Official Vaio Pro 13 Owners Lounge (SVP13 2013)

I went from a 17" 1080p to the 13.3" 1080p Vaio Pro. Haven't really noticed a difference in performance, my workflow or my efficiency. Commonly switching between Chrome, Sublime Text and Photoshop without any trouble.

I was concerned about designing on such a small, but high resolution laptop but it just hasn't been any issue.

 

When not on the start (metro) page, bring up the 'charms' (click upper right corner or drag in from the right side of the screen/touchpad) and click the 'settings' (bottom charm). Under the icons that show up at the bottom of the 'settings' tab you will find "Change PC Settings". Click that and look for 'wireless' in the list on the left side of the page. There you will find toggles for bluetooth, wifi, and NFC.
As far as using it, that's in the control panel under 'devices and printers', 'add a device'
Also accessible in the list above, "Change PC Settings", there is an entry 'devices' where you can add a device, such as a bluetooth mouse.

 

Quick Q re both 11 & 13: What's the keyboard tray and screen bezel material? Still aluminium?

 

SSD is not upgradable. But the SD card option is really kool, it slots in completely unlike the MBA or Samsung and you can't see it unless you are looking for it. As soon as I got my 128 GB Pro, I plugged in a 64 GB SSD. It gives me a r/w speed of 20-22 MBps which is pretty ossum in my book ! 600 MB movie gets copied in 30 secs flat !

 

Are you sure?
Upgrade the Sony Vaio Pro 2013 Haswell Ultrabook with PCIe SSD - YouTube

 

Something funny happened to me today: my fan died.

It had been making grinding noises for a while, but now, it's 100% dead. I tried to get Sony to fix it, but despite my 3-yr on-site service plan, they claim they don't have parts and I should ship it somewhere with a 2 weeks turn-around (nice!).

Anyway, the interesting news is that the SVP13 makes a great fanless machine. At near-idle, temps hover in the low 50s. Temps creep up with load, but I can watch a Youtube full screen HD stream and only get to about 70C, which is still fairly safe.

I don't want to risk anything, so I haven't gone crazy with high loads (booting is probably what bumps the temp the highest - around 70C also).

But still, I am quite flabbergasted: I now own the perfect Haswell laptop. Ultra-portable, fast and 100% silent.

If only Sony (or someone else) tuned the fan controlled algorithm a bit more than what they have already done, it could be an absolutely incredible machine.

Now I need a new fan somehow - but I may install a switch somewhere

Laurent

 

Interesting phenomenon, I wonder if this has happened to other users (checked Sony boards?)
2 questions
1) Are those temps from stock thermal paste? Did you apply a repaste?
2) did you change bios setting to make the fan kick in at a higher temp? (as instructed in some previous posts?)

 

I still seem to be missing some drivers. Some F key buttons don't work, nothing happens when I change power settings etc. I've downloaded all the drivers I can find on the webpage for my Vaio model. Is there something I'm missing like a Vaio program that checks your system to see whether your firmware / drivers are up to date?

 

I'm using a 128GB SDXC card with my Pro 11
it has a 45/60 write/read speed! and it sells for $75 or so at amazon

 

Looks like there is a new update out for the Control Cent.
Sony : SVP1321C5E updates | Download updates for SVP1321C5E | SVP1321C5E
Fixes: Improve the USB charge function.

Also windows 7 drivers are up for those who downgraded/want to downgrade

 

What is the wifi card on the vaio pro? Are people still having disconnects or issues with it?

 

I bought my machine from MS store so it is free from bloatware. The i7 is slightly faster than the i5 so both can handle most of whatever you do. If you are a student, I strongly recommend looking into the MS store units. I got mine for $1331 plus taxes minus $100 mail in rebate minus fatwallet 4% cashback = $1231

No fan issues

 

Thanks a lot for this very interesting post. I think it's too much to hope for at this moment of technological development, but It certainly IS very good news at the VAIO Pro within pretty good limits can function without a cooling fan. Or: At least that the cooling fan doesn't have to kick in before the inner surroundings have become much hotter than the far too low degree-level that made the fan start in the early machines, produces some months ago.

Perhaps the refresh that is to be expected later in Fall will have the fan problem solved, and also the WiFi issue?

 

No, it's all stock. I am trying my new silent config at the office now and it's still great.

