Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

4 or so months. However, note that the last refresh the hardware did not change, only the OS.

 

i got a weird case...

currently playing aion...

i seem to be having better performance with less heat
with intel x4500hd (mid settings) compared to
nvidia 9300m gs (low settings) ...

how come ? { }

 

I'm looking at purchasing a Z series and have a few questions about some things mentioned here:

Do recent models still have the problem where screen flex when closed can result in marks from the keyboard or trackpad on the ' scratch-resistant' screen?
Do you Z owners always need to use a sheet between the screen and keyboard to avoid this, or is it a rare problem?
Has anyone tried adding some DIY 'pads' above the LCD to keep the screen away from the keyboard?

----

Can RMClock be used for undervolting in conjunction with the Sony Power-management profiles?
E.G. I've read that the vaio utilities can disable the DVD to reduce battery drain. Can this be done at the same time as having RMClock active as the Windows power profile?
If so, does it still work in Windows 7?

----

On the sony uk site there are two preconfigured models listed:
Z51XG and Z51WG
http://www.sony.co.uk/product/vnp-z-series/vgn-z51xg-b
http://www.sony.co.uk/product/vnp-z-series/vgn-z51wg-b

The main differences are
CPU: P8700 vs. P9700 (2.53G & 3MB vs 2.8G & 6MB)
RAM: 4GB vs 6GB
HDD: 5400rpm vs 7200rm (both 400GB)
And the WG has a fingerprint sensor & different TPM.
The battery life is 2hrs longer on the lower spec XG (480 min vs 360 min in Stamina.)
Does anyone have a feel for which of these most affects the battery?
I know the P9700 has a higher max TDP, but I assume for the battery test that the CPU generally runs at the same minimum speed.
I might configure one if just one of these had a big impact.

 

Does anyone know where one can purchase a Z with Premium Carbon from a Brick and Mortar Store? Aside from SonyStyle Store or Online Outlets. I've only seen the regular carbon sold at Fry's or MicroCenter, but not with Premium Carbon anywhere else.

 

Unfortunately at this moment, you'll not be able to get the Vaio Z notebook with the Premium Carbon lid from a B&M store, except from a SonyStyle store.

 

quite alot of questions, anyway
1. Yes, the flex are meant for its design to avoid any break on the lid. the recent models come with the cloth to be place between screen and keyboard area.
2. Only when i need to put into my backpack. Going from room to room in the office, im not using it. The screen will have the mark on it if the screen has been force towards the keyboard (e.g: putting the notebook inside tight sleeve case, or the notebook inside backpack that full of text book) for some time or worst case if the force is too strong, it would leave the marks too.
3. Nope, i dont do any modification to my Z.
Theres no mark on my screen until now. It looks decent until now. All I did is putting the soft foam in between the screen and keyboard-alu area.
4. I did the undervolting before, but not anymore. If I can recall, all I did was put the RMClock to automatically start when booting into Windows. I cant answer much on this part.
5. Processor TDP (as you already mention about it), the HD speed. Thats it. And screen brightness, wifi/bluetooth port off, cpu usag (you can limit the usage at VAIO Control Centre) and stuff which user can configure manually at control panel to lengthen the battery life.

 

For the lid flex,i just installed a privacy filter from Sony for the Z series, VGP-FL14. on the notice the filter can be used both for privacy filter (that not my principal purpose) but for protection against fingerprints and scratch.
Whats a pain to install but once in place you cannotsee i something is added to the screen, filter is really tight and resistant that i can stop to use a sheet of microfiber. Coworke were always surprised and asked why i do that.

Only minors the screen looks bit more contrasted than before, and i ll not remove it every day....
but it does really good job for privacy and protection.

 

I noticed in stores, Sony has installed Movies like the "Da Vinci Code" on their thumb/flash drives for sale. Not sure if this method will take over DVD's, but does any know of a program I can use to do the same instead of preoccupying space on my Z HHD or packing a bunch of dvd's? Thanks.

