Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

Those diagonal lines, some here mention seeing on their screens, is this exclusive to certain Z models and is it obviously visible once the screen turns on? Was there a link to someones post that posted a screenshot of these diagonal lines that someone here can link me too? Thanks.

 

can someone give me the lowdown on the durability of this thing? I had a Sony 13" SZ, and I broke the screen by dropping it onto the floor, I had it repaired, the hinge broke, and that was repaired: finally, just after the cover ran out, I was holding it while walking into my kitchen, tripped over a stool, and while still holding the open laptop, jarred it into the counter.

This caused the screen to smash a little, and once the liquid was damaged, it wasn't long before the thing was toast.

I've got a Dell E6400 atm, and I really don't like it, too big, too thick, but I'm wondering on the Z, because I don't want it to be the same as the SZ.

I'm looking at picking one up in Atlanta microcenter next week, on a trip to the US, as the cost is $1600 with sales tax

Here in the UK the cost is about 50% more, albeit that the hd is 400gb, and 6gb of RAM.

But obviously I'm worried about the fragility of this thing.

And what's the deal with the mobile broadband? Is it tied to Verizon? What standards are used?

 

I don't think there is any objective data for this question. IMO the Z and the SZ are comparable in build quality. That being said this is a 3.5lb laptop you are talking about. It isn't made to withstand drops etc. From what I've seen the SZ and Z are some of the better built laptops out there. If you are anticipating dropping your laptop again I'd suggest you look in to a laptop with more protection like the panasonic W or Y series.

 

$1549.99 is the price, plus sales tax.

I wouldn't get the $50, because I am not a US resident, and the Sony Credit Card would have the same problem.

The rewards program is only in California: http://www.microcenter.com/at_the_stores/rewards.html

$1550 is still pretty good though.

 

You qualify for it ALL. I'm assuming your visiting friends/relatives here in the USA. Have them fill-out the rebate form, because MicroCenter will provide you with this form whether you fill-it out or not. Once your friend/relative receives the $50 check, have them cash it and send it to you. As for the Sony Card, Sony is international. Call SonyStyle in your country and have them connect you to their Credit Card Department. You can get approved over the phone. Once you purchase your Z, your Sony Card should be waiting for you when you get back home from the USA. You copy the sales receipt and fill-out the Sony Rewards Points Form (3 points per $1) and within the 2nd billing cycle, you'll see a credit on your Sony Card for approx. $45.00.

I read my rebate form, and it doesn't state that those from a foreign country would not qualify for this rebate. I would play it safe and designate someone you trust to receive the rebate. Once they receive it, they can cash it in for you and mail you the $50. Let us know how it all turns out. Good luck.

As for the durability of the Z. I don't think any notebook can withstand the abuse your SZ went through. Those were some pretty major accidents. Personally, I think the Z is as durable, however the flex on this laptop is noticeable - intentionally design that way.

 

This is from Phil's Sony Z FAQ's ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=295113)

Toughness tests
http://www.sony.com.sg/microsite/vaio/products/vaio_z/f5.html

 

Count me in this thread!!!!

Just received my Sony Z and love it

 

Hmm. This is what happened to my SZ (twice):
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280432695826

 

you guys may have already posted it but i dont wanna go through thousand page. the gps thing or the street and trip software. does it required a gps sensor/ locator or the verizon subscription? one more thing, is there any major update for the z?

 

Which Z Model did you get?

 

Did your screen crack due to normal use or was it due to accidents? This is the first I've read of a cracked screen on a Z.

 

anyone knows?

 

My SZ screen cracked as shown in the picture due to me tripping over and jarring the poweredon laptop against a kitchen counter. Impact distance was about 20cm.

Also I dropped it once.

The pictured Z is not mine, but it shows the same issue.

 

Whoops! Probably not a couple of days old though if it's a Z11.

S

 

How many cells in the extended battery? And how many cells in the battery that come with the Z? Thanks

 

The extended battery is 8100mah, and I believe it is a 9cell (but the amps are what matters.) 1.04 lbs


The normal battery is a 6 cell 5400 mah and is 0.7 lbs

So the extended gives you 50% more battery power (and I presume 50% more battery life.)

Extended: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...52921665453981&tab=featuresTab#specifications

Normal: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...52921665453950&tab=featuresTab#specifications

 

how come the picture of the Extended battery is the same as the Normal? hmm.... is this a new release? my extended batt has the extra bulge at the bottom..

 

Review from the page:

 

On the CTO's, does SonyStyle place those stickers on the palm rest as they do on preconfigure models or are those eliminated altogether?

Is there still a high number of issues with CTO's compared to preconfigured Z's as mentioned earlier during the Z5xx phase?

 

Which 256GB SSD should I get in order to replace my HDD within my Z? (I want max performance )

 

If you can manage with 160GB then the Intel X-25M G2 is fantastic. Apparently there's a 320GB version coming but don't know when....

