Official 2012 Sony S Series Owners Thread

How do you/we know for sure that the S13's screen hasn't changed? The specs may be the same, but hopefully Sony has decided to change/improve the anti-glare coating at least.

A few pages back, I read that someone saw a S13 screen that was actually better than the one he saw a few months before. The Sony employee said that Sony had changed the screen a month before. I think the (old?) S13 screen mainly has two anomalies (apart from bad viewing angles, bad blacks):
1) Screen-door effect ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screen-door_effect): The fine lines separating the pixels, are clearly visible. This is very regular, grid-like ("pixelation"). This effect is visible on many high-resolution 13"/14" notebook screens (e.g. Gigabyte U2442, Lenovo T430).
2) Grainy/gritty/dirty look. This is more irregular. The Gigabyte U2442, for example, doesn't have this anomaly.

Could someone who (very) recently bought a S13 with a 1600x900 screen ('Display Premium') comment on those two points: do the (updated?) screens still have those two anomalies?

 

i think they're updating all vaio S series. for example in italy s13p is not available for customizing. i didn't notice any hw upgrade on vaio US store, only windows 8 upgrade. do you confirm?

another question: if i want to buy blu-ray writer later, what is the model?

 

I certainly hope they did change the screen. I guess we will find out soon

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

Seems to just be a quiet ventilation sound, I don't hear any humming unless I literally stick my ear on it.

 

I guess only Sony USA website shows the new updated laptops.

Good thing there isn't much changes going on with the updated Vaio S series. I would and pretty much everyone else who bought their Vaio S over the summer be disappointed if there was some major updates.

I also noticed that there was an price increase? The Vaio S Premium now starts at $1599.99?? Wasn't it $999.99 before?

We are just waiting to confirm if the screen changes with the new updated S series.

 

The 'updated Win 8' version of the S15 is roughly $150 or so more than the Win 7 version.

I'm debating going for it to see if the "OrangeGate" issue has been fixed.

Will keep everyone posted if I make the pre-order. Will most likely call in to see if Phone Sales can provide any type of discount (as they usually do).

 

Looks like they updated some of the bottom-end configurations for the 15s (for the same price).

Over the summer $999 got you:
3rd gen Intel® Core™ i5-3210M processor
500GB (7200rpm) hard drive
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 640M LE (1GB) hybrid graphics
6GB (4GB fixed onboard + 2GB removable) DDR3-1333Mhz
CD/DVD player / burner

Now the $999 gets you:
Same processor, video card, and ODD, but
750GB (7200rpm) hard drive
8GB (4GB fixed onboard + 4GB removable) DDR3-1333MHz

 

I am also waiting to see if Orange Gate has been fixed. I showed a Sony shop staff member the issue by setting MS paint to 255 Red, next to another Sony Vaio with a TFT screen and he couldn't believe the difference, the S15 was orange next to the real red of the other display. He said he will bring it up with the Sony Rep.

He also said people need to bring this issue up with Sony direct, call them and log a ticket. The more people that do it, the bigger the chance Sony will do something about it.

I only just purchased my S15 last week so I have the option to get a refund if I want it but I would rather keep the laptop, which is great, and simply get the screen fixed. The Sony staff are going to call me back on Monday and see what I can do regarding replacing the screen.

Hence I hope Sony have resolved the Orange-gate issue in this October product refresh, it should mean I can get them to replace the screen under warranty for a fixed version.

Remember guys, bring this to the attention of Sony by calling them and logging a case.

 

Yeah, I'm in that camp recently so I'm prepared to be shocked by a possible screen update. E.g. the announced Lenovo Yoga 13 seems to sport a 13,3" IPS screen (1600x900), so if such screens are avalilable now, Sony might have opted for them (I doubt it, though, but perhaps the S13 might be user-upgraded with such a screen if they'll have some non-touchscreen ones).

One thing I've noticed on the Sony Vaio S US page, it seems that the HDD model has a half-hour longer battery estimate than the SSD models. Are they using the twin SSDs in RAID like on the Z?

 

This is an issue both on the 13P (1600x900) and the S13 standard (1366×768 Pixel), by the way.

 

this new windows 8 s15 is a pretty great deal, i mean $999 for 1080p IPS display, a 7200rpm HDD, 8 gb of ram, and dedicated graphics. and if you get the windows 7 S15 with those options it comes out a little more lol

 

Hello everyone

Petrov here, from the original post in this thread. I've been following stuff as well as I can given my workload these days - but in any case, if someone thinks I should update the OP with some important new bit of information or advice, please PM me on here and I'll take a look.

