Official Sony S11/S12/S13 (2010) Owners Thread

I didn't test battery live extensively yet, but ~1 hour of wireless surfing + listening to music dropped the battery level from 88% to 62% - so my guesstimate is that I'll achieve about 4 hours of battery life, maybe more with wireless off and lighter use (pdf reading / word processing)

 

I'm interested too, although I myself hope the screen protector can help the screen from average to ok, not from ok to great

And that's what Notebook check say on its verdict about the S and its display:
The Sony Vaio VPC-S11M1E/W is at the starting line with the pretension to provide business people with a small 13.3 inch all-rounder. In our opinion, this aim has been majorly achieved, whereas the contrast poor glare display doesn't fit in.

Completely agree. Here's hoping the anti-glare film can make wonders.

 

Sony Vaio SR-series is no longer available on Sony Style web page, so i expect to the new S series appears soon.

On peruvian Sony Style Page, it shows that web page will be available on march after several days. I expect to appears too on tha page.

The S series is on retails sice 1-2 weeks.

 

Hopefully S will be available soon then.

 

Would you guys reccomend this laptop for gaming? I'm liking this laptop because of its backlit keyboard and its design. But I'm wondering if i should just go with the CW.

 

If you want to do some medium level gaming, sure.

 

whats the highest fps the S series can reach playing MW2 or Bioshock at high settings, compared to the CW with the 330m graphics?

 

I don't really think you'll find many gamers in this thread....
Hell, I don't even know what MW2 or Bioshock are

The S really isn't a gaming laptop... not all agree that it is a strictly business solution, but I think we'd all agree it is far from a gaming platform... sorry.

I suggest you look for something else (the F for example).

 

I plan to run the S under Ubuntu too.
You mean only the GMA 4500 MHD succeed to have sound, all with G310M have no sound? Sounds horrrible and is an important hint. Can you post the link please? Any else important which may not work? HDMI, UMTS, ...?

Allways ON is better than allways OFF ;-) How do you rate the chance´that these issues may be solved?
Is there anybody else who made Linux experience?
Hints are much appreciated!

 

That's a shame... Guess I'm going with CW doesn't look as good as the S though.

 

if you don't mind - which one did you select finally after all these discussions? and why.
I'm still wondering what's best for me (for quite a while) - it's not even clear to me which/how many S types (V5E, X9E, F7E, V9E, M1E, ...) do exist - anyone who may have a good link here (sonystyle I know of course but not even there I can find a complete list of types explaining all the differences)...
rgds

 

I'm thinking he started listening and made a better decision than his initial idea

Anyway I think you should look for what is locally available - I noticed that some of the preconfigured models are either not at all present or hard to find in Germany, where as it is the opposite in Italy.

So don't pay so much attention to the configuration name - just first decide which CPU u want - i3 or i5... as far as I know i7 is only achievable through SonyStyle.
When you decide which one you would rather have - look for Sony S which features it in your country and you will see whether it is offered with a GPU as well or not.

The most popular here is the one with i5 520M and dedicated GPU (S11V9E/B), which IMO is also the most adequate configuration for one to buy nowadays, as an i7 upgrade is +200 euros, whereas i5 540M is also not worthy the extra money.
Well if you really do office work only + browsing and so on without any multimedia - integrated graphics would probably suit you better.

So start with the CPU and then worry about the "code name". If you choose between i3 and i5 and between integrated and dedicated graphics - there will be only one configuration left

 

thanks for the infos.
Right - but I hoped to find a preconf model to avoid waiting another 3-4 weeks - fear now there's no other way than going through sonystyle and wait :-(

I don't mind much if i3 or i5, but if it turns out that G310M means problems with sound under Ubuntu - that would be an issue.
Seems I have to end up with an VPCS11V5E (i.e. Intel HD graphics).

another thing: just seen that there's 2 GB RAM free currently at sonystyle (i.e. 1*4 + 1*2); thought it's disadvantageous to have 'asymmetric' memory banks - no longer valid?

 

No. I asked the same question recently, as I knew that it used to be a disadvantage by the Centrino generation.
It turned out that you would have 2x2 working in double channel mode + 2 additional. So it is worse then theoretical 3+3 but better then 2+2 as you have 2GB in addition
Don't hesitate.

Can't really help you with the Ubuntu issue - Windows works great for me

 

Another question: I want to use an external screen via HDMI - do I need the G310M GPU or is the Intel HD Graphics sufficient?
How is this with Ubuntu?

Have found a VPC-S11V9E/B, i5-520m, 4GB, 310M, W7P
under huh.de - would shorten waiting time to about 8 days -
under hardwarehouse not wait at all - sounds better.

 

thanks anyway!

 

This model is very popular in Germany at the moment and they have it on stock at several companies... Could give you some other names, but I don't want to be advertising here, so PM me and will tell you where you can find it in Germany if that's an option for you.

 

There is a page in Ubuntu's wiki: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LaptopTestingTeam/SonyVaioVPC-S111FM
that's the ubuntuforums' thread: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1386427&highlight=vaio+s11
That's a thread about the intel model: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1407626

I cannot test HDMI and UMTS. HDMI should work (not sure of that)
The Gobi 2000 wwan card apparently works with some effort: http://www.madox.net/blog/2010/01/06/hp5310m-un2420-wireless-gobi2000-module-in-ubuntu/
Probably it will work out-of-the-box using newer kernel releases

 

Yep, should be more than adequate.

