Official Sony VPC-Z2 (VAIO Z 2011) Series Owners' Thread

please

TIA

 

So it's likely that Intel (solo) driver provided by Sony is equal to those downloaded from intel website..

 

You really will have to try this out yourself. I am perfectly happy with the trackpad. I find the buttons work just fine. My only complaint is that the two-finger scrolling gesture is a little sticky.

I'm sure you already know that the series 9 uses a ULV processor as opposed to the Z2's full-voltage, and that the series 9 is limited to integrated graphics only? If you use the computer for web, office and email, the 9 will suit your purposes just fine, but if you need more horsepower, you should look at the Z2.

 

Vaguely remember reading about people who had problems with the battery not charging past 80%. If it's not widely known, the VAIO control center has an option under battery called "Battery Care" which limits max charge to 80% if the computer is mostly being used plugged in. Apparently this will prolong the useful lifespan of the battery.

I turned it off, and voila the battery started charging up to 100% whereas with it on, both extended and primary will stop at 80%. It's a feature.

Yeang

 

The issue is an issue, because it happens although the battery care option is deactivated.

 

I like that the Z isnt undervolted and stuff, however I've been reading that the speakers are VERY bad, is there anyway to replace them? other than using headphones?

Do any shops keep the new Z on preview?

 

no you cannot since the space is limited

 

Any information about using the microsoft bluetooth mouse with the new z? I´m looking for a good bluetooth mouse to replace my logitech vx nano to safe one usb port...but there are not so many mices with more than 4 buttons on the market...

 

what info do you need? i have a arc it is not bluetooth it work fine, also i have a sony BT mouse it is also work fine no skipping

ps. please someone help me i try to activate sprint WWAN after clean install the window. i already did firmware and driver for the WWAN

 

Are there any shops that have a good return policy for this laptop? Where if I dont like it I can return it for a full refund?

 

To all Z2 owners:
What do you guys think of the keyboard?
I don't really know how to explain this...
I find that the keys don't all have the same feel when pressing on them...or is my keyboard defective? Some keys make more noise...

 

just DONT get the orochi

And honestly the speakers and trackpad are not as bad as people make them out to be.

 

i think sony.com

 

LOVE IT. Best keyboard ever imo. Its so quiet, so fast. I dont seems to have the same problem as you though.

I have noticed though that sometimes when im playing a game and im using WASD navigation occassionally I'll push down the D key excessively hard (such as when under heavy fire ) and when i let go it will make a little "click" sound.

^I thought sony had 15% restock.

 

Seriously? My iPad and Galaxy Tab 10.1 have better (and louder) speakers. The iPad only has one speaker.

I've owned literally hundreds of notebooks and the Z has to have some of the worst speakers. I went out and purchased a Jawbone Jambox to use with the Z when I travel and don't want to use headphones.

 

I'm using an orochi and it goes pretty well without any kind of problems. It's precise and fast.
The problem is that it's small.. and it would be a problem for big hands. But for me it's perfect. In addition, it's perfect if you use a claw or finger grip.

 

lol hundreds? that's at least 10 different laptops a year.

 

It's more than that.

 

pics please : )

 

I own them not collect them. I use them for a while then usually sell them on eBay. I currently only have three. An old Dell E6400 for work, a 13" MacBook Pro that my wife uses, and my Z2 that I picked up last week. The Z2 replaced a 2011 13" MacBook Air, which replaced a 2010 13" MBA, which replaced a 2010 11" MBA, which replaced a Dell Z600. It goes on forever. It's an illness.

 

I can see how people might not like this keyboard, depending on what each person is used to. The key travel is pretty short. For myself, I like this keyboard better than the one on the Dell Adamo that the Z2 replaced.

 

Hi, I got my Z2 (VPCZ217GG) on wednesday. Love it.

But over the weekend it has started making a buzzing and crackling sound. This started after the Vaio Analyzing Manager was scanning my media (it was the only app running) it cranked the cpu to 100% utilization and staying there for a couple of minutes. the Laptop got quite hot.

Apart from this noise the computer does not seem to be misbehaving. But I am concerned, is something broke?. I am sure the computer was silent before and now it's kind of like that old HDD accessing sound only quieter.

The fan noise I can cope with, it regular white noise. but this faint crackling makes me think that something is not right inside.

Is it normal and I didn't notice before? (I don't think so) can someone please ask their Z2 to do something mildly cpu intensive (like starting a few apps at the same time) but not so that the fans start roaring and put there ear close to the keyboard?

Thanks in advance

 

My unit had bluetooth skipping problems, but i have a feeling it was just mine.

My other big problem was they sacrificed ergonomics to make it look cool. I was never sure where to put my ring and pinky fingers since where i normally put them there were sharp edges. I ended up putting them like behind the mouse, and it ached after an hour or two. The anywhere mx I picked up feels so much better in the hand. But each to his own.

 

^ probably your orochi had some problem.. or your laptop.. I don't know, really XD

Well.. I don't find so sharp those edges.. by the way, the problem doesn't exist if you use it with a claw grip or finger grip.. but still, if you have big fingers and hands, it would always be a problem. That's why for me, since I have normal hand, thin fingers and finger grip..it's perfect. It depends person by person I think!

