Sony launches the S-580

The Sony S-580 is the same series that was recently released in Japan complete with the Nvidia GeForce 6400 Go, better cooling, and has the extended options that the new BX series has like a 120 GB HD. It's currently available for configuration on Sony Style, BUT you can't add in the 6400 quite yet, so hold off on your purchases until that appears as an option.

FYI, the 6400 will deliver equivalent performance to an ATI X600, bringing us back full circle to the S2XX which had the ATI MR 9700.

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_CTO-Specification

 

I agree, I don't know why they put the 6200 in after the 9700. Seems like a retrograde step to me from a performance perspective.

Just need this in the UK now. It will be branded the S5XP I suppose. Sooner the better.

 

So how long do you think before they add the 6400 to the options?

 

We can also see some other new choices, such as S560/S570, are available now on the SONY website. Despite they can not be customized just like S580, but the formula is just what people will choose in S580 and the most important thing is they equipped Geforce 6400.

 

Actually you can add in the 6400. You just need the proper combo of parts. I believe you need the intel wireless card and at least 512 megs of ram for it to show up as selectable.

Anyone here know where i can get reviews of this unit?

 

Anyone knows when the S580 would be released in Canada? Any word on its pricing? Same as the S460 I assume?

 

Posted this in the News forum, but it's probably more applicable here:

Well, I tried loading up the S580 with every possible feature, and the 6400 wasn't available. On the Japanese SonyStyle site, the 6400 is the only option other than the integrated graphics card (the 6200 isn't listed). Since the Japanese site has the 6400 listed instead of the 6200, and both the pre-configured S560 and S570 use the 6400, I'm thinking it might be a typo on the S580 configuration page. I'll try calling or e-mailing them today about that (as I really want this laptop).

 

Will they ever put Bluetooth in the silver exterior models? Or make a customizable Silver Model? All I want is a silver S-series with built-in bluetooth. Is that too much to ask?

By the way, I'm glad i've waited to buy my S, the cooler new s5xx sounds much more appealing.

 

I called Sony to find out about the screen on the S580. On the website, it's listed as, I believe, "XBrite 200". I was told that "XBrite 200" is exactly the same as "XBrite Eco". The difference between these and regular XBrite, I was told, is that regular XBrite has two bulbs while XBrite 200 and ECO only have one bulb. I was told that having only one bulb, and therefore not as bright a screen, makes it less reflective, which makes no sense to me. Anybody really understand these differences?

 

I guess that from a marketing standpoint, the "Eco" that's tagged on to the name could be interpreted as "economizing" on battery life because a screen with one bulb will sap less power than one with two. Regardless, this is nothing more than a marketing ploy to make a less bright solution sound better even though the previous 2 bulb solution could conceivably have more reflection problems.

 

You can get the GeForce Go 6400 on the pre-configured silver model.

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INT...ies&ProductSKU=VGNS570P/S&TabName=specs&var2=

 

The 6400 available on both of the pre-configured $1899 models. The difference between the two appears to be in color (silver and black). Black will probably look better to most people, but the silver exterior appears to use better quality materials for the lid.

 

Considering Sony has never used twin tubes in S series, it really doesn't matter what Sony calls it.

 

There is another BIG different between S560 and S570. Which is the number of the Memories. They are both 512MB RAM, but S560 use 256MBx2, while S570 is 512MBx1. This is a BIG different for those people who wanna to upgrade their memories to 1024MB.

 

Blast! Here was the question I sent to Sony:

I had a question about your new S series of Vaio notebooks. According to your website, the configurable S580 offers the integrated graphics card or the nVidia GeForce Go 6200 graphics card as options. However, the pre-configured S560 and S570 notebooks (which I assume have the same dimensions and physical internal architecture) both have an nVidia GeForce Go 6400 graphics card in them. Moreover, on the Japanese SonyStyle site, the configurable S94S of S94PS only have the integrated card or the GeForce Go 6400 graphics card available as options.

