Sony S380 best laptop in the world?

Heres why I say this:
I purchase notebooks for my company and this is what I have found:
I have purchased IBM T series for a long time. We love them (they do tend to be slow) however they are pretty well made. But for a BUSINESS DESKTOP REPLACEMENT they acutally fall short in the following BIG way:
The Port replicator, on ALL IBM laptop series, even though they have a DVI (digital) connector will NOT DRIVE a 20" flat panel with a resolution of 1600 x 1200!
Why is that a big deal you ask? Well once you have seen a 20" 1600 x 1200 display, you wont go back to that 15-17" thing you have been using. AND the price has come down into the high $500,s and they will be the defacto standard size in the next 12-18 months or so.

VERY FEW laptops will drive these 20" panels (the Dell M60 and M70 do but they are very pricey and heavy.) Most people want both traveling power and desktop power- this unit covers both of those bases better than almost any other. The Sonoma chipset transforms the "S" series from a middling (but nice) thin and light and makes it ALMOST a power house for it's size. It is NOT a gaming amchine- but Call of Duty plays very well on it!

So here is what the Sony has going for it (especially the new 380- I would shy away from the "older" 360)
PRO's
1> Weighs only 5.5 lb WITH adapter and WITH extended range (5 hour) battery - BEAUTIFUL for traveling! (other "thin and lights" arent so light after adding extended battery and adapter.
2> Excellent XBRITE screen on the Sony- brighter than almost anyones.
3> Widescreen is very nice also.
3> 95% size keyboard- even though does not have the PERFECT feel of the IBM's it is better than OK and you will get used to it- it is not cramped like other thin and light notebooks from Sony and Fujitsu etc... EVERY manufacturer needs to put mor emoney into keybaord development IMO- IBM has always been the best.
4> The new Sonoma processor coupled with the GoFX 6200 video chipset makes for MUCH faster graphics than the S360 or previous models. Again OK for gaming but more than adequate for other graphic intensive apps (Photoshop etc...) This chipset is 32 megs dedicated video and 96 more in "turbo chache" for 128 megs total. Not bad in such a small computer.
5> Can use this on a plane with the person in the seat in front of you leaned all the way back. ESSENTIAL for a business/traveler notebook.
6> Will drive the afrorementioned 1600 x 1200 flat panel with its port replicator making it ALSO PERFECT as a desktop replacement. Combine this laptop with a Formac 300 nit brightness Xtrmem model 2010 flat panel and you have something NICER and cooler than Apple.
BUT NOTE THIS- you can NOT drive a 20" widescreen (1680 x 1050 ) with the Sony S! it MUST be 1600 x 1200! Very important.
7> Integrated Memory stick slot is nice (although CF cards are better and cheaper but that is another story)
8> Of course has 802.11 a/b/g with very nice Japanese touch of having a slide switch to trun off wireless when not in use so it does not drain the battery.
9> Made in Japan not some Dell Malaysian sweat shop.
10> 100 gig HD available
11> like an Apple- it looks very cool- not as feminine but pretty Industrial.
12> Oh and the speakers are better than normal for such a small computer.

Cons:
1> Black painted top looks nice but shows EVERY fingerprint.
2> No 7200 RPM hard drive option.
3> Kind of pricey- but will go down in 90 days (I had to have one now of course)
4> Tech support has bad reputation but a HIGH LEVEL tech CALLED ME BEFORE I BOUGHT anything to confirm the 1600 x 1200 specs ! Very nice - Dell lied to me and IBM did not know.
5> Screen is awesome, widescreen and bright but is still only XGA resolution. Wish it was WSXGA at 13" but that is only wishful thinking- such a display is not made.

Sony seems to be serious about their computers and seem to have hit the nail on the head with the S series. I hope this helps- really their is not much that this COMPACT. STYLISH, and FAST (with Sonoma) laptop can't do at the home, office, airplane or school.

Hope that helps- this is from 2 months of research and one of my employees owning a S360. We have ordered 3 ea. S380's and one is MINE!

 

I agree that the 380 is a very nice unit. However, 20" displays will not be the standard in 12-18 months, most people still have 15-17 now.

