Official 2012 Sony S Series Owners Thread

Hello everyone. I need the help of all you Vaio owners. I am extremely interested in the 13" premium Vaio S. However, I have one question. I noticed the laptop does not have any dedicated media keys. I was looking for a pause/play, forward, and back buttons for music. Is there a way to remap those zoom keys to forward and back? And if not, are there music programs that can map those functions? Much appreciated!!

 

In regards to the lid, if you're referring to the flex on the lid, that is intentional from Sony. They purposely made it this way so if it drops it won't break. At least that is what I've heard.

The build quality on the Sony is still superb. But be aware that there is quite a bit of keyboard flex on the 15.5 (can't comment on the 13P as I don't own one). The trackpad is very good, just below Mac level, and if you get the 15.5 the display is gorgeous. Yes there is some light bleed but on mine, it's really not that noticeable unless you're looking for it. However, since you say you're going to be photo editing, you might shy away from the 15.5 because of the Orangegate. For day to day use it's just fine, but for any dedicated photo editing or photoshop, it can make a difference.

The GT640M LE will handle your gaming just fine I'd think. Especially with the overclock. The heating normally is a complete non-issue. The laptop stays very cool most of the time, but it can get a bit warmer from the "H" key to the right until the + and "Enter" near the num pad for intensive tasks (note this is for 15.5, I don't own a 13P so can't comment there).

You say you'll need it on the go, so I assume battery life is important unless you want to carry the charger. The S15.5's battery life is average I'd say. Maybe even below average. Realistically with just web surfing, word docs, and wifi on, you can maybe eek out 5 hours max (on power saver with lowest brightness). So definitely take that into consideration.

As for if I would buy it again over a Mac, I'm entirely biased. I absolutely hate Mac's. I've never even considered one.

I'm sure a third party software can remap keys for you. There is no utility that comes with the Sony that allows you to do that (to my knowledge at least).

 

anyone upgraded to the latest nvidia driver? any feedbacks?

 

Just pulled the gun on on a S 13P from the sony store, anyone know how long it takes on average to arrive? The ship date is 9/25

 

Does anyone else's Sony Vaio S 15.5 have a key on their keyboard that isn't the same height as others right out of the box? My "H" key is a fraction "shorter" than the keys around it ..... Not sure if this is return worthy lol ...

EDIT: Actually it's more than just a fraction .... Is there anyway I can remedy this myself? The travel on the "H" is a bit less than say the "F" or "G" or "J" ....

EDIT 2: It may be because of the keyboard flex ... because around the "H" there is virtually no flex ..... Just wondering if anyone else experienced this ...

Still looking for an answer to this.....

 

I actually DID pick this laptop over a Macbook Pro, and over a Macbook Air. The Air was the closest alternative for me. I didn't go with the pro mostly because the screen resolution is low (unless you shell out your first born and your soul for the Retina), and I didn't get the Air because of a lack of dedicated GPU, and also lower screen resolution. I need the real-estate for design work. Ultimately, an Air might have been a better choice because of the incredible build quality and phenomenal battery, but I really like having an extra HD onboard just for movie files, large documents, etc., and the notion of being able to more easily disassemble my computer and upgrade or repair it was attractive to me. The Air is not exactly right for that. The best I could find from Apple was a refurb 17", with last year's tech, for double the cost of the Sony.

As much as I do like Macs, ultimately, Logic won out.

 

First: Go to a shop and test the S15! I think the display is very well and the red - orange - issue is not that bad everybody says! All people says that the T is very very load, but the T11 of my girlfriend is much more quiter than my Z2...

The "flipsy" screen is good designed! When the metal - non flexible MBP 13 screen with the glass front gets a knock the propability of breaking is significant higher than on a moving construction. Someone compared it with the wings of a plane - they move, but don´t break

When you want to save Money get the S15. When you want it smaller get the S13 with the 1600*900 screen.

 

Flimsy? Look back a few pages where mine took a massive drop on its corner with only superficial damage. The screen being flexible is likely what saved the LCD from being f**ked. They are very well built machines.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2

 

Yeah ... I don't really get why people think that flexibility is necessarily bad ...

Actually, you just have to look at the numbers of iphone gorilla screens that dropped dead to understand that flexibility is definitely a feature.

 

Because every single review is mention that the display shows high flexing and for the most consumer build notebooks it is really flimsy...

