SVS15113FXS
3
5
5
5
Screen goes blank within a week of purchase
When I try to wake my computer now my screen doesn't come back on unless I hold down the power button to force a shut down and then start it up. I haven't even owned this computer for longer than a week and so far I'm disappointed.
February 2, 2013
Awesome for Gamers
It's one magnificent laptop. The graphics and performance are absolutely amazing (which was most important for me). I get compliments all the time when I'm playing games. Speaking of which, for those gamers out there: it can run almost anything on max settings & looks GREAT. AND the fan is barely audible.
This thing is super portable and lightweight. It won't break your back if you're a college student seeking to lug around your computer everywhere.
I'm honestly surprised by the quality and price of the laptop. I already have a couple friends who are planning on buying an S Series to replace their older laptops.
Kudos, Sony!
October 5, 2012
Great Laptop!
Ill start with the con, the non sturdy screen which does feel astonishingly light. If you twist the corners of the screen it is bendable but Sony tests their screens for 4,000 closings and openings.
I cant believe their was a sound complaint because the sound on this laptop is really good, its loud and clear.
The CPU fan for this computer is not in existence because its so quite it hardly kicks in during games. It is very light as well. I love the back lighted keyboard.
I use this product for: Gaming, College, Daily.
August 7, 2012
Worth considering
As close to an Ultrabook as you can get without technically being one, weighs about 5 pounds or less, it's less than an inch thick when closed, and has very good battery life -- 3-6 hours depending on what's being used. Plus you get 15.5" display and a CD/DVD drive.
The bottom panel & cover, internal skeletal frame and main body top plate (the plate around the keyboard & touchpad, are thin stiff magnesium alloy metal. The top of the lid is too but the bezel seems to
be plastic. the bezel is the same brushed aluminum color so some might find it somewhat distracting. Everything is designed to save weight so think thin. Can't tell yet if that means less sturdy; I've had some pretty bulky, heavy laptops that had weak hinges, lids, bottom panels, etc.
Screen is a matte finish so no distracting reflections but not quite as sharp and intense a picture as a glossy screen.
The IPS screen has even backlighting and good brightness and picture quality over a wide viewing angle horizontal and vertical, plenty wide enough for laptop use anyway. Colors are a bit weird: the green pixels tend towards lime and the red ones towards orange, even after fine tuning calibrations with a SypderPro. This lime/orange shift in phosphor colors makes for very nice skin tones in photos and videos but "pure" tone graphics look a bit odd until you learn to ignore the color shifts.
The so-called "fast boot" relies on hybrid standby; the best or worst of both worlds depending on your taste-- not as fast as standby but not as slow as hibernation; and uses more power than true hibernation.
The speakers are small, so they are not capable of producing sound as well as, e.g., Toshibas, which tend to use larger speakers. If you want really good sound, though, you're crazy to rely on those little things in laptops--if you're serious about sound quality, get some good earphones or headphones.
The cooling fan vent is in the center of the back of the main body. The lid when tilted back is partially in front of the vent, however even during some intense and prolonged operations, fan output was never great enough that the lid was appreciably obstructing air flow. However, half the vent opening is pointed downward and that portion of the vent is covered by the sheet battery when that extra battery is installed. If you?re concerned you could cut away a small bit if the sheet battery plate that covers the lower vent opening. I never experienced an overheating issue. The most heat came from the hard disk during several hours of constant disk activity, but using the SMART disk sensors, the drive temp never got out of a healthy range. This machine does not appear to have any heat problems, which goes hand in hand with long battery times. The fan never became noticeably loud although one can set it for cooling priority instead of temp control priority. I don?t see a need to change it.
The hard drive is only a 5400 rpm standard drive, probably to hold down costs and power consumption. The machine would do better with a 7200 rpm drive, an SSD or a hybrid, although power consumption and battery time would be worse.
Note also, when making your purchase decision, that Sony Tech support has a less than stellar reputation.
July 29, 2012