Brian

www.BargainPDA.com | www.DigitalCameraReview.com | www.NotebookReview.com | www.SpotStop.com | www.TabletPCReviewSpot.com

 

I have the 360p and was wondering if you could comment on the fan noise with the 380? Is it still as loud?

 

Agree that most have 15" flat panels now and 17" is acceptable but look for 15" displays to go the way of 15" glass monitors and if people have paid $ 400-500$ over the past 3 years for 17" flat panels, they will do the same for 20" flat panels. Planar 20" flat are now $580 and by this time next year they will be at about $500, maybe even into the high $400's and others will be following suit. For business users once you have used a 20" flat panel you simply won't want to go back. But a "desktop replacement" is supposed to be just that- and most desktops now a days can drive these bigger flat panels. Oh and did I mention that games now support this higher resolution, and while the Sony laptop wont drive games at 30fps at that res, desktops do and that will only increase the prevalance of larger flat panels.

Bottom line is that the 17" and 15" panels will slowly fade for desktop workers (not hotel check in clerks or store POS systems) and we will want laptops that can DIGITALLY drive the larger units- the Sony is one of the VERY few that durrently can. NO IBM can and only a couple of Dells can and NO HP can (that I know of)

 

Naw- I wish it were less but I have a Dell M60 also (big widescreen heavy monster)- and it has some fan noise at certain times too. I just get used to it. The 380 is the same as the 360 in that respect.

 

Hey, for the person who has the S series.
Does the fan noise bother you at all?

 

S380 better than S360? IMO, not really.

While S380 with all these new Sonoma specs does look appealing, it doesn't really offer that much imporvement in actual performance. Here's a link to a review from Tom's Hardware comparing Sonoma and Centrino side by side: http://www6.tomshardware.com/mobile/20050119/index.html

Overall the performance boost of a Sonoma is only about 5-10% faster than its Centrino equivalent, but the battery life is cut short quite significantly, as you can see on the spec sheet of S360 & S380.

Another note on the graphic performance, m9600 isn't that far off from 6200 either. The core of 6200 is just slightly faster in terms of raw power, but its dedicated vram is half the size of m9600. Overall the two is about par. Then why SONY made the switch? Because it's cheaper, also because Sonoma has replaced AGP with PCIe. ATI has PCIe cards too, so why didn't SONY go for it? Well, SONY can't go with X300(equivalent to m9200 AGP) because that would make S380 look like a downgrade; and X600 is still a bit pricy at the moment...

So, I'm still rooting for S360, and its cheaper than S380 too!

 

Also want to comment on why S380 (or S360) is definately NOT the best laptop in the world:

- If you want light and compact, go for Sony's Vaio X505 (1.8lb) or Toshiba's Portege R100 (2.3lb), depending on if you want an optical drive.

- If you want light and bettery life, go for Panasonic's LetsNote W2 (2.4lb + 7.5hrs + optical drive) or R2 (2.2lb + 9hrs!!). Also worth mention that all Panasonic notebooks are fanless, absolutely silent!!

- If you are even willing to throw away the Intel chip, go for Sharp's Actius MM20 (2.0lb) or MP30 (2.8lb+optical drive), and you'll be looking at at least 40% savings compared to the above listed notebooks!

- Or if you insist on having a intel chip but don't want to pay big $$$, go for Asus' S5200 (2.8lb) or M5200 (3.4lb), depending on the optical drive is built-in or external.

Personally I'd have gone for Sharp's MM20 if I could ever let go of the graphic performance requirement, and that's the major reason I pick S360. But for all those non-gamers out there who use their notebook to browse the web or run Office apps, MM20 is the top choice!

BTW, if anyone has followed the link that I gave in my previous post to read the review , he would know that now is a good time to go for one of those ultraportables listed above (except Sharp's because they're not on Intel CPU). The reason is that the new dual channel DDR2 technology came with Sonoma is actually most beneficial to notebooks that use the Intel onboard graphic chip, which is the case for virtually all ultraportable notebooks.

