Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

Yeah eh... darn so I got the 4gb for nothing?

Is there anyway I can upgrade to 64bit and still run everything smoothly with all drivers? Or just not possible yet?

 

Well, I'm really picky. I got everything installed, drivers and all EXCEPT

Fn brightness, fn sound, s1, s2, eject weren't working and I was having major issues with the built in wwan. All the 64bit drivers I found for the wwan were aimed at the hspda model not cdma

 

Aren't they supposed to support Ultimate 32 bit as well since they offer that option on their CTOs? Gosh, I need the drivers for VGA and function keys.

 

Intel x4500 drivers avaliable at intel website

9300m gs drivers are at laptopvideo2go

Ethernt driver is on the sony website, you might have missed it.

Function keys come from sony shared library software and sony notebook utlities, both from the website or recovery disc. They need to be installed first before anything else.

 

I'm pretty sure that's the Vista sidebar. It can be quirky sometimes and it could appear on top of windows until it loses window focus.

 

I found a review of the Z in laptop mag: http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/sony-vaio-z-series-vgn-z530n.aspx

They messed up on the picture though

 

maybe you could develop a bit ?

 

Vaio Z vs TZ.

http://satouchi.com/vaio/typeZ/typeZ_review06.html

Vaio Z screen vs TZ.

http://satouchi.com/vaio/typeZ/typeZ_review03.html

Vaio Z Advertisement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmfur7J7nkk

 

MegaMan, I'm curious to hear how your battery life is with the extended

 

Even with the ethernet driver on sony website, it still have the quotation mark.

Megaman, I installed the sony shared library software and sony notebook utlities after I installed other drivers. Is that why my "stamina and speed" keys and S1 and S2 do not work? Is the only solution to reinstall windows?

 

Thanks for this link! Reminds me of the other TZ clip on the UK website.

 

I think a similar comparison has been posted before but what the hey.

1366x768 vs 1600x900

And yes, the ad does remind me of the European TZ promo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-KQpsmlpkI

I am very happy to hear the Z is much cooler on the bottom than the TZ and yet is far more powerful and emmitting more heat. My TZ getting hot on the bottom has annoyed me greatly.

I don't care if there's lots of heat being blown out on the sides but I wish to use my laptop on my laptop with little to no discomfort.

 

Some JP review sites report battery life :
1/3 what Sony is claiming in their "tests"... which sux badly...

there's an intense review from of JP model with 2.8GHz CPU : here (google translated)

 

Z owners, can you post your boot-up times? I'd like to see times from power on to the logon screen and then to the point when you can launch an app. Also, times to resume from hibernate and sleep would be cool. Please include model and specs (CPU, RAM, HD, stamina/speed mode, OS).

 

lol 7-11 hours...LOL 7-11 hours!? Standard? Yea right. Never trust Sony with "Estimates" What a rip off.

Can't sony be sued for false advertisement for that? I mean...is it EVEN possible in usable conditions to get even 7 hours? If not...isn't that false advertisement?

It's like saying "this car can go up to 140 MPH" then turns out everyone's car who has that model maxes and locks at 120 MPH...kind of a lie on the manufacturers part, no?

 

i recieved my laptop this morning at 8am (8:14am to be exact)

i charged my laptop while buring recovery discs, and doing a clean install of windows and drivers, i was all done at around 3pm in the afternoon and i've been in stamina mode since then.

im happy to report that as of 9:23pm, with lcd brightness near half, and web surfing and typing on wifi, i still have 60% battery. My dvd drive is powered off, as well as iLink, and bluetooth. its been 6 hrs and still going!

 

yea, both sony shared library, and sony notebook utilities before all drivers are installed. The only reason i knew to do that was because i read up on all the sz clean install threads. I was able to get stamina and speed toggle to work but not s1 or s2 because im running 64bit vista, and i think the software doesnt't support it.

 

That. is. ****ing. awesome. So what in the world! 6 hours x 2 = 12 Hours roughly of battery life on extended battery? NICE.

I'm hoping the SR with extended (integrated GPU, not ATI) will get at least 7! what do you think? Sorry I know this isnt the sr thread but our laptop specs are SIMILAR and whatnot.

 

well, these test have always been "test with LCD back light off, CPU at min etc"... (not like you would ever use it)
So you can compare other laptops which are tested under the same conditions...

USUALLY you can say "tested time minus 30%" = real use

HOWEVER, this is the first time I've seen a laptop battery perform so low...
(Z seems to be "tested time minus 60% = real use)

I'll try to dig up the JP review sites and post their translated review links if you're interested.

p.s. Car MPG (and Km/L) tests are done in a similar "BS" way

 

i do have to note which i forgot was, i did have the laptop in sleep for 1 and a half hour while i was in a meeting so my results are slighly skewed :/

but it does drain power very slow, and all ive been doing is typing and doing excel worksheets. cpu usage was probably very low and i do have a minimum of background processes running because i did do a clean install

 

i can understand the complaint about battery life not as advertised, but who really needs more than 4 hours of battery life? i mean, most planes have power ports, any internet cafe will have outlets... i mean, it is pretty hard to go somewhere that you wont have access to power. i understand the convenience factor of no cables, but you would only have to plug it in every so often. further more, if people knew how to properly tune their laptop (undervolting, hardware control, etc.) then they could get outstanding stamina from just about any laptop

anywho, i'll be happy with 4hours on my Z when i get it. maybe i tinker with it and see if can squeeze 7 or 8 on the std. battery

 

still pretty good.. even if its 4 hours and its only 60 then you should get about 8 or more hours..

besides... i'd be doing the same thing when/if i need that batt life: word processing and internet with wifi.

even 7 hours kicks butt, in my opinion.

you may find this odd but i also got the extended batt just incase there is a massive earthquake and i cant get near a power outlet but can still use wifi to signal for help. i know..weird..but i swear it crossed my mind and helped me convince to get extended batt.