Laurent

 

Silvershot, what is bloatware?
So yesterday I been to the Sony Store, I was expecting to see what I saw at the MS store, i7, 128ssd and 8 gig of ram for $1499...sony didn't have it and he was quite surprised as to WHERE I seen it...and I had to tell him, he said basically it was done specifically by them...
I saw the black and the silver again....my...I fell in love with the black now!! lol. He said its not called carbon black but just black. The lighted keyboard looks nicer than the silver...so I really don't know here. The thing is I didn't want to buy a basic one, $1249 with 4gig of ram, 128ssd and i5...so the only option he gave me was the 256ssd, 8 gig of ram and i7...for $1800. well, I don't know whether I d want to spend so much money on a laptop but then it is going to last me and it will be really fast too. help Would you guys spend so much? or the basic one is just fine? I do want the 8 gig of ram tho.

I can always buy it from MS Store for 1499 for the 128ssd with 8 gig of ram and i7...but then for 300 more why not get the 256??
Any suggestions?
still, Black or silver )))
Thanks wiclee and silvershot xxx

 

oh, plus he didn't know about the 256 ssd free upgrade!! where did you guys see it??

 

Are you talking about physical MS store or online MS store? please clarify. >.<

What is your source for this information?

I haven't gotten my laptop yet but I can tell you a few things.
1) Bloatware is the Free/Trial programs that Sony takes the liberty to install on your laptop. Either because it is a Sony trial product or a company Sony affiliated with to help promote their product. Basically, its EXTRA (most of the time useless) stuff that DOESNT come with the original Windows 8.
2) It seems to me that your Sony representative does not know his product or the product his company is selling. Basically, the Carbon Black and Carbon Silver has touch screen. The Regular Black does not have touch screen. But I believe the regular version can only be purchased online through Sony Store(correct me if I'm wrong).
3) My priority would be the 8GB of Ram and i5 or i7 depending on your preference (i5 for me but if i7 is cheaper I wouldn't mind) SSD can be compromised because we know it is upgradeable in future and rumour has it Samsung will be releasing PCIe SSDs towards the end of the year (even without rumours, logic tells us that if this technology exists, someone is likely going to make more of it) Right now, just get a very fast SDXC for less than $100 and plug it in the SD slot is what I would do.

Free upgrade is only on the online Europe Sony stores at the moment I believe.

 

Hi all

I have to buy a new laptop and my priority is its weight and that's why I am just looking at ultrabooks. I am kind of undecided between Pro 13 and Acer Aspire S7. I am a die-hard Sony fan and I prefer to buy the Pro. However, I have read very negative reviews in Amazon. Also, in another forum a lot of people are having trouble with its wifi. I read in this forum that most of the problems such as wifi have been taken care of in the recent stocks. Can you tell me if these problems have all been solved? I have read a lot pages of this forum but in the other forum people are talking very negatively about this laptop.

Thanks

 

Ryuuga, thanks for your input. I thought it did look the same like I ve seen in the MS Store in Boston...so lets say they are both Carbon Black (he kept saying that carbon black is slightly greyish....there were areas around the keyboard at the edges that was slightly greyish, but the lid is NOT, its black).

Now shall I get it from sony then...at 1800... so confused....I know I want a fast computer, I don't do gaming, got two external hard drives, but then I wouldn't wanna end up with only 70 gig of space after all the software on the laptop...and I do like to use windows movie maker to put all my travel movies (from my camera) and my pictures in a slide show...so I do need maybe 8 gig of ram..but 1800 is a lot of money

 

Also just checked MS on the phone, the student price for the 256 ssd 8 ram and i7 is sold out online, and i7, 128 and 8 ram is only in silver

 

And I like the black now lol

 

Sony has done nothing so far (apart from the WLAN driver updates) to sort out WiFi in the Pro. The 21st of August update improved performance but have not fixed the issue for good.
Knowledgeable folks believe the WiFi issue to be a design flow with the unit antennas and, based on my own observations, I agree with this point of view. Based on this, the issue should affect all units. Users who claim to have "no issue" either operate the unit only in high (> -50 dBm) signal strength areas or have no experience to notice that something is wrong. That's my 2p. Hope this helps!

 

Hmm. Nickolai, something tells me its not worth spending 1800 then....might just get the basic...

 

Jessie, beware that the WiFi will not work perfectly even in the base model - make sure you buy from a place that accepts returns!

 

thanks for the pictures. it looks really good. now i just hope that they will ship outside of germany lol

 

Thanks Nickolai for your reply. I guess I have to buy the acer now or wait for a permanent solution from sony.

