Vaio Flip: the Yoga hinge comes to Sony

All win machines have a pagefile which is allocated by the OS based on the amount of installed RAM. Moving to a 16GB system will up the pagefile to 16GB. (The 4GB Flips have a 4GB pagefile...well, 3.6GB + 0.4GB swap file, which may be dynamically sized). Anyway, "Duh" is my response to the TH article. Windows, since at least v7 - maybe Vista - has used a portion of RAM for caching HDD operations. If you look at your memory usage, you'll see the cached value - it's data which is read and written from/to the HDD so that the OS seems snappier. You're not using the RAM, so Windows speeds your system with it. As you use more memory for programs that value will automatically drop, resulting in more reads to the HDD. Writes can not be cached for drives which are not optimized for removal (flash memory like USB and SD cards). As your memory gets bigger, Windows has more free space and is less likely to page out real memory to make room for programs, too, which lowers writes. Personally, I turn off the pagefile on my desktop (24GB) because there is never a reason for me to need virtual memory with 24GB of RAM. Link all the "you need a pagefile" articles you want...I machine coded on a 6502 back in the day, and I remember all sorts of gymnastics we did even before memory was $50/MB (yes, MB). I don't need a pagefile for what I do, and if do need one I can turn it on. If you are the equivalent of a Mac user, you may as well have one because you'll never know if you need it or not.

Anyway...I'm not worried about the write limits of my SSDs. On my desktop, which only has a 250GB drive, the write endurance based on my usage (it'sa 24/7 machine) is well north of 10 years. I'm getting a 1TB SSD ($520 at Newegg last week) for my Flip. I'm *really* not worried about write endurance. If 8GB works and has significantly less standby power, I'll ditch the second 8GB. There are times when I don't use my laptop for days at a time and, from experience, there's nothing as frustrating as grabbing your machine as you head out the door only to find that it's run down to 0 battery in the week it's been sitting on the desk doing nothing. ;-)

BTW - still loving this machine, now I just need more metro apps to come online so that it's as useful in tablet mode as it is as a normal laptop. I keep it in "tent" mode on my desk with weather/radar, or just Plex (awesome, btw). (For those who notice tent mode doesn't work by default, go to Charms|Settings|Screen|Unlock and it will work in tent mode)

 

I got a 3rd Flip 15, and then realized the box was opened and the battery was flat. So I exchanged that one too. The 4th one has the best screen. The blemish near the hinge on the left is there, but barely noticeable, so I was going to keep it.

But I put it into sleep mode, screen went blank, then I unplugged the power. But the keyboard was still lit. Then after a few seconds it went off. Now it takes like 10 tries to get it to boot up. Did I damage it by unplugging while it was going into sleep mode? Is it possible to damage the hardware that way? Or is it defective?

I'm doing a factory recovery now.

If it doesn't work, I think I'll go through Sony to repair it, because I want to keep the good screen. EDIT: Doing a recovery seemed to work. I don't want to try sleep mode again though

 

Just placed the order for 15.5". Now looking for a 15.5" sleeve. Any suggestions? Been looking around for a sleeve that's not too lose or tight. I just need a sleeve, no case.

 

Please stop commenting in this topic. There is a official owners thread one door further. It is confusing to keep track of both topics, as a result not all questions are getting answered. Maybe a mod can lock this one?

 

Good morning,

Have a look to this reference VGP-CP25.

VGP-CP25 | Fundas para VAIO | Especificaciones Técnicas | VGPCP25.AE | VGPCP25 | Sony

I will probably buy this sleeve when I recieve my 15A.

RB


Enviado desde mi iPad con Tapatalk HD

 

What owner's thread? Do a CTRL+F on the Sony board and there are 3 threads that say "Flip", and the other 2 are about optimizing and a guy asking a specific question.

Nothing on Page 2 or Page 3 either.

Edit: Oh I didn't realize they put the owners' threads into separate sub forums

 

That I know of these are the only threads dealing with the VAIO Flip Series...

Within the notebookreview.com website (this one) are..
This thread " Vaio Flip: the Yoga hinge comes to Sony"
Official Sony Vaio Fit multi-flip PC Owners' Thread


Within the sister site tabletpcreview.com are...
Sony Vaio Flip PC on sister forum tabletpcreview
How to remove battery on a Vaio Flip 13?
Vaio Flip 13 shuts down in tablet mode

then there is a few about the Fan noise and other issues in the Official Sony VAIO hardware forums on the Sony site.