 

Full Armor-
The units you listed are very nice however they lack two qulaiifications for being the best laptop:
1> You literally cant type on those 17mm keypads they have- the standard is 19mm and the Sony is 18.5- almost full size.
2> The laptops that you mentioned dont have DVI connected port replicators so you will have to hook an external monitor in via analog and they WON'T drive the larger panels that I have mentioned (1600 x 1200) so they may TRAVEL slightly better but they dont have near the same utility. For most people a laptop has to travel nicely (to class, Starbucks, or that biz trip) but also be able to hook into a nice monitor or flat panel when you get back to the office, dorm or house. In my business situation- it is a 20" flat panel. And I belive most business people willb e using 20: square of widescreen flat panels in the near future. Most developers use them now, most of us will use them soon.

As far as the video speed goes, yes it is only a light improvement over the 360, but that is how PC technology goes, 5-10% here and there and before you know it you have a faster machine. We have one each 360 here and 380 same 1 gig RAM and played Call of Duty on both. The 380 does not clip and drop as many frames as the 360- very unscientific, but when you can see these differences with the naked eye it does make a difference. The 360 is not bad, but the 380 (and the newer 400 sure to be on the way) are simply a rung higher up the ladder, The 380 is simply the best of all worlds at this point.

 

Offcourse there are units which excell (sp) in separate categories, but I like how the S series seems to have them all, sort of a good compromise.

 

i received my s380 today and noticed that on a white background, the left and right sides of the screen fade to grey from about 2cm from the edge of the screen. Has anyone else noticed this on any vaio xbrite screens? What's the deal, is the screen faulty or are they all like this?

 

hmm...It's interesting now that I see why you insist on the 20" monitor issue -- being able to come home and hook it up to a larger screen. You're implying this notebook is your only pc? I always thought people who own a notebook also have a desktop unit at home which the larger screen is hooked up to, or at least that's the case for all the people I know. Anything you want to do on the large screen (ie. watching a movie, playing games) you would transfer the files to your desktop, which is, in most cases, much more powerfull than your notebook.

Lets be honest here. For half the $$$ you spent on S380 you can get a desktop with P4 3.0 + Radeon X800 if you like. And believe me this, gaming experience on any notebook will never be able to compete with that on a desktop!

Besides, if your requirement is to have just some portablity + the ability to hook up to a large screen, a better category you should be looking at is shuttle pc, something like the Mac Mini (http://www.apple.com/macmini/) should be of interest to you.

 

Just looked through my previous posts and noticed a big mistake. I kept saying "m9600" when actually what I meant is "m9700" or ATI Radeon Mobility 9700 which is what's inside S360.

In terms of graphic power, m9700 is about par with desktop ATI 9600Pro (that's why I typed "m9600" when I was actually thinking of m9700 ), and NVida 6200 is about par with desktop ATI 9600XT. So, yes, 6200 may be faster, but not a lot.

Also to jared about color fading at edges of notebook screen. I've read similar post from other forum, in that the person complain about the bottom edge of his brand new notebook looked pale on a black background, he brought it back to the store (or was it the manufacturer itself? can't remember...) and they sent it back to him saying that the phenomenon is normal and that it looks just the same as any other units. I'd suspect that its cause by the backlight illuminates off near the edge rather than a faulty screen, but plz don't quote me on this since I haven't got a notebook yet. Still waiting for S360's price to drop just a little more...

 

What other notebook other than the T series has built in bluetooth? Or at least the option to have internal bluetooth installed? I have a friend looking for an ultra portable with a DVD drive built in and so far the T series fits the bill but are there any other notebooks in competition with the CD optical drive and bluetooth option available?

I can run my S260 via VGA cable at 1600x1200. I can't see why other notebooks using the VGA cable can't. What's the advantage of DVI versus analog VGA other than not having to align the screen? My image seems fine on a VGA cable. For sure it's good enough for normal office applications and imaging applications. BTW 330zhp you have a sweeet ride. I'm looking for a 330i right now. Do you ever goto www.e46fanatics.com? Take care!

