Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

I was wondering if you will still be able to CTO the 5 series models once the new ones come out? I'm afraid that if I decide that the 5 series and the $300 promotion they have right now is better for me after checking out the new ones, it may be too late. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
(I know ya'll are talkin' bout color an sech right now so excuse me fo buttin' in)

 

My head is going to explode as I wait for the refresh to appear on sonystyle.

 

Hmmm... that's kinda what it looked like to me too... but that's a bit worrying if it is, isn't it? I thought these screens were supposed to be able to display more colours than most LCDs, not less :-\

Although if it was the screen itself, it'd be the same on either graphics card wouldn't it, not just the NVIDIA one that it uses in speed mode? Once I noticed that difference, I was thinking it might be something wrong with the cable (or whatever) from the NVIDIA card to the screen in my laptop.

 

Ah... I just decided to do a bit of googling for this sort of thing on LCD screens in general, not just on the VAIO Z, and found this:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=328862

The first image on that page looks almost exactly the same as what I'm seeing on my VAIO (the other images not so much)... but surely it doesn't have a touch screen? :-\

 

I don't think it's the graphics card, but the screen. When switching, the brightness and gamma probably changes, which might make it more or less visible on one card than the other.

The display should display 16777216 colours.
If it really dithers for values between 0x39 and 0x3f for all colours (it's just hard to notice with red and blue, where the eye isn't as sensitive), it really displays 15438249 colours.
Or 8% less than you'd think.

Wasn't Apple sued over something like this a few years ago, marketing the Macbook as displaying more colours than it did?

 

No idea, but personally I wasn't that bothered about how many colours it could display anyway. What I am a bit bothered about is that it can't display some standard colours correctly, which other much older and cheaper LCD monitors can seemingly display perfectly well

I think, if I remember rightly, the actual wording for the Z series was that it could display 100% NTSC colour gamut, whatever that means exactly... I thought I'd heard of things before that could display over 100% of that? But it was said as if it was something that other screens couldn't do anyway.

 

I just took the plunge and ordered my new Z. I'll post specs in a minute but I forgot about the 10% discount for students. I'm not a student anymore but my daughter is (she's 3 ). How hard is it to get this discount?

edit: Nevermind. All they did is ask what school I was going to. Should have said Cambridge or West Point or something just for kicks!

 

Well, my Z90 from Japan needs to be sent back for repair ... one of the SSD RAID drives failed. Luckily I didn't lose that much. That's what led to my installation of Windows 7 - I was trying to see if it was HW or some other fault. Oh well.

I'll use my Vaio G in the meantime. Thank heavens for backup laptops!

 

I can see the pattern. I think that arth1 is probably correct and it's a dithering pattern - which means that the screen is probably a 6 bit panel...

Apple was sued because it caimed that it was selling displays with "millions of colors" - this is not true where 6-bit displays are used.

I'm not sure how many colors Sony advertises the Z as being able to display - a wider gamut doesn't necessarily mean that there is an increase in the number of colors. As arth1 pointed out some pages ago, the "space" between each color is wider.

As an aside, I still don't know if that's an issue for working on color sensitive applications (e.g. photos for printing). While logically it could be, it may not be a issue if calibrated.

 

Well I'll just barge right on in here again. Here are my specs and my price. Nothing spectacular but just thought I'd share.

VGN-Z590 Configure-to-Order
VGN-Z590
Customization Details
LCD 13.1" (XBRITE-DuraView™
Microsoft® Works
Photo Standard
250 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [7200 rpm]
Standard Battery (BPS12)
Video Standard
No Engraving
Trusted Platform Module / Biometric Fingerprint Sensor
QuickBooks Simple Start
Integrated Wireless Wide Area Network
No Fresh Start™
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8400 (2.26GHz)
Wireless LAN (802.11a/b/g/n) with integrated Bluetooth® technology
2 GB DDR3-SDRAM (DDR3-1066, 2GBx1)
Windows® Live OneCare 90-Day Trial
Black
Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium with Service Pack 1
Blu-ray Disc™ Read/Write Drive (Windows XP Professional downgrade disk not included when this option is selected)
Temporarily out of stock. Estimated ship date: 01/27/2009.