TS

 

Didn't someone post recently in this thread that he was having boot problems? Now I can't find the posts... I'm trying to figure out if my problems are similar.

 

So, after months, the fan problems still exist? It seems as if overall it was reduced based on comments but it's still noticeable and there are some issues. I truly want to buy this thing but with Sony seemingly not acknowledging the noise, it seems pointless to even think of buying this. Out of curiousity, why did some of you not choose the DUO 13 revision? It seems to lack a majority of the problems excluding an occasional WIFI issue and has a ton of battery life.

 

What is everyone's thoughts on these laptop sleeves for the 15.5" Flip? Anyone have experience with ANY of these sleeves?

Amazon.com: Case Logic PLS-15 15.4-16 Inch Neoprene Laptop Sleeve (Black): Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: Case Logic LAPS-116 15 - 15.6-Inch Laptop Sleeve (Black): Computers & Accessories

VAIO Laptop Sleeve - VGPAMN1C15/B Review | Sony Store U.S. - Sony US

Thanks!

 

No experience with any one of them but of the three.
The Sony one has a pouch for additional stuff like a charger, but I wish there was a better view of it since I can't tell if that pouch is closeable with a zipper. In fact it seems any of the Sony cases/pouches etc just only have one view on Amazon and don't show additional side or inner views of the item. Case in point... I find this Sony IT VAIO Slipcase nice since it has a handle but a bit expensive.
Anyway going back to your post, the first one by Case logic is nice because it has a zippered second pouch but again no additional views to tell what type of lining is inside the pouch.

TS

 

i got my vaio 15a back from the repair center
they did a test saying everything is fine lol
just 4 days!

 

But the question remains, Is it fine? Is the issue you sent it in for, was it fixed?

TS

 

Well
Either I'm too stupid to turn on my PC or it's broken...
Send it to the repair center because it won't turn on at all (left it charging over night).
Got it back 2 days ago saying they did a check: everything is working as intended.
Now I come back from work, trying to turn it on: it won't let me -_- again.
Since it's not fully charged I can see it recognizing the buttons I press (power, assist, touchscreen windows key) yet it will do nothing at all

 

Wow, they say its fine according to the test they did and yet you still can't turn on the machine. wow What test did they do? Do they give you a test report showing what was actually tested? Man I would be fuming if that was my device.

TS

 

I am getting 6 hours every time I use it.

I guess I'm a light handed typist then. I don't notice the flex. If it hadn't been pointed out on these forums I never would have noticed the flexing of the keyboard. The keyboard isn't the best but not that bad. I find that any new keyboard takes some getting used to. I'm pretty comfortable with it after a month now. I still use my desktop most of the time though or I think I'd be even quicker on the Flip than I am now.

I have a Microsoft Arc keyboard on my computer. It was really hard to type on at first but now it is quite good. I think the same will be true with the Flip keyboard.

My observation is that the 13" is the one that lifts the back of the computer up and the laptop slides around.

I didn't even try to make recovery software. I went straight for an Image copy which worked great and quickly. The advantage of an image is I can load up the computer with whatever software I want, get the computer configured, tweak it, and save it that way. Then if I have a virus or disk crash I can bring it back to that previous state which saves a lot of time trying to reload programs.

 

I sent one back for a bad screen as well. New one is golden!

Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Samsung Galaxy ™ S4 using Tapatalk Pro

 

Front camera is atrocious. For a machine over a thousand dollars they should be ashamed to put such a low quality camera in this computer. Especially coming from a company that makes cameras. If I needed it more and didn't love the design so much I would have scrubbed it for something else.

Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Samsung Galaxy ™ S4 using Tapatalk Pro

 

Hello everyone, I am seriously thinking about buying the Sony Vaio Flip 14 with i7 processor, 1 tb hard drive, the active pen and 8gb ram.
I spent hours yesterday reading various reviews, watching videos etc.
Can anyone confirm whether the unacceptable fan noise is still a problem in this model. Has a BIOS update been released to solve the issue. Please not I do not consider turning the setting to silence as an adequate solution. Also a review from mobiletechreview stated that the Flip series now uses an Intel wireless card as opposed to the problematic Broadcom ones. Can this be confirmed? I am not amused that the sony website does not make any mention of the kind of wireless card.
Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

I have flip 13... Yes it used Intel card for Wi-Fi.. I have a ac adapter..

