Sony Vaio Duo 13 Owners Thread

Hey all, what kind of real world battery life are you guys getting in laptop mode? I've seen estimates of anywhere from 5-10 hours.

Thanks.

 

For the life of me, I cannot find that setting. Can you please clarify where you found it? Thanks so much

 

I discovered that after windows update July (KB2855336) the tab "power management" in de properties of the netword adapters dissapeared.

Some info on internet says you have to disable the power management of these adapters to get better performance (more stable)

 

Grabbed the base model i5, pretty happy so far. Trying to use the vaio update tool however and i says there are about 5 or 6 updates, drivers and whatnot. However the download is superrrrrr slow. Anyone else experiencing this?

 

Great input.
May I also ask where can I find the option to remove the recovery partition?

Thanks.

 

I'm having the same problem. Got my DUO 13 last week. I have a DLINK DIR-655 router and updated the driver which didn't help. The WIFI gets about 70-100 MBps when the laptop is less than 5 feet from the router, but diminishes quickly after that. When I'm in the next room about 15-20 feet away, I'm getting 26Mbps which is pretty good from what I'm reading. I love the hybrid besides this problem which is pretty big since it's an ultraportable, I paid about 2k for it, and I can't sit right next to a router when I'm outside. May have to return it if no fix in the next few weeks.

 

I tested the wifi for me. In Laptop mode, it is not good, but I can work with it.
But in tablet mode, wifi has 1-2 bars less than in Desktop mode. I think the angle of the antenna is a huge Problem.

 

Just an update after having the laptop for about a month.

Wifi is still terrible - it does get a better signal in laptop mode for sure. I do think I am going to try a small USB wifi adapter. Sometimes
the wifi says there are no signals available - even when I am right next to 2 routers. Then I have to restart - even after I just restarted !

Another problem I have is that the laptop will reboot by itself at least once every 1-2 days. It says there was a problem and had to restart - so I click to send
the info to Microsoft.

Once I woke up in the morning and the battery was pretty hot - and I never used it all night. I had it in sleep mode too.

So now I've learned to turn the computer totally off every night. I have no idea what could be draining it - and it only was happening about every 3rd evening.

I also run into problems downloading apps - sometimes I go through an hour of getting a "this app is no longer available" on everything I click - then it
works later,

So - I am trying to live with the quirks of the laptop but it is surely starting to get a bit annoying. Just thought I would share it.

 

Hi,

I read it somewhere some people posted for wifi fix:

Step1
Goto command prompt, cmd, as administrator enter netsh winsock reset,
Then restart computer

Step2
Enable FIPS on wifi connection, restart computer

Step3
Wifi network adaptor, properties, power management disable minimum power consumption,
However someone just posted on this forum that after windows update this option is not available.

I haven't received my Vaio Duo 13 yet, since I saw this I thought I'll just post it here to see if anyone might wanna try it out, or any expert would understand how these commands might help to improve the wifi connections.

Cheers.

 

Hi, can you show in detail how to perform step 4? In particular, please specify what are the commands... Thanks a lot!

 

man, this is disappointing. Just found out my corporate discount has a special deal on these laptops... gonna have to hold off now until the wireless issue is fixed.

 

Thanks for the wifi fix, but unfortunately it doesn't work for me, the minimum power consumption setting is still there for me its in the advanced tab in the properties window.

 

Do you get the option to disable it.

 

Thanks for sharing I think this really did it. Signal strength seems to have added a bar or two to where previously it was 1-2 bars. There is no longer an intermittent disconnect with the integrated wifi. I'll keep you all posted if I have spoken to soon.

Word of warning, when I enabled FIPS it left me locked out of connecting with my router and for the life of me I could not disable it. A system restore was of no use. I would advise skipping step 2. I had to go and uninstall the driver in the driver tab.

To get to minimum power consumption, you have to go to properties > configure > advanced > then in the selection box look for minimum power consumption and in the drop down box next to it select disable.

 

I thought maybe we could do a simple benchmark just to see what the different configurations really do to performance. I'll start. I have the I74650, 8 gig ram, 256 gig ssd, intel5000. Novabench is a simple tool that I found online. It takes just a minute to run. Here are my scores. I ran this plugged in to power in laptop mode.