 

Hi there, I noticed your thread since I too have installed a Momentus like yours. You're the fist one I see to have done the same, as most guys are crazy about SSD but I haven't read a word on hybrids, which I think make for a very good compromise.

How're you feeling that one? I'm more than impressed at the booting speed I gained and the instant opening of my usual files. I'm usually very skeptical, but so far the disk has performed as advertised.

Regarding the fan noise, I have an S model since the beginning of this year and experienced that annoying fan issue too for a while.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/655053-vaio-s-has-anyone-managed-calm-down-fan.html
The situation normalized itself when I began to tinker with different BIOS versions, especially the unlocked ones. I haven't taken the time to do a scientifical study so take my word with caution, but it looks like once it's solved, it's solved forever. I say this because I've loaded back old BIOSes and the fan problem never came back.

This could help:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/686509-multi-bios-no-nonsense-flasher-tool.html
But for god's sake, if you're gonna play with the BIOS, do some research to ensure your particular model can hold up the version before loading it.

 

Anyone else having issues with USB DACs and other standards-compliant (driverless) USB audio devices?

Over the USB2 port my Fiio amp goes crazy every few minutes with weird distortions etc. and the rest of the time there is noticable jitter in the audio.

Hotplugging it into a USB3 port sends audiodg.exe and the Windows kernel into a batsh*t insane spinlock, slowly bringing the system to a complete freeze. Booting from sleep with it plugged in seems to have the same effect.

The only way it works is having it plugged into USB3 from cold boot :/

(100% sure it's not the amp, it's worked in a whole load of other machines; also this has been an ongoing issue, it's not because I dropped the laptop!)

 

thanks for all the responses so far.

you're correct...flexibility isn't necessarily bad as there is some leeway without it snapping or cracking (especially if Sony intentionally designed it that way). my initial reaction was ...i guess i was just surprised.

-------------------------------------------------

anyway, i went back to a Sony store and tested the S15 and S13 models this morning for another round of impressions. just a couple thoughts and questions...

• i'm stating the obvious here, but side by side, the IPS display on the S15 looks so much better than the TN display on the S13
• the S15 red issue is noticeable when i compared it to the S13. not as bad as i thought, but still there...
• how is everyone's battery life on the 15 inch model for everyday tasks (browing web, listening to music, etc) using Intel HD 4000? i'm reading mixed reports ranging anywhere from 3 hours to 6 hours...

so i'm leaning towards the S15 at the moment and a Sony Store employee offered the me following options:

$899 (SVS15113FXS)
- Core i5-3210M dual core (2.5 GHz)
- 6 GB RAM
- 640 GB HD
- 1 GB GeForce 640

$1250
- Core i7-3612QM quad core processor (2.10GHz)
- 8 GB RAM
- 640 GB HD
- 2 GB GeForce 640

$1300 (SVS151190X)
- Core i7-3612QM quad core processor (2.10GHz)
- 8 GB RAM
- 640 GB HD
- 2 GB GeForce 640
- Blu-Ray reader/writer


that last 2 configurations are beyond my original $1000 budget, but i am tempted...

 

Don't buy RAM from Sony! Get the open RAM slot and buy some yourself for a fraction of the price.

 

i know i know...but the configurations above are pre-built and ready for sale at the Sony Store. plus they're surprisingly cheaper at the store than Sony's site for the same configuration.

 

I would be also tempted by the S15 but ... it's not on the Dutch store anymore ...
And the offer with the free sheet battery expires in ... 5h ...

I have to make a choice ... waiting (for an S15 AND/OR a refresh with potentially no offer) or buying the S13P

 

Hey guys finally made my decision after weeks of research and ordered the Vaio S13 (SVS13A190S) with 1600x900, carbon, GT640LE and stock everything else. I'm a gamer at heart (last laptop was the Asus G53JW) so I'm planning on Crucial m4 128GB, gskill 8GB ram and fresh W7 pro install to help with sc2 and gw2.

Ive done light reading around this thread and found some things I'll be doing right away: oc'ing vid card, bios update for sata3 and using the asus audio drivers.

Is there anything else to optimize my new s13 toy?

 

yea use the new nvidia drivers which are out of beta... where do you find that sata 3 mod... i havent seen that... link to thread?

 

its not a mod i think but I read it on this thread

 

I think the Samsung 830 is a better choice than the M4 at the same price point, but go with your tried and true if you prefer.

