My Impressions of the s360 vs s460 debate (s270 mini review)

I recently bought an s270 from euclidcomputers with about the same specs as the s360. The only differences were that it had a smaller harddrive, slower cpu, but an internal DVD burner and windows XP Pro. Here's my 2 cents for those of you still debating between the s460 and s360.

Heat- YES, despite what people say, there is still a heat issue with the s360/s270. Without centrino hardware control, this thing gets scalding when playing games and running demanding apps like 3dmarks. I recently opened up the laptop to apply Arctic Silver 5 to the cpu and found that the thermal tape was MELTED! All but a few fragments of the yellow tape can be found and it was a B**** to clean it off. Anyways, I don't know about the s460, but my laptop is already pretty hot. However, with CHC and Arctic Silver 5, idle temperatures dropped to 43 degrees, but still gets hot when gaming.

3dmarks- This is what it all boils down to- the 9700 vs the 6200, the 400 MHz Bus vs the 533 Bus, the microdimm 2700 ram vs... well, you get the point. 3dmark03 on this laptop right out of the box was around 2600. Yes, I was disappointed as well since I was expecting around 3k, but there was still hope. After a fresh install of windows with bloatware removal and the latest modded 5.7 cat drivers, the 3dmarks jumped to about 2800. Then I ordered 1 gb of ram from ebay and with that, the 3dmarks went to about 2950. Finally, with overclocking at 430/230, the 3dmarks went to about 3200. Also, I bought the new hitachi 7k60 off ebay and installed it myself (great sense of self satisfaction LOL ), but suprisingly, no increase of 3dmarks.

Actual Gaming- I mainly used BF2 as my benchmark while testing this computer. After installed the 5.7 Cat drivers and at 512 mb of ram, BF2 at lowest settings and lowest resolutions was averaging at 60fps!! I was suprised as heck, but the second the resolution was bumped, fps dropped to about 20-24 with 512 mb of ram. After I upgraded ram to 1.5 gigs, the game was playable at highest resolution, 2x AA, some medium settings with dynamic shadows and dynamic lighting turned off (averaging 25-30 fps). Finally, with the new 7200 rpm hitachi HDD installed, the game was playable at same setting with 35-40 fps.

Battery life- I must say that this is where the s270/360 falls short of my expectations. Right out of the box, the battery life was a little more than 2 hours, which really bothered me since I was expecting at least 4. However, like all computers, there was hope. With CHC (undervolting cpu, dynamic switching, and underclocking gpu and lowest screen brightness), I got the battery life all the way to a little over 5 hours!

CPU- I really can't comment that much on the s360 vs s460 debate since mine at 1.6 GHz is actually slower than the stock s360 CPU, but for me, it is fast enough, because I use dynamic switching and it's underclocked most of the time anyways. With superpi, I calculated 2 million digits in 2 minutes flat, which isn't dissappointing.

This review was mainly meant to point out the differences between the s360 and s460 that people cared most about and nothing more. Anyways, here's my final thoughts. From what I can tell, the s360 has no definitive edge over the s460 and vice versa. Both are hot and power guzzling machines that need to be tamed at all times until the moment you pop in that 1st person shooter into the cd drive and both these machines will blow you away.

PS- I found these particular sites helpful-

Mod tool for Cat drivers (if you get oem problems)

Bluetooth installation (good internal pics)

Harddrive Upgrade Link (awsome guide)

Centrino Hardware Control

 

Thanks for the great post.

I've just ordered the s470 from sonystyle.ca
Now you've got me hooked and wondering if I can add bluetooth...
Only problem is, I can't seem to find anywhere to buy the parts in Canada.
Furthermore, I'd seriously like to do something about the shiny silver trackpad keys. Any ideas?

I'll keep you posted on the bluetooth upgrade.

Cheers,
Mark

 

Really? I thought that the s470 came with internal bluetooth. Anyways, if I were you, I'd just get the bluetooth pcmcia card from 3com. It fits nicely into the pcmcia slot and an antenna only comes out when you need it. Also, it only costs about 30 bucks on ebay, which is about 100 dollars less than if you were to add internal bluetooth yourself.

As for the keys, are you talking about the keyboard or the s1, s2 buttons? The keyboard can easily be replaced, but no idea about the other buttons.

 

...yeah, but what about the challenge? What about the supreme sense of accomplishment? And what about the cardinal rule: If it ain't broke...

Mod it!!

...Seriously though...thanks for the advice. I'll look into it. (As with all good advice; I wonder if I'll follow it?)

The 480 can be designed with bluetooth (only available in the US) but the 470 (and the Canadian website for that matter) does not allow build-to-order specs.

As for the keys: I mean the silver trackpad buttons. Hate the shape, size, and finish. Wondering about coating them with something/painting them?

Cheers,
Mark

 

haha, i know what you mean. I even wanted to pin mod my lappy, but found out the chip set was not compatible. Anyways, keep me up on any updates if you're installing bluetooth

 

Great post! And thanks for the links, especially the ones about adding bluetooth and upgrading the HD.