Much appreciated.

Petrov.

 

Thanks very much! I have both pieces still, so that is great news. Having it open in front of me, do you have a placement of the tape in mind, if you were to picture the RAM in, with only one clip on the right holding it? Am I overthinking this?

 

i have this annoying high pitch sound coming from my laptop.... its killing me (i opened my laptop to replace cd drive w/ ssd but i did it perfectly)

 

The clips only hold the module flush with the mobo against spring tension. If I were doing it I would tape the edge opposite the copper contacts down as tightly as possible. That should improve the electrical contact being made at the other edge and stabilize the module against being dislodged by shock. Just my two cents. Good luck!

 

You're not the first to report this. I have no idea of the cause...but the only thing I can think of would be a faulty solid state device (or just maybe the fan) somewhere in the lappy. They sometimes "sing" before they fail. If it was me I'd return it to Sony and get it fixed/replaced under warranty. Don't forget to remove any evidence that you opened the case before you do this!!

 

long time i wasnt here on forum, i have no problem with the modding. not stressing too much the system as i not play too much on this, but after i read back the comments i made it back to 900/900... but now after opening gpu-z it shows for me in sensors that my gpu memory clock is 450mhz, even if i play it shows the same, never goes to 900. on the main page it shows for me 900/900 obly the sensor not. tried msi afterburner... that shows like it is on 900 but actualy that line not moving anywhere on the bottom... so whats happening now?

 

I just found out why the Intel Anti-Theft that comes with our laptops doesn't install on clean machines, it needs Intel Management Engine Components to be installed beforehand. After that you have a full years worth of protection, and even though it's not foolproof some protection is better than none.

Also, you DID remember to get the product key for it before you formatted your hard drive, right?

 

Hey thanks very much. I tried on the clip side, and the operating system still says 4 gigs of RAM, so I will try putting it where you suggested.

Thanks for all the help.

Update:
Hmm, still not showing up, I will have to keep trying.

 

Orange/red not a relevant problem on my S15 (bought it 2 months ago), it's almost unnoticeable. BUT I just can’t calibrate this screen with Windows display calibration and ClearType. I did read this forum's discussions on calibration, but, I can either get a satisfactory calibration for pictures and movies, OR for text reading in .docx and PDF. I can't get a balance that is good for both. I would like to know from those really satisfied with their calibration:
- Which calibration-software did you use? (Hopefully not expensive.)
- At what gamma (Intel graphic properties) is your calibration tied to?

 

Examine the interior of the slot where the contacts are with a bright light and magnifier. If any of them are broken that will explain your symptoms. It also means you get to live with only 4GB of RAM or a VERY expensive motherboard change. If they are only bent....you MIGHT be able to use a slender probe (about the diameter of a pin but longer) to GENTLY straighten them.

 

From listening to how you broke it the contacts should... should be fine. I see no reason that pulling the tabs out will break the contacts. You need to put it in at a 30-45 degree angle and it will slip it it will require some force but not a lot. Then push it down.

Have you tried putting the clip back as I had described a few pages back. Try to straighten it out and it looks as you might be able to push it back in

Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2

 

i sent this fking laptop to sony 2 fking times bec. they made the laptop cheap and the metal was out of place. the first time i sent it to them they just bent in back which made it look fking retarded i waited 3 weeks for that. then i sent it back again so they could really fix it because anyone could bend back the metal..... and now they fixed it and this fking high pitch sound...... i really think they wont find it... they are fking dumb im so mad i spent like fking nearly 2 months sending this laptop back to sony and spent 2,100$ on this crap (and everytime i sent it i had to replace my ssd again.... opened it like 5 times already so annoying.) and i have 2 ssd's in this laptop to hard drive... is it even possible?


sony doesnt understand... they said send it in but i have an ssd no normal hard drive...

 

Guys I need some advice,
I had been using an old HP dv6000 for the last 4 years but unfortunately it recently succumbed to old age. And the Sony S15 is my ideal laptop in terms of price and product. Now my real question is whether or not I should pre-order the Windows 8 version or if I should wait and see what its like. I know it won't be too different, but I have a little hope that they'll fix the orangegate or put in some better speakers. Both of these aren't deal breakers for me but if I'm paying $1000+ for a laptop I dont wanna order the Windows 7 version and then see that that the WIndows 8 version has no orangegate. But at the same time I don't want to wait for the Windows 8 and see that its the exact same machine, screen and all. I basically want my cake and I also want to eat it too. But is there any info that points to a new S15 with a fixed screen.
Also I've heard that people call Sony and get some $$$ knocked off the sticker price, who do I call and what do I ask for this. Or even better, does anyone know any coupons or deals (I am a college student, if thats relevant) that are available.

