Official NEW SVZ Z series Owners Lounge

Can anyone provide weight diff and pictures of the extended battery option for the Z3?
In Norway, this week's promotion deal is 50% off on the extended battery, but I read some saying it looks/feels bulky/ugly/heavier for the previous Z models?
I read many people complaining about battery life in this thread, so I guess it would be good if it doesn't ruin the "ultrabook factor".

By the way, on the Sony Norway website you can still chose between 1600x900 and the 1920x1280 displays for the Z3, so it seems options vary slightly between countries.

 

The same applies for Sony Denmark - luckily, it seems we are able to get all options. yay!

 

Does anyone know what drivers to install after doing a clean Win8 install? I just installed Win8 and the Intel RST utilty won't connect (shows blue circle instead of the green one i got on the default Win7 installation). Furthermore i got 2 question marks left in the Device Manager, one "Unknown device" and a "PCI Simple Communications Controller". I'm also not able to install the USB3 drivers directly from Intel (installer won't start because minimum requirements aren't met), but my Device Manager shows the Intel USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller from Microsoft. The Intel download center doesn't seem to have chipset drivers for the new mobile 7 series btw. I'm also wondering which Bluetooth chip is installed in the new Z, because the Sony download page shows both a Atheros and Intel driver...

Maybe somebody could tell me how they've fixed the above issues with a clean install.

edit: I found installing the "Intel Management Engine Interface" and "Sony Firmware Extension Parser Device" drivers from the Sony download page fixed the question marks showing up in the Device Manager. Still working on Intel RST, bluetooth and the hotkeys. Does anyone know if there's a way to get the brightness fn keys working without installing the 170MB hotkey package from Sony (including all their annoying bloatware)?

edit2: I got the Intel RST service working again. Apparently while installing the Intel RST drivers from Sony the necessary service was not added to the list of services. You have to type the following in a cmd box:

sc create "Intel RST DM Service" binpath= "c:\program files (x86)\intel\intel(r) rapid storage technology\iastordatamgrsvc.exe"

And then start the service and setting it to automatically start on boot instead of manual. You can do so by going to 'Control Panel' -> 'System and Security' -> 'Administrative Tools' (click on it) -> 'Services' and look for the item you just created using the cmd box named 'Intel RST DM Service'. It takes a while for the Intel RST tray icon to show up after a cold boot, but it i don't know if that is somehow connected to this. It starts and works fine so i guess that's not a problem.

 

For those wanting London based delivery estimates here is my timeline of emails;
18/06/12 8pm - Order Acknowledgement (after purchasing online)
26/06/12 1am - Order in Production
30/06/12 1am - Factory Dispatch (Being shipped from Japan to European warehouse)
04/07/12 4am - Shipping Confirmation (with DPD Tracking ref)
(See attached DPD info)
05/07/12 12pm - Courier arrived!

 

This why you shold buy Vaio Z2
Sony Vaio Z 2011 Z2 Intel i7 VPCZ2190 - Why you SHOULD Buy - YouTube

Why Not
Sony Vaio Z 2011 Z2 Intel i7 VPCZ2190 - Why you should NOT Buy - YouTube

Fresh Install:
Sony Vaio Z2 2011 Fresh Install Tutorial - Part 1 - YouTube
Sony Vaio Z2 2011 Fresh Install Tutorial - Part 2 - YouTube

Is it the same for Z3???

 

What model Z3 gets the black hinge versus silver? Is the black hinge suppose to be more high-end? Thanks.

 

I believe the black hinge comes with the premium carbon fiber color while the silver hinge comes with the regular carbon fiber color.

 

Thanks. So the preconfigured models with an /XX at the end of the model number must be the premium carbon fiber model.

Not sure if I want to jump on the Z3, still have the Z1 working perfectly. I'm reading everyone's posts and reviews on the Z3, but I think I'm leaning towards the next Z4 redesign, which I expect at CES 2013.

 

I'm actually not so sure about that. The /XX models on the US site all have silver hinges; the only one with a black hinge is the /XXI. You're best bet of getting the black hinge is to go with a custom configuration.

 

They already have a few clearance, new (not refurbished) Z3's in the outlet section at 20% off. The extra 20% off is reflected at checkout.

There's a fully loaded Gold Z3 with PMD on there right now at $2649 after discount. And its ready to ship.

 

Have you ever tested your SSD read/write speeds? My read speeds are good (see above), but some people have write speeds nearly double of what I (and some other people) are getting.

