Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

can i swap the 9300gs for a 9600gt by any chance

 

i too would be intresetd in that, does anyone know???
i remember reading in one discussion somebody stating that there was no way to change the card - but who knows...

 

I doubt that very very much... I'd assume it'll be the same as the SZ, which has the graphics chip attached directly as part of the motherboard (but I don't know for sure).

But if it is possible... THAT'S gotta be worth voiding my free 3 year warranty!!!

 

even i am looking to void my free 3 year warranty

 

the premium lid is black, from far away you probably cannot tell the black from the premium carbon, but if you see it up close under certain angles you will see lines on it. I believe that none of the Zs from retail stores have the premium carbon (or it's very very rare) because i've looked at online specs and it's never listed.

 

yeah me too, i would void my warranty anytime, for getting some decent video card in

 

I'm confused about this whole premium carbon thing. My SZ61WN had a sticker saying "Premium" on the box, and I think it did say premium carbon in the specs for it, but the lid on my Z11WN looks pretty much the same as it, just plain black really (although it feels slightly less smooth).

However, the lid on my auntie's TZ11VN does look different, it's kinda more shiny with diagonal lines visible in it. So is that the premium carbon lid, or does my SZ have a different kind of premium carbon lid too?

 

i am not sure if the TZ and SZ have similar premium lids, but probably not. i know for sure that the Z premium lid is different from those two. for one, the lines on the Z go horizontally across the lid. and second, it's not brownish, it's black, and the lines are blue-ish

if you cannot see the lines on your SZ or Z, then you probably don't have the premium lid because the lines are somewhat obvious up close

hope this helps

 

Yep, I think you're right. My SZ was supposed to have a premium lid though... but it doesn't matter now anyway, it's broken anyway lol.

Are all of the Z series fully carbon fibre though (even if not the premium sort?) I know the cheaper SZs were magnesium alloy or something, but it seems more difficult to find out what exactly the Zs are made of. There's no mention of different casings on the different Z series models, but there is absolutely no mention of carbon fibre anywhere on the box for mine, and I can't actually tell myself whether it's carbon fibre or just ordinary plastic.

 

every Z chassis is made of carbon fiber, the only part of the laptop that is not carbon is the brushed aluminum around the keyboard/palmrest. (i really wonder why they chose to do that, i think it's to make the laptop stand out) i understand exactly what you mean by plastic, i felt one in real life and i thought it was plastic, but it's actually carbon. it is much more durable than plastic and you can tell that it's lighter too

 

Ahh, yep, that was the other thing that confused me... the mention of the keyboard/palmrest/whatever being made of a single sheet of aluminium.

I'm not too bothered about it lookling like ordinary plastic, just when I took it out of the box I did panic slightly that I might have made a mistake and ended up with a model that was heavier than I thought it was supposed to be... almost went to see if I could find some scales to make sure lol... so thanks for the reassurance

 

I just canceled my order and placed a new one b/c there is a better deal avail. now. If you buy at least:

3 yr warranty (parts & labor) = $200

2 accesories

Neoprine case = $23
USB Mouse = $40
Total= $263

You get $300 off your order!

Basically they pay you $40 to upgrade from 1yr to 3yr warranty plus they throw in 2 cheap accesories. Ummm......... I'll take it!!

Oh and the sudent discount is still valid w/ this offer so theres another 10% off. Add this rebate on top plus no interest no payments 18 mos. and I would say I'm pretty pleased w/ the deal.

 

Wow this sucks, I was really hoping I would have it today before I went back to college, now it's going to be a hassle. I had no idea it would take this long. At this rate it looks like we won't be getting them until almost February!

 

does anyone know the screen res for this: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-VGN-Z670...usiness/dp/tech-data/B001MS6NK0/ref=de_a_smtd

 

Does Sony still offer an EPP discount on the Z series?

 

Don't know, but after a bit of googling I've found a couple of sites that say it's the 1600x900 screen.

http://www.sortprice.com/reviews/So...RAM,_320_GB_Hard_Drive,_Vista_Business)_Black
http://www.pronto.com/Sony-VAIO-VGN-Z670N-B-p_1171258222-PP

 

thank you!

 

Hello to all!

