Official Sony Vaio Fit multi-flip PC Owners' Thread

It looks like the long rubber strip on the rear part of the laptop. "Flex Rubber Fot Base Rear ": it sounds like the flexible long rubber strip and not the two rubber foot. In any case it's 43 € for a rubber strip 20cm long and few mms wide: I found this prices simply ridiculous. If it's the rubber foot I'm searching for I still don't know if it's one foot or the set of two, and it's still a crazy price for one or two pieces of rubber.

Today for less than the double price you can buy, for example, a Sony DSC-W810 camera with 20.1 mp and 6X optical zoom with a bag and a 8 Gb Sd card... What a strange world!

Regarding Sony strategy, the list of marketing and product mistakes is very long... But they're still producing some amazing products; I'm very happy with both my Z3 smartphone and a6000 camera, moreover of my 15" Vaio flip!

Thanks for the part number anyway, but I think I will stay with my 2€ WC rubber foot... ;-)

 

That one really does take the prize! Imagine how many starving Africans you could feed for a year for the price of that rubber strip!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems Sony's TVs, phones and tablets - essentially all consumer devices not related to the Play Station line - are being discontinued and Sony is exiting those product lines just as it did Vaio computers a year ago. It seems they just don't know how to run a business unit with a cost structure appropriate to the revenue and profit of the product line so, as Sony did with their TV unit for the past 15 years(!!!!), they have been operating the Xperia lines at massive losses and have announced the end to all product lines that are familiar consumer Sony brands - effective, fairly soon - with the exception of Play Station.

I have been a partisan of Sony Vaios for some time and took their exit from the computer business as an opportunity to acquire some of their better products at fire sale prices - which were hard to find; tribute to Sony's brand cachet that after announcing exit from Vaio business, and likely further deterioration of support for products, prices for remaining inventory remained quite high. But if you looked around eBay and at the close out etailers, there were bargains to be found - to wit: I paid $425 for my Flip 13A open box, unused with GB RAM and 128GB SSD (upgradeable). It has been a total gem and I have not had a single problem with it. Moreover, I have owned 5 or more Sony Vaio Z laptops and still own one nearly unused mint VPC-Z13 and never once had any operating problems with any of my Z1 or Z2 products - which is a good thing because, even when they were still in the business, Sony customer support was pretty much a joke, certainly worse than any other brand I have used.

So try to wipe the tears of nostalgia aside and look for some bargains among remaining stock of Xperias and perhaps keep one in mint condition as a "collector's item," since there are not likely to be Sony branded consumer electronics again in our lifetimes!

Peace,
Jeff

 

Hi there! Someone knows where to get the Touchpanel for Sany Vaio Fit 15A? (SVF15N2L2ES). The other thing is that the Display does somethink like burn in colors.
Thx nonotomson

 

Anyone else out there activated VT-X in the BIOS?
I did and started Virtualbox with a 2 CPU configuration.
All seemed fine until I rebooted the VAIO (Fit 13A).

On the Windows 8.1 login screen I saw it lost Wifi and after login, the desktop was empty and was frozen.
I was afraid I had to reinstall my machine.
But all seems to be fine again after I disabled VT-X and rebooted.

One of those moments that I realised I have not made a backup image.
But again, is there anyone out there that activated VT-X and didn't see problems?

 

Hi,
Daughter has the Flip now so hands off for me. I'd like to ask you a few things, if I may : what is your model#, your BIOS version and in which country did you purchase the Flip ? Those details may help us find a different BIOS (updated ?), Or not, we'll see

 

I'm not sure anymore if the VT-X setting in the BIOS was the culprit.
Perhaps I was just unlucky.
After some more reboots without VT-X, Windows no longer was able to boot anymore.

Now I'm busy with a refresh (Windows 8), as found in the menu from the Assist button (with most of my data preserved).
I activated VT-X again, just to be sure.
I'm feeling bold, as the refresh has worked so far and most of my data is still there.
Let's see how things go once I have updated to Windows 8.1.
And the last test will be to run Virtualbox again with 2 CPU's and reboot again.

I have a Fit 13A that was ordered in the Netherlands, but I think it was build to order in China.
Core i7, 8GB Ram and 512 GB SSD.
BIOS R1130VA.

