 6/21, and if I had ordered then, its ship date would have been 7/06. Made no sense to me!

    I was about to cancel the second order and create a new one with the 7/06 ship date, but decided not to, and assumed their system must have been messed up. My laptop started being built on 6/22. Just saw that the payment is now processed today (6/28). Ship date still says 7/24, but I doubt they would take my money and then wait 4 weeks to ship, so hoping my laptop will be here sometime next week :)
     
    specLegacy, Jun 28, 2012
    #1314
  15. Theory

    Theory Notebook Guru

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    When was this coupon available? I made a CTO order on June 19th and I had no idea that this coupon was usable. Is it possible to get Sony to give me that discount even though I already made the purchase?
     
    Theory, Jun 28, 2012
    #1315
  16. Deaks2

    Deaks2 Notebook Geek

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    That coupon has been around for a long time. Call them up and ask!
     
    Deaks2, Jun 28, 2012
    #1316
  17. Deaks2

    Deaks2 Notebook Geek

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    Can someone answer this?
     
    Deaks2, Jun 28, 2012
    #1317
  18. Topper59

    Topper59 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Well I'm getting SATA 3 speeds again, I guess it's just a crapshoot every time I boot. Has anyone else been able to get SATA 3 read/writes?
     
    Topper59, Jun 28, 2012
    #1318
  19. Shorty66

    Shorty66 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Does anyone have the built-in BluRay-Burner? Which brand/model is it?
    Cause I wanna buy it separatly :)
     
    Shorty66, Jun 28, 2012
    #1319
  20. Regeneration

    Regeneration Notebook Enthusiast

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    Well, the Sony support has already provided sereval times wrong information, which is actually increased the confusion. Of course also wrong information on there website is also not helping. What can be said is that everyone that checked this on their machine and reported here, had the GT 640M LE version. So I think it is unlikely someone will get a different GPU.


    From what others here say it is Kepler.



    I'm also very curious about this. Can others (both S13 and S15 owners) just quickly ran a CrystalDiskMark 3 test. Maybe also a reboot to see if this changes like with Topper59. Much appreciated.
     
    Regeneration, Jun 28, 2012
    #1320
  21. i_have_a_bike

    i_have_a_bike Notebook Consultant

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    the 640m LE is the only confirmed GPU anyone has come across in this thing

    many countries list the 640m, even though it is actually an LE.

    untill hard evidence is provided that even a single s series laptop exists which is not LE, people should just assume that LE is the only configuration we are going to see anytime soon.
     
    i_have_a_bike, Jun 28, 2012
    #1321
  22. Penicillin

    Penicillin Notebook Consultant

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    Where is VAIO S made from? China?
     
    Penicillin, Jun 28, 2012
    #1322
  23. ZugZug

    ZugZug Notebook Evangelist

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    Custom SVS15 ships to US from Yantai, China.
     
    ZugZug, Jun 28, 2012
    #1323
  24. poggibaby

    poggibaby Notebook Enthusiast

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    and S13 also, all models are made form China except Z series, they are from Japan
     
    poggibaby, Jun 28, 2012
    #1324
  25. Malmer

    Malmer Notebook Guru

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    @shlomi84
    I'm sorry, I have no idea.

    @V.man
    In Denmark it was listed as the non-LE too. Turned out obviously it wasn't.
    Problem with support is that they only repeat what they're reading on the screen. They often don't have any knowledge of what's going on.

    @Regeneration
    At Seq I'm getting Read 265.9, Write 250.5 MB/S.

    @Topper59
    I have no idea what you've been doing to your machine, but I wanna do it too! Btw my bios says Rev. 3.7, what's yours?
     
    Malmer, Jun 28, 2012
    #1325
  26. shlomi84

    shlomi84 Notebook Consultant

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    @malmer, oh because i need to know what caddy and hard drive to get, can you find a good one for me please? not being lazy just dont know what is a good one lol
     
    shlomi84, Jun 28, 2012
    #1326
  27. kev30

    kev30 Newbie

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    kev30, Jun 28, 2012
    #1327
  28. Croak

    Croak Notebook Consultant

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    Correct, 9.5mm.
     
