Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

$1000 ??!?!?!?!?!!

In the UK the starting price is currently £1750, around $2800!

S

 

Hi Guys,

Just got my new Z5 delivered and though pleased with it, i have 2 concerns regarding the build quality.

1. There is a fair degree of flex on the front left handside of the notebook. It is the plastic strip that contains the status LEDs. There's no flex on the right hand side at all which makes me think it could be a defect. Could someone check theirs and see if it flexes in the same location? (jpeg attached)
There is a fan/grill opening on that particular stretch of plastic housing, so this may weaken this section inherently? Basically, if I press in, or up on that section, it feels as if it's loose!

2. The little sliding cover on the bottom of the notebook (for docing station?) is hella flimsy, and though i close it, it's easily slips open again. Very nitpicky i know, but i'm still licking my financial wounds after this purchase so i was hoping for flawless.

Cheers,
N

 

In the US generally easy to find a low end model at $1500. On ebay even lower ($1250.) There have been some limited time deals as low as $1000 on older low end Z's (like the Micro-center and Provantage ones listed recently.) Not sure how hard it is to get shipping to UK. The weak dollar-US discount is more pronounced than it has been in the past.

As for the screen, I would guess playing some basic games (like Civ 4) would do better at native resolution using the lower res screen. Not really concerned about playing games, but if the extra feature is there might as well be able to use it.

 

By the way, one more thing to note is that:

1600x900 screens are paired with 256MB Nvidia GeForce 9300 GPU.
1366x768 screens are paired with 128MB Nvidia GeForce 9300 GPU.

Good luck.

 

i believe its possible, since tha game looks not graphic demanding *sorry cause i never play, just viewing the system requirement*

as for game and screen, ive play using native resolution for left 4 dead with tweak on graphic setting (some setting either turn off or lowest*, its playable. given with civ4, its possible too. btw, im on 1600x900.

 

Actually, There's still 1 stock on the Z for approx. $1000 at MicroCenter. That's the reason why they haven't taken off their site.
Link Here. Maybe, they can do an air/ground service. Where it says to "Select Store". Go to drop down list and select "North Jersey/Paterson".

 

1. yes, theres flex on mine too *im on first batch of Z*, you can feel the flex rather than the right side if you push it. tho mine doesnt flex anymore now. have no idea why is that. im not really picky on that notebook part as long as it doesnt crack.

2. the cover for docking doesnt flimsy and easily slips. its firm there. just the issue i got on my Z is the network LAN caps cover which somehow a lil bit lose. anyway, just a minor and i can live with it.

 

That's great. Thanks.

BTW, everyone's input has been helpful. Really appreciated.

 

I just purchased a Z820 with Windows 7 Pro. Which utilities do I need to keep installed in order to keep all the functionality? Or is there a Windows 7 clean install guide for the Z. I see threads in the main forum, but it seems it is for those who are upgrading to windows 7 from vista/xp. I will just have the recovery disks once I burn them.

Also, how difficult is it to swap out the HDD?

 

Does anyone know if steel can buy this laptop for less then 1100 -.- ??

 

I'm trying. There is that NJ microcenter, but they do not answer their phone.

It looks like you can get near $1200 using ebay, less if you buy a used one.

The Z530 is not that expensive, but its discontinued and hard to find.

 

Have some question about upgrade to windows 7 on my Z.
I ve a Vista premium japanese 64bit based system and i can apply for educational offer for Windows 7 (premium or professional) as i plan to do clean install (because of japanese language to other language) will be able to go back to factory recovery?
I am afraid that i need to change for gpt format, will Windows 7 installer automatically swap for this partition files? and keep my two letter drive like C and D.

if someone upgraded from vista can advice me, i am bit lost.
thanks

 

Call or stop by at your local MicroCenter. Maybe, they can do the leg work for you. See if they have access to inventories other than their own, such as New Jersey. Inquire if it can either be sent to you or sent to your local MicroCenter. Good Luck.

 

Thanks for the response Miyabi - seems it's just inherent flex in that area which i can live with. Cheers!

 

Thanks. Gave it a try yesterday. No go so far, but I'm guessing I'll find similar pricing somewhere in the next month (since provantage briefly have a $980 deal too.)

Anyhow, there's some similar deals on ebay, but I'm a little wary.

I'll post if I find a similar deal.

