Official Vaio Pro 13 Owners Lounge (SVP13 2013)

Haha. A free show.

I always have that feeling that people are watching my screen, be it my laptop or the AVOD/in-flight entertainment.

 

No, I don't have CS:GO, sorry.

Anyway I tried TF2...both native 1920x1080 and reduced 1280x720. I tried various settings, from medium to high, no way: it's very playable for around 10 minutes, then the cpu/gpu starts to throttle because temperatures (i saw) hit 72°. In mine temperatures reach 60+ degrees very quickly.

Maybe it's the cheap thermal grease that Sony uses, so it may benefit form a replace with a good one...but I cannot be sure. I have to make a decision before the end of today (the term for returing is 3th of may), do you think it's better I return it back and wait for a SVP1322 model in the Outlet Store? Give me advice please, cause I don't know what to do...

 

I just tested out TF2. Performance mode.

1080p, no AC, High textures, medium models, everything else low-medium. I got 30-80FPS on a 32 player server. No throttling until it hit 71ºC, then it started throttling.

But it's a weird kind of throttling, as soon as I started looking at the floor, a few seconds later, the throttling stopped for another few moments. Then my temps were 60-69ºC, but sometimes throttled for a few seconds. Expected from an Ultrabook, Sony definitely tweaked the drivers so the chips don't burn. I'll have to test it as a real gaming session later though, a trackpad is absolutely unusuable in gaming Later tonight maybe I'll try.

I'd take it back for a 1322, IMO, it just seems that it's much better than 1321. I'm in love with my laptop, and wouldn't trade it for anything. Sexy and sleek

 

But before you take it, do you think you can test me out something?

Install the Intel drivers from the Intel site, and tell me if they work : https://downloadcenter.intel.com/De...D+Graphics+4400&DownloadType=Drivers&lang=eng

The one's Sony give are waaay too outdated :/

 

When you look at the floor textures are less demaning to load, I think that's why. More or less how much time does it take to reach 71° and start throttling?


Anyway, what stops me is that in my country (italy) at the moment the only way to buy any Vaio Pro 1322 model is looking in the Sony Outlet Store (reffurbished ones) and waiting for a SVP1322 tocome (only SVP1321 until now) it's a act of faith .(

There is a little trick to unistall them...simply uninstall the drivers from "device manager", then reboot into safe mode and install the generic drivers from intel. For me it worked and I can say that they are a little better in performance (not so much, but a little). The only thing worse I noticed is a bug: when you right-click on desktop it takes longer for the menu to appear (not a millisecond but a second). I think it's related to intel context menus, but dunno how to delete them.

 

Do any of you know what support there will be for the Vaio line going forward? I assume Sony/the new owners are not legally obligated to continue sending out updates or bug fixes, but will continue to do so on good faith. I'm not particularly worried, just curious if anyone knows more about it than me.

 

I would like to know too as I recently ordered a VAIO Pro 13 that has yet to be shipped.

 

By the way, if Sony no longer releases driver and other updates, will we be able to install new drivers and updates directly from the manufacturer or are we out of luck?

 

In the end I decided to keep my SVP1321C5E Vaio Pro. I'll try solving the heat/fan/throttle problem with a repaste on the CPU die. I think this could also be useful for someone here that have the old model.


I was planning to do a clean windows 8.1 install, deleting all but the recovery partitions, which instead I will delete later, once I get a usb stick to backup them.
I need your help cause in the Windows disk manager I see this:

Primary partition - "C"
OEM partition (260 MB)
EFI partition (260 MB)
Recovery partition (1,44 GB)
Recovery partition (450 MB)
Recovery partition (14,71 GB)


I assume that, if I want to keep the recovery partition, I DON'T have to delete the last three, right?
Now, I need some infos about the second and the third (OEM and EFI partitions). If I am not wrong the EFI one should be created again by windows during the install, but the OEM one what is exactly? Could I remove it?

Thanks!

 

Jena_Plissken if you can manage to do that and be happy, that would be ideal. Keep us posted, if you can take pictures on the process would be great to share them.