As far as I know there's no BIOS update for SATA-3, only modded BIOS for increased GPU clocks (which work wonders btw). It's not like you'll notice the difference anyway except when transferring very large files (although it'd be nice for Sony to release some SATA-3 enabling BIOS, if only for bragging rights).

I'm not sure about W7, but in W8 I just installed latest Realtek audio drivers (2.70) and enabled the Dolby Home Theater thingy, I think they sound better than those old ASUS ones did in W7.
I don't really have any comparison material other than my memory, but they sound heaps better than the bundled Sony ones (and the Dolby thing actually does enhance it, which didn't happen with the bundled Sony W7).
Don't forget to set the speakers to full-range in the Audio Properties, from my experience that also helps.

 

thanks for the detailed reply.

The samsung 830 is hard to find here in Canada, even if its available, it'll be expensive. Is the Intel 520 a better choice than the m4? I believe the 520 is 5 years warranty as well

edit:
found 830 128GB decently priced at ebay from a reputable seller

 

OK, my gf thinks I should take the 15" ... that means waiting that it's back in the Dutch shop
That also means that I might lose any offer that is right now, as it is until tonight ...

 

Bummer then, I forgot that each country has its own repertoire of hardware, lol.

Both the M4 and the 830 have 3-year warranty, as well as the Intel 330. The 520 has 5-year warranty.

If the warranty period worries you, for about the same price the 520 would be a better choice then. Else, you can't really go wrong with any of those, Samsung 830, Crucial M4, Intel 520 \ 330 as they all have a very clean track record.

The 520 \ 330 also come in different capacities, so a 180GB one could be a better deal even $ per GB wise.

I was thinking of an Intel 330 180GB for mine, but settled for a Samsung 830 256GB as extra space usually comes in handy for me (Linux partition, Visual Studio, other big tools).

 

How's win8 battery life compared to win7

Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2

 

That third config with the BD reader writer is a VERY good deal...if it's something you will use....the internal burner is a $200 option on the Sony website.

Also with the current promotion on the website...the extra RAM seems to actually DECREASE the price by $25.

 

I can't really say for Win7 as I haven't used it that much (left it on the HDD but it's full of software and stuff), but in Win8 I'd say that on stamina mode it probably gives me around 5h surfing the web \ mail \ etc.

I'm going to make a more thorough review one of these days, I just wish Sony and others updated their software for Win8. I can't use Sony's Network Manager and can't really enable Bluetooth, not sure if it's the driver I installed. Although I don't use BT so it's a non-issue, maybe someone else had better luck with their drivers \ software in this case.

Also, I can confirm that the "disable ODD + sleep and resume" trick to enable SATA-3 works in Win8 as well, if someone's into that.

 

Hey man,

I have played around with a couple of settings etc and was able to improve the fan. Its a lot quieter than in the beginning. It turned out that even in Stamina mode the GPU was running at full clock. It actually still does that but I have MSI Afterburner installed which counters that. I really have no idea what setting/programm is causing the GPU to run so high but with MSI on it keeps the clock down. But as soon as I close MSI the GPU switches to max clock, even in Stamina mode.Since MSI and the unknown problem battle it out over the control of my GPU, my CPU never gets a chance to rest and idle.
I only get 4h of battery atm which is already better than what I had before (2h15min).

I have reinstalled all drivers (also with driver cleaner pro), checked the fan and energy settings for stamina and speed mode and did everything as people have suggested in the forum.
Still if anyone has an idea what could be causing the GPU to run high let me know!

As for the Momentus XT, it is really really fast. It feels like a SSD on boot and opening applications. I decided to get the Hybrid because firstly the 8GB of SSD is NAND. NAND is supposed to be better than what they commonly put in SSD drives but also a lot more expensive. Hence only 8GB. Secondly HDD drives apparantly are able to do a lot more read/write cycles than what common SSD drives can do. At least thats what I was told in a computer store here in Germany.
I think Seagate is the only manufacturer to put a hybrid drive on the market. Sofar I am pleased.

 

I'm sure that pretty much every SSD on the consumer market uses NAND type flash memory, just as the one used in hybrid drives. It's only 8GB because it uses SLC technology as opposed to MLC found on most SSDs (there are SLC based SSDs, but are usually for enterprises and more expensive like the Intel X-25E, or are mSATA and used primarily for cache like the Intel 313) and so it's much more expensive, but adds to speed and reliability (as it's only 8GB, every cell gets re-written a lot, and very often, so it has to be SLC unless you want it to fail quickly).

