Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

Hey thanks for the information. Could you tell me how to disable the defrag and indexing and how to reduce the recycle bin size? I didn't know you could do that! Thanks! I'll be installing the hard drive later today.

 

Yeah, sorry, i was referring more to the "look."

 

Sure.

Disable Defrag:
Click Start and enter "dfrgui.exe" Enter. Uncheck the box for scheduled defragmentation.

Disable Indexing:
Computer -> Right Click on C:\ drive, Click Properties. Uncheck the box "Index this drive for faster searching" then apply to all.

BTW, which SSD are you installing?

 

I'm installing the Intel X25-M 80 gig...I think yours. Thanks!! I'll try this when I get home. Any other advice with this installation since you've done it recently?

 

What happened with 300$ off on Sonystyle??? I can't find it anymore!

 

The $300 accessory discount comes and goes. Just wait awhile and it will come back I think. Can anything confirm that it was gone before and came back?

 

It just sort of comes and goes like you mentioned, it has done that multiple times. I'm not sure how long before it will return, but I'm sure it will.

Meanwhile, if you are ready to order check Provantage for a warranty as an alternative - they sell the same Sony warranties for much less. (IE: The $500 4 year w/ ADH at SonyStyle is under $300 at Provantage.)

 

Been reading this thread for a while, as I've been planning on grabbing a Z for a long time. Finally made the plunge early this morning and got one through the outlet online. There was an interesting glitch though: when I clicked the results to order from highest price to lowest, the "reduced" price on the right side showed the laptops all out of order. But when I clicked on each individual picture to get more information about the specs of each notebook, there was a higher price that didn't seem to correlate at all with the original or reduced price. As it turns out, the order of the Z's were based on this mystery price in the "more info" window.

The problem was when I put the reduced-price laptop in my shopping cart. Since it was an outlet CTO (I think that's why, at least) it wouldn't let me look at the specs of the model. I didn't want to risk putting it back out there, or losing it, or losing the chance of getting it at this price, so I went ahead and ordered it anyway, figuring if something went wrong I could cancel my order or send it back since it would be their error.
So here's my question from the knowledgeable notebookreview forum-goers: Do y'all think I have a good shot at getting the spec'd notebook at that low price?? Or can you see me getting an underspec'd Z that more evenly lines up with the price I paid??

 

Just got my Z this morning. So far so good. I'm loving it.

I know people have done tons of reviews on this little wondrous machine. But I just want to point out what I think of it from readying all the posts in this thread and from my hands on experience.

Good: everything people have talked about so far. Beautiful screen (I got the 1600x900. btw, I LOVE the matte finish of the screen. it looks really classy, when everyone else's got a flashy screen), great keyboard (no mistypes, I usually type on the huge g15 gaming keyboard), and the light weight (I knew it's light, just not this light. But then again, I'm going from a 6 and half lb notebook...). Also, I have the 64 bit vista system, which means the OS recognizes all 4 gb of ram, definitely a plus.

Stuff that I don't like so much?... definitely the hinge.. The two round parts covering the power jack and the power bottom feel really cheap on a 2k+ laptop. They make a tiny squeaking noise when I apply some pressure. I've seen a picture of a half broken off hinge on some poor guy's Z. I'm not TOO worried with the poor quality hinge on the sides because I don't see why they would get any pressure from the structure of the laptop.
Another small thing... is the harddrive vibration coming beneath the left palm rest. I knew there would be some vibration, but not this much... The vibration is just noticeable when you are just picking up the laptop or when you type up a short letter. I'm not blame Sony for the vibration. This is what I get for having a 7200 rpm hdd in such a small laptop. But it definitely makes me want to upgrade to a SSD later. (One small thing, the hdd spins down a bit too often for my taste, I got a few short lags while typing up this review when the hdd is spinning up again). Also, the touch pad lags a tiny bit...but this shouldn't be a problem to anyone..

Just a side note. I also got the premium carbon fiber, which looks GREAT in person. I really do love it. Definitely get it if you are ordering CTO. It's $50 well spent IMO. I took my Z out to the library this afternoon and people were staring at it all the time. With the sleek keyboard/screen design + premium carbon fiber lid + backlit power bottom. You've got no problem distinguish yourself from the crowd. The finger print scanner works a lot better than I thought. After turning off Vista UAC and rename pi.wav. This laptop feels awesome in every way.