 

Can someone lend some advice between the 2 specs. These are the only known differences. Which would be a better choice in terms of performance and price?

Z820
$1499.99
P8700 (2.53)
320GB / 7200 RPM
Black Carbon / Original Gray Palmrest

Z850
$1699.99
P8800 (2.66)
500GB / 5400 RPM
Black Carbon / New Black Palmrest

 

I saw brandnew Z880G/B comes with P8700/4GBRAM/128GBSSD on eBay for $1699.99
US buyers are also eligible for 8% MS Bing cashback.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290374320477

 

I believe the all the Z7xx & Z8xx series come with the Black palmrest. So that Z820 will also have a black palmrest.

Based on your list of choices, I'll personally take the VGN-Z820G/B because of the following reasons:

1) it is $200 cheaper (could be more if taxes are being charged for your purchase).
2) The difference in CPU between the 2.53GHz & 2.66GHz is very "minimal" IMHO. One will not really "see" the difference in typical everyday tasks.
3) Although the HDD is a larger capacity (but slightly slower) in the Z850, the difference in price is not worth it because IMHO, you're better off getting the Z820 & snagging a Hitachi TravelStar 500GB 7200rpm HDD for just $79.99 ($71.99 after current Bing 10% CashBack) right now! However, you may not even need the larger HDD capacity & so you can just save that $72! You may even want to save that $200 difference in Z models for a while, then upgrade your existing HDD to a SSD in the future for more "bang for your buck!"

Anyway, the above are just my honest opinion. You & others may or may not agree. I'm guessing those are the prices being offered by Fry's Electronics? Good luck.

 

Thanks SpeedwithJJ. I agree with your assessments. Had to see if someone would agree with me. MicroCenter has 19 Z820's. I'm hoping they discount them for Black Friday. Yesterday, there were only 4 in stock. So my hunch is, it might be part of the SALE.

ALSO, I just made the "recovery discs" for my current Z. I followed the wizard and inserted 2 x DVD-R's. I thought it was over until, it ask to insert a CD-R, which I didn't have. So I inserted another DVD-R and it rejected it. Does anyone know why? I guess this last stage creates the "Startup Recovery Disc" which then access' the Vaio Recovery Wizard.

1. Do I need to do this last step?

2. If I do, will I be able to do this last step later when I get some CD-R's without having to go through the entire process.

3. Do these recovery disc actually copy your files such as documents, pictures, music, etc. It did say to backup all files, but I was curious if it created a backup for me within the recovery discs.

Thanks ALL and Happy Thanksgiving.

 

has anyone notice the screen backlight of the Z is yellowish? i have my old SZ and when i compare them side by side, my SZ's screen is whiter than my new Z..

i hope someone can verify.. i might have a defective unit..

SZ on left and Z on right


btw, i just recently bought Z58GG here in singapore..

 

The screen on the right looks good, the one on the left looks blue.

But then how can any of us really tell, as we are viewing the image on our displays!

S

 

o well you have a point.. hmmm....

 

I thought so until I read MicroCenter's spec sheet. I wouldn't mind the gray palmrest. The black palmrest is a fingerprint magnet. I'll check it out this weekend.

 

Question:

Has anything changed structurally between the Z11 and the Z55?

 

Z11 = pre-assembly model.
Z55 = CTO model.
The change: maybe the chasis and the module WWAN

 

Having owned SZs & Zs, the following are my own observations. Again, this may or may not apply to you.

SZ370 - Very white (maybe a bit yellowish white)
SZ381 - A little yellowish white
SZ791 - A little blueish white
Z610 - A little pinkish white
Z690 - A little pinkish white

 

That's weird to me. When I burned my recovery discs set, I got everything burned onto DVDs. The program did not ask for CD-Rs or anything like that.

 

Okay, I've posted this twice but haven't gotten much help, and since then the problem is much worse:

I'm still running RC1 of W7, and as of a few weeks (maybe even a month and a half) ago, my battery life has plummeted from just over 4 hours to barely making it at 2. I've updated the BIOS, gotten all Windows updates, tried installing various Sony power managing utilities, etc. I know it's not the battery because using my spare has made no difference at all, so I'm lead to believe it's either a specific driver, a specific update, or a Windows 7 problem in general. I know this is probably something you have to slowly narrow down, and I honestly don't have the time or patience to do this. In the end I might just opt to get a full copy of the OS sooner than later, even though my money situation doesn't lend itself to this particular solution.

