Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

I have the stick adapter and extra battery that came in the bundle rebate. I'm not seeing how you can do that. Either I'm missing something, it's a different adapter than the one you mean or it's not possible.

 

Thanks for the SSD information, jlingo.

Raeglatem, I think maybe my post about the dual battery 'stick' charger I have gave you the wrong impression. What I have is this: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-VAIO-VGP-BC1-Battery-Charger/dp/B000BFLG7U - you plug an AC adapter into it, and then put one (or two) batteries into it to let them charge without tying up your laptop. It does not seem like you can get this accessory for the Z's batteries...

Can someone provide answers to my questions (battery recharge time, headphone volume output), please?

Thank you.

 

viol8r I have an X25-M 80GB in my Z540. I posted about the install earlier in this thread. If you have the instructions from the guide and service manual and take your time, it's not too bad.

 

The manual in mine says it supports MS Pro HG. Not sure if that qualifies as high speed, but it's better than regular MS. Problem is, the new Sony Mark2 Pro Duo sticks aren't as fast as the old Pro HG ones. I have a Sandisk Extreme III card somewhere I can test if I get around to it. No idea about Readyboost, though.

 

Yup you confused me on that, for a second I was about to go with the extra battery rebate pack but i'll stick to the docking station (Which i'll probably sell) just to get the mouse.

A Question though about the stick adapter, is it really that much smaller than the regular adapter that comes with the Z?

 

Hi, Noob to the forums here and gonna ask a REALLY noob question..
I used to have an SZ-220 which I loved. Recently upgraded to Z620D which I love!!
The only thing I've had trouble with is Bluetooth. It seems like its always on, which obviously drains my battery. Is there anyway to turn it off (other than the Wireless switch)? Just in case it makes a difference, I'm still using the Vista that came preloaded with the laptop.

Thanks!

 

Thanks scrod. I will search for your post. I'm not too phased about it given I have experience replacing the drive in my SZ, I was just worried about the height/fit being an issue in the Z given it is even smaller than the SZ...

Raeglatem, I'm glad I cleared up the confusion. I cannot comment on the stick adapter (for the Z) as I do not own it. I'm surprised that one can no longer purchase the dual battery charger for laptops like the Z. I've been spoiled by being able to keep my laptop on battery power pretty much constantly - while I am using one battery, the other is sitting in the charger. When the one runs out, the other is almost ready (at about 80% or so) to go, so I just swap the two - never have to be tethered!

Which is why I am still waiting for someone to comment on how long it takes to recharge the Z's battery... Come on, anyone?! How about an approximation - 1 hour? 2 hours? 4 hours?

 

Yes, rebate only applies to U.S. market models.

I think it should be really easy to get the rebate as long as you follow all the requirements. A Vaio Z CTO notebook will qualify for the rebate.

Almost everyone here in the forums have quickly & smoothly got their rebates approved. I guess mine is just the odd, weird case. Honesty, I don't know why mine is rejected. They only told me that they expected mine to be approved, they really have no idea why it is rejected, but they cannot do anything for me because the system just says that my rebate is not approved. Oh well, this is life & life is unfair sometimes.

I would honestly say that you shouldn't worry & can safely go ahead & order your Vaio Z because I'm 110% sure that your rebate will smoothly go through without a hitch. Good luck.

 

thanks, in that case i'll just buy the cheapest version in the USA. from research i found that only the expensive 2x128gb SSD is cheaper in Asia and the HDD version is cheaper in America (only if i can get the rebate).

 

OK I think I have decided to get a Z with a hdd and install a Corsair P128 SSD myself, even if it may void warranty.

Now however I am unsure of what CPU to get. I noticed that the P9700 has twice the cache size of the P8800, runs 130 Mhz faster, and has the same thermal rating as the P8800. Question is how much faster will it be in the real world? Anyone have opinions on this?

 

Link

 

Thanks for the info. It's important to note that that graph is comparing a processor with 6MB L2 cache that is also slightly faster than the processor with 3MB...

Like CrackaBoi, I too am split between a processor with 3MB L2 vs. one with 6MB. I've pretty much settled on a P8800 (3MB) in the Z that I will be buying soon - the speed difference, for someone like me who does not do much processor intensive stuff, isn't worth it.

