Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

Speed. When docking, the Z requested I flip over to speed.

 

hum.. that's probably because you have dvi plugged in (If I remembered correctly, GMA4500 can only output through VGA). I only have my vga plugged, so the Z can stay in STAMINA when docked. I don't see a reason why you would get fuzzy signal over DVI in SPEED...

I've tried HDMI to HDMI without the docking station. Pictures and texts show up fine on my 1920x1200 monitor. (I'm running a smaller display with my docking station at home, I left the 24 in at school.)

I'll test it with DVI when I get back to school.

 

Unless I'm missing something completely off the wall, you might be on to something -- using a VGA-DVI cable, staying in Stamina, and going about it that way is working wonderfully.

 

I searched and did not see this deal posted yet.
Anyway, microcenter in the US has a very good deal going now on a VGN-Z750D/B. It is being sold for $1,499 after rebates.
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0313546

 

DAMIT! There's a microcenter near me with only 3% sales tax! not to mention i could probably get a student discount on top of that! Too bad its the P8800 processor.. i want at least a 9xxx =( Otherwise it was perfect! Sadness..

 

It's P8800 2.66GHz. That's a very powerful CPU. It will be as fast as P9500. Why do you want 9xxx?

 

Twice the L2 front cache probably. Some people care about that more than the clock speed (like me ).

 

Why is it important to you?

6MB vs. 3MB cache only improves the performance of certain tasks, on average of 5% for those specific tasks. Clockspeed is just as important, if not more.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong. Doesn't 9 series uses less battery?

 

I have to agree with this. That double difference in L2 cache will only be "evident" in the performance when running stuff like video encoding, running virtual machines, etc.

 

No that's P series. T series uses more power.

 

Even then it's about 8% max...

 

So are you all trying to say that its completely useless the difference between the 2 processors? Cause i also want it for the higher clock speed. and i Do want to perform basic video encoding, photo editing etc...

 

Don't flame me for saying this, but here goes the whole faster clock vs. more cache / is it worth the $$$ to upgrade to P9xxx argument again... We've had this conversation so may times before just in this thread alone. I say just lay out the facts and let people decided if they think the extra price is worth it.

Sometimes, people just want the more advanced processor... It's like some people really need 2, 3k laptops for their processing demanding jobs, while others just like to know that their laptops can handle the stress when the situation arises (or they simply just want the best stuff out there ).

Why is it important to me? It's not. If I had gone for the P8600, I'd probably be as happy as I am now with my Z. I care about something does not necessarily mean it is important to me as in terms of I would really benefit from it. There is certainly a close relationship between the two concepts but it is definitely not a cause-effect relationship.

Is it "completely useless"? Certainly not.

Would you really see a significant difference doing daily routines? and is it worth 200$ for the upgrade? Probably not. But I still went for the upgrade so I won't get buyer's remorse after placing the order.


Edit: I just read over my post, and it sounds quite arrogant. I guess the whole argument goes back to the fundamentals of mental vs. physical. All of us are here to help each other to make the best decision possible. What's the good of telling people there's no point of getting the best processors (which are usually overpriced too), if/when they get buyer's remorse afterward knowing that they had gone for a lower class processor (P8xxx vs P9xxx).

 

Jparity it doesnt sound arrogant it was all true... and yah i'm one of those ppl that like knowing my system can handle something when the situation arises.

Ok so Qustion, I have a Dell inspiron 5150 (nicely equipped) that I could probably sell for 300+ on ebay... or I could trade it up at Sony for $300 what do you recomment?

 

So I posted a link to http://www.memoryamerica.com/sk34g106mb.html RAM in the thread about 8GB possibility thinking that it was based on proper Micron chips (from the picture). I went ahead and ordered it. RAM arrived today and appeared to be built on Hynix chips. Of course, putting both sticks in my Z did not work. I was about to call these guys to RMA it but decided to put 4+2 GB config and check advanced BIOS settings (yes, I enable that through the procedure described in VT-x enabling for Z) and see if anything there prevents me from using it.

In Advanced -> Chipset Configuration -> DRAM Timing Settings was set to Disabled. I changed it to Enabled, put 4+4 GB of new RAM, spit three times over my left shoulder, and turned on Z. It worked! I now have 8GB in my Z and upcoming weekend is going to be busy as I'll have to install Vista x64 (I'll wait for Sony drivers before installing Windows 7) and all the apps I'm going to use on it.

