Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

I just called Sony to find out why my Z690 listed as "In stock" at the Sony Outlet with an estimated ship date of April 2 hadn't been shipped, and they said it was out of stock and my order would be cancelled.

I'm not happy about this. My purchase was confirmed. They charged my credit card account. And the item was still listed for sale a couple of days after I ordered.

Has anyone had the same experience? If so, have you continued to try to get the item from Sony?

 

Hi Everyone,

The Z690 interests me for a while now because of the high resolution display and small footprint. But because of the high cost, I bought another laptop intead, the HP DV4T. The spec for my DV4T is below. I was wondering if it is worth it to buy a Z690 and sell my month old DV4T?

HP DV4T
P8400 2.26Ghz
250GB Hard drive
4GB DDR2 Ram
LED 14.1" LCD 1280x800
512MB Nvidia GeForce 9200M GS
12-Cell battery (lasts around 5-6 hours)
(and the usual stuff, DVD drive, finger print reader... etc...)

What would be your recommendation? While I love the 1600x900 resolution of the Z690, is it worth it to buy it just for the resolution?

Cheers,
Gnimble

 

I'm curious... did they offer to cancel the order or just did that out right when you called in? I've got many delay shipping emails from Dell whenever the order is delayed, but never a cancellation; unless I specifically requests the cancellation.

Cheers,
Gnimble

 

hey gnimble,
it might help to know how much your other computer cost. Its actually pretty well speced out and if the price is good, it would definitely be a better monitory value when compared to the Z. I dont know anything about the HP, but the Z is light, portable, and has an excellent led backlit display. The LCD is the best part of the z and the reason i bought one (along with everything else). And if your patient, you might be able to get a decent deal on a Z, but you have to be willing to wait for the coupons etc.

 

Hello Integra891,

The HP DV4T costs me a total of $1140 shipped if you want to include the 60GB SSD I added and upgrade to 4GB Ram. It is a sweet system, but I sometimes wish I have more real estate. I'm a person who can never make up his mind, but keep on upgrading until the final unit along with all the units I buy in between cost more than the unit I wanted, if I get it in the first place!

The other thing is I really like the design of the DV4T. It is silver and feels very expensive and well put together, until you open it and see it is just colored plastic. But ultimately, I'll be using it mainly in the dark, so all the laptops will start to look the same. The display is bright and vibrant and if it has HD resolution... well, I wouldn't consider anything else, lol. If they can put 1600x768 on the 8" LCD of the P-series, I wonder why there is no HD resolution ultra portables?

Regarding the Sony coupon, I haven't seen one in months. Do they actually have coupons? All I see are free shipping and some deals where I have to sign up for broadband. I put a Z690 into my wishlist and with taxes, costs around $2200. This is the unit with 2GB RAM and a 9Cell battery.

Speaking of the battery, does it stick out the back of the laptop. The 12Cell battery for the HP sticks out. I wouldn't mind it sticking out but it only sticks out 2/3 the bottom of the laptop so it feels kind of weird on my lap.

Cheers,
Gnimble

 

You seem to be kinda like me with similar laptop buying patterns. I've got a Vaio Z recently but sold it for a MacBook, & now I'm thinking that I should sell my MacBook & go back to a Vaio Z... I would think that if you love your HP DV4T, maybe you'll want to keep it & wait for the the Nehalem release later this year or earlier next year...

Back to the topic of screen resolution that you've asked. I personally feel that screen resolution is all subjective. I would suggest that if possible, you should check the Vaio Z with the 1600x900 screen in a store that sells it before making your decision. Good luck.

 

When I called and asked for the status, they told me the order would be cancelled. They did not say anything about a delay. I never got a delay shipping e-mail. I got the purchase confirmation e-mail with the note that it was in stock and expected to ship on April 2. When I logged onto their website, it simply said the order was processing.

 

I got a Z690 but only added the 9-cell battery, using my student discount and the $300 off (adding 2 accessories, cheapest being the nylon case, and 3 year warrant) it came out to ~$1670. THEN, I also got the free docking station, BT mouse, and extra AC adapter. All that for ~$1670 I think is quite a deal for such a powerful ultraportable.