 

I ran a quick test yesterday after doing a clean install and my speeds were about the same as M4rauder found on his machine ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...vz-z-series-owners-lounge-18.html#post8639369), so i'm happy with it. I didn't see much 128GB SSD benchmarks in this thread, so could you post some links to the people getting double write speeds?

I got almost everything working on Win8 now. Some of the function keys (touchpad off/on, brightness, zoom and sleep) won't work (i haven't tried installing the Hotkey Utilities because i don't need 172mb of crap just for a couple of buttons to function properly). Bluetooth doesn't seem to be working, tried installing the drivers from Sony and directly from Intel but no luck so far. And the Authentec TrueSuite software needed for the fingerprint reader isn't available for Win8 yet, i read on their forums they will be releasing an update when the Win8 final gets released.

I found the Rapid Wake partition is pretty useless when using Win8 with UEFI enabled in the BIOS. Win8 wakes almost instantly from standby, so it's better to use the 4/8GB for storage than Rapid Wake.

 

I posted my own benchmarks results just a few pages earlier.
Buttons are working with Hotkey Utility. I heard there's a Hotkey for switching off radios, but haven't discovered that yet. Didn't care about fingerprint reader, I never use it. Bluetooth installed alright out of the box, connects to my Jambox fine, that's all I need.
I use volume and brightness keys all the time. How do you manage without?

 

The volume (up, down and mute) buttons work out of the box. And Win8 got a brightness slider in de settings charm at the right side of the screen. Maybe i'll install the Hotkey Utilities someday, but it's ridiculous that you need to install a 172MB package for a few buttons to work. I prefer to use a clean Windows version without all the useless bloatware that Sony preinstalls on the Z...

 

I don't think the Hotkey driver installs anything else but the keys. Also, because an installer is 180mb in size doesn't automatically mean that the installed files take the same amount of space on the disk.

 

I installed the Hotkey Utilities and it installed some "Sony Control Center", which offers a small amount of usefull features (keyboard backlight settings, screen brightness (auto) settings, cooling fan settings, usb charging settings, VAIO button settings). On the other hand it offers some useless features which native Windows can handle way better (HDMI Resolution, lid actions (power management), system info screen, mouse settings). After rebooting it also showed a popup telling "Rapid Wake" was disabled, but i think this is a one time popup.

Anybody knows if it's possible to disable the beep sound when pressing the VAIO button? It also beeps when adjusting volume and brightness.

edit: I just checked the boot time running Win8 and from the press of the power button until the Win8 login screen takes 9 seconds.

 

Marauder's rates are what I get. Read speeds are great, but compared to the latest SSDs, write speeds should be nearly as good as read speeds. Ah well.

Beep sound: Search for pi.wav file and rename.

 

numbers on my 256gb array


SR: 1084 MB/s
SW: 505.7 MB/s
512k R: 606.6
512k W: 407.7
4k R: 20.73
4k W: 270.2

 

Hmmm. Writes nearly twice as fast. I wonder if the 256gb ssd <> 128gb is the reason?

 

I'm getting similar numbers on my 256Gb.
Wondering why the low 4k Read though, because 4k isn't striped?

 

I guess that's indeed the reason. With standard (2,5") SSD's you see the same.

I still can't get Bluetooth working. Do you have anything related to bluetooth showing up in your "Device Manager", because i can't find a bluetooth related device in there.

 

Yes, it's all there, as well as the icon in the notification area.
Th only thing I couldn't get to work is the Smart Wifi, so can switch off any radios.

 

Does anyone know how accurate the "Expected Ship Date" is? My current status says "Your Vaio is BEING BUILT" and I can't imagine it taking two weeks to build especially because if i build one with the same specs the Expected Ship Date is the 13th.

 

I finally managed to fix my bluetooth using Win8. I did a clean Win8 install (again) and installed some basic drivers (chipset, fingerprint, sony extensions, intel management something and wifi) from Sony. I then installed the Smart Network utility in Win7 compatibility mode. As soon as windows restarted the smart network utility somehow enabled bluetooth and the bluetooth icon showed up in the notification tray. I just did another clean install and Bluetooth keeps working (without the sony wifi drivers and the Smart Network utility).

I think it didn't work because my bluetooth was disabled in Win7 before i did a clean Win8 install. The Smart Network utility somehow really shut down the bluetooth and even a clean install didn't enabled it again. This explains why there was no bluetooth device showing in the Device Manager.