 

question about the clean install. Instead of reinstalling windows, can't I just remove all the programs I dont need? Or would that not work...

 

its not the same, registry is changed, leftover files and folders on hard drive, system settings arent at default, you may end up close to clean intall status, but lots of junk leftover. to each their own though, sometimes, thats the only solution avaliable to some people

 

man, so youre saying if I want to clean install to 64bit vista, alot of the options on the Z wont work?

 

I was looking at the drivers offered my sony and it says this one some.

I didn't think any models shipped with 64 bit or is it available for some other regions?

As for the clean install vs. uninstalling all the apps if you know what your doing (atleast in my experience) i find it quicker start clean then going through and uninstalling.

 

to users who already have Z right now,

when you use your function buttons, do you get any notices on screen telling you you are using the buttons?

For example, if you are turning the volume down, is there a bar that pops up and slowly gets smaller when you press the button?

Also when you switch between stamina and speed mode, does VAIO tell you that you are currently locked into speed mode?

 

None
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P9500 (2.53GHz)
Trusted Platform Module / Biometric Fingerprint Sensor
No Engraving
Wireless LAN (802.11a/b/g/n) with integrated Bluetooth® technology
Standard Battery (BPS12)
LCD 13.1" (XBRITE-DuraView™
DVD +/- R DL / DVD +/- RW / DVD-RAM Drive
Video Plus
Microsoft® Works
4 GB DDR3-SDRAM (DDR3-1066, 2GBx2)
Fresh Start™
Microsoft® Windows Vista® Business with Service Pack 1
200 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [7200 rpm]
Description: VGN-Z590 Configure-to-Order
Ship Method: Regular
Estimated Ship Date: 09/05/2008
Extended Service Plan: 2 Year Extended Sony Care Warranty
Price: $329.99


YAH!!! Can't wait for this baby! Now I gotta buy a 26'' TV to connect to it!

 

loll, TO CANADIAN, as usual lol. If to go to www.sony.ca, the Z is OUT OF STOCK!

 

Yes, yes and yes
When pressing a button you will get an audio feedback and an on screen notification..or display as for the volume thing.

 

Where in the Z, can you program S1 and S2 buttons?

That's ok, cuz your walking into a store tomorrow bright and early to buy yours, right? Or did you change your mind?

 

you're kidding, right ? or maybe either you're always first class or you spend the whole trip in the toilets.

 

the Z has no harddrive latch? wth? what if it dies out...this IS a professional business laptop... what if you needed to swap it yourself ASAP and cant wait for shipping,ect..

odd...

 

Im hopin to get it tommorrow like you wont believe. But I phoned the guy today and he told me its for Spt 5th. Im one of the first in line to get it first. The rest are coming in on the 10th according to him (the store manager)


And ill say it again, The 256mb video card is not a mistake on the Z555!

 

I'm getting around 6 hours with the standard battery (30-50% brightness, power saving, silent mode, disabled modem, dvd, bluetooth etc but enabled WLAN). I can't wait to try an extended battery!

 

Look in the Vaio Control Centre in Control Panel. I wish you could disable the audible notification of Fn buttons as it annoys me slightly. If anyone knows how to turn off that beep, please let us know.

 

There is a file called pi.wav in C:\Program Files\Sony\VAIO Event Service

Rename it to something else and the beeps instantly stop

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Rep +1

 

Would it be possible to change these sounds under Windows' sound preferences in the Control Panel? I know you can do this in XP so I would assume you can do this for Vista as well. There are often sound settings for other manufacturers' devices in there, like Logitech for example. I'll give this a try when my Vaio arrives tomorrow. (IF it arrives tomorrow...)

 

hey, what do you guys think of the upcoming Lenovo U330 compared with the Z?

 

Heavy, dull styling, short battery life, low resolution, reflective screen and runs very hot. But for the rest it's a nice laptop

And no I am not biassed.

 

thanks!

any Z owners care to comment on the startup time for the Z? (besides Infy read in a review that the Z takes its own sweet time to start up, and going to sleep mode is also quite slow...

 

Startup times could well be slow because of the relatively slow Toshiba 320GB/5400rpm drive and the amount of bloatware Sony still installs.

I'm sure a clean install and a good drive will solve it.

 

Hi All,

I've really ennjoyed reading this thread - and seeing everyone getting their new laptops... anyone install Linux yet? I can't readily find any links/reviews online of hardware support...

Cheers

 

Fresh Install: Windows Vista Ultimate x86
Installed Programs: Sony Vaio Tools + Usual Stuff like MS Office 2007 / Adobe Master Suite / Winzip / 7Zip / Onenote / Eclipse / etc. (None of the Bloatware Programs have been installed)

Bios Starttime: 25s
Windows Startime: 40s
Login Time:
10s until you can move the mouse
additional 30s until everything has been started and the HD goes to idle
Standby Shutdown: 7s
Standby Startup: 5s
Shutdown: 37s (huh that's pretty long)

[Edit]
Tested the Shutdown again and this time it took 15s. Seems like Vista installed something the last time.

 

darn, that is slow.

 

In one of the last reviews they got 250 GB Hitachi and saying, that's quite good....so now I got dilemma, if it's better to get 320GB Toshiba or try luck, that I'll receive 250GB Hitachi...

 

Is that Hitachi 7200rpm?

 

No. " The standard 5400rpm 250 gig hard drive performed well experientially and in benchmarks, and was fairly quiet and cool (ours was an Hitachi disk)."

 

A friend of mine managed to get 11 %. I was only able to get 10%, with free shipping witch is exactly 12 € worth. ): I've never bought online a notebook so i hope i did the right decision.