Official Vaio Pro 13 Owners Lounge (SVP13 2013)

Running crystalmark I get seq 424/291 and a cpu load of system at 10-20%, I dont know how this is against my system without bitlocker since I'm not going back to a nonencrypted system...

 

someone else here mentioned they were having sleep problems so I thought I would update my experience again

I sent the pc back to sony for repair to fix the freezing while in sleep mode after giving up on solving a driver/local network type problem. they replaced the motherboard(?!) and now it is gone. have never experienced this with a new pc before but glad its fixed

also to chime in with my experience regarding the wifi... I live in a small apartment, 2.4Ghz band slows down from 10-->4Mbps just moving into the bedroom.. however 5Ghz band works smooth 14Mbps everywhere.. clearly seems to be a hardware problem, don't feel like sending it back for repair again as most here haven't seemed to have much luck with that. It still feels like sony released this machine as a beta version... from now on its back to sticking with asus and Lenovo!

 

You'll then be missing out on the greatest ultrabook of them all, the AB9+ from Samsung!

 

Official Win 7 Drivers out!

 

Does anyone have any additional information on setting the SVP13 up with dual monitors? I bought two Dell U2412M's ( Amazon.com: Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24-Inch Screen LED-lit Monitor: Computers & Accessories) and am trying to figure out what splitter or hub I need to buy to make this setup work, as the monitors are 1920x1200.

For clarity, I'd be happy running just the two monitors with the laptop screen closed, but two monitors + the laptop screen all in use as extended displays would be great.

Maybe this would work?? Amazon.com: Plugable UGA-2K-A USB 2.0 to VGA/DVI/HDMI Adapter for Windows and Mac OS X 10.8.3 Multiple Monitors up to 2048x1152 / 1920x1080 Each (DisplayLink DL-195 Chipset): Computers & Accessories

Thanks for any suggestions
Austin

 

I don't have an answer but I've been wondering this as well. Its one of the downsides to this laptop since Haswell should be able to support 3 monitors but only have a single video out means it can only do 2. Getting a USB adapter is akin to adding an extra video card to handle it, which should be unnecessary, I believe. It's one thing that makes me hesitant on the SVP over the Acer S7. I've had both and returned both, hoping a later production run clears up some issues but don't know which one to get.

 

As far as I know, there is no way to have two monitors on a laptop (or PC) if there's no *two* output from the video card. You would need something like HDMI/DVI and VGA output, for example. If there's only one output, only one monitor can be plugged in. I really doubt some type of splitter can be used as the multi monitor output needs to be handled by the operating system. The only thing I'd imagine would be possible is to have a splitter that allows display the same output on many different monitors. But the multi monitor functionality of the operating system and video card (you know, being able to have one app opened in one monitor and another app in the other monitor and mouse over both monitors) can't be available with splitting.

EDITED: It seems I was wrong, LaurentR says below you can have multiple monitors through USB3. I remember reading about this before but it was with USB2 (Sony tried that) and the bandwidth was so limited, 1080p was impossible. So USB3 opens the doors to many fun things. You still need a docking station though, and many people have problems with this technology like lagging video and flickering image, so careful with that...

 

There was some discussion on this around page 45 of this thread Here is my post.

Basically, you can use the HDMI port up to 1080p.

You can also use a USB3 display controller (using the DisplayLink controller). These can be found as part of "USB3 docking stations" offered by many manufacturers. The DisplayLink website has a sampling of those here. Your link points to device using an older USB2 version of the DisplayLink chip, which I wouldn't recommend.

A few comments about these:
* DisplayLink has several versions of their chip and the various manufacturers using the chip also have different configurations of the type of ports, number of ports and max resolution, so shop carefully. DisplayLink and manufacturers specs are not all accurate, especially on the max supported resolution.
* They can support one or two displays depending on the chip used.
* Resolution can be up to 1152p or 1600p depending on the chip used.
* The technology uses the CPU and a driver to emulate a display and send commands through USB3, so the more activity you have on the screen, the higher the CPU utilization is going to be. If you are doing mild work and are very sensitive to the fan noise of the SVP13, doing work through a DisplayLink will be slightly noisier than though the HDMI. YMMV - probably a non-issue to most people.