 

Sorry guys I can't find the answer anywhere using the search, I just did a clean install and after having installed evertyhing andd getting the s15 to work I find that Optimus isn't working and I can't get the gt640 recognized in games. Do you know which steps I could have missed ? thanks for your help

 

Thanks to you orionz as well for the help. I am really hoping the contacts are fine, I haven't done anything to them except put the RAM in. It goes in at a 45 degree angle, and snaps in no problem, so I am hoping it is somehow the absence of the clip. I am not at the point of thinking I will be stuck with 4 gigs of RAM, I guess I will cross that bridge should I ever get to it

Truckenn2,I haven't tried put the clip back yet, but I will be doing that soon, I just need a better magnifier, as it is already tough for me to see in there.

With the clip, I can see where it was detached, and it doesn't really look like anything is broken to me, the end of it doesn't look like metal broke, it looks more like there is a little slot that it fits into, but any thoughts would be helpful. I guess what I am wondering at this point is whether there is a reason the tape might be causing the problem? I will post a picture of where the tape is located to this response in an hour or two. Thanks again everyone.

 

Hey guys, just a quick question. I picked up an S15 from the Sony Store and there's an electrical hum coming from the numpad area. I was just wondering if this was normal cause it doesn't really sound like fan noise. The sound's always there even when idling, unless I put the laptop to sleep or shut it off. It's not super loud but it is audible from a few feet away.

 

So, regarding SSD -- is there any point buying more expensive SATA III drive if they will still only work in SATA II mode on my S?

I am deciding between Crucial v4 256GB and Crucial m4 256GB, that is a price difference of £31.

Any disadvantages compared to Samsung or Transcend SDDs? They seem to be a tad cheaper but since I already bought memory from Crucial, I might as well order SSD..

Will I need any bracket or special cables for it?

 

I don't know about the crucial v4 vs the m4, but you shouldn't need any additional brackets or cables to install it. The stock HDD on my S15 had brackets that I unscrewed and put on my ssd (Samsung pm830) and plugged the SATA ribbon cable back in.

 

Thanks, actually I been reading into it a bit more by now and apparently there is this "open/close lid trick" where you put your computer to sleep and when you get out of the sleep mode the SATA controller had switched to SATA III.. Funny enough, it been reported that specifically on Crucial m4 this trick doesn't work.

 

Hi guys,

i'm a student and need a notebook, but i can't decide which one...
im going to use it for office programms, surfing the internet, math programms like maple,mat/scilab,R n stuff and some games


atm im stuck between ThinkPad Edge S430 and Sony Vaio SVS1311C5E

i would upgrade both of them to 12GB Ram and 128 GB SSD, so in the end both would cost ~850€


i like the style of the vaio and that it is a bit thinner,lighter and also has the better GPU
the thinkpads only advantage is the higher resolution of 1600x900, but i think 1366x768 should be enough for 13,3", isnt it?


the one thing im not quite sure is which notebook has the better build quality...what do u guys think? which notebook would u pick?

 

So I took a closer listen and it turns out I was hearing a mix of fan noise and what sounds like CPU whine. I can hear the fan whirring mixed with a high frequency chirping. Plugging in my USB mouse seems to make the sound more pronounced as well.

I've seen a few people mention the high frequency whining in this thread, how widespread is the issue? From what I've read, it seems to be harmless, just annoying. I have 14 days to return/exchange the machine, but I don't want to waste my time if its a fairly common issue.

 

^ yes, that's the CPU whine, and harmless but incredibly annoying once you start to hear it. i used to have it on my 2011 VAIO SA, but for some reason it has disappeared at some point. i have encountered posts on the internet about people changing some power options which got rid of the noise. the main change that i've done is to set my maximum CPU usage to 99% in Control Panel > Power Options. maybe that did the trick, i don't know.

 

is there a keyboard shortcut to turn on/off the backlit keyboard? If not does anyone know the command to do so?

