Sony VAIO S Series Notebooks

The Vaio S Series is one of the first notebooks to use Hitachi's widescreen 13.3" display that supports 1280x800 pixels. This is one of the most prominant feature of this notebook, as the display is very bright and clear. The rest of the features seem to span a wide array of options that determine the model number of the machine. Here is a sample list by country.

United States
Model	CPU	Graphics	Hard Drive	Memory	Optical Drive	Wireless
VGN-S360	Pentium M 735 (1.70 GHz Dothan)	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 64MB	80GB	512MB	DVD-ROM/CD-RW	Wi-Fi b/g
VGN-S270	Custom Order	Custom Order	Custom Order	Custom Order	Custom Order	Custom Order
VGN-S260	Pentium M 735 (1.70 GHz Dothan)	ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 32MB	60GB	512MB	DVD-ROM/CD-RW	Wi-Fi b/g
VGN-S170	Custom Order	ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 32MB	60GB	512MB	DVD-ROM/CD-RW	Wi-Fi b/g
VGN-S150	Pentium M (1.60 GHz Dothan)	ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 32MB	60GB	512MB	DVD-ROM/CD-RW	Wi-Fi b/g
China
Model	CPU	Graphics	Hard Drive	Memory	Optical Drive	Wireless
VGN-S38CP	Pentium M 745 (1.80 GHz Dothan)	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 64MB	60GB	512MB	DVD-RW/CD-RW	Wi-Fi b/g
VGN-S36C	Pentium M 735 (1.70 GHz Dothan)	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 64MB	40GB	256MB	DVD-ROM/CD-RW	Wi-Fi b/g
VGN-S27C	Pentium M 725 (1.60 GHz Dothan)	ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 32MB	40GB	256MB	DVD-ROM/CD-RW	Wi-Fi b/g
VGN-S26C	Pentium M 715 (1.50 GHz Dothan)	ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 32MB	40GB	256MB	DVD-ROM/CD-RW	Wi-Fi b/g
VGN-S25C	Pentium M (1.40 GHz) 512KB	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 64MB	40GB	256MB	DVD-ROM/CD-RW	Wi-Fi b/g
VGN-S18CP	Pentium M (1.60 GHz) 1MB	ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 32MB	60GB	512MB	DVD-RW/CD-RW	Wi-Fi b/g
VGN-S17C	Pentium M (1.60 GHz) 1MB	ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 32MB	40GB	256MB	DVD-ROM/CD-RW	Wi-Fi b/g
VGN-S16C	Pentium M (1.50 GHz) 1MB	ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 32MB	40GB	256MB	DVD-ROM/CD-RW	Wi-Fi b/g
Taiwan
Model	CPU	Graphics	Hard Drive	Memory	Optical Drive	Wireless
VGN-S28TP	Pentium M 725 (1.60 GHz Dothan) 2MB	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 64MB	60GB	512MB	DVD-RW/CD-RW	Wi-Fi b/g
VGN-S26TP	Pentium M 715 (1.50 GHz Dothan) 2MB	ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 32MB	40GB	256MB	DVD-ROM/CD-RW	Wi-Fi b/g
VGN-S18TP	Pentium M (1.60 GHz) 1MB	ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 32MB	60GB	512MB	DVD-RW/CD-RW	Wi-Fi b/g
VGN-S16TP	Pentium M (1.50 GHz) 1MB	ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 32MB	40GB	256MB	DVD-ROM/CD-RW	Wi-Fi b/g
United Kingdom
Model	CPU	Graphics	Hard Drive	Memory	Optical Drive	Wireless
VGN-S2VP	Pentium M 755(1.90 GHz Dothan)	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 64MB	80GB	1GB	DVD-RW/CD-RW	Wi-Fi b/g + Bluetooth
VGN-S2XP	Pentium M 745(1.80 GHz Dothan)	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 64MB	80GB	512MB	DVD-RW/CD-RW	Wi-Fi b/g + Bluetooth
VGN-S2HP	Pentium M 725(1.60 GHz Dothan)	ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 32MB	40GB	512MB	DVD-RW/CD-RW	Wi-Fi b/g + Bluetooth

Software

The drivers that come with the S series is a few notches lower than the latest versions. You should upgrade the LAN, Wi-Fi, and 855PM chipset software by visiting http://www.intel.com/
To use the latest graphical drivers from ATI, download the drivers from http://www.ati.com and search for Dhmodtool to modify the drivers so that they can install onto notebook computers. After running the program, the drivers should install fine.
If you are into overclocking, you can search for a software called AtiTool, which can overclock the software GPU and memory speed. The default stock machine has the GPU at 390MHz and memory at 210MHz. Overclocking to 525MHz GPU and 240MHz memory were possible with the Mobility Radeon 9700 with 64MB. Your results may vary and you are doing this at your own risk.

