Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

Also, if you click "Click here for detailed product information" for both preconfigs and look under the "Specifications" tab, the $3199 one has 3GB of RAM installed, whereas the $3399 has 4GB. Both have 4GB of RAM in their listings on P1, though.

 

Thanks, I thought so, but I couldn't find anywhere on the link where each one is made. Thanks again.

 

Oh OK, I just copied and pasted all that info. Thanks for the heads up on that. Too much for me though.

 

Yeah, I didn't see it anywhere on the page either - so I called in and thats what I was told by a guy named (if I remember correctly) Patrick...

Edit: I ordered the $3199 one and it actually says on my receipt 4 GB of Ram....

 

WOW!, I'm so jealous and envious. Congrats! After spending that much money, how long do you plan on keeping it before you upgrade?

 

I'm going to have to upgrade? ...

Thanks!

 

1. Depends on what you want. My ideal Z would have (if money not an object):
1600*900, 2.53Ghz, 4GB, WD 320GB/7200rpm or 64GB Samsung SATAII

2. Probably a 7200rpm drive?

3. No hardly a difference.

4. I would wait until a week after retailers get their stock, I expect it will save you at least $100.

 

Geeee: I would go with #3. I can't justify getting anything with Blu-ray right now; movies are expensive, the 1600x900 screen will only display a part of that 1920x1080p resolution they're capable of, and even Blu-ray media (last I checked) is still pretty pricey. I like the higher res screen, but I need it for work stuff (digital art). 320GB would be nice, but I can live with 200GB. Besides, as has been demonstrated, we can swap those drives out with larger ones. I hear 500GB are around and even 750GB are announced...

I pretty much went with #3 in my config, except since I bought it from Sony Style, I paid about that much and got 2GB instead of 3GB (and no free case... *sniffle*)

 

I already decided to purchase a Z with these specs: 2.53 ghZ, 4 GB RAM, Blu-ray burner, 1600x900 resolution. The only thing that bothers me is the HDD. I will order from P1 so I have the option to take SSD together with blu-ray. My question is if is worth it this 128GB SSD (525$) against the 320 GB HDD? Will it be much faster even if is not RAID?

 

Buying the 128GB SSD is a bit of a gamble since it is the OCZ Core series. Have a look at the Newegg reviews to get an idea:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227345

It will soon be replaced by OCZ Core 2 which will hopefully solve these issues.

 

What happened? No new post for hours.... I am used to like 4 new posts per hour xD

..........

Does anybody know why the shipping dates for the CTO's in the US are pushed?
Where the Preconfig dates also pushed to a later date?

I'm curious because the German/European release is just around the corner (18-22 August)...

I need the Z for school and since my school starts on Thursday it would be good to get it next week and not late August/early September...

 

Hey Everyone,

It's my first time posting and I thought I could find a lot of help here. I just purchased the FW the other day and feel that it's a bit bulky. I want to trade it in for the Z but I am worried about one thing.

The only reason why I originally went with the FW was for the video card. My primary need is the plug a large monitor into the computer. Right now I'm looking into 24inch 1920X1200 external monitors. If I had a Z with the 256mb 9300m GS would I be able to see fine images on a monitor like that. I won't be gaming, I will just be using excel spreadsheets, websurfing, viewing, and typing documents. How about the 128mb 9300m gs?

Also, does anyone know if the 1600X900 on a small screen will seem too "crunched" or illegible.

Any advice is appreciated,
Eric

 

I talked to Sony Store Canada today, they told me the Z is to come maybe end of Augest to early Sept.

 

You said, you were planning on considering to get your Z with P1, what preconfig. or CTO were you planning on?

 

dear eric,
the 9300 GS with 256MB ram can handle full HD via the HDMI port 1920 x 1080 p.

 

After all this, you honestly think im gonna go for a CTO. Im lookin at the Z550.

 

When you say #3, you mean #3 on my list:

2) 590NB $2249.00 1366x768
P9500, 2.53GHz, 3GB Ram, 320GB HHD.....Pros: P9500, 320GB HD / Cons: $250 more..

3) 590NGB $2349.00 1600x900
P9500, 2.53GHz, 3GB Ram, 200GB HHD.....Pros: 1600x900, / Cons:$ 100 more.., 200GB HD

For me, It will be a toss up between #2 and #3 (shown above). Some people on this thread and a previous thread, I've read from posts, that I can manipulate text size on 1600x900 when web surfing. That is my only concern for not choosing this hi-res, but it would be important to have that higher resolution for video editing, photoshop, illustrator -graphic design programs. I've tried out the Z 1600x900 already, but I'm not sure I can tolerate, in the long term, such small text.

