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[No Love]

So a few weeks ago I say to myself 'Here I am with no laptop, it's time to get another one.' I was really digging on ultrabooks, especially the convertible ones so I can turn it into a tablet and browse the web on it/read ebooks and ecomics, and watch porn with one hand free in public places

Spoiler

just kidding

.

So I sit down, do a couple hours of research, and walk into Best Buy to grab this sexy beast:

Specs:

Intel Core i5 4200U
8GB RAM
128 GB SSD
Cost: $1300 after tax

Initially I was quite pleased with it. However, some problems began to come up: the fan was ALWAYS FUCKING ON, which was annoying as hell. The only way to get rid of it is to put the CPU fan profile into silent mode... which downclocks the CPU. Unacceptable. Also, the battery life fucking sucks. I was getting on average maybe 3-4 hours of constant use even after tweaking power settings. That's unacceptable. It felt like I had to keep it plugged in CONSTANTLY. Combine that with the loud-ass fan and it felt like using a desktop in the end.

The build quality is really solid however, screen is beautiful, and it's very lightweight. And I absolutely love the design, it is sexy as hell. The SSD was simply not big enough, the price tag was too big, and in general I felt like I could've gotten a better deal.

So I'm browsing on Slickdeals and see that the Dell Outlet is having some 30% off deals etc etc. I was hesitant to buy Dell because their designs weren't very sexy and in general I had never really enjoyed Dell products (sans the occasional Alienware laptop).

However, I did manage to find this beast for a great price and so I pulled the trigger:

Specs:

Intel Core i7 4500U
8GB RAM
512 GB (!) SSD
$1100 ($900 adjusted) after tax, includes $150 gift card

I received it a few days ago and I consider my mind to be blown: the XPS 12 kicks the Vaio Fit 13A's ass in every single way. The keyboard is the best laptop keyboard I have ever used, and maybe one of the best keyboards in general that I have ever used. The tactile feel of the keys is fantastic. The touchpad is also much better than the Vaio's. Dell's build quality and ergonomics are top-notch, best in the segment for sure after trying every other ultrabook/convertible on the market. The XPS also looks nicer than the Sony... it has a nice heft to it, it feels solid, it's smaller. It's hard to explain but once you get your hands on both you can tell the Dell is in another league altogether. The battery life is also much better... I'd say about 50-60% better on average. The XPS 12 has such good battery life that the other day I accidentally left it in my room without putting it to sleep for about 15 hours with a partial 30% charge, and when I came back to it, it was still on and had 10% battery life! Very impressive.

The screen is also nicer, thanks to a better panel and smaller size (12.5" vs 13.3"). The Dell surprisingly has decent speakers too (not that I'll ever used them). The convertible aspect of it is also easier to use than the Vaio: On the Dell, you simply push the front of the screen and it rotates around to turn into a tablet. On the Sony, you have to push back on the panel, it detaches from a hinge and then slides backwards to cover the end of it. They're both well done but the Dell's functionality simply works better.

The only knocks I have against the Dell is that when I got it, it had horrible McAfee installed which decided to blue screen (BSOD) it randomly, which was fucking annoying. I had to download McAfee's uninstaller application (yep, couldn't uninstall from Control Panel) to get rid of it. After that, smooth sailing. When I called to Dell and complained, they offered me a $200 credit and their apologies. Wow. Ok, I guess fixing it myself was well worth it.

Overall, I can't recommend the XPS 12 enough. The Fit 13A.... eh, if it was cheaper, I'd say go for it if you prefer form over function. It truly is sexy, but just doesn't stand up to the 'lowly' Dell.

I hope this benefits someone on here, I know some GAF'ers are into sleek, powerful, overpriced lightweight ultrabooks as well.

 

[The Abominable Snowman]

Wow. I'm definitely calling Dell to complain about crap ware installed on my machine every time now.

 

[No Love]

Wow. I'm definitely calling Dell to complain about crap ware installed on my machine every time now.

I know, right? I wonder how much off they give you if you find face-eating spiders in the box with it.

Dell's customer support in general has been very kind to me. They're always really polite and quick to resolve issues.

 

[Funky Papa]

I can also vouch for Dell's support. I've gotten extended warranties for annoying but otherwise minor stuff (barring a certain fuckup by NVIDIA and their infamous self-destructive laptop GPUs) and I never, ever had to ask for shit.

Meanwhile, HP gonna HP.

