Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

But you're still not running the version of the software which those drivers were intended for!

I really think you should do a clean install with the final release.

I did this a couple of weeks ago and my Z is just fantastic with Win 7. No problems whatsoever.

S

 

From what I've read though, the first arrandale chips that will be released (in Q1 and Q2) will be low and ultra-low voltage chips...the type that Vaio Z has never used. The mainstream and high-end arrandale chips will not be released until Q3. I think it is more likely that we will see a new Z model then.

 

Thanks again for your explanation. I get it. I was counting the number of refreshes for both SZ and Z Series. Your logic does make sense. Maybe, I should hold off 'till at least March 2010.

 

You're correct with the low & ultra-low Arrandale voltage CPUs. However, even if that end up being the case, do you think there's really no chance that Sony will release the successor to the Vaio Z with "less powerful" CPUs? One recent example. Look at what kind of CPUs Sony use in their Vaio X series when a lot of people are hoping for &/or expecting "decent" power CPUs!

 

Is the new processor going to be less powerful than the current one in the Z?

 

Just purchased the Z890. Being a Macbook Pro 17" owner for the past couple years, I'm looking forward to the change back to a PC laptop. I'll be posting my reviews and thoughts soon after I receive it for those who are interested.

 

dcc79, congrats on your Vaio Z notebook purchase. I'll be looking forward to your Vaio Z review.

 

No, there are powerful versions coming in January too.

Core i3 have 3mb l3 cache and no Turbo Boost or Hyper Threading
Core i5 have 3mb l3 cache and Turbo Boost only
Core i7 have 4mb l3 cache, Turbo Boost, and Hyperthreading

It is best to get the Core i7 processors since they have the most performance and do not skimp on the features that make Nehalem worth buying over Core 2 Duo.

 

Hmm...according to notebookcheck.net, it has slightly different information and interpretations. I'm not so read up on the new Arrandale chipsets to make sense of what is considered mainstream, high-end, etc, and how they relate to current chips though.

Intel officially unveils details on upcoming Arrandale platform

By: Piotr Mazurkiewicz
It looks like we have every right to be disappointed...

Today Intel has officially revealed details on its new mobile platform – Arrandale. Unfortunately it turns up that all the rumours we have previously heard were only partially true and were far too optimistic.

First of all the release date. We have all kept our fingers crossed for early Q1 release, most likely January 2010. Unfortunately all Intel has revealed is H1 2010 for first few models, which probably means March or later. Here comes another issue. Intel plans to release much fewer models than we expected.

Models that will reach the market as first will be Ultra Low Voltage series. All of these are relatively underpowered and intended for ultra-portable notebooks, typically of 11-12 inch screen diameter. The three models will include 1.06 Ghz Core i5-520UM, 1.06 GHz Core i7-620UM and 1.2GHz Core i7-640UM priced $241, $278, and $305 per unit respectively. The ULV series will be followed by low to mid-range mainstream processors: Core i3 2.26GHz 350M, and 2.13GHz 330M as well as two member of Core i5 family: 2.26 GHz 430M and 2.4GHz 520M. This time however no pricing has been revealed. Most of Arrandale models (except Core i3) will feature the Turbo Boost technology.

It is very disappointing though not to see any high-end mainstream performers, like the rumoured 2.53 GHz Core i7-620M or even higher clocked models. Intel’s new 32nm manufacturing process has almost become a legend and so boosted our expectations to a really high level. That is simply because the 4-core Clarksfield series made in 45nm and consuming at least 45W of power is simply too heavy for most users. Intel also plans to release few more models in Q3 2010 and even though they are likely to be faster, the release is simply too late.

After all, it looks that with disappointment in Intel with both Arandale platform and USB 3.0 chipsets (delayed until late 2010) as well as slow release of new PC 5000-series graphics chips from ATi (notebook equivalent usually come 3-4 months later) due to problems with TSMC 40nm manufacturing process yields, it is not worth the wait with upgrading our laptops to Windows 7. If Intel will continue making mistakes like this (it also has to pay 1.25 BILLION dollars to AMD for anti-competition practises), together with innovation from AMD such us the new Fusion concept, it may lose its position of semiconductor leader sooner than it dreamed in its darkest nightmares.

Source: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Newsentry.153+M5eb397eeccf.0.html

 

^^ Who really knows? All we know is that there is only 40 days to wait!

 

hey guys,

quick question. can i use a sony vaio AW120 power adapter on my sony vaio z 670?

thanks in advance.

 

So for those of you who are long time members of this forum...I've noticed Sony has been out of stock of SSD's for their Z models for two weeks now. Is that common? I'm wondering if they really simply are out of stock for a month or so, or they're clearing their stock to make way for the next crop with improved firmware, or they really are going to update models.

