Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

Yeah, the fan comes on really easily and gets loud sometimes even on Stamina mode. I figured my room is warmer than average though.. That does keep the laptop cool, however. I'll see if the noise can be managed somehow once I get home and finish running updates.

Gotta remember though how much heat-producing tech has been packed into a fairly small space ...

 

it is on constantly. hope someone will find some "steering" for it or i have to get used to it.

 

wow...it's noisy?? I thought the fact that it's not THAT thin would help on that. Could it be a thing that might get fixed by a BIOS update?

****!! I was so set on this being the perfect laptop, but noise is REALLY annoying.

Exactly how loud is it? Will ppl hear it in an auditorium/classroom?

 

Wow, these are bad news about the fan. I might consider other options beside the Z. The issue of the fan is very important to me, I'm working mostly on libraries... Maybe I will just wait for the ultraportables to come out to see what choice is the most appropriate. Do you guys all have the 2.53 ghZ?
Maybe the extended battery could help?

 

Auditorium, it'll probably be fine. Classroom would be more concerning. This does seem like something a BIOS revision could fix. Speaking of which, I still have yet to dig through the BIOS and see if there's any way to change this.

Though it does constantly run, it doesn't always run at full tilt. It goes up and down. At times it does get quiet. I got faith

armadilo: I have the 2.4 ghz one.

 

Can you guys install some software as Notebook Hardware Control (NHC) to control the temperature? In addition the fan is also constantly on also on stamina?

 

I would be concerned screwing around and shutting off the fan, it is on for a reason. Need more reports on this and also are you using SS drives or regular harddrives?

 

Honestly, u guys are expecting perfection, nothings perfect, always a flaw. So its either fan noise or GPU problems and computer crashing, ur pick. Be satisfied.

 

For the fan noise, I believe you can go into the vaio power manager view and change the cpu fan control (level 1 - level 5).

Is the fan that noisy? How noisy is it?

 

Nah, I expect perfection, and I want it to be perfection.

When you buy the most expensive model they have, you're allowed to expect it to have at least the basics of a flag-ship model. I choose to pay way more so I can get a cool, quiet, portable and sleek-looking laptop. If I wanted a laptop I'd be embarassed to carry around, I'd paid a third of the price for the same specs.

Now, I haven't heard it yet, but if it is the case that I cannot use it in a classroom without annoying students around me, then what's the point? ****it, if MacBooks can do it, then Sony should too!

 

Macbooks also burn a hole through your pants, with some requiring cooling pads and external fans. Everything is a trade off.

Leg-burning fun:

 

I have a regular harddrive.

My thinking exactly. The quietest laptops I've seen/heard were usually 15.4"+ models. They usually have enough room for large fans/heatsinks ... Macbooks, smaller Dells, etc. all make similar noise when pressed. My only complaint is that the Z's fan is really easy to trigger. At low speed it's barely audible, like any other notebook. However, the fan really does keep it cool. 15.4" Thinkpads and MBPs both heated up noticeably in various spots. After running the Z for a few hours last night, it remained cool. Sure, it was blowing mildly warm air, but that's the point.. to vent the air out, not use the laptop as a heatsink.

Hmm that's a good idea, I'll need to install that and check it out. At max speed the fan is audible from down the hall, it sounds a bit like a DVD drive spinning at full speed. It's a little quieter than that though, of course.

 

Are these fan noises with the Nvidia chip or all Z models?

The SR version I have is virtuall quiet and runs ultra cool. If it had a brushed al. kepad, I wouldn't even think of returning it for the Z.

 

You may want to try under volting. After I started using it my fans have never come on again.

 

Jesus that's loud. That can't be good for battery life either.

 

I highly doubt the fan uses more than ~1 watt My personal battery life tests are pending, but as others have reported, it should do well on that.

Yeah, I'll be sure to try a few things once I have it in front of me.

Don't they all have the nVidia chip? However, I ran mine on stamina mode (with the GPU switched off) but I kept mine plugged in. Not sure if it'll quiet down on the battery.

 

"For the fan noise, I believe you can go into the vaio power manager view and change the cpu fan control (level 1 - level 5)."

Is this true? And in doing this, aren't you running the risk of overheating/locking up? Assuming it is on a 5 default and your changing it to a 1-2?

 

I used to have a Toshiba laptop with a really loud and frequent fan (with the retarded Pentium 4 desktop chip). I hated the computer and one day just threw it in the trash without even backing anything up because that would've been so slow and tedious (with multiple shutdowns in the process).

My fear of the frequent fan isn't so much the noise but what happens after a year of use and the vents start to get clogged with dust? The fan is going to be permanently on fullspeed with clogged vents if it's already on all the time brand new!

 

To the person who reported the fan noise, what kind of CPU do you have?

I would guess the P8400 gets a lot less hot than the P9500.

any other owners who can report on the fan noise?

 

If I were u guys, I highly WOULD NOT recommend trying to turn the fan down, unless done by an Authurized Sony Center. Thats risky, ur playing with heat in a small laptop, u can burn parts and u can kiss ur laptop goodye cuz Sony will not support it if u go and screw around with it like that. Take it to Sony if its really buggin u THAT much. Then their held responsible. Cheers. Im stuck at work 24/7!!!! I need my **** laptop!