Is the only difference between 1600x900 and 1366x768 1. the amount of information you can view on the screen and 2. the (1600x900) slightly better picture quality. I think user: rahulnirmal posted pics depicting the two resolutions and some of you couldn't see nd tell the difference. I recall I couldn't tell them apart.
I don't care too much about the 200GB versus 320GB.

 

Oh Ok, So this is the one your looking to order:

VAIO Z550
(P8600 2.40GHz 13.1" DURA 3GB 250GB DVD±RW CAM 56K 10/1000 WiFi BT FP WAN BUS/XPP)
Code: VGNZ550NB
Price: $1,999.00

And have you decided to get from P1?

 

Im very strongly lookin at that but im worried about the boarder tax's and what not. I emailed P1 to fine out exactly what ill be hit with but they dont know, so I asked where I can find out. I really don't wanna get hit with a $200 fee for a laptop. The things I can do with $200. Forget that.

 

I have to decided to wait some months, before I might buy a Vaio Z.
School has already started for me and I'm in desperate need of a laptop - I'm not going to use a pencil... again.

So I'm going to buy a MSI Wind in the next week or so, because of the price, small size and sweet design. Although the battery life on the Wind isn't that great, a larger battery will be available later this autumn.

In the winter I'm going to the US and I will might buy a Z-series over there, for many reasons.
- Buying a laptop at it's first release at that pricerange can be risky. There will might be an upgrade or so, in the time between the release and when I'm in USA.
- The price is very high, like I said before. But the price in the US is far cheaper than in Europe. I just hope that the US economy stays low until my trip to the US is over
- Sony Vaio isn't available where I live (Denmark) and there comes to problems with that; The wait of the Sony Vaio take part of the danish market (which will happen sometime in this autumn) or the shipment from another country.
The US is far to risky to order from, because I would have to pay as much as the laptop it self for VAT, taxes etc if it gets caught. Ordering from Germany is the cheapest solution in Europe, but it still cost like 1.000$ more, compared to the US prices.

So I'm going to wait for the purchase of a Vaio Z, although I have been drooling over that piece of art, for such a long time.
But I'm looking forward to my alternative, the MSI wind, and my trip to the US

 

Don't worry, I'm from the U.S. and our economy is getting worst and worst. Unemployment is rising, food prices have soared, there are more people to come that will loose their homes, and our state of California has just implemented minimum wage for state workers, I believe $6.55/hour, regardless of whatever their pay is prior. By the time your trip is over, you'll probably afford 2-3 Z's and then some.

 

If you still have a job to pay for the laptop!

So, do any Canadians have this laptop yet?

I would get a Z if the price was lower. It's not available in Canada yet either. I am not sure if $1800 is a fair price. I guess I'll have to see if the same customization is available as the American Sony Vaio site.

 

I may be one of the first in Canada with it... cause i got someone in the US to order it for me CTO'd and im going to pick it up wenever it arrives which im hoping will be this friday...

 

What is that pad to the right of the touchpad on the Japanese model? Is that a pen input pad?

 

This has been asked before.

For more info, click on the following link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_FeliCa

 

Oh thanks. Kind of useless for us in the States... wish it was indeed a pen input lol.

 

Resolution is the only real difference. I could tell them apart from the pictures and it would probably be more distinct in real life, but how often are you going to see the two machines side by side like that? And they're both still great.

The text is a completely personal issue, but based on the Type-SZ resolution, I'd say 1366x768 is fine for design work in Ps/Ai (not sure about video editing - I'd prefer extra vertical space for Pr). If graphic design was a big thing for you, surely an external monitor would be better anyway?

As I say, it's a personal issue, but based on what you've said, I'd recommend the WXGA. I also don't think you'd notice the difference between the P8600 processor either (if you want to save c. $150 and get 320gb).

 

This is getting ridiculous! I'm going to seriously consider P1 now. Z590's are made in the US so at least I can avoid duties. Anyone know if I have to complete certain paperwork to have the duties waived or is it automatically waived?

Also Toronto Guy, is that estimation for pre-order or shipping?

 

For either one. If I were u id wait till it comes out so you cn get a feel of it. I kinda made that mistake with the SZ780, I thought it was extremely nice and small based on pictures and all, and I was pretty disappointed and found it fairly big and bulk for my liking when I actually held it. Also id wait in ur case cuz u dont mind CTO, so ur muchh better off just getting it here cuz Canada will get CTO for sure.