I personally use the Targus docking station, which has two (1152p) digital ports (one HDMI, with a provided DVI adapter, one DVI). So that one can drive a dual-display config. However, for the fan noise issue mentioned above, I choose to run my main display off the SVP13 HDMI and my secondary display (less often used) from the Targus docking station.

At the time of the writing of the original post, there were no available USB3 docking station with support for dual-1200p resolutions, although the DisplayLink chipset could support it. This may have changed now.

I can confirm you can use 1 HDMI + 1 USB3 + LCD panel (that's 3) or 2 USB3 + LCD panel (that's also 3). You may be able to do more (2 USB3 + HDMI + LCD panel) or even more with 2 USB3 docking stations, but I haven't tried.

Laurent

 

Hey folks!

I've posted once before in this forum quite a while ago, but that's history, and since I've received my Pro 13

Sadly though, while my WiFi work, fan speed is tolerable, and it flexes a lot less than I was led to believe, I have a different problem:
The ambient light sensor likes going haywire. Under certain conditions it'll light up the keyboard, just to dim it again moments later, and then it'll light it up again, and dim, etc. This just repeats itself. In bright light it won't light up at all, and I have no issues, and the same goes for properly dark light. In a room with a single bulb though, middle of the night, it has no idea what to do. I also get screen flicker, regardless of the adjust to ambient light feature in vaio control being switched off... A bit annoying, you'll understand.

So far I've got a solution for each problem though: Max screen brightness, won't change it depending on the ambient light, and as for keyboard I set it to either stay on permanently or stay off. It works, but it's not ideal.

Oh, and I also seem to have the high-pitched electric whine, which doesn't disappear along with turning off Bluetooth. It's a tolerable noise though, but I'd preferably get rid of it.

Any suggestions?

[UPDATE]:
I've figured out that the whining noise comes from something related to the screen. I noticed as it turned off (I was typing this from my desktop) the noise went away immediately, and then I thought to test whether the noise would be different based on screen content. With a full-black screen it's a bit noisy, with a full-white screen there is hardly any noise. Any ideas what that could be? Similar experiences?

 

Recap from my review on P155

[The display is constantly flickering, the backlight goes dim slightly and back to normal on a regular basis. Upon investigation, this has something to do with Intel Power Save feature. Once I turn off the Power Saving of Intel HD Graphics, the Flickering is greatly reduced. (Control Panel>Intel HD Graphics>Select “Power” then “On Battery” and turn off the Power Saving Technology). However, if you want to totally stop the flickering, you should go to Vaio Control Center/Image Quality/Display Brightness and turn off “Set whether to sense the brightness and automatically adjust the display brightness” accordingly. ]

[Some users have complained about the High pitch noise coming out from the Vaio Pro especially near the Assist Button area but that didn’t happen to me. Some have found a way to stop it by going to Power option and turn off the USB Selective Suspend Settings. (Control Panel > Power Options > Change Plan Settings > Change Advance Plan Settings > scroll down to USB Settings and Disable “USB Selective Suspend Settings” ]

 

I ordered mine from sony.co.uk. Mine estimated delivery is next week wednesday. Now I am worried about these issues too. Also I found out that new Macbook Air has similar problems. 109 pages disccussion about new macbook air wifi issues. https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5100655?start=915&tstart=0

Maybe problem with Intel wifi card?

 

Anyone know where I can get matte screen protector? Are there any skins to protect the body of the laptop?

 

For all the 8.1 RTM users :

Official Intel links for the beta 10.x drivers. No TV flickering issues ! Intel graphics software UI works and IE 11/VS graphics are working. (aka all common issues with 9.x are solved !)

Intel® Iris™ and HD graphics Beta Driver for Windows 8.1* 64
Intel® Iris™ and HD graphics Beta Driver for Windows 8.1* 32

To install : Setup won't work so extract the content and manually update the graphics driver from device manager and point to the extracted folder.

Cheers.

 

i have one extra from the 2 pack kit. bought it from here >> http://www.amazon.de/atFoliX-Displa...ms&ie=UTF8&qid=1379014675&sr=1-3&keywords=svp

you can pay me half plus shipping.. let me know...

 

Student discount and double SSD deal made it come to that! Doesn't feel really "cheap" to me as I haven't really spent on a portable product like this before, I just keep imagining the computer I could build for that amount.. haha!

But i'm sure its worth it, especially when I see how much people spend on Macbooks and other options! Mine should arrive tomorrow.. Time to find out if any of these "issues" will effect me and need resolving! I'm feeling confident about it anyway!