What do you think?

 

Apparently it's not just the Z that is out of SSD's, but other models too, such as the CW (which was just released). Plus, it wouldn't really make sense that they would stop selling SSDs if they were going to release new models...they can use SSDs in any model. Maybe they are changing the SSDs they use though....they have always had the samsung, which are not the best buy really (unless in Raid 0 format, where they have very impressive performance, but that setup lacks TRIM support).

 

Yea, it's driving me crazy though. I'm coming to the states in December for holidays (I live in Southern Africa), and have been planning on ordering a Z a week or two before I arrive. Would hate to buy a model just as a new one is going to be released....

 

I will not risk to damage computer with ac power coming from different series, all you i can suggest to you is to compare the voltage of the ac adaptor, but since z have spefici battery i wouldn t go too fast.

Note that actually people here don t posting back sometimes as they are little too preoccupied with "possibile refresh of Z series" and hardware speculations that even aren t release yet.
Maybe better to create another topic for this discussion and keep this topic for "actua"l z owners as the title suggest.

kindly

 

katana82: Good point! You're right, of course. Now it's just the question over new SSD model/firmware or simple out of stock this holiday season.
podam: I agree with you. While I am a Vaio owner (twice over), presales questions and postsales problems do deserve different threads.

It seems the Vaio community has no more information than the Vaio sales department about this...we just have to wait!

 

the 1st Z58GG i bought was no signs of the flex.. however, i returned it due to the pinkish screen backlight.. now, my 2nd Z58GG is now experiencing the flex.. i wonder if they have missed some quality control here...

 

Does anyone know if the SSD in the Vaio was a Samsung unit, or was it made by someone else?

 

It's been a while & for the moment, Sony are still using Samsung SSDs "exclusively."

 

how would you know that it is samsing ssd? i just recently bought my Z58GG/X in Singapore the other day.. here's my device manager..

 

Your Z comes with Raid 0 SSD, so it's normal that you have Volume0 in the "disk drive"

 

michibahn, it is definitely a Samsung, especially for your model, VGN-Z58GG/X, that contains a 256 GB (128 GB x 2, Serial ATA, RAID 0 support) SSD. This is a special customized Samsung SSD, which Sony uses (& this info is well known around this forum) that is simply not available in the market. Furthermore, if you don't believe me, you can always open up your Vaio Z notebook to see for yourself to be absolutely sure about the manufacturer of your SSD.

By the way, congrats on your purchase of a Vaio Z notebook.

 

Hey guys,

Quick question here.

I have RMClock for undervolting, and would I save power by disabling all the higher FID steps except the 6.0x?

I know it would make my laptop slow as heck, but it's still a hell lot faster than a netbook.

I'm wondering if I can stretch my battery life by not allowing the CPU run at full clock speed.

Thanks!


PS, I just noticed that the green power LED flashes when the battery is under critical level. It looks quite cool. I can't believe that I've never noticed it before, and I haven't heard anyone mentioning this nice little feature in the thread either. Kudos to Sony for being so thoughtful. They really did pay attention down to every little details on the Z.

BTW, I do notice a slight increase in battery life after I locked the CPU in 6.0x step. I'm just not sure if that's all psychological or actual. Anyone care to contribute to the question?

 

guys i just ordered a custom z890 yesterday. Im kind of having different feeling about it. I got like 2.8ghz, 4gb ram, and 500gb sata. I am not sure if I should change my order to something like 3.06ghz 6gb. I dont know if i should wait for ssd since its completely off the customization. I was also wondering if I should have gotten a blu-ray disc instead. I know the screen is small, and the quality wouldn't as great as on tv. Well I dont really need it as a blu-ray player to a tv since I have 2 already. Also, for regular user do i need windows 7 ultimate. Is there much difference besides the 35 languages and the data stuff. Any suggestions?

 

hi NHT / SPEED, thanks for the info.. you guys are really helpful coming from a vaio SZ5, the Z is really great especially the screen resolution.. the only thing that annoys me are the body flex and the fan which is almost on all the time even in silent and power saver mode.. google chrome is only running.. i don't experience this in my SZ5.

 

I just ordered a custom Z too...P8700 with a 160GB Intel X-25m SSD. More than I was planning to spend on a new laptop, but hoping this will last me a good 2-3 years. Can't wait!

 

where did u get urs ssd? i thought it was out of stock on sonystyle

 

Sorry, I'm sure this has been asked 1000 times, but can anyone point me to some guides on how to replace the HDD in a Z series? I've got myself a rather nice Corsair P series 256GB drive that is itching to go in there, however the thread that points to HDD replacement appears to have been removed.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3761167&postcount=891

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=317635

 

Awesome, thanks. Seems I was already on the right path but stopped after the right hand side of the keyboard retention was a bit sticky. Seems like I'll have to try a bit more.

