Official 2012 Sony S Series Owners Thread

Can you do a video comparison in terms of performance and temperature for Stock VS BIOS MOD?
Maybe you can also include a short video on how to flash the BIOS.

I'm very bad at making a video.

Will post it up on first page of my thread.
If anyone ask about the comparison or the process, I can just share them your video.

 

On first boot of Windows, I started up SONY VAIO Care and created recovery media using a 32GB USB key. I then replaced the factory hard disk with a SSD and booted into Windows Recovery with the USB key plugged in by hitting F11. I then simply restored the factory software onto the SSD. The process did take some time though, more than an hour but it was convenient and straightforward.

The only thing that is not perfect about this method is the hidden 22GB recovery partition which also gets re-created on the SSD, taking up precious space. When I have time or find a complete guide, I may attempt to clean install later in the future but I just want to enjoy using the machine first and not deal with all the frustrating installations.

Cheers

 

I was wondering why I had less space than anticipated on my reinstall using the recovery discs, but then unlike in a clean install I still have sony vegas and acid studio which is nice.

 

Just got my Vaio S 15.5 today. I love it. The screen is gorgeous. Until I noticed a dead pixel. Anyone else have dead pixels? Sony support is a mess of uselessness. Sadly I am going to return this one and buy an identical one most likely.

 

There are ways to delete the recovery partition from an existing install using Diskpart in a command window. Caution: This is a powerful tool and can easily delete or damage your current windows install if not used correctly!

Sony Vegas and Acid Studio (& several other titles) CAN be recovered on a clean install! It requires that you still have access to your originally installed drive or partition AND being comfortable enough with the REGEDIT tool to go in and recover the license numbers from the applicable registry keys!

Applicable thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...ys-hidden-recovery-partition.html#post8678764

 

Thanks for posting these! They are most def an improvement on the defaults. Some reds still come out looking burnt orange....but that's just how it is. Everything else is soooo good about this lappy that I'll live with it!

 

Experiencing massive throttling in games under windows 8

I think its because some of the drivers wont install properly, so for example i have no fan conteol option.

I may have to go back and try win 7.

 

You have to install Vaio Gate to get fan control and be able to set the option to Priority to Ventilation. When you install it, the laptop will ask to restart, then start up another install screen. Go through that, restart again, and you'll have Vaio Gate. Having to restart twice confused me at first.

 

For those that ordered the S15 with battery sheet, how long of a battery life are you guys getting on average? Thanks!

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Tapatalk 2

 

After using the 15.5 screen for a few weeks, it is turning into a love and hate affair. Don't get me wrong the screen is pin sharp and viewing angles are great and I am not talking about the orange tint that plagues this IPS panel. The problem is its high resolution (1920x1080). If you run Windows in this native resolution and have the DPI set to 100% (optimal setting, no scaling), everything is sharp but texts become so tiny that it reads like fine print or subscript size. Maybe my eyes are bad but it gets really uncomfortable to read over time that I start to get dizziness. I am not sure how many people can tolerate it.

Now I found the "fix" that people suggest would be to adjust the DPI in Windows to 125% (default for this resolution) but you see this fix does not always work and is inconsistent across applications. For one thing, icons will become pixelated and images on webpages look fuzzy and smudged. Office programs for example don't recognize the DPI change and fonts remain in the original tiny size. IE seems to work fine but Chrome would require you to change the zoom settings. Photoshop or Lightroom don't even have settings like that so this DPI scaling is a hit and miss. This may be Microsoft's fault but it is frustrating that you buy a super-sharp screen that you cannot work with optimally. I feel that maybe 1920x1080 is too high for a 15.5 inch screen under Windows. If anyone have a real solution, please share.

 

This is so true...using a 1600x900 on the 13 is already small what more for a full HD reso... i know things will be really smooth and sleek at that reso (full HD) but for office and field work...i don't see the use of a full HD on a 13" screen...you will go blind in a couple of months time... and yet...so many people wants a full HD on the 13" (not just on vaio)....

 

This was my original plan but I've been waiting for my laptop since early july and once it arrived I was too lazy to remove the partition and the licenses from the registry. Maybe in the future but at this moment, I have a 2TB drive on my network, so space will not be an issue I would hope.

 

Vaio Gate? Really? I thought that was just the mac OS style menu bar option. I'll give it a go before i ditch windows 8, i'm enjoying it so a but grumpy about having to move back.

To be honest i think there is something else wrong with my installation. I followed the steps on the front page, but had to mix and match drivers from the US and UK website (i am UK) because some of the stuff like Sony Vaio Hardware Diagnostics were not available on the UK site. I wonder whether some of the stuff i have is incompatible with other drivers i have. I'm not even sure the SFEP installed correctly despite trying a few times.