 

Question to current owners: would you mind telling me your battery life results when playing movies,preferably 1080/720p movies and tv show with both the 6 and 9 cell if you have it. If you don't mind I'd also like to know the specs of the z and model. And the settings that were used. Comments would be highly appreciated

 

Hey, do any of you guys have noticed a slightly greenish hue at the bottom of the screen(i have 1600x900 vesion)? It's hardly noticeable at first, but once I found them greenish tinted spots, i find them mildly distracting. I suppose its coming from uneven LED back light or something. I just want to know if it is a common thing. Or am i to sensitive. And should i return it?

 

please guys having P8xxx check this out, and let me know:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=435269

 

hi.. i'm planning to buy my new Z next week.. from a SZ user, is it worth it to buy the SSD version of the Z or just the normal HDD?

Z58GG/X
or
Z56GG/B

source - http://www.sony.com.sg/microsite/vaio/products/index.html

i'm also contemplating on the Vaio X VPCX118LG/B since i would love to have the WWAN!! which the Z doesn't have

thanks!

 

There is also the possiblity of adding the wwan module down the line. I have done this with my TT that was bought in Hong Kong.

 

any idea how or when? thanks!

 

Take a look at this thread
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=343183

 

I am looking into getting a Z890. For anyone that owns this newest model, do you have any issues with heat?

Also, how is the fan noise? I've read this to be a complaint on older models but was wondering what it is like with the new Z890.

Also, what are the main differences with the black case vs the premium carbon fiber case? Which one would be more scratch resistant?

Thanks in advance!

 

I'm looking forward receiving my Z890 in a few days. I could then answer, though I have no experience with elder series.

 

Have you guys seen Dell's XPS Adamo 13.4 screen?

I'm hoping when Sony redesigns the Z, that they offer 2 selections: with or without an optical drive. The X is too small. This Adamo, however, fits the bill except for that tilted keyboard and specs.

 

Bohdan, I'm looking forward to your review. Also, does anyone know if there are going to be any good sales on the Z series for black friday or Christmas?

 

Does anyone know anything about the fact that all Z series models sold directly by Sony with SSDs are out of stock?

 

Not sure your City/Country of origin. But based on my experience last year. The sales for pc's were best 1 week before black Friday, which would make that tomorrow. AT Fry's, I purchased my Z at $400 less than retail. I bought from there because they provided a 2 week full refund no open box fee.

Because of the economy, they only have 1 selection on the Z i.e. the Z850.

 

Hello,
I am interested in buying the VGN-Z51XG/B.

I have some questions to users of above model:

- how loud is the fan ?
- how warm / hot does this notbook get

What are the overall positive and negative points ?

 

Best Buy has a Z850 model - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+...p?id=1218125776519&skuId=9568354&st=sony vaio

Is the Z850 the same as the Z890 but just a remodeled number for Best Buy? The same configured one on Sony's site is almost $250 more expensive.

 

The Z850 is a pre-config model (meaning that all of them come in a fixed configuration according to specs & cannot be changed by the buyer at the time of purchase) while the Z890 is a CTO model (meaning that it can be customized to the buyer's own selection choices for the any of the available options being offered).

The following is the full specs of the VGN-Z850G/B:

http://www.advizia.com/v41/PDF/B2B-845033439-976.pdf

Good luck.

 

Hi Z Owners
I was wondering about the temperature for
Stamina mode (Processor + Intel 4500) (both of them)
Idle temperatures + Full Load temperatures
and
Speed Mode (Processor + Nvidia 9300M) (both of them too)
Idle temperatures + Full Load temperatures

You can write like this, for example:

Code:

- Stamina Mode (idle):
    - CPU: 35 C
    - Intel 4500: 35 C
- Stamina Mode (full load):
    - CPU: 50 C
    - Intel 4500: 50 C
- Speed Mode (idle):
    - CPU: 35 C
    - 9300M: 40 C
- Speed Mode (full load):
    - CPU: 50 C
    - 9300M: 60 C

And..
Does speedfan work with vaio z? or is there any software to control the speed of fan?