What I do want to know, however, is if anyone else out there has experienced this same sudden drop off in battery life. Whether you're running W7 or the beta is important, but even if you aren't I'd still like to see what's out there. Any information helps.

 

thanks speed.. so in this case all vaio lcds are not the producing the same color output? do you think i i compare 2 Zs with the same model it will also produce different backlight shades? i'm thinking of bringing back my Z to the shop..

when i was shopping yesterday, there were 2 Zs on display but of different model and i didn't notice any backlight difference.. or i'm just too excited to play with them and notice it..

btw, you're right Z is more of pinkish than yellowish..

 

I'm not sure what to tell you because all the 5 SZs & Zs that I've owned &/or currently own are bought at different times. The results that I'm getting are probably due to "characteristics" associated with different batches (different manufacturers of parts used & so on).

Anyway, IMHO, no 2 exact models will be the same. I personally believe that there will always be some slight variations one way or the other. However, since you've paid so much money, I'll highly recommend that you at least take your new notebook back to the store & go on from there.

Good luck.

 

ok thanks speed! i will try to revisit the shop and compare mine with the others.. yes i was broke yesterday when i bought this thing!

appreciate the help

 

Hi guys,

I had a question about my gf's vaio z670.

Starting from last night, her laptop would turn off and then back on. For example, she would have it on her lap and when she placed it on the table, it would turn off/on. This happened about a handful of times last night and it then happened a couple of times today.

If you guys had any ideas on what is going on and what I should do about that would be great. Thanks in advance.

 

Hi I've made a couple posts about this on this forum, but haven't gotten any response. If anyone can help it'd be greatly appreciated. I have a Z540 running 32-bit Vista Home Premium (purchased Fall 2008 at SonyStyle store in Los Angeles, CA) and was planning to just do the Upgrade Install to 32-bit Windows 7 Home Premium. What do I have to do to retain the original functionality of the computer (Stamina/Speed, S1/S2, HDD protection, HDMI output, Fn and brightness controls, etc)? Will there be any issues immediately after the Windows Upgrade Install? Do I have to track down and install drivers? I'm pretty happy with the performance of my laptop so far under Vista, and don't want to put the computer or its functionality at any risk. If anyone can comment on their experience with this, please let me know. (And also if you've found anyone at Sony that can help, or if you know when/if Sony will provide support and drivers.) Thanks!

 

The guy with the battery life problems, its probably the battery decharging,it happens, before sony batteries were bad... Now a lot better, do a battery decharge basically run the notebook on battery until it dies, then restart and let it charge up completely, also if it helps then take the battery out and put it back in after it decharges. If it consits then time to buy another battery sometimes there isn't a way around it. If you still have a warranty then call sony tell them your problem and most likely you just pay half shipping they replace it for you and you can get a free battery. Which one do you have a nine or six cell?

 

Hi all,

I'm going to order the Z in the next few days from Portableone. I'm still undecided on whether to order a SSD with it. I'm considering either a 320GB 7200RPM hard drive (a $63 upgrade), or a OCZ Apex 120GB SSD (a $371 upgrade).

Basically, I'm debating whether I should wait further for SSD prices to drop and just upgrade by myself later.

How easy is it for a relative novice to upgrade from a hard drive to an SSD on a Vaio Z?

 

Surely the BIOS and drivers have been designed to work with the final release of W7? I would try that, as there don't seem to be any similar problems from those running the proper release.

S

 

I would never go for the Apex

 

If you're talking to me, I have a spare that I've tried and it unfortunately makes no difference. I believe the problem is software related, and the power management system is undercrediting the amount of battery life I have left.

That's what I would assume, but I just upgraded the BIOS from R2140m3 to R4043m3 and that didn't seem to have an effect. Luckily I'm a student so I get the real version of 7 for 30 bucks. But unfortunately I'm a student so I don't really have 30 bucks right now to spend on the upgrade. This is, to say the least, a very frustrating experience that I just want to get fixed. This laptop has been great to me in the 6 months or so that I've owned it, but it's also been a massive pile of issue after issue. I still can't print because of this damned printer spool error that won't go away, my battery life has been slowly draining, HD video playback (and even just regular YouTube/Hulu videos) have been laggy and pathetic at best...overall not a lot of things I would expect out of such an expensive and highly touted notebook. Hopefully the full version of 7 will fix all of these issues. If I believed the hype Apple would have the masses believe (which I don't -- I've used plenty of Macs in my life so I know better), I'd be at the Apple Store right now.