The SVP at the Outlet here are now almost all gone, so I will have to wait for something to show up. Otherwise I am not buying something more expensive than MBA as ultrabook, being Sony or not

 

Anything on this? Can we install generic drivers from the manufacturer or do we have to use Sony's version of drivers for hardware? Does Sony even make their own versions of drivers to use with VAIO Pro Ultrabooks or are they basically the regular drivers from the manufacturers for graphics, sound, etc.?

 

i think most of the drivers are just normal manufacturer ones. i know the gpu driver's won't install or the touchpad. but that's about all i've tried. most everything else updates on it's own through windows updates if they are general ones.

 

So my Samsung laptop went for a repair, so this is my setup now

 

Inspired by Phistachio's photo, here's my current setup after recently getting an old Samsung Syncmaster 2343BW monitor (2048x1152) and some Fellowes monitor trays:

 

I wrote this on the Vaio Duo 13 thread which might be of help as a starting point, at least in terms of the order in which to install drivers and the like - HTH:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...aio-duo-13-owners-thread-209.html#post9618864

 

Not sure why I didn't think of this sooner, but I stopped by a local TigerDirect store, hooked up my Vaio Pro 13 to a Seiki 4K tv, and lo and behold, the Vaio DOES put out 3840x2160! Of course, I bought a CDN$500 Seiki on the spot:

 

Via HDMI?? Damn!

 

This is what's so bizarre: I had contacted Sony (Canada) by phone, email, and in store (SonyStore), and each time they told me that their specs said the HDMI port could only put out 1920x1080, and the SonyStore staff even said they tried hooking up a Vaio (not sure if it was Pro) to a 4K Sony screen. Also, no one else on the Internet -- including Sony's Community forums -- could confirm whether the Pro could do 4K. (except for that Youtube video showing a Pro connected to a 4K Sony Bravia TV.)

I didn't think I had easy access to a 4K screen, so I couldn't test it before. But then I saw in another forum about a MacBook Air user going to Tigerdirect to test his Air with the Seiki 4K TV, and that gave me the same idea. (Apparently, even Apple doesn't state that their MacBook Airs can do 4K.)

Now I just gotta sell the Samsung monitor! ;-)

p.s. From my research on the Seiki, it only refreshes at 30Hz, so it's not great for serious game-playing. I'm not a gamer, so that's ok for me.

 

nah, HDMI can carry specific bandwidth. HDMI 1.4 can carry around 8Gbit information.
As long as Image's Height x Width x Refresh rate x bits pet pixel < HDMI bandwidth, its up to the implementation to output the data.
HDMI 1.4 Specifies max 4K @ 30Hz and since I assume SVP uses at least HDMI 1.4, then it will not be a problem,as long as the cable + HDMI plugs (that makes a difference) can carry the required bandwidth. Some cables are crap and cannot sustain high frequencies, so they can output only FullHD, while others are much better (that BTW doesn't mean I justify spending $100 for a cable).

There are some compressions that can be implemented, that the human eye will not notice, so it is entirely possible, but I doubt thats being done.

 

thx Gruber; now I understand a bit more about how HDMI works. I got a $40 "high-end" HDMI cable from the SonyStore and it seems to work pretty well with the Seiki 4K TV.

 

My Pro 13 notebook lid got scratched.

Is it hard to replace? Any idea where I can get a new one?

BJ

 

Too bad - feel with you!

Cannot answer your questions, but I'd think it's hard or expensive to get a replacement part.

Can you tell us how easily the lid got the scratch? Is the lid (or coat) easily scratchable, will you say?

 

FYI: good quality amazon hdmi cables for around $10-$15 will work just as well.

 

Just a quick FYI. I used MicroCenter's ADH warranty today on my Vaio Pro. My trackpad was a bit wonky and my M key popped off while on a plane. Not fun. Good thing I had ADH - got a gift card for what I paid for it. Mine was the 1st gen 8/256 one. The motherboard replacement is part SP-B99862546 which costs them $1309.65. The keyboard is SP-9-885-112-68 and was $200.