Verified NovaBench Score: 749


Test run on August 20, 2013
Microsoft Windows 8

Intel Intel Core i7-4650U 1.70GHz running at 2295 MHz

Intel HD Graphics 5000 GPU

7928 MB System RAM (Score: 193)
- RAM Speed: 11891 MB/s

CPU Tests (Score: 419)
- Floating Point Operations/Second: 102169556
- Integer Operations/Second: 356771384
- MD5 Hashes Generated/Second: 975266

Graphics Tests (Score: 104)
- 3D Frames Per Second: 326

Hardware Tests (Score: 33)
- Primary Partition Capacity: 216 GB
- Drive Write Speed: 170 MB/s

 

Hi guys, quick question.

I'm leaving for college in 6 days, and I'm dead set on a Duo 13. Problem is, 6 days is not enough for a custom config to get here (San Francisco) in time. I could ship it to my college in Pennsylvania, no problem. but here's my dilemna. There's a Sony store downtown that has the Duo pre built with the i7 4500u with 4400 Intel graphics, and I plan on doing a bit of video editing, some starcraft and tf2 on the side, and (especially for the HD video stuff) was wondering if an i7 4650u with Intel 5000 graphics would be worth the two week wait for my laptop to ship. They're both around the 1700-1800 range (student discounts on prebuilt, but not CTO), so prices are about the same. Are the performance gains (both cpu and igpu) worth the wait? It would be great to do a wipe and set up all my programs here, and I really want to show it off to some to some friends here before I leave, but for the two years or so I'm using this laptop would I regret not getting a better processor?

Google is proving rather fruitless. Anyone care with either processor care to comment?

 

Incorrect. The Duo 11 got a refresh in January with updates in software/firmware and some updated hardware, including the updated 3rd Gen processors. The original Duo 11's had i5 and i7's with the models ending in "-3x 17u" and the refreshed ones had "-3x 37u" which were clocked slightly higher. (As an example, I happened to do a return during that time on my original and got a refreshed one, and with the 100Mhz boost it proved to get around 5% increased performance in my tests. Not much, but a refresh none-the-less). I don't know what other fixes/changes it may have provided from the original.

Oh, and if I were Sony, I'd refresh the Duo 13 to resolve any current issues and release all models with processors that end in 50u (ex: i7-4650u) so they all had HD 5000 graphics. Then they could do an i3, i5, and i7 model that competes with the new MacBook Airs that all come with HD 5000 graphics. Though I don't know why they didn't do that in the first place...or any other company but Apple, for that matter.

 

Hi all.

Ive been following this thread religiously before I finally made my duo13 purchase. I am on day 3 and have not had any issues with my unit as far as bugs, glitches, or connection. . And I say this while knocking on wood with a rabbit's foot.

My duo13 was purchased from the Microsoft Store. These units are considered special offer units and do not come with bundled software like Artrage. I can't even locate the NFC user software (not having really looked for it).

Intel i5 4200u
4400 graphics
4gigs ram
128 (70 something usable) ssd drive

I did also turn on Virtualization support a few hours ago with no isssues. The only difference ive noticed in speed is subjectively when bootup from shutdown.

With my luck, tomorrow morning everything will come tumbling down? We'll see I suppose.

 

Hi everyone, I am contemplating getting a Duo 13 due to the delay with the Q, but the only thing really holding me back at this point is the lack of pressure sensitivity in PS/AI because of no WinTab drivers. I realize that Adobe may update their software in the near future, but until that happens, wacom seems like the only solution.

I was wondering something about the NTrig digitizer on the Duo though, but first some background... I bought a 10x6.25" graphics tablet from monoprice earlier this year (item #6521), and it doesn't support pressure sensitivity in Photoshop and Illustrator either, but thanks to a tip in the comments/reviews I was able to enable it by installing the Wacom Bamboo drivers (even though I have no wacom devices connected). It seems that it installs the necessary drivers and WinTab service on the computer to allow the non-wacom tablet to work with PS/AI.

What I am wondering is if anybody has or would be willing to try this to see if this little trick would work with the NTrig digitizer on the Duo 13 as well to get pressure sensitivity working in PS and AI.

 

Hey all, I am int he market for a new laptop and had not really considered the Duo 13 until I started reading some positive reviews about it. I wanted to get some opinion from the actual users of the machine. This machine is going to be my main go to device at home. so in that respect how is it using it in laptop mode. I am in IT so a lot of the time I am sitting in bed at night and connected to the VPN into my office machine to update servers and such, just by looking at pictures and videos I don't know how comfortable it would be using it in this mode (with the set screen angle and the tiny clickpad) as in RDP the touchscreen wont be of much use.

Also how is the thing in tablet mode? do you find it to thick to use it for a long period of time?

Thanks in advance for you opinion!

