- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How it compares
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Sony VAIO S Series
- 15.5"
- Core i5 2.4 GHz Dual core
- 8 GB DDR3-1333
- 640 GB HDD
#1 in Sony full size laptops
Released October, 2011
Rated 78% by by c|net (Jul, 2011)The 15.5-inch display has a native resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels, which is perfectly suited for Blu-ray and 1080p HD video.
Conclusion Check out the Sony VAIO S Series
First reviewed December, 2011
Features Key features of the Sony VAIO S Series
2.4 GHz
Intel Core i5 2430M
by LaptopMag (Jul, 2012)Click to EnlargeAlthough the 1366 x 768-pixel resolution is standard fare for a 13-inch laptop, the VAIO S Series 13 plenty bright.
screen size
15.5"
11.6"
13.3"
VAIO S Series by Shawn-Corrill (Apr, 2012)Otherwise I love the backlight on the keyboard, the large screen.
VAIO S Series by M.-FUSCO--yawnmower (Mar, 2012)It is streamlined with an extraordinarily thin profile, and incredibly light weight - a truly portable laptop with a large screen.
screen resolution
VAIO S Series by c|net (Jul, 2011)Tew/CNET). The 13.3-inch matte display does a good job of keeping glare away in an office; the screen's 1,600x900-pixel resolution is a step up from the average 1,366x768-pixel resolution of most 13-inch laptops, and colors and text alike pop vividly.
VAIO S Series by Mike (Dec, 2011)The 15.5" screen may not be huge, but there is so much workspace because the resolution is so impressive.
cpu speed
| 0 GHz | 1.65 GHz   | 3 GHz |
VAIO S Series by LaptopMag (Jul, 2012)In addition to the $919 configuration we reviewed, which includes a 2.5-GHz Core i5-3210M CPU, 6GB of RAM and 640GB HDD, the S13 can be customized to include up to a 2.9-GHz Core i7-3520 CPU, an Nvidia GeForce GT 640M LE GPU with 1GB of VRAM, a 1TB 5,400-rpm hard drive, 12GB of RAM and a 4,400-mAh sheet battery.
VAIO S Series by J.-Watson (Apr, 2010)As far as the specs go, they look great on paper, but aren't any faster than a Core 2 Duo 2.1 GHz.
processor
VAIO S Series by c|net (Jul, 2011)It's not quite in the ultrabook category, but this is still a reasonably thin and light 15-inch laptop, especially considering the powerful components inside, such as the quad-core CPU and Nvidia GPU.
VAIO S Series by c|net (Jul, 2011)With a quad-core Intel Core i7-3612QM CPU, the Vaio S is pretty much ready for anything, from HD video editing to heavy-duty multitasking.
memory
| 0 GB | 4 GB  | 8 GB |
VAIO S Series by M.-F.-Makala (Mar, 2011)I have owned a Vaio laptop before even though the RAM was only 2GB, and 6 years older its performance was a lot much better than this one.
VAIO S Series by J.-White (Aug, 2011)The unit comes with 4GB of RAM soldered onto the motherboard, so you can upgrade to 8GB with just one 4GB chip.
Performance Real world tests of Sony VAIO S Series
3DMark06 CPU
VAIO S Series by LaptopMag (Mar, 2010)Armed with a 2.26-GHz Intel Core i5 i5-430M CPU, 4GB of RAM, Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit), and a 5,400-rpm 500GB hard drive, the S series notched a score of 4,950 on PCMark Vantage, which measures overall performance.
VAIO S Series by D.-Lao--Domin8r (Dec, 2011)This is the first time I've experienced the performance of an i7 and SSD together, and everything is just incredibly smooth and snappy.
battery life
5.75 hour
8 hour
4.5 hour
VAIO S Series by c|net (Jul, 2011)Sony has added a slot-loading drive and a larger touch pad; more RAM is included, and the hard drive is larger; there are a new, faster Intel CPU, better Nvidia graphics, and an integrated battery, which gives much improved battery life over the previous generation's $150 slice battery add-on, sold separately and practically a requirement for good battery life the last go-around.
