Official NEW SVZ Z series Owners Lounge

Hi, guys. Is there any chance to see more powerful discrete GPU on next refresh Z3? For exsample Nvidia 650m ore analog.... I want to buy Z3 with FHD display, but for Russia FHD available only with PMD for US 4000. I think it s fantastic price for AMD 7670....

 

This is the only one I found on Amazon. Works fine on my Z3, but not much of a discount.

Amazon.com: Sony Extended Sheet Battery (VGPBPSC27): Electronics

 

I have to second this. The sheet battery is amazing - I wish more laptop vendors provided it. I have a colleague with a Vaio S and that sheet battery works great too. How else can you double your battery life with such a low profile? And if you ever want to be ultra-lightweight, you can just take it off.

 

I ordered my sheet battery yesterday and it will be shipped today. I will say the weight of the Z3 without the sheet battery is absolutely insane! I changed the graphic properties to maximum performance and it kick butt for the offline robot programming software I use. I am very happy with the computer!

 

Hi guys.

I just received my new sony vaio z13 and have been trying to install different corel programs all day. It doesn't seem to let me go past the license agreement page. Has anyone had the same problems? I've tried both paintshop x4 and coreldraw. I have tried installing it with a different user profile but no luck. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

i think sony will introduce new vaio z series in 2013 1st quarter with touch screen and hybrid slate like laptop.

 

This might be helpful to all the people having difficulties with the webcam.
I've played around with various diagnostics programs, drivers etc., the webcam was visible yet refused to work.
Ultimately, I decided to resort to a clean install, and voila - the cam is working again. So I can say with confidence, that this is not a hardware issue, but a software/driver issue.
A clean install was performed with latest drivers available from Intel.
I hope this helps.

 

which sony vaio software did you use to create the recovery usb media? i can't seem to find it anywhere. i would like to wipe everything out then install linux on my system. and have an external drive containing the restore of my original Windows with all the partitions intact. is this possible?

 

I tried a clean install on my machine with no effect on my webcam. It was not even visible. I sent it in to Sony 2 weeks ago (so much for 10 days) and they said they are going to replace the entire webcam module. However, it is on backorder and won't come in until september 10th. Thats almost a 30 day turnaround, not impressed in the slightest; especially because the machine was only 2 weeks old.

 

All you have to do is press the "Care" button when windows is booted and logged in. From there go to recovery and then create recovery media. I used DVDs/made ISOs because Sony insists that you format the drive and not use it for anything except recovery media, and it requires at least a 32GB drive.

 

vaio z killer?
Samsung smuggles new Series 9 prototype into IFA: 2,560 x 1,440 on a matte display (hands-on) -- Engadget

 

Received my Z series today (customized from Sonystyle) and shipping was pretty fast.
Most people already reviewed this laptop but I would like to give my thoughts if anyone is still deciding on laptops, maybe this will help.

The laptop is really beautiful, very light and slim. I ordered it with the Power Media Dock as well too and I didn't expect it to be this small. The detachable stand that it comes with seems to weight more than the dock itself.

The keyboard and the touchpad/buttons definitely feels a lot more different.
My old laptop was a Sony VGN-SR430J and the Z laptop definitely feels harder to use the touchpad because of the feeling and it seems harder to press the button. I sometimes had the feeling I didn't press the button but the character still came out. And other times I thought I did press it but nothing came out.

The power button seems a little bit hard to press as well.

I got the Premium Carbon Fiber and the lid is pretty nice. It does attract fingerprints though like some buyers had mentioned.
But inside the laptop, it has a nice feel to it and doesn't get fingerprints.

I haven't tried any games yet but the laptop runs quiet normally. I also like the touch sensor buttons on top of the keyboard (Assist, Web, Vaio).

The air vent runs a little bit warm when I run updates or Windows Experience Index (and probably games too I would expect), but the laptop itself doesn't seem to get hot.

Additionally, the speaker seems to sound fine to me.
The fingerprint sensor works pretty well compared to how it used to be with my SR series laptop. On my old laptop, it would take maybe 20 minutes to actually get it to read correctly. While on the Z series, one quick swipe and it automatically worked.



The screen is beautiful as well, the 1080p display on 13.1 inch doesn't bother me at all. The text is small but it is still easy to read at arms length.

Starting up the laptop seems to be really fast. Feels like under 10 seconds including typing in my password.
(This is with Fresh Start, i7 CPU, and 256 GB SSD).

256 GB of space ended up to be 172 free out of 212 when I 1st used it.

I haven't tried any games yet or my PMD but I will probably test them out in a while.

Overall, I don't regret buying this laptop. It is a nice upgrade from my SR series laptop and it is just a little bit weaker than my desktop with the PMD.

 

i don't think i did it correctly. i spent 3 hours clearing my ext drive and then going through some "rescue" process that just copies all the files/directories into it. it won't boot off that usb drive.

there doesn't seem to be any "create recovery media" option for me. so i don't know how i am going to recover anything with my ext drive if it can't boot and i go and install linux and wiping every partition out.

do you have step by step instructions or link for the instuctions to create the bootable usb for this purpose?

 

I have 2 small problems:

1) If I leave the text in the display settings at the default (125%), some of my icons are pixelated (medium size icons). Is there a fix to this?
If I make it 100%, everything is fine.

2) The bottom USB with the thunderbolt image seems to be hard to plug in USB for some reason. Does anyone else have this problem?
It works fine but it takes a while to plug in USB and remove it cause it seems to be really tight.

Thanks!

 

yes, i have the same issue with the bottom usb being a little too hard to plug in. and my power is also hard to press, and the f8 and f9 buttons aren't backlit as much (i think this is because there might be a screw from the bottom holding the keyboard down and it goes between these two button.. like on my old vaio sz).