The screen is somewhat flexible. I put on the protective sheet that came with the packaging whenever I put the laptop in my backpack (really need to find a better replacement of that online... any suggestions?? ). Hopefully I won't get any scratches or bruises this way. If I do, I guess I will have no choice but sending it in for a screen replacement as a few other people have done

Overall, the Z is a small laptop that packs the power of a desktop replacement. The design is very classy, but at the same time you would have no trouble showing out. I was running it in speed mode while burning recovery discs, and it was still just warm around the fan. In stamina mode with wifi on, dvd drive off, and screen brightness at 3/8, I have been running it for for more than 2 and half hours and I still have 55% percent battery left.

Again, great keyboard design. I didn't mistype once while writing this post. Although I have to admit that the new macbook keyboard has a better feel to it.

Also, the text is a bit small (but VERY CLEAR) with the 1600x900 screen when reading long articles online. But I don't mind pressing "control +" in those occasions. Everything looks fine otherwise.

Since I've only been using it for a day. I will try to keep you guys updated if anything pops up in the long run.

PS, quick question, so how many of you guys actually have screen scratch/bruises? What do you do to protect it?

Thanks!

 

Can anyone who has received the new z6XXX with the new Gobi 3G card in it confirm if you are able to pay for the internet by the day for $15?

 

EDIT: Deleted my post because I somehow got the Wireless to start working... not sure how that happened.

So far, I love this laptop (a refurb Z590 w/ P9500).

The one major downside (possibly) of the refurb: it looks like my battery life is pretty dismal. I just fully charged it and set it to stamina (power saver options in vista) and it's projecting not even quite 3 hours of battery life.

Considering that this system was built in October '08, I'm suspicious that the battery may have been used considerably already. Oh well, guess I can buy an overpriced replacement at some point when I need to travel more often.

 

My computer had the 7200 rpm drive as well and the touchpad area used to vibrate a lot too. I just recently replaced it for a SSD and it not only doesn't vibrate anymore but the touchpad area seems a lot cooler.

I'm still installing Vista on the new SSD though so I'll post more details about it once everything is up and running.

 

that'd be handy...

 

Can anyone compare the vibration and noise of having a 5400 vs 7200 rpm drive in the Z? Not sure if anyone has experienced both. I intend to stick with a normal HDD for a while and upgrade myself to a SSD down the line in a year or so. I figured a 7200 rpm drive would be worth it, but now I'm a little more curious in how they'd compare.

 

I upgraded my Z570 to a 7200 RPM drive. The vibration is noticeable with the 7200 RPM drive. I wouldn't say it's a show stopper, but it does annoy me from time to time.

 

I'll let you know once I replace the 200gb 5400rpm drive in mine with a new WD Scorpio Black 320gb 7200rpm drive. I should have that done by Friday or so.

 

neone got this small issue

the expresscard flap wont seem to close fully... wonder if i could get this fix myself or have sony fix this.

 

OK guys...got some preliminary numbers for you from my Intel X25-M SSD:

restart:
with 7200rpm --> 1 min 25 sec
with SSD --> 1 min 15 sec

shut down:
with 7200rpm --> 34 seconds
with SSD --> 29 seconds

off to on:
with 7200rpm --> 55 seconds
with SSD --> 42.5 seconds

I don't see much of a difference in the performance, except when immediately loading Vista and programs. I was expecting better times from the SSD . At least it's quieter and cooler!

 

How much quieter is the SSD? Also is it silent

 

Yeah, I forgot to quote you , and did you have any hassle with vista with the 320gb one ? BTW, so jealous with you and your systems

 

I've just ordered Z690 from Sonystyle USA and i have one question: what means "On hold" - order status?

My Z specs:

Customization Details

No Fresh Start™
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P9600 (2.66GHz)
Standard Battery (BPS12)
320 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [7200 rpm]
LCD 13.1" (XBRITE-DuraView™
Premium Carbon Fiber
Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium 64-bit
4 GB DDR3-SDRAM (DDR3-1066, 2GBx2)
Trusted Platform Module / Biometric Fingerprint Sensor
Microsoft® Works
QuickBooks Simple Start
SuperMulti Drive
Windows® Live OneCare 90-Day Trial
Integrated Wireless Wide Area Network
Yes
Custom Engraving

Model Number: VGPBPL12
VAIO® Large Capacity Battery

Model Number: VGPCKZ2
VAIO® Z Series Leather Carrying Case

Order Summary
Subtotal: $2,336.97
Promotional Discount: -$66.00
Tax: $174.58
Shipping: INCLUDED
Total: $2,445.55
Program Savings -243.00

 

It means you didn't read the fine print. In this case (emphasis mine):

 

did you do a clean install of vista x64 ?

 

I ordered the system with the 160gb 5400rpm, because i have plenty of hard drives to replace with. It was super slow and annoying initially. With the 320gb 7200rpm it was much better but still not what I wanted. I guess i had gotten used to SSD's.

 

That's very long times. Combined with you not seeing a lot of improvement, I would guess that you have resident programs that are network related, and where opening/closing network connections is what causes delays. These delays won't be shortened any no matter how fast the drive is.
Common culprits are instant messenger programs, "updater" type apps, AV software that's configured to check for new updates upon boot, Steam, iTunes (ptui!), RSS feeds, weather/moon phase/news/horoscope applets, and UPnP.

Run msconfig, and check what you really need, and what can be configured differently.

 

I would be interested to know the difference between a 5400rpm and a 7200rpm drive. Probably a bigger difference than this.

 

So I finally have everything working properly on my refurb Z590 (aside from the fact that I need to install my new hard drive and then format and install Vista x64), and I absolutely love this machine. The 1600x900 resolution is perfect for me (coming from a desktop w/ a 22" 1680x1050 monitor it's hard to accept less workspace) and I love the keyboard and design.

While I still have concerns over the battery life (I still suspect that it's partly worn down already, being that I bought a refurb), I still think I got a great deal, and I simply couldn't have gotten a new Z690/691 within my budget otherwise, and would have had to settle for something like a Dell XPS M1330.


My extended thoughts on the Z590 (which seems somewhat pointless considering most of you already own a Vaio Z already, but perhaps your experiences can aid me with the few minor issues I'm having):

Chassis Design: Simply stunning. I had it for all of 5 minutes before some friends came over, saw it on a far table and were instantly drawn to it. It's so shockingly light-weight for its size. Feels sturdy -- I feel confident holding it, lid-open, with one hand. The hinges look good; I'm not concerned that I'll encounter the same issue as I had with my old Inspiron 8200 where the hinges ripped the LCD panel off of the laptop after 3 years of use.

Keyboard: About tied with the best notebook keyboard I've used so far. I've always loved the chiclet-style keyboard ever since first using one on the original white Macbook, and IMO the Vaio Z's implementation exceeds Apple's current keyboard design -- the main difference being the feedback from each key press (probably owed in part to the larger depth that each key sticks out from the keyboard frame, which I believe is 2.5mm). My other favorite keyboards are the much less attractive ones on Thinkpad's, which is why my laptop choice ended up ultimately being between a refurb Z590 vs. refurb X300.

Trackpad: Being primarily a desktop user with a nice wired gaming mouse, any notebook pointing device implementation is going to feel insufficient. That said, the Vaio's trackpad is nice and large. I wish the Alp's had the same multi-gesture driver features that the Synaptics pads have... I need to do more research into this and see if there's a way to get it so that it recognizes a quick tap on the pad with 2 fingers as a right click (I almost always left click by tapping the pad).

Screen: The reason I chose the Z590 over the X300. The 1600x900 LED backlit screen is simply the best notebook screen I've seen in person. It's particuarly stunning when compared to my roommate's older Thinkpad Txx 14.1" 1024x768 LCD. No complaints.

Internal Hardware: It's insane that Sony stuffed P8xxx/P9xxx processors and 9300M GS graphics with such a small motherboard and heatsink/cooling system. Very impressive, and clearly faster (once it starts up) than my gf's M1330 w/ a 1.6ghz C2D. My one concern is the need for the fan to kick in pretty much constantly. I downloaded HWMonitor to check my temps and my P9500 normally idles at about 40 degrees C in Vista, with a 38-48 degree range during normal internet surfing and word processing. The 9300M was normally just north of 60 degrees.