 

[No Love]

I can also vouch for Dell's support. I've gotten extended warranties for annoying but otherwise minor stuff (barring a certain fuckup by NVIDIA and their infamous self-destructive laptop GPUs) and I never, ever had to ask for shit.

Meanwhile, HP gonna HP.

HP is awful. The designs on their laptops are terrible, they don't feel that great to use, and their support is just mediocre, and that's putting it lightly. I always wondered why the company I used to work for had a contract to get HP equipment. Must've gotten a really great deal or something. Same reason they use shit-tastic sprint for all of their company mobile devices.

Nothing says 'we dont give a fuck about quality' like having doctors in charge of critical care using phones that don't get service (good ol' Sprint) while the execs who sit all day in an office with WiFi anyways use top of the line Verizon/AT&T phones with awesome reception. LOL

 

[Funky Papa]

HP is awful. The designs on their laptops are terrible, they don't feel that great to use, and their support is just mediocre, and that's putting it lightly. I always wondered why the company I used to work for had a contract to get HP equipment. Must've gotten a really great deal or something. Same reason they use shit-tastic sprint for all of their company mobile devices.

Nothing says 'we dont give a fuck about quality' like having doctors in charge of critical care using phones that don't get service (good ol' Sprint) while the execs who sit all day in an office with WiFi anyways use top of the line Verizon/AT&T phones with awesome reception. LOL

1) HP has good business deals.

2) Sysadmins/IT managers tend to be creatures of habit. If something works, even if it works poorly, they'll keep it because they know how to fix it and they fear the horrors that may lurk behind new hardware/vendors.

 

[vivftp]

Funny enough I just picked up this exact VAIO Flip 13 today. I previously had a Sony Tablet S 32 gig unit and have been using it every single day for the past 2 years. I like it, but it was pretty slow and the lack of a keyboard was really getting on my nerves. It was horrible to try and post a reply on a site like NeoGAF using just on-screen keys.

Anyways, I wanted a convertible laptop for the longest time. I nearly pulled the trigger on the VAIO Duo 13 a while back. I love that it has double the battery capacity of the Flip 13, but the screen always being exposed left me a little wary. Not to mention I preferred a larger keyboard and trackpad. As soon as I saw the Flip 13 I knew it'd be mine. To be quite honest I did want a larger SSD in mine too, but expenses and a lot of other purchases came up at the same time and I wound up getting this model. So on the one hand, the SSD COULD be larger. Then again I'm buying this to replace a 32 gig tablet, so having 60+ gigs free should be quite sufficient for my purposes.

I haven't had a chance to really test the battery life yet, but so far it's falling in line with my expectations. I've done the Windows 8.1 update and will likely install a shell over it to make it feel a bit more like Windows 7 on the desktop mode. The screen is excellent. Colours are amazing, brightness is great and viewing angles are also excellent. Speaker volume is quite acceptable as well. It's snappy and while I might have liked to get the i7 version, the i5 variant is quite fine for my uses. I was glad to see Windows 8.1 actually gave up 4-5 extra gigabytes of drive space. Liking the backlit keyboard too. I can't say if it's the best keyboard ever made, but the mere fact that it IS a keyboard I can use for extended typing is what really matters to me.

The most important factor for me on this unit though is the weight. In tablet mode it feels great to use one handed. Like the OP I have noticed the fan keeps running, but I already knew to expect that based on reviews and I don't mind it at all. I'm sure if there are complaints then a simple firmware update would resolve that. Based on reviews the unit actually runs quite cool, so there really isn't much need for the fan to always be running. It could be off and still be well within the norms for this sort of hardware.

All in all, very satisfied with the purchase and looking forward to playing around with it

 

[jaxword]

What's your avatar, NoLoveForFailWheelDrive?

 

[killertofu]

That Vaio looks a lot better

 

[No Love]

Funny enough I just picked up this exact VAIO Flip 13 today. I previously had a Sony Tablet S 32 gig unit and have been using it every single day for the past 2 years. I like it, but it was pretty slow and the lack of a keyboard was really getting on my nerves. It was horrible to try and post a reply on a site like NeoGAF using just on-screen keys.

Anyways, I wanted a convertible laptop for the longest time. I nearly pulled the trigger on the VAIO Duo 13 a while back. I love that it has double the battery capacity of the Flip 13, but the screen always being exposed left me a little wary. Not to mention I preferred a larger keyboard and trackpad. As soon as I saw the Flip 13 I knew it'd be mine. To be quite honest I did want a larger SSD in mine too, but expenses and a lot of other purchases came up at the same time and I wound up getting this model. So on the one hand, the SSD COULD be larger. Then again I'm buying this to replace a 32 gig tablet, so having 60+ gigs free should be quite sufficient for my purposes.