Please I really need to know. Sorry to ask many details
Thank you guys!!!

 

Quick question guys,
I bought myself a VAIO Z today and I totally love it.
I would like to upgrade it to on the Sony support website, I cant find any drivers for it.
If someone has been successful installing win 7 on this machine with or without any problem, please let me know.
I also want to install Ubuntu 9.10 in the future, so will this be a good idea?

 

We have several topic about installing Win7 in the Z.
btw, are you VNese?

 

Hi,
I want to buy VAIO Z laptop under 1100$, is it possible?
Do you know any deals for old VAIO Z series?
Please... give me an answare!
Regards!

 

hihi, under 1100$ is possible, but this is a brandnew or ref

 

Any chance that you can direct me to the topic?
Yes I am VNese

 

You might want to fill out the FAQ in the What Notebook Should I Buy forum: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=29271

 

Which SSD is best or are they all pretty much the same:
1. OCZ Vertex
2. OCZ Vertex Turbo
3. SSD Intel X25-E
4. SSD Intel X25-M
5. OCZ Apex

Also, if I decide to just go with an HHD, would it be worth upgrading from 500GB 5400rpm to 500GM 7200rpm?

Would the higher rpm consume more battery?

These are some of the Portable One upgrade choices. There isn't a selection for the premium carbon upgrade on their site. Thanks.

 

You are going to hear different opinions on this, but the Intel drives are the fastest when it comes to the equivalent of 'drive thrashing' - i.e. a situation where there are lots of small writes taking place. The OCZ vertex / turbo / agility models are better than many other non-intel drives, but the intel's have the edge in this area. When it comes to sequential writes - i.e. writing a single large file, the OCZ drives are faster. Personally I find the random write thing a far more common occurrence. I own a Vertex and a X25-M, and in most situations they are hard to tell apart, but the X25-M feels faster in some situations. I also like the 80GB price/capacity - larger than 64GB, cheaper than 128GB. There is a 'G2 model' (it is silver instead of black) that has trim support. All the Vertex models also have trim support - this restores performance after the drive has been fragmented, which would otherwise slow performance.

The X25-E is a SLC drive (versus MLC on most of the others), and costs twice as much. If money is no object, it's the fastest drive overall, but you will be hard pressed to tell the difference in desktop use over a X25-M.

 

Thanks sethk for your explanation on SSD's

 

I was at a Sony store in Singapore recently and the sales staff had no idea about the screen damage issues and had not been selling any sort of foam sheet or even warning their customers. I know that there is often a disconnect between product quality issues and sales, but would have hoped that this issue would have been floated to sales training by now.

Really does make me sad everytime I look at the nice screen and see the horizontal line and the other dotting from the keyboard, knowing that I never treated the computer any more roughly than I have my other notebooks...

 

Podam, could you take some photos from different angles and post them here? My system of bubble wrap and a cloth get me funny looks from co-workers

 

Hey guys,
Just would like to let you know that I finished installing Ubuntu Korola 9.10 to my Sony Vaio Z520 and it works just fine as windows.
I will update if I can find anything not normal with the OS.

 

This is one of them: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=342562
Personally, I don't need it since I have experience in installing clean Windows in a Vaio.