It's not an overly loud fan, but I had believed it would be even quieter. I'd like to just check to see if my temps are normal for the Vaio Z... if anyone here uses temp monitoring programs, would you mind posting your idle/basic task range (along with the program you use to monitor this).

I've considered using some Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste and re-applying the heatsink, since I'm opening the chassis to switch my HDD anyway, but I'll only bother if my temps are unusually high.

Battery Life: Mine seems to be coming up well short of the 5 hours on stamina that were reported in reviews. I haven't had a chance to try a full discharge, but Vista is projecting about 2.5 hours w/ stamina and mid-brightness on the screen. May be the result of refurb with a potentially partially used battery. I'm also considering that perhaps my temps are too high from poor factor application of termal paste and the motherboard/CPU/GPU are all running too hot and wasting power.

Just not sure yet on this one.

Software: I am quite shocked at how much bloatware Sony loads into their premium notebooks... I can't imagine using this machine long-term without a full hard drive re-format and clean Vista install; miine had been starting 85 processes before I deleted 15 programs or so. It's so bad that my C2Q desktop (albeit OC'd to 3.6ghz) can start Vista Home Premium x64, load to the desktop, and completely shut down again before my 2.53ghz C2D Z590 can even boot to the desktop (yes, I actually tested this)!

It's already much quicker after killing some of the bloatware, but still far too many processes for my taste -- I want a lean, quick notebook that isn't needlessly wasting CPU cycles (and my battery life) to launch 3rd-party startup apps that merely dumb down what Vista already does quite easily.

It seems to me that as far as Sony's software is concerned, I'll only need the program that controls the Vaio's function keys and switches, and perhaps the Sony power profiles linked to Speed & Stamina.

Community/Support: Another reason I bought the Vaio Z was because of how large and comprehensive this thread is... I've already learned so much about the notebook from searching older posts in this thread. Thanks to all for your time and contribution in advancing Vaio Z general knowledge.

 

My Z35X arrived and it is the RAID 0 configuration, the SSD's are Samsung MMCQE28GFMUP-MVA the same as my returned Z25X.

It's a SATA interface, you get a RAID utility program (Intel Matrix Storage Console) which gives full details of the installed SSD drives, includes option for RAID recovery and the ability to change the Array000






Does this mean I could replace this RAID 0 set up for a 2.5" SATA SSD? I have no plans to do this of course, however the option is always good
If wanted to upgrade in the future, I would probably just upgrade my current SSD's with faster one's keeping the RAID 0 setup as it is.


the RAID has this type of cable (Below),



So in theory I would only need the single type connector to install a 2.5" SATA SSD ??


thanks

 

How are you guys protecting your screen from scratches or bruises when you carry it around in your bag?

Anyone has a good suggestion of protective cloth that I can use to replace the foam sheet that came with the packaging?

Thanks!

 

In my theory - yes, you would have to get somewhere the single type cabel and after that there shouldn't be big problems except the cosmetic ones, like different metal frame holding the SSD...

 

I have similar results with my SSD....in fact my HDD had much better times, shutdown was in 15 seconds! But I'm quite happy with the silence, no vibration and cooler nb in general. And don't forget the battery life! I coudn't test it completely, but I'm quite sure now, that I'm able to use it for at least 7 hours using Word...that's impresive

I'm thinking to try this to find out what is taking so much time at startup. Is there any similar program for checking the shutdown?

The SSD itself is completely silent...the computer can be completely silent with light computing as well...

RadTech one is great!

 

my z21xn very slow 250 gb 5400 rpm ? or what why slow this ? what can I do for faster ?

 

Thanks a lot!

Which size should I get? 12-13.8in wide or 14-15.4in wide? Or did you just get the one for 13 in macbooks?

 

I know you have been inside your Z...so to hear your opinion is good, Thanks Metsn,

does your HDD light (LED) flicker lightly in idle? mine flashes, only very faintly but I dont recall my first Z doing that, could it be the RAID?