Still running the small updates for W8 before I can upgrade to W8.1. *sigh*

 

Thanks for the update/info. Not all that familiar with the many recovery/repair options in W8, but it seems you've done what we used to call a repair install (non destructive), which sorta reinstalls Windows on top of itself, preserving data.
My guess would be a BIOS problem as you first suspected ; just by the way it happened in your case and knowing the poor track record from Sony on BIOS releases for the Flips. I wish I had kept count of how many BIOS releases there have been for Flips in just over a year.
Hope all goes well with recovery, and VT-X
Let us know ; if problems, we can look for a possible BIOS replacement/upgrade.

 

So I ordered a new wifi card. The day it arrived in the mail (maybe 3 weeks ago) I downloaded a new vaio update -- and then presto! My wifi worked like new again. It was 6 months of putting up with ethernet. I am so put off by this whole sony experience. Anyway, at least now my computer is functioning and I also know it was not a hardware problem but seems to have been a software problem.

 

Hi nonotomson, I'm not sure where you could get hold of a replacement screen for your VAIO, but I think you might be suffering from backlight bleed. Could you post a photo of your screen, displaying a pure black full-screen image at maximum brightness? Actually, if anyone else could also post theirs, that would be really helpful, as I have some problems with my display (a 2880 x 1620 resolution LCD on a Fit 15A SVF15N2B4EB), so it would be great to compare with others. I have substantial backlight bleed at the corners and edges of my display. I sent the laptop for repair, but Sony are claiming that it's normal and exactly the same as other units. I'd like to prove them wrong...

 

The 2880x1620 LCD in my Flip also has some backlight bleed. However, in relation to Sonys bad track record in this area (especially TV sets - read the forums on this!) it's comparatively minuscule.

What is "backlight bleed"? It's the visible result of the tolerances in display manufacturing when the LCD panel is assembled and/or integrated into the case of the TV/laptop.
Due to pressure tolerances when - for example - tightening the screws to hold the panel the panel gets compressed slightly (it consists of several layers including a "light spreading foil", forgive me my layman's terms) and the backlight "bleeds" through.
I verified this by opening up my Sony TV and slightly releasing the corner screws of the panel which resulted in a bit less bleed. I wasn't able to fully get rid of it, though, and I don't think it's (always) possible as the panel gets ever so slightly (permanently) deformed because of the assembly/montage.

Backlight bleed is a problem that only plagues displays with backlight: LCDs.
You won't have it with plasmas or OLEDs, but both aren't available with laptops/notebooks right now. At least not comparable ones to consumer machines like the Flip.

So what use has all of this for Flip owners?
I suspect none at all.

The Flip display is assembled differently because of the space constraints. I'm fairly sure that there aren't any screws you could "adjust" - the panel is simply put into a frame, perhaps glued or taped into position and then the display lid is closed.
This is my educated guess, if you so will, without having opened a lid. I may be entirely wrong, of course.

But, in any case: *If* you have excessive bleed then your only hope would be a replacement. Either the lid/panel unit or the entire Flip.
But who will guarantee you that you get a panel with less bleed?

So what options do people - realistically - have?
1) Replace the Flip. You don't know how the backlight performs until you examined the Flip in person, preferably in a dark room - but at least it's possible!
2) Replace the panel/lid. You also don't know in advance, how the panel will perform but have no way to preview its performance!
3) Live with the bleed.

PS:
It's very hard to make *good* and *realistic* photos of this phenomenon!
Most photos I've seen either downplay or exaggerate the problem.
The key for a good photo is using the right exposure time. This can be best controlled with a camera in manual mode (if you have a compact/smartphone that only offers automatic mode you can practically forget it - it's a lottery...).
Set the camera to a fixed ISO, open the aperature as wide (=low number) as your lens allows and then play with the exposure time. Depending on the ambient light this will vary massively.
And, of course: Disable your flash... ;-)

Sharpness isn't the issue (but of course you can focus manually to always get a sharp image) and image noise can be ignored as it's not the point of the photo. If the image on your camera display looks practically idential to the image you see in reality you have a good result.

 

Hi Calibrator, thanks for the detailed info! I know it's difficult to capture a realistic photo of backlight bleed, but could you maybe post a photo of yours for me to compare? I've found I can actually get a fairly realistic photo with my smartphone camera (a Samsung Galaxy S3) set at an ISO of 800, but with the exposure value at the default '0' value. I've also found that the distance I take the photo makes a difference, with about 1 and a half metres producing the most realistic shots. It would be really helpful if you (and anyone else) could post their photos.

