Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

because you can sell the thing or keep it as backup.

NOT TO MENTION..

sonystyle gives 30 days to return for refund. that's what i ended up doing. glad i got it form sonystyle..because had i gotten it from newegg like alot of people were doing and criticizing me for not doing/bashing... I would be stuck with a laptop i dont really like and i would have had to fork out 250 bucks for extended battery seperately instead of getting it for 100 bucks more at sonystyle

now im content with my current order and the battery life i'm going to get from it...

 

IMO, I think so yea, but it might or might not be. How where did u order again? In Store or online? If in store, what did the guy tell u when got it?

 

I'm still in the process of reviewing but I may be delayed. I found a stuck pixel on the screen of mine and I'm on the phone with Sony to see what the policy is and if they are going to fix it. If it was off to the side I wouldn't mind (ok, i lie...i would mind since I paid so much for it) but it's pretty obvious since it's closer to the middle of the screen.

Update: They refuse to fix it. Apparently, I'll have to return it and try my luck with another one. I'm pissed.

 

Well..at least you can make modifications to your order if there's something you regret getting the first time around.

When they refused to price match my laptop, i was mad at first, but i decided to just return it and order something different the second time around and now im more happy!

 

These are the problems u guys will encounter with the CTO's. Thats why I say stay away from them.

 

DOH!! Well, you could try the flicker method: http://killdeadpixel.com/
And if that doesn't work, the massage method might help, though I haven't personally witnessed either of these working.
http://www.wikihow.com/Fix-a-Stuck-Pixel-on-an-LCD-Monitor

 

Did they charge you a restocking fee for returning the z?

 

Yea try this out and let us know if this helped.

BTW I decided to take Z550 8)

 

I haven't decided yet. Like many have posted, I'm trying to see if I can fix it first using this:

http://udpix.free.fr/

I'll run it over the weekend and see how it goes. If not, I will start the process on Tuesday since Monday is a holiday. According to the Sony Customer Care, I would not be charged a restocking fee.

Oddly enough, this is my first time ever having a stuck pixel on any laptop I've purchased. I've purchased 7 over the years with 4 of them being VAIOs.

 

tell me how everything goes. Best of luck man.

 

Well first I ordered a CTO Z540 online, but then canceled off the phone and right away ordered a Z555 (on the phone with same sales rep).

 

Geeee thanks lol i don't own a Z though.

 

My math had P1 just slightly more expensive with the ADH Warranty (because of the $300 off promotion) - but remember that the P1 version is an on-site ADH warranty whereas Sony Styles is a mail version. If you call on the phone P1 can give you a mail-in one as well, which I believe would even out the results.

Also, only those living in California have to pay sales tax with P1.

That said, they're shipment of Z590s seems to be delayed (I believe others are shipping already). I ordered Aug 15 and was told it would ship last week, but still no word.

 

Oh I c. Well give em a call again. Ask them clearly: If I ordered your friggen Vaio Z about 4 days ago, when should I expect it in? Also tell them that it said Aug 29th anticipated date when you ordered it. Better yet, talk to the manager, they know more then those usless sales reps. They just wanna get paid and get out at the end of the day. So yea do urself a favour and talk to the manager. I phoned Sony Stores all accross Ontrario asking to see what information I can get. Their all saying next week. I think its safe to say that their all in the Sony warehouse's by now and just getting ready to ship to the Sony Stores. Even when I got off the phone with the guy at the Sony Store a few mins ago, he said once you make a pre-order full payment, ur then in the "first person in line queue" to get the laptop, and if you havent payed, expect it by Spt 18th. He also said the Z's are flying off the shelves, almost all are already been pre-ordered. I hope you made a preorder full payment? (They only take away $500 from ur account and the rest when you get the laptop so not to worry).

 

What you guys think best for gaming? Z590 or Z550?

Thanks

 

get the version with the more vram. that makes a difference in gaming. obviously none of the newer games will be playable at 1600x900, but the higher vram will still be useful at the lower resolutions and it will allow twice as many textures to be stored in the vram as the 128m version.