 

FYI I put a protection film on mine from Amazon.com: Kai Anti Fingerprint Screen Protector for Sony Vaio Pro 13 Touch Ultrabook: Computers & Accessories
It's good. The screen is very close to a matte screen now (and the reflections are mostly gone yay) and touch feels good on it too. avoids having keys traces on the screen too.
also it does cover the full screen area (including black borders) and has a cutout for the camera.

Except for the cutout nobody is able to tell i have a screen protector.

Finally... of course the bubble and dust chasing was the annoying part, but as long as you're really careful and follow exactly what people say (bathroom, get some mist in there for a while, clean the screen super well.. an air bottle helps a lot too, just before you apply the film)

 

Just got through most of the calibration tips from Seiki reviewers on Amazon. Still some more stuff to research to make the Seiki work as best as possible with the Vaio Pro, but pretty decent so far:

 

Bought svp13 two weeks ago. Since the refresh model is not available in the country I live I settled w the old model (svp1321). Wi-fi issue is there but since I sit near by router most of the time I can live with it. I also don’t have loud and high pitch fan noise like others have reported. It kicks in during heavy load such as software updates, maintenance or FHD video but never high pitch. Other than that it’s pretty quiet. (I set power plan at balanced and cpu/fan at standard.)

I have an issue with the touchpad though. When I release/lift up my finger from the surface the touchpad produces some kind of sticky noise, even if I lift my finger very slowly and smoothly. As if the touchpad surface is sticking to my finger. It does not produce any noise when I put gently my finger on it. Only when I lifted my finger up the noise is produced (sounds like “ticks”). Very annoying. 5-10 minutes after switching off the touchpad still produces the same effect. Only after 10 minutes being switched off then it’s completely gone.

My second issue with the touchpad is that I cannot do scrolling horizontally in a web browser (I can in other applications, Office etc, but not in the browser).

Anybody has similar experience? I have tried looking at device setting with the touchpad but couldn’t find any clue. Does it have to do with Win 8.1 update? Since I remember both issues were not existence prior to updating to 8.1. Any idea?
Cheers

 

Hi everybody,
here comes another potential svp-buyer.
As I had two vaios in the past, I have one big concern. Battery life: both former models were with dedicated gpu and 15" screen. But even in the beginning they would never deliver any 'close to specs'-battery life. And after a years usage (and I don't mean battery-abusage), it got much worse. They would not last an hour (and I talk about surfing the web, not gaming or movies). At the moment I'm happy with a similar Asus-15", which works as specced since 18 months... No battery issues whatsoever!
As there are some owners here, who had the svp now for some time: is there still some power in your batteries ie can you still work for 3-4 hours at least? I would need to like close and open it for 20times in those 3 hours and put some words into a not particularly good programmed application when opened.
Best regards,
Benedikt


Gesendet von meinem iPad mit Tapatalk

 

Hey Guys,
So I got this model VAIO Pro 13 Ultrabook – SVP13226PXB Review - Sony US
It's been a week, I ll share my thoughts. And thanks for helpful inputs.

*Design and Build: This is an amazing piece of desgn and engineering. Extremely light, materials are great, finish feels good and smooth. And feels rigid. I really don't understand about "flex" complains.
If I try to flex, it happens, but normally I really dont feel any flex or anything.
*WiFi, I'm not sure if it's related to spring refresh, but I have zero WiFi issues, never dropped or got slow ever so far. And when I updated everything (it's really straight forward with VAIO care)
*Fan noise: This is interesting. If it's on battery, this laptop is almost quite all the time. Surfing, Skyping, watching videos what so ever. Really quiet. Because of complaints I tried to hear get close to fan, then it's audible but I wouldn't realize otherwise.
Though if its connected to powerplug it's more audible. I tried some audio/video processing, then it gets louder. But I think thats normal with full load. Our studio is full of Macs, and when they are processing fans are super noisy anyway. I tried 3D sculpting, even that process was pretty quiet too.
One quick tip : remove the anti virus software!! I really dont understand why Sony is doing this, so unnecessary, confusing consumers.. It makes the fan really loud. You dont need it.
*Battery Life: Battery life is like 7-8 hours with normal use. With a little more stronger use, with like audio/video process, i think it will go between 3-5 hours. But I didnt tested it clearly yet.
*One last tip, screen was flickering on battery when I first got it. It's annoying, but it's not laptops fault, just go and disable all the power saving stuff through Intel Graphics Preferences related to display. There s somekind of auto refresh causing flicker.
Than you can use the display however you want, Dim it, auto light sensor etc...
That s it so far, this is a good laptop I think reviews are a little harsh and maybe the first release wasnt that good not sure. But right now, there s no way I trade this with a Macbook no way. This feels much more highend.