This would seem to indicate that the 6400 is a viable option for this notebook series, so I can't imagine why the S580 only offers the 6200 card instead of the 6400 card. Is this a typo on the website, or will the S580 only offer the 6200 card?

I am very interested in the S580 notebook, but I will not buy it unless I can configure it with the 6400 graphics card. Will this availability be forthcoming, or will it only allow the 6200 card?

And here is their response:

The Sony VAIO VGN-S580 Notebook is supplied with NVIDIA GeForce Go 6200 with TurboCache Graphics Card. It is not possible to configure the Sony VAIO VGN-S580 Notebook with NVIDIA GeForce Go 6400 Graphics Card.

We do not have information online as to when will the VGN-S580 Notebook be available with NVIDIA GeForce Go 6400 Graphics Card.

Needless to say, very disappointing. Sure, I could get a pre-configured S560 or S570 to have the 6400 card, but I'd have to pay an extra $200 to get features I don't need, like the faster processor, larger hard drive, DVD writer, and Windows XP Professional and be lacking features I do want, like the high-capacity battery. For crying out loud, the blooming manufacturer, which is notorious for overstating battery life, gives an estimated life of 1.5-3 hours for the standard battery.

Guess I'm going to have to pass. Too bad, it could have been sweet.

 

I wouldn't be dismayed. Sony will have these features available in the future. What you got was a typical "we don't know" kind of response. The same situation happened with the original S series that shipped with just the 9200. It took a few weeks for the 9700 to show up as an option for configuration.

 

The S580 series seems like an actual improvement over the previous models (whereas the 2X0 --> 3X0 --> 4X0 were really minor)...should be an interesting time when they start arriving in user's hands.

 

The only change I'm really worried about is battery life. If Sony quotes BL as being "1.5-3 hours," it looks like people are clearly going to need that enhanced battery to make things feasible. Do those enhanced batteries stick out the laptop like some others or are they fully contained?

 

Does anyone know when the s-5x0 models will hit the stores? I am about to start university as a freshman and am interested in purchasing one of these models. Also, are the s-5x0 notebooks really worth the wait over the s-4x0 models? Thanks.

 

there are three things wrongs with the s460

they run hot out of box
("fixed" _somewhat_ by undervolting)

they have slower graphics out of box
("fixed" by OCing or ?flashing bios?)

they have poor battery life out of box.
("fixed" by using more agressive battery settings or using the larger battery)

The 5X0 series does the first two for you out of box.

Number one by putting in a new cooling system, so new cooling system+undervolting= much cooler then S460, assuming that the new cooling system is actually good.

Number 2 is fixed if and only if you get the GF6 6400


And number 3 has not changed, the only "fix" to #3, and i use the term lightly is to get the older s360 and less, but then you lose out on

1)better sound
2)sonoma
3)DDR2
4)SATA
5)faster HD stock
6)duel layer DVD burner

and if you are a linux man...
7)NVIDIA

 

It usually takes a few weeks for the pre-configured models to hit the stores. If you play games and/or are bugged by the somewhat hot running S4XX, the S500 series is a major and worthwhile update.

 

I e-mailed Sony about the 6200/6400 issue. Here is what I e-mailed them, "The fact sheets regarding the new s580 vaio laptop refer to a Nvidia 6400 chip. However, on the customization page, a 6200 chip is the only option aside from integrated graphics." Sony responded, "Thank you for your interest in Sony VAIO Notebooks.

The Sony VAIO VGN-S580 Notebook can be customized with the Intel 915GM Integrated Gfx or the NVIDIA GeForce Go 6400 with TurboCache Graphics Card.

The NVIDIA GeForce Go 6200 with TurboCache Graphics Card mentioned on the site is an inadvertent error. We will forward your inquiry to the concerned department."

 

So now we have conflicting answers about the graphics card from Sony themselves. That being said, since all signs point to the 6400 being available, and since your response from Sony indicates the 6400 should be available, we should be good.

Now, do I cancel my order for the PortableOne MX to pick up one of these...

