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

I am not really sure what you are showing us on that pictures...... I didn't see anything so strange there, apart from the slightly bigger gap between the keyboard and the palmrest.
Thought that we women are picky.....
I'm, starting to think you bought a PC to look at and not to work on.

 

There are scratches on the palm rest which, for a brand new notebook, should NOT be there. Also, there are swirly and squiggly lines all over the screen, a bit like the diagonal line issue present on some Z's but it seems much worse. Perhaps if the pics are being viewed on another S Series notebook then of course the defects won't be seen due to the poor quality of the screens that the S Series are built with.

 

Well... I guess he will have to go ahead and buy a "scratchless" Z then, with a charger that has the Vaio logo on it. Or maybe try his luck with another brand... something handmade.

 

I can't see any scratches, guess I am glad I bought mine at best buy and have a sony store about 20 miles away.

instead of posting unknown picture , why dont you at least label what one sees in the picture. then you would be more helpful.

 

Yep, neither the light in the space between the palmrest and the keyboard should be there (it was not present in the first Vaio I received). As you can see the notebook doesn't rest perfectly close to the desk, this causes the notebook (especially the lid) to shake every time I lay my hands on the palmrest or type a little bit harder. Unacceptable for a 1100+ € product, unacceptable to wait two weeks for my order to be shipped for no reason and have no news about it, unacceptable to receive the package via DPD when paid for UPS. I placed my first order on the 25th of February, two months later I'm still without what I wanted.
About the scratches, they are the same scratches that were present on the previous notebook, they are just a little bit less noticeable. However this means that their production line is not really ok... but where are quality test? It looks to me that the notebooks sold in the shops have no such defects, so why customization deserve a lower build quality? And these are just the most visible defects but there are some others, for example the DVD cover is a little bit deformed.
I'm really angry, I worked hard for my money, I can't see why they should work so badly for that money.

Sorry, from those photos the "problem" is not clearly visible and it is not the lines: in the lower right end the light is not uniform, there are instead many little spots of lights and many darker points. I already noticed this on my first S, but here this behaviour seems to be more present. Not a great display.

 

Hey - just returned my Z series in favour of an S11V9E, am very pleased with it so far....

I've bought a 7200rpm drive for it and could do with some disassembly help, is it the same as the old S series - where I need to undo all the screws underneath? Or if someones got a link to a service manual (google isn't showing any links to one atm) that would be awesome.

thanks a lot.

 

[Grump mode on] Well, just over a month after getting my lovely Vaio S, I find that in swapping the Orange Sim for a Vodafone Sim, the sim holder is faulty and won't hold any sim now.

Let's be clear. Orange is the very last supplier I would want to use for WWAN, as they don't have a signal in my area. Sony made it quite hard to change over.

So I call Sony's 0870 service number which is expensive and Sony takes a cut of the proceeds, and www.saynoto0870.com doesn't have an alternative.

It's fair enough for an automated voice to ask for the model and serial number. But it is just plain irritating when the person I get put through to immediately asks me for the same information. Sony clearly doesn't understand how databases should work or wants to waste our time (and make more in telephone fees).

Then somehow, they have already attached the details and email address of someone with the same surname to my serial number. There is no one in my family with that first name, and no one could have put it in other than Sony. If the name was completely different, I could imagine that someone typed in the serial number of their own laptop wrong and put in mine. Anyway. They agreed to change that.

Then they told me that the fault was due to misuse and the repair would be chargeable. I asked to speak to the supervisor, but they declined, and said someone would call me back.

If it does go in then it will take 5 days without the laptop assuming they don't muck up anything else. And if they look at it and decide that it is misuse, then they will charge a "flat fee" to send it back if I don't then pay for the repair. But they won't say what the flat fee is.

All in all, this is starting to remind me of the last Vaio I had, which had to go back to them twice, and I was without it for around 2 months. This sort of service is maybe OK for a toy, but not for a serious bit of kit used for business. I will have to resign myself to losing WWAN.

 

Cool thanks, so only 2 screws to swap out the drive then - cool.

 

Picture 1

Picture 2

 

nice one - thanks.

 

Does anyone know which screen resolutions the HDMI with HD Graphics card can output? Has anyone tried to connect an external screen via HDMI? I do it with my TV, and it outputs 1360x768, but is that the max resolution?