 

Nickolai, but I d rather waste 1249 then 1800..cos then I would be more pissed off!
Re returns, I only have a week in the states...do you think I would be able to return it to another Sony Store across Europe?
I plan to buy it from sony .
Also, do you know of an alrenative? a light laptop...I might go to Best Buy tomorrow and see what else they got.
Last time I went I almost bought the Samsung Series 7...
The first time I went to Best Buy, I was in love with the Asus, cos its also very light.
What version of Asus is latest?

thanks

 

The saving is not worth the risk IMHO, you may run into issues returning the USA sourced unit into a European store.
The only equivalent ultrabook currently available is the acer aspire S7 392 (392 stands for Haswell variant, which is the one you may want). Has no reported significant issues except for the questionable keyboard!
Not sure if released yet in the US, but the new Samsung Ativ 9 plus looks good if not too pricey on paper - worth a look?
The latest Asus with Haswell has not hit the stores yet.
As neither Acer or Samsung are sold in the UK yet, I ended up returning the Pro and buying myself a last year Vaio svz1311 on eBay. Very happy with it and considerable saving too.:thumbsup: There are few of these on sale in the Sony outlet store as well. Last year tech, but very light and works.

 

Asking again, What wifi card brand guys? Still wifi disconnects?

 

It is amazing how Sony puts out varying updates for the same device across regions. In India we have a very kool VAIO Care update which enables Windows 8.1 support - very nice for 8.1 RTM users like me . Here you go: VAIO Care Update version 8.3.0.08220 : Download : Sony India!

 

Bezel is the thin lining next around the screen, since you don't mind a black one on silver machine you should be fine.
The silver keys are very good looking in person & may be you will like it better than black after a while!
Unlike other Acers, S7 is a entirely different class but if u decide to buy it then buy the 2nd generation due to battery issue
I have had the pleasure of using quite a few Thinkpads, Sony SZ, then some HP/Dell thanks to change in corporate policies Then Acer S7 at home etc. From Tomorrow onwards it will be Vaio Pro 13 (I5, 128, Black)!!.just manged to mine yesterday night only

 

Since this is forum , mostly people discuss doubts or when they have issues. there should be many people who are having good machines but they may not be discussing it in forum since no issues. if u go through the last 50 pages you might notice that many issues have been solved or a way around is already found. S 7 - make sure u choose the 2nd generation since battery is a bust on the first one, since i have both i personally prefer the vaio

 

So how would you compare your s7 with the vaio pro? In terms of keyboard etc.

 

What turned me away from Acer S7 is the weird keyboard (also its a little more heavy than Vaio)
How would you compare the S7 with Vaio Pro??

 

Thanks for your reply. I also prefer the Vaio because of weight and design (like keyboard). So do you mean that you don't have any wifi problem with your wifi?

 

My S7 is first generation n not 2nd gen (2nd one has bit more higher travel). For first impression - for sure the vaio pro has more travel than S7. to be honest havent typed much on the pro yet, may be will know more after few days

 

Quick comparision - screen - both are gorgeous & far better than many screens on market
Colour - S7 comes only in White but Pro comes in Black & silver, is matter of personal choice.
Key board - pro has more travel & more "chiclet" type, while S7 is still a bit recessed, i prefer the Vaio
Weight - 300gms difference is DEFINITELY noticeable
Flex: Many complained about CF flex on Vaio , but to be honest , in daily use its not as bad as its shown on reviews.
Battery life - No comparision at all as of now, S7 mostly 3 hours

 

At home actually i have no LAN whatsoever & rely solely on WIFI. After purchase , first i tried connecting at Sony store, it was OK. After i brought it home , connected to WIFI & used for about 2 hours downloading windows update (50+updates) followed by Vaio update (5-6) followed by manual bios update. As you can imagine the machine rebooted many times during this & every time connected automatically. i didn't notice much diff in speed in real use but haven't measured it against other machines. Not Using it much since no screen protector & no MS office until now. if any issues once i start using in next few days i will report ! Anyone has some easy link to to test it n compare?

 

Why ask something that has been covered zillion times? The adapter is Intel N7260 and the question is answered almost every second page.

 

Guys, you have 80 pages of complaints in Sony community, negative reviews all over Amazon and Cnet, but there is always hope? BE warned for the last time: the WiFi has a FLOW. The fact that someone has bought the thing and it is downloading something from the internet does not cut it! If you want to leave with compromised WiFi or buy a USB wifi dongle - go on, spend your $$$ on a flowed product, because its light and nice looking. Entirely your choice.