--Trevor--

 

Rovert- Yes I have a BMW 330 ZHP (performance package) and it is SWEET- Everyday I love to drive this car! And yes I am familiar with the E46 fanatics. Great site as is Germancarfans.com I wonder if their will be an E90 (new 3 series) site? But the E46 is perfect for me. Drives like no other in ZHP package. If you are getting a 6 speed buy a 325 you wont notice the lack of Horsepower. If you are buying Automatic do the 330i. If you have the case get the ZHP pacakage. Those wheels and the extra handling bits just kick A S S .

As far as the Sony goes. DVI (Digital Video Interface) is a digital output and will make the 1600 x 1200 look MUCH better than Analog VGA.

fullArmor- I totally agree with you on the gaming front. If the need is for gaming get a desktop PC, Shuttle small cubes are cool and can get very powerful. My point is for those of us business users (who occasionaly game and watch movies) what is the ONE notebook to buy that does the best at being small, light yes powerful enough to handle real world heavy graphics apps. Most every IT person and manager in the industry I am in (food processing equipment( have 20" flat panels and my brother is IT manager for 3000 computers at a huge insurance company in Houston. EVRYONE in Management (middle and upper), graphics processing and product developement including programmers have 20" monitors and/or flat panels. The trend is growing and the prices are falling. Notebooks as DESKTOP REPLACEMENTS (a huge category of notebook sales) will simply ahve to digitally drive these panels for those of us who want only one PC for office and road. The Sony is the ONLY "thin and light" that does this at this point.

I also think that Sony should have a 7200 RPM 8 gig cache 60 gig hard drive to complement the 533 front side bus of the SOnoma, would make the PC another 10-15% faster in some tasks. But they dont. I got the 100 gig drive in mine.

 

Switch out hard drive for a 7200. That's what I'm doing as soon as it and my FS arrives.

 

IronX -good point will do in the future when my 100 gig crashes!

 

My S260 is joined with my Samsung 19" LCD/TV when I'm home at 1280x1024 via the VGA cable. Is there a huge difference if I buy the port replicator and use DVI? So far it's been good for me but then maybe I don't know what I don't know right now.

I think saying that the S series is the "BEST" isn't quite the right word. I can say that it is a very good all round performer to replace a desktop PC. Every person who does their research will find advantages to a certain piece of hardware. But with every advantage, comes a disadvantage. Some people might think that 1280 lines is not enough resolution compared to some larger 1920 pixel monitors. Then some would say a heavy 1920 pixel monitor is too heavy and a 1280 is perfect. I do wish a few things on my S260. Since Sony and VAIO is a "multimedia" image, why can't we have S-video out on it? Why can't we even have a simple built in mic also?

330zhp:
There is http://e90fanatics.com/ if you want to know more on that. I want to get a pre-owned 330i manual, sports pacakge. Those are the requirements. Premium pacakge would be a nice plus. A 325i MT6 starts in 2004 so it'll still be $$$$? I'll probably get an '02 330i MT5. I want to keep a budget of $30-$35USD. Then modify the wheels to M3 CSL rims or the ones you have(135M). I'll work up to an M3 after that!

--Trevor--

 

Trevor- those CSL rims will look great but arent they 19"? To my eye the 18" wheels are the perfect size for the E46. The E90 being slightly larger (but not much more rear seat legroom surprisingly) will look great with 19" Hope you find the right one! One thing I dont like about BMW's in general tho is the sound systems S U C K - eventhe upgraded HK. Be prepared to invest $1500-2k to upgrade. And I am more Cowboy Junkies than Snoop Dog but either way the included sound systems are no good.

As far as the "best" I would agree with you that all have trade offs. And is by no means perfect (Screen could have better resolution, keybaord could have bette feel and of course could always be faster with better graphics processor) but leaving gaming out, this computer checks every box better than any other on the market at this time IMO.

 

Yes, the fan noise is very annoying - have had it replaced already by sony... Same noise though... I too was coming from a longtime use of IBM T-Series... In my opinion, the S360p definately has a lot more to offer then the t-series -DVI out on the docking station is great... but, you know that fan noise is really something to consider. Be warned...