You seem to know more about the cause of backlight bleed than the Sony repair centre...I've sent my laptop to them three times in total. The first time, they replaced the LCD, and the bleed was actually worse. They then replaced the LCD again, and the bleed was slightly different, but no better. With all three LCD's however, the bleed has been in exactly the same places, which suggests to me that either they didn't in fact replace the LCD, or the problem lies with the lid/bezel placing pressure on the LCD, as you’ve suggested. I think I've confirmed this as when the bezel is gently flexed, the bleed becomes less prominent. I’ve informed Sony of this, but they have just replied with “changing the LCD again will not get rid of the backlight bleed”...

Here's a photo of my display by the way:

 

hey guys does anyone here have the 15 and able to get WIDI working? i have tried quite a bit with it and cant get it to work. im trying to use it with the Netgear PTV3000

I have the flip 15
core i7
8gb ram
nvidia 2gb graphics
1tb hybrid drive.

 

> I know it's difficult to capture a realistic photo of backlight bleed, but could you maybe post a photo of yours for me to compare?

;-) I didn't offer/upload it because I'm not at home this week, where I have my DSLR.
I'll see what I can do at the weekend...

Your image already appears much brighter, with much more bleed, too, than my screen, though. The upper right corner is especially bad - in TV forums this is called a "corner flashlight".

> You seem to know more about the cause of backlight bleed than the Sony repair centre...

I'm not sure about that - but I'll probably write more about it than Sony would ever admit as they certainly don't need a lawsuit that further threatens their TV business...

They therefore always call this a "normal" property of LCD panels, especially with TV sets where the problems are magnified because of the bigger panels.

Fact is: A manufacturer has to fixate the panel somehow.

Fact is: There are LCDs out there that don't have this backlight bleed / corner flashlight issue.

Fact is: No company claims that it can do it better than any other. Instead, companies use maximum contrast and other "nice" numbers as a way to differentiate competing products. But who needs "maximum energy consumption" if you don't watch a completely super-nova white screen all the time?

My experience is: Nobody really has improved the situation over the last five years or so - especially NOT Sony and Samsung. My Sony LCD TV, for example, is a "regular" specimen in this regard but thanks to the local-dimming backlight I don't notice it that often...

My assumption is: They don't care and don't improve their manufacturing process because people buy the products anyway (and plasma has gone the way of the dodo and OLED isn't really there, yet).

And remember: This fault was introduced by LCDs! CRTs never had this issue. Of course LCDs improved many other specs like sharpness, geometry and pretty much resolved the flicker-issue in a good way.
But LCDs are by no means a perfect display technology. They are slow (and "overdrive" mechanisms generally suck), have bad to mediocre contrast (unless you have a good local-dimming backlight), ****ty viewing angles and this bleeding issue.

However, LCDs are much cheaper to produce than plasma displays and don't have the aging and manufacturing problems of OLED right now.
Compared to the OLED manufacturing problems the backlight bleed is negligible - at least that seems to be the opinion of the manufacturers...

 

Thanks, I'd really appreciate that, and any other comparisons with / comments on my display from other flip owners! I'm strangely comforted by the fact that you say mine appears quite a bit worse than yours - maybe then I have a case for another repair.

 

Never tried it, as I don't have the "receiving end" - sorry.

 

It's a very cool technology, it works with my Lenovo thinkpad 8.3 but I cannot get it working with my Sony. there is very little delay between the laptop and the TV.
This is one of the adapters that should make it work with any TV - http://www.ebay.com/itm/NETGEAR-PTV...152?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27eee576f8
Here is the only video i found of it being used with any vaio flip -

 

I've tested Miracast on a Samsung TV with my Flip 15A. Was easy enough to connect - only additional thing I had to do was to reduce my resolution from 2880 to 1920x1080, otherwise the TV would just make a "pop" sound and restart every time I tried to connect.

 

I got 2 questions for you guys...

1) What great games can the Flip 15A play?

2) What if I get an external graphics card for the Flip 15A. Would I then be able to play high end games!

