Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

My machine arrived out of the box with the same marks on the screen. In my case they weren't actually scratches but an indentation left by the sharp aluminium edge extending the full width of the laptop separating the keyboard and touchpad. I think the problem is caused when pressure is placed on the lid for an extended length of time. I made sure to prevent this from happening and the marks (which I initially thought were permanent) disappeared after a few days. How are you transporting your laptop? Keeping a protective sheet between your keyboard and screen when you're not using the laptop also helps.

 

im going out of my mind just waiting for the z6xx to be released!

 

It might have an option for wifi N-card Intel 5300?

 

Is there a post on here which explains the differences between all the Z models?

 

Sony are somewhat unique in havng different models around the world - but generally with the Z, just look at the specifications. That's all the difference there is so far.

 

is there a z user review that includes pics anywhere? was looking for one but couldnt seem to find it anywhere on here?

 

There are a couple in this thread.

Also see:

http://www.siliconpopculture.com/articles/review/sony_vaio_z/

http://www.symplification.com/2008/sony_vaio_z_13_1_laptop_impressions

(disclaimer - second link is me)

 

I have both. There is a photo of that particular effect on this thread (can't find it again). I have one particlar scratch that damaged the coating and the overall 'line' that comes from the pressure against the palmrest. If you clean it, it does not disappear, simply is less visible. I am simply concerned that it will worsen over time. I agree with you that pressure seem to cause that effect, accentuated by the fact that the screen is flexible. But it's quite poor design really if you cannot transport the laptop in normal condition without risking this pressure effect. I used to have that on an IBM with three keys pressuring the screen. IBM replaced the screen and keyboard.

I have now put a piece of foam (the one that came with the computer) between the keyboard and the screen and transport the laptop this way.

I will contact the service centre early next week and seek repair under warranty. I'll keep posting...

I really love the laptop, it just p***** me off

 

anybody know when z6xx will be released?

 

it seems that the 620 on the sony style canada test page got taken down from the list (the page is still there, but it's not listed anymore on the page that links to that page)

 

Anyone noticed that the aero graphics are not running smoothly when using the z on battery power? Why is that?

 

sonystyle mexico is now taking orders for the Z690T....estimate ship date 19th January. They offer a full choice of SSD...single/dual up to 256gb(2x128) including bluray and the P9600 2.66GHz CPU.

And then we have sonystyle.co.uk with it's Z series CTO page listed as out of stock?

Nothing I can see from the States or Canada?

Sony Vaio VGN-SZ670N, 2.4GHz, 4GB RAM, 160GB, Vista Business.

 

I got my piece delivered yesterday night !

one word guys..... BEAUTY

Will post reviews soon!

 

congratz. u must be happy

 

you bet... am jumping around with joy!

Sony VAIO Z - VGN-Z26GN/B, P8600 2.4GHz, 3GB DDR3, 320 GB 7200rpm, NVidia 9300 256mb, 5+ hrs battery backup, Vista Business

 

Your so happy your even talking funny. Congrats, I'm jealous.

 

wassup z fellas. got mine last night from a local fry's. just installed 4Gig RAM and a 32MB patriot SSD,. and currently installing XP now. the Z really looks awsome. the only thing that i noticed is why does my led screen looks weird. everyone says the screen is the best. but why mine bleeds a bit, brightness looks dim and dull, when you're not looking straight at it, it looks kinda reddish (correct term?) whole screen looks stained or something

--something defective? any info guys? thanks in advance!

 

Definitely sounds defective.

 

hmm, i wonder why my comment didnt get posted

anyways, i looked at a Z screen and there are no problems with it

judging from your list of problems, i'm pretty sure it's defective

hurry and return it!

ps: WHYYYY, WHYYYY ISNT THE z6xx OUT IN CANADA YETTT, WHY GOD WHY

 

After months of debates, researching and waiting for CES 2009 to be over...i have finally decided to go for Sony Z (Asia model VGN-Z26GN/B). I hope the current owners can shed some light on 2 concerns i have now on Sony Z:

1)Battery drain - i read somewhere it is more of Vista problem. The actual batter do last close to 3-4hrs on basic usage. True?

2) Heat. I be using the laptop alot. Alot means it can be 24hrs on certain days. But at least more then 8hrs aday as i be bringing it to work and to campus. So is how the heat performance so far?