On a side note, has anyone acquired a carrying case and if so any recommendations? The only one I've really looked into is the official slip cover ( VGPE-MCP13 (VGPEMCP13, VGPEMCP13) | Products | VAIO & computing | Sony) which comes to around £40 on amazon!

 

See here for a detailed answer:

Re: [New Sony Vaio Pro] Wifi Issue! - Page 94 - Sony Community

 

Thanks for your help Laurent. Based on your information, I think I've found a few options, but would appreciate your (and/or others') input.

Targus docking station:
Advertises 2048x1152 max resolution, though a reviewer claims that it worked great with his two 1920x1200 resolution monitors.
Amazon.com: Targus USB 3.0 Dual Video Docking Station, works with Dell XPS, HP Folio, Toshiba Portege, Asus Zenbook, Samsung Series 9 Ultrabooks and major PC brands (ACP70USZ): Computers & Accessories

Lenovo Thinkpad docking station:
Has plenty of connection options. Linked review says powered two 1920x1200 displays but DisplayLink website shows max resolution as 2048x1152
Amazon.com: Lenovo ThinkPad USB 3.0 Docking Station (0A33970): Computers & Accessories
Lenovo ThinkPad USB 3.0 Dock | Laptop Accessory Reviews

Belkin Dual Video docking station:
Seems like this should work. DisplayLink website shows max resolution as 2560x1600
USB 3.0 Dual Video Docking Stand for Ultrabooks | Other Hubs | Hubs & Docks | Macbook & PC | Products | Belkin USA Site

Several non-docking station options, though a docking station would be nice since it provides the additional ports I'll probably need in the future:
Amazon.com: Plugable USB 3.0 to HDMI / DVI Adapter for Windows and Mac OS X 10.8.3 Multiple Monitors up to 2048x1152 / 1920x1200 Each (DisplayLink DL-3500 Chipset): Computers & Accessories
Amazon.com : StarTech USB to VGA External Video Card Multi Monitor Adapter - 1920x1200 - USB to VGA External Graphics Card : Computer Graphics Cards : Electronics
Amazon.com : StarTech.com USB to DVI External Video Card Multi Monitor Adapter with 1920x1200 Graphics Cards USB2DVIE3 (Black) : Electronics

Also, what is the difference between 2048x1152 and 1920x1200?

Thanks again for all your help.
Austin

 

Nick

You know I cant resist answering you on this point

This is not the answer it's just a recap and possible conclusion by someone on a website

I'm now sitting using a crappy Hotel free WiFi with -70 to -80 connection and my sons top of the range MB Pro retina fairs no better than my Pro or my wife's 2011 MB Air 11"

I've had no drops or any other problems other than the slow speed from the Hotel which is the same for all 3 of us

There is a problem for some and maybe the Pro WiFi under certain environments can appear to be worse but for my RL experience nope it's fine

As I said before the unlucky ~200 on a forum is not necessary representative for all others

I wonder if there is data on those that have problems to those that don't but are using the sheet battery

 

I had ordered the Vaio pro 13 but after reading about all the wifi issues people on the Sony community boards are having I canceled the order. I was really looking forward to that laptop as it was my favorite in terms of design and size. The only 3 options I have are the Dell xps 12(which isn't an option because I don't like it), the Acer S7(which looks nice but I'm not crazy about the white) or the Vaio pro 13. I need a new ultrabook like yesterday.. So I have to decide if I'm going to settle for the white acer and I am even considering reordering the vaio and just dealing with the wifi issues. At home I'm always close to the router. At school I never know how far away I am from the router/repeater and in some classrooms I have connection issues on devices with no wifi issues so I can bet the vaio wouldn't fair well in those situations. I could wait but as I said I needed one yesterday. I was originally waiting for a Dell xps 13 haswell refresh as I have a credit line with them but I needed a machine so bad that's when I started looking at other brands.

Decisions decisions

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

I know how you feel. I've still not decided yet. Its really pricey for the specs.
I'm looking at Thinkpad options just because they're upgradeable and cheaper(even though I will be buying Ivy bridge processors, but the speed isn't improved that much in Haswell)
But Thinkpads look so bulky and ugly in comparison to the sexy Sony Vaio Pro...