 

To the best of my knowledge you can't add an external graphics card to the Flips that makes them more games-capable (better 3D graphics, higher frame-rates).
The problem is that the Flips don't have an external PCIe bus (or something similar) but only USB 3.0 connectors (the LAN connector would be even worse for this).

I understand that the Thunderbolt interface of the Macbooks is a good option, too, but that doesn't help you with the Flip either...

While we are looking at the competition: A good - but pricey - example of an external graphics accelerator is the "Alienware Graphics Amplifier". You can stick standard PCIe-based graphics card into it, it comes with its own power supply and has other goodies. All of this (w/o the graphics card itself) for $299 (so you are easily at $500 with a decent graphics card).
The second downside is that it only works with (certain) Alienware laptops so you get an idea what the total price would be...
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2839...you-add-a-desktop-video-card-to-a-laptop.html

However, if one plans to get such a bundle: Why not get a true gaming laptop for the same price in the first place? That way one would stay mobile.

However, the Alienware Amplifier isn't even *that* expensive! See here for more infos on those external boxes, including a very expensive box by Sonnet:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-External-Graphics-Cards-for-Laptops.112162.0.html

My opinion:
An external graphics accelerator nearly always makes the laptop/notebook a stationary system like a desktop PC (provided, it actually is compatible) and is nearly as expensive. I don't see many advantages choosing this option.

Personally, I would always go the "two systems route", getting both a mobile machine like a decent laptop/notebook and a good desktop/tower PC with a high-performance card (not the best/most expensive one but the one for about $300).

And if you don't have a need for a second PC then you can always get a moden games console like the PS4 or the Xbox One (whatever suits you best). Here the hardware is cheaper and not as powerful but you have higher software costs.

 

Hey thank you once again Calibrator. Out of curiosity, is it possible to conect a good gaming tower to the Flip and just play games off the Flip's screen?

Also, do you or anyone else knows what good games can the Flip play?

 

Steam In-Home Streaming - for what it is, it's pretty great!
It's too bad Nvidias similar system only works when you stream to the Shield - imagine that could be even better. The Xbox One > any Windows 10 computer looked pretty promising too, when that shows up.

... all that being said though, I haven't used it beyond the quick testing as I prefer the larger screen of the desktop.

Not done much gaming on the Flip - just when I got it I tested out the touch enabled Civilization game, but ran into throttling pretty quickly... hmm... since it's Friday, maybe I should give it a go again? : )

 

What data connection is needed for stuff like that? I'm guessing standard broadband?
What limits are there?

The only way I'd use game streaming would be when I'm travelling but one simply can't get true mobile flatrates for mobile data connections at acceptable prices in Germany (yet) - and if you want LTE it's even more expensive and the data volume maxes out at several gigabyte per month...

Exactly the same here...

 

You do need a fairly good connection I think - it's not really meant for streaming outside of your own network (apparently some people have tried via VPN with good results for some titles and not so great for other).

I played through the first episode of Life is Strange here on Saturday. Hooked up the Vaio to the projector and streamed from the desktop downstairs. Couldn't tell the difference between playing locally and streaming (the game doesn't require the fastest response though). And of course the Vaio stays absolutely silent.

Also had a little go with Mirror's Edge (thought that might be a good title for the machine). Ran surprisingly well at 1920x1080 with all details maxed... for about 15 minutes, and then it throttled. I remember there were some posts many pages back in this thread about how to get the Nvidia GPU under control. Limiting the CPU speed with Throttlestop wasn't enough. And as we've talked about before here, the silly thing is neither CPU nor GPU ever reached above 60 degrees - way too early to start throttling - but then, I suppose it will last forever : )

 

Thanks for the infos!
Did you use WLAN or LAN for the tests?

 

I'll be getting a new Flip soon. I got 2 questions...

1) How do you stop it from auto-rotating?

2) How do you stop the screen from auto-brightness?

 

Hi there koolxxx,

Dunno about auto rotate. For adaptive brightness, look here :
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/6042-adaptive-brightness-turn-off-windows-8-a.html
>> Option #1 should suffice (it did for our Flip here). If not, do #1 and #4 (Intel panel). If you have nVidia graphics which I don't, then maybe there's an extra setting I'm not aware of.
Good luck..

 

Used LAN for the initial test. Went back and tried 'The Vanishing of Ethan Carter' today with WLAN - didn't work so great, too much stuttering. Might be my network settings though - seems I messed up a little when I set up Hyper-V with the Windows 10 Tech Preview, so now all my traffic runs through this virtual adapter.

