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

I don't plan on using the free Anti-Virus either, but figured I can give it to someone as well. And I want to try out this new Wireless Display technology.

I read up some of the issues that others were having in the F Series Owners Thread and I don't think it's the same issue. It seems as if for some people they can overlook the noise/sound. The sound issue I am having is quite annoying and a little loud - I have the volume set to Mute at the moment. It's very noticeable.

 

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-download.pl?mdl=VPCS111FMS&upd_id=5376&os_id=45

Realtek High Definition Audio Driver 6.0.1.5992

Not sure what the latest audio driver is installed on your S notebook but perhaps this is a good place to start.

 

I have the same issue/problem with the Best Buy model (VPCS111FM/S) I bought. While teh computer is on, if you plug in (or pull out) the power cord then the entire screen instantly goes black (and then comes back on in a few seconds).

The first few times it happened my heart skipped a beat (because unless you know it is coming, it looks as if the entire computer just abruptly shut down.)

Anyone else having NOT having this issue or is it a universal problem?

 

1. Same thing happened to me and took care of it with no problems. Just bring them the receipt (and have them check the description on BestBuy.com because it lists the individual SKU's for each part of the bundle, which was NOT in the print ad).

The nest (and quickest) way to do it is:

1. Go pick up the actual items you need (e.g. NetGear unit and AV);
2. Bring them to Customer Service desk with your receipt and they will take care of it.

I did that and they took care of it right there with no problems and pretty fast.

 

2. No high pitched sound problem here either

NOTE: The loose battery is VERY noticeable and bothersome, especially since it is a Sony, but it is not even close to being a dealbreaker in buying this laptop

 

Agreed about the battery, not a deal breaker. Even the heat that I complained about isnt a deal breaker for me either.

 

The latest audio driver installed on my S notebook is 6.0.1.5964 (not 6.0.1.5992). I will try this out and hopefully it solves the sound issue. I am thinking it will...Although, I am a little confused as to why it's an earlier/different driver if the notebook just came out a week or so ago...wouldn't we all have the same one?

Sounds good, I will probably do that tomorrow. I was hoping they would still honor the offer that was going on.


By the way, my computer screen blinks/goes black and comes back on as well, when I plug it in or unplug it from the power. I don't think it's a defect in any way and others have said the same. AND the battery is also a little loose on mine, but definitely not a deal breaker.

 

Anybody know of a way to force the backlit keyboard on - to override the ambient light sensor? The VAIO control center allows turning it off for the display but not the keyboard backlight. I like my keyboard backlight on in times other than pitch black...

N

 

my laptop also blinks when the ac is plugged in.

i love this laptop!

i have a q though:
does the screen slightly dim when you guys go into dimmer lighting? and brighten up again in brighter light? it's a slight difference...but then after it was pointed out to me by my sister, it started really bugging me.

 

Yes, I believe it's the Ambient Light Sensor

 

What is storage controller for this laptop? sata 150 or sata 300??

 

Here are some unboxing pics of the S

http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=258&t=1395996&last=17161248

 

So to those who own the S;

The heat is really bad? In what areas? The palmrests? Is the fan constantly on like the old SR? Or is does it come on when it needs to and turn off after the laptop cools?

 

This is a hard question to answer because what might be hot to me might not be to you. The heat is on the left side around the vent area. It does get hotter then these new ULV laptops that I have tried.

The fan isnt always on, it comes on and off and that is when you can feel the heat coming from the laptop from the hot air coming from the vent.

The heat isnt bad enouph for me to take it back.

Hope this helps

 

Exchange your laptop while you're within the 14 day period! I had that same problem with the high pitch sound. It only occurred on one occasion but it hurt the heck out of my ears!

Also, my screen would freeze for a little less than a second when running FTP and HM. Probably the same for other high resource programs as well. From that, I knew that it was a sign of an imminent hard drive failure, I'm not sure if the sound issue tied in with that, but it's certainly a possibility.

Also, like others said, it's an easy price match for Netgear Push2TV. I bought my Sony before Blue Label was introduced so none of the associates had a clue about IWD, just bring the adapter to CS and ask for a PM, and exchange the laptop while you're at it! [No restocking fee as long as you're exchanging a defective model, and just tell them you were having the same problems as me]

 

Does it only looks to me, that this notebook is (a little bit) thicker then other notebooks ? It's thicker then the current FW-serie, which now will be the F-serie. Also it's looks thicker then my current FZ and notebooks from HP etc.

 

Looks a little thicker than my SR from what I can tell.

 

It is listed as 1.2" thick, but i think it looks thicker because it doesn't have as much of an "angle" on the front and back of the laptop (e.g. on alot of other laptops, the very front of the laptop and rear of teh laptop (bottom side) are very thin and then it gets thicker as the case tapers towards the bottom of the laptop. For example, see the Toshiba T135 series, which Best Buy carried Model T135-S1309)

Also, regarding the "heat", I don't have any complaints about the heat or fan noise on the S series, especially compared to other ultraportable laptops and even some desktops, which were hotter and noisier.

Remember, there is a powerful processor and A LOT going on inside that thin case, which you have to keep cool!!

 

I check the manual of the upcoming S series on Sony UK, there is no mention of switchable graphic card Those developer is so cheap, telling us to buy Z series for switchable graphic card

 

Someone who has the laptop, would you tell me if it is plastic on the cover and palm rest or all magnesium alloy like the SR? I could not tell for sure with the little time I had play with it. Does the manual say anything about it.

 

The only thing I have read says it has a magnesium alloy casing, the cover and palm rest feel like plastic to me.

 

How would u all rate the display?

 

The SR is not made with 100% magnesium alloy. Only the bottom part is. The rest of it is all plastic, just like this S here.

 

In case anyone else is like me and would prefer to disable the ambient light sensor for the keyboard (IE, make it always on when typing)

You can disable the module that controls this here:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Sony Corporation\VAIO Event Service\Modules\{205A963F-2095-4040-8C37-15F91526660B}

Set the Enable key to 0

N

 

You can also do it in "VIAO Control Center"

 

I saw the S @ bestbuys. The lid and the bottom of the notebook is definitely magnesium. The palmrest feels pretty good actually; the texture of it gives it a good grip while typing. The palmrest does feel warm but probably due to its proximity of a dozen of other laptops nearby.

 

Where exactly? I could not find an option to always have the backlight on (even if the sensor does not think it is dark enough).

N

 

Have any VPC-S111FM/S owners cracked open the case yet to take a look at the internals? I am wondering if there are any other unused mini-PCIe slots for a WWAN card or an Intel Turbo Memory card. I have a 4GB ITM card I would love to stick in my S111FM/S, but I am a bit hesitant to take mine apart without even knowing if there are available mini-PCIe slots.

Edit:
After looking at the two UK Vaio S1 models, it is evident that they both contain WWAN cards in addition to WLAN. The WLAN card in the UK models appears to be an Atheros model. If the Atheros card in the UK models is a half-height mini-PCIe card, just as the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200 is in the US S1 model, then perhaps the US model has an empty full-height mini-PCIe slot. The Gobi 2000 WWAN card in the European models in a full-height mini-PCIe card, which is what leads me to believe there might be the empty mini-PCIe slot. However, the US model does not have the SIM card slot as the UK models do, so it might be a completely different system board. I am still too afraid to be the first one to find out, though. :confused2:

 

The VAIO Control Center allows you to turn off the ambient light sensor, but it leaves the keyboard backlight off altogether. I believe the registry entry that Nyceis posted is the only way to disable the ambient light sensor's control on the keyboard backlight, but leave the keyboard backlight on.

 

Received an email today from Sony stating that they've started building my CTO S-Series and that I should expect the laptop within a week time (I live around London).

 

Did you get it with the nVidia 310M dedicated graphics..??

If so, can you post results for 3DMark06 when you get the time..?

Cheers.