 

I had a sz150p and i upped the CPU in there to a 2.1 from a 1.8 and it ran rather hot. The fan was like always on but it wasn't THAT loud. It just reminds me that I'm dealing with a power machine.. in conferences or whatever it doesnt distract anyone and no one even notices it. IF the Z is the same way i don't think its an issue. If you are expecting no noise then you prob are used to junky ultra portables (like the x40 i use to have) that use ultra-low voltage cpu's which are only good for surfing the web. Keep in mind this is the smallest laptop in the world w/ a full-size cpu, 1066mhz bus, and ddr3... this thing is faster than most notebooks twice the size, so a little noise is fine - its like the growl of a v12 engine... if you don't like the noise you can stick with a honda 4-banger

 

I have the P8600. However, the P8600 and P8400 are supposed to have identical TDPs of 25W. I'm on live chat support right now, asking them about it. Wonder if they have any suggestions..

 

What means volting? I only found the Vaio Control Center "Silentmode", but not the option of 1 to 5. Please let me know.

Thanks for your help.

 

I guess the Z power manager doesn't have the levels. I think silent mode is what you want.

Does that decrease the fan noise?

 

Ooh, I have to check that out. I reinstalled a fresh copy of Vista and didnt load any of the Sony utilities, besides the basic VAIO Power Management plugin.

 

Does anyone here have a 7200rpm HD? If the 5400 is making some noise, I can't imagine what the 7200rpm would make.

Also, has any does any significant battery testing?

 

HERE, it's me. P8400. Sorry for looking after perfection, but 2139 Euro should be very very calm. Not?

 

Silent mode? There has to be a negative to using this mode or they would of done it in the first place. Find out what it is.

 

If running in silent mode doesn't help. Undervolting could be the solution.

http://www.nordichardware.com/Articles/?page=1&skrivelse=465

 

so i am on battery mode with full brightness, wifi on, bt off, wwn off, drive off. it says 3:02h left. Stamina mode...

 

When CPUs have the same TDP it does not necessarily mean they get equally hot.

Ah you again I would think so. Try under volting.

 

What's the advantage of not having a matte screen? I can't really see how anyone could prefer a non-matte screen over a matte one. Matte screens look much better. Why are most of the notebooks (incl. the Z) nowadays non-matte? It must have some other advantage?

 

I prefer glossy screens. The glossy coating makes colors look more vibrant and optical contrast higher.

I think the reason most notebooks now have glossy screens is that the majority of consumers wants it, because it looks better to the majority.

"Advantages
Glossy displays create more saturated colours, deeper blacks, brighter whites, and are sharper than traditional matte displays. This makes these types of displays more appropriate for viewing photos, watching movies, or even just general computer usage such as web browsing.[3] Also, in extremely bright conditions where no direct light is facing the screen, such as outdoors, glossy displays can become more readable than matte displays because they don't disperse the light around the screen (which would render a matte screen washed out)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossy_display

 

Brightness.

 

The biggest disadvantage to a glossy screen is glare.

 

That's much lower than my expectations. My Macbook Pro with 256mb nVidia 8600 (a much better graphics card than the Z's 9300) still gets 3.5 hrs on full brightness and wifi. Stamina mode is using the Intel integrated graphics right? 3 hours of battery life on the integrated then is kind of disappointing.

 

I would not trust Vista's estimated battery life. With the SR it was shown that real battery life was twice as high.

By the way, ThreeD was that is 'energy saving' mode?

 

The MBP has a much larger battery, which contributes to it being over 2 pounds heavier.

 

Thanks all (Phil in particular)!

I recently went to a store to take a look at some notebooks, and just felt the screens of the Apple notebooks looked really good mostly because of their matte finish. I ordered my Z already, and definitely will be happy with it, but if I could choose I think I would have preferred it to be matte. However, after reading about these advantages, I think it's good a 1600x900 13,1 inch screen is glossy

 

I just came back from the SonyStyle Store. I couldn't even tell the Z's screen was glossy when looking straight at it. Only when I was at an angle could I tell it was glossy. It had much less glare and reflection than the SR sitting next to it.

I don't consider the Z to have a glossy screen. To me, it's some kind of hybrid.

 

The matte Macbook Pro screens aren't completely matte, they are slightly glossy, so they look really good (best of both worlds). The Thinkpads are VERY matte, and look very washed out and dull.

I thought the Sony Z screens would be similar to the Macbook Pro's matte screens? The Sony Z is said to be antiglare (like the Macbook Pros).

 

They kind of are.

 

In the end it's a really a subjective thing. The best looking Apple screen in my opinion is the Macbook Air More vibrant and higher contrast than the matte MBPs.

 

Yeah, it's not noticeably glossy at all. Semigloss? Either way, I don't like glossy screens but I love the Z's screen

 

@ naus;

I think newtothis is probably right. The Z screens actually are glossy, but with new 'antiglare' technology. Maybe 'hybrid' is a good description indeed, hopes it has the best of both worlds!

 

The LEDs on TZ and SZ are also semi glossy. They're far less reflective than other glossy displays, like the ECO screens on FW or HP/Acer/Asus etc.

 

yes it is. just tried 120 dpi and I don't like it because I miss a lot of details.
I love this thing, but the fan is a bit dissapointing, since I am not using the dedicated graphics accelerator.

 

Now try undervolting instead of more complaining

How about a custom setting 100 or 108 DPI?

 

No, they are the same size. MBP has a 5400mAh 6-cell battery. The Sony Z has a 5400mAh 6-cell battery.

This is kind of a bummer. I was so excited in having the Z replace my MBP as my portable, but now I'm not so sure. I was hoping for 6 hr battery life on Stamina in a small and cool/quiet form factor. Maybe I'll wait and see what Apple is offering in Sept first. A 13" MBP would be pretty nice too.

 

If you have any questions I try to answer them. Let me know. My specs are: