VAIO S Upgrades/CTO Questions (help please!!)

Okay, so a couple questions for the new S that was released on the US site. It only has pre-built orders right now, will that change to full CTO or are those the only options we have for customization?

Secondly, whether it's full CTO or not, I planned on getting either 4GB RAM and 5400-RPM HD and upgrading it later to 8GB and an SSD, but I need to know if it's going to be possible with the new S VAIOs. If it's not possible, I'll probably go with the 8GB upgrade and 500GB-7200RPM hard drive, but if it's possible to get better upgrades for a cheaper price, then I'd like to know please

So...yea, any and all help is appreciated, thanks.

 

it had CTO before, but then it disappeared. It will be back in maybe a few weeks? Or days? Not sure exactly but it will be back.

 

Im waiting this one out. The SB isn't exactly what I want at this time.

Hopefully an SA model appears with vPro added in the future. While the SB is nice, the SA would make it more ideal especially if it added vPRO.

Uhmm with the situation in Japan, they are working hard right now trying to rebuild.

 

Your RAM and HDD/SSD will be user upgradable. There's a panel on the bottom that unscrews to reveal the battery, HDD, and RAM. HDD and RAM are standard pieces so it should be an easy upgrade.

(This is the same regardless of CTO or pre-configured machines)

 

Okay, thanks Generic. But another question comes up now...if I wanna upgrade to a SSD and 8GB RAM, what's the minimum model I'd have to buy? The 999 base one? Because I know, like for RAM, there's a limited amount of slots, so I just want to make sure which route would be the cheapest and most efficient. Thanks.

 

you can buy any model. They all have the same drive bay for the SSD and they all have 2 slots for RAM.

 

get the lowest possible configuration for SSD and RAM then upgrade them yourself to save money. Only upgrade things you can't change for cheaper aftermarket (screen res, CPU, GPU, etc.)

 

I could be wrong but in order for it to be as thin as it is, the new SB series come with one RAM stick soldered on the motherboard while the other RAM slot is user replaceable.

 

You're probably right...I haven't done much research on the SB's. So that means you have to get 8GB RAM? Or is there a a 1 DIMM option?

 

Hmm, wait, I'm confused. I thought the S that's out on the US VAIO site right now was the SA? Can someone clear this up, because VAIOs have always confused me a bit haha. Thanks

 

it was the vaio SB^^

 

I've not taken the bottom of mine off but I believe from pictures I've seen that it comes with one soldered DIMM & one slot for memory.

When I ordered mine, the 4GB choice (lowest option) did specify that this was 1 x 4GB DIMM not 2 x 2GB, probably for exactly this reason.

 

lets hope on that, since the price for ram upgrades on sony is a wallet killer

 

I actually paid Sony for it on this occasion - they charged £80 to go from 4GB - 8GB, which isn't that bad. I just stuck it on the CTO because I couldn't be bothered with the extra time & hassle to save myself £40ish. Depends how much you value your time, of course.

On the now discontinued S13 I was looking at a few months back, they wanted £200 for 4GB-8GB upgrade, so I would've done that myself.

 

the price for a jump from 4g to 8g in the US was 200ish, the after market upgrade was a good option in that case.l

 

Hmm so can anyone confirm if there's an extra slot? And is there a difference between memory on DIMM and the extra slot, like speed differences?

 

There is 4GB soldered, and one DIMM socket, which either comes empty, with 2GB, or 4GB (depending whether you opt for 4, 6, or 8 total).

There won't be speed differences, the soldered piece connects to the same memory controller as the socketed one and I imagine they will have made sure it's the same spec. The reasoning is most likely cost - connectors are very expensive in comparison to solder.

 

Soldering is bad in case of memory failure. Means if the one module breaks that is soldered you need to send in the whole unit for repair.

 

Alright, I think I know enough about RAM. But now, could anyone enlighten me on the SSD and what base I should get (5400 or 7200 and what GB) before I upgrade later on. And also, is it hard to replace it yourself?

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the answers.

 

Well if you plan on upgrading to SSD pretty soon after you get it, I would get the cheapest configured version available. (should be some 5400 rpm one) If you plan on using the HDD for a few months, then upgrade to the 7200 rpm since you will see a speed improvement over the 5400.

Looking at the pictures, you remove the big panel on the bottom of the computer with a screw driver. Once this is removed, you have access to the HDD, RAM, and battery. I'd imagine the HDD is held in by another screw or two and then you can take the cable off that's holding it in. Unscrew it from the caddy, and then replace it with your new SSD.

Of course you'll have to install an OS, so you can either do a clean install or port everything over from your old HDD.


In terms of computer competence, it's not hard to replace the HDD yourself. I'd imagine most of the time will be spent getting all the drivers working if you decide to do a clean install.

 

Oh shoot. This poses a problem for me. See, one of the main things I'm gonna be doing with this laptop is making videos and music. I planned on using the adobe programs that come with the vaio but as I understand, they come installed on the computer, correct? Won't this give me a problem later when I switch hard drives?

 

I honestly can't answer that question. I have 0 experience restoring windows/ recovering Windows. Whenever I install a new SSD/ HDD I do a clean install.

I'm sure it's doable to transfer everything, and I'm also sure that someone on this forum will be able to help you answer the software side of this question.


For the smoothest transition, I would make recovery discs of Windows right when you get it. Then install the SSD and start transferring over. This way no work would get lost.

 

I actually replaced the hd in the laptop with my own ssd. Just make recovery discs (there are 3) and install again, all the stuff will be on it. The harddrive is secured with 2 little brackets but you can take them off and put them on the ssd.