 

ok guys, im probably gonna buy the SVS151290X, win8, i7-3632QM, 12 gb ram, bluray. i just bought a dell xps 15 a few weeks ago and that thing is a NIGHTMARE! the wifi straight up DOESNT WORK and its not an isolated issue. i just did an RMA request on it and as soon as it goes through i will buy the sony.

anyways, im not seeing and of the student discounts mentioned in this thread. i made a sony account and registered with my school and it says my schools name at the top of the page but when i go to check out i dont see any discounts applied. i tried this for both the older win7 model and the newer win8 model. are they still doing the free ps3/vita/8% and discounted sheet battery?

 

I was also looking at the S15 today, and it seems that the 10% discount is only applied to the "Ready to Ship" models. The free ps3 offer has been gone for a while I believe. They do have a decent discount on the docking station atm.

On a different note, I am close to buying the S15, but the lack of WWAN is a bit troubling to me since I see myself wanting to use this in the near future. An external USB dongle is not really an elegant solution, especially since all the usb ports are on the right hand side, where the dongle will get in the way of the mouse. Other than that, this laptop is looking really good, though.

 

is the wifi built in to the motherboard? if its mini pci-e then maybe in the future you can upgrade to a wifi/wwan combo card

 

In the Netherlands, you have to go especially on the Education Store, did you do that ?

 

Hi guys.

Ordered my S15 on the 28th Sept. Got an email stating it was dispatched on the 11th oct(Last Thursday) but yet to hear anything regarding tracking or delivery?

Any idea on when it should turn up?

I'm in the UK by the way.

 

Week and a bit iirc

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2

 

So its been a couple days with the S15 and I noticed the lid/hinge creaks a bit when moved. Is this normal? I feel like I'm just being paranoid and nit-picky, but my previous laptops (a MBP and a Dell Latitude) never did. Anyone else notice this? Just looking for some peace of mind =]

 

Oh wow, I didn't even know they made those. I think the wifi is mini pci-e, so it would probably work. Thanks!

I tried out the S15 at the local Best Buy today and while I still like the high-res screen and lightness, the keyboard felt a bit wobbly compared to eg the Asus UX31 ultrabook. Not the most comfortable typing experience.

For people who own the S series, how does the keyboard measure up after extended use?

 

The wifi is def mini-pcie. It's behind the hard drive bay when the battery cover is removed.

The keyboard flex is mostly on the left side where it sits on top of the ODD. If you replace the ODD with a second HDD that goes away because the top of the HDD is not flexible like top of the ODD. I have not noticed any problem with keyboard flex since I did the replacement.

 

Hello,

Finally snagged SVS13A for cheap because of summer clearance sale, I want to change my HDD to SSD and having trouble to clone the OS installation from HDD. The thing is the HDD is protected and decrypted so it can't be cloned. Flash install is impossible because for some reason it is not shipped with CD Drivers. Can someone help me to clone/migrate the installation to my SSD(Win 7 Home Premium 64 Bit)

 

The HDD is not encryted to my knowledge. It IS a GPT volume (created because it's in UEFI mode)...this may be the source of your problems.

Easiest way: create restore media (either USB or DVD), swap HDD for SSD, run restore media. Easy!

Other parts of this thread explain the more complex process of doing a clean install to your SSD.

 

Ok here is my problem. Big problem. On the svs1511 I did a clean install win7 legacy. Why? Because of the use of truecrypt. Now the problem. I did everything as written here, but after the installation of Hotkeys things go wrong. I get suddenly a message that my battery is not ok and the keys are not working.This message is verry enoying because I can not get it go away. Help....

 

Greetings!

Can someone answer this: What is the temperature specification of SVS15 models and what are the range of safe temperatures for both gpu and cpu?
Any recommendations to what brand/model on laptop cooler to use for SVS15 model.

Thanks!

 

This has been reported here MANY times. I believe it's a Sony Shared Library problem. Did you install it?? Search the thread for more info.

 

Yes I did install the Library without any problems. To check this I did an systemrestore exacly between Library and Special keys. It is after installing special keys that the problem begins. I did exacly what is written on the post on page one and did the order of installing were is reffered to. Now I am back in Efi after a Ghost recover (first installing win in efi without drivers etc and then recover with ghost in mbr then switched to efi in bios and everything is working fine) but I want good old legacy.

Can you please point to me in with threads I can find a sollution?

 

Does anyone know if I can remove the webcam software that came with the laptop without any problems? The software is called ArcSoft or something along those lines.