 

Hmmm... LAN is gigabit on the Flip (and works quite well, I must say), WLAN on the other hand isn't that fast and has *possibly* more lag, too.

Isn't the virtual adapter affecting both?

 

You have all the right gear. I have the same - but my Flip is a 13A - and it works for me - though it's about a 75% success rate and the other 25% of the time you have to re-sync once or twice. The closer your computer is to the Netgear device the better it will work. Also, I have had to return Netgear devices and a replacement did the trick. Finally, as this is an Intel function, it is probably essential that your computer be using the IGP and not the nVidia. I wouldn't trust Optimus for this, but hard set the graphics to Intel. Oh, one more thing, make sure in your power settings you have wireless set for "maximum performance." Hmm, one more thought...if you have a tablet or smartphone with Miracast, try using it instead of your laptop. It's easier to get it closer to the Netgear receiver and sometimes they just work better - my Nexus 7 is more reliable than my Flip 13.

If none of this works for you, try a Chromecast device for $35. It has a few of its own drawbacks, but works pretty well most of the time.

 

The Nvidia GPU only has rendering-related settings - it's pretty much only a 3D graphics accelerator similar to the old Voodoo graphics cards.
However, only the Intel HD graphics unit drives the display(s) directly and its driver offers the usual resolution, refresh-rate, color & video settings.

However, the Intel graphics driver also has some energy-related settings - especially when in battery mode - and until I set both the Windows and Intel settings I still had auto-dimming happening on my Flip.

 

Question 2 has been answered, but for 1):

The Windows display settings (where you set up the resolution) also has an autorotate setting.
You can either enable or disable it there and it works beautifully.

 

Thank you Mark and Calibrator for your help.

 

Hi Calibrator, did you manage to get any half-decent shots of your backlight bleed in the end, for me to compare with mine?

 

The all new post-Sony VAIO Z can be ordered in Japan.
Looks like a refreshed Flip 13.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/16/8044279/vaio-laptops-after-sony-sale-transform-into-tablets
http://vaio.com/

 

Sorry, I knew I had forgotten something! ;-)

Here you go:



I tried to make it look as normal as possible. The blue "stripes" are from the curtains and not from the display, obviously...

The Flip display was set to 50% brightness and you can see the mouse pointer still very bright in the middle of the screen (used for focussing).

 

Yeah, even the pen is the same (Ntrig technology - the company has apparently been bought by Microsoft, by the way).

They now use a CPU with a TDP of 28 watts (the Sony VAIO Flips use 15 watt CPUs) and two(!) fans instead of one, at least in the flagship VAIO Z.
While this means more performance it will be very interesting if it's also less noisy than the Sony 13" model...

 

I'm new to the flip. I need to know what size of SSD to replace the harddrive with.

 

If you mean "physical size" then you can take any SATA-2 or SATA-3 compatible SSD with a maximum height of 9 mm. This height restriction is very important even for the 15" Flip, which I think you are getting.

Another potentially problematic issue is which SSD model to choose!

Here's a free warning: Don't get a Samsung SSD with TLC memory chips like the popular EVO models!
And do especially avoid the EVO 840! Lots of those drives are getting rapidly slower when reading old files (files that have been stored on the SSD a long time ago). The read speed can even drop to about 35 MB/s which is even slower than a regular hard drive!
The fix that Samsung published last year does NOT always solve the problem as it surfaced again at the end of January: http://techreport.com/review/27727/some-840-evos-still-vulnerable-to-read-speed-slowdowns
It's still unknown at this time if Samsung will issue a second fix or if the issue is fixable at all.

 

Understood Calibrator. Appreciate that advice and warning. FYI, 2 days ago I bought a 15A Flip online. Cant wait to get it next week. Thanks!!!

 

Hi Calibrator. I tried looking for an SSD 9mm Sata 2 or 3 but didnt get good results. I'd get back a lot of SSD 9.5mm, for example.

Can you please help with providing some buzz words I can use to improve my search results? Thank you!

 

Hi,
there are several SSDs with 7 mm or less so there is no need to stuff a 9.5 mm drive into the Flip and I can't say that they fit as I simply haven't tried one. Perhaps somebody else may confirm this?