 

Haha.... I'm actually considering the MX as well. I live close enough to their offices that I'm going to visit and see one of them this Friday. Asus seems to put together really good lappies and Portable One supposedly has reduced the w3v's biggest flaw so it's mighty tempting. I'm not sure how much of a difference there is between the 14 inch and 13.3 inch widescreens, but other than that specs are extremely comparable.

 

In numbers, there's not a whole lot of difference between 14" and 13.3", but the S series is in a completely different form factor from a 14" laptop. The S packs the most power by far into any 13" laptop I've seen and still pulls in at barely over 4 pounds. It wouldn't entirely be fair to compare the S series to any laptop that's bigger because it gets much easier to pack more in as the screen size grows.

But to answer your question, there's definitely a difference in the aspect ratio. 13.3 is widescreen whereas 14.1 usually isn't. The real advantage that 14.1 would deliver is in higher resolution (1400 x 1050 s. 1280 x 800) rather than screen real estate.

 

so does anyone want to buy the 580 so we can see for sure if it comes with a 6400 ...i want to do it myself but i would be something hot if it had a 6200 in it

 

The portable one mx/asus w3v is a 14 inch widescreen.

 

Link please?

Although the 6400 hasn't received much press, I'm fairly certain that it comes in the same class as the X600.
A quick visit to Nvidia's site will show you that the 6400 is clearly classed above the 6200 and below the 6400, filling the "mainstream" gap.

What I don't understand is why it's taken Nvidia so long for this product to reach the market when ATI's had the X600 out for over a year now. Not only that, but Nvidia actually had an analagous product out for their previous generation and failed to update it.

 

Apoologize if this is a dumb quesiton but I see the S570 with the 6400 and the S580 with the 6200 - are there other differences between these two?

 

The S570 has a Pentium M 750 processor, which isn't an option on the S580. The S580 also only comes in black, while the S570 is silver. Other than these differences and the graphics card, you can spec out an S580 to be the same as an S570.

As an aside, comparing the S560 vs. S570, the S570's RAM is 1x512, while the S560's RAM is 2x256. The S570 is silver, while the S560 is black. Those are the only differences between these machines.

 

The 6200 listed on the customization page is a typo that should be corrected shortly according to Sony.

 

I don't believe this...

I followed up on the 6200/6400 issue, replying to their e-mail and mentioning that the Features page on the S580 said it had the 6400 card instead of the 6200 card. Instead of confirmation that the 6200 listed was a typo, this was their response:

Thank you for contacting us with your inquiry regarding the Sony VAIO VGN-S580 Notebook.

We appologize for the confucion caused.The Sony VAIO VGN-S580 Notebook is supplied with NVIDIA GeForce Go 6200 with TurboCache Graphics Card. The specification mentioned on the features page is an error.

The Sony Style team is available to assist you with further inquiries.

So, obviously, their sales reps are very confused. To give one answer to you and a directly contradictory answer to me makes no sense. I still think odds are that your Sony response is the appropriate one, but I can't help but be discouraged by the lack of confirmation of this pivotal bit of information.

 

Dangit.... why'd you have to go and do that?? haha.... i was happy with the answer i got.

 

We've got some very confused reps here. This comes from NB Forums.

"Spoke with a sony rep. He said that only the s570/560 come with a NVIDIA GeForce Go 6400 Video card. The s-580 and other s-models come with a 6200."

I really don't know what to say at this point... I'm still more inclined to say that all S series either have the 6400 or don't have dedicated graphics at all. It sounds like this rep just read off the site. :/

 

Unfortunately, the sales reps are about as clueless as we are, because SonyStyle is just a retail store owned by Sony. It's not like they have any inside knowledge or special training.

The issue will probably only be cleared up when someone has one in their own hands!

 

please check their website now..it allows you to add the graphics card to the 580

 

The issue has not been with adding the graphics card. The problem is that the graphics card available as an option is the 6200, not the 6400 listed for the other units.

 

Then why is the s560 so much better than the s460, as some people claim? I mean the s460 has a different processor and DVD burner compared to the s360, but the s560 only has a different graphics card (which if you do the above, seems not make a big difference).