 

Just posting my SSD benchmark, no surprises there

 

Hello guys,

I'm new here. Let me know something about those results :
are they good ?

Thanks you

 

Looks like the 256gb guys get better write rates than us 128Gb boys.

 

Thought I'd share my Win 7 Clean Build Experience for anyone else thinking about it.

SVZ1311C5E UK Clean Build
Model: i7-3612QM, 256Gb, 8Gb, 1080p, no PMD.

I used Phantom Drive (Evaluation) to create Recovery Disc Images since I don't think I'll ever be going back, but it never hurts to have a copy I can burn if needs be (I don't have a DVD writer)
Phantom Drive

Download Win 7 SP1 64bit ISO
Official Windows 7 SP1 ISO from Digital River « My Digital Life

Use Win 7 DVD - USB Tool to select ISO and create bootable USB 2.0 Key
Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool

Download All Sony Drivers for SVZ1311C5E onto USB2.0 Compatible device (You won't have access to USB3.0 devices until Drivers are installed)
Sony : SVZ1311C5E updates | Download updates for SVZ1311C5E

Enter BIOS activate boot from External Device
Set External Device as First in Boot Order

Reboot with Win 7 USB Key
Advanced Setup
Delete all Partitions (If you want rapid wake try leaving the 8Gb partition see later notes)
Create new partition
Install Win 7

Remove Win 7 USB Key
Reset BIOS boot settings
Boot into Windows 7
(Note re Product Activation; I entered the key during the initial installation, windows Control Panel later said this key was invalid, once I was online later I changed/re-entered the key and it activated ok. Maybe I typed it wrong the first time? But I'm usually pretty careful about that sort of thing.)

Start Installing all Drivers & Utilities in rough order of priority (order attached)
Restart as Required (I'm you could probably install some things together, but it doesn't take long to restart)

Notes;
- I did NOT install the Marvell RAID Driver, the notes say this is only for the Docking Station.
- Wifi Direct will not install - it says "This update is not intended for use with your computer model". It appears to be part of the VAIO Smart Network Utility as it appears in the Smart Network control window, however the notes said it should be installed before Smart Network and I'm not sure how Wifi Direct should work to test it (do I need another device with Wifi Direct to test?)
- I got an error message from RapidWake saying it could not be activated because the 8Gb Partition was missing. You can see this setting in Control Centre, you might be able to get this working again if you tried creating a new partition or keeping the original 8Gb one.
- I installed .NET 4.0 as per Notes for VAIO Care installation (and ignored the other pre-reqs I didn't have)
- Thinking maybe I don't really need VAIO Care, though some users recommend it, I will now have permanent warnings about some configuration settings I prefer)

Visit Intel website to check for and install Updated Drivers as required
Intel® Driver Update Utility (Uses ActiveX controls only available in IE)
There was an updated Wifi Driver (Note I had to run the tool 3 times before it would recognise the correct hardware properly eg same as factory build)

Run Windows Update

Nice shiny clean build, in about 3 hrs.

 

Thanks for your fantastic work TLF!

I'm still considering if I should buy this laptop or a Asus UX31A. The only reason would be the standard 128GB with the Sony vs 256GB with Asus.
Therefor a question TLF. How much space do you think would be left with a clean install of the Sony?

 

I did a clean Win8 install and got 87GB of space left. This includes a full Office 2010 Professional, Adobe CS6 Master Collection (9,2GB), my favorite apps (Skype, Foobar, Notepad++, Opera) and 2GB of data.

My Z3 got 57GB free space out of the box running the default Win7 installation. With the clean install i got all the software i need and i still got 30GB more free space. I think 128GB of storage is more than enough, as long as you don't have to store a lot of music/video files on your laptop. But i use my desktop for this...

You can also expand your storage using a SDHC card or a USB 3.0 harddisk. Here in the Netherlands a 1TB small (2,5") external USB 3 harddisk costs only 90/100 euro and is more than fast enough (90/100 mb/s using USB3) to store your music/video files.

 

Sorry White Rabbit in all my excitement I didn't check drive space before I started installing my applications :/ I can tell you I now have 238Gb out of 256Gb available for use (additional 30Gb from factory) with all my apps installed (Skype, Chrome, Firefox, VirtualBox, Paint.NET, AVG Free and a few other utilities) I'm using 80Gb. I hope that helps.

On another note I was also looking at the UX31A, the big revelation for me was comparing the processor power, those ULV processors just don't cut it for real processing power, hence the longer battery lives in true Ultrabooks (the Z3 is classed as an Ultrathin) so it really depends on your use case.