 

Thanks for the graph and link, that is great info. The performance gains aren't huge obviously, but over 10% in some scenarios is a decent gain I'd say. The main reason I am considering the P9700 though is because of future proofing. I'll have to find out how much more it'll cost me exactly, but I'd pay a little extra for something that lasts a little longer, as I'm planning on keeping this Z for quite a while.

 

thats the exact same reason i chose the faster one, im hoping it will still be somewhat current 3-4 years from now. hoping. haha

 

2.53 is more then enough.

 

I have the vgn-z690 with the 128g samsung ssd that came with it. Just bought the Intel x25-m (160g) and the cable from the motherboard to the intel doesn't fit. After talking to parts and tech support from Sony, they couldn't help me get a different cable.

Anyone know where I can get the cable? Intel seems to have more pins on the larger side of the divider.

Looks like I will need a different bracket system as well, so I will need that as well.

Where do I go for these solutions? Intel? I see that someone on ebay configures the z690 with this intel ssd, so it appears to be possible (that is the reason I went ahead and purchased the intel x25-m).

Any help would be much appreciated.
David

 

Wow, that sucks. Is the cable Sony uses for their harddrives non-standard? I am planning on getting a HDD equipped Z and replace the drive with a Corsair SSD. If the cable Sony uses won't fit the Corsair, I may have to rule that out.

On second thought tho, if your Z had the 128GB SSD setup, isn't that 2x 1.8" 64GB SSDs in RAID? If so, the cables will obviously be different.

 

Can't speak from experience as I do not have a Z, but judging from the posts of all the people who have upgraded their Z's hard drives themselves, I would agree with your second thought. I want to upgrade my hard drive too. At this point, I am toying with letting P1 do the hard work for me (i.e. ordering from them and just letting them upgrade the drive for me). The only downside is that they do not offer the Samsung-based SSDs. Speaking of which, CrackaBoi, is there any reason you chose the Corsair P128 over the OCZ Summit? (Both use the same Samsung controller and memory, and the Summit seems to have been around longer and has more reviews).

 

I am really torn between whether I should do the hdd replacement my self or just get the Z with the 2x64GB SSD RAID setup. It would be nice to just get it ready to rock and not have to deal with it much. Especially since I am travelling to Europe in less than two weeks. I was just thinking of the Corsair because it is a brand I trust (I have RMAed pretty much every OCZ product I have owned), and because the specs on the P128 are impressive.

Aaaahh decisions decisions.

 

What's the typical charge time for the 6 cell standard battery ? (according to sony it should take almost 4 hours ??)

 

lol, I've asked this 3 times in the past two days and for some reason, no one wants to provide an answer

 

Funny, maybe it's because it is really almost 4 hours, that really sucks for a 56 Whr battery

Can`t find 1 negative aspect for the Z , except the 4 hours charge time...

 

Interesting that the 128 ssd with 2x 1.8 64 - you are probably right. So that cable is not "standard". So why would tech support and parts from Sony sell me a "standard" hd cable? I think I should call them again and ask that question.

David

 

The cable that came with the Z540 and a standard 160GB drive worked fine with my X25-M 80GB drive. So, Sony does make one that works unless they changed something else inside the 600 series Z models.

 

It's the striped ("RAID 0") dual drive that's different. Instead of doing what OCZ does with their dual drive, and plant a controller in front of the 1.8" drives so it appears as a single 2.5" drive, Sony chose to hook the drives up as two drives. That requires a special dual cable (and a special mounting bracket).

 

So if Sony won't supply the standard cable that ships with the non-RAID machines, perhaps someone would swap with him...

 

LMAO this whole SSD mess is the thing i was shocked the Z didnt suffer from. I was surprised at the lack of proprietary crap that was nowhere to be found on the Z, but lo and behold it was with the raid setup... oh well, ssd's still too expensive to me, and i wish u luck with getting the correct part. No one wants to order something and realize it doesnt work...

 

Been loving my Z ever since I've been able to get Windows XP on it and all drivers/devices working properly.. it's an amazing machine!

Question though...What bothers me is that when I remove the power from the Z, it obviously downclocks itself while running on battery.. but almost too much sometimes, I can't run any emulators for my "gaming on the go", namely MAME.. some games run too slow when i'm on battery than when i'm plugged in with full-speed. I've tried all the power schemes built into XP but none of them help speed up the laptop.. It's like the Z is hard-coded (prolly the EFI's fault) to just run at a slow speed.. but sometimes I would like to bump up it's performance while on battery if possible.. Anything I can do? Apparently Sony doesn't provide the "Power" software that you get under Vista for XP so no dice there. Atleast the software i'm speaking of isn't on the USA Sony site for download.