The flip fan spins rarely after the bios update.. Bit it make little sound when you do processor intensive tasks..

Silent mode make it silent but a720 p video on YouTube make it spinning..

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

I visited a Sony Shop in Paris last week and I noticed that the 13 model fan made a whirring noise and the 15 A seemed quiet.

 

OK, so it seems lie Sony got the fan issue fixed with the BIOS update. Now my main issue is: do I buy a customized15 from Sony or one of the "A" versions from Best Buy? Is it easier to take it to best buy for repair issues or send it to sony?

 

Thanks for replying jovialjoy!

Can anyone confirm that Sony has disabled the Turbo boost on all the Flip models with an Intel haswell processor? This review published today says that turbo boost has been disabled.

Review Sony Vaio Fit 13A SV-F13N1L2E/S Convertible - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

 

Anyone having horrible Wi-Fi issues? I have the latest driver for Intel Wi-Fi N 7260. Driver 16.6.2.1. Anyone has any ideas?

 

That is interesting. If they disabled the turbo then there is no use in buying the 160 € more expensive Core i5 compared to the Core i3. Because the only difference is the turbo.

 

just wanted to drop by and say, I've had the flip 14 (ssd, i7) for about a month now, battery life is amazing, especially on power saving and low screen brightness I've gotten >8-9 hrs HD watching movies etc. but wifi was off.

the fan still boots up a little too much for my liking, it's reasonably quiet when running but i don't like that it is running because core temps are usually no more than 35 degrees

overall very happy with it though

 

easy to get > 7 hours as long a brightness is low from what I've experienced

 

I got my vaio 15A since the end of November. I got it back again now.
This is the 7th day it's working! I just failed to update to Windows 8.1 though.
Since the repair center did a complete reset, time to clean up all the bloatware

 

Hi everyone!

Just bought the Vaio Fit 14A (Flip 14) with i3 and 500GB/4GB config. No issues with regards to fan noise or wifi or touch screen for that matter. The only issue I have is the screen clarity, it seems a little dull and yellowish, specially when watching movies. I have switched off the auto brightness control and only when I take the brightness to maximum everything seems pretty good (brightness/contrast/colors) but when I try to watch anything on 30 - 50% brightness, the screen is dark/dull with yellowish hue present all around.

I tried calibrating the color using windows utility in control panel, but still not as good results. Anyone can confirm if they are having the same issue and is there any utility to calibrate the colors?


Thanks!

 

Try using the Intel HD Graphics utility in Control Panel to calibrate instead of the Windows 8 utility. Click on Display> Color > Advanced and manually adjust the colors there.

 

Hi Jvan,

Thanks for the reply!!! I did try that as well, but still I'm not able to get the perfect balance between brightness and contrast. Well, I'll keep playing around with the settings until I find the perfect fit.

I would appreciate if you could let me know your display settings, like brightness, contrast, hue, saturation etc... if you find them perfect.

 

Its surprising that none of the reviewers have got this clear - I'm sure Sony don't make it easy.

Sony give you the option of Performance, Standard and Silent modes in the "Vaio Control Centre". In Standard and Silence, turbo boost is disabled.

"Standard" is - well, the standard setting and my guess is all the puzzled reviewers who have reported poorer results compared to other laptops with the same processor used this with the associated reduction in performance.

 

Did some one tested that the turbo boost is on in performance mode..??

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

Hi all, I have in the end decided to get the flip anyway, but I am wondering if there is a LTE connection modem inside? If I can put in a small phone card?

 

Can you showw us or define where the memory is?

I realy want to know where it is and any possibility to upgrade it.
To Turkey 13" model came with i5/128gb ssd/4gb memory.

there was not any other options.
so i now getting education about Windows Hyper V tech and needed more memory on device.

 

For the 13 inch model the memory is embedded and not removable or up-gradable. For the 14 and 15 inch models they have the usual memory modules that can be replaced and up-graded.