Hardware

This notebook is quite popular, and luckily many of the important parts are upgradeable. A lot of people have never seen the internals of this Sony Vaio S series notebook, but eventually you will when you decide to upgrade it. Below is the actual motherboard (situated on the rightside) of this Sony Vaio S28GP (Hong Kong version) notebook:

Although the picture is for the Hong Kong bought Sony Vaio S28GP model number, this motherboard is actually the same or very similar to the S series in the rest of the world. As can be seen in the picture, it has the MBX-109 motherboard, which may be the same or similar motherboard found in the desktop Sony VAIO W series. The picture above was taken with the DVD RW drive and the harddrive removed. you will notice that the ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 64MB and the Pentium M 1.6 GHz (Dothan) are the only chips to have the heatsink and fan over them to cool them. The upper left is the graphics chip, while the CPU is on the right. Below them is the open air cooled blueish Intel 855PM chip (RG82055PM) which contains functionality support for memory, ICH4 hub (USB ports, etc), external graphics chip, and the CPU. Other noteworthy chips on this motherboard are the three bigger chips near the bottom of the picture. The left one is a Hitachi H8S processor. It is likely the H8S/2160B to control the keyboard, but I am not sure. The middle one is the Phoenix BIOS chip (M50FW080). The right one is the Texas Instruments Ultramedia PCI7420 chip, which provides functionality for PC Card, Memory Stick, 1394 Firewire, and interfacing with the PCI bus provided by the 855PM chip above it. Another fairly big chip is the one hidden in the upper left corner just below the blue wires. That one is the Intel DA82562E, which provides LAN (wired) support. The Conexant modem chip is not visible in this picture. It is actually underneath the bluetooth module towards the left side of the notebook.

Adding internal bluetooth to the Vaio S Series notebook.

Note for this notebook, there was actually no internal bluetooth factory installed, which is standard option in some countries like the United Kingdom. The bluetooth parts had to be manually purchased and installed from Sony. For those interested, here are the part numbers:

1-805-554-11 : Bluetooth Module
A-1072-474-A : Complete PWB IFX-311 (S)
4-683-211-01 : Screw, +B EG Grip
4-672-493-01 : Cover Led
1-829-369-11 : Cover (SC) <- Get two of these
4-672-834-51 : Cable, Coaxial (With U.F.L. Con

The above are all available for order at:
http://servicesales.sel.sony.com/web/index.jsp

If you wish to know how to take apart your Sony VAIO S series notebook, view the video below which details the steps involved in putting back a notebook from scratch. Just reverse the process for taking it apart.

Hard drive upgrade

The biggest and fastest notebook hard drive is 120GB from many manufacturers. Upgrading is fairly easy, just open the case and replace the drive.

2GB memory upgrade

The Sony websites that describe the S series always state that it supports a maximum of 1GB memory. However, the Intel 855PM chipset actually supports a maximum of 2GB of memory. At the time the S series were produced, 512MB memory modules were the largest available for the 172-pin microDIMM memory slots, and the notebook supported only 2 slots, so that is how the 1GB maximum memory came to be. That is until Swissbit released the 1GB memory module to fill both slots. Just remove the two screws holding the bottom panel of your notebook and pop them in. You can order the Swissbit 1GB PC2700 172-pin microDIMM at:
http://www.swissbit-shop.com

CPU upgrade

As of this writing, the fastest CPU available is the Pentium M 2.1 GHz Dothan. Because this notebook supports socketed CPU support, all you need to upgrade to a faster CPU is to simply remove the three screws holding down the heatsink above the CPU and then turn the socket lock counter-clockwise to pop out the CPU. Once the new CPU is in place, turn the socket clockwise and screw back in the heatsink. Pentium M CPU's can be found in many outlets.

Wi-Fi upgrade

The Wi-Fi module is located at the bottom of the machine near the memory modules. Simply replace it with that Wi-Fi a/b/g module. You may have to search for this part.

Adding internal RF module to the S series notebook

It seems this notebook has two empty sockets that were not utilized. Perhaps someone can look at the A series and see which one is similar to their RF module socket. Leave a feedback for me so I can update this page.

Upgrading graphics chip

The ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 64MB on this machine is actually soldered onto the motherboard, and unfortunately almost impossible to upgrade. The video above shows how to remove (or put together) the fan to view the ATI chip.

Sony VAIO notebook discussion group

For those that have questions or need help with the upgrade options, visit the forums at Games Depot.