 

330zhp: Yeah the CSL's are 19's but I have seen some nice 18" replicas on e46fantatics. I will stay with the 17's mine comes with at first since I really like it's dynamics in accelerating and braking. It has faster response in that area but bigger wheels have faster response in turn in reaction time. Yes I have heard the HK's. They are OK at low to moderate volume but there isn't enough clarity at the high end. Though it still sounds better than the standard system, just not $1000 better....I'll be fine with it, I don't listen to a lot of music since the 330's exhaust note will be music enough.

I've done a lot of research and I believe there are a lot of notebooks in the category as our beloved S series if we leave gaming out. The HP DV series seems to have more than the S series for a few hundred dollars more. But to me it doesn't have the looks of the S series. Sony seems to make me buy from looks and emotion. When I see one I just want to have one. I have to tell you the truth I bought my S because of that. Or else I wouldn't have gone Sony. Maybe I'll learn "my lesson" this time and get something that is more competively priced with similar or better options at a lower price point. I like Toshiba with their 3 year warranty compared to most with only 1 year. I know you can add another year with a lot of credit cards too. Have fun!

--Trevor--

 

Trevor- agree on the look and feel of the Sony no doubt. But I am buying these for my compnay out of facts:
Lightweight
95% full size keyboard
DVI digital out on dock for larger flat panels
Extra size battery does not add that much weight
Widescreen (my employees do watch movies on planes and this is perfect for planes)
And Sonoma makes every notebook marginally faster but not all thin and lights will be going to Sonoma- this one is.
3 year available warranty
Bluetooth included (we actually use it)
Internal memory stick reader- we all have Sony cameras and the included memory stick reader is icing on the cake (wish SOny used SD or CF but that is another subject)

So the looks and style are a plus for sure (and keeps the resale value high!) but we bought out of need and the S is perfect for those needs.

 

330zhp, could you please tell me if your staffers have had any problems with the size of the screen while running spreadsheet type programs. I am very impressed with the S380 specs, but I worry about the 13.3 inch screen readablility and the fan noise that so many have reported.

 

Irish-
We view spreadsheets all the time and YES I wish the 380 had better resolution that XGA- in the Sonys case WXGA (widesreen) so it really is like an IBM X series and other 12" XGA res screens but with more horizontal real estate. Having said that, we have had no problems viewing spreadsheets you may scroll a little bit more than normal, but you will be doing it on an under 5 lb. laptop. The text however is VERY crisp and clear on the Sbrite and using Microsoft clear type.

And (As I have stated many times before) if size matters, get the port replicator and interface the S to a 1600 x 1200 flat panel and you will see all the spreadsheet that you want. So at least when you are on your desktop you will see all you want!

As far as the fan noise goes, mine is not that bad, yes I hear it sometimes but it kicsk on and off and is not that big a deal to me. What I dont like is the power adapter for the S380
is almost TEICE as heavy as the one on the S360! I would say the S360P is better than the S380 for strictly buiness- the S380 even with less Vid Memory (32 megs vs 64) will be sightly faster for games (even though this is of coourse not a gaming machine)
Hope that helps.

 

I was pretty determined about the S-series untill I see this new Sonoma notebook from ASUS -- W5. The spec is identical to S380 less the GeForce 6200. Pearl white sleek look plus the widescreen Color-Shine screen and a high-res video cam and weighs little lighter than S380 at a price considerablely cheaper, I have to admit I'm very attracted to it.

Also, the feedbacks on this beauty at the ASUS forum has been wonderful so far. People especially comment on the fan/noise level saying that it's dead quiet! The only negative point so far is that the standard battery can hardly last 2 full hours. But ASUS compensates that by giving you lots of goodies including a wirless optical mini mouse + carrying bag, and some say it even comes with a 2nd large battery!

Knowing that S380(or any notebook) won't be able to deliver a top gaming experience, may be I should just give up on this gaming aspect entirly and go for one like the W5 instead? I'm loosing my confidence with the S-series, somebody help me regain it!!

Correction:
I take back my statment that W5 is considerablely cheaper than S, 'cause it's not! The price range is about the same as S360. 2hrs vs 5hrs, m9700 vs 915 Onboard? If ASUS won't drop their price then there's no comparison. I'm back to SONY! Yay!

