Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

I agree, if you want to run in native resolution the 570 is probably the better choice.

I did hear some people say that they don't mind running games in non native resolution, in which case the 590 will perform a bit better.

 

just made a pre order of the Z from Sonystyle
the specs are:
2.53
4gb
200 gb 7200 rpm
dvdrw
extended battery
1600 X 1900
fresh start
vista business/xpp downgrade

 

How much did it all come to? and where u from?

 

@IsamuX: Congrats of being one of the first Z owners =)

When your Z arrives:

• could you try to find out what VRAM is used on the 9300M? (DDR2 or DDR3)
• could you test how loud the fan gets when doing a lot of processing like windows calculator with this calculation: 256567354356! (the "!" operator)
• and one more thing, but only if you are installing XP... could you test if the STAMINA - SPEED switch works on-the-fly under XP (So without rebooting)!

Thanks in advance, I will be gone for about 9 days now, but I will appreciate your effort! =)

 

Make sure the fellow Canadian read my other post

 

Sigh, I hope they only wanted to confirm that we will have the option to configure the Z to our liking but at the same time, that we will get preconfigured models too. It's really absurd that in Canada right now, there's only ONE preconfigured SR (and it's crappy too!) in THREE freakin different colours! I mean honestly, who cares about the colours??! Gimme better specs and I don't care if the laptop is pink!

 

By the way, is Portable One a Sony Autherzed dealer? And do they also sell Japan made preconfigs?

 

lol exatlyyy what I said a few million posts back. Just give us good specs.

 

Yes, P1 is an authorized Sony dealer, and they do carry Japan made pre-configured.

 

the final price of the Z before tax and accessories is $2769

I am from Egypt but i have a mail box address in the US. So as soon as the Z hits my mail box, it should be directly shipped to me in Egypt

 

Rich people = powerful connections

 

Would you guys recommend getting the $4000 Z with SSD and keeping it for 4 years, or getting a $2000 Z and buying a similarly priced one in 2 years? I really want the RAID 0 SSD, but $4000 is quite a bit over my budget (I was planning on max of $3000), especially since the technology will probably be outdated in 1-2 years... I'm wondering if it's really worth it.

Thanks!

 

Another thing about P1 actually, I wonder how much they'll hit me with on the boarder for tax's cuz its comin from the U.S?? (Answer only if u would know for sure pls and thx)

 

I'd go for the $2000 option. If you build in a fast harddrive it will be a very good config. When SSD prices come down (within one year) you build in a fast 128GB SSD.

If you go for the Z with SSDs in RAID it will loose a lot of it's value very fast. The SSDs are overpriced by Sony. Also I don't think you will want to keep it for four years.

 

Thanks for the advice!

Yeah I guess you're right... but the Z w/ SSD seems pretty much like the perfect laptop, so it's very tempting.

 

But you can still upgrade some of the stuff (like RAM and HDD), so is this done by P1?

 

Hmm, tough one. Best bet is to buy a $2000 Z for yourself, and another for me. Personally, I think that's the best way to go here.

 

Yes, the upgrades are done by P1. Someone on the forum also mentioned that P1 actually checks your laptop for any problems before shipping.

 

GST+PST base on your purchase price convert to CAD + 6.1% duty base on your purchase price (since it is made in Japan)

You could avoid the 6.1% duty if u get US Assembled model, but you won't since u hate CTO so much

 

Now where did you this information? Is it 6.1% for Canada?

 

The Chinese review of the SR says the its ATI card has DDR 3 graphics ram. So can I assume the Z's Nvidia card also has DDR 3 ram? Sony would be extremely stupid if they decided to go with DDR 2 in the Z. And I would be infinitely mad at them.

 

That means im paying a total of 19% tax. 13% here plus another 6%. 19% x lets say $2000 = $120 more in tax's vs just 13% tax.

 

I guess it's worth it if you can't find any pre-configured Z's that you like in Canada. It's still cheaper than getting one from Japan...

 

I dunno, I just have a hard time getting something thats shipped, who knwo what happens to it. What if one of the Portable One guys sneeze's on it? or kick it? And what about warrenty? I gotta keep sending it to them or Sony U.S if I have a problem? What if they give me a CTO, I wont even know it.

 

Wow...are you a HSP on computers? lol jk jk.

I'm fairly sure they won't abuse their laptops. And I'm pretty darn sure that all they have are pre-configured ones. You can always check the model number you know.

 

No you can also CTO on their site to!

 

Portable One currently has no "CTO" Z models on their site. What's unique is you can have them upgrade your RAM or HD without any risk of voiding your warranty, since they're a certified Sony dealer / service center. But they're still "Made In Japan" preconfigured models (just look at the model numbers).

 

Look at the Z's screen compared to the NR's, you can see the difference even when viewing it through your screen which is worse than the Z's. Imagine when you look at it with your naked eye!





And its not much bigger than my TZ yet with far more power.


I may upgrade to the TZ but probably may wait for a refresh.