 

Oh okay, thanks! Glad to hear that I am not the only one with the problem.

 

So wanted to say two things. I'm following this thread because this will be my next laptop after a Vaio SR.

I read about the new ivy bridge chips. They run hot because intel decided to use thermal paste instead of soldering like they did with sandy bridge. . So I'm hoping a refresh will have a processor where this is fixed, if not might wait another year for haswell. Although feeling tempted. There is currently a 200 dollars off coupon SONYZ13.

I really really want a IPS display in a Vaio Z. maybe the sale is on because of a refresh that brings IPS display.

 

there wont be any refresh till july 2013. there are already better deals on ebay if you dont care about glossy premium finish.
new refresh comes every year around july.
i guess you have to wait for another 8 months.

 

How do you know its authentic on ebay?

I also checked ebay and that's not true. There is currently no better prices.

 

or you can wait for like 5 months, i'll sell my vaio svz to you @ better price

 

do you guys think they will ever fix the speakers?

 

So, I received my Sony Vaio Z3 today, and I gotta say I love it!

 

Huawei e398 lte is better than any other built-in lte.. now im glad that my vaio didnt come with builtin lte!

 

Awesome laptop!

 

So what happens if the ssd fails?

 

Having another problem with the Power Media Dock.
How do you tell if the laptop switches to the graphics card in the Power Media Dock? When I am playing a game, all the heat seems to be coming out of the laptop and the Power Media Dock isn't emitting any heat.
Does that mean it is still using the Intel HD card?

Is there a way to check which is being used and how to choose which one to be used?

Thanks again.

 

No takers on W8 as of yet?

1 thing to note - sony will need to release a new bios to support secure boot.

 

I've uploaded the VAIO Boot Manager archive (to enable Fast Boot via the VAIO Control Center) here, just in case someone needs it after a clean install.

 

Managed to solve my problem in the Catalyst Control center.

To PMD owners:

Did you guys ever experience any random FPS drops in games?
It keeps occurring, and at first (yesterday) it was only occurring every 10 mins or so.
But now it happens every minute. My FPS in a game would be stable at 60 and even when nothing is happening, it would drop dramatically to ~10 for 2 seconds and rise back up.

I have no clue how to fix this.

 

Hi everyone,

I have exactly the same problem as mentionned above. The noise is quite loud and audible from a respectable distance.

Is someone else affected by this issue and does anyone found a solution about it ?

 

I suspect it is the display, from my experience with the sounds some displays make, and now it appears connected to screen and mouse movement. Not sure if there is a cure.

- Tim


____________________
Sent via TapaTalk

 

Looking at buying this laptop...

How many of you have problems with throttling on the quad core?

Can you use an older pmd (6650) on the z3?

cheers

 

I want to tell my friend who is going to America to buy this laptop for me, but would the laptop work in Australia? In Australia we use 240 Volt AC power at 50 Hz PAL....

 

Unfortunately I do not think it is due to the screen. If I turn it off by using an external display, the problem remains. The source of noise really seems to be located underneath the center of the keyboard.

Do you know if a lot of people are impacted by the issue ?
I don't know my chance of having the problem again if I ask for a RMA (I only have the laptop since 1 week)

 

On my Z2 I have a sound like this, too.
Someone told me that this can be the RAID Controller and I do not have to worry about that.

Is this sound constantly at your´s Z? Because on my Z it appears only when cold booting!

 

From reading around I think it might be caused by an issue with the motherboard; maybe the capacitors. I don't know much about laptops though, so I'm open to correction.

I'm concerned that if I contact Sony I'll end up sending it to Belgium, where it will be scratched to bits, and then returned with a note saying "Engineer declares noise is of acceptable level".

 

Has anyone got screenshots of how hot the quad core model gets under load? When throttling cuts in etc?

 

I know with PC power supplies you can quite often get capacitor whine. Unfortunately, there's not a lot you can do about it

 

It happens on battery power as well, though.

 

Unfortunately the problem occurs after windows boot and continues during use.

The problem is not worrying about, it is just really annoying. As it seems a lot of people is having this issue, I shall consider keeping it like because the chance to have a new defective unit seems quite important...

 

Same fear for me. So you kept it like this and cope with the noise ?

Pretty disappointing for a machine costing more than 1500 €.

 

Any suggestions for a keyboard skin to protect the SVZ?

 

It is extremely disappointing; so much for the 'Made in Japan' assurance of quality!

I'm hoping someone might come up with a fix. There was a similar issue with the F Series which users found a solution for. If none arises, I guess I'll consider sending it in; I only have the Z for a month, so I've got plenty of time, warranty wise.

 

putting it out there - installed win8 - no dramas at all. Sony utils work, intel chipset/vid all fine. You need to install the intel RST service manually, other than that all fine.

 

Thanks for the news on w8

 

Can anyone give more info on quad core load temps? How bad is the throttling?

 

Every Electronic device whether its a mobile phone, camera, TV, laptop comes with a standardized adapter that allows multi-voltage usage, 120v-240v is nowadays a standard thing, so no issues, bought from Japan, US, Egypt, Norway, it will work in Australia.

Nothing to worry about, plus, enjoy the savings in price.

 

there's none in a normal environment.

 

Well, I just got my built-in lte up and running. Great! Download speeds of more than 3MB/s with torrent. -Bandwidth of typically 80mbps down and 10mbps up.(good server)

 

I just restored my system to factory settings. But there was error stating that the driver for the usb 3.0 failed to install. Does anyone know where the driver can be downloaded?