I haven't had a chance to really test the battery life yet, but so far it's falling in line with my expectations. I've done the Windows 8.1 update and will likely install a shell over it to make it feel a bit more like Windows 7 on the desktop mode. The screen is excellent. Colours are amazing, brightness is great and viewing angles are also excellent. Speaker volume is quite acceptable as well. It's snappy and while I might have liked to get the i7 version, the i5 variant is quite fine for my uses. I was glad to see Windows 8.1 actually gave up 4-5 extra gigabytes of drive space. Liking the backlit keyboard too. I can't say if it's the best keyboard ever made, but the mere fact that it IS a keyboard I can use for extended typing is what really matters to me.

The most important factor for me on this unit though is the weight. In tablet mode it feels great to use one handed. Like the OP I have noticed the fan keeps running, but I already knew to expect that based on reviews and I don't mind it at all. I'm sure if there are complaints then a simple firmware update would resolve that. Based on reviews the unit actually runs quite cool, so there really isn't much need for the fan to always be running. It could be off and still be well within the norms for this sort of hardware.

All in all, very satisfied with the purchase and looking forward to playing around with it

It's a solid convertible but man... after using the XPS 12, I could never go back. But the Sony does look amazing and has a slickness to it.

What's your avatar, NoLoveForFailWheelDrive?

My GF in one of her older photoshoots.

 

[vivftp]

I'm curious about the topic of battery life. The OP mentioned 3-4 hours of continuous time. Reviews I've read are indicating more like 5-6. I know with mobile phones and tablets the type of batteries Sony uses mean you have to go through several charging cycles to get the most lifespan out of the device. Anyone know if it's the same story with their VAIOs?

I'm currently breaking in my Xperia Z Ultras battery - only on the 2nd charge now. Pretty happy with its life, and very curious to see how much better it can get once the battery is properly broken in.

 

[Vyer]

There are few things I wouldn't recommend over a VAIO.

In all seriousness though, I've spent some time through a couple of XPS 12s through work and they seemed like very good machines. The 'convertible' feature is probably underused, but it did feel pretty solid.

 

[No Love]

I'm curious about the topic of battery life. The OP mentioned 3-4 hours of continuous time. Reviews I've read are indicating more like 5-6. I know with mobile phones and tablets the type of batteries Sony uses mean you have to go through several charging cycles to get the most lifespan out of the device. Anyone know if it's the same story with their VAIOs?

I'm currently breaking in my Xperia Z Ultras battery - only on the 2nd charge now. Pretty happy with its life, and very curious to see how much better it can get once the battery is properly broken in.

I had a couple weeks worth of cycles on it and it just sucked. My XPS 12 seriously feels like it has 60-100% better battery life. Maybe it's a design flaw or I got one with a shitty battery?

 

[Trent Strong]

I'd rather get an HP Split X2, so I can actually use a laptop on my lap without it burning my cock off.

 

[vivftp]

It's a solid convertible but man... after using the XPS 12, I could never go back. But the Sony does look amazing and has a slickness to it.

I did a quick search on the XPS 12 after reading your post. The keyboard style does look like it might be a bit more comfortable and the larger HDD would also be nice. But for my particular uses the lack of an HDMI and SD card port would instantly cancel that as an option for me. Plus it being an additional half a pound heavier would probably take its toll when I try to use it one handed in tablet mode.

 

[No Love]

I'd rather get an HP Split X2, so I can actually use a laptop on my lap without it burning my cock off.

These convertible laptops run UBER cold. You can actually leave your bare cock on them and it won't sizzle.

I did a quick search on the XPS 12 after reading your post. The keyboard style does look like it might be a bit more comfortable and the larger HDD would also be nice. But for my particular uses the lack of an HDMI and SD card port would instantly cancel that as an option for me. Plus it being an additional half a pound heavier would probably take its toll when I try to use it one handed in tablet mode.

It is heavier and lack of HDMI sucks but you can use a mini DP converter to HDMI. Plus it builds forearm muscles to hold it up one-handed.

 

[vivftp]

It is heavier and lack of HDMI sucks but you can use a mini DP converter to HDMI. Plus it builds forearm muscles to hold it up one-handed.

Heh.