In the many posts about compatible SSDs one that came up frequently is the Crucial MX100, which has apparently been installed several times and it's also specified as a 7 mm drive.
Crucial also has an upgrade advisory tool on their website so you can put in your Flip model number ("SVT15..."): http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/storage-ssd-mx100

By the way: The original hybrid harddisk drive is a 7 mm "WD Black Slim", which I replaced with a Samsung EVO 840, which is specified at 6.8 mm (you see that I took no risks there and it also was the only 1TB SSD available where I live at the time).

---

If you want to research more SSD options make sure that you always check if the SSD-user has a 15" Flip as the 14" Flip differs quite a bit internally. Only the 15" model has a flat connector cable over the drive which limits the height. The 14" Flip does not so it apparently has a bit more space for the drive.

---

As I can't give you much help with other SSDs besides the EVO 840 here is some help in advance to actually change the drives:

A simple tear-down video of the 14" Flip by Sony:
While the 14" Flips differ internally this video shows you very well how to remove the rubber strips from the bottom of the case of all Flips.



Here's also a fairly recent video from an "enthuasiastic" 15" Flip owner who tries to make a "video service manual":
This is clearly his best video with some good advice and the least amount of errors, yet, but I still suspect he wants to become a comedian...
He also rips the Flip completely apart and I wonder how often some of the internal connectors will survive this as they aren't designed to be opened & closed lots of times. In this third video he doesn't remove the rubber strips at the bottom and I guess the reason is that they simply don't attach any more after his older vids...
At least you see a lot of the internals, even if the video is often not sharp at all.



As for the drive you can clearly see the two flat cables above it (one is golden) and these need to get flapped up so that you can get to the silver drive assembly.
These cables connect to two delicate connectors on one side of the drive which you need to carefully open with a flat screw driver.
Then you can lift the cables up and remove the drive by removing the screw of the frame around the drive.

It's been a year so I don't know anymore if the shielding foil on the harddrive needs to be removed or can be left on the drive. Only remove it if it's absolutely necessary as it can tear VERY easily! Handle with care!
In any case I recommend that you don't use this shielding on the SSD as these neither work with magnetism nor have comparably sensitive analog electronics. And if you for whatever reason need to put back the Flip into its original state with the hardrive etc. you have a better chance that it will look good.

To sum it up:
1) Create a recovery medium using Vaio Care (preferably a new USB 2.0 stick with 32 GB). Make sure it is readable!
2) Shut down the Flip by powering it down completely (do not send it into hibernation etc.) and remove the power cable.
3) Turn it over and put it onto a blanket to avoid scatches on the lid.
4) Carefully remove the rubber strips (see the Sony vid how this is done). The adhesive tape can be damaged easily!
5) Remove the screw and place them into an order so that you know which screw goes into which hole!
6) Carefully remove the bottom lid, starting by wiggling it at the power connector and then going clockwise. Do not use force!
Optional: Remove the battery if you want to be 100% sure that you can't activate the Flip by mistake. The battery is secured by several, easy to reach screws and then slides out of the battery connector.
7) Carefully open the flatcable connectors with a flat screw driver. Do not use force! If these connectors break it will cost you real money!
8) Remove the screws of the drive frame.
9) Bend the flatcables upwards and remove the drive frame.
10) Remove the frame from the drive and put it on the SSD (only remove the shielding foil if necessary!).
11) Put the SSD with the frame into the Flip and put the screws back in.

Then you can trace these steps backwards to step 3 but my recommendation would be to leave the bottom lid and the rubber strips off until the SSD is installed completely using the recovery installation.
You can put some books under the Flip so that the fan can breathe freely and cool the system.

If the system has finished the recovery successfully you can power down the Flip and put the bottom lid and the rubber strips back on.

That's all there is to it. Never use force, work slowly and make a rest if you need to. There's no time pressure!

 

Hi Calibrator. Thank you for providing good info. So you got the Samsung EVO SSD, the same SSD you warned me not to buy. Now I see that you were talking out of experience regarding this SSD specifically.

I found an SSD at the Crucial link that you posted. Let me know if its compatible with the Flip 15A. The link is below. I want to make sure that you think its the right one:

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for/Sony/vaio-svf15n25cxs


And as always Calibrator, thanks for everyting. Youre the boss!

