Vaio SX14 (i5-8265U, FHD) Laptop Review

[Redaktion]

Vaio is back! After a few years in which the former Sony PC business operated almost solely on the Japanese market, the well known PC brand returns to Western markets. The new Vaio SX14 tries to impress business & office-users with its lightweight, almost bezel-less design and its great port selection.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Vaio-SX14-i5-8265U-FHD-Laptop-Review.418199.0.html

[Sid]

It seems that the mainbboard (motherboard) was made for an even smaller chassis. They really went for cost savings here and opted to use the same design with the bigger model - which might not really be a good idea.

[anon]

The name VAIO sure brings back memories. I am glad to see it back, and with the high-end Japanese style of keeping it light and with many I/O ports.

However, it feels like they decided it MUST have a VGA port and it MUST weigh 1.0kg, and so the case must be thicker and other features may have been cut for weight.

Consider the 13.3" Samsung Notebook 9 (NP900X3T) with i7-8550u, 75 (!) Wh battery, at 950 grams, similar to the LG Gram series. How could this VAIO laptop costing twice as much, with the same or worse processing power, have only HALF the battery capacity?

Also please correct this: the specifications table lists "38 Wh" but internal photos in this article show "35 Wh." A significant difference at this small size.

I greatly appreciate the type-C port coverage. Using type-C chargers and portable monitor, I have less need for TB3, but am glad to hear when DisplayPort Alt Mode and Power Delivery are supported, and cringe at the antiquated barrel jack.

I also appreciate the note of one-handed lid opening--often other reviewers skip this detail--and the GPU performance on battery. Thanks!

[olee22]

I have a Sony Vaio SVS13, which I bought in Jan 2013. It looks exactly the same. I have been using it for 6 years now, and in general it performed well.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Sony-Vaio-SV-S13A1Z9E-S-Notebook.77880.0.html

The fan issue is the same. Even when idle, the fan is always on, in moderate settings, the fan is moderately loud. If I switch it to "Performance" mode, the fan is terrilby loud, and disturbing. Repasting did not help, it is just loud. It's funny to see that even after six years it has the same problem.

My unit also had a design issue: the keyboard touches the screen when the laptop is closed, and make a grid pattern visible from fat. Also, the palm rest is a bit higher, and made a visible dent (scratch) in the screen early on.

I wonder weather they have corrected this issue in the current machine.

Although, over the years I have upgraded the ram to 12 GB (max), I have swapped the HDD to an SSD, and eventually also replace the Blue-ray drive to an SSD (in an enclosure). I am using already the third internal battery, and I have bought a new keyboard this year on aliexpress. I have also replaced the wifi card to a better model. The audio is not working anymore due to a problem introduced in the repasting (done by a professional repair service).

My unit had some limitations, like it did support two screens, but one was the laptop screen, it could only support one external screen, even with the docking station (it was a shock to discover).

I love the "Stamina" button to quicly raisy the CPU speed, and the dedicated "Vaio" button to launch the Vaio app.

[Robin Smith]

Vaio sucked because it was basically cheap hardware sold expensive and bunch of promotion noise. The few companies on the market are doing that, Apple and Lenovo to be mentioned, so another player is off the table as a number of idiots agreed to pay for it is limited, although it is quite large.

[Mopey]

I remember the VAIOs of the old days - same hardware as other cheap laptops and a build quality that was also the same.  I had overheating issues on 2 VAIO laptops before the brand disappeared. 

Now that the brand has reappeared, I can't believe they want 2000 euros for this thing.  For that price, you can get a really decent Thinkpad.

[Benjamin Herzig]

Also please correct this: the specifications table lists "38 Wh" but internal photos in this article show "35 Wh." A significant difference at this small size.

The battery has a design capacity of 35 Wh, but the battery in our review unit had a capacity of 38 Wh. It occasionally happens that a battery exceeds the design capacity.

[jeremy]

They told you a boldfaced lie about PCIe lanes and you believed them!?