So, for those that still have 4+4 GB memory that did not seem to work, before you send it back, try that BIOS setting.
Enabling the setting forces memory controller to read DRAM timing from DRAM sticks upon cold boot. I guess, it stores these settings in BIOS memory area afterwards so the setting may be returned to Disabled once everything worked. Have not tested that theory yet.

 

Superb news. Thanks for trying out & sharing the good news. I really appreciate the time, money & effort you put in to experiment with 8GB running on the Vaio Z notebook. I bet sniper_sung is gonna be very happy with this piece of news!

 

omg great find!

I have just ordered a pair of Micron modules in China (MT16JSS51264HY, 149 USD each) from a VAIO repair center and they're on the way to the UK and should arrive by this Friday or next week. (if lucky enough to bypass the UK customs)

Thanks for sharing that information! I'll try it out

 

Just to add, I find Advanced menu in BIOS and advanced item in the Power menu incredibly useful. For instance, in Power menu, I can see that all wakeup functions (they are called Break Event there) are disabled, i.e. no wake on LAN, wake on USB, etc. So, technically, laptop should not consume any extra energy while shut down. Of course, OS or Sony drivers/utilities might change these values. But ... Linux-powered Z should do just fine and not have battery drain. Is that the case? If not then the problem is not with "wake on" features but rather with "smart" circuitry in the battery (one that is built into the battery, controls charge/discharge, and is programmed by Sony battery care software).

 

hope this is the answer to the battery drain

 

Has anyone ever actually tried contacting sony about the battery drain and getting their input?

 

Yes looks like some people already contacted SONY and their reply is that the drainage is normal.??

 

I see... ok i've hit another wall (who would've known so many exist when buying electronics).

I just came across the Asus U80v (which is somewhat released in the US)
Now I ask you Z users, which would u pick?

U80v is half the price of the Z, has double the graphics power, but worse ram, HDD, and processor, screen, and is really glossy (i hate fingerprints!)

What do you think? go with the Z? I feel like it has better build quality overall over the asus not to mention better components.

I'm just so lost, if only a laptop would fall out of the sky for me.

 

Well, if you have the money why wouldn't you buy the Z if it has overall better components?

There's no point reading the specs if you never go to a shop and try it out.
You never know, you might walk into a shop and buy something completely different

 

P8800 will be more than enough for your needs.

For an accurate answer of the influence of 6MB cache refer to here:
http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=3246&p=12

But keep in mind the table is for clockspeed + cache.

The Z is a portable machine. It's about 40% lighter than the Asus and has about three times the battery life.

The Asus is a gaming machine. It's waaaaay faster than the Z. The Z is actually not capable of serious gaming.

What do you prefer? I don't play games so I'd definitely pick the Z.

Edit: misread your post, thought you were looking at Asus N81.

 

The Asus is not really a gaming machine either, it has a 4570 graphics card and is capable of some gaming. If you're interested in the Asus then the Sony SR is more than worthy of a look in my opinion. I don't like the overly shiny plastics that the Asus has. I'm not sure if the Asus has a built in drive or not. If it doesn't that might not bother you anyway.

I would go for the Z.

I know it is tempting to for a laptop with higher cache. My SZ has 6MB of cache and i do appreciate that. It is just a preference. However, the Z is very reasonably priced at $1,499 and the processor upgrade would end up costing you may be $400 and i don't think it is worth it at all. If it was $150 max then may be. I have also bought a laptop with less cache and it really didn't bother me after i used it for a while. You can put that $400 towards something worthwhile.

 

I assumed he was looking at the Asus N81 with ATI 4650. My mistake.

ATI 4570 has twice the graphics power of the Z so still worthwhile. I'd get the SR.

I don't know what CPU you had but a P8800 2.66 GHz 3MB cache CPU is not something you need to get used to and it will be faster than a P9400 with 6MB cache or as fast as a P9500 for example.

 

That's true.

However, the extra cache is more of a want thing than need thing for a lot of people for a lot of reasons that were discussed already.

If i was buying today and the laptops were at equal or greater clock speeds i would still like to go for the laptop with higher cache if the price difference of course was not ridiculous.

Like i wrote though i don't think that paying out $400 extra is worth it and the P8800 processor is a very capable processor that will meet all Raeglatem's needs and more.