Also, HDDs are much more prone to fail than SSDs (for mechanical reasons especially), and in all seriousness you'll probably change computers a few times before the SSD starts to wear out (unless you try to use one for a big enterprise database 24\7 dedicated server, then i'd probably only last a couple years).

I had an Intel X-25M G2 on my previous 2 laptops, used it for 3 years (regular university stuff and watching series mostly) and sold it with 100% health according to SSD Life software.

 

MY FAN IS QUIET... I havent quite nailed down how it happened but the two big changed ive made is i started to run vaio care. which previously i wasnt running and two i change in the nvidia control panel to adaptive (previously on max perf. per the gt640m thread) now when i put my ear up to the vent the only thing i can hear is the air rushing out (however this does not remove the sound coming from the right vent but that is minimal...)

and i have been in stamina mode set to silent for the longest time.

edit.. im pretty sure the noise on the right vent is mostly HDD... as it is consistent with my external HDD... otherwise it is a little if not a lot quieter... or rather a return to stock sound levels

this is with inventor in the background (admintedly not doing stress test or anything but i am playing with it and it is 3d) and my recovery media being created (flash drive not disk....)

 

You are spot on - I mixed up NAND with SLC/MLC type memory.
That is pretty cool that your Intel X25M G2 lasted that long w/o any issues. The guy in the store just quoted some read/write cyles of regular hdd's which where 10 times that of MLC SSD's today. But then again I guess it depends how long I will actually use my hard drive. After 3-4 years most people are likely to swap em out or get a new laptop anyway.

I went for the Momentus XT simply cuz it has loads of space (750GB) and 8GB of reliable SLC NAND. My other option in my pricerange was a crucial M4 but I need more space than 256GB.

 

i know! out of my $1000 price range, but such a good deal...i want...

 

I understand you, the hybrid drives are in theory a good compromise in drive space and speed. I don't know how many iterations of Momentus drives there are, I recall the first ones being "meh" as for speed because the controller sucked, maybe this last generation is finally paying off.

Another option would be an HDD caddy, though you'd have to lose the ODD for that.

Remember what you do really need and what benefit the higher specced one would bring you. It's still a 350-400 dollar difference (of which the 1300$ one is the best deal if you put the BRD to use), around 35% more than the "base" one.

I think that for a 1000$ budget, 1250$ is really overdoing it, unless it's really necessary (as per hardware, because the chassis and build quality are the same) I'd advise you to stay with the lower config, get a 4GB module and sell the 2GB one for 8GB dual-channel.

It's your money, so your call ofc

 

where is that tutorial to customize the assist, web, and vaio buttons? Currently the assist button only brings up that vaio care trouble shooting thing but i read somewhere that you can make the button open up applications or run commands.

 

Search for posts by me in this thread I post a link. Or search for threads by pyro I think

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony-owners-lounge-forum/669429-official-2012-sony-s-series-owners-thread-380.html#post8800494

Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2

 

Thanks for your advice! As i live in Europe i have to contact Sony Parts department and check if they sell these ribboncables.

Does anyone happen to know the component codes for those 2 ribboncables under the harddisk compartment? If not i will check them myself,...

 

I don't know how far does the damage go, but you could try and repair the ribbon cable if it was damaged near the tip.

We've done it successfully, if you want some pics with description click here. It's in Portuguese but a translation + pics should get you there.

Basically you have to get the cable very still (we glued it so it wouldn't move), rip the plastic cable in order to make a new tip (we used a surgeon's blade for that), cut the damaged part and glue the plastic tip back.

Between that and the garbage I guess it could be worth a try.

 

Hi guys, I'm planning to buy an S15 in the next few days, there is currently a 100$ discount (in Canada) and I'm planning to get the following specs...

15.5" LED backlit Full HD IPS display (1920 x 1080)
3rd gen Intel® Core™ i7-3612QM quad-core processor (2.10GHz / 3.10GHz with Turbo Boost)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 640M LE (2GB) hybrid graphics with Intel® Wireless Display technology
500GB (7200rpm) hard drive
4GB (4GB fixed onboard + 1 open slot) DDR3-1333Mhz
CD/DVD player / burner


for $1259.99 (-100) so for $1159.99 before taxes (1300 after tax). Any suggestions, or is this a pretty solid piece?

I'm planning to upgrade with additional RAM and get an ssd (Samsung 830?) In the near future.