Jay

 

I'd say it takes around 2 1/2 - 3 hours to charge up most of the time, but thats from the battery still having some juice but being in the red. Its not amazing but considering that with the right power settings you can get 5+ hours of use then its not so bad.

Umm...in Vista its as easy as creating a new Power Plan, you can define min+max processor state for plugged in and on battery. I have two power plans that I use and with the conservative one I have it on 40% max and 70% for the other one. But if I wanted its easy switching to 100% max, theres just never a reason for it.

I know that doesnt help you at all but try and find some app that can change power settings in XP or something. I haven't used XP in a while as my primary so its hard to help. I would imagine there should be power options to manage it for you somehow.

 

THANK YOU! My SZ takes about 2.5-3h too, but that's for 3h of battery life.

 

Just curious regarding that function. I want my lappie to function at maximum performance while on battery and on AC, so does that mean I should set the 'max processor state' as 100%? Also, what about 'min processor state', what does that actually do? What should I choose to get the best performance out of my Z?

Cheers in advance.

 

Set it to "Maximum performance" both in battery and AC mode.

 

I don't have a Z, and I cannot find it in the software/drivers/download section of the Sony Support site for the Z, but the SZ has a program called "Wireless Switch Setting Utility" which lets you selectively (and independently) enable/disable wireless and Bluetooth. I'd be surprised if this functionality is no longer provided, but an actual Z owner will have to confirm for sure.

 

I believe you're referring to the SmartWi utility (also called the same name on the SZs too). Here you go:

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-download.pl?mdl=VGNZ790&upd_id=4561&os_id=36

 

No, that would do the opposite -- it decides when to disable something. Like if you plug in a network cable to a LAN, and it decides to drop your wireless. Or you run IPv6, and SmartWi doesn't understand it and think you're disconnected. "Smart", my arse.

Unless you use WWAN, for which there is no alternative to SmartWi, uninstall it, and enable/disable the devices in the network device window instead. That actually works.

 

Can me tell someone what´s the maximum temperature for the nvidia chip in the z? I´ve temperatures arount 100 degrees while playing world of warcraft, in idle about 70 degrees. Is that normal?

 

wait, i'm a bit confused to the mess regarding the SSD.
basically if i remove a standard HDD that cames in the Z i can get any 2.5" SSD to replace right? i wouldn't need a cable unless i want to mount 2x 1.8" drives in raid.

someone correct me if i'm wrong

 

As far as i know about the Z yes that does make sense. IT should be a basic sata2 connector.

Its only with the dual ssd configuration that it wont work cause of the proprietary cable used by sony to connect both hard drives.

 

Is the 1.8" connector proprietary or is it just a uSATA connector? Most high performance, including the Intel X18-M, disks use the micro SATA connectors. I actually have the RAID 0 model, but refuse to open it up because I want to avoid putting wear and tear on the system.

 

Interesting. I didn't know that.

I use SmartWi to turn on/off BT & WLAN separately & it works perfectly for me. I guess that's what matters.

 

Omg!! Speed and all the other "original" Z owners!! It has been a LONG time lol... (Ok not really!) How are you guys liking your Zs? I am sure many of you upgraded to the Z6s.. I cant wait for a design refresh

 

If I remembered correctly, you returned your Z5xx because you wanted the premium carbon fiber lid. Did you eventually get one? Or you are still waiting for newer refreshes?

 

Hey Jparity!! Yes, and after I returned it - I waited, and rumors of Z6 came out, I waited and picked up a netbook instead, and now.. I am still Z-less lol!

 

That sounds like a horrible life indeed!

Are you gonna pick up one of the z7xx series now? Or wait for the total refresh that is supposedly coming next go around.

 

when is the next refresh?

 

I made some NASA wallpapers for my Z and figured maybe some other people might like em...

 

although I am a huge fan of abscract nature images...
e.g.: http://mrcool256.deviantart.com/art/Slow-Burn-116608445

 

I just got an email that my Vaio Z is estimated to be shipped this friday

I wonder how long it takes to be delivered...
However, I am quite pleased with the email updates.

 

I live in NYC and it took 3 business days i think to get it.

 

Hmmm... Hope it's the same here in Germany