 

I read in this thread 2560x1600 video output from notebook - Overclockers Australia Forums that supposedly the new PMD can support two 30" monitors at full resolution and 60hz. Can anyone with the latest PMD confirm this?

 

Strange, but why people are getting SUCH a different speed results??

 

I got my new Vaio Z today. It is a i7 Quad Core with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD.

I noticed that the Intel graphic card has taken 2GB of memory from the system. Is there a way that we can configure how much memory would be assigned to the graphic card?

Also, from the tech spec on Sony's website.The SD Card slot can support UHS SD card but up to SDR50. (50MB/s) but do any one know if it support SDR 104? (104MB/s)?

Thanks,
Ricky

 

"Fresh Start" should be under "Customize model", not "in-stock model".

As for "recovery disk" from Sony USA, they have nothing for now. I tried to reinstall mine with my recovery disk I created, but it was failed after the installer reformating the SSD. I contact them last week, they said they don't have it for sale because it's too new. However, they do providing the free service to ship it back to them for reinstall.

 

I simply went to the Sony Style store where I bought my z3 and they quickly created the recovery disks for me.

 

I guess result depends on whether the Benchmark was run with the Z3 om:

- Full bloatware out-of-the-box
- Reinstalled from Recovery Image with bloatware removed (My benchmark was based on this)
- Fresh install of Windows

 

My tests were the same on Win 7 out of box and clean Win 8 install.
The difference really seems to be with 128gb or 256gb SSD.

 

Did anyone do speed tests on the 512GB model?

 

Not that many people around to be rich/nerdy enough to own that.

 

I apologize if this has been asked but the search function currently doesn't work here. I haven't read through every page (only about 20).

I noticed early on (the first 10 pages or so) several people commenting on the fact that the Z3 has two USB 3.0 ports. However, the website STILL says one of them is 2.0, and I just talked to a sony rep who confirmed the same. I know for sure that they are both blue, but has anyone actually tested USB 3.0 devices in both ports and seen USB 3.0 speeds from both? (photo of conversation attached)

Q:

A:

 

Hi there,

I want to order a SVZ1311 through the German Sony Store. Unfortunately I can't find an explanation on the colours I can choose from. Can someone tell me the difference between those three?
* Black
* Carbon Black
* Premium Black

"Black" is claimed to be only available via the Sony Online Store.

Is one of them more scratch-resistant than the others?

Which colour do the non-configurable standard models have? (e.g. SVZ1311S9E)

Are they different in terms of being more matt or glossy?

Thanks in front!

 

Hi all,

Anyone found a way to be able to use two external screens on the SVZ without PMD?
With an Ubuntu live cd it is possible to use both VGA and HDMI at the same time, so i'm afraid Sony disabled it for commercial reasons...
I've tried a fresh windows 8 install, and even before installing any Sony drivers, i couldn't get it to output to VGA + HDMI.

Any ideas how to get around this? Would this be a BIOS setting?
This is a must-have feature for me, wouldn't have bought if the service agent hadn't told me this would be possible.

 

IIRC, this was not possible. You can only use the internal LCD and one external monitor either via VGA or HDMI. If you have a PMD, you can use the internal screen + 3 external screens (2 via PMD, 1 via Z).

 

pyr0 is absolutely right. I tested and confirmed that you cannot use two external monitors.

 

Here in the US, the only color options we have are Carbon Fiber Black (Matte black back with a silver band near the hinge), Premium Carbon Fiber Black (glossy black back, no silver band) or Carbon Fiber Gold (Matte gold back with the silver band).

As for the preconfigured models, there are three available here. It appears that the lower two (at US$1599 and $1999) have the regular Carbon Fiber Black while the most expensive model ($2999) has the Premium Carbon Fiber Black.

 

With Ubuntu linux using two external monitors works just fine, so i'm wondering if it might be a software setting somewhere...(perhaps sony wants to sell more PMD...)

 

here for you :
http://translate.googleusercontent....w.html&usg=ALkJrhhjMDEdO3jF9TrCAutGVhjq8flyww

You will find some photos (and explanation as well) about the difference between carbon black and Premium Black
My body is ready for Premium Black .









The both colors are lovely.

 

Marketing effect :/

You just find the good answer.

 

Can anyone with the Z3 confirm whether both USB ports are USB 3.0? I'm getting conflicting information depending where I look.