 

1080p full hd

 

Ok, so 1920x1080 is max resolution using HDMI with the integrated graphics? No way I can go higher? Like 1920x1200 pixels?

 

unles your using a vga monitor going to say no.

1080p is the max resolution

 

Ok, thanks.

 

Has anyone tried replacing the speakers with real ones?

 

mines loud enough,

I am just curious if it can fit a 12.5mm hard drive in the bay?

 

you can use a HDMI->DVI adapter (if your monitor supports DVI input). Then 1900x1200 should work.

 

unless its a 1080p tv

and if your monitor supports 2256x1920 you can run it but only through the vga port

a 1080p monitor is limited to 1080p can't go higher

 

But HDMI has no problem with other resolutions as well? I'm also looking into a monitor which has 1680x1050 pixels resolution.

 

as I said, with an DVI adapter you can use your HDMI port for higher resolutions too. Obviously you cannot run a higher resolution than 1080p on a 1080p monitor.

 

monitor is still different than tv. not sure what your ramblin about.

but you contradicted yourself

 

Does anyone know where I can get the S series with an i5 processor and the Nvidia GeForce 310m GPU in the United States? Doesn't matter where it's from.

I really hate the fact it's a Best Buy Exclusive and I don't like the specs included.

If I can't find a suitable S series, then I'm just gonna get te CW

 

your best bet is to get a Z or try canada

 

0.o lols why z the z in asia is very overpriced

 

Canada huh? I'll look into that.

Can you non Best Buy S Series owners tell me how much you paid for your laptop and where you got it from? I want to have an idea of how much I will need to pay to get an international S series since there is only one model in the states. Thanks.

 

your going to spend more than what you can buy a z for.

since they pay VAT and also shipping would be outrageous.
so get the Z from best buy faster graphics and processor

 

Wow really? That's no good. Guess I'll look into the Z and CW.

So is it me or is the $1049 Best Buy S series a steal comapred to what other countries are paying?

 

I think you should get the refund before it is too late.

first two pics showing the gap, if you hold one side of any laptop and let it sit, this happens. I want to ask you, R U SERIOUS?

the last pics about the difference in lighting or whatever, every laptop has it.
that's just the characteristic of LED BACKLIGHT LCD and once more?
R U REALLY BEING SERIOUS?

the gap between the palmrest and keyboard
this might be a problem but i just want you to find another brand.
If you r concerned about these things, vaio is not for you.

 

for the exact same S series in England its 1,379.34 just for the copmputer.

though the netgear widi really is a POS

 

I'm thinking about getting a FileMate SolidGO SSD for the S - a pci-e controller one - not usb2.

I want to store VMWare / Virtual PC base disks one it so I dont have to carry a usb hdd around with me. I'll store the differencing disks on the main hdd.

Anyone else done this sort of thing and got any performance comments?

 

Wow...really? Man I have a dilemma...The less powerful but sexier S series or the more powerful but less attractive CW series? What you guys think?

The CW has a better graphics card (Nvidia GT330m), Blu Ray and a faster processor and it's $70 cheaper at $980.

The S on the other hand is just sexy looking at $1049.

What to do!!!???

 

You should set priorities - mine were for a rugged notebook with decent up to date parameters - that's why I chose S (with i5).
I'd never have bought CW, as it looks and feels more like a toy, completely plastic, I don't care at all about BluRay (absolutely no use of it) and so on...

So it is really up to your needs and priorities...

 

To the people who had the noisy spacebar: what kind of lubricant did you use?

 

universal cheap one... any that can be found in every household.

 

dont hit the keys so hard and it wont make alot of noise.

maybe you buy me a cw and I trade you

 

I don't hold anything, it doesn't stay close to the desk. And no, this doesn't happen, neither with the previous S I had nor with the ones I've seen in the shops. Stop saying bulls.

I'm not saying that luminance should be the same across the entire screen, I'm saying that this screen in the lower edge is full of evident bright/dark spots. The previous one had a darker area in the corner, but not such a bad behaviour along the whole edge.

Even the scratches (present once again) are not a problem, but for sure shouldn't be there. I feel free to expect a better quality for the money, from this brand. This is not an high quality product, that's the truth.

Even though you'are clearly talking about something you don't know, you're probably right, I'd better choose a different brand, like many previous Vaio users that no longer find good displays and very well done products.

 

I bought 4 vaio z's and returned 3.

I had been using the last z690 for just over a year.