 

I really can't tell you more than the Crucial website. If this is the correct model/product number of the Flip you are about to get then Crucial says it is compatible with it. This is as good as it gets.

You can check if it's the right number as there should be a sticker on the Flip - on the backside of the Flip display to be precise - and you should be able to see it when you flip the display into "viewer-mode".
(Be careful: The display itself also has a product number but it is printed directly on the back of the display whereas the Flip product number is on a sticker!)

 

I think Crucial has a tool you can download that checks your version of Flip. You mentioned this before too, I think. I dont have the Flip yet as its currently in transit to be delivered to me early next week. When I get it I'll download the tool to check for sure. If the link turns out to be the correct SSD (128GB), then its $73 price is a good deal.

Btw, are there other conponents that you know of that I can upgrade also, out of curiosity?

Finally, theres a program called Driver Booster that you can download which searches for the most up to date drivers for your laptop. Its worked well for me on my previous laptop with XP. Do you recommend this program? Would drivers it looks up possibly conflict with the Sony OEM drivers of the Flip?

 

I think Crucial has a tool you can download that checks your version of Flip. You mentioned this before too, I think. I dont have the Flip yet as its currently in transit to be delivered to me by early next week. When I get it I'll download the tool to check for sure. If the link turns out to be the correct SSD (128GB), then its $73 price is a good deal.

Btw, are there other conponents that you know of that I can upgrade also, like a less noisy fan?

Finally, theres a program called Driver Booster that searches for the most up to date drivers for your laptop. Its worked well for me on my previous laptop with XP. Do you recommend this program for the Flip? Would drivers it looks up possibly conflict with the Sony OEM drivers of the Flip?

 

In my eyes the 128GB drive isn't a good deal.
While the read speeds are always specified with 550 MB/s the write speeds differ dramatically.
Also, the 128GB model has the worst GB/$ ratio:

128GB = $74 = 1,73 GB/$ (150 MB/s write speed)
256GB = $117 = 2,19 GB/$ (333 MB/s write speed)
512GB = $223 = 2,30 GB/$ (500 MB/s write speed)

The 512GB model gives you the most GB for your money and writes three times faster but it also costs three times as much as the 128GB model. If you can't afford the 512GB drive then get the 256GB model. It only costs $43 more but has twice the capacity and twice the write speed - which is why I would get it even if I was in a pinch.

By the way: I just found out that the MX100 apparently has a compatibility problem with Acronis drive management software. If you use Acronis software you should check if you need a newer version or get a different SSD.

The fan can be replaced but you need to take out a lot of stuff including the CPU and GPU cooler (can you do this? See the video I linked...).
The problem is: It's not a regular fan you get in an electronics store but a model specifically made for ultrabooks. The only replacement I see is getting exactly the same model - which will produce exactly the same noise. Your best bet is to not let the system get noisy in the first place...

You can easily update the RAM to 16GB by using two 8GB modules if you have less than that.
The downside is that you'll likely need to take modules out. This can be costly.
If you have an 8GB machine (= two 4GB modules) I wouldn't upgrade it.
If you have a 12GB machine I would probably replace one 4GB module with a 8GB module to get slightly higher system speeds ("dual memory channel configuration" - only works with two identical modules).

You can also replace the wireless module to a faster one with little effort but this also depends if your router is able to supply that speed. I'm no expert on this but other people here are.

And, finally, you can quite easily replace the battery on your own. This is nothing to sneeze at as certain competitors now glue their systems shut, like in the new MacBook, where you need to go to a service point to get the battery replaced.

It's your personal decision and I can neither foresee nor exclude what you fear to happen.
Fact is: Conflicts *can* and *do* happen with drivers and especially Windows system software from time to time. As the conflicts are nearly always completely different one can't see them coming, either.

Therefore I don't use auto-updaters and update my systems myself on a regular basis. I try to get information *why* I should update stuff and don't throw it on the machine because it's simply new.

I also never update drivers when they are absolutely brand new but always wait a few days. I have seen to many problems using brand new drivers including total lockups where you need to do a rescue installation. Even if you don't loose data this way, the amount of time needed to get your system back in working form can be staggering and is certainly much higher than if you get informed about the updates before you install them.