I would be interested to buy a VGN-Z21ZN/X but have some questions before spending some money:
- on the docking station it is possible to attach a 30" monitor with 2560*1600 pixel? I have read this http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_9300M_features.html and it seems yes, but I bought already three years ago a 30" monitor without beeing able to use it for a half year because of a missing computer. So please answer me only if you already have seen working this notebook with a 30" (of course native resolution)
- it is possible to remove the DVD? I do not need it and I would prefer to travel lighter. If yes, it is possible to put a additional battery in the slot?
- With the optional batteries (6 and 9 cells) how much gets the NB bigger and heavier than with the original one?
- I have seen that Dell offers two types of SSD Drives: normal and fast ones. The one that this Sony has build in is a fast one or the normal?

Sincerly
Bruno
Italy

 

Anyone? The problem is still there!

 

Hello, I am new here but not so new to these little cute Sony computers. I own a SZ-691 and a TZ-650 since new and now I just received a Z-598. Thats the one with the 256GB Raid SSD. Seems like a rocket and very promising so far. There are many improvements over my SZ, such as the keyboard. Thanks goodness for that.

A couple of questions:

Is there a *Sony* method for removing the recovery partition without using some external software? Someone suggests using the Sony recovery software but there is no option in there to actually remove the partition from what I can tell. Yes I do have double backup DVDs, this partition needs to go!

That "Fn" beeping sound (sound, brightness etc ). How do I turn it off?? Someone suggests there is a way in the Sony center software but all that does is send me to the windows sound options which do nothing to the Fn beeps. Is there proper way, am I missing something?

Is it really nessesary to do a clean install to get proper performance? It does not seem so hard to remove the offending crap from the system. How much "stuff" could stay behind that would actually slow the system and what is it? Processes and running programs can be viewed and removed as needed. On the SZ it seemed that a proper cleanup was faster and more sucessfull then the tricky clean install techniques. Cleaned up it ran similar to a full clean install. Bootup issues were mostly related to the startup junk.


Some more initial impression over my SZ-691 are: speed, finally!! I like this SSD drive, no more vibrations, cool! Drive space could be bigger though Fan noise is much quieter. The processor and fan can be managed quite well with the sony power management options but the verdict is still out if this one will burn my lap like the SZ does during heavy number crunching. Will update on that. The smaller screen looks good. I am used to super resolution screens but only real life will tell wheather things might be too small for my eyes in the long run.

Edit: Also to those who have "double type" problems there are options in the Sony center to change the keyboard repeat rate delay etc that should address those problems. Worth a try, I think.

And yes, I did read all or most of the 575 pages on this thread...

 

Am I the only one who isn't impressed with the quality of the paint in the hinge ?
It's starting to come off on the Z I purchased the first day it got released in the UK.
I had my reservation from day one to be honest.
It's a real shame because the Z is powerful enough to handle Vista x64 and soon Windows 7 especially with a fast HDD as this tends to be the most limiting factor these days but I'm a bit concerned about the quality of the materials.
The other bit I find quite flimsy is the power button, it's a piece of shiny plastic which is just waiting to be damaged.
Others mentioned too about the screen which can be damaged very easily around the raised bit next to the trackpad. Sony should have put another spacer around there. I've got about a 5cm line forming that is easily noticeable when the screen is not on or not in full brightness.
The other problem I've got with the screen is that I am seeing more and more white shapes in the circle, they are getting more and more noticeable and the one that's the strongest is exactly where the dot of the i in Vaio is on the outside of the lid.
Other thing I noticed recently too is the keyboard where the grainy feel of the keys is already giving way to a shiny surface due to wear.

Overall I really like my Vaio Z, I bought it because I got annoyed with poor quality of Asus laptops but sadly I don't see this laptop staying pretty looking after 1 year of (very careful) usage.
I might call Sony in the next couple of weeks if I can annoyed with one of those things, I'm interested to hear what they will say!

Dan

 

you can delete the vaio partition with the recovery center, i did this by mistake last week on my SZ a few days before my Z arrived loving the SSD too!!