The 9-cell battery lifts the back of the laptop a little. Feels nice for typing actually. Last me around 6-7 hours.

 

Does this $300 off still work? I can not find it.

 

I tried it last week and it worked but it's no longer available now
(Maybe a website problem )

 

Has anyone tried overclock the 9300m gs yet?

 

Has anyone experiecd problems with the 320gig Tosh HDD drive in Z series?

I am finding sometimoes the 'yellow' disk light remains fixed 'on'; but the machine appears to work fine until a shutdown is initiated. It will then just hang & only solution is to hold on/off button for 10seconds,
(although drive light is illuminated, there is no disc activity)

If I run a 'checkdsk' this seems to solve it for a while but then similar problems re-occur

The reason I suspect the drive is I had an HP-Tablet with same drive & similar problems

Any Ideas welcome

(PS, I am considering replacing Drive with a 250Gig SSD; recommendation to which is best welcome)

Thanks,
T

 

I wouldn't try it, my GPU runs hot as is just using a dual display setup. I have a 19inch hooked up and if I watch a movie on it GPU temps are around 70/71C. I personally would not overclock (considering all the problems nvidia cards have had)

 

Hello guys,
I try to upgrade RAM by my self and wonder to know whether the "Kingston 2GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Laptop Memory" works well for z690. Or any other recommendations.
Thanks.

 

What drive the Z comes with depends on where you are and when you bought your Z.

Anyhow, I would try installing cygwin and hdparm, and check what hdparm reports.

 

Make sure it has 7-7-7-20 (or better, i.e. lower) timings.

 

Ditto that. I did essentially the same thing, except that I got the Premium Carbon Fiber lid, the extra 2GB of RAM, and the Extended Battery - and in a couple of weeks I'll receive the Mobility Pack for free (includes free slip case, Standard battery [so I'll have both a standard and extended battery], and a slimline version of the AC Adapter (about a $380 retail value if purchased separately). Between the Sony Campus savings (which at the time was 10%) and the Mobility Pack free stuff - I've saved nearly $600 off the retail list price(s). Sure, it's a lot of money to lay out...but for what you get in return, it's a great deal.

 

I already have a macbook pro (old Santa Rosa version) and was looking to get something a little bit lighter and more portable. Is this MicroCenter deal a good buy? Thanks.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0293872

 

I have a 320GB Hitachi 7200RPM drive. I had to rebuild my computer on the third day using my Recovery DVDs because my computer wouldn't boot normally (but only to SAFE mode). There was something wrong with the way the drivers were loaded at the factory. I would also see an occasional Intel RAID message in the System Tray - which is supposed to only be for the SSD option. I think that they load the same image whether it's a HDD or an SSD, and this creates an issue.

I would suggest that you make Recovery DVDs if you haven't already, do a file backup if you already have stuff loaded that you need to keep, and then use the recovery DVDs to rebuild your system. The Recovery process only loads the drivers approriate to your system. Since I ran it, I haven't had a single issue with my Z690.

Oh, and another thing, the C partition of my factory build had files all over the place on the drive - including the very end of the drive - making it impossible for Vista to "shrink" the partition. After the Recovery process, only the first half of the drive had files, making it possible to make a new 80GB partition that I'm using for game installs.

 

Are you sure the faster upgrade 2.93 Ghz processor on the Z series is the T9800 because on the conics website ( http://conics.net/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=307) it details it as the Core 2 Duo P9800 2.93Ghz which is used in some 17' Mac book upgrades. Is this correct because 2.93ghz at 25W TDP is insane and would keep the heating around the same as the P9600.

 

S1299 is a great price in my opinion. CTOs with similar specification would have been close to $1800 when they were still selling the 5XX series.

 

I just purchased a Z530 and am contemplating on upgrading the factory hd to a bigger capacity, maybe 500GB 7200. I understand the Z comes with a G sensor.

1. Does that mean I can only install specific drives that will work with the sensor?

2. Is the sensor software based or hardware?

 

OMG!! The Z's wobbly power plug actually works!