I will share more if I find anything interesting.
thanks

 

Awesome, thanks for the feedback!

I also ordered a SVP13226PXB. It has been delivered to my brother's place in the US. I'll be traveling to the US next month. Right now, it is just sitting at his place in the box all sealed-up. Can't wait to play with it!

 

Quick question for those who own a VAIO Pro or are planning on buying one: are you worried about the possible lack of future hardware/software support?

 

My Vaio Care is Japanese. Is it possible can change the language to English?

 

The question is: is your Windows OS (set as) Japanese as well?

VAIO software will detect your OS language and install accordingly. If you want VAIO Care in Japanese, you must have Windows set as Japanese as well...
VAIO software are international (most common languages included).

 

Nope.
You won't change anything hardware-wise anyway but if you think about after-sales parts, some will still be produced for a number of years to come.

As far as software are concerned, well... most (if not all) work flawlessly today so there's no reason for them to stop working from now on, even with OS updates and forthcoming upgrades.

I reckon we don't have to worry about this.

 

By lid, you mean the lid cover? or the glass screen itself?
If it's the lid cover (as we understand you), you're unlikely to find a replacement part... I suggest you buy some adhesive (3M or other) and cover the lid accordingly.

I know that some makers used to sell those adhesives for older VAIOs (lid cover as well as palm rest, etc.) so you may find some pre-cut somewhere on the web...

 

Just got off phone with Sony Canada support. They told me that support remains unchanged for Vaio owners; Sony just won't be releasing new Sony Vaio computers or accessories.

 

Yes, my windows 7 Pro originally is Japanese.
I used thirty party software to switch Windows language to English.
As you said, which means even I install Vaio Care again the language still Japanese?

 

Hey Guys,
BTW I designed a wallpaper kinda fits to minimalist design, feel free to get it if you like

View image: HQ 01rotated

 

Thanks for the replies.

By the way, did you guys keep the laptop packaging? Talking about the box/packaging the laptop came in. I am asking because I had the laptop delivered to my brother in the US (which I will be travelling to next month) and bringing it back with me. Bringing the packaging might be an issue so I was wondering. I did however buy the official VAIO Pro laptop case/bag so I will be able to keep it safe.

 

As far as I'm concerned, I always keep the whole packaging as long as the warranty remains valid (2 years for CTO models) since you never know what could happen...

Of course, boxes take/waste space but...

 

Thanks.

I bought the SVP13226PXB. It comes with Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit. Any idea if Windows 8.1 Update comes pre-installed or is only "vanilla" Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit installed?

 

No VAIO comes with 8.1 Update since production stopped around March 20 and 8.1 Update was officially released on April 8.
Moreover, it will take one or two months until it shows up on new computers, whatever make it is.

What I personally did is:

1. make an image backup of the whole system (with all partitions and recovery stuff) from boot.
2. make a single partition from all existing ones.
3. clean install 8.1 Update (integrated) from the Microsoft ISO file.
4. install Office 2013 Pro Plus with SP1 from the ISO file (as well as both Project and Visio, as I use all of these software for my job).
5. download and install most VAIO utilities back and that's all.
6. tweak and personalize the whole stuff to my liking...
7. make a full image backup (from boot).
8. install other day-to-day software, with their own updates.