 

My laptop does not blink when power is changed from AC to battery. Graphics changes from Aero (on AC) to non-Aero on battery. Probably doesn't matter but I do have an SSD instead of a HDD.

 

These are the main details of the spec:

Description : Laptop VPC-S11V - Configurable
Optical Drive : DVD disc drive
Hard drive : 320 GB Serial ATA (5400 rpm)
Modem : No Modem
Wireless LAN : Wireless LAN + Bluetooth®
Chipset : Intel HM55
Processor : Intel® CoreTM i5 Processor
Display : 33.8 cm LCD, 1366x768 + webcam
Graphics : NVIDIA® GeForce® 310M 256MB
Memory : 6 GB 1066MHz DDR3-SDRAM
Connectivity : Wireless WAN
Security features : Finger print recognition

It's a i5 540M with 6GB ram, only took 320GB drive to be replaced by an Intel SSD, with a GeForce 310M, WWAN and finger print reader.

It's for replacing a Z that I found far too fragile to carry around every day.

 

Hi guys,
I don't know if someone has already posted this:

http://blog.screenaid.com/2010/01/20/sony-vaio-s-series-launched/

It's interesting 'cause reports 3D mark 2006 score.

Daneel, do you think Vaio S is less fragile than Vaio Z? Why?

 

Is the 310m the highest card you can chose? I hoped for a gt330m atleast...

 

I was hoping for a 330 too...
Never mind, but I am still thinking of replacing my SR with one of these babies...

 

If the 310m is a great improvement compared to the ati hd4570, it might be worth it...
I can't find any tested gaming performances of that nvidia card. They also don't sell vaio s series with a graphic card in Belgium yet (only with a integrated graphics module which is usless for me). They actualy charge 1000€ for a 13 inch laptop without a seperate gpu -_-'.
If I could play assassins creed 2 or cod mw2 with 35 fps then I might consider it, but I think even the gt330m (the one the z has) can't even manage to get those framerates.

 

I bought a SR at the beginning of this year to replace my Z (which went under the knife twice now to replace the screen) and it was way stiffer than the Z.
The old/current Z does creak quite a fair bit, several reasons for it, it looks the new Z will fix a few of those but it will be again a pricey offer from Sony so I'm not sure I'm keen on spending that much money again.

 

At least you guys could do CTO on it. I think the S series is only available via Bestbuy here and only as Intel HD Graphics with i5-430m

 

Neither the SR nor the S are really for high-end gaming, although my SR plays CoD4 quite comfortably...
If the 310M is as good as, or better, than the HD4570 then that's ok.
One major difference will be CPU... My SR is a SR41M/S, which only has T6600, and since I like to do a bit of XViD encoding from time to time, one of these new Core i5/7s will kick its arse..!!

 

LOL, there is a picture of an old Sony VAIO laptop on that site as long as rather old models listing

 

I thought those U.S. models in the chart looked a little dated, hopefully he's right about different models coming to the U.S.. I was hoping to buy this black model ( http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/-/654/86...-Notebook-Black/Product.html?searchtype=genre )here instead of the silver model at BB. If that's all that's coming to the U.S. I'll get the silver but would prefer the black model.

 

Those models are the original S (VGN-S) series that came out in 2004.

 

So how is the battery life on the new S?

 

According to many users it lasts around 5 hours.

 

Now this bothers me because when i got my laptop 5 days ago, the screen doesn't turn black when you plug it into the ac but this started 2 days ago and the screen turns black whenever you plug or unplug the ac...it's like when you are getting new updates that the screen turns black and powers up again. I have a toshiba and this doesn't happen. This is my first sony. I don't know anything about computer except the keyboard and start button . Is this a problem or not because I've read two other owners had this one too. I can still exchange it though and I bought the warranty. Any recommendations?

 

Is this using the integrated Intel graphics or the NVIDIA 310?

 

It's the same for all users because of power management

 

Most likely integrated, no friggin way it is 5 hours on the dedicated GPU.

 

Does anyone here have the S with the NVIDIA GPU?