I accadentally pulled the power cord, and the plug came right off!

Who would have thought those L shaped power plug actually works in those situations.

Now I love those wobbley power plugs. hehe

 

1. Any SATA notebook HDD will work.

2. The sensor is built into the motherboard. You'll then install the HDD Protection software to make use of the sensor & the program will use that sensor to do the necessary HDD head protection according to the settings you set.

 

Exactly the same problem I've been having randomly on my Z590. I have a 200GB 7200 rpm Hitachi drive on mine. It happens every now and then out of the blue. The HDD activity light is solid but the computer works normally, until I try to shut it down or put it on standby, at which point it hangs at a black screen. I can also confirm that there is actually no disk activity even though the LED is lit solid. Very strange to say the least. I updated the BIOS to the newest version available on the US support site to no avail.

 

1: Yes and no. You don't need a drive that has a built-in G-sensor, but you do need one that supports head parking, which will be pretty much any drive today, except perhaps the very lowest priced ones. The Z has its own sensors for X, Y and Z direction.

2: While it's certainly possible to detect both acceleration and speed through software (GPS satellites need to both reset their clock after launch and correct it because of the movement around earth), doing so on the small scale of a laptop computer falling a few inches would not be feasible with today's technology. So it's hardware.
That said, it's software reading the hardware sensors and sending the "park head" command to the drive.

 

You can probably get more out of it with the right settings. I get about 5-6h on the normal battery. Have you tried to tune it a little bit ?

There are 2 spots I go when I want battery life:
One is VAIO Power management -- I've made a profile to turn off things like the CDROM, run at the screen at 40Hz etc..

Also I set Thermal Management in "Power Options" to Silent

this is all of course on Stamina setting

 

Thnks for your information! Then I think when I play games it will also be around 70C, maybe? Then it's kinda dangerous to overclock

 

Hi,
Its reasuring to hear Im not alone, as Sony support suggested a rebuild & after hours & hours of rebiulding, the problem still remains.

I had thought it my HDD at fault, but you have a different make, so its not that.
I therefore wonder if there is a conflict with the 'shock' sensor, that I have set to 'high', although Ive always had it set high & not had a problem.

Plus, only recent change was 'windows' installed 'powershell' - I cannot see that being the problem, but may remove it to be sure.

Only other recent change was a BIOS update delivered via Sony auto update - I did not have this problem prior to that.

Finally, I looked in Event Viewer & Problem Logs & could not find any clue to this problem.

If you have any further suggestion I would welcome it.

I will do some further tests myself & report back my findings,

Cheers,
Trevor.

 

Hi daimip,

Yes, the VGN-Z35X does come with WWAN HSUPA-Gobi™ 3G (Unlocked) as standard. The sim card slot is on the back behind the battery, its actually covered by the battery.
If you buy from SonyStyle UK the Z35X comes with a T-Mobile sim card and the leaflet recommends using T-Mobile, just a sales gimmick.
I used my O2 and Vodafone Pay as you go sim cards, all work perfectly. I have no doubt it will work perfectly in Canada and anywhere theres 3G coverage.

 

just to let you know that was not my actual RAID cable, I didn't open my Z...it was an example picture from a Japanese site

Thanks for the link mobytoby.

 

Is this the same thing? http://cgi.ebay.com/TPU-Keyboard-Protector-Skin-for-Sony-vaio-Z-laptops_W0QQitemZ300300559968QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090316?IMSfp=TL090316139004r13687

How long did it take to arrive? I'm thinking this would probably be a wise purchase.

 

I'd guess gaming is gonna be around 80C

 

Got it thanks

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=4674439#post4674439

 

Yeah, it would probably be even higher, I just didn't want to take a guess like that but it maybe the fact Anyway, I think 70C at film watching is kinda bad for a laptop

 

Hi SSDVaio,

Thanks for your reply. I guess the Vaio VGN-P11Z will also come with WWAN HSUPA-Gobi™ 3G (Unlocked) as standard with SIM card slot.

