Official 2012 Sony S Series Owners Thread

[gamer11735]

Hi guys! I am debating between this and the T series as my new computer before college.

I had originally wanted to get the S series (13 inch) with an i7 and GT640, but I feel like that is too expensive and will have horrible battery life.

Would I be better off just buying the new T series, and selling the Vita to pay a 256gb SSD? Do you think that computer would last for 4 years doing basic college level tasks, assuming multitasking. (Like eclipse(programming)/word and lots of tabs, with iTunes in the background)

Is either of the 2 models more durable than the other?


In either case I will buy extra ram for it.

Also would the i7 upgrade on the t series be worth it? ($150, unlike the 250 it costs on the S)

(1.7/2.6 vs 1.9/3)

[rieuk]

So guys, what are the discounts/deals you can get?

So far I've heard
1. Sales rep 10% discount
2. Educational discount
3. Free PS3/PS Vita

Is this correct? (assuming a student)

[Hummingb1rd]

Damn, that's a deal breaker . The performance difference between DDR3 and GDDR5 is about 40% .

No it's not for the 640m LE. It's proven to only be around 10% at best (some thread here on NBR), as the GDDR5 are all Fermi while the DDR3 variations are all Keplar cores. GDDR5 keplar 640m LE's do not exist.

For those of you who already have the notebook, can one of you upload an image of the BIOS screen showing the empty SATA port?

My 15" should be coming this weekend, and after seeing the Sony option for dual SSDs in RAID0 I came to the conclusion that the S series must have 2 full SATA ports for 2.5" drives plus the port for the optical drive.

Of course, I can't confirm where the port is inside the laptop without actually opening mine when I get it or seeing a build manual. Hopefully when I get my 15 I can crack it open and find the port to add an SSD in combo with the data drive.

Apparently, sony's option for 2xSSD uses some weird connector RAID them into one slot (not 100% sure...)

Has anyone played Starcraft II or Diablo 3 on this yet? I'm wondering if it could handle these games @1920x1080/Medium settings with decent frames.

Based on what notebookcheck says, it should beable to handle both on medium with decent frames (30+, but don't expect 60+).

Hi guys! I am debating between this and the T series as my new computer before college.

I had originally wanted to get the S series (13 inch) with an i7 and GT640, but I feel like that is too expensive and will have horrible battery life.

Would I be better off just buying the new T series, and selling the Vita to pay a 256gb SSD? Do you think that computer would last for 4 years doing basic college level tasks, assuming multitasking. (Like eclipse(programming)/word and lots of tabs, with iTunes in the background)

Is either of the 2 models more durable than the other?


In either case I will buy extra ram for it.

They're meant for different purposes, with the T series being an ultrabook and really thin and portable. The S series is generally accepted to be more powerful, at the cost of portability. It's up to you.

Also would the i7 upgrade on the t series be worth it? ($150, unlike the 250 it costs on the S)

(1.7/2.6 vs 1.9/3)

i7 upgrades are almost never worth it, unless it's to an i7 quad core, in which then it is worth it. But i7 dual cores are just a marketing thing, for something that is only marginally faster

[Prometheum5]

Probably a stupid question, but this'll be my first computer with SSDs: Can I reformat my 2x128GB sticks from RAID0 (256GB capacity) to RAID1 redundant 128GB when it comes, or are they hooked up in some way that I can't do that?

[jamesman32]

Probably a stupid question, but this'll be my first computer with SSDs: Can I reformat my 2x128GB sticks from RAID0 (256GB capacity) to RAID1 redundant 128GB when it comes, or are they hooked up in some way that I can't do that?

You can change them to RAID1. You will have to reinstall windows to do it though. Also remember that RAID0 will provided for a faster experience because of the fact that the data is striped over both drives, rather than cloned in RAID1.

[llib]

Have you installed the memory? Which one is better?

I'm going to be adding an 8GB stick of memory as well to my new S15, however my question is, which DDR3 1333Mhz memory should we be buying for the S15?

I saw these 2 on Amazon:

Patriot PC3-10600
Amazon.com: Patriot Memory Signature DDR3 8 GB CL11 PC3-10600 (1333MHz) SODIMM 8 Not a kit (Single) 204-Pin SO-DIMM PSD38G13332S: Computers & Accessories

or

Corsair PC3-10666
Amazon.com: Corsair 8 GB Module (1x8GB) DDR3 1333MHz PC3 10666 204-Pin Unbuffered C9 Laptop Memory CMSO8GX3M1A1333C9: Computers & Accessories

Basically, Im just curious if either will work? Which is more compatible with these new systems, PC3-10600 or PC3-10666.

Was thinking of buying both and just using the one that has compatible speed ratings. Amazon has easy returns.

[rieuk]

Anyone know about the deals?

Also, is there anyway to take advantage of the Microsoft offer of the free Xbox as well? Maybe buy from the Microsoft store and call up Sony for the Vita? Possible? No?

[HKINGS]

So guys, what are the discounts/deals you can get?

So far I've heard
1. Sales rep 10% discount
2. Educational discount
3. Free PS3/PS Vita

Is this correct? (assuming a student)

Yes, I actually got all 3 Might be tricky, but its possible! I bought the docking station with mine, so they were willing to combine both discounts. As far as the free system... i called in after the fact when the order was placed and they just shipped me a system without cancelling anything.

[HKINGS]

Have you installed the memory? Which one is better?

I have both of the memory sticks in hand... my system arrives on Friday via FedEx Express. I can fill you guys in on more then! Can't wait for this system.

Also as a side note, Im going to be comparing this to a new fully loaded HP DV6 I bought during the 33% off sale... I still have another week before I have to return it. I'm going to try both and decide which one I want to keep between the 2.

[Arès1511]

@ rohandhruva
Thank you really for the time you're spending to answer our questions and your very precious review.
Just one thing, the battery life that you announced (5h49) is with word open or in idle with just windows running without any application? I suppose that it's the battery at 100%?