Proof of their lie: Thinkpad X1 Carbon 6th gen.
4x lanes for TB3, 4x lanes for NVMe, 2x lanes for LTE/secondNVMe, 1x lanes for WiFi. With the old "Kaby Lake R" package, there is just one more PCIe lane left, and it's used by the built-in GbE controller (needs a breakout cable or dock to use). All 12 lanes used.

However, Vaio is using the newer Whiskey Lake package. 16 lanes to start with (4 more than Kaby Lake R). Where did they go? The answer is simple. Inferior engineering for inferior products that request high prices.

As for the "performance modes," that is a longtime Sony/VAIO stalwart. However, on the older models, they at least had a physical switch that indicated which mode the laptop was in.

[S.Yu]

Just steer clear, the new VAIO may have some unique designs but execution is subpar, QC is questionable, not to mention the pricing.

[sticky]

Review some Samsung laptops, the 5 new Notebook 9 series.
Supposedly all models come with 500-nit screen, TB3 and large battery.

N9 Pen 15 is perhaps the most unique, being only 2 in 1 ultrabook with MX150 graphics as well as Wacom EMR, great for graphics and visual arts.

They may not be as widely available, nevertheless worth taking a look at considering how much they've improved in 2019.

[ED2020]

Actually you can turn the light of backlit keyboard off in VAIO control center.

[ENRICO FANTIN]

I have been a Vaio user since more than 15 years, last year i bought VAIO SX14  from Vaio directly- HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT- BATTERY LAST 1 hour. CUSTOMER SERVICE ASKED ONLY TO RESET BATTERY SETTINGS , WHICH OBVIOUSLY WE DID , BUT STILL VAIO LAST ONE HOUR. AND THEY REFUSE TO CHANGE THE LAPTOP.- IT IS A DEFAULT PIECE AND  I SPENT +USD2000 ON IT. QUALITY IS NOT LIKE BEFORE. I WOULD NEVER BUY ANOTHER VAIO . IT S BEEN A RIPOFF. 

[S.Yu]

I have been a Vaio user since more than 15 years, last year i bought VAIO SX14  from Vaio directly- HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT- BATTERY LAST 1 hour. CUSTOMER SERVICE ASKED ONLY TO RESET BATTERY SETTINGS , WHICH OBVIOUSLY WE DID , BUT STILL VAIO LAST ONE HOUR. AND THEY REFUSE TO CHANGE THE LAPTOP.- IT IS A DEFAULT PIECE AND  I SPENT +USD2000 ON IT. QUALITY IS NOT LIKE BEFORE. I WOULD NEVER BUY ANOTHER VAIO . IT S BEEN A RIPOFF.

Same as my experience. My Vaio Z Canvas's battery swelled before the warranty expired and they stalled refusing a return or in fact any customer service besides f**king around with useless emails.
Vaio (at least the NA branch) is controlled by a bunch of morally degenerated con artists. Steer clear.

[Trixer]

I bought a VAIO SX14 3 years ago from VAIO and took a 4 year warranty on it , thank God. It has been in the shop (Tony's Technology in California ) 6 (six) times for repair. 2 (two) for a screen issue and 4 (four) times for a startup issue. It is on its 3d (third) mother board.
BTW. VAIO Customer service will not let customers communicate with Tony's Tech directly, you have to go through VAIO Customer Service, but I found that communication lost a lot on the way. It got so bad that after the first occasion the SX14 was to go to the shop I would create a CD with pictures and a printed doc with additional info on it and included them with the laptop when I packed it.
I just got it back (October 2023) from the most recent repair, I cannot wait for it to die again.
The Insurance company Clyde/Amynta are pretty useless and slow to process claims, and I mean slow, one has to work your way through several layers of bureaucracy which can take days. VAIO will not get involved. Clyde uses FedEx Ground each way from Florida. Total time includes 5 days to approve the repair, a week for shipping. a week for repairs, a week to get it back to me then about a week for setup again.
SIX times I have had to tolerate this bullshit