SVS15
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Overview
The Sony Vaio SVS15 was a mid-high end laptop released in 2012 as a refresh of the 2011 VPCS series. This was supposed to be a cheaper alternative to the Z (SVZ), offering most of its features (if not more) but at a lower price. Sony had streamlined the model lineup quite a bit, reducing it to just 2, the SVS13 and SVS15. The design is largely similar to the previous VPCS lineup, sharing many parts with each other, however made various improvements to its design such as a larger touchpad, ditching the physical buttons and also ditching the tray-loading optical drive for a slot loading drive. It featured the same IO but replacing one of the USB 2.0 ports with a USB 3.0 port.
The SVS15 was available in only 3 color options compared to the SVS13, which were Black, White and Silver. There was also no premium carbon-fiber variant of the SVS15, with all models being constructed from aluminum. However, it was available with a quad core i7, which was not offered on the SVS13, and also a separate microphone jack unlike on the SVS13 which only has a headphone jack.
In its highest end configuration, the SVS15 is the most powerful Sony VAIO laptop ever made. Though the SVE14/15/17 have the same CPU (i7-3632QM) available, their dedicated Radeon HD 7650/70M is slower than the SVS15's GeForce GT 640M LE. The SVS15 also has a much better build, being made out of metal rather than plastic, aiding to its much better feel and look.
Detailed Specs
Processor: i3/i5/i7 Dual or Quad Core i7-3612QM/3632QM Ivy Bridge CPU
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000 and optional NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M LE in 1GB or 2GB VRAM configurations
Chipset: Intel HM77 or HM76
Memory: 4GB on-board + 1x SODIMM slot (12GB maximum)
Display: 15.5" 1920 x 1080 IPS display
Storage: 2.5" HDD or dual RAID SSD (128GB/256GB/512GB)
Weight: Approx 2kg
MSRP:
Daily Usage Today
Today, these laptops are still very usable for basic tasks, 1080p YouTube and light/older games thanks to the built in NVIDIA GPU. Windows 10 and likely 11 will run good on this computer, and it is recommended to install an SSD and upgrade the RAM to at least 8GB to have an enjoyable experience. You will need to install the Sony drivers for Windows 7/8 to get all functions working, however as this laptop uses NVIDIA Optimus to handle the GPU switching, it works perfectly fine with the standard NVIDIA drivers, as long as you install the Sony utilities (VAIO Control Center, Sony Shared Library) to make the STAMINA/SPEED switch functional.