TS

 

SO the 14 can be upgraded to 16 GB also? if that's so, I'm in for a 14

 

Hi guys. I'm lurking around here from one notebook manufacturer forum to another. I see that Best Buy has a Refurbished VAIO flip 14 for $649.49 (I5 8GB memory and 500GB HDD) out the door. I need a second laptop for the house and this seems to fit the bill. I wanted to ask you flip 14 owners here how satisfied you are with your laptop? How's your battery life while web surfing on Wi-Fi and screen at 50% brightness? etc. I see that from the few lines that I read, that the flip 14 fan issue has been remedied by a BIOS update(good for you all!) and that RAM is upgradeable? This is the best price that I have been able to find on a 2-in-one 1080P display by far, Thanks!

 

Hey, good buy! I wanted to ask you what kind of battery life do you get while web surfing on Wi-Fi and brightness at 50% ? Thanks!

 

So it looks like Best Buy has the older models. And it also appears that the fan issue has not been fixed? I was gonna get the 14A or 13A off of best buy for cheap since Sony is officially out of the laptops.

I want to get a TPYoga but the pricetag is ridiculous.

And anybody know if Ntrig will continue to support this laptop, especially since they now partnered with Microsoft

 

I thought that the BIOS update had resolved that issue? Or was Sony blowing smoke? I too want to buy one off BB, but refurbished.

 

Now is this pertaining to all the models? 13, 14 & 15?
Is that what they did with the BIOS update? (disable turbo boost). Sounds like you are saying that you wouldn't touch this laptop with a 10 ft pole. Is that how you feel? Thanks!

 

Man, they lowered the price for the refurbished 4GB memory, 500GB HDD I5 flip 14 at Best Buy to $541.24(taxes included)! That's a great price! I can always bring it back if I can't tolerate the fan noise. But TBH, this is going to be a secondary PC for my wife, that will be mostly used for mundane stuff like web browsing, watching you tube, etc. So nothing power demanding, so I was thinking that if I use the "Silent" mode, I'm assuming that it shouldn't affect my wife's computing habits too much. What do you guys think? Thanks!
Update : well the heck with it, I pulled the trigger for the I5 8GB memory 500 GB model (refurbished) at BB for $649.49 out the door. It looks brand new to me. I'll give it a try for 14 days. The fan sure does work a lot while doing the updates. I already did the BIOS update.

 

Hi, I went into the "Vaio Control Center, but I don't see a "standard" setting. Where do you find this? Thanks.

 

Well I have been fiddling with my flip 14 for a few hours and after doing all the updates, I still can't manage to stop the fan from spinning non-stop. The only thing I was doing was web browsing on it. Not only that, since the fan whirls up and down. Also, the bottom gets too hot to handle on my lap. I think that she is going back to BB tomorrow. What a shame. What a relief to be typing on my silent Y2P! Sorry guys, I can't handle that fan, but at least I gave it a shot.

 

Hi Everyone,

I've been using the Flip 14 (Fit 14A) with i3 4GB/500GB config for almost 4 months now and in the very beginning I noticed a some weird problem with the touchpad but it was very rare and a quick reboot used to fix it. The problem is the pointer just hovers around automatically and when I use one finger to move around it registers as multi finger gesture and zooms in/out on the screen and selects text like crazy. It has now become very frequent and completely makes it impossible to use the laptop.

I tried updating the drivers from Sony's site and also from Synaptics site as well but the same problem persists. Also cleaning with micro-fibre cloth/tissue paper doesn't solve anything.

Could anyone please help me with a solution or did anyone else come across this issue and how they fixed it?

Thanks

 

Short update: I had serious issues with my 15A
- wlan got fixed on my 3rd and last repair
- touchscreen never got fixed (randomly stopped working - since I got this device)
- touchpad had some serious issues and also worked randomly (after 6 month of use)
- screen had bright spots at certain spots (~4 month of use).
- No touchpad driver update for 6 month => no way to disable the windows 8 gestures.
- After my 3 week holidays I came back to an unused non working notebook (boots for 3sec and shuts down)

The touchscreen thing seems to be a german thing as every of these devices I testet in electronic stores had the randomly not working touchscreen.
Got my full refund after I've let them try to repair it 3 times (1400€ .
Since I am a student now I picked up a Thinkpad T440s from the Lenovo campus programm which saved about ~500€ for my config.
The only reason I picked up a T440s is because the retailer sold only the T440s with a 100% guarantee to come with a AUO screen and I came to the conclusion I don' need pen/touch input, and the thinkpad keyboard.. oh my.