S

 

Its coming in Q1 2010.

 

microcenter Orange County/Tustin store still shows 14 units of the Z820 still in stock- if this is true they haven't sold very many in the last month at the $1499 price- wonder if there will be any better deals before / after Christmas??? thats a really good deal...

 

hello everyone, i just want to know if VGN-Z790DBB comes with "GPS" or not, i couldn't find this info in the specs anywhere, just curious because am planning to buy it used from ebay

 

Greetings everyone.

New Sony Z owner.

Simple question #1: Out of the factory sealed box, the two memory card slots (SD and Sony stick) are wide open. I was a bit disappointed given that the older designed TT has a swing door to protect it.

Is this normal? Or should a new Z have come with two plastic inserts to protect the two card readers when there's nothing in there?

Simple question #2: One reason I got the Z is to have a light laptop that has enough power to do some basic HD (Sony's AVCHD files) video editing. Well,this one must have been a clean install version as it does not come with Sony's multimedia suite. (i.e. Vaio Movie Story, Click to Disc etc)

I am assuming that the Movie Story will require lower overhead than their Vegas software. Any idea HOW I can get a copy to of the VAIO multimedia suite for my machine? Would really appreciate any help.

Thanks,
UL

 

1. Yes, it's normal. All Z's have a hollow opening to the SD and MS Duo Slots. No inserts were included to protect these slots.

2. Can't you do an F10 and restore everything back to the original manufacturer's settings and retrieve those programs?

 

What about burning the recovery discs & if those recovery discs are like the format it is previously, you can individually pick most of those bundled software to install them from the recovery discs. Good luck.

 

has anyone of you experiencing the display brightness setting doesn't remember after waking up from shutdown? my setting is when battery-brightness is 30%; when plugged in-brightness is 100%

the problem is after shutting down from battery mode, when i plugged in the power, the display is still at 30% wherein it should be 100% already? i always manually change the brightness in the power options..

thanks

 

So what your saying is when you SHUT DOWN PLUGGED-IN, your able to get 100% brightness from START-UP PLUGGED-IN, but when you SHUT DOWN from BATTERY MODE and START-UP PLUGGED-IN, you get 30% brightness. Is that correct?

All I can think of is your settings is responding to the Z charging up from shut down and may be detecting the 30% brightness when it START-UP. In other words, because the battery is charging, the battery super cedes the plug-in brightness settings because its "charging".

 

when i shutdown from BATTERY mode (30% brightness), then start up still at BATTERY mode it is still (30% brightness) ofcourse.. now when i connect the charger it should go 100% brightness right?.. but it doesn't. when i go to the power option (still plugged in), the plugged in mode slider is at 30% brightness wherein it should be 100% as per my previous setting prior to shutdown..

 

Hey Guys, I Found THis:

http://cgi.ebay.com/SONY-VAIO-VGN-Z...mQQptZPCA_Mice_Trackballs?hash=item35a5a97851

Its a Keyboard and its Cover for the Vaio Z, the price is good, but I contacted the seller, he said it has scratches allover.

Anyway, since I have the Z750D, which comes in BLACK ARMREST, and since I don't like the Black color, because its Fingerprints and dirt attracting color, I'm thinking about buying it.

MY QUESTION, if its coming from a Z1 Vaio, Will it perfectly fit my Z750?

Thanx a million

Will

 

Sorry, Just Forgot that question, Will it be easy to Install, without Damaging my NEW Z?

 

I am looking into ordering a custom Z from the Sony site and wasn't sure if I should do the Fresh Start or not. Am I going to be missing the sony optimization stuff if I do the fresh start? Any cool programs? I don't want the blotware and I want it to run fast, just not sure if the fresh start will be missing vital things I need.

Has anyone done the Fresh Start before?

 

Great news (or possibly sad news...):

Intel mobile i5 32nm will be launched on January 7th, it's going to have a integrated GPU core, hyperthreading, and Turbo Boost core-overclocking.

Can't wait to see what's the power rating for this beast. My P9600 is officially outdated LOL

For more info: http://download.intel.com/pressroom/kits/events/ces2010/pdfs/Intel_at_CES_Preview_Presentation.pdf

I assume the touchpad buttons are also black on your Z750? The cover does not include the touchpad, so I don't know if you would mind having a silver backplate with dark touchpad and buttons.

If you are careful, removing the keyboard backplate won't damage your laptop. Just check the service manual for the location of all the screws and locks. You will need to remove your backplate anyway when you upgrade your harddrive in the future. It's by no means a complex operation.

 

I would go for the fresh start. I'm sure it will still have the Vaio Control Center and so on which are needed to make the Z work properly!

I never had the option and did a clean reinstall of the OS when I reveived my Z, and I can't remember how much extra stuff there was on there. Having said that, all the 'vital' stuff is available for download from the Vaio site. Extras like Notron/McAffee trials and so on are not though.