I know my hotkeys are also not working 100% - stuff like volume, mute, scrl lk, num lk and web button work ok, but the brightness keys dont.

 

You don't need Vaio Gate, that's just an app launcher.

 

Does anyone else hear a click sound coming from their computer? It sounds kinda like a mouse click button. It's driving me crazy. The sound comes up randomly

 

It is either your hard drive or your optical drive. Try to disable your optical drive from bios to eliminate one option. If it persists then change your hard drive with a new one.

 

I just got off the phone with tech support and I have to send in to Sony. What a pain in the , I'm really pissed that I got my name engraved -__-. I would have just returned the laptop and bought a new one because they wouldn't even let me in on the new student promo. Seriously some bs right here

 

Are you moving the PC when you hear the click? If so, it may be the accelerometer activated HDD protection. Ever since I put in an SSD it stopped.

 

Oops! I meant Vaio Control Center. It's under the Hotkeys category, if you're downloading the drivers from the sony support page

 

Ok guys. Question for you.

I was attempting to watch an episode of Breaking Bad last night in bed, and my screen brightness kept dropping down to 0%. I had it plugged in and everything. Is this an issue with the ambient light sensor? Is it picking up on the severe lack of light in my bedroom, and killing the brightness for some stupid reason?

 

I'm thinking about the Z or the S15. I know the lid on the S15 is magnesium, what about the deck and the base? Are they plastic or aluminum? Hows the trackpad?

 

Finally getting more used to the graniness/pixels on the screen.

But another question, does anyone hear this sound when you wake up from hibernation/sleep? I believe it's when you have the Rapid Wake enabled....

PS: Another other color profiles anyone is willing to share?

 

I have Z1 (13.1") with Full HD (1920x1080). Try that for a change! Then 15.5" Full HD will be relaxing to your eyes. 1600x900 is not enough screen real estate for me. For 3D and Fireworks/Illustrator primarily, the rest does not require that much space.

 

the color profile i'm using for my VAIO SA2 is attached to this message. NOTE: the file uploader here was not happy with my file, so i had to change the extension from .ICM to .PDF. please make sure you change it back to .ICM if you want to use it.

someone (sorry, i don't remember that person's username) had calibrated his VAIO SA's screen with a stand-alone screen calibrator hardware and had posted this profile in the SA/SB Owners' Thread. it's making my SA2's screen so much more pleasant to look at.

again, note that it's for SA2 and not S13/S13A, and change the extension back to .ICM to be able to use it.

 

Tuen off auto brightness in the Vaio Control Centre.

 

I have an S15. The bottom of the base and back part of the lid are magnesium. The screen bezel and keyboard area/wrist rest are aluminum. The only plastic parts are the strip at the edge of the lid where the antennas are and the battery cover.

 

Hello All:

I just purchased my SVS1511BFXB last Friday and love it. One problem though is that my FN keys do not work, more specifically F1, F5,F6,F9,F10 and the Stamina/Speed switch. Here is my situation:

I purchased the laptop through a Sony retail store because I needed it immediately, my other laptop took a crap that day. They only had Windows7 Home available, which wasn't a problem because I had a copy of Ultimate (need professional or higher for my work server). I did a fresh install with my version of Windows, followed NicholFD's order of installation on Petrov's initial post. With that, I still don't have functioning Fn keys. I then contacted Sony support, they went through the whole installation progress again and it failed to work. They said that because I installed my own version of Windows, all their drivers won't work for the laptop.

Has anyone else run into this problem and found a fix?

I love this computer, but Sony support is very lackluster.

Thanks,
Nick

 

So how do you deal with the tiny texts in Windows? Do you have the DPI set to 150% or you use the magnifier glass in Windows lol ?

 

So is the flickering horror issue and the grainy pixelated on the right side of the screen on the 2012 Vaio S models especially the 13.3" models are normal and an accepted defect and everyone has it or what?

 

Do you mean the ODD starting up, sounds mechanical? I have it as well, I am sure if you turn off the ODD in the bios that sound should go away, it is not the hdd for sure though.

 

Got my new SVS13A and now just need to swap out the HDD with the SSD.
I will be using the Apricorn EZ GIG IV/USB-Sata wire to clone the factoy HDD to the SSD and then do the physical swap.
Do I need any special tools to do the swap or is it straightforward?
Any step by step guide or video on how to do the swap? Kinda scared that I might mess something up.

 

Hi guys, I am flitting between the s13 and s15. I really want the 1080p screen of the s15.

Question for anyone who has the s15 and modded bios, has anyone tried BF3 at 1080p? I hate non native and would rather play 1080p low settings but worry the ddr3 will be a problem.

 

Hi everyone,

I've been following this thread for awhile now and have finally put in an order for the Sony Vaio S Series 13 inch. It was between that or the Dell XPS 14. Anyway, I've noticed a lot of you guys decided to skip the RAM upgrade from Sony and did the upgrade yourself. I was wondering which brand/model you guys got because I don't want to run into compatibility issues. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

 

Search the thread. Some have used LV Samsung parts, others used regular voltage Crucial, Corsair, etc... parts.

 

I tried EZ GIG IV when I did mine. It didn't like going from a larger to a smaller disk. However, making the system recovery disks (used a memory stick), then doing the SSD install, and recovering worked flawlessly.

 

Tried on my external display on 1080p, can play at medium, but abit slow(20fps-25fps) on high.
1600x900 can play on high (30fps-35fps).

Tried it on 950MHz MOD.

 

Thanks Amal, that is really helpful (+rep for all your hard work).
Do you remember what fps you were getting on medium? If I can get 40+ fps on low/medium settings I will be over the moon. Was really worried the ddr3 would kill it at 1080p. The 65m ddr5 in the m14x I am currently using gives me 60+ fps at 1080p medium 1100/2500 but the noise is so god awful I am going to sell it when the vaio arrives.

 

On the default medium I get around 30-40fps in battle(city base) on Operation Firestorm Map(32 players), around 40fps-50fps at the main base(US).

I'm not sure whether my dual core could be holding some more fps though.

 

After shopping around a lot, I ended up with Vaio S15 SVS1511GFYB. What I am wondering is this laptop doesn't have fingerprint reader right?

 

Hey guys, sort of just here to lay out a brief complaint, but I just found out you can't use a sony store gift card on line in Canada. I just found a guy who agreed to sell me his 1300 gift card for 1000, which gives me the S15 maxed out for a grand, and they won't take the gift card, meaning I would have to buy it in store, meaning no free sheet battery. Troubling. That is all, baby-ish complaint over.

 

Well, if you are a student or find somebody that has student id and go buy in store and get free PS3, then that will be better deal that free sheet of battery.

 

How loud is the noise on the m14x do you have? Is that the R2 Model with the GT 650m? Does it sound like a Jet Engine or Hair Dryer on maximum?

 

Hi, just got the S13P. Can anyone tell me how to change the hard drive?

Thought it'll be easy but opened the battery cover and there is ribbon covering the hard drive. Do I just unscrew the ribbon and it'll come right off? The screws on the ribbon seems to be a smaller size as the battery cover screws as well. Might need a new screwdriver, but would like some advice if possible from someone who have already done it....


Thanks!

 

There's a video on how to change the HDD but it's for 15.5 one. I am not sure if they are same or not. Hopefully, somebody can chime in.

Sony Vaio S15 Disassembly and ODD Replacement Tutorial - YouTube

 

Thanks but the 13 inch one is different. There is a thick ribbon that actually goes across the hard drive and covers one of the screws on the drive mount. One end seems to connect to the drive itself, the other end is screwed in by two little screws.

 

Yes, just unscrew the 2 that hold it

 

The noise is shocking. I have the r2.I tried the i5 and the i7 quad, I was hoping that the i5 would be quiet and the i7 would be ok.
But...both sound like a jet engine the temps are great but at the expense of noise. Not only does it get to about 50+ decibels whilst playing BF3 but the fan has an annoying tone.

If it wasn't for the noise I would be keeping it, the build quality is good, the speakers are amazing, the specs are amazing and the backlit keyboard is brilliant.

The only other negatives are the screen is ridiculously glossy with a low gamut and the weight is 3kg

 

It does not in the US. At least my CTO does not. I hear that European models do have fingerprint reader.

 

Thanks. Sorted now. The ribbon was probably stronger than it looked but it still wasn't fun tampering with it. The swap probably took about 15 minutes. Very easy.


Just using the recovery discs on it now.

 

I've been following this thread for a bit.

Right now I'm stuck between a Sony S15 or Samsung series 7 15". I was considering the HP ENVY 15 but it seems like it's such a gamble with the QC issues.

With that said, I've seen talk about a lot of problems with the new S series. Still worth it? The main thing I know about the Series 7 is the poor screen angles and whatnot, but I'm really trying to convince myself to get the S15 since Sony has been in the notebook game longer.

By the way, I have a month til I leave for college so I would prefer to deal with something that won't need to be returned... So have there been success stories with the S15?