I'm curious. Were you ever able to find a screen protector for the VAIO Flip? Sony doesn't seem to have an official one, and a quick online search yielded no results. Probably going to do a more comprehensive search tomorrow.

 

[hipbabboom]

Why can't I get a tablet or a convertible with 16 or more GB of RAM on any brand?

 

[vivftp]

Why can't I get a tablet or a convertible with 16 or more GB of RAM on any brand?

The VAIO Flip 15 can be customized to order with 16 gigs of RAM

 

[hipbabboom]

The VAIO Flip 15 can be customized to order with 16 gigs of RAM

Fifteen's to big My last 15.4 was impossible to use in coach I've been looking for something in between 11 and 13 inches. I really need to run Visual Studios, some large SqlServer instances and Hyper-V acting like a 4 GB machine. all that stuff eats up memory over the course of a typical workday. I end up toping 22GB on my 32GB workstation... I've been trying to find a way to get that mobile on a convertible

 

[No Love]

Heh.

I'm curious. Were you ever able to find a screen protector for the VAIO Flip? Sony doesn't seem to have an official one, and a quick online search yielded no results. Probably going to do a more comprehensive search tomorrow.

I was not able to find a screen protector, unfortunately. Maybe buy a bunch of phone screen protectors and put them all on it? LOL

Fifteen's to big My last 15.4 was impossible to use in coach I've been looking for something in between 11 and 13 inches. I really need to run Visual Studios, some large SqlServer instances and Hyper-V acting like a 4 GB machine. all that stuff eats up memory over the course of a typical workday. I end up toping 22GB on my 32GB workstation... I've been trying to find a way to get that mobile on a convertible

The Flip 15 is pretty light and thin, if that helps.

 

[mapla]

I know that this post is a little old, but I'm thinking about purchasing a convertible and I have been thinking between Dell XPS 12 and the recently announced Vaio Fit 11A.

At this moment I only know that the price of Vaio Fit 11 starts in 800$ but i guess it will cost similar to Dell XPS 12 with i7-4500U, 8 GB and so on.

I have one question if anyone knows, Sony Vaio fit come with a pen, Am I right? I really don't think to use it a lot, but since the possibility is there maybe coulb be interesting.

Any of this ultrabook has a wacom panel or tech? I only know that wacom offers the best solution for this kind of stuff. I read about Dell Venue, it hasn't got a wacom solution and has had a lot of problems.

However my old laptop is 15" and maybe get a 11" could be a great change, maybe too small. 12" seems to be more interesting.

Well, i have a lot of information in my head and i really don't know what to do.

 

[No Love]

I know that this post is a little old, but I'm thinking about purchasing a convertible and I have been thinking between Dell XPS 12 and the recently announced Vaio Fit 11A.

At this moment I only know that the price of Vaio Fit 11 starts in 800$ but i guess it will cost similar to Dell XPS 12 with i7-4500U, 8 GB and so on.

I have one question if anyone knows, Sony Vaio fit come with a pen, Am I right? I really don't think to use it a lot, but since the possibility is there maybe coulb be interesting.

Any of this ultrabook has a wacom panel or tech? I only know that wacom offers the best solution for this kind of stuff. I read about Dell Venue, it hasn't got a wacom solution and has had a lot of problems.

However my old laptop is 15" and maybe get a 11" could be a great change, maybe too small. 12" seems to be more interesting.

Well, i have a lot of information in my head and i really don't know what to do.

The Vaio Fit doesn't come with a pen as far as I know. I'd go with the Dell personally if the prices are similar. Dell might actually come out cheaper.

 

[Kite]

Recently I was also looking into buying an ultrabook and was deciding between the Sony Flip 13 and the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro before realizing that the whole convertible thing and the pen weren't features I was going to be using much if at all. So I switched to looking at the regular ultraportables and had trouble deciding between the Acer S7, Samsung ATIV 9 and the HP Spectre 13t. I think I'm going to pull the trigger on the HP, the reviews for it are great and it's the better bang for the buck.

 

[KillGore]

Although not a laptop, I recently bought the Dell XPS 18. I have to say, I always thought Dell was a crappy brand but the quality is great. I'm extremely satisfied with them.

 

[Juliet's 8½ Spirits]

is the fan really a big issue for the vaio fit? I've been thinking about getting one, butt the fan issue is really scaring me. I've been reading that it had been somewhat fixed with the recent bios update. is the fan nose something that would be noticeable in a classroom or a library setting?