I want to say you guys living in UK are so lucky and I am so jealous . I know some people in UK complaining how expensive the Sony UK selling thier Vaio (P series cost £849.00 inc VAT). But the truth is that you guys are paying the extra for your freedom (unlock WWAN) with no hassle. Here is why.....

For me in Canada, P series will cost me (CA$999.99 + 12% tax) with no WWAN at all. So I have to drive 3 hours round trip to US, pay (US$899.99 + 6.5% tax) for locked WWAN to Verizon with no SIM slot and pay another 12% tax when I return to Canadain border. That doesn't stop there... then I have to do many days of research to find out where to order a SIM socket which will cost me (US$7 + US$15 shipping + tax) from aboard. Once the SIM socket arrived, I will have to disassemble the Vaio P, solder the SIM socket, put everything back, and then do a series of long software hack..... and hopefully I will (and I am not sure) be able to use my SIM card to gain the freedom I want....

After a bit of calculation.... I will have to pay an equivalent of £783 (note I have not take in to the accout of SIM socket cost, the fuel of my car in driving to US, my hardware & software hack time/energy, risk in breaking things, void of the warrranty, ........ and still not sure if it is going to work).

So sad and shame..... for people living in North America....

 

Hi SSDVaio,

Ooops... I have another question. How did you find out the UK version uses WWAN HSUPA-Gobi™ 3G?? Cos when I visit the UK Sony online store, it advertises the WWan called "Everywair" and I can not find anywhere mention the "Gobi".

Cos if the UK version does use "Gobi", then I will try buying the Vaio P from UK (... too bad that UK Sony does not sell their products to anywhere outside UK)

Thanks in advance.

 

I bought from the following seller:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Keyboard-skin-fr-Sony-VAIO-VGN-Z610Y-B-VGN-Z610Y-13-1_W0QQitemZ230333294502QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCA_Mice_Trackballs?hash=item230333294502&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

It takes about 2 weeks or so to receive the keyboard cover.

I personally prefer silicon keyboard cover. They're thicker & have a featherly touch. I've used TPU type of keyboard cover but do not like the feel of it. It is kinda "flimsy" in my opinion.

 

I oringinaly ordered the Z25X(Z590)and this came with HSDPA 3G (unlocked), although it wasn't Gobi or HSUPA it was still unlocked and very decent. The Z35X had a little upgrade to HSUPA 3G Gobi(unlocked)

As for the (UK) P series I'm not sure if it's HSUPA Gobi 3G, it will for sure have HSDPA 3G Unlocked with a sim card slot. Just not sure if it's Gobi HSUPA? Depends when they were made...like the difference between the Z25X and Z35X

I lived in Canada (Edmonton) for 2 years and always felt you guys were lucky compared to the UK for pricing and specs, North America Sony always lead and released first, we were always trailing. The Prices have dropped a bit in the UK and I admit the Z35X is the best configurable Z there is, the P9600/T9800 option and the HSUPA 3G Unlocked is a big winner.

If it makes you feel better my SZ was purchased in the US and has Sprint EV-DO intergrated and I have never even tried it, always been in the UK or other parts of the world. The way the Mobile world woks these days I think WWAN 3G sim cards are the standard we should all use. HSUPA 3G Gobi can be used anywhere in the world where there is 3G coverage, I used mine recently in Holland, Belguim and Dubai. To be honest in my Hotel in Holland I paid 15 euro for WLAN (24hrs) and my Z had full 3G coverage and it was just as fast as the WLAN (at that hotel) and was only about 8 euro for 24 hrs.

It sounds like one hell of a mission for you to purchase a US P series and do all the nessesary modifications to use a sim card. I would honestly use a USB (sim card) dongle for your 3G WWAN needs.

goodluck with your hunt

 

Hi all
Any one had the following issue:

After a full install of vista, in which the dvd-rw Drive does not appear back in windows after being switched back (to on from the tray utility) by vaio's power control ?

Thanks
Talal

 

Hi SSDVaio,

Thanks for your valuable information and yeah I need the luck..