 

Hey guys,

after failing to clean install with ultimate 32bit with the drivers offered online,
I decided to use the recovery disk to install drivers and applications after clean installing my windows.

However, when I insert my first recovery DVD, it tells me to press OK to install applications and drivers. If I press "OK" does that mean it will install all the applications and drivers that this computer came with? Is there a way to choose drivers and applications that I want to install?

 

Hey guys!
Anyone knows where can I find the cheapest Z 570?
Thanks a lot!

 

I ordered my Z540 CTO on the 22nd from sonystyle.ca... i got an email yesterday which said they began builing... so i following up with a call and they said it will be shipped on the 5th of sept...not bad...

 

Guys I see that VGN-Z530N is $1800 which seemed to be a good deal to me.

I am not tech-savvy so I need to ask you something: The only thing I did not like in this model is that it has 2GB RAM. I want 3GB. I know it is possible to add a RAM but I was wondering whether adding an extra RAM would be expensive and cumbersome?

Thanks!

BTW, the only difference between 530 and 550 is 2 vs 3 GB RAM, right?

 

What's great about Sony is that 2GB is not actually 2 sticks of 1GB memory thus occupying all of the 2 slots available to add RAM. It's actually 1 stick of 2GB. So adding an extra gig to have a total of 3GB is pretty straightforward. Right now, 1GB of DDR3 1066 memory is roughly $50 since it's relatively new. The owner's manual should show what you have to do to insert an extra stick of memory. It shouldn't be too difficult. And it shouldn't void your warranty.

 

Two hot-off-the-digital-presses reviews of the Sony Z, which, in each case, was of a botton-of-the-line model:

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/Sony-Vaio-Z550.htm

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/sony-vaio-z-series-vgn-z530n.aspx

 

man, now I give up clean installing my Z. Even after using the recovery disk's drivers and programs, there are still errors such as battery problem, etc. I need Windows Ultimate for different language!!! Arggg

I guess I'll just wait some experts succeed on clean installation and share his know-how eventually.

 

Just open the panel below, and slide and snap in the ram in place. Check to see if there's only 1-2GB in place or 2-1GB, therefore requiring you to take one out. It can be released by way of tension springs on both sides of ram. Just press firmly, on each side, towards one another, and pull. It's that easy. I was told never do this on the carpet, because of static electrons that your body carries. Release static by touching something made of metal first, before proceeding.

 

Did you follow IsamuX's direction on this thread approx. 10 pages back. Maybe, his instructions will work; it did for him. Please, let us know.

 

I just thought I should let everyone know that me and some buddies are ordering pizza from PizzaNova

 

I haven't gotten to the 3D stuff yet (having trouble installing some of them) but I've installed and used Photoshop for one job already and I have to admit, this thing flies in it! The colors are absolutely gorgeous as well. Looking back at my Toshiba's screen makes really shows how yellow and terrible the colors are on it... the Z's screen is just so amazing.

I really hope the 3D modeling applications work and run well, because if it does this really will replace all my existing computers for work.

 

Thank you guys.

Can someone who owns/knows Z530N confirm whether it comes with 1 x 2GB or 2 x 1GB RAM?

I am asking because Sony's website and amazon.com conflicts each other:

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...10551&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665458071

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-VGN-Z530...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1220068095&sr=8-1

 

No, I did not. Generally speaking, it's my habit to get the best configuration I can afford. Given my line of work, it makes sense to get the best performing system since A) i need a system that will last me, B) i run a lot content creation software concurrently, and C) it's a write off.

So, i'm not buying for status but rather for function. If Sony offered more varied ready-to-ship models then I would have gotten one. Unfortunately, they don't so I had to customize it.

 

From what I read 256mb over 128 will hardly offer a performance increase on the 9300M GS.

In my opinion it would be better to go for the lower resolution, I expect the game performance in native resolution to be better than the higher resolution.

 

I disagree... With the midrange graphic card on the Z, none of the newer games will run acceptably at either 1600x900 or 1368x768, so the only way to get acceptable performance is to lower the resolution to either 640x480 or 800x600. At those resolutions, the 256mb of memory most definitely increases performance by allowing the game to load more textures into vram which speeds up performance significantly.

