Official Vaio Pro 13 Owners Lounge (SVP13 2013)

After watching this movie in 1080p: ► Planet Earth: Amazing nature scenery (1080p HD) - YouTube
I get this temperatures: https://www.dropbox.com/s/u8fft1x3fi5hoay/HWINFO.jpg

The fan is not anoying me.
I really love my Pro 13"

 

I've done some quick tests and have determined that Firefox 22 in combination with the latest Shockwave Flash 11.8.800.94 requires more CPU and hence brings the temperatures up and spins up the fan. When I use IE from Win8 Start and the same Shockwave Flash version, it requires less CPU and I only hear minimal (tolerable) fan noise. Can someone else confirm this? I have an SVP13/i7/8GB/256GB/touch .

 

Thanks for test.
I see similar speeds. Fan noise feeling depends on place too, i didn't hear it at office and many other places, but at home in silent is noisy.
I made tests with other ultrabooks: Macbook Air, Samsung 7 ultra, all are silent, fan speeds is on constant 2000rpm.

 

As discussed earlier, Sony should just allow for higher CPU temperatures before spinning up the fan, in my opinion.

But I guess the problem is ultimately created by all those people who keep whining about laptops getting "too hot" on their knees ... so Sony had to choose between rather aggressie fan management or rather agressive customers

Seriously, though: It would be great if the fan settings in the Vaio Control Centre didn't just restrain heat by throttling the CPU, but also increased the temperature threshold at which the fan starts to kick in.

The fan doesn't seem to dissipate that much heat anyway - at least in my case. Even under heavy stress, the air that's dissipated through the side vents is no more than a lukewarm breeze, hardly warmer than ambient temp. Might as well raise the temp threshold and wait for some heat to build up that's actually worth spinning the fan for ...

 

Sony didn't think about your knees, look at bottom display edge
For me it was more important drawback than wifi problems, I can use wifi dongle and wait for working drivers but there is no workaround for noise.

 

Personally, I actually don't really find the bottom display edge that uncomfortable when using the Vaio Pro on my lap.

Noise really isn't a huge problem for me either - but I think the Pro could be even more silent, especially in light use scenarios. As mentioned earlier, the fact that the fan starts spinning at 40°C CPU temp is just silly. At those temperatures, the heatsink probably isn't any warmer than 35°C ... and the air that's moved by the fan hardly exceeds 30°C. With ~25-27°C ambient temperature, that's just a joke and doesn't make much sense.

As I'm typing this, the HWiNFO monitor reports a CPU temp of 42°C and a system temp of ~37°C. Ambient temperature currently is ~26°C.
The fan is spinning slowly and the fan noise is rather unobtrusive - but given that the air that comes out of the side vents doesn't even feel warm (as a matter of fact, I hardly feel any airflow AT ALL when putting my hand right in front of the vents) - it's basically just noise without much effect.

I'd assume that if they just increased the temp threshold for the fan to ~50°C , I'd not have any fan noise at all during my normal type of use (typing and web browsing). Wasted potential for a really dead-silent system in my case. It's not a huge problem, but certainly a real pity.

Fan noise when watching an HD movie or doing some more intensive stuff is more than acceptable for me - after all, they do need to get the heat out of that tiny and light system somehow. What really bothers me, as mentioned above, is that the fan even spins when there's hardly any heat to move.

 

Anmipe wrote:

"I'd assume that if they just increased the temp threshold for the fan to ~50°C , I'd not have any fan noise at all during my normal type of use (typing and web browsing). Wasted potential for a really dead-silent system in my case. It's not a huge problem, but certainly a real pity."

I agree.

And the important question: How can one change the fan kick-in level to 50 Celsius (or even 55 Celsius)? Is this something the user can do? Or: Can Sony make a software update that one can download to make this change? Or can such a change only be done hardwarewise by Sony?

Perhaps new editions of the Pro will have a higher kick-in level for the fan?

Anyone who knows?

 

The only way to change it would be a BIOS-fix by Sony. There's nothing you can do on a software-level. Don't even bother downloading any fan-control software. Won't work. It's all done on BIOS-level (for very good reasons) and can't be manually configured by the user.

 

Anmipe wrote:

"The only way to change it would be a BIOS-fix by Sony."

If the system can handle the increased temperature, I hope Sony will offer such a BIOS-fix.

 

Nevertheless I will try this Notebook Fancontrol software:

01-nbfc-main - SkyDrive | Awesome Screenshot

 

Fan noise in vaio is nothing new.
Sometimes sony made bios update to reduce noise like in VPCSB190X, but sometimes sony is ignoring problem.

 

Already tried it, not working since there is no profile for the the VAIO Pro.

 

It was clear (to me) that there was no existing profile yet, so that you need to create your own one ... -.-

 

Fan noise.

Back on page 35ish Laurent reported returning his original machine. Maybe your fan noise is also due to the reasons Laurent gave.

 

So my pro 13 arrived today, amazing device, no wifi problems yet, screen is amazing, it is light and not flimsy as people say. Sheet battery is tiny, was expecting something larger. The trackpad on the other hand is horrible, the gestures are not always being recognized and it does weird things. Maybe will check the drivers to see if there is a newer one for the trackpad

 

My replacement Sony Vaio Pro 13 arrived this morning. Initially, wifi only showed 2 bars despite me sitting only 10 feet away. I updated the driver from the link in page 82 of this thread, and since then, rock solid full bar wifi signal, even upstairs! It's not dropped signal even once!!

Even the trackpad is behaving itself and has not failed me even once today!

 

What are you guys using for bags/sleeves for the Pro 13? I like the look of the official Sony sleeve but I'd like something a little cheaper (it's $50). Would any bag or sleeve for the Macbook Air 13 work?

 

Ok it seems my gestures are not working for some reason, and there are no options to turn them on, hmm. maybe I can't seem to find it.

ok edit, seems reinstalling the drivers has solved the issue with the gestures and the mouse and it is working much more stable. Will post more after I get a few more hours on the device.

 

So, what's the return policy on this? I want to buy but have my reservations given the things I'm hearing about heat and fan noise. If I buy and decide it's not for me, how long do I have to return it, and how much is return shipping?

 

The new drivers released 7/18 resolved my wifi issue. The connection no longer fluctuates between 2 and full bars. Though I never did experience complete drop offs.

 

Well, if it was easy, it would already be availble to everyone and the noise issue would be solved. Sadly, it's not that easy, but if you've got a working profile, thanks for sharing

 

As far as I can see, that software you refer to basically manipulates the fan management by faking false temperature readings. It's an interesting, creative idea and a potential short-term workaround, but I personally wouldn't want to trust that solution in long-term use.

I'd rather try to alert SONY to the lack of optimization - and hope they pick up on it.

 

Don't hold you breath. Sony has been warned long ago and will probably do nothing (they nearly never do).

 

Hi guys, just bought a Pro 13 yesterday, i7, 8g etc

WHAT IS UP WITH THE FAN NOISE

it'd drive anyone crazy, how was this ever approved for release

I also has a problem with Bluetooth constantly using 30% of cpu. I did the vaio updates, and that problem is gone. I also set the fan on Silence mode, and it is much quieter.

1. how much performance am I giving up by having it in Silence mode permanently
2. how are you guys dealing with this problem? I am seriously thinking about returning it. even when fan noise is low it's still high-pitch and very irritating

 

Ad1. At silent mode + lower performance (I don't remeber exactly) I had problems with playing movies as 1080p.
Ad2. I got money back, noise was more frustrating than wifi problems and touchpad gestures.

Why in other computers, like MBA, I don't need to choice performance/battery silent/performance and everything is working fast in silent?

 

The fan noise hasn't bothered me since I installed Windows 7 without all the bloatware crap you get preinstalled. I think McAfee was the worst offender, it kept eating 25% of the CPU in the background and spinning the fan needlessly.

 

Please somebody tell me that there's a way to make that thing silent... just got my Pro 13 and I'm this close to sending it back. Even on silence mode the noise is unbearable.

 

Anyone know?

 

go buy it from the store like I did. I think I have 14 days.

 

I was told that it's 30 days and at least here the law dictates that return shipping is free. Bought mine from Sony online store.

 

Just ordered a SVP1321ECXB (i5/8GB/256GB) from Rakuten! They have $250 back in rewards until tomorrow and there is the $100 Sony rebate. Can't wait to join the club. I already have a VPCZ1 i5 512GB and an SVZ i7 512GB so I know I am overdoing it but I love Sony notebooks. I would love to see encouraging posts from others saying the fan noise is bearable because reading this thread gives me the impression almost everyone is having problems. But most of the time happy users remain silent on this forum.

 

guho wrote:

"But most of the time happy users remain silent on this forum."

You may be right. But it may also be so, that many unhappy users (because of fan noise) don't know about this forum or of other reasons also remain silent and don't contribute to this forum. I will guess that this is the case for most users. And furthermore: There seem to be so much objective reasons (according to physics and building/designing/slimness - and the temperature that the fan kicks in, etc.) that strongly indicates that fan noise (heat dissipation) really IS an issue for the Vaio Pro.

If so, as I think, I must say I am the first to be very disappointed, because I like Sony VAIO a lot, and I still have to use my far too old VAIO TZ from 2007, or I must look for a Macbook Air 11. After I have seen (and barely heard!) the Air that a friend of mine is using, I will say that it is a beautiful machine, that has a good enough screen, and IS DEAD SILENT. Why cannot Sony make a VAIO Pro that not emits so much and frequent fan noise?!

 

Right now the fan noise is just fine (after installing some updates etc.) Hopefully this is the normal level

 

To put things into perspective: In normal use, my Vaio Pro isn't any louder than my old Vaio TZ. It's only when really pushing the machine (e.g. when running 3D games) that it gets considerably more noisy. So my guess is that people who really freak out about fan noise either drew a bad unit or regularly use their ultrabook for more intensive computing tasks.