 

In Perú, we have this configuration:

Intel® Core™ i3-330M (2.13GHz, 3MB L3 Caché)
Windows 7 Home premium original de 64 bit
500GB
4 GB
Reproductor y Quemador DVD 8
Screen VAIO Plus de 13.3” (1366 x 768)
Intel® GMA HD
To 4.5 horas*
2kg

It costs around USD $1500.00 taxes included.

Im looking to buy one S series from US but im concern about warranty.

What do you recomend? I must buy one from US with better config? or Just buy this one on my country?

This configuration reach all my needs.

Best Regards.

 

I just recieved my new Sony VAIO S, and with that i have ordered the X25-M intel SSD.

My question is, how do i get the data from the current harddrive(windows, drivers and so on) on to my SSD?
No cd's came with the box.

 

Create restore discs. You should get prompted, if not I think it can be done from the Vaio control centre.

 

Going to give it a shot.
thanks for the quick response

 

Thanks a lot for all the links - damn... sounds for a lot of work to come... hm, maybe I opt for a vmware solution first to get it run quickly... guess it's possible to piggyback Ubuntu on win7.

 

you mean the Intel HD is already OK? good.
What do I then need the 310M for? Don't remember if there was already discussion about Intel HD vs. 310M in this thread but think I remember that there is no automatic switch between the two based on the actual need, right?

 

The 310 will be a lot faster then the Intel HD. That being said, the 310 is still useless for games, so it is kind of useless anyway... SONY PUT A 330 IN THE S DAMMIT!!!

 

Page 51 of this Thread. No, unfortunately there is no switching...

Be happy that there is a dedicated GPU at all!! Most business series are only offered with integrated. I think the 310M is a quite adequate choice for a business oriented notebook. Still much better then integrated.
Don't ask for too much for 1000 bucks! Or buy an Acer or Fujitsu and deal with the consequences

 

Which driver controls the backlit keyboard?

It doesnt seem to be working after replacing my hdd with an ssd.

 

I still haven't found information about the standart warranty!? Is it international (the one offered in Europe) or local only??

 

Actually, There exists international warranty in Sony USA? because it would be perfect to me. Or may it exists on any adicional warranty?

Regards,

 

Hey guys, I recently ordered a F-series but after a couple of things came into quesiton I recently cancelled and ordered this S-series

Intel i5 540
6GB RAM (2GB came free )
nVidia 310M Graphics
320GB 7200rpm (only ever used 5400rpm..how noticeable is the difference)
Windows 7 Home Premium
Black with Backlit Keyboard

I currently own a FZ21S and I have been extremely pleased with what it has given me, that's why I originally opted for a F series but the size, weight and cost for the "premium" version were massive influences in this last minute desicion.

Reading through this forum the display seems a massive issue but configured manually it seems to looks great

I am very very excited for the S-series now, looks like a fantasic laptop, just what I was looking for and I am prepared to sacrifice the BD-ROM drive for a finger print scanner any day of the week

One question I have just sold my FZ21S on eBay, how would I return the laptop to factory state, with all my files, user accounts, programmes removed etc. (It is running on Windows Vista Home Premium) I do not want to just delete as I see fit because I can see myself deleting essential files that the next user will need.

 

Did you create a set of recovery discs like you were told to when you started your FZ for the first time?

Or have any system recovery discs? Those are meant to be read and will reset the harddrive to factory state.

If not that, do you have a recovery partition? You can use Sony's recovery software to recover your OS to factory state.

If you have discs, use a program like Eraser to securely delete your C: partition and then reinstall the factory state OS on that partition.

 

not a concern at all: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i5,2410-6.html

 

Not really the right thread for this, but unless you format and rewrite your disk (there are special tools for this) - all your data is easily recoverable! I would never sell my HDD without first taking care of it properly!

 

Partition Wizard offers an excellent disk clean utility, and it's free and very easy to use. It ensures no data can ever be recovered.

 

I'd recommend a bootable CD with software specially created for that. Nothing is more secure.

I have one at home, but unfortunately don't remember the name...

 

I believe it is called "Bootnuke"

 

Damn I'm such an idiot, I never did recovery discs, looks like I am just going to have to format the hard disk and reinstall a new copy of Windows Vista Home Premium , as I am unsure how to use the Partition Wizard as good as it looks.

Thanks for your help guys; (considering I posted in this thread )

 

Does anyone have problem with battery drain? I charged mine up to 80% with Battery vaio care, remove the battery from the laptop, put in back onto the laptop the next day and have 69% battery left

 

You can create a bootable CD with Partition Wizard hence the reason I am recommending it.

http://www.partitionwizard.com/partition-wizard-bootable-cd.html

 

No battery drain at all. I have left the battery in the machine, not touched it for 2 days, booted the machine up and it's still at 100%.

 

Yeah, but with it plugged in..?

 

Nope!

 

I see, maybe i should try charging the battery to 100% without Battery Vaio care and see what happen.

 

Well that's pretty good then, because I would expect at least a tiny amount of drain over time...

 

I found battery drains somewhere around 1% per hour when powered off and not charging. I'm not sure if powered off sleep behaves the same way.

This makes little difference to me. There's still hours of web surfing available after several days.

 

So did I, my Z has the battery drain issue.

Maybe my S series is still in it's 'honeymoon' period and will start to drain soonish?

 

Here's the video I promised:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm3O3Opk_LY

It's hard to see on the video how good the quality is, but the matte screen helps a lot, and the calibration make the colors more natural, I would say my Vaio S is perfect now for my needs.

 

Looks good...

 

Anyway to make another video to showcase the vertical viewing angles, because beyond the glossy screen this is what I'm asking myself whether it will sort it out or not.