    Croak, Jun 28, 2012
    #1328
  29. Croak

    Croak Notebook Consultant

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    SVS15 3520M 8GB, using a Crucial M4 256GB SSD with latest SSD firmware, and with the Sony BIOS update applied. This is fairly consistent between reboots:

    Code: 
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 3.0.1 x64 (C) 2007-2010 hiyohiyo
                           Crystal Dew World : [url=http://crystalmark.info/]Crystal Dew World[/url]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* MB/s = 1,000,000 byte/s [SATA/300 = 300,000,000 byte/s]

           Sequential Read :   270.530 MB/s
          Sequential Write :   238.747 MB/s
         Random Read 512KB :   236.848 MB/s
        Random Write 512KB :   124.421 MB/s
    Random Read 4KB (QD=1) :    16.196 MB/s [  3954.2 IOPS]
   Random Write 4KB (QD=1) :    45.829 MB/s [ 11188.8 IOPS]
   Random Read 4KB (QD=32) :   178.436 MB/s [ 43563.5 IOPS]
  Random Write 4KB (QD=32) :   133.627 MB/s [ 32623.7 IOPS]

  Test : 1000 MB [C: 67.6% (161.3/238.5 GB)] (x5)
  Date : 2012/06/28 23:09:56
    OS : Windows 7 Home Premium Edition SP1 [6.1 Build 7601] (x64)
     
    Croak, Jun 28, 2012
    #1329
  30. shlomi84

    shlomi84 Notebook Consultant

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    shlomi84, Jun 28, 2012
    #1330
  31. Croak

    Croak Notebook Consultant

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    That's correct.
     
    Croak, Jun 28, 2012
    #1331
  32. crackertime

    crackertime Notebook Consultant

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    Hey everyone, just got home with the i5 S15. I returned the Samsung series 9 15", because I wanted to check this one out, and it is so much cheaper at 999. I swear I have read this somewhere, but if you get the 1300 model, is it just ram, processor and 7200 rpm hdd that are different? Thanks very much.

    Oh, also I forgot what it is like to use a computer without an SSD. Time to order one, thanks to all those who have provided guides.
     
    crackertime, Jun 28, 2012
    #1332
  33. Jrn07

    Jrn07 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hey anyone got a link for the caddy on the New S15 a normal one will fit? because normal one are like externals and the sony one is internal...
     
    Jrn07, Jun 28, 2012
    #1333
  34. DRCOOL

    DRCOOL Notebook Consultant

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    I heard that you can't install fresh drivers on Vaios and only install the Sony ones. Is that true? Because it is kind of a downer (and I've had that experience with other laptops).
     
    DRCOOL, Jun 28, 2012
    #1334
  35. Croak

    Croak Notebook Consultant

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    In Canada the only difference between the $999 i5 and the $1299 dual-core i7 (3520) retail (not CTO) models is of course the processors and 2GB more ram on the i7, both have the same Hitachi 5400 RPM 750Gb HDD.
     
    Croak, Jun 28, 2012
    #1335
  36. shlomi84

    shlomi84 Notebook Consultant

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    in order to get college bonus can u just choose any college? for me it worked at checkout but what if sony finds out through the college what exactly happens, it didnt even ask me for proof.
     
    shlomi84, Jun 28, 2012
    #1336
  37. stathound

    stathound Newbie

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    I cant figure this out, dxdiag shows intel as the display drivers. I've installed all sorts of nvidia drivers but it hasn't worked. I can't get the 15" SVS to switch to nvidia mode for anything. I feel like I've tried everything. The 3D adjustment update on sony style support sight won't install either. I don't know what to do somebody please advise?
     
    stathound, Jun 28, 2012
    #1337
  38. Jane Brella

    Jane Brella Newbie

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    When is the official launch of the S Series Premium 13.3''? Anyone knows?
     
    Jane Brella, Jun 28, 2012
    #1338
  39. crackertime

    crackertime Notebook Consultant

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    Thanks very much Croak. I actually just noticed that Sony unlike Samsung allows you to select a non-bilingual keyboard in the Canadian store when customizing. Woo!
     
    crackertime, Jun 28, 2012
    #1339
  40. nicholfd

    nicholfd Notebook Enthusiast

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    I have a SVS15118FXB. The BluRay BD-ROM is:
    Mata BD-CMB UJ167

    I know you asked about the burner. I just thought I'd list what the BD-ROM is.
     
    nicholfd, Jun 28, 2012
    #1340
  41. nicholfd

    nicholfd Notebook Enthusiast

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    I have the SVS15118FXB. I play SWToR. It doesn't bother the CPU. The game is very playable on my system.