 

I don't exaclty know what your talking about, but i would guess that the small refinements make a big difference. i found that the battery supposedly does not rattle, the better cooling unit is big plus for the new S, and so is having a better graphic card without getting a larger unit.

Little thing that make an already great unit even better is always responeded to well.

 

Agreed. If Sony fixed the heat problem on the s5xx, then that is enough of an upgrade to warrant a new model. I can't wait to see how the 6400 stacks up against the 9700.

 

when do the dual core intel chips come out on notebooks? (jan?) wouldnt it be wise to wait for a few months for that? that would be the next really big leap

 

also im curious to know , how everyone has come to realize that cooling would be better in the S580? what has changed in this laptop?thanks

 

There is a new fan in the s5xx series - more efficient and still less noisy. Another nice detail is that Sony uses new touchpad buttons, the old ones were really kinda cheap.

And about the dual cores - i would guess if Intels Yonah really hits the market in January (these mobile chips are often delayed...), it will take to Cebit 2006 till notebooks will be sold in bigger volumes.

 

so its just a new fan? can that make for such dramatic change as we are hearing on this board?

 

Didn't notice the 6400 was missing from the S580, luckily I was concerned with the looks. I really wanted the S580 in Silver, but they only offer it in black. Now that it only has a 6200 that is another strike against it. I sure wish they would let me customize the S570. I just want to add the 2Ghz processor and the 120GB HD. I can add my own memory for half the price they're asking for it.

 

but if you add your memory, wont it void the warranty? is there a way around it?

 

Has anyone had this info clarified any further? is this the 6400 or the 6200? Does anyone know about the battery in the 580? I know you can get two types, what is the life of the better battery and is it one of those massive batteries that stick out? Sony are pretty poor at getting info right sometimes, but this 6400 vs 6200 is a major problem. I've got the money ready, just need the right product to buy. Anyone think there is any other laptop that can challenge the S series? are the asus screens any good?

 

So far, I don't think anyone knows whether the S580 comes with the 6200 or 6400. There's a typo somewhere on their site, but no one knows whether the typo is (a) the 6400 listed on the Features page of the S580 or (b) the 6200 listed on the Specifications or Configuration pages.

I'm in the same boat you're in: I have my money ready, but can't find the right product to buy. The Sony S580 with a 6400 graphics card would meet all my criteria, and I would snap it up in a heartbeat.

As for Asus screens, it seems like people either praise them highly or condemn them furiously. See these threads for examples:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=25074

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=17119

Being in a time crunch, I had already ordered a PortableOne MX before the announcement of the Sony S5xx series, but it still hasn't shipped yet. Honestly, I'm debating whether or not I should cancel that order and get an S580 just because of these screen issues that people seem to be having with the Asus W3V (which is the basis for the new P1 MX). The Sony S series is a known quantity: I have seen those screens and think they're fantastic, while I haven't had the opportunity to see an Asus screen firsthand, and am worried that I won't like it.

ilikefreestuff, weren't you going to check out a P1 screen last week? Could you give us some idea of the quality of that screen?

 

I've been thinking about this and I think the real issue is that if it is the 6200, is that good enough? and then if it turns out to be the 6400 then its a bonus right. So the question is, is the 6200 card good enough? Which machines have this in them already? Do they run games alright? I'm not looking for something that is amazing, but good enough!? Any reviews of the 6200 on the site that anyone knows of. Thanks.

 

So everyone is going to love this. If you go to S-580 page on sonystyle and click customize. Go to the video section and click "more info" - the pop up that now comes up says that the machine has either the 915 graphics or an ATI X700! At first I thought this was a typo (another one), but then if you go to Sony's 3D tour here ( http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INT...cpu_VAIONotebookComputers_S580&Dept=computers) and rotate the image so you're looking tops down at the keyboard you will see an ATI logo on the laptop.

Anyone want to ask Sony about this one

BTW - I would be thrilled if there was an X700 in this box!

-s.