This model is subject to a $8.00 state recycling fee and is included in the taxes displayed above. (What is this?)
1
$2,114.99
$2,114.99

 

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hey guys, it's somehow worrying that the screen on this 2000€ machine just cannot display some colors proprely, while older and cheaper books can.

how about opening a separate thread to see, if there are more people experiencing the issue? we could also contact sony and ask on that.

i too remember sony advert on something with 100% ntsc gamut.

over the weekend i will try to make a photo to see if we all have similar experience.

 

I don't think you will be able to CTO Z5's once the site has updated the new Z6's, but you will be able to see quite a bit of Z5's with different configs offered in the "outlet" Sony Style tab. Hopefully, the will have your exact or comparable choice.

edit: looks like you already ordered.

 

100% NTSC gamut is not the same as "millions of colors". If you can find a "millions of colors" claim, then perhaps there's an issue.

Most laptops, however, do use 6-bit screens. The Z is obviously a "premium" machine, but whether on that basis alone you can say that it should have an 8-bit screen is questionable.

Also, you can return the Z if it's within the period? And, if you make a stink, even if it's outside of the period you might be able to return.

 

It seems that whenever a pre-config model has the blu-ray, it also has tons of other upgrades as well. They proly figure you must be rich to go for the blu-ray option so you must want all this other stuff too!.

That's sweet about the "student" discount.

I figure I've got 30 days to find out if:

a. I don't like it for whatever reason
b. The new 6 series is a better deal
c. I can get a similar config cheaper at the outlet store

If none of the above hold true then I'm stoked on my new lappy!

 

I have an issue with my Z11WN. It doesn't shut down (it always shows shutting down with the cyrcle in the blue screen of vista), and I am obbligated to do it pressing the green button. Well, not always byt very often which I can say is very annoying. Once I left it to see how many minutes will need, after half an hour still was trying to shut down! Any ideas?

 

My Z series CTO arrived this morning....unboxing and testing now, more to follow..

VGN-Z25X
Premium Carbon
Intel® Core 2 Duo P9600 2.66GHz
128 GB Ultra ATA Flash SSD
4 GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM
Blu-ray® Disc drive
Windows Vista® Ultimate

I noticed immediately....Made in Japan.

EDIT: After opening this Vaio Z the CPU turned out to be the T9600 2.8 GHz

 

congrats on your purchase!

 

ooh. 2.66! Nice. Grats!

 

You can use an i1.

The square shows up as grey on both the Z and my WCG LCD - both calibrated with the i1.

S

 

Glad to hear it!

I assume you color calibrate because you intend to print? In your experience is using a WCG display an asset or liability?

 

I'm so shocked the CPU on my new Z is the T9600 2.8GHz

I clearly ordered the P9600 2.66 GHz what does this mean?

I shouldn't complain, or should i?

 

That's the European / UK model right? Did you order from Sony Style? How long did you have to wait? And lastly - how much was that?

 

it was purchased from sonystyle UK, it took 17 days and cost alot!

1st surprise it's Made in Japan...2nd it came will the T9600 2.8 instead of the P9600 2.66...im delighted about that.

 

Wow. Perhaps I'll have to take the plunge then - although I won't be stretching to the SSD and Bluray! Look forward to hearing how you get on with testing. Performance should be stonking!

 

Wow, I didn't notice that, just assumed it was a US CTO... I would have liked a Blu-Ray drive and 7200rpm hard disk with mine, but the UK CTO models are much more expensive than the standard models to start with, before you even add on any options... and they didn't seem to even have an option for the 7200rpm drive :-\

In the end I went for the Z11WN because I found that my local sony centre had them even cheaper than the cheapest online price I could find, which was already a lot cheaper than the Z21s... and all that those models have that this doesn't are a slightly faster CPU and bigger hard disk, apart from the Z21VN which has the 7200rpm hard disk... but that worked out to a £700 price difference compared to the one I got, and still no Blu-Ray, so just wasn't worth it.