    My system specs:
    SVS15118FXB Specs (warning - PDF)
     
    nicholfd, Jun 28, 2012
    #1341
  42. TeamFTL

    TeamFTL Notebook Geek

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    If that is the case, it could be that Sony doesn't intentionally disable SATA II - maybe they were trying to implement some stability fix or power management / power saving features which cause the drive to fail SATA3 requirements and revert to SATA2 most of the time - perhaps your Vaio or some of those sold in Korea (which apparently have SATA3) happen to have higher quality parts in it.
     
    TeamFTL, Jun 28, 2012
    #1342
  43. rak007

    rak007 Notebook Consultant

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    I would also like to know about this. Any disadvantages of this ?


    Sent from my iPad 2 using Tapatalk HD
     
    rak007, Jun 28, 2012
    #1343
  44. DrummerJDM

    DrummerJDM Newbie

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    Hi everyone. I purchased my Sony Vaio S 15 about 2 weeks ago and its been great except for one problem. This problem started about a couple days ago where I can no longer play Diablo III with the NVIDIA card. Bascially it gives me the D3D error which will not let me proceed. After running GPU-Z it says that Direct X support is unknown which I'm concerned about. I'm hoping there is a way to solve this as I don't want to reformat the laptop.

    Thanks for your input.
     
    DrummerJDM, Jun 28, 2012
    #1344
  45. rak007

    rak007 Notebook Consultant

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    I do not have the S15 laptop yet but planning to get one soon. Wanted to ask whether there is any way to create a sort of rescue disk (DVD) for those times when something goes bad and we need to restore the laptop back to its initial state ?
     
    rak007, Jun 28, 2012
    #1345
  46. RefinedPower

    RefinedPower Notebook Deity

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    from a quick google search this seems to be game related. seems you have to get the game to play in window mode or something.

    http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5968136916
     
    RefinedPower, Jun 28, 2012
    #1346
  47. DrummerJDM

    DrummerJDM Newbie

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    I looked at this and I do believe it is game related. The only thing is however is that the NVIDIA card does NOT show up in Direct X diagnostics and when I run GPU-Z it says Direct X support is unknown. I'm wondering if my NVIDIA Card is actually working. Is there a free Direct X 11 game I could test it with?
     
    DrummerJDM, Jun 28, 2012
    #1347
  48. heywhitmarsh

    heywhitmarsh Notebook Geek

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    The sony rep at the sony style store where i ordered mine told me that when you get it you can create a recovery dvd. Here's the link to sony's instructions on how to do it. View Document
     
    heywhitmarsh, Jun 28, 2012
    #1348
  49. Croak

    Croak Notebook Consultant

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    Yeah, I saw that AFTER I bought my retail model. Not that I could have taken advantage of it, I needed a new laptop for my work trip to the UK and couldn't have gotten a custom model before I left (it would have been coming in today, and I've been in London for a week now).

    A bit of a pity I couldn't have waited, because I would have gotten a real keyboard, a quad core i7 and the extra VRAM for less than I paid for the retail model, by getting the cheapest HDD and only 4GB RAM, since I already had an SSD and a 4GB SO-DIMM lying around.

    Or I could have crossed the border and picked up a retail quad-core US model in WA for just $50 more than my dual-core (actually almost exactly the same price out the door because of higher sales tax in BC).

    Anyway, by the time I get back to Vancouver on July 9th my two-week return window will have expired. So I'm "stuck" with this unit.

    And you know what? I don't mind that much at all...the extra horsepower would be hard to notice, the bizarre keyboard has been dealt with via SharpKeys remapping.

    What I have is a great laptop. It's already passed the airport test, the Underground test, the walk a mile each way to the studio test, the productivity test, and the entertainment test. Only outstanding test is the durability test and it's looking good on that front too.
     
    Croak, Jun 28, 2012
    #1349
  50. DrummerJDM

    DrummerJDM Newbie

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    So I performed the Windowed mode and it's working just fine now at 1440x900 in a windows on 1920x1080 resolution. Guess I'll just have to wait till Blizzard patches the game to fix this issue. They just can't seem to get this game just right. It seems when they patch the game something else breaks haha.
     
    DrummerJDM, Jun 28, 2012
    #1350
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