I actually use the "Novatel Wireless Ovation MC950D USB HSPA Modem" for my laptop. The problem is that in the office, the laptop itself can be cable locked, but not the USB modem which can potentially be stolen. Also the USB modem is stickout of the laptop, so if I move the laptop from one place to the other, it can get hit and come off easily.

This is why I am buying the P series (WWan in my back pocket ), if my hardware and software operations are going well in modifying the US version

 

I am sure we 2 are not the only ones with this problem, has anyone else seen this issue?

 

Hi SSDVaio,

I was wondering if you had the part number for your WWAN module that has Gobi. Perhaps those of us that don't have one with a SIM card slot can just replace the whole module, without the need for soldering on a SIM holder.

Its relatively easy to unlock the software after that.

 

Man, was I ever surprised when the UPS guy showed up at my door tonight to deliver a box from "Sony Fullfillment Center!" It was my $300 (actually about $380 in retail value by Sony's list prices) rebate bundle that Sony had just received from meon 3/23/09 (I sent it US Certified so I would know and they would have to sign for it). I expected them to not ship it until after the laptop "free look" guarantee had expired, but no, they shipped it out right away - apparently right after I received my "your rebate claim is valid" email on 3/31. Pretty fast, for a rebate process that is absolutely free.

About the only issue that I had was that they initially emailed me to indicate that my claim was not valid because my model number (VGN-Z690) was not covered by the rebate program. To fix that all I had to do was call them and point them to line 12 of their own rebate (#080434B) Terms and Conditions which states "...when you purchase any Sony VAIO VGNZ series notebook." They were cool with it and saw what I was referring to on their copy of the rebate terms as well. (If I had to guess, the Fullfillment Center simply doesn't/didn't have the most recent list of models for the Z series, since the 690 is new addition to the line.

Anyway, I thought I'd relay the good news about how fast Sony made good on their rebate - a real, first in (and first class) service, all around!

 

Below is the link for a "sort of a" Vaio Z screen resolution comparison photos for those who still cannot decide on the 1366x768 & 1600x900 screens.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=370180

Hope it helps.

 

Hi, I just received my z690 cto and everything is ok but one thing that is driving me mad.
When I use the wifi connection I can only access to google webpages (google.com, gmail.com,...).
It's absurd. I can do google searches, I get results, but I cannot access any other website.
I tried with another computer connected via wifi to the same router and with it have no problem.
If I connect the Z with the ethernet cable then anything works.
I didn't change anything in windows firewall/network/ecc.. configuration, the problem appeared the first time I switched it on.
I have tried upgrading the "Intel® PRO/Wireless Driver Update" provided on the sonystyle page (ver. 12.2.0.0) but it didn't resolve the problem.
Anyone has had similar problems or has any idea?

Thanks

 

I thought I'd let everyone know that I received my "Certificate of Coverage" from Sony yesterday for my 3 year "Express Delivery/Repair" warranty. On the back of the certificate are the terms of the contract. Note that I ordered my Vaio Z690 off of SonyStyle.com and included the 3 year contract with the original purchase (in case that makes a difference in how Sony handles the contract).

 

@SPEEDwithJJ: Is the keyboard cover really worth $10?

 

Quick question for the owners here: What kind of 128GB SSD comes with the Z590? Is it worth $400?
Basically, I can choose between two Z590s, one with 320GB 7200RPM, and one with 128GB SSD... and the diff is $400. Not sure if I'm really going to see/utilize the battery life/speed difference.
Thanks.... been dying to upgrade from my SZ650N/C...

 

The battery life difference is negligible, and in some cases even higher for an SSD drive. When a drive is near full, for example, a single write operation might mean the drive has to re-org and erase several large blocks to make room for your data, and the erase operation is what really costs.

IMO, the only SSD that is worth using is the Intel X25, and that's not what you're getting, no. You're getting a sub-$200 drive for $400.

If you buy a 500 GB 7200 rpm drive and repartition it to only use the first 128 MB for the system drive (just like the SSDs max capacity), you won't be as far behind speed-wise as you might think. And you'll have the rest of the drive for things like back-ups and storage of large files where speed doesn't matter.