Also: There won't be many driver updates in the future for the Flips, anyway. Sony sold the brand and the new owners won't (and are indeed not) continue to supply updates.
This includes graphics drivers as regular drivers from the chip manufacturers often can't be installed on the Flip - they have to be "certified" and delivered by Sony, which Sony practically doesn't do anymore.
The main benefit of newer graphics drivers for older chips (like those in the Flip) - contrary to popular belief - isn't to get more performance out of them but to increase compatibility with games and other programs.
You may be able to install a few driver updates by Intel but most of them only get bigger to support newer chips and don't make older chips perform better or more reliable. But that's only my experience.

What you should definitely do is getting Windows updates, though. It's your decision if you get them to install automatically (you don't need a special tool for this - Windows 8 is configured this way out of the box) or if you do it yourself and wait two days or so. You can guess what I prefer...

 

Hey Calibrator you never fail to impress us with your words. Appreciate your help.

About the battery, are there longer lasting batteries available?

I think I'll first upgrade to Win 8.1 unless the Flip I'm expecting soon has it already. Just to be clear, you said in pm to first get all the updates for Win 8 before I upgrade to 8.1. Is this right? I just cant upgrade directly to Win 8.1 without Win 8's updates?

As for updating drivers through 3rd party programs, I think I'll wait and research the effects of these updates through reviews and forum complaints. Just like you, to be safe.

 

Not that I know of. Definitely not from Sony, though.
I also wouldn't necessarily believe what other (Chinese) vendors claim when they sell compatible replacement batteries on Ebay.
While I have no problem buying such a battery when there isn't an original part available (only good experiences so far with other mobile gadgets) I usually don't believe the higher capacity they claim.
I also have read reports that say that many of those small outfits simply lie and print bigger numbers on those to increase sales.
As the space in the Flip is limited I don't expect true higher capacity batteries to fit in the first place.

Solution: Try to get an external power bank with appropriate connector to charge the Flip on the go.
As I don't have a need for such a product I can't give you a recommendation, though.

This is what I read. As my Flip already came with 8.1 I didn't have to verify it and my main system still runs on Win 7.

 

Hi, Cal. Thanks for the help. My Flip is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. I cant wait to tweak it.

I hope you dont mind me asking you 2 last questions. I feel like I'm burdening you with a flood of questions. Hope youre not pissed. I'll back off after this. Question 1 is, is it possible to replace the Nvidia GPU card for a higher powered one?

Question 2... On my old laptop, I noticed over time the battery would drain while it was charging as I'm doing work on it. Heat would build more than if on battery alone. So, is it a good idea to charge the battery while the laptop is turned off as opposed to charging it while I'm working on it? Will it drain less over time if it was running on battery only and not being charged as I'm working on it?

Sorry for bothering you like this. Thanks for everything, Calibrator.

 

Hi,
no problem!

Question 1: Short answer: Nope, not possible.

Long answer:
You would need a replacement chip that:
- does physically fit, with the same connections as the 735M chip
- does support the "Optimus" technology to be integrated into the system and provide graphics data
- has the same memory bus - and the one on the 735M is 64-bit wide, which is one of the reasons it is relatively slow
- supports the comparably slow memory chips also soldered onto the mainboard (= has the same frequency range as the RAM chips -> which will also limit speed again)
- doesn't get too hot as the cooling system of the Flip is very limited - and indeed Sony opted to throttle the slow 735M as didn't want it to overheat

Even if all those conditions were met, you would still have to find - and pay - somebody to replace the chip. As the chip is packaged as a "ball grid array" this is quite costly as you need special equipment to be able to do that. The 735M isn't socketed and can't be replaced by users unless they are experts in this field (which we both aren't).
I hope that I have convinced you by now that the Flip is good at what it can but can't be changed into a more powerful machine than its creators envisioned.
My old recommendation still stands: If you need a graphics monster laptop then get a different machine.

Question 2:
I regularly charge it while it is in use and I haven't experienced increased noise. Also I strongly doubt that the battery gets heated up so much that the heat will have a thermal influence on the CPU or anything that controls the fan speed.

I mostly use balanced mode and either the fan is slowly spinning (and therefore not very loud) or not at all - regardless if the machine is charging.
If you want you can keep the machine plugged into the charger but have it charge only at night time or perhaps early in the morning - there is a setting for that in the Vaio Control Center!
This option isn't included to reduce noise but to increase battery life as the machine then isn't constantly charged when connected to the charger.