 

I totally recommend the RadTech to protect your screen, It really is amazing quality

For the Z you need the 12-13.8 Wide from the PC Notebooks tab

 

Isn't it the same as the one for 13in macbook?

Also, from the measurement that they give us, the 12-13.8 in wide seems a tiny bit short in the horizontal direction.

Is anyone actually using one? what size do you have?

Thanks!

 

OK, I went to storage room to check the package it came in for the specs....and it's written that "Fits 13in MacBook - 12-13.8in Wide Screen Displays"...but you'll have to cut it anyway, as it's too deep...

 

Always happy to help My HDD LED seems to flicker the same way all the time...on the other hand, it's interesting you're asking, as today I was thinking, that sometimes it looks like the light of the LED is a bit lighter...but I thought it's just an illusion when it blinks very shortly...

 

Yes im using one...it came 2 weeks before my Z

I dont have the paperwork just the tube it came in. I ordered the one I stated above, from the PC Notebooks tab, select 12-13.8in Wide.

http://www.radtech.us/Products/NotebookScreenSavrz.aspx

It does over lap by about .5" just over the palmrest when closed, you can simply trim this to fit perfectly. I dont mind the overlap or it hasn't bothered me yet...even in the VGP-CKZ2 Leather case its snug.

 

oh thats a relief knowing your does the same....so nothing to be concerned about

 

The vibration noises of the hard drive were really bad with the 7200 rpm one. The SSD is almost completely silent. The fan of the computer spins but it isn't very noticeable unless you're in a dead quiet room.

Yeah I did...it seems to load immediately from sleep which is nice, but I expected slightly better times for restarts and shut downs.

 

Hm, since I did a clean reinstall and did the test after only installing the drivers, I don't think there were any of these programs running at the time. It does wake up from sleep immediately and loading Vista after the splash screen is immediate too.

 

By the way, with the SSD I'm averaging over 5 hours battery life on stamina. I have had it on for the last 3 hours and I have 46% battery left. This is an improvement over the HDD, as I would get about 4 with it. The SSD that came with my SSD (the one Sony installs) had about 4 hours battery life too (well, processor was better on that one so that could be a confounding variable in that comparison). I wouldn't waste money on that one.

I really liked the 1600x900 resolution on the 690, but I was writing in Word on the 610 with the 1366x768 resolution and it is more comfortable on my eyes so I guess going down wasn't a total loss.

 

Note that the 1366x768 has a better battery life than the 1600x900 model to start with -- the screen difference equates to about half an hour with a standard battery, according to Sony.

 

Oh, even better! I definitely need battery life (highest priority) and so sacrificing some screen real estate is fine with me if I can get more juice out of the laptop. The screen resolution of the 610 is much nicer than a lot of the 13-inchers anyway so it's all good.

 

Ah, I wasn't aware of that when I went for the Z590. Oh well.

 

I don't believe it makes big difference...the overal hardware and system setup is more important...

 

I use a piece of soft suede, cut to fit.

 

Think my post got lost in the scrum, so I'm going for it once again:

Been reading this thread for a while, as I've been planning on grabbing a Z for a long time. Finally made the plunge early this morning and got one through the outlet online. There was an interesting glitch though: when I clicked the results to order from highest price to lowest, the "reduced" price on the right side showed the laptops all out of order. But when I clicked on each individual picture to get more information about the specs of each notebook, there was a higher price that didn't seem to correlate at all with the original or reduced price. As it turns out, the order of the Z's were based on this mystery price in the "more info" window.

The problem was when I put the reduced-price laptop in my shopping cart. Since it was an outlet CTO (I think that's why, at least) it wouldn't let me look at the specs of the model. I didn't want to risk putting it back out there, or losing it, or losing the chance of getting it at this price, so I went ahead and ordered it anyway, figuring if something went wrong I could cancel my order or send it back since it would be their error.
So here's my question from the knowledgeable notebookreview forum-goers: Do y'all think I have a good shot at getting the spec'd notebook at that low price?? Or can you see me getting an underspec'd Z that more evenly lines up with the price I paid??

 

I think you should just call Sony, tell them you ordered and can't remember the specs nor can you see them listed on the invoice or anything - maybe they can tell you.