 

Just roughly reading from my experience. The environment may affect the temp depending on where you are. as in room temp in South East Asia:

Code:

- Stamina Mode (idle):
    - CPU: 36 C
    - Intel 4500: 36 C (the Integrated GPU doesn't have the dedicated measure temperature reading, its rely on mobo then).
- Stamina Mode (full load):
    - CPU: 55 ~ 65 C
    - Intel 4500: 65 C
- Speed Mode (idle):
    - CPU: 36 C
    - 9300M: 52 ~ 55 C (Power plan: Power Saver)     *
               : 60 ~ 65 C (Power plan: VAIO Optimized)
- Speed Mode (full load):
    - CPU: 55 ~ 65 C
    - 9300M: 70 ~ 95 C, ranging around this area, depending on processing demand for graphic involve (peak would be 95, tho im getting 92 C peak, if im downclock the graphic using nProfile it will be 80 C, but of course weak graphic acceleration. )

Fan control as in Speedfan, Im not sure as I never use it. You can still control the fan behavior via VAIO Control Center, there are 3 types of fan control (Balance (fan spin speed rate is average), Performance (fan will keep spinning to dissipate heat) and Silence Mode (fan spin at slow speed))

** Even the machine heat until red area (90 and above) temperature, the machine doesnt heat the whole area, or the whole machine. its at the left side of keyboard area where the vent is located below, from the Esc until Caps Lock key roughly. And also, even with that 95 C, if you put the machine on your lap, it doesnt feel hot, just warm and still can be place on your lap. To summarize, the machine doesnt become toaster machine. Heat is dissipate systematically.

*** Gaming wise: Im not that hardcore gamer, I somtime gaming for 1 ~ 2.5 hours. Current game I play are Borderlands and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2 (both running Speed mode) and PES 2010 (running Stamina mode). Playable at non-native resolution.

**** Recommendation: As we all aware, heat may spoil the card and mobo if the temperature bypass the red limit temperature (95 and above, reaching 90 is already bad anyway) for hours or worst case if it always keep shutting down by itself running the demanded graphic applications. Therefore, it wise to keep on Stamina mode all the time, unless you are really need to use the NVIDIA card. If you toggle to Speed mode, the temperature of the card will raise as it following the power plan (by default, its VAIO Optimize when running Speed mode). Tho, selecting the power plan to "Power Saver", the temp will decrease until mention above (refer the idle temp for NVIDIA above *). Blame Powermizer for this lol.

I hope my not so good explanation helps :z

 

@Miyabi:

Thanks a lot man!!!!!!!!
Really appreciate it!!!!!!!

 

Yes, You can get a Z for about a $1000.

 

Hi Rachel, thanks for this.. looks like a feat to install WWAN!

 

I realize this is only speculation, but does anyone think that there may be one more refresh, a Z9xx, before Sony redesigns the Z or will the Z8xx be the last?

I've noticed that Sony has redesign other series plus the introduction of the X. I would hate to purchase another Z and later find out that Sony has come with a replacement sometime soon. I guess I can hold off 'till March/April 2010, but Black Friday is days away. Does anyone have any idea?

 

Geeee I am not sure if they will be refreshing it again or not. Seeing at how the Z800 series is identical the the Z790 series, except with Windows 7, I would think they will soon.

 

Here is the review I wrote on the Sony Vaio VGN-Z890.

 

Thanks for the thorough review naota. Good to see the game benchmarks.

Like a number of posters I'm deciding between the ASUS UL30VT (overclocked CULV/GM210) and the base Z540 Also would consider the X200s if I decide gaming and/or DVD is just asking too much from a small laptop. I really only play stuff like Civ4 or Railroads which are actually a bit IGP intensive.

A question:

Any feedback about the lower res 1366 x 768 screen?

I figure it make sthe laptop more affordable, plays games better at native res (given weak IGP) and default text bigger for my lousy eyes.

Of course the higher res screen is btter, but is the lower res one still better than comparable screens? It is still called an X-Brite Duraview. Does that mean it also has the full gamut color and great viewing angles?

 

Yes, the 1366x768 one has everything that the 1600x900 has, except resolution.

 

The following thread should help you out a little bit with both screens set to "Window's default" screen settings:

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

Good luck.

 

Thanks. Its good to know the lower res version still has a top quality screen.

Now I just have to track down a bargain, as the micro-center near me does not have the $1000 z530 in stock.

 

is this true? i'm gearing towards the 1600x900 screen..