I didn't even try to update 8.1 directly since I wanted a full clean install with the strict minimum on SSD.
I'm not interested in that updating process since I need Enterprise features like Windows To Go and DirectAccess so 8.1 Pro is of no use to me...

 

I finally got my Vaio Pro, so I'm now able to hear the fan sound myself. Note that I bought the 11-inch version, which might differ in terms of the fan sound. But it's a model from the spring refresh (SVP11226PXS). First thing: the high pitch is definitely still there, so they didn't resolve the problem completely. Of course the fan is relatively quite compared to older notebooks. But as soon as the cpu has to work a little bit harder, the high pitch is noticeable.

When I was with my parents - they are both over 60 years old - I demonstrated the fan sound, and they both couldn't hear that high pitch. So when you're older and you don't hear these high frequencies any more you're lucky in this case...

For testing purposes I turned off Windows Update and Windows Search, and I de-installed Kaspersky. Power Plan is at Power saver, CPU and Fan is at Silence mode. So most of the times it's bearable, but at other times the fan nevertheless runs at too high speed for not to be disturbing. When Power Plan is at Balanced, the fan is rather bugging. And honestly I don't see the purpose of buying a high-performance machine with i5 or even i7 just to limit it's power because of the fan...

What I cannot really compare is the following: Overall the fan sound has three components: First the normal sound of the airflow, which has a rather pleasant quality, second this high pitch and third a sound of lower frequency that has a rather "vibrating" quality. This sound makes me nervous, not a pleasant sound either. At least it does overlay the high pitch a bit, which seems to be less noticeable because of that.

Plus, what might be a unique problem with my machine is that every few minutes the fan makes a strange stuttering noise for 1-2 seconds (like "grgrgrgrgrgr"). This doesn't seem to be normal to me, so I might send the machine back. I will try to get used to the fan sound for a few days before I do that - I'm still not sure if I really want to live with that high pitched sound...

 

The VAIO Pro 11 is known for having more fan sound issues than the Pro 13 because of it sporting the very same components but within a rather smaller case, which is a much more difficult challenge in terms of cooling efficiency...

That's the main problem with the Pro 11.

 

Thanks.

Will it be possible to format C: (or the OS partition) only and do a clean install while leaving all other partitions alone?

 

Format it: yes.
Do a clean install without touching other partitions: I reckon yes as well.
Doing it without screwing your Windows or these other partitions: I don't know since I've never tried but I doubt it.

 

Also have 8.1 Pro 64-bit on my SVP1322 CTO. It updated to 8.1 Pro Update 1 automatically about 2 weeks ago. No problems. As I recall it happened automatically - don't remember explicitly downloading anything - but my memory could be faulty.

 

I hope you can help me, I did a terrible mistake. I deleted recovery partition and seemed that the recovery media backup worked, but now it's obviously not.

I'm stuck, even if I try to clean install both Win 8 and 8.1 the drivers on my Vaio Pro (SVP1321C5E) support page are pretty useless: the setup works fine but in the end they don't install! Neither Vaio Update (I hoped, installing it I could have downloaded the other drivers automatically).

I don't know what to do, nothing works and I tried really everything. Never happened to me such a thing, it's a shame that I cannot find that damned drivers anywhere.

 

For drivers try Station-Drivers - News or NecaCom | Catalogue PC drivers, new drivers, drivers for the computer, download free drivers, bios, firmware. The first link has a forum and you can ask for drivers.

 

Hi all, I'm a newbie here...In fact I used to be a Mac user for almost 6 years and recently I just purchased the 13-inch SVP13213SGB (4GB RAM, 128 SDD). It's kinda odd to get used to the new Windows 8 environment, but I have been enjoying the laptop so far. There's one thing that actually bugs me nevertheless: I've only got 71 GB free storage on C: volume instead of 104 GB there. There are already three partitions: 13.2 GB + 1.4 GB recovery partition and 260 MB OEM partition. I heard that there is another hidden partition on the C: volume which takes up to 30 GB. Is there anything I can do about it to get free storage as much as possible? I'm not familiar yet with this partition thingy, thus help is very much needed. Thank you