Memory upgrade
When I ordered the laptop, Sony was charging an exorbitant amount to get the maximum possible 2GB of memory–something like $1000, I believe. I decided to get the minimum amount of memory that would work with my nVidia video card (512 MB), and later upgrade.
I decided that this weekend would be a good time to order the extra memory. Unfortunately, none of the Sony documentation (not what came on the Windows installation, not what’s available online) detailed the memory specs. I emailed customer support; they told me to call. I called, and the person at the other end could not find the information either. However, he referred me to www.crucial.com, where you can search for and order the memory that is compatible with your system. It turns out that the S580 takes a 200-pin SODIMM. I’m not up on what additional numbers are needed to specify the memory, or what the compatibility issues are, so I wound up ordering from them. They seem to be only slighlty more expensive (assuming I’m comparing the right products) than TigerDirect, where I’ve usually done my online computer shopping.
Installing the extra memory will be an adventure, I’m sure. I’ve never taken apart a laptop.