I so close to getting the Z that i pretty excited.

cheers

 

sorry i am not an owner, but i have seen one up close and have heard other people talking about the battery

it seems that the laptop, on stamina, can definitely go up to 6 hours, so sony didn't lie, but in actual usage, it will probably last 5 hours, on speed it should last a full 4 hours

if you add the extended battery, it can also definitely go up to 9 hours and higher (on stamina), but in actual usage, probably around 7 hours and 45 minutes

as for the heat, referring to other people's comments.. and after feeling one myself, it was very cool.. as cool as laptops of this caliber can get

trust me, you're making the right choice ;]

PS: my estimates are already quite conservative, take a look at this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=317231

 

thanks for the response guys! appreciate it. i guess i will be exchanging it first thing in the morning.

-as for the battery issue, i just want to chip in; mine got drained after 4 hrs of heavy usage on SPEED settings. like installing windows, drivers, softwares, downloading stuff, tweaking the OS while streaming mp3's, and etc. IMhO, 4 hrs is decent for that kind of usage.

 

As Brawn said, heat is not an issue...the fan is more of a concern if you're going to be using it in a dead silence place.

The battery actually last a pretty long time. During the past few days, on maximum power saving, silent mode, etc., I got 3hr usage from a 50% charge(I try not to go over that to preserve my battery) while watching CES on tv and using my laptop for reading up on...CES...double coverage! lol.

 

Quoting myself here

The VAIO P has an Fn button just right of the arrow keys. A (small) step in the right direction!

 

CES Double coverage! LOL!
Thanks folks, really appreciate all the reassurances! It's a lot of money for me but there's no better beast that suit my requirements currently. Dell Adamo looks promising but i cant delay my purchase any longer....so Sony Z baby here i come

Thanks again! Notebookreview has been a great source

Cheers,
a-soon-to-be-sonyZ-owner.

 

Hello everyone I'm new here and I just got a Z591U/B with the BluRay burner, and have a question I haven't found a solution for.

I can burn BD, CDR, & DVD's, but I can't burn DVD+/-R DL doesn't make any difference what brand I try, the burner never sees the disk. It can read a DVD+R DL that I've recorded on another system. The specs for the BD burner says it can burn them, yet it doesn't.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

Nice choice of laptop, congrats. The burner you have does everyhting except what your experiencing, it does not burn DVD Dual Layer. It's been discussed somewhere in previous pages on this thread.

My Z25X is coming on the 19th with the same Blu ray drive, it's not drastic to me but many find this an issue...especially with the costs involved with blank Blu ray media. I'm not 100% sure if I will keep mine

 

I'll have to find that thread, I just had a Tech from Sony login and go over my system; now he wants me to send it into the depot for repair, says it should burn DVD DL's. or he suggested I return it to where I bought it and get a replacement....so your saying even if I did that, I'd still have the same problem?

Thanks

 

Yea the BluRay drive does not burn DVD DL

 

actually looking at the PDF for your model, it clearly says > DVD+R DL Write: 4x max <

confused as to the specs on my Z from sonystyle.co.uk ?? i will just have to wait and see....9 days left not counting...9,8,7

I'm sure there is a solution other than sending it back...

 

I just got the Z591U/B and noticed it doesn't burn DVD/R+DL but it reads ones that I made on another machine.

I called Sony, Tech logged into my machine and tried a few things and then gave me a Case # to return it to the depot to have them repair it.....he also said I probably could return it the place I bought it, since it is so New....so your saying I'm wasting my time and money doing a return, I'll have the same problem with a new replacement/repair?

Thanks

 

Yes I'm confused too, I don't want to go through all the hassle only to find out the Tech is only reading the same PDF that I already have that says it supports DVD DL, and after he couldn't get it to work; have me a case # to return it for repair; it's less than a week old, can't believe it's "broke".

Can those the have a 'Z' chime in with your model # and let us know yours doesn't burn DVD DL either, I don't understand why Sony USA says it does then??

 

I had the Z590 with BluRay it reads DL but does not WRITE DL - so dont waste your time. And besides, its not THAT big of a deal to return the Z if everything else is okay!

 

I think it's a typo

 

Oh good, we're talking Blu Ray. Can anyone here who has the Blu Ray player let me know how the movie watching experience has been. I've heard complaints that the drive is slow and also of some kind of lines that appear when people move?

 

well the diagonal lines are there regardless whether it has a blu ray drive or not. it can be kinda anoying.

 

Is this a universal problem or do some people have it and some don't? Are there 2 different screen manufacturers like there is with the SR?

 

dont know about SR but the diagonal line is a universal problem for sure

it only matters if you have good eye sight though

 

Diagonal lines are visible to those with VERY sensitive eyes. It is caused by Dura-View layer + Anti reflective coating per speculation.