 

FullArmor- I couldnt agree more on one point (and I have had to do this) I have given up on the gaming aspect of my notebook! I am a gamer from way back, and for years have wanted to combine LIGHTWEIGHT, and PORTABLE notebooks with graphics performance and it simply isnt going to happen right now. IF the Sony (or any other sub 5 lb. notebook) carried a 128 meg or 256 meg Video wallop, that would be different. I also need for work the larger 20" display. I now have three PC's- A Mac mini with Apple display (getting eye catcher to make it a TIVO), the S380 for work and travel and will get a Shuttle small box AMD 64 bit blaster with 256 meg ATI or NVIDIA video killer. The Sony will run business and business grpahics apps (Powerpoint, photoshop, illustratore) for "ever" and I iwll lose interest in most games long before the AMD 65 bit Shuttle wears out. And as i get older I am more into stragy games anyway (CANT WAIT FOR AGE OF EMPIRES III)! and the Sony will actually play them fine. Oh and for car games and such may bet a PSP one of these days when it plays music better. Until now the Sony kicks butt for movies with the Xbrite widescreen.

The Asus looks like a great machine, but if your like I used to be and turnover computers every 2 years or so- the Sony will have much better resale value. Tell us which one you picked.

 

One more thing about the Asus- the keyboard key spacing is 17.5 mm while the Sony is 18.05
full sice being 18.5-19mm I for one am tired of typing on too small a keybaord. I have average sized hands but am tired of fat fingering keys. While .55 mm does not sound like much it makes a big difference in real world usage. Keyboards are very personal (no one makes them like IBM although some of the latest Gateways have had some nice ones and the Sony A and FS are very nice too) but I would not get the ASUS for that reason alone.
Ahy did they make the keyboard smaller when they have a widescreen computer?

 

330zhp thanks for your reply. I will be using the S380 off site without access to my 18 inch home monitor. This will strictly be a traveling notebook and I will be limited to that screen size. That's the reason for my inquiries about the ease of use for speadsheet applications. I am torn between the FS570 and the S380. Still trying to make the decision

 

Irish I think that you cant go wrong with either one- the FS is very nice and has a great keyboard (my analness shows through!) but it of course larger and weighs more than the S. And the FS (I could be wrong) has the same resolution as the S so ou will not be seeing anymore info just larger charachters? If you truly want to see more spreadsheet info it is best to get a 14" SXGA+ screen (1400 x 1050) these can be found in the B series Sony, the T series IBM and some Dells. This 14" high res screen keeps the notebook from being too heavy.

Hope that helps

 

The fujitsu s7000 series (14" screen", ~4lbs) can also be had with SXGA screens.

 

noashark- does the Fujistu come in SXGA+ (1400 x 1050)? that is really the sweetspot for notebooks as far as Im concerned. When notebooks get to be 15" widescreen then they get too big and usually too heavy. I really wish that the 13" or 14" widescreen that are WXGA now would be WSXGA THAT would be perfect and what would be MORE perfect is WSXGA paired with 128 or 256 meg dedicated video RAM in a package like the Sony S. Oh well maybe the future holds these things. For the next three years my S380 will have to do and then we will see what is available.

 

330zhp:
The fujitsu s7000 series does indeed come in SXGA+, not sxga. However, to get the crystalview/xbrite screen you have to opt for XGA. Here's a link:
http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/buildseriesbean.do?series=S7

If you want to do more customization you can go to www.portableone.com

 

The Nvidia card is NOT better than the Ati 9700, i have never seen the Nvidia go 6200 TC beat the Ati 9700...Never in 3dmark or Aquamark. The step backwards in 3d performance and the decreased battery life are the two only cons i can see to this machine. This is what makes many buyers opt for the S360 which is cheaper, has better battery life, and has a superior gaming card.

 

I believe nVIDIA® GeForce® Go 6200 Graphics Card in S380 supports Dell 2005FPW? Can anyone confirm? Check out the following link:

http://nvidia.custhelp.com/cgi-in/nvidia.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=222&p_created=1108519274

 

Vulcan- I would LOVE to know that- the URL listed did not work. I can tell you the model 270 and 360 with ATI does NOT support the 1680 x 150 resolution! I now this for a fact, but DOES support (and quite nicely) the 1600 x 1200 (20") and 1900 x 1200 (23") panels/. And the question is does the PORT REPLICATOR DVI port support these resolutions since you will want to support these higher resolutions digitally and YES the port replicator for the S sereis (270 and 360) WILL drive the above resolutions but not the 1680 x 1050. I would really like to know about the 380 model that would be a great selling point for it since it has LOST a lot of selling points to the previous models!