 

I recently ordered the z laptop from Sonystyle website. It was supposed to ship out on Jan 13. The web site shows my order status as "Processing" since the day I ordered. Jan 13 has come and gone and there is no change in est. ship date or in my order status. what is worse is that Sony customer service seems clueless. They don't seem to know anything more than what is on the web page that I have access to.

I was wondering if anyone else in this forum had a similar experience? Did you end up finally getting the laptop?

-
thanks
J

 

i had an email saying my laptop would ship out the 19th, its the 15th today and it arrived. no email notification about dispatch...it just showed up 845 this morning.

im glad you said that about the customer service...no idea!

god i love this Z keyboard....excellent

 

I have the exact same problem. I ordered the Z cto on the 5th, and it said estimated shipping date: 1/13/09 and my order status still says processing as of now. Customer support is of no help and just directs me to the FAQ etc.

 

What sleeves are you guys finding is best for these notebooks. I looked at the Zero Shock III 14" sleeve but it seems a little big. I'd like something that fits it pretty snug but protection is the overall priority. Is Zero Shock the only way to go?

 

That depends on what you want.

Speed: 2.80/2.67 = 1.05, or 5% faster at best.
Power: 35W/25W = 1.40, or 40% higher CPU power drain

Unless they also gave you a large capacity battery, you might not be completely pleased.

 

I haven't heard of Zero Shock cases before, so I'm just having a look myself. They seem to do a model of sleeve for 13" widescreen laptops, and it sounds like it's only a little bit bigger than the VAIO Z...

http://shinza.com/product_info.php?cPath=5_10_15&products_id=75

Exterior dimensions (W x D x H): 14.1 x 1.0 x 10.6 inches (345 x 25 x 270 mm)
Interior dimensions (W x D x H): 12.4 x 1.6 x 9.3 inches (315 x 40 x 235 mm)

VAIO Z Dimensions (W x H x D): 314mm x 24.5 to 33mm x 210 mm

(Hmmm... looks like they're counting different sides as the height and depth)

I'm thinking these might be a bit hard for those of us in the UK to get hold of though... a quick Froogle search is only showing a few of them, and all 15" and up

Right now mine is in the case I used for my SZ, which consists of a standard (14" I think) laptop case with a smaller slip case kind of thing inside it, which I found later on at a computer fair... The combination just happened to fit my SZ pretty much perfectly, but the Z slides about a bit in there as it's a little smaller.

The Sony Centre I got my Z from didn't have any cases that fitted it (Sony or otherwise), and in fact didn't have a display model Z (just an old SZ), or even anything saying that they sold the Z series... so not quite sure how they expect to sell the rest of their stock.

 

That's perfect!!! Thanks a ton. Don't know why I couldn't find it (actually I do, I didn't look hard enough)

Anyone have this exact sleeve? How does it fit? Like a glove I hope. Thanks again.

edit: Nevermind, found this thread. About half way down there are pics of a Z in the 13" Zeroshock.
Sold.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=291748&page=5

 

no large capacity battery, thats quite a big drain. I'm undecided wether or not to change for the 2.66 25w, so i can get the extra batterry life and have it run cooler. One site i was on said the Z's with the T9600 2.8 have a different fan/heatsink altogehter?

 

yup, they mod the fan/heatsink, i'm guessing that means.. fan uses more power, and heatsink is bigger (heavier)

personally, i'd choose the P 2.66 over the T 2.8

 

FWIW, there don't appear to be different heatsink models in the Z construction manual available here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=342581

Of course, the manual seems to be from before the refresh (so no 2.66 or 2.8)

--
I would pick the 2.66 over the 2.8

 

---
Good for you! I hope they sent it "signature required". I once had Nikon sent me a DSLR with no signature reqd. and the UPS guys just left it outside the building.

 

oh, on a side note, can anyone please tell me WHY they are taking so long to update to the 6xx series? isn't the only difference with the bluetooth+EDR? isn't that easily changed in all of the 5xx series?

the wait is killing meee, it's already half way through january and i don't even care about the bluetooth but i must continue the wait or else it'll all be for nothing hahahaha =/

anyone else dying from anticipation? =]

 

As far as we know bluetooth is the only difference, but that's assuming that the "refresh" that places like the UK and Singapore got is the same as the 6xx series.