PS. -$100 deal ends 19th.

 

OK so ...

The offer with the battery sheet expired ...
Now, it's HD upgrade at half the price ...
BUT the S15 is back !

But going from 320GB to 500GB (which I'd like to do anyway because it's the same size as my crucial M4 SSD) costs 60 euros ... Does it mean that it costs 120 euros normally ?! That's insane ...
Delivery date would be end of October ... that's like ... when Windows 8 will be available ... Well, might not be bad to stay on Win 7 but still, that's more than a month ...
Also has anyone taken a base station ? What ports are on there ? USB 3 ? Is there a headphone/speakers port ?

 

This is written for the Z series but works fine on mine.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...c-zs-s-buttons-your-purposes.html#post6949492

I have remapped my ASSIST key. Tried to remap the WEB button too...but replacing the browser executable messes with the default browser and I found it to be more trouble than it was worth. I was REALLY hoping to remap my eject key to eject my EXTERNAL BD burner. Haven't found a way to do that yet.

 

I have been watching the promotions for a few weeks before ordering my s13p (in germany).
As far as i can see, sony alternates between offering HD at half price and the free sheet battery. It's probable that the free sheet battery will
be offered again next time or the one after.

As i understand it, HD upgrade at half price only applies to ssd and means a 150€ discount on the ssd option.
This would be half the cost of an upgrade to 256gb ssd for the vaio z.

 

Hi. Quick question regarding the WWAN card:

In Germany, you can only get a basic UMTS/HSDPA with the Vaio S13 (both Premium and Standard model) at the moment.

Is it possible to (easily) exchange that card later on, with an LTE card like the Sierra MC7710 (that is installed in the S13A1Z9E)?

 

i7-3612QM + GT 640M LE (2GB) = $350..That's abit overkill.

Unless this is your desktop/pc replacement, I would suggest to forgo this upgrade and just get the i5-3210M+GT 640M LE(1GB) and use the extra $350 to buy a Samsung 830 256GB SSD or equivalent (Intel 520 or Crucial m4) and a additional 4-8GB ram stick as soon as you made your s15 purchase.

 

In my S15, I installed a SSD and installed the HDD using the ODD caddy. My ODD is not wasted, as I'm getting a micro SATA to USB cable to connect my ODD for external use.

That's a perfect scenario to me.

 

Ha thanks for the tip !
Yeah I already have an SSD so that's not for me ...
I also noticed that in Germany, you don't get a PSVita for 99 euros for some reason ...

Will you put it in a casing or just leave it like that ? Also, what happens to the eject button or how do you eject from the drive ?

 

Well my estimated ship date for the S15 was Sept 25th, but it shipped today after only being listed as 'being built' for one day, and is supposed to be here Friday. Woo hoo.

I have had a problem searching this thread for some reason so I apologize as I have been following this thread since page 40 and can not remember.

What backpacks have people purchased? I need one with lots of backpack space on top of the slot for the laptop, and preferably a relatively sturdy laptop section. Any recommendations?

Thanks a lot.

 

Hey guys! I have had my Sony Vaio S13P for about 3 weeks now and I am really happy with it. Except for one thing! My spacebar-key started to squeak a week ago. As I use this laptop in class and such I need it to stay silent. Whenever I press the key it sounds like I have a mouse in the room or something. Now, is there some way of adressing this issue myself? I called Sony but they said they couldn't do anything about it. Are the keys removable and easily put back? The squeaking noise is coming from the mechanism below the key, it's not my speakers or anything. It's really loud. Also, my trackpad is a bit loose. I find that when I apply pressure to the chassi beside the trackpad, it stiffens. So, how can I fix that? Thank you!

 

Thanks for the reply. I fixed this by install with a different ISO of windows 7. I'm guessing there was some kind of conflict between the ISO I was using and the hybrid BIOS.

 

The 15" is again not available on the Dutch store ...

 

Does Speedfan allow controlling the fans on this?

Has anyone tried Linux (LM Sensors)?

What about Mountain Lion?

What's the fan noise like during web browsing?

 

You could open the lappy, remove the KB and apply a couple drops of WD-40 to the offending parts and try to tighten up the trackpad at the same time. The disassembly shouldn't be much harder than that required for the ODD replacement as the whole top of the case with attached KB and trackpad lifts off for that procedure. As for not doing anything about it...of course they can...you can send it in and have them replace the KB. They may not WANT to but they can.