If you reboot your Vaio with the recovery dvd and go into the recovery center, choose restore complete system..with the use of the recovery discs, just click start and then skip to the next page....there will be a question "Do you want to keep the VAIO Value-added content", yes or no? tick NO and then next, your system will recover/restore with the use of both DVD's and delete the vaio partition comepletely. Obviously make sure you have a good set of recovery discs, after this deletion you will need them for any future recovery.

This is correct on my Vaio SZ.....not tested on my Z!!

EDIT: Confirmed to work on the Z

 

The SonyStyle website says "G-Sensor shock protection on select models".
but when you CTO the notebook, there is not option to choose this protection. How do you know if you have it or not?

 

See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/242168

To my knowledge, no. Sony never seems to provide a way to turn annoyances off. Likewise with the bright blinking light when the machine is in sleep mode (which means I have to carry it out of the bedroom), or the bright green light which distracts when watching a movie.

No. From what I can tell, a lot of people have problems with performance on clean installs, while others have no problems when not having a clean install.

One thing I've never been able to clean out completely is the horribly crippled WinDVD it comes bundled with. When uninstalling, it appears to leave behind hooks to codecs that can't be found. I'm sure there are more issues.

 

I'm rapidly becoming unimpressed with the overall build quality of VAIOs these days, I got my Z about a week ago and I've hardly touched it so far... pretty much the first thing I noticed when I got it out of the box and opened it was that the fingerprint sensor isn't straight, it's like one side of it is lower down than the other... might not sound like much, but it is actually quite noticable... and also the ExpressCard slot cover doesn't close fully unless I push it in and let it spring back (a few times until it goes all the way).

And I've just noticed it has a dead/stuck pixel... I've never had one of those before (or at least never a noticable one).

The hinge looks fine though... so far, lol

Let us know how you get on if you do call them, I'd also be interested to hear what they say

By the way, when did you buy yours? I don't know when the Z series was released, I wasn't looking at what Sony was coming out with at the time because my SZ was still working then... lol

 

Hmmm, I'd be very surprised if it didn't have it... I thought they all came with that these days (i.e. all of the Z series), with the exception of the models with SSDs of course because they don't need it.

 

Does it happen everytime you shut down? I sometimes run into to shut-down trouble when 1) wireless and BT was trying to reconnect to router/devices when I start shutting down 2) I was on bed or couch, hit shut down and then without waiting it to complete and starting to move my laptop (along with myself, of course) out of bed/couch.

I am not sure they are related to what you are seeing, though, if you have trouble shutting down every time.

 

Just out of curiosity, who builds the Z for Sony? I read that Sony (as well as Dell, HP) uses companies like Asus to build some of their models.

 

Sorry for the verrrrry late reply, I've only just found this thread...

That sounds to be like you have a defective lid close switch, as that would cause both of those issues. The power switch should do nothing if the lid is closed, and I'm pretty sure that has been the case since the very first VAIOs. My dad had one in 1999 with a slidey power switch on the side of the laptop... and I test things like that

Hmmm, my Z11 doesn't have that. It does have a clicky bit on the right side of the screen though (but not the left, and I think my auntie's TZ is actually the same... or the clicky bit may be in a different spot around the screen on that one).

 

My old VAIO TR had that too, and I found it quite handy, I didn't really miss having seperate buttons at all with that. I am quite surprised they've left that out on the TZ and Z. I wouldn't even have minded if they'd made the right shift key shorter to fit it in, it is pretty huge and I never use it anyway... I'd use a right Fn key far more. Although putting it there might have been harder to reach than it was on the TR... is there a picture of where they've put it on the P?

Edit: Found a pic, and it's pretty much the same layout as on the TR. Not sure where exactly they'd put it on the Z/TZ keyboard, as it's a different sorta layout. And I guess there's no point even thinking about it, it's a bit late now.

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2009/01/pocket.jpg

That thing reminds me of my first VAIO, the C1XD PictureBook thingy

 

Actually, you can turn off those beeps and sounds. I did it on mine. I don't have my Z with me, but I think you need to go to Control Panel > Sounds. Just search from there; you'll be able to turn it off. Good luck!

 

probably sony, i'd be surprised if another company builds their models. they'd lose a lot of their profit to the other company. they might get components from different companies though. for example, after a little wiki, some things in the PS2 are manufactured by asus, a taiwanese company. there are only a few companies (relatively unknown) that makes carbon fiber laptops, so it's probably sony that takes care of it

 

I would think that it is Taiwanese company Quanta.