 

Does it ruin the whole movie wathcing experience or is it not that bad. I'd hate to drop +2k on this thing only to find out that It isn't very good for watching movies on as that will be one of it's primary functions for me.

 

I'm pretty sure I've got 20/20. Will I be disapointed?

What are sensitive eyes? I think I've got normal eyes. Will the lines drive me crazy?

Just when I think I'm ready to pull the trigger. There's always something...
Geez you'd think if you plunked down this much cash you'd get a pretty flawless machine.

 

I've got a Z and I'm an eye surgeon and I know for a fact that I have got 'sensitive eyes'. The diagonal lines are fairly visible to me in some circumstances, it's the same on the TZ that my wife has and she can't see them on either machine. Age is also an issue, the younger the are the more likely you are to be able to see them. Sort of like the high pitch sound that cathode ray tubes emit. More obvious to the young. I'm 32.
The diagonal lines don't bother me, and although I notice them, they don't detract from watching films (or anything else).
Everyone's different though!

 

Since it sounds like it happens on both Blu Ray and regular DVD I guess I could just go into a store and ask them to pop a movie in and see if I notice it. Thanks for the help guys/girls.
How about my other question? How does the Blu Ray drive perform/look (besides the diagonal lines of course)?

rant
You would think Sony would be asking themselves, "How come nobody is buying Blu Ray in our notebooks? We really want Blu Ray to be a big hit but nobody is going for it"
"Hey, maybe it's because the Blu Ray option represents about 25% of the total cost of the notebook"
"Hmm, that's alot. Maybe we should make it cheaper like HP and Dell so that everyone will want one and thus help bring the format into the mainstream"
/rant

 

the diagonal lines happens when there is some "motion" so all kind of video files will do.

This also means you don't need to play a video file, just move you head while looking at the display!

 

I too notice the diagonal lines. And have better than 20/20 vision. Only really when i move my head, and mostly with yellow and orange ish colours.

It bothered me for a few days, but now it does'nt at all.

Overall im extremely happy with my Z26gn (AU). Well worth the money.

 

Hi,
anybody running Adobe Lightroom 2 on the last Sony Vaio Z notebook?
Im interested in the performance in develop module (very slov on P4 3Ghz 1-2sec lag).
How is Vaio Z performing?

I would like it to use it for photojournalism, RAW editing on the route, and basic color corrections.

Thank you all for your experience

Michal
Czechia

 

Got my Z530N last week, and loving it so far.
The weight/size to power ratio is perfect for me.

Is anyone else noticing that the HDD is constantly being accessed.
The indicator light is always blinking, non-stop, and in a quiet room you can hear the HDD being accessed constantly.
This occurs even when im not doing anything at all on the system.

Is this normal for the Z?

Thanks in advance

 

no programs running? maybe it's the vista automatic defragmenter that is set to enabled by default

 

I do. It is pretty much unusable.
Not because of the speed -- with 3 GB of RAM and a P9500, it's not too slow (generating a new preview from a RAW might take a few seconds, otherwise it's fast). With less than 3 GB of RAM in Vista (or 2 GB in XP), LR is going to be dead slow no matter what.

But the main issue is the horrible colour correctness of the Z, or, rather, the lack thereof. The white point is at D93, and with no way to adjust it, so even if it has a large gamut, it's not accurate, and the colours you see aren't what you get when you print. Especially the teal/steel like colours are going to show up quite differently, but overall, the display oversaturates pretty much all colours in order to give a vibrant display. This is nice for looking at stuff on screen, but not when you print something out or export to sRGB, and it comes out completely different.

A second issue is that the screen just isn't tall enough. If you keep both the top and bottom panels, there just won't be enough space for the picture in the middle. You have to hide the panels to get fair use out of it.

Hooking it up to a second monitor will help -- then you can get decent colour calibration, and enough vertical space to do useful work. The laptop will show the LR command interface and a small preview, while the second monitor will show the current image, full screen. A good CRT is best (there are still colours that a good CRT can display that LCDs can't), but an LCD will work.
But then you lose the whole point of having a laptop...

 

It is normal for Vista when the machine is new, or you just have installed or uninstalled a bunch of programs. Most of this is indexing, and some is analysing files for pre-caching.
If you turn the machine off (or put it to sleep) before it's finished, it may have to re-do the work it did, and you get the same thing the next time you turn it on too.
For a new system, or after installing/uninstalling something, put the machine in a mode where it won't go to sleep with inactivity, and leave it running for a while. With a completely new machine, at least a few hours. After this, disk access will happen much less often, and the machine will respond faster.