ARGH can't decide:
Powerful, upgradeable but bulky and less sexy
or Sexy and slim but less powerful and not upgradeable...

I think the choice is pretty obvious, I might just go with Thinkpads this round... goodbye sexy Vaio Pro.

 

Hi all,

I'm a newbie to Vaio Pro 13. My like and dislike as below:
+ Light weight, pretty, good resolution, fast
- Too limited max opening angle: so it's not good when I use in bed. No numlock function. And of course, poor wifi connection.

Here are my questions:

1. Numlock function : Yes I didn't check before I bought it but just realised there is no number lock function on the provided keyboard. Why did they cut it? The pro 13 doesn't target for game player, but business users, doesn't it? The numlock should not consume much resource. I'm an accounting person so I have to key in lots of numbers. I know num pad would help but sometimes we do not have it. Plus we have only 2 usbs. Can anyone suggest the software or patch that can enable the number lock function?

2. Wifi to Wifi hotspot: Can the provided Wireless Router VGP-WAR100 be used as wifi to wifi hotspot? Or only Wired to Wireless only? Actually another reason I bought this model as it provides the wifi router. I was thinking it can be my wifi to wifi hotspot. Some of my client sites provide only one internet account. I would be so sad if I am wrong. Or I have to use another program such as connectify in order to share the wifi from my laptop?


Thanks in advance

Tulaya

 

Intel WLAN drivers 16.5.3 for Win 8.1 online:
Intel PROSet/Wireless Download - ComputerBase

Working with Win 8pro, too. Software updates the Wifi and BT module.

 

There are many options out there coming by the end of October, why only look at Thinkpad? With Lenovo, there's the Yoga Pro 2. Samsung has the amazing AB9+ and Asus is coming out with a Zenbook Prime with Haswell. There's many "sexy" options beside the Vaio Pro.

 

Ok minor problem it seems my brightness control stopped working, I have to reboot the laptop after sleep in order to get it to work again. :/

I tried reinstalling the hotkey utilities, but it tells me it can't run this app on your pc, so not sure what to do now.

I fixed this issue before with system restore but I can't do that now, since I installed office and using restore would mean removing office.

anyone have any ideas how I can remedy this?

 

Yoga Pro 2 : Not upgradeable
AB9+ : Not upgradeable

Don't know about the Zenbook Prime but I imagine if its anything like the older zenbooks, it isn't upgradeable as well.
Like I said before, I need power in my machines because I will be running music software and a lot of plugins that needs a lot of RAM and cpu power. the Ultrabook haswells doesn't have so much power and not being able to add ram into "sexy" ultrabooks makes it less useful for me even though it "looks" good.

I could add a metaphor about looks and brain here but I might offend some people heh.(not that kind of forum)

 

I wish I could help you but we only have 1080p monitors at work. Clearly there is a difference in the DisplayLink chip used by the various manufacturers as DisplayLink themselves advertise 1152p as the max res for some of them, so going with the higher-specced chip seems a necessity. Beyond that, I am not sure if there is a limitation based on the connector itself. For instance, it's possible that the HDMI ports (like 1 of the 2 ports on my Targus) don't support 1200p.

At this point, I think you have to give one a try. One important note is that brands don't mean anything. Pick the one with the connectivity and mechanical design that meet your requirements (that's how I ended up with the Targus, which is identical to the unit sold by Dell, which one of my coworkers had).

Good luck and please report your findings.

Laurent

 

If you Google search, there are plenty have the same issue of brightness Fn+ F5/F6 keys or slider not functioning after resume from sleep or hibernate. They will only work after your restart the machine.

This is a well known Windows Sleep bug (from Windows 7 to Windows 8 and is also affecting other Laptop brands like Lenovo, HP etc.)

Although by uninstalling Vaio control center and reinstall an older version of VCC version 6.2.4.05270 dated 10Jun2013 which may or may not work for some.

I have been advised by Sony Support to wait for Windows 8.1 and hopefully this issue will be addressed.

 

Now in Poland we have more options to choose when buying from Sony Online.

PCIe or Sata SSD

Screen protector

Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-4010U

 

I am also having the same issue with Brightness control , still no solution. It is quite troublesome many times since have to save n close all files before restarting

 

Just going to add my experience here to the top 3 common problems I'm reading about in this thread.