 

Plugged tablet : 719
8/20/2013 10:10:24 AM
Microsoft Windows 8 Pro
Intel Core i74500U 1.80GHz @ 2394 MHz
Graphics Card: Intel(R) HD Graphics Family

7928 MB System RAM (Score: 191)
- RAM Speed: 11538 MB/s

CPU Tests (Score: 405)
- Floating Point Operations/Second: 101975472
- Integer Operations/Second: 336467380
- MD5 Hashes Generated/Second: 934456

Graphics Tests (Score: 92)
- 3D Frames Per Second: 290

Hardware Tests (Score: 31)
- Primary Partition Capacity: 216 GB
- Drive Write Speed: 152 MB/s

I struggled with that same issue. For me, it only took three days from ordering the prebuilt to get to my doorstep, and those were perhaps the most agonizing three days of my life lol. Sometimes I do regret not waiting to getting the latest and greatest intel hd 5000 compared to the hd 4400 I have... patience is truly a virtue. According to my novabench score and GoogleFan's, there is a noticeable improvement from hd 4400 to hd 5000 in graphics. Will that matter in the long run? That extra couple of fps or shaved minute of rendering time? Anandtech says there is a ~10-16% improvement of the intel hd 5000 series, but it is ultimately bottlenecked by the low power profiles of the haswell ulv cpus. AnandTech | A Look at Intel HD 5000 GPU Performance Compared to HD 4000

In conclusion, patience is truly a virtue. Personally for me, I rationalize my irrational impatience that if I had to wait two weeks for my baby I might've gone insane

I would say using the duo 13 in laptop or tablet mode on your chest in bed is quite satisfactory. The added screen real estate is a god send compared to the traditional ARM 10 inch tablets. Though the added weight is noticeable; I wouldn't hold it with my hands for very long.

The keyboard and trackpad are usable for those times when you need to quickly do things, but one can really tell it's quite lackluster compared to mouse and mechanical keyboard. I'd suggest that you go to a sony store or fry's and check the duo 13 out. If you rely heavily on excellent keyboard and trackpad capabilities, I would steer you towards the thinkpad helix or it's upcoming refresh.

 

hello,
i want to buy a sd-card for more memory-space but the maximum read and write speed of the reader. does anyone know the max. read/write speed of the intern card-reader?

 

I wanted to share my setup with everyone so here it is. My duo 13 is connected to a viewsonic 23" lcd display by hdmi, along with some creative speakers.

I'm using a cable matters 4 port usb 3 hub to add more devices; notably a e blue cobra mouse (cheap chinese knock off of a razer death adder I bought on amazon for $9. It is a pretty good deal; I like it a lot).

I used to have a coolermaster x slim laptop cooler, but I couldn't deal with the added noise that the fan produced. The duo 13 is really silent!

I have a coolermaster quickfire rapid blue cherry mx switch mechanical keyboard. For those looking for the mech keyboard experience, look no further. Connected in the back is a cable matters usb 3 to ethernet adapter. It works wonders for this stationary setup. Also connected is a logitech usb desktop mic, which I'll probably replace for a webcam in the future. The usb 3 hub powers them all quite well, except sometimes the keyboard will freak out and I'll have to unplug and plug stuff to get it to work again.

In regards to using these hubs, you have to be careful in the total power consumption from the connected devices. I have a usb 3 wd passport 1 tb external drive(not shown) which I connected to the hub, but sometimes it wouldn't be recognized. As a result, I connected it using the second usb 3 port on the duo 13 and replaced its spot with the ethernet adapter.

The duo 13 screen is off to prevent burn in unless I'm watching a video or reading a book which I can then turn it on to take notes in onenote using the awesome stylus (Use fn + f7 to quickly change display modes). The cool thing is you can still use the screen's digitizer to scroll webpages.

I really like this setup. Although I have to deal with cables and unplug and plug a bunch of stuff when I want to go mobile(there is a more expensive docking solution which only requires one usb 3 port to plug and unplug, but some people have found problems with it), it really proves how flexible the duo 13 is as a desktop replacement and portable powerhouse. I'm a happy camper, and I can't wait to use this for college next month.

EDIT: I forgot to talk about the screen protector! It reduces a bit of glare (every bit helps) but I really like it because it adds a smooth feel to the screen. With the bare glass, swipes stuck and I was always afraid of scratching the screen with my aggressive writing. With the screen protector my finger sort of glides and I like the response with the stylus much better. There is an ever so slight decrease in sensitivity because of the added depth from the protector, but it soon becomes unnoticeable. Also, make sure to have the guys at the factory apply the screen protector. Applying it myself was perhaps the must frustrating experience in the world! Dust kept getting in, and when I tried to get rid of that dust with tape more would get in... It was the worst.