 

Here is the information I found: I asked Nvidia tech support and they told me all Geforce 6 family GPU's support this resolution, however must confirm with Sony to be sure that the laptop actually support it! I contacted Sony and they couldn't give me an answer.

This is the information from Nvidia web site, on 2005fpw support:
(search knowledge database for 2005FPW)

All NVIDIA GeforceFX and Geforce 6 family of GPU's will support the native resolution of the Dell 2005FPW widescreen LCD monitor digitally. Since the Dell 2005FPW uses a non-standard resolution, you may need to add the custom resolution to your display settings by using the Custom Resolutions feature found inside the NVIDIA Forceware Display Properties. The following article describes how to create custom resolutions:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/custom_resolutions.html

This is from Dell's web site on wide screen support:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-4111&category_id=4009

Wide Screen Flat Panel Monitors

Graphics Card 2005FPW 2405FPW

ATI RadeonTM X800 XT 256MB DDR-SDRAM *Yes *Yes
ATI Radeon X800 SE 128MB DDR-SDRAM *Yes *Yes
ATI 256MB Radeon 9800XT *Yes *Yes
ATI 128MB Radeon 9800Pro *Yes *Yes
ATI ALL-IN-WONDERTM 9000 64 MB DDR-SDRAM No *Yes
ATI Radeon X850 XT Platinum Edition 256MB DDR-SDRAM **Yes **Yes
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GTO 256MB **Yes **Yes
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 256MB **Yes **Yes
ATI Radeon X300 128MB PCI Express x16 **Yes **Yes
ATI Radeon X300 SE 128MB DDR-SDRAM **Yes **Yes
ATI Radeon X300 SE 64MB DDR-SDRAM **Yes **Yes
Intel® GMA 900 **Yes **Yes
**Currently shipping

Workstations
Video Card Support
Currently shippingGraphics Card 2005FPW 2405FPW

NVIDIA® Quadro® FX 3400 Yes Yes
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400 Yes Yes
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1300 Yes Yes
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 280 PCI Express Yes VGA Only
NVIDIA Quadro FX4400 Yes Yes
ATI Fire GL V3100 Yes No


Notebooks
Video Card Support
Currently shippingGraphics Card 2005FPW 2405FPW

NVIDIA® Quadro® FX Go 1000 Yes No
NVIDIA Quadro FX Go 700 Yes No
NVIDIA GeForce FX Go 5200 Yes No
NVIDIA GeForce FX Go 5650 Yes No
NVIDIA GeForce FX Go 5650 Yes No
ATI MobilityTM Radeon 9600 Pro Turbo Yes No
ATI MobilityTM Radeon 9000 Yes No
ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 Yes Yes
ATI Mobility Radeon 9800 Yes Yes
Intel® GMA 900 Yes Yes

 

Vulcan- the only thing that may be the fly in the ointment here (and remember the ATI 9200 and 9700 in the 270 and 360 won't drive the Dell (or any 1650 x 1080) is that it looks like Sony has some kind of proprietary "screen matching" software- what do they call it "Smart display sensor" and it seems to be this was written around display standards that SONY makes- and dont get me wrong, Sony "standards" are the same as everyone else )XGA,SXGA etc...) HOWEVER Sony does NOT offer a 20" widescreen that is 1650 x 1050! So it stands to reason they would not drive that size if they are "assisting" the Video driver somehow. I mean who would have thought that a 32 Megs Video RAM ATI 9200 chipset would have driven a 1900 x 1200 flat panel!!! And drive it DIGITALLY no less through a port replicator- NO ONE ELSE does this. But it wont drive a 1650 x 1050!? But something tells me that Sony has some propreitary software to assist in doing this. I could be wrong. I mean the ultimate goal is for Sony to sell you (and me) A Sony laptoip AND display - I have bitten and have the 270 with the SDM-P232/B 23" widescreen- and it looks MARVELLOUS!
One other thing- When you call Sony to Ask them DONT ask them if it will drive the Dell, ask them if it will drive that specific resolution, and chances are your sales guy will not know. PLEASE let me know what you find out (you may have to buy one and see for yourself and return it if it dont work out?)