1. Wifi problems - I don't have connectivity issues, but there is high latency on 2.4 ghz with a distance of about 1 floor. The signal is about 10-15db weaker than the Z11 I had before. On 5 Ghz there are no latency issues, but signal is still weaker. I haven't actually tested throughput yet.

2. Fan issue - the system idles pretty warm at around 48-50C when you're not doing anything. You can set fan to silent in control center but that does make it warmer. If you set the fan to performance, the fan is nearly always on but the system is still around 50C -.-. It's not terrible but definitely could have been better.

3. Screen flicking - I have no issues even with the auto brightness on and Intel settings set to max battery. Sometimes the display will dim or brighten, but it is not frequent.

The biggest bother to me is going to be the fan issue. My Z11 also had the same problem and in the past year has been overheating (randomly) at times.

 

Looking past Wifi issues, today Sony has added PCIe SSD to the european store and i3.

Also they've added a protection screen (for those who care):

Protection film included + £ 30.0
The protection film will be attached on the screen.

Conditional option
To be able to select this option:
Finishes can not be Black

With these upgrades they must be positive on the prospects of a wifi fix!

For myself, my Vaio comes tomorrow but has a 256gb SATA ssd due to being in Europe, looks like I'm going to have to schedule a return and re-order with the PCIe one for £40 more. I also may drop the glossy touch screen - this will come down to a quick hour usage to decide whether or not I like it or not though!

 

Thanks for the replies everyone, I guess that this is resolved in 8.1, only 2 more weeks until it's release.

 

How do you find using the video out on your docking station vs direct video out from laptop? Is there any noticeable difference or lag in the output? Thanks.

 

I use the GEARMAXX dual pack (comes with both Clear and Antiglare / Matte) from their official ebay store. $30 with free ship. You can get the Clear one or Antiglare / Matte one separately for $19 though. Was going to get the "cheap" unknown brand ones but I have a friend who uses one from GEARMAXX and I liked it. No complaints so far, the little tools that come with it like the sticky tabs for pulling dust away during installation were nice touches. Not that I couldn't have just used tape but lol.

I don't think I've seen skins though.

If you want a portable sleeve for it, the $10 Monoprice 13" neoprene sleeve works well. There's a bit of room at the top so the laptop will slide a bit but it fits snugly enough that it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

 

For basic productivity-type applications and for video, I see no lag or issue. I do see the DisplayLink task using CPU though (a few %). I can't talk about gaming (and with my dead fan, my SVP13 is not doing well on hi-performance workloads anyway).

So, apart from the mild increase in fan noise, I think that the USB3 display technology performs well, at least for basic tasks. It hasn't been that way (I remember finding it very glitchy a couple of years ago), but DisplayLink has been rolling out firmware and driver updates somewhat regularly and the latest state of affair seems pretty good.

Laurent

 

Got my Sony Vaio Pro 13 today

Have been using for nearly 5 hours. So far no wifi drop. At the beginning it was very slow internet speed. After uninstalling mcafee and installing Kaspersky(as I have licence already) internet speed jump up to 60mb/s from 8mb/s.

I was worrying about Wifi but so far so good. I didn't really have any fan noise either.

And I really loved my new laptop after heavy usage still battery status shows %50. I think turning off Bluetooth and NFC from settings boosting battery life.

 

@sommblog - thats great to read! You'll have to keep us updated on it. Good to see someone enjoying it completely and having little to no problems for a change!

Looking for some advice on PCIe vs SATA. There is only £40 difference atm between the sata 256gb and pcie 256gb. Will there be much difference between the two? My order is due to arrive on the 11th October, is it worthwhile returning it and spending £40 more for the pcie drive? I'm confused to how much difference it will actually make.

 

I'm confused: I thought the Vaio Pro, prior to now, always had a PCIe SSD. So now we need to pay an extra £40 for the same specs.

 

@AlexMcIver - to clarify this is in Europe. I ordered it last Monday and there was no option, just SATA SSD (with the double capacity free upgrade). The double capacity upgrade still works, but as of this Monday PCIe has became available on the sony store (as well as a screen protector (£30) for the white touch only).

So you can get SATA SSD 128gb upgraded to SATA 256gb for free atm, or for £40 you can upgrade to 128gb PCIe (which also gets doubled to 256gb for free).

I think once the sale is over it'll be SATA SSD free 128gb as the basic, then +£40 for PCIE 128gb and a lot more for the PCIE 256gb.