As far as I'm concerned, I do think the Pro could be more silent (given that it's bigger than the TZ and consumes less power under light use, it really shouldn't produce any fan noise at all while just typing in Word or doing some light web browsing) - so I understand and support people asking for less fan noise; but it's certainly no deal-breaker for me. It's just a really subjective topic.

As for the Macbook Air: It's a great machine, but its screen doesn't even come close to the quality of the Vaio Pro's. So you basically just have to know your priorities.

 

Does anyone know if there's a weight difference between the touchscreen and non-touchscreen versions? Also, I've heard that the heat is pretty bad with this laptop, can anyone confirm that?

 

Yes, there is a difference as my non-touch Vaio Pro 13 weighs just a little over 932g. Heat is very fine with me, no problems there.

 

I seriously think this fan noise issue is being blown way out of proportion. Give your new laptop a few days to settle in -- to fully update (both Vaio and Windows), index, complete other background tasks etc. You can't honestly think that a few hours into being turned on for the first time this thing will be completely silent???

If you're running 1080p videos or playing games, I think that's ridiculous to complain about fan noise. However, I will run a test video later, and maybe even record it and post it to YouTube.

But honestly, when just browsing the web and typing documents, there is NO FAN NOISE.

Also, new WiFi driver seems to be pretty darn good. Not that I had problems to begin with, but very satisfied with the performance.

Still flaky touchpad at times but overall tolerable.

 

mistah_g wrote:

"If you're running 1080p videos or playing games, I think that's ridiculous to complain about fan noise. However, I will run a test video later, and maybe even record it and post it to YouTube.

But honestly, when just browsing the web and typing documents, there is NO FAN NOISE."

I am very glad to hear you saying this, and I also agree with your initial thoughts about that one has to "prepare" (my word) the machine for some time before one can evaluate fan activity and noise.

I will mainly be using the machine (Pro 11) for browsing, email and Word, so I am very interested in getting feedback from users who can tell whether there is some or no fan noise under such use.

Please let us know if you upload some video/audio on YouTube. That would be great.

 

I suspect the Vaio Pro 11 may run a little hotter and louder than the Pro 13 since there's less room for cooling in the 11" model yet it runs the same CPU/GPU/display resolution as the 13" Pro. That might account for some differences in opinion here.

Also yes: you really must let the updates run and indexing get finished before evaluating noise. The first day is a noisy one for many Windows 8 laptops. Also specify if you get the fan noise when plugged into power or when running on batteries. The Pro runs at full speed more often and cools the charging battery when plugged in, so I've noticed my Pro 13's fans a lot when plugged in, but it's near silent unplugged.

 

Ive used my Pro 13 for about 2 weeks now, and after the inital batches of updates and uninstalling bloatware, fans has been pretty much dead-silent for me. Id say the touchpad is the worst part of this otherwise splendid machine for sure. Im really having a hard time getting to befriend it.

 

Hey guys, I've been following this thread for a long time and now I've decided to finally order one of these beauties! I've wondered if anyone could tell me if there's a big difference between the i5 and the i7. I'm not doing any gaming on the Vaio Pro but I'm certainly gonna watch HD videos, sometimes even 2 videos at the same time and I sometimes have multiple (10+) tabs open at the same time. Would it make any difference or does this only depend on the amount of RAM?

I thought that since the i7 is faster, when I'm limiting the processor (e.g. to 75%) to curb fan noise, would it then make a substantial difference between the two processors or will I still be able to do all kinds of things when the i5 is limited?

 

delete please.

 

I've ordered this one, customised to fit the Pro 13:

MacBook Air case 13" - SIMPLE | eBay

Also, they customise sleeves to fit the Vaio, the Alcantara one being the special one:

iPad case Kindle cover MacBook sleeve iPhone slip case: Apple MacBook Air Sleeves

 

If you're based in the UK & bought it from Sony online, they have a 30-day free returns. TNT picked mine up from home.

 

OK, encouraging post. The fan noise doesn't bother me, but then I don't play games or even watch movies. Right, now typing this the laptop is dead silent. I also keep the fan setting on quiet.

 

woops post gone

 

Any chance you or someone else could re-upload the wallpapers included with this computer?

 

Hopefully this link works

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B09gpiXbLFqJMmhqSE93dHV2NlE/edit?usp=sharing

I added the wallpapers to my drive account, if it doesn't work, please let me know.

 

Just received my Vaio Pro 13 with i7, 512GB SSD (SATA *sigh*) and 8GB RAM from the online store here in the UK

I got the Red one, and can I just say... it's AWFUL.

The red is a shiny plastic that picks up fingerprints and looks dirty very quickly, and the trackpad and keyboard surround look pink! Not the look I was going for at all! Just rung Sony to see about getting it exchanged for a Carbon Black one, so I'll see what they say.

Also, not very happy about the noise, heat and trackpad situations...

Not quite the quality I was hoping for after owning 3 Z's in the past =[

 

I am thinking to get the 512GB SSD setup. What is the make for the SSD and its performance? Thanks.