 

The Microcenter link is not for a P8600 though (rated at 2.4 GHz), it's for a P8800 (rated at 2.66 GHz) which is the same as the P9600 (rated at 2.66 GHz).

 

Well, when building my CTO Z690, I went for P8700 because that seemed optimal in terms of price/performance increase. No regret at all. Hey, I just bought 8GB of DDR3 memory that cost me a fortune: talk about price/performance ratio But then, I may put a better CPU into this Z eventually.

 

I wasn't referring to the microcenter deal... P8600 was the fastest 8 series at the time of my purchase.

 

I'd like to add that virtualization was successfully enabled on my Z92JS, the newest Japanese version, following this post. I also successfully used DC-Unlocker to unlock the Option Globetrotter GTM378 WWAN chip that was factory installed by Sony. Of course, now that I've managed to get iPhone tethering working through Softbank Japan, I don't really need the internal WWAN, but it may be useful in the future.

 

Hi -is it normal that I have to insert the battery when using WWAN?

 

If I recall correctly, it is stated in the manual that you have to

 

I was using rm-clock on my old notebook to undervolt the cpu. But with my new Vaio Z I am using Vista 64bit and rm-clock does not work due to failing signed drivers. Is there any alternative or workaround?

 

Search for "signed rtcore64" on I-net: there was signed version of the driver floating around, you may be able to find it. I had one downloaded but can't find it right now (not using RMClock with Z).

 

Are you using an alternative to rm clock or just nothing on the z?

 

Nothing currently. Waiting for NHC (boy, is it taking forever...).

 

Yeah I know - must be 2 years now since the last version (not the beta) was out.

 

I really do hate windows 64bit driver signing... evil Microsoft making my computing experience a pain.

 

I am running RM clock utility with win7 64 bit...

If you follow the "driver signing and test mode" part in this post and apply it to RM clock utility, you can use it for win 7 64 bit... Just works as usual if you do not mind test mode...

Hope this works with Vista as well...

 

That's the reason why I havent tried it yet.

BTW: Who has the 2,8Ghz CPU and which voltages on which multi. is possible?

 

Anyone know of any compatibility issues between the LG Philips LP171WP4 (TL)(04) screen and LG Philips LP171WP4 (TL)(N1)? I'm finding it difficult to find the (TL)(04) and, ain't payin Sony $500. Other compatibles aren't working.

 

My Vaio Z570NB crashed! Partly my fault . Windows Vista was trying to shut down, but it froze and wouldn't respond. I forced it to power down (hold power button). Next time its up, the windows is all corrupted that it can't even start up. None of the recovery tools work (Check disk, System Restore, etc. etc.). They all freeze. In fact, when I try to recover my data also, it's super slow, and would freeze in many files (including PDFs).

So recovered what I could, and trying to restore my computer to factory default. I am hoping the physical HDD is not messed up, because its taking a long time so far to install windows. But I have a feeling my HDD is dead, and re-installing the software isn't going to help.

Will let you know if I am successful on recovering.

But seriously, I've done forced powered off many a times in XP, and never had the entire operating system getting corrupted (optimistically assuming my HDD didn't crash at the moment that is).

 

Yup, I believe the HDD is dead. After "copying" the files from the recovery CD, windows installation gets stuck at that screen with Vista's "waiting bar" in front of a black background. HDD light blinks on/off, but i hear no HDD activity.
Looks like I will be sending it back for repair for the third time.

 

Take the hard drive out and put a new one in.

 

I could certainly do that. However, I got a 2 year ADH warranty on this thing, and I don't know if HDD replacement will violate that. But it did cross my mind.


Anyways, so much for Sony quality components. A HDD that gives out within a year.

 

So...is this the Blu-Ray drive that is shipped with the VAIO Z? I have no need for Blu-Ray on this machine, but it might be helpful for someone trying to upgrade their Z.

 

If you don't mind me asking, from where did you order your Micron MT16JSS51264HY 4GB SODIMM modules? $149 each is a great price. But, can you trust the vendor? Also, do they ship to the US?

Thanks!

 

Really scary, my Z do sometime the same issue, when shut down with Vista64 the system froze and no activity... i had to force power off with power button several times, afraid to loose my hdd and data.
Each time i run scandisk and full scan with western digital tool and no error.
But Z seems to froze too often...if sony assumed to release driver instead of z refreshs...