 

nice set up- nice to hear a positive experience every so often. not sure if you shared this or not - after 100 pgs everything is a blur. what is your experience with the wifi.

 

The wifi sucked. Hard. It could not keep a connection for the life of it. Until I applied the simple fix a few pages back. Now it's great gets about 30-40 ms 10-15 mbps down and 1 mbps up depending on signal strength, which is close what I get when connected to ethernet (20mbps down the rest the same).

I no longer need to use the edimax wifi usb dongle I ordered from amazon. That worked great as a replacement until for some reason its bandwith was throttled to 3mbps down. That was quite disappointing, and fortunately I found that fix a page or two pack back(Just dont enable FIPS!).

Of course, I will keep everyone updated if I have spoken too soon or not.

 

Thanks for this, I am strongly considering the Helix, but that has its own downsides (heat and fan issues and the big one is no haswell). The Helix just came out so I'm sure a refresh is atleast 6 months away. the i7 with HD5000 graphics you can get in the Duo 13 seems like a great combo.

 

Just posting an update I have had from sony uk :

Regarding the wireless connection issue, we would like to inform you that Sony will be releasing an update shortly that should solve the issue with the VAIO. Therefore, we would like you to check the page below for that update:
Sony : SVD1321M2EW updates | Download updates for SVD1321M2EW

In reference to the digitizer pen, we can confirm that there is nothing wrong with the VAIO because it has simply worked with other programs. This would be our final decision in the case.

Concerning the VAIO Update issue, since the VAIO model is relatively new, it just needs time for it to be recognized on the server. This issue would be resolved shortly.

 

ONLY 3 DAYS?!? You were lucky. I ordered one on 8/13 and it's now saying estimated ship date of 8/29.

 

I went to the Wacom website and found the Driver 5.3.2-1 for Windows 8 for the Bamboo tablet and installed it. After a restart I found it did not enable the pen sensitivity in either Photoshop CS6 or Illustrator CS6. If this isn't the correct one to install let me know which one is and I'll try again.

 

Sorry, could you post exactly which fix you applied? There's a lot of jumble in the previous pages/

 

Thanks for testing, I will double check which one I installed on my desktop and get back to you after I get home from work.

 

hey everybody!

i have a big Problem
everytime i want to install a clean Windows 8 Pro Version i got a message after Installation Routine.
the Computer wants to boot and i see the moving dots for a second or so and after this i got this message


sony Laptops are really crazy i never have such a Problem^^

my next question is, can anybody upload the c:\windows\drivers Folder so i can check if the Installation will work with Drivers?

thanks a lot for your help

 

This was posted to the official sony forum just an hour ago and personally I believe it is legit and well analyzed test coming from a person who has knowledge regarding the Wifi issue:

Hello,

I follow this blog for some weeks now. My name is Eric and I am an Industrial Hard & Software developer. I have knowledge on LAN, WiFi and Bluetooth connections in both hard- and software designs.

A friend of my ask me to check on his WifFi and Sony machine. Reading the blogs on this topic and playing around, I can confirm that not only the WiFi is causing problems, but also Bluetooth!

The hardware solution inside a Duo 13 is a Broadcom BCM43142 solution. This chip both integrated WiFi and Bluetooth into the machine. Feature of this chip is a “bridge” between WiFi and Bluetooth for direct communication. I believe here is the base of the problem(s).

Test:
A simple check can be made by anyone with a Bluetooth mouse; connect the mouse to the machine and establish a connection to the internet using WIFI near an access point (maximum connection speed). Open YouTube and play any video you like. While it is playing, drag the mouse simple from left to right and back in a seady speed. Notice that it stalls the cursor on the screen every few seconds.
Even with full WiFi access there is an issue.

If you have a USB network adaptor, connect this one to the machine and make a cable connection to the internet. Disable the WiFi and again play a YouTube video. Move the cursor and you notice it is no longer stalling on the screen.

If you have another brand USB WiFi adaptor, connect this one to the machine, disable the internal WiFi and play again a YouTube video. Move the cursor and you notice it is not stalling on the screen.

Disable Bluetooth and only work with the internal WiFi does not seem to solve the problem.

Measuring with professional equipment shows there is an issue with the internal WiFi. A simple WiFi powertest (sending with 100% to 0% power @10feet) shows very strange behavior with installed software like CommView.