 

How do you get the double capacity upgrade?

Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk 4

 

Sony.co.uk at the moment:

Normal user:

Sony online special offer
Buy now and double your SSD storage capacity for free
Offer ends on 07.10.2013 while stock lasts.
- See more at: VAIO® Pro | Lightest Ultrabook

Student:

Buy now and double your SSD storage capacity for free. (save 100 GBP + 7% discount)
Student Deals
..

With the student deal I got 8gb ram 256gb ssd touch i5 for £910, but for £950 i could have the same spec with PCIe, just don't know whether or not its worth sending my unit back upon arrival and re-ordering with PCIe.

 

Ahh OK. They didn't have that on the US site. I did get a 10% student discount though.

Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk 4

 

I did a quick comparision for you in crystal disk mark 3. Results:

Vaio pro 13 512GB PCIe (data from notebookcheck) / My Vaio Pro 13 256GB mSata

........................ Read......................... Write

Seq..................513,1 / 522,1..............467,6 / 251,2
512k.................416,4 / 447,8..............444,1 / 249,5
4K....................22,58 / 29,26..............99,95 / 84,00
4K Qd 32.........374,2 / 376,1..............212,5 / 245,7

As you can see in some cases there is a big difference - seq and 512k write speed, PCIe is almost double as fast as mSata.

But for normal everyday use there should be no difference.

The question is: Do you know how to use this extra boost? If no just stay with mSata

 

Does this upgrade correct the glare screen? They seem to indicate that the upgrade model has a new glare-free screen. Should send back my vaio? How can I get it replaced with a new one? I've ordered it in early august

 

Are you sure about the results?, from earlier in this thread:
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130913154021/sony-vaio-pro/images/9/9c/Ssd.png

Where the right was the previous europe version with mSata, and the left the US version with the PCIe...

 

The main question IMO is whether they did anything to improve wifi reception or not...

EDIT: I just called my local (Polish) support and they claim that wifi issue has been solved... by software pack available on their website. According to them, newer models should not have this issue as they have this pack pre-installed. Honestly, I don't believe that as some users still report poor reception after applying this "fix".

 

Hi

I'm in South Africa. Official Sony here only seels 2 configs of this notebook.
I'm looking to purchase with 512GB SSD and extra sheet battery. Sony UK officially dont not ship overseas.
Does anyone know where i can purchase this with international shipping??

 

I really think that this can't be solved via a software update since it is a hardware related problem ...

---

Some news von 8.1 installation, newest drivers and shutdown/sleep problem:
The problem with the cold boot was resolved via a fresh installation. There also seems to be a biiiiig problem with the UEFI registers where the configuration is saved. Had a problem like that with my MacBook.

Everyone with 8.1 should update their drivers. Since i did this my system is running smooth and fine. From Lenovo you will get a new CPPC driver (1.0.0.0.11). There are also new chipset, BT, WLAN, ME, Graphics and RST drivers (station drivers and neacom). I did not install the WLAN/Audio patches provided by Sony. If you extract them you will see that they only change some registry values. I think that they are useless...
I also didn't installed any of the Sony software packages like Vaio Care, Update Center, etc. and everything is running fine. >6h+ running time, FN keys working out of the box.

 

I took data from this test Recenzja Sony Vaio Pro 13 - Notebookcheck.pl and compared them to my mSata ssd

They say there is a Toshiba HG5d THNSNH512GDNT, 512 GB PCie M.2 . I can clearly see, that it is different ssd than this Samsung in your test. Did a research and there is a possibility, that it's a mistake, this toshiba may not be PCIe.

If the values in yours test are correct than it is obviously worth to pay extra for PCIe SSD.

 

Yeah this is true! I'm a final year software engineering student, the most this will be used for is in the development of java and C++. I don't think I would use it, its just teasing that for £40 more you could gain an upgrade to PCIe! My unit is now expected to arrive today, i will test it out and see how i like the screen - because tbh another temptation would be to also add their protection film for £30, but that's only limited to the silver edition.

I think for any standard user, SATA SSD will always be enough for another few years. The biggest upgrade coming is ddr4, but that's a completely different story!

Most likely i will return the unit and upgrade to the pcie whilst the double offer is there as i can imagine the 256gb pcie being a costly feature in normal circumstances (hard to miss out on!).