VAIO S Series by Khalil-Al-Hayek (Feb, 2012)I love the battery life in STAMINA, it is up to 4 hours.
cinebench r10 32Bit (Aggregate)
VAIO S Series by thor3 (Nov, 2011)I like this configuration because it's a good mix of features vs. nice price, in that I've read that the performance difference with the i7 isn't worth the extra cost, plus you get 6GB RAM and the Blu-ray drive.
Our analysis How does it stack up against its top 10 competitors
pros
-
the screen is large enough to display 1080p video without scaling -
watch high-definition movies on Blu-Ray discs -
8 GB -
1920 x 1080 -
142 ppi -
MMC, Memory Stick Duo, SD -
DDR3-1333 -
640 GB -
2.4 GHz -
15.5" -
572 MB/s (USB 3.0)
cons
-
114 mm -
Dual core
Reviews Word on the street
 |  
|
|---|---|
 |  Rated by 108 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by Mark-J.-Tierney--coastie-1980 (Dec, 2011) Rated 80% by by Real-Name™-╦⌠≥---æ¢ç╡ (Aug, 2012) Rated 80% by by rkent78 (Aug, 2012) |
Screen
Sony VAIO S Series 15.5", 2.4 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 78% by by c|net (Jul, 2011)The 13.3-inch matte screen is better than most we've seen, with strong viewing angles and crisp, bright color.
Sony VAIO S Series 15.5", 2.4 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by D.-Lao--Domin8r (Dec, 2011)The overall color of the display is rather cool (bluish), as expected with led screens, but this can be easily tweaked and corrected.
Sony VAIO S Series 15.5", 2.4 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 60% by by R.-Ruddock (Mar, 2012)Really, the colors are vibrant, it gets nice and bright, and the 1080p resolution makes it ideal for photo editing, movie-watching, and multitasking.
Body
Sony VAIO S Series 15.5", 2.4 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 40% by by m244 (Apr, 2012)It has sleek designs, and everything else seemed to be working fine.
Sony VAIO S Series 15.5", 2.4 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by peoplebites--peoplebites (Apr, 2012)As for the exterior body...the black magnesium alloy feels absurdly elegant and expensive.
Sony VAIO S Series 15.5", 2.4 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by Mark-J.-Tierney--coastie-1980 (Dec, 2011)1/8". Not a big deal, but again, I liked the old style Sony hinge better personally.
Storage
Sony VAIO S Series 15.5", 2.4 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 78% by by c|net (Jul, 2011)Our $1,299 Vaio SA configuration included a 2.3GHz Core i5-2410M CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB 5,400rpm hard drive, a 1,600x900-pixel screen, and AMD Radeon HD 6630M graphics, but no Blu-ray drive; we had a standard CD/DVD burner instead.
Sony VAIO S Series 15.5", 2.4 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by D.-Lao--Domin8r (Dec, 2011)I am not looking to replace the existing hard drive with a faster sata 3 SSD since it is already blazingly fast.
Sony VAIO S Series 15.5", 2.4 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by M.-FUSCO--yawnmower (Mar, 2012)The blu-ray player/software gives the smoothest and most flawless video playback I have ever seen in a blu-ray laptop.
Gpu
Sony VAIO S Series 15.5", 2.4 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | by LaptopMag (Jul, 2012)While this beats the measly 3,975 achieved by the IdeaPad U310 (Intel HD Graphics 4000) and the category average of 4,095, it falls far behind the 6,032 notched by the Inspiron 14z (AMD Radeon HD7570M graphics).
Sony VAIO S Series 15.5", 2.4 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | by LaptopMag (Mar, 2010)As good a choice as the VAIO S series is for productivity and everyday multitasking, its integrated Intel graphics are likely to disappoint gamers.
Sony VAIO S Series 15.5", 2.4 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | by LaptopMag (Jul, 2012)Those looking for more graphics power should consider spending extra for a configuration of the VAIO S Series 13 with Nvidia GeForce GT 640M LE graphics, starting at $969.
Battery
Sony VAIO S Series 15.5", 2.4 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 78% by by c|net (Jul, 2011)The slice battery does have a clever advantage: the battery charges the Vaio S' internal battery first, then depletes, allowing the slice to be removed and the Vaio S to have a full charge much like the battery pack cases on some smartphones.
Sony VAIO S Series 15.5", 2.4 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 20% by by Paul (Sep, 2011)I haven't done a precise measure of the battery life, but it suffices to say that i can go the entire school day in stamina mode without a charge.
Sony VAIO S Series 15.5", 2.4 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 80% by by Charlie-Penrose (Dec, 2011)I have the sheet battery, and when I'm running with this battery I don't have any issues- BUT... when the sheet battery is depleted and the internal battery picks up, the problems start.
Competition What else you should consider
 | 1 | Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga OK CPU benchmark score Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga vs Sony VAIO S Series |
 | 2 | SAMSUNG Series 7 Chronos Largest amount of storage capacity SAMSUNG Series 7 Chronos vs Sony VAIO S Series |
 | 3 | Apple MacBook Air 4th Gen Has a light sensor Apple MacBook Air 4th Gen vs Sony VAIO S Series |
 | 4 | ASUS Zenbook UX31E 5-way tie: Really fast internal storage ASUS Zenbook UX31E vs Sony VAIO S Series |
 | 7 | HP ProBook 4530s OK 3DMark06 CPU HP ProBook 4530s vs Sony VAIO S Series |
 | 8 | Sony VAIO E Series 2-way tie: Has a Blu-Ray reader E Series 15.5", 1.65 GHz, 4 GB, 640 GB HDD vs S Series 15.5", 2.4 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD |
New duel?
Let the battle continue or dare to compare.
Editions Editions of the Sony VAIO S Series
| Price | Edition | Battery life | Internal storage random access time | Supported card formats | Manufacturer code | Compare | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | | 4 hour | 10 ms | None | VPC-S111FM/S | | ||||
 | | 5 hour | 10 ms | None | VPCS135FX/B | | ||||
 | | 5 hour | 10 ms | None | VPC-S137GX/B | | ||||
 | | 5 hour | 10 ms | None | VPCS134GX/B | | ||||
 | | 5 hour | 10 ms | None | VPCS132FX/S | | ||||
 | | 5 hour | 10 ms | None | VPCS132GX/B | | ||||
 | | 5 hour | 10 ms | None | VPCS137GX/S | | ||||
 | | 5.75 hour | 10 ms | MMC | VPCSE13FX/S | | ||||
 | | 5.75 hour | 10 ms | MMC | VPCSE13FX/B | | ||||
 | | 5.75 hour | 10 ms | MMC | VPCSE16FX/S | | ||||
 | | 5.75 hour | 10 ms | MMC, Memory Stick Duo, SD | VPCSE17FX/B | | ||||
 | | 5.75 hour | 10 ms | MMC | VPCSE16FX/B | | ||||
 | | 7 hour | 10 ms | MMC | VPCSA3AFX/SI | | ||||
 | | 7 hour | 10 ms | MMC | VPCSA33GX/SI | | ||||
 | | 7 hour | 10 ms | MMC | VPCSA3AFX/BI | | ||||
 | | 7 hour | 10 ms | MMC | VPCSA33GX/BI | | ||||
 | | 7 hour | 10 ms | MMC | VPCSA31FX/BI | | ||||
 | | 7 hour | 10 ms | MMC | VPCSA31FX/SI | | ||||
 | | 7 hour | 0.1 ms | MMC | VPCSA35GX/SI | | ||||
 | | 7 hour | 0.1 ms | MMC | VPCSA35GX/BI | | ||||
 | | 15 hour | 10 ms | None | VPCSA21GX/SI | | ||||
 | | 15 hour | 10 ms | None | VPCSA2FGX/BI | | ||||
 | | 15 hour | 10 ms | None | VPCSA21GX/BI | | ||||
 | | 15 hour | 10 ms | None | VPCSA25GX/SI | | ||||
Popular Questions
February 26, 2013
Sony Vaio S-Series with Core i5 and and 4GB RAM.
Can i upgrade the ram of my laptop 4gb to 8gb cause i usually use it for gamit purposes.
Visitor
1
Answers 