 

The hinge will look for a few months but then you will notice the paint starts to wear off and then you will notice it I guarantee it.
I would have rather accepted another 100g on this laptop so that it was built with more hard wearing proof material.
When I compare it to an Apple laptop the Z feels it's got to be taken care like a queen or it will look bad in a few months

 

Wow..that sounds great! I'm considering the same model, and, though the french sonystyle DOES mention the T9600 in the Z25X, still it is strange indeed the uk sonystyle doesn't!

 

No, is not happening all the time. Let's say approximately 4/10 times...I'm considering installing Windows 7 just for this. It could be the wireless issue, I will try it. About the second problem, no I never move it before shuting down completely.

A lot of times I'm having also a wireless issue...It goes to limited conectivity, and if I close the wireless switch and open it again, it doesn't find any networks...I have to restart to make it work.

 

it is quite a configuration only into my 3rd day and its an excellent performer, still out on the build quality...its good but not great! I upgraded from a Vaio SZ and find that a better overall build.

thanks for mentioning sonystyle france, i dont know french but it was easy to navigate round....same site build as the UK. And it does indeed clearly mention the T9600 2.8 as an option, unlike the UK which states 2.60 and nothing else.

Ive come to the conclusion my Z25X is basically a UK version of the VGN-Z90 but with a 128 SSD instead of the 320 HDD, so i'm happy with that. My model number on the bottom right side of the screen is VGN-Z2 and in the system details. **it's only called Z25X on the sonystyle website**

 

Enjoy your 2.8ghz.. I believe the cooling system is better on the higher end processors. if you can confirm

 

I'm a bit confused on the SSD drive in the Z25X; when I google the model (MMCQE28GFMUP-MVA) I only get a micro SATA model; but Sony states it's a Ultra ATA; am I missing something here?

 

Can you run PCPitstop.com performance benchmarks, at very end it will list ALL devices you have + their names

 

just ran PCPitstop, results for Drives: Samsung MMCQE28GFMUP-MVA 128GB

Samsung's website has two models listed under that serial?

2.5" SATA 3.0 Gbps (MLC) - MMCQE28GFMUP-MVA

Slim Type SATA 3.0 Gbps(MLC) - MMCQE28GFMUP-MVA

which one is in my VGN-Z25X ?

My HD Tune results:

 

My wireless does not have this kind of problem, my wireless problem is all in the router -- and while it does happen, I only encounted a couple times for the 3 months that I have Z. It would be a slight pain, but worth checking if turn off wireless switch before shutting down helps. Good luck!

 

I just got a CTO Z590 and the fingerprint sensor is lower on the left side, just as you describe, I wonder if there is some technical reason it could be designed that way, or if it is really a flaw.

 

Ohh that's interesting... I'm really quite surprised at that, I would have thought it would just be a slight manufacturing defect with mine. Especially as mine is UK standard model and yours is a US CTO model isn't it?

I did wonder at one point if there might be a technical reason for it, because it does seem to work quite well, so I thought maybe fingers scan better at that angle or something... but it's straight (but different) on my SZ, and straight (and quite similar) on my auntie's TZ... and of course people could use fingers on either hand, so surely it'd then need to be angled the other way for it to make a positive difference. And it does seem to me to spoil the overall precision-engineered kinda look a bit, lol

Edit: Just noticed I didn't actually say which side mine was lower on... but yep, it's the left side on mine too.

 

Can anyone installing Windows 7 on their Z provide a review on the Z's performance compared to Vista? Thanks.

 

wow!! same here 3 days old.... tilts to the left...UK configurable Z

everyone must check!

 

I can confirm mines is perfectly straight with no tilting. Z11WN
Regards,
Rico

 

mine is also straight.

 

Hi there my Z26gn is having problems going into standby only the screen turns off the rest (hdd,wifi,etc) remains on. Is anyone else having this issue?

Thanks

 

my fingerprint reader is straight too.. Having said that, I agree about the hinge paint being dodgy. Hope it doesn't scratch off!

R3pul5iv3: strange.