 

Yeah I might wait, but I need this laptop for school and it's actually good for me to have a laptop while in class.


Question: what screen resolution is better if I plan to use an external monitor/TV a lot when using the Z?

 

The 1600 has extra memory on the graphics card, so it can be better. It depends on whether you're doing anything that will make use of it, and the difference might be really small.

That's a helpdesk answer, if you're mainly using it externally, it's sensible to get the 1366 model and save.

EDIT: That said, if you're using it in class, surely you'll be using the laptop screen most of the time?

 

I am surprised the Sony made in Japan is recommended over made in USA!

 

I hope you're kidding.

Edit: nvm, I'm sure you are.

 

lol

yeah Japan machines, better make me a perfect Z

 

Well I finally got my Z laptop, omg yeppy, im so happy yay

 

You got it? What the?

 

Pictures or it didn't happen.

 

toronto GuyY - PICS, PICS, PICS???????????????????????

Review it DUDE! - specs, pics, overall rate?

STOP hugging it and do something creative! lol

 

I third that for pics, oh and also is it a US version? (or Jap import)

Thanks and welcome to the club! *^_^*

 

That's the one I got, except 2GB.

I can understand the concern about viewing text on a small high resolution monitor. Personally, I like high resolutions, even got 640x480 on my phone (I'll be honest, text is a bit tiny at times). One of my current laptops has a 1400x1050 resolution screen, which is just about perfect for me, just wish I could get this kind of resolution in a widescreen format and a similar form factor.

For most, if not all of the Adobe CS products, the higher the resolution, the more screen real estate you actually have to work with for the art. The palettes take up a certain amount of pixel space, so at higher resolutions they will appear smaller on the screen. Also, in programs such as Maya or XSI, there's a lot of buttons and stuff that can fit on the screen; the more pixels your monitor can display, the more of these buttons you'll be able to see at one time (XSI actually has a minimum res requirement of 1280x1024, so I'm hoping I can make a custom UI that'll fit the 900 pixel height). I have an external monitor that I use when I'm sitting at my desk, but I'm buying the Z for mobility, and the more pixels I can get on the small screen the better.

I hope I won't burst your bubble on this one or anything, but I think the Wind is around the same size as the Eee PC 901, and the Eee is really, really terrible to touch type on. I was considering an Eee, went to BestBuy to try one out, and immediately dropped that idea because I couldn't type at all on it. I have small hands for a guy, too. That's when I saw the nice little Vaio TZ down the next isle, which was much, much better to type on. I think unless you have really small hands, anything around the 9" form factor might be too small to type comfortably on.

 

Question for Z owners:

Did you guys get a Drivers disk?

I'm hoping to do a clean install when I get mine...
Is there any pre-installed software that's actually useful?

 

I assume there's some strong evidence to suggest that CTO is much poorer build quality than pre-built. Could someone point me to it please?

Thank you.

 

As is well known, SOny does not include any discs. You need to make your own recovery discs.

 

Like anything, some will be a lemon, others not. That's even true of pre-configs. And where your CTO is built depends on where you order it from. If you get it from Conics or Dynamism, it's built in Japan. If you get it in the USA< some of it will be assembled in Japan, and some in San Diego.

Except for my U70, every one of my Sony laptops since 1994 (one SZ, two Gs) have been Japan CTOs and any problems have been normal wear and tear. You couldn't tell it was CTO.

 

Mine is a Sonystyle CTO, I assume built in San Diego. Question is why everyone seems to believe San Diego assembled machines have such poor quality, to the extent that I know many of the forum readers are placing orders for pre-built just to avoid getting a San Diego built machine.
Should I be worried as well, if so why?

 

Yea... im pretty sure you dont have it in your hand like others are assuming... im guessing you ordered from P1??

 

Genuine Microsoft® Windows Vista® Business with SP1/ XP downgrade

what is that mean ????

 

Thats good to know about the P8600 and P9500. If I won't notice a GREAT difference, the better I am off in saving every dollar I can.

It just means that your notebook will have Vista SP1 installed as your OS, but will include a disk if you decide to downgrade to Xp. My SZ was Vista and it came with a disk and I downgraded it to XP. Actually, the disk was nice. I don't recall very much bloatware, if at all.

 

Order status for my CTO just changed from "processing" to "on hold" and my credit card has just been charged, anyone else?

 

I'm in UK and ordered from PC world business. The expected shipment for them has changed from this Saturday to this Thursday, which is always good. I organised next day delivery so maybe..just maybe...i might get the lappie on Friday - ready for me to play with it the whole weekend.


...and my card has also now been charged.