Conclusion:
Broadcom is delivering a so called API pack to developers who use the BCM43142 chip in their designs. Since not only Sony is suffering these problems, I read also something on a Acer machine, it is very well possible that Broadcom has a problem in the delivered API’s for the development of the drivers by Sony. Specific in the WiFi-Bluetooth bridge on the BCM43142 chip there seems to be a problem.

Sony developers should get in to contact with Broadcom on the delivered API’s and investigate in particular the behavior on the BCM43142 chip in relation to the API’s and it’s WiFi Bleteoothbridge function.




By friend returned the Duo13 for a refund. He did not want to wait and purchased another non-Sony device.

 

Just checked, and that is the one I installed (PenTablet_532-1.exe) on my desktop machine to get my graphics tablet working with pressure sensitivity... I guess it was just wishful thinking that it would be that easy to get it working with PS and AI. Anyway, thanks for trying it out.

 

Hi, he meant the steps I posted except for Step2. I'm still waiting for my duo13 to arrive


Step1
Goto command prompt, cmd, as administrator enter netsh winsock reset,
Then restart computer

Step2 (he said don't perform this step)
Enable FIPS on wifi connection, restart computer

Step3
Wifi network adaptor, properties, power management disable minimum power consumption,
However someone just posted on this forum that after windows update this option is not available.

 

Yay, got an updated email from Sony saying my Duo 13 customized order is now being built and that I should received a tracking number in a couple of days. However, the order status on the website still says 8/29/13 as the estimated ship date. For those that have gone through this, how many days after the email did it take for your order to ship?

 

Its only an estimate and it could ship within the next couple of days. I bought mine prebuilt, and it shipped on the estimate and I got it in 3 days. It seems to ship directly from Japan, which explains why I got it pretty quickly. California ftw

However, I bring bad news. Upon further inspection, the wifi fix posted above did not help with the crappy wifi. I recommend everyone looking to purchase the duo 13 to spend $10 on the edimax wifi usb adapter on amazon. I managed to fix the slow wifi speeds with the edimax adapter by setting my router to wireless n mode.

EDIT: Upon further, further inspection, setting my router, linksys e1500 by disabling WPS and setting only wireless n @ 20 mhz, it seems to have fixed the crappy integrated wifi as well, even without disabling minimum power consumption. Granted, signal strength fluctuates from 3-5 bars depending on the position and orientation of the duo 13, but speeds and latency remain constant (13-15 mbps down 1 mbps up 30 ms) Nevertheless, I would very much advise owners of duo 13 to purchase a wifi usb adapter for situations without control of many variables such as public wifi.

I will keep everyone updated if anything interesting occurs.

 

Well, it's suppose to ship via 2nd day shipping service so the question is when it will ship. Hopefully for me, what's accurate is the email's "couple of days" and not the estimated ship date of 8/29/13.

It's a known fact that WIFI will slow down when you have mixed standards on the same router. So if you have a 802.11g device and a 802.11n device connected to the same router, you will definitely not get 802.11n speeds on that 802.11n device. So maybe go back to the Broadcom in the Duo and make sure it's still crappy now that you've set the standard to 802.11n mode only.

EDIT: Guess you beat me to it judging from your edited post. Keep experimenting.

 

Hum has anyone seen this yet or have any speculation on what it is.
Upcoming VAIO - Teaser video - YouTube

 

the wifi issue is a problem for sure, but it is so easily fixable with at $15 mini-usb wifi adapter that barely sticks out at all---a simple fix for a good machine, IMHO

 

I ordered mine on August 12 and they gave me a estimated ship date of August 30. I hope it comes sooner, it's still "Processing".

 

Works perfectly for me. I have to keep the built in wifi enabled to keep sleep mode, but having two wifi adapters enabled has not effected my great average battery life (9-11 hours). So yes, it solves all the problems IMHO. I got a mini-usb wifi adapter so it barely sticks our at all and I leave it in all the time.

 

Mine is consistently in the 10 hour range.

 

Well, it may suck to lose an USB port since there are only two. But it is a nice temporary solution until they get the fix out.

 

Is this Sony USA?

 

My best guess is something similar to the thinkpad helix.

 

It's Sony Canada.

 

Well, if they have the same stock, then you may be getting an updated email like me soon. Good luck!

 

Hey All,

I just got my DUO 13 in black today and so far so good except the touchpad doesn't track well, it's erradic, jumps around, sometimes doesn't track...just odd behavior. The smallness of it doesn't bother me but the jittering is annoying!

Anyone know of a fix for this?

As for the wifi issues, about 30 ft from my Apple Extreme Router and I only have 2 bars, I was told by sony that this was only an issue with the pro...apparently not. I will also be buying the mini adapter for public places.