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

I have same worry for the newer model Vaio S38. I wonder is this Geforce Go 6200 a lousy graphics card? I like S series. Just wonder why newer model using 6200 no more Radean 9700?

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by sonoma

 

While I wont dispute you that the 380 plays all of these games well the Nvidia card is NOT 96 megs of dedicated Video RAM and 32 sahred- it is the other way around- 32 dedicated and 96 shared. And then it "tricks" the software app into thinking that their are 128 megs of VID RAM on board.

check it out:
http://www20.graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20050208/index.html

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by 330zhp

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by 330zhp

 

I just downloaded the spec sheet of S380 from SonyDrive. It says S380's Hard drive is SATA 5400RPM. Is this true? All of the internet dealer says S380s are comes with IDE4200RPM..... Confused.

 

Mo the hard drives of the 380 are all 5400 RPM- only the 80 gig is 5400 RPM on the older 270 series. If you want mobility buy the 270 (I think that is the mission in life of this small computer) but if mobility is not that big of a deal to you, but the S380- slightly more speed (not much) but worse battery life and marginally worse gaming graphics (if that matters to you)

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by 330zhp

 

S380 comes with SATA or IDE...? Thank you.

 

Just purchased an S380 and have a few comments along with a few questions.
First, anyone experience any dead pixels. The initial S380 arrived with one dead pixel. To Sony's credit, they took it back and I purcahsed a new one...but too arrived with one dead pixel. But this one is on the left side (as opposed to the right) which I seem not to notice as much (not sure why).

Second, Fan noise is noticable but not distracting...but anyone experience any heating issues on the right palmrest? I've been working on the unit for the past hour and my right palm is quite warm. I experienced this with the inital unit as well so I don't think there is anything wrong...but just thought I'd pose the question.

Besides these two issues, the unit is incredible. Screen brightness is exceptional (had to reduce the brightness because it was too bright for me) and I really like the 13.3" screen (as opposed to the 12" available on most comparible notebooks (DellM700)).

And one more thing. What's up with the covers for the USB/Firewire and LAN/Modem ports. Do they really need to be there? I'd prefer they were left open...and I'm not crazy about the cover design.

In summary my experience so far:

PROS:
Exceptional screen (except for dead pixel) size and brightness
Responsive and comfortable keyboard (especially for tough typing)
Speedy (2ghz, 512 RAM)
Great wireless (WiFi and Bluetooth)

CONS:
Dead pixel
Warm palm rest
Battery rattles around a bit
Covers for USB/Firewire and LAN/Modem ports are flimsy
HUGE power supply! (looking to replace with Targus univerals PS)

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by mpdo

 

MrSumbody...thanks for the reply

Just checked my model number and it's just VGN-S380 .. no "p". What does the "p" signify?

Glad to hear you have no dead pixels or wiggle in the battery. Found another post from a user who mentions the wiggle (http://notebookforums.com/archive/index.php/t-68698.html) Hox's post mentions it. I also had the same wiggle in the original unit I sent back (with the dead pixel). There is no disruption in power because of the wiggle...it's just noticable.

I'll follow your suggestions and adjust the power settings to reduce the fan noise. I also encountered some screen flicker (with the screen dimmed) but that was resolved by shutting off NVidia's smart display (not sure what that did but flicker is gone now).

Guess we differ on the size of the power supply (brick). I think it could be smaller...or at least thinner. Checked with Igo but they don't make one yet ...will look into Targus as well. It's not a deal breaker but a detail I think Sony should pay attention to after having done such a great job with the asthetics of this unit.

So right now I'm not sure what to do. I love the unit but now that I hear not everyone has "the battery wiggle" or the dead pixel problem I'm thinking of sending it back and getting another one.

Any thoughts.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by mpdo