 

Is that the TZ next to the Z? Damn its not much bigger, can you some how take a closer pic of the 2. Maybe like a Zoom shot or something. Would really appreciate it and will give you candy.

 

I just got a little bummed today after I ran 3DMark06 on my older laptop (P4 3.8GHz, 1GB RAM, GeForce Go 7950GTX 512MB). 4001, vs. 2534 the test model got on that Japanese review site, and it had 4x the RAM, and a faster processor.

I want to use the Z for 3D modeling (including Zbrush) and realtime demonstrations in DirectX10 with less heat and weight than my current overweight firebreather... am I making the right choice?

I just asked a buddy of mine who picked up a Dell M1330 with the 8400 in it to tell me how Zbrush runs on it. One site I found said the M1330 is more than enough to run it, so that's some relief.

If Zbrush won't run well, I might have to reconsider my purchase.

 

The reason your "current overweight firebreather" is so fast is because it has a 9750GTX 512MB. That is a very fast video card, but unfortunately it's bound to suck up power and put out heat like crazy, in a laptop. Don't expect to get graphical performance anywhere near your current laptop with something in the same size/weight class as the Vaio Z, because it's just not possible with current technology.

 

Dude, the fact that the SZ780 can even run Crysis fairly smoothly with everything on low of course (Nvidia 8400) the Z will deffinitley be able to run Zbrush IMO.

 

Yeah, I knew that was the main factor. Thing is, it's a real pain to move around (even though moving it was the main reason I got it in the first place), and I need something lighter that'll still handle what I need. The benchmarks are clear that I'm not going to get the same 3D performance, but I'm more worried about whether or not programs I use will run smoothly enough.

The laptop I use more regularly has a lot less power than my dragon, but it can't even run 3DMark06 because the graphics processor doesn't seem to support anything it does. It's an nVidia chip that runs my 3D apps fairly well, well enough that I don't mind anyway, so I know the Z will easily replace it.

 

Phew... I hope so! Crysis running smoothly is definitely comforting to hear

Edit: The Z got better scores than my current laptop in the FFXI benchmark .

Low: 6734 vs 7739
High: 4358 vs 4946

Right on!! Of course benchmarks are pretty synthetic, and these are with the JP spec Z, but every little victory helps lol

 

Yea thats why I said Crysis, cuz thats the highest demanding in everything from graphics to CPU using quad-cores. Oh forgot to mention SZ780 does play BF2 on everything High very smoothly.

 

6.1% is duty for anything that is not made in North America. Under NAFTA, only those that are made in Canada/US/Mexico are duty-free. Thus, could be the reason why Sony Canada is only bringing CTO to bring down the cost (at least for themselves). I think they will bring one pre-configured version from Japan though. Just not exactly "top-end"

Ya gotta pay for Made in Japan.

 

All I want is the Z with a powerful external video card. I don't want a gaming laptop because of their size and weight. I'd like the Z to take around and be mobile and when at home, hook it up to my HDTV and an external graphics card (eg. Radeon HD4870 or Geforce 9800) and be gaming just like a gaming PC. A mobile gaming laptop, best of both worlds.

That is my dream. Sigh.....

I think the Expresscard slot can't handle the bandwidth of powerful videocards and there are Expresscard video cards available, but are quite weak. Has the Asus XG Station been released yet?

 

Nice! That's great news, too. From the sounds of it, the Z should handle what I need. I'm very relieved...

 

I've been wondering about that, too. It feels like forever since they've announced it'll be released, yet no news since. Even the XG has only a PCIe 1x, so it'll be fast, but not blazingly so. The ATi XGP sounds nice, too, but you need that special port.

 

Wow, very nice.

I gotta stay out of this thread...

 

So you think that Sony Canada is very likely to get One lousy preconfig option even though our dollar is the same if not a little better eh? Well im not suprised at flippin all. My minimum ill go is a 2.4ghz config, screen res doesnt mean anything to me. I just want at least a 2.4ghz cpu. Is that too much to ask?

 

If I were to get it from P1, how does the warrenty work?

Whats the main difference between the VAIO Z530 and the VAIO Z550 on Portable One?

 

If you guys remember me saying earlier in the thread, I said the Vaio Z blew away the SR and FW next to them, made their screens look like crap compared to the Z.


See for yourself below and also the resolution differences in the Z.

Z with 1600x900 screen

Z with 1366x768 screen

SR with 1280x800 screen

 

SR vs. Z

 

rahulnirmal,

Stop it. Stop it, darn you!

 

Where are you getting all those pictures? Do you have a Z that you're not telling us about?

 

Here's the link with many more pictures comparing the Z to the SR and Z's 1600x900 to 1366x768 screens. Enjoy!

http://kunkoku.livedoor.biz/archives/51484778.html

 

Wow, this is actually quite impressive:

 

Similar example:

 

I really like the matte finish on the Z's screen...

Its screen is also more resistant to smudges/fingerprints as I tried at my SonyStyle store.