 

The problem is that the Sony's have been one of the earliest available Haswell / AC machines with the exception of Apples which gets for the most part a free pass. I have *exactly* the same issues with the Air as I do on the Duo.

Either Broadcom / Atheros / Intel fix this issue before the bigger deluge of the same machines go onto the market, or we get way more complaints. It's not a Sony-specific issue FYI.

Also FYI, I have a rock-steady (Sony) connection and a steady-as-it-can-be (Apple) connection when I connected both the Duo and the Air's to G access points. I'm waiting for AC access points to see if connecting both to them will solve the problems as well.

 

The fact that you own many laptops with WiFi problems does not really make you an expert in the field. Also none of them is the Pro. Please research the subject, better with hands on experience, before jumping to conclusions. While Duo and Pro may have something in common for the problem to arise, Air's problem will be most likely different. There are Haswell laptops out with the same card and working WiFi...check out the intel wireless community threads. I am convinced that the Pro issue is very Sony specific, and I thought long and hard before returning the unit, as it suited my needs otherwise.

 

Any idea how to get the screen brightness buttons / F-keys working after a fresh install? Thanks!

 

Nickolai, what s wrong with the keyboard on Acer S7?
Re Returning a Sony, I have asked at the store and he said its not a problem to return it overseas and warranty covers me everywhere, he asked me which country and he confirmed. I think all the EU countries are ok with their warranty.

When I was at best buy they had a Samsung Ativ 7....is it the same as Ativ 9 plus?? it was in silver and it was on special for $999 with 128ssd, 4 ram and i5. Saw it two weeks ago in Boston.

OK so how big is svz Vaio? Might have seen it at sony too...they had a 14 inch laptop, quite light....and I had never seen it before...

Something else: the black I have seen at sony is not the same Black I had seen at MS Stores. I compared the two pictures I had taken...The MS Stores one is carbon black, but the sony store one is BLACK and looks so much nicer!! no fingerprints whatsoever!
I guess there are a few choices here in the US too! I thought the just BLACK is only available in Europe..

I will have a look at svz1311. Please let me know what you think of the Samsung Ativ 7 that I have seen in Best Buy.
Cheers Nickolai!

Jess

 

Just to be sure that people get an independent perspective, I am no Laptop tech expert but I am quite a significant business user with Pro at my side for the past couple of months. Once I changed the "Wireless adapter settings" in Power options to Maximum Performance (a Win8 issue, not specific to Sony), I have faced 0 wifi challenges. Incidentally I have a Thinkpad X230 as well, Sony's wifi is as good as the X230's and this is across locations. So, you know. Thanks.

 

Thanks! Let us know after you do some more testing. How do you find the trackpads?

 

Here at a soony Store, he confirmed it is Black not carbon black....and it is touchscreen...I took a picture, and while I was home I compared it with the picture of the black I took at MS store...the black colour of MS Store is different.....the BLACK at sony is much nicer..

 

I got also a vaio pro 13 after I read this thread for a while and thinking about the pros and cons. So thanks to all who contributed here!

The look and the weight is very impressive and I don't see any problems with the flexibility of the body. The wifi works well after I deactivated the bluetooth via the device manager, but this shouldn't be a long term solution.
I got the fan noise issues as well, as soon as I do more than just browsing the web (e.g. while watching youtube videos for longer than 3 minutes). It's not really loud, but kinda high-pitched. I tried the suggested fixes (disable USB selective power saving, disable bluetooth) but it did not help.

Another annoying thing is the trackpad. Especially the two finger scrolling is not working really well. I don't like using an external mouse, so it's important for me.

So I guess I am going to send it back to sony, even though there aren't many alternatives on the european market right now. Maybe I am going to try a macbook air...

 

Try to play with Synaptics Touchpad settings, after configuring it well I stopped using mouse when going somewhere.

My tips:
- set right upper corner of a touchpad as a middle click, it allows you to open links just by taping touchpad in this place
- set edges (right side and low-bottom) of a touchpad to be used to scrool
- increase sensitivity

There are many options, try what fits you best.

 

@szycha3h

how did you install the clean version of W8? Any issues with your actual order? Yesterday I have also ordered pro 13 with battery free and SSD free, but I'm not sure if they will verify my order positive.