I have the S460. The case is similar, buts has a few different doors and screws. But I think I see how to open it now.

I did lift the keyboad to add more memory, and did see a small, unused, connector there, which I assumed was for a Bluetooth module. So adding Bluetooth may be different from what was illustrated. It sounds like you can order the module from Sony, so maybe I'll give them a call.

The graphics benchmarks on my S460 after tweeking are pretty close to what you report on the S270.

So far as heat goes, most of the heat comes from the bottom, in the lower right corner (viewing the notebook from the top). I think that's where the HD is? But I doubt all that heat could be coming just from the HD. Do you know what else is in that corner?

 

from what I can tell, only the hdd is in the lower right hand corner. I've heard that the s460's hdd does tend to heat a bit so I wouldn't worry.

 

undervolting cpu, dynamic switching, and underclocking gpu

HI. can you teach how to set this ?

thank you.

 

sure. download centrino hardware control from the site i provided. Unzip the file and run it. For dynamic control, just to go the cpu speed tab and set your profile as dynamic switching. To undervolt, go to the cpu voltage tab and open 6 multiplyer tabs. Here's what I set them as- 6x:0.732, 8x:0.812, 10x:0.892, 12x:0.972, 14x:1.052, 16x1.148. These settings vary from computer to computer and you can tweek these a bit for yourself. Theres no real harm to undervolting, but be careful when you tweek because if the voltage is too low, your computer will restart, but no harm is done. Finally, to underclock GPU, go to the Graphic tab and click on Clock directy down ATI's core and memory. I set this at 311/165. You can also overclock the GPU for gaming and I set that at 431/230. This is a lot of info if you're new to centrino hardware control, but it's relatively easy once you spend an hour or two.

 

...Tried to tell from the website:

Can you use CHC on an s460 (with nvidia 6200)? I realize that the GPU functions will not work, but will the rest of the program install and be functional? Anyone try it?

Thanks,
-M.

 

hi. thank for your information

1/ yes. GPU function is not working. any idea how to use this function?
2/ cpu voltage - i can only set up to 12, cant go further 14 or 16.
3/ cpu speed - is it correct to set ''max battery' for 2 option.
enable custom dynamic swithcing - should i need to check it or not??
if check it, how to set ?

my sony is fs620 . thank you.

 

Yes, I'm using CHC on my s460 and it works great! But just for undervolting the CPU. Right now, CHC only supports ATI GPU's, but they are supposed to add nVidia support soon. In the meantime you can use coolbits or rivatune for GPU overclocking. But I'm not sure you need it, unless you are really into games.

 

oh, didn't know that chc is gonna add nVidia soon. anyways, yeah: coolbits and rm clock are good. nVIDIA also has pretty good built in overclocking utilities already.

 

for your GPU, if you have nvidia, it wont work so try using other overclocking utilities (you have one built into your comp)

for cpu voltage, then just clock accordingling. This really does depend on your computer and it's better if you test it yourself.

for cpu speed, use dynamic switching. there's no need to customize it. their standard settings are good enough.

 

After using this undervolt, the battery life is 2 hr 35 min for DVD movie.

(before using this undervolt, this was 2 hr 10 min. )

any more method to squeeze more.?

 

underclock your graphics card, dim the display to a comfortable amount (dimming the display by just 1 setting can sometimes get you an extra 10-20 minutes), and turn off your wireless when you don't need it. That might be able to give you another hour or so.

 

New update-

the way that arctic silver works is that it sinks into the mico-crevices of your computer over time, meaning that the initial temperature drops you register are actual the least amount you'll get. Over time, as arctic silver sinks deeper into these crevices on your cpu, the better the heat dissipation. After 3 days, my cpu temperature while surfing the net after 30 minutes has dropped to 40-41 degrees. This temperature is supposed to drop even more throughout the next 5-6 days. I'll give you guys updates about the arctic silver.

 

You can also get an extended life battery. The Sony one is too expensive at $299, but I got a clone for $119 and it's been working great! I get about 3hr 45min to 4hrs when watching DVD's and more if web surfing. More information here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=20440

 

yes . i did that. min the display brightness, turned off wirelss, and speakers (suppose i would wear headphone )

the chc software can't underclock my graphics card (my sony is intergrated card) . any alternative ?

 

great . this can last for 2 movies. your recommendation is helpful.

 

Just to let you know, the extended life battery is heavier (haven't checked, but probably 6-8oz, check specs at sonystyle.com). And it sticks out of the back of the notebook about 1" - 1 1/2" (not a problem IMO, the LCD screen opens up right over it. It also raises the bottom in the back of the notebook by about 1/2", which is actually good for giving added ventilation when the notebook is on a flat surface.

 

aiite guys, I now have the full s270 review/ 3 guides to upgrading your s series here

http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?p=1134226#post1134226