 

does anyone know when will the ssd become available on the sonystyle web site?

 

hey just found this on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280412131510&_trksid=p2759.l1259
is the price alright?

 

Don't follow these instructions - there is an important step to unlock the keyboard before you try to remove it which is missing. People who have followed these instructions have reported bending of the keyboard. If you thought the keyboard was a bit 'sticky' to remove then there's a pretty good reason!

Search for Sony's official disassembly manual which includes diagrams and all steps - it has been posted within this thread a few times already.

Good luck,

S

 

Yes, after searching through the zip file I finally found the guide that gives the correct "jiggling" instructions!

SSD in and Win 7 installed, all looking nice so far

 

Hello guys
is it possible to run raid on Sony VAIO VGN-Z 11 MN ?
cheers

 

hi.. have you experienced calibrating the screen color? i tried changing mine to make it a little whiter but after a few minutes, the original color returns back.. or once the screen refreshes..

here's where i'm doing it.. using calibrate color..

 

still no SSD option at sonystyle- they have 10% additional off all outlet computer thru Saturday Dec 5th- they have a red signature that is at a good price- does anyone know where the best place to buy a Z820 g/b would be? BH Photo shows them in stock as well as a few other places- want to order one with ssd's but thinking they are going to change the z and I don't want a first gen ...

 

Check MicroCenter for the Z820.

 

Ahh I just placed an order on sonystyle 3 days ago. Kind of making me want to wait for the new design. Hmm..

 

i bought mine from portableone. they are an authorized seller of sony laptops, and they fit the SSDs themselves before shipping....they have several options of different brands of SSDs to choose from. excellent customer service as well.

mine is shipping out today. but i don't arrive in the united states (having it shipped to a family member's house there) until 20 December for holidays. can't wait to get there and use my new laptop (and trash this junk HP that i'm using now)!

 

Sorry for the late reply, but do you mean final release as in Win7? I have the RTM, for what it's worth. I'd just upgrade to the actual release version if I could, but I simply don't have the time or resources to do so. And if it screws up, there goes my semester and I can't afford it.

At the same time, having battery life at under 2 hours isn't helping right now.

 

Now i am seriously thinking abt cancelling my order. How long did it take from order to ship?

 

what's the difference between the Z750 and Z820 from microcenter? i don't get how the Z750 has a faster processor (but has vista), yet it's $50 cheaper.

 

I ordered on 30 November and it shipped yesterday, 3 December. So pretty good, considering they upgraded the SSD in that time.

They also have the option for a 'P1 Optimised Win 7 Image'. Basically it's a clean install of Windows 7 and removes all the junk and bloatware (but keeps the important Vaio utilities). I chose this...will be great to have a fast laptop ready to go without all the crap.

They have an online chat option (you'll see on the homescreen on the right hand side). They can give you more information on what models can ship the quickest. They are very helpful....again, really, really excellent customer service. I even asked them up to update the firmware on the Intel SSD before shipping to me (as a new version was just released two days ago) and they agreed.

On a related note...those microcenter prices are really, really good (better than portableone). Depends what you are looking for though, and how much work you are willing to do yourself. I was willing to pay a bit extra to have the SSD and clean version of Windows 7 installed by professionals. But more expert computer users i'm sure are comfortable doing this themselves and saving $200 or so...

 

The 750 likely has vista installed, while the 820 has windows 7.

 

I like this idea 'P1 Optimised Win 7 Image'!! can you possibly share the image?

 

Hello, just a question:
Is Z series 1600x900 monitor antiglare or glossy?
Thanks

 

anti-glare..

 

Anti-glare...but extremely bright with excellent contrast ratios.

According to notebookjournal.de, the Vaio Z has an average NIT (brightness) rating of 276 and a contrast ratio of 400:1. Both of these are really excellent ratings...and all the more spectacular because this is an anti-glare screen (which typically have much lower contrast ratios).

As a comparison, the UL30vt, which has a glossy screen, has an average NIT rating (brightness) rating of 184, and a contrast ratio of 175:1 (according to notebookcheck.net).

 

hey guys,
been having problems with my Z620N laptop lately. its been shutting down and restarting itself all of sudden. at first happened only once a day. got worse a couple of days ago when it would do it 4-5 times in a row without even getting to the windows login screen. did a hardward diagnostic check and came out clean. i then reformatted and it still does it. anyone have any clue what it might be? i thought about a loose wire or something. if anything imma send it in to sony to see whats up, but was just asking if anyone had similar or heard of similar problems.
thanks in advance, dj.