Vaio X Video Performance & Upgrades

Sorry if this has been asked before - searching the forum did not really reveal anything..

Any X owners here?

I'm curious if the computer is powerful enough to handle fullscreen 720p x264 playback from iTunes and XBMC.

Also, is the SSD drive easily upgraded? (Is it a 2.5" model?) I find the 128GB limitation somewhat cramped.

Thanks in advance!

 

Rather bluntly: no

You will see some lags here and there, but then the X series (well, the higher end ones at least) come with HT so that might help.

2GB RAM with an Intel intergrated graphics setup, along with an Atom processor which is only good for internet browsing and word processing is not designed for 720p video playback. You should go with an older Z for the price you are going to pay for a X series; they're gonna have clearance sales, I'm sure.

In regards to the SSD upgrade. The X is one helluva cramped machine.Taking it apart won't be too much hassle - putting it together is a completely different story. And from what I hear from some people (so don't quote me on this), the X series uses some Sony custom made adapter for the SSD?

 

Thanks!

I actually just ordered one. They said I could return it in 30 days for a full refund, so what the heck, right?

I do have a Z590 right now, and I used to love it, but recently it started driving me mad with sleep mode not working properly and bitlocker randomly asking for the recovery key upon boot. (BIOS update thats supposed to address these issues has been installed, and still, it won't work.) I figured I'd switch to something smaller instead of dealing with all the crap the Z gives me.

 

Well, if you've already ordered it and you are able to return it in 30 days, then I would suggest you play around with it and see how it handles your requirements.

As for your Z... Have you tried a factory reset?

 

Yup... I ordered it shortly after my first post and (obviously) before my second. I'll follow up in this thread when it arrives and let you know how it handles media. From what I could find online it apparently has problems with HD flash videos but people were reporting much better results with iTunes. But it's awfully slim pickings, the X wasnt reviewed much. The real test for me anyway is XBMC with xvid and 720p mkv files.

Resetting the bios? I actually haven't, I didn't think it'd do much good. But it's a good idea, I'll give it a shot.

 

I think xvid playback will be ok, but .mkv can be extremely demanding on the RAM and graphics. And couple that with an Atom CPU and you get lags.
I've seen the X series in stores and it lags with preinstalled W7. Though all the visual settings were on so maybe that is why.

You can try a clean install AFTER MAKING THE BACKUP MEDIA on the X. That should get rid of the bloatware at the minimum.
Also, try googling CCCP, which is an extremely light-weight, fully-featured codec pack. That basically allows you to play everything and almost anything on WMP12 without having to install other players. Or there is MPlayer, but that is extremely basic and sometimes requires DOS command inputs.

XBMC if I recall correctly may not run too smoothly with the X series specs, but yeah, give the X a run and the final decision is yours~~

When I said factory reset for the Z, I meant via the Vaio Recovery Centre. Just reset back to factory condition (which will delete everything and bring back your Z to a factory state with all the bloatware and whatnot). Or you can use the recovery discs which you have hopefully made...

 

There are plenty of X owners here in this owners thread.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=429543

 

Performance on the X series is pretty poor. It's good for browsing the web & a few standard applications like Office, but that is all.

It can't even handle standard video on YouTube so forget about 720p. I have the 256GB SSD in my X. I'm sure Sony have put the slowest SSD's in the world inside these machines!

It sounds like I'm complaining, but the X series is a fantastic machine. It's so small and light which is ideal for when I am travelling.

I am just glad I have a Z series machine for when I am not on the road!

 

I really prefer XBMC over WMP and codec packs - it's one neat integrated package with a familiar UI. But it is slower than other options as the decoders dont get hardware assist at all. (If anyone tried running XBMC on an Apple TV they'll know what I'm talking about... that unit will play iTunes HD content just fine, but will struggle with most MKVs.)

We'll see tomorrow. I got the tracking number from Sony this morning.

 

That looks like the thread I should have found yesterday. But then again, the search on this forum is no Google. Thanks a lot, Rachel!

 

How did you get a 256GB version? All I could find were 64GB and 128GB options, and no CTO.

That's what I'm looking for too... but playing videos is an important task for a travel laptop for me.

Agreed, the Z is pretty close to being phenomenal. When it works, that is.

 

CTO on Sony Style UK

Although it was a very expensive option (standard drive was 128GB, the 256GB drive was around £400 extra). In hindsight, I should have kept with the 128GB drive as that was more than enough, especially considering the X is not my main machine.

 

Holy cow, £400 is a nice premium for Sony.

Apparently the Samsung MMDPE56GFDXP-MVB is the SSD in your case, and it has been end-of-lifed by the manufacturer. What's worse, there doesn't seem to be an 1.8" uSATA SSD out there anymore that's bigger than 128 gigs. I would upgrade myself, but with what?

Well the machine is going to be here tomorrow, I'll see how cramped life is with 128 gigs.

 

I got the laptop today. It's both great and seriously underwhelming at the same time.

Whether it works for video totally depends on what you want to watch. Yes, it will play 1080p full screen without a hitch in Media Player. And no, it won't play 480p videos well in iTunes.

I put the details up here:

http://angerisanenergy.tumblr.com/post/366453976/vaio-x-vpcx115kx-video-performance

 

As a piece of engineering, the X is seriously impressive. It's performance is crap though, but it does what I need it to do superbly. If it had a truck load of power then the battery would last 5 mins...