Hope this helps.

S

 

Dear Jparity:

thank you, you brought to my attention the touchpad thing (Color), I will see what I can do, and if done I will share my experience.

regards;

Will

 

You have to select Windows Professional, which I need. Then Fresh Start is an option and it is FREE!!! I was at SonyStyle yesterday and the guy mentioned that yes, Fresh Start would stil include all the apps you needed to run your PC. So I think I will select this option when I get my PC. I think I will just order online from Sony. You can get it cheaper at Best Buy, but it doesn't have the options I want. It seems everywhere I look they don't have the options I want, so I might as well spend the extra money and get what I want.

 

Did you change it in advanced power option or did you just slide the bar? You have to change it in advanced power option, with administrator privileges, to make it remember.

 

OK, before ordering I just wanted to make sure I saw everything since this is such a large forum. From what I can see the major issues with the Z are

1. Battery Drain - Which from the most recent posts looks like it may be more of an indecator issue than the battery actually getting drained

2. Lines on Screen - Which I did not notice in the store and doesn't seem to be an issue for some

You will always get a bad PC here and there, any company you go with will have this. Whether it is a HD that goes early or a LCD screen that becomes bad quickly, etc. But overall these seem to be the consistant issues. Is there any other issues I should know about before ordering a Z?

 

Can someone tell me what the boot drive options are in the bios?

 

yes i did that already but still it doesn't remember the setting after shutting down from battery mode..

 

I'm looking for a 2nd notebook ( a backup to my primary Z820). What notebook looks just as good as the Z, is portable, travel-friendly, and performs like the Z, but without the hefty price tag? Any suggestions?

 

ASUS UL30tz. $800 on amazon (when it is back in stock.)

13", 3.7lbs, better graphics (switchable with g210M), better battery life (8+hrs when switched to integrated graphics). Reasonable performance with overclocked CULV(effectively 1.83 ghz), PCMarkVantage of 3600 actually tops the Z.

No optical drive. lower res and lower contrast screen. Not as high end in terms of build or market.

 

Cool. Thanks.

 

Screen is glossy. Not many matte sceens out there (although the Z has a nice in-between.)

The Ul30vt is not a netbook. ASUS has a 12" netbook. The UL30tz is a thin and light. It competes with the HP DM3 and Acer Timeline 1310. BTW for ASUS v means switchable graphics, t means overclocked 33%. So the UL30a is the base model without these features. So far only the ul30a has reviews, but the ul80vt is the same internals in a 14" version and has lots of reviews.

But the ASUS is unique in its class by having switchable graphics and built in 33% overclocking. The overclocking makes a huge difference. The CULV chips are already 3X as fast as atom chips found in netbooks- but overclocking raises the performance to near P8400 level (maybe 20% slower.)

The CULV chips run natively at 800mghz. ASUS smartly takes advantage of this by overclocking 33% to 1066mghz and using 1066mghz ram. This makes for a stable, low watt solution that outperforms higher priced low wattage chips like those found in more upscale machines like the lenovo x300.

For some reason only ASUS offers this built in over-clocking and the switchable graphics in a culv, low priced machine. For a review llok at the benchmarks on the UL80tz, which is the same machine, but with a 14" screen, DVD drive and 12 oz heavier. The UL30tz performs the same, but has a slightly lower capacity battery (but a model with the same battery comes out in a few weeks for about $850 on amazon.

Benchmarks (ul80vt w/same internals)- you can see it oes head to head with a Sont SR and Lenovo t400:
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/lap...x?mode=benchmarks&cids=1924,2017,1327,1854,pa
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5346&p=2
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5346&p=2 (the UL30a is the non-overclocked, cheaper sibling)

 

Found some fantastic pricing ion the Z ay a store called soyalo.com. They claim to be a NY wholesaler... but I'm naturally skeptical. Really eager to pull the trigger, but I'm leaning towards ebay over this retailer. I'd like to spend about $1100 and probably can stay in this range with these non-mainstream sources- but I'm pretty wary.

My 2nd choice is the ASUS I descride above. Has nearly twice the battery life and better switchable graphics- but the Z's better build quality and integrated optical drive still have me leaning towards it, especially since there are some affordable options.

 

Try here :

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0320430

It's not $1100.00 but it's the best price around for a recent Z series release and from a reputable dealer.

 

Thanks. Trying to balance the risk/benefits between being cheap and smart. That microcenter price is definitely the best for a mainstream retailer.

 

Looks like soyalo is likely a sham site (phishing?)

A shame... look at this "deal":
http://soyalo.com/product_info.php?cPath=7&products_id=969369

VGN-Z780D/B, p8700/128GB SSD... $1,027.03

Too good to be true.. truly

 

Yep, Too good to be true. The SSD alone makes the price questionable. Thanks for the info. on Asus.