 

Why not? It seems to have gotten decent reviews.

Also, what about upgrading yourself? Is it easy to physically install a SSD in the Vaio Z?

 

I have been planning on a Z purchase with SSD- the sonystyle USA site had "backordered" for all the SSD's- now they don't even offer them??? I'm beginning to think that the 320 / 7200 HD is the way to go- the preconfigured model is under 2K now- there seems to be issues with the SSD? if anyone sees any good black friday deals on a good new z please advise- thanks

 

SpeedwithJJ You've answerd this question before, but how many number of refreshes on the SZ before Sony released the Z? I'm just trying to speculate how many more refreshes on the Z before Sony comes out with a new replacement. Thanks.

This is just me dreaming, but I hope Sony's Z replacement will incorporate touch screen. If Sony can do it on the L series and Apple on the iPhone, I'm sure it's reasonable to expect it on a laptop like the Z.

 

called sonystyle USA just now and tried to order a Z CTO with SSD- they tried to move me to the CW model- told the lady I wanted a Z with SSD- she then tried to sell me a refurbished Z690 for $2,700 with vista- was told that the Z SSD's were "flying off the shelf" so they took that option down until they locate more SSD's ??? They have no idea when they will be available BUT... you can order a CW right now with the SDD.... arent the SSD's the same in Z and the CW? maybe there is a new Z comming - isn't the CW the lower-end version of the Z? I like the track pad on the Z - didn't like the layout of the CW I saw at Best Buy.??? hope they don't eliminate the Z....

 

Good thing I'm still waiting for the Z's predecessor. I wanted to bite the bullet so bad the past few months. Though now I'm kinda worried... if I get the first generation of the next model, it might have problems they don't fix until later versions.

 

I'll like to think that the current refresh is probably the last on the Vaio Z if what had happened to the Vaio SZ series is any kind of indication (of course, if Sony strictly follows similar patterns). Please note that this is just my opinion. Others may or may not agree with me.

The Vaio SZ (USA model numbers given) life cycle:

SZ1xx - "Gunmetal"/Silver palmrest
SZ2xx - "Gunmetal"/Silver palmrest
SZ3xx - "Gunmetal"/Silver palmrest
SZ4xx - "Gunmetal"/Silver palmrest
SZ6xx - Black palmrest
SZ7xx - Black palmrest

* Note: There was no SZ5xx series in the USA market.

The current Vaio Z (USA model numbers given) life cycle:

Z5xx - "Gunmetal"/Silver palmrest
Z6xx - "Gunmetal"/Silver palmrest
Z7xx - Black palmrest
Z8xx - Black palmrest

Next release:

Z9xx - Black palmrest or Vaio Z series successor?

 

i just noticed that the sonystyle store doesn't have SSD for CW either-

 

Great, now it's plugged in at 79% and NOT CHARGING!! It says that when I hover over the battery. What the hell is going on???? I'm so damn tired of these problems!!!

 

Did you active the Battery care function?

 

I hope your right about a new totally redesign Z. I thought the SR was the lower end Z. What screen size is the CW?

Thanks for posting this. Well that means we can expect 2 more refreshes on the Z before a total overhaul. I counted 6 SZ refreshes and 4 Z refreshes on your list. What made you say this might be the last?

 

Because Arrandale processors releasing in January are a big enough change to warrant a whole new series.

 

Kindly observe the palmrest color "change" patterns.

It seems like the "gunmetal"/silver palmrest is the 1st half of the life cycle while the black palmrest is the second half of the life cycle. Based on this 1st/2nd half theory of mine, kindly note that the 1st half life cycle of the Vaio SZ is "long" while the 2nd half is "short." If we go with this pattern that occured on the Vaio SZ & apply it to the Vaio Z, then I believe the (2nd half) life cycle of the Vaio Z notebook is coming to an end "real" soon. I personally think that we'll likely see a successor series to the Vaio Z as early as Q1 2010 or latest by Q2 2010 (although given my obvious stupidity, I'll most likely be wrong again ).

Furthermore, Jayayess1190 mentioned a valid point about the Arrandale CPUs & it looks like a very "convenient coincidence" for Sony to release the new successor series at that period of time (Q1/Q2 2010).