 

Gotcha. Sounds like a bug with battery care not turning off then. Did a clean reinstall fix it? (I realize that not everyone wants to do a clean reinstall, but i'm so much happier after i did mine, bye bye Sony bloatware and Norton crap).

 

Does the Z2 use a Synaptics touchpad or an ALPS? I'm sorry for asking, I saw something potentially mentioning that earlier in this thread.

 

Synaptics.

 

What country are you from - to suggest a store for you? People should type in their "location" in their avatar for questions like this. Usually, you can get the 15% restocking fee waived if you get the store manager to approve it in advance. Just make sure you get it in writing or in an email. Its worked for me many of times.

Otherwise, just order a preconfig model at Sony; return it within 30-days if your unhappy. You just have to pay for the S/H to them. That's your best option.

 

As information: Sony Asia released the Bluetooth 3.0 driver on there website

Bluetooth High Speed Driver (Intel) Update version 14.1.1.3 : Download : Sony Asia Pacific

I think this is the Intel Bluetooth driver from the website i´ve installed a few days ago and which is working without problems...

 

^ 14.1.1.3? I already got that one from some other Sony website before (either German or US)..

Took a look at the clock yesterday; yes, 3.5 hours is about the time I got to get from 7% (total) to 100% for both the internal & the sheet battery. I think this is quite good.

 

My installed version for bluetooth part is 1.0.78.20535 from the intel website...

 

Oi, you! Yeah you with a new Z2 machine. Go to this thread and tell us what kind of drive you have

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/607410-sony-vaio-z2-sata-ii-vs-sata-iii.html#post7864603

I'm trying to get some data on the G2 v G3 drives, including where the slower G2's are being found.

kthxbye

 

PMD issues with Flash Video and Picasa
Hi,
I have just got the New Vaio Z with the PMD, i7 + 8gb ram - so very fast!
BUT when the PMD is connected there seems to be certain issues with the following:
Adobe Flash videos on the web seem to have a slower frame rate and screen tearing when truning on full screen. Also sometime glitches completely. I have ensured all frivers and flash are up to date.
Also Google Picasa Photo viewer has really big screen tearing when zooming in and out.
On all these the onboard Intel HD3000 runs fine on all. Surely the PMD should be running these all more smoothly not worse ?!?
Anyone else spotted this??
I am guessing it is bugs with the early drivers ???

JPeg

 

Anyone running Fedora Core 15 able to get wireless to work?

 

OOOH Thanks! Luckily for me I got an email last week saying they are out of stock and need to build new bags so they said to contact them with any issues. We will see where this goes. I don't doubt your information, I would like to see if its consistent across employees heehe

 

Anyone tried installing the protection suite from "older" z´s on the new machine? is it working?

 

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Cheers,
Miki

 

i did, not working for me

 

Thank you - so i don´t have to try

BTW, is it possible to disable the automatic brightness of the display? i´m not sure about that, searched the machine but found nothing...only for keyboard light.

 

There is an option in Vaio Control Center, in the "Display" group.

 

I have this same issue with the PMD connected. If I have Steam open in the background, i get tearing, and low framerate. open a game and it plays flawless, so it seems to be a flash issue.

 

We need newer drivers ! I think this is our main problem in so much cases...i hope nautis will release them soon...

Can someone give me the model name of the noise reduction headsets? i´m looking for something similar in germany...

 

Bose | QuietComfort® Acoustic Noise Cancelling® headphones | Headphones

 

anyone try to do any CAD stuff on this with the 1080P screen?

 

There are two different auto-brightness utilities at work on the Vaio Z21 (at least this was the case on my one); the Sony autobrightness control that uses the ambient light sensor (enabled and disabled via the Control Centre) and the Intel HD3000 "power saving" brightness utility. The Intel "feature" was driving me crazy until I realised what was going on; it was most pronounced when web browsing, where the ambient light in the room was static but the screen brightness would still change (eg switching tabs between reddit.com which is mostly white, and imgur.com which is mostly dark gray - yeah sometimes I've very productive). Bizarrely the screen would get darker if the background of a web page was dark itself, making the page almost impossible to read.

Anyway it can be turned off in the Intel graphics control panel under Power; change from Balanced or Maximum Battery Life to Maximum Performance. EDIT: might also have something to do with the Power Conservation feature on this same page; I have it disabled. I'm not bothered if this affects the battery life since it was driving me mad. I find the Sony ambient light sensor works great, so I have that on all the time. I find I rarely have to manually change the brightness.

 

A second utility! That explains a lot. Thanks for the info -- definitely useful.

 

I have the exact same issue. Sony's solution was to set-up a repair to replace the fan. I have seen this issue on 2 brand new Z's, both in balanced performance mode with the PMD plugged in and no applications running.

 

quigley0, thanks for letting me know, glad it is not just mine! Though for the cost of these machines would hope Sony sorts this soon!

 

Guys I was testing Starcraft 2 without PMD.. is there a way to do an auto-benchmark?? Or I must use a replay file (what I don't have) and use fraps?

 

Good idea! Is your z without a pmd and you have the latest intel driver from the website?