Happy waiting

I think the Bluetooth is meaningless - I don't even use bluetooth except with a mouse.

 

---
I had the customer service guy put in a query to the warehouse from which this is supposed to ship. I am supposed to get an email when they hear back from the warehouse. If I hear anything I will let you know.

I have to say Sony's customer support really sucks!

 

Well it's nice when it's calibrated!

It's still only colour managed apps that work properly though.

The profiles for the Z screen and the monitor (Dell 2408WFP) are very very different, so I just set the S2 button to toggle between them.

S

 

Thanks, please keep me updated on the situation.

 

Brawn & Xand, im with you both on the figures when it comes to the 25w P2.66 compared to the 35w T2.8! I did a whole lot of research prior to this purchase, i knew in advance of the pros and cons between them both.

The thing is when you configue a Z on sonystyle UK, it only states the processor as being 2.60 with no other details. I just assumed it would be the 2.66 and never imagined it could be the T9600 2.8! The T9600 is an expensive option everywhere!

It arrived after 17 days configured and boxed in Japan with a 3 year UK warranty. For a CTO is was boxed exactly like a pre-assembled model, it was nicely done. Iim upgrading from a vaio SZ 2.4, 4GB, 160GB HDD and Ive had that 18 months and know all the SZ and its problems....heat and FAN noise!!

The fan noise on this Z is lower than the SZ even with the 35w 2.8, My CPU currently running 42c, fan is baely noticable and the combination of the 2.8 and the SSD is fantasic and its exremely smooth and slick to operate in Vista Ultimate, a massive improvement for me and I think this configuration is extremely fast....Not rapid, I will leave that for the dual SSD RAID 0 configurations. so in advance i think i would of gone for the 2.66 (if there was a choice!)...but as this is configured in Japan and is performing amazingly straight out of the box, it's looking strong to stay

Sonystyle said i have 14 days on this, not 30 as i thought to return. I have plenty of testing to do before i decide. Thanks for your thoughts guys, appreciated.

VGN-Z25X
Premium Carbon
Intel® Core 2 Duo T9600 2.8 GHz
128 GB Ultra ATA Flash SSD
4 GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM
Blu-ray® Disc drive
Windows Vista® Ultimate

 

You should be able to have different profiles per monitor, as long as you use individual desktops and not a stretched desktop. The graphics card should show up twice in the colour profile selector, and can have different settings.

 

There *is* a part of the heatsink assembly that's different for the 2.8 shown in the Z service manual that was posted. I don't have it in front of me, but there was a diagram labeled "T9600 2.8 ONLY" (or something like that) showing an extra metal air vent thingy and other differences.

I'm with everyone else, the 2.8 would be cool for bragging rights, but I'd have a very close look at the power consumption.

But how do the power ratings work -- if you're not running the CPU at close to full utilization (and 97% of the time, you're not...), won't it then be using something significantly less than the full 35W -- & maybe the power consumption won't be all that hugely different from the 2.6? Or is it always going to use more watts for a given level of computational power?

 

Thanks. Obviously didn't look through it hard enough!

 

Sounds great

I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

I'm half tempted to get an intel 80GB SSD - but I can't face the voided warranty >.<

 

how will they find out? if u ever send it back, just take the SSD out

 

The customer rep ( Joseph P) just told me that "he received information that the inventory should be updated by the 19th and they expect and updated shipping date of the 23rd for this order. "

but then they also told me on the 14th that it was scheduled to ship in 24 hrs.. that turned out to be bogus. So, I am not sure if this information is correct.

 

Were you waiting for SonyStyle to update the CTO on Z6's so that you can configure your own? Because from someone's post earlier, Best Buys has the Z610 model available if you weren't looking at getting a CTO.

 

That's a nice configuration. Does the "Premium Carbon" mean the lid is that brownish/dark woven design that was on the SZ Premium? They have some very expensive Zs at Best Buy but none of them seem to have the Premium Carbon cover, and I'm trying to figure out which models come with that, if they even do!