The last z690 laptop was in repair or in transit for at least 4months.

the last Z690 had a bit more serious problems than yours; the keyboard can be lifted easily, it had a little crack on the bottom when i first got it, gpu overheating upto 125C, whining noise, scratches from multiple repairs, bios corruption, and so on.

Finally, I got an exchange for newer vaio Z series.

I just want you to know that the eqn, more money = better quality, isn't always true (especially with VAIO's)

Spending your time and efforts on something that isn't worth much comparing to other things. This is just one electronics that you can always buy and sell all the time.

once more, just sell or return it and look for another model/brand.

 

I really think you guys should just drive to a store and buy it there. While I admit these quite a few stores around my house (hence convenient), buying at retail allows you to check for problems before accepting it. The store allowed me to check it, run software, and generally use it for hours before I paid for it. I payed 47,000 NTD ($15oo) with the protective screen sheet. It has been flawless now (especially after the BIOS update, not more weird audio artifacts), no squeaking keyboard nor does the battery wiggle as much as some claim it is. The store also allowed me to check for screen quality, running several patterns/solid colors for me to check for bright/dead pixels. As always (at least in Taiwan) you can ask for other goodies, I got for example a Sleeve case in addition to the bag, a mouse, keyboard protector, and also cleaning cloths and cleaning liquid (I refused their 1-year antivirus program).

I bought this right before the new Z was launched...
I do kind of want to sell the S for a Z (performance and battery considerations). Perhaps someone wants to swap (I pay difference + some more)?

Anyways, I highly suggest everyone to just spend the time/gas money on getting to a proper retail store to prevent future issues.

 

To be honest with you - I feel no difference after updating BIOS.... sound together with image keep on freezing for part of a second when watching a movie (maybe once or twice a movie)...
Doesn't really bother me much but I thought that's what the update was for...

 

BIOS update works!
buzz completely eradicated for me

as for that extended battery, SONY never returned my calls; i left my details and stuff at the stores n all...something to do with hard to source parts?

no matter tho, cos i recently discovered that i get an average of 4~5 hours daily battery usage after upgrading to Ultimate, installing new drivers etc

 

yeap buzz gone, completely satisifed.

what did you want to know about the extended battery?

 

What file type/bit rate/player? I've been watching plenty of .mkv 720p shows perfectly fine (a few 1080p blu-ray rips too). What bothered me earlier was when I was recording audio that it often stutters. The other issue I seem to have now is that the keyboard is kind of sluggish, often missing my hits unless I type slower... I still need to see if ths is my own issue (software conflict?) or BIOS issue (perhaps in combination with some software).

 

I would like another battery (extended or standard) for my S.

Has anyone bought a generic batt/non-Sony? If so how is it and where did you purchase it (online)?

Also, is it true that the pc will hibernate itself if you use an unofficial batt?

 

no idea on hibernation but the extended battery is about 250 and 200 @ sony

VGP-BPL21 Newegg.com - SONY VAIO VGP-BPL21 VAIO Large Capacity Battery

VGP-BPS21A Newegg.com - SONY VAIO VGP-BPS21A VAIO Standard Capacity Battery

 

I have been following this thread for a while now hoping for news that Sony would begin selling a CTO version of their Vaio S laptop in the US. I have been to BestBuy quite often and I absolutely love the size and design of their blue label Vaio S laptop.

In fact, it's absolutely perfect except I would prefer a better GPU (Nvidia 330m would be great) in it. I looked at the Vaio Z but given how close the Vaio S is to being what I need for a very portable laptop, I really hate to settle for something else. Not to mention how much more the Vaio Z is compared to the Vaio S.

I am curious if anyone has heard anything new from Sony regarding the CTO version of the S series in the US?

 

The best GPU the S will get is the 310M though, all versions worldwide only get up to 310M. Its definately fine for some light gaming though. I personally am trying to sell my S for a Z, the benefits of the battery life and faster GPU is really tempting

 

For those who weren't able to use the brightness fn keys under linux, check out the hack proposed here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/kdebase-workspace/+bug/461524, post #11

 

I would definitely take a 310M over an integrated Intel. I just like the feel and design of the S. I keep hoping at the very least they'll release an upgraded S for BestBuy since it was named a blue label laptop.

 

^^ apparently Canada and US may get a better config through sonystyle in the fall

Bestbuy has exclusivity through the summer