I'm playing bioshock at 640x480 and you can notice the slowdowns whenever the game loads new textures from main memory to video ram, and it would have made a huge difference in performance if my video card had 256mb instead of 128mb.

 

Well you could be right, I don't know much about gaming. I was going by the advice i got here:
"9300M and HD3470 have 64-bit bus widths so any more than 128mb of ram wont be of much use for games."

"Most gamers should not have any problems playing games on a 128MB card. Hardcore gamers should aim for the 256MB chips; they are much better performers at higher resolutions and settings." Which was written by the creator of that thread who seems to know his stuff.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=3825576&highlight=philflow#post3825576

 

Even if performance won't be that big an increase, unless your eyes can't manage the higher resolution, I would say it's better to have the option of the higher resolution and the ability to reduce the screen res to something less. 256MB is apparently the maximum amount of memory the 9300M GS is configurable to, so I'm sure there's a decent reason as to why that's so. Also, at least when I need to game at high frame rates, I will usually turn detail down and keep resolution high.

 

Right. To keep things looking best it would make sense to run as much as you can in native resolution. This is excatly why I'm recommending the lower resolution Z to gamers.

So maybe it would be better to say: if you want to run games in native resolution go with the 1366*768.
If you don't mind running games in non native resolution go for 256MB and 1600*900.

But if anyone wants to have closure on this question I recommend asking in the appropriate thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=291350&page=289

 

I didn't realize that the 9300m gs was only 64bits, so yeah that makes the 256meg less significant, but it still should help.

However, even with all the visual effects turned off, bioshock only runs between 5-10 fps at 1366x768 and a huge part of bioshock is its visuals. At 640x480 with most of the visual effects turned on, bioshock looks quite gorgeous and runs between 25-30fps.

I personally wouldn't get the 1600x900 as the resolution is too high for me, but i would have liked it if sony had offered the 256meg video card on the 1366x768 screens.

 

They do: VGNZ555DNB

Although this is a Canadian model, people who are from the US can order it here: http://forum.ncixus.com/products/32772/VGNZ555DNB/SONY/

 

I am considering buying Z530 and would like to increase the RAM.

I don't understand these stuff so much, thus will appreciate your assistance.

Can I buy this one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134784

This was the cheapest one I have found but I noticed that there are much more expensive ones from some other brands. Is there a big difference?

Also, do you know which particular brand's which particular model is used in Z530? I may opt to buy that if it would be better to use RAMs from the same brand and model.

Thanks!

 

they do, the Z555 comes with 1366x768 and a 256mb 9300M gs

 

cool! I didn't realize that...

Since I already have my Z, I'm not returning it to get that, since I don't play games that much, but its good to know sony offers it.

Hmmm, seems like its only offered in canada. I don't see that available in the US.

 

Yuppp they do

 

Please excuse my plethora and illiterate-like questions but I was wondering something.

Up until now I always thought that dedicated video RAM is associated with high end video cards such as the ones from Nvidia and Ati. So I thought that if a computer comes with one of these video cards, then these cards would not eat up from the general memory, as they have dedicated RAM. And I thought that Intel cards, however, do not come with dedicated RAM and thus eat up from the general RAM of the computer.

I was wondering how does this work for Sony Z series laptops which embodies a hybrid graphics system. When the laptop is used in the speed mode, obviously it will benefit from the dedicated RAM, but how about when it is switched to stamina mode?

Many thanks in advance for your patience and comments.

mg428

PS. BTW, the specs sheet of Z530, after mentioning the Intel and Nvidia cards, says the following: "Video RAM: 128MB dedicated", and it does not make a differentiation between Intel and Nvidia in this respect.

 

hey guys,

anyone has an idea where is the difference on the european models between:

Sony Vaio VGN-Z11WN/B
Sony Vaio VGN-Z11AWN/B ??????

what stands the A for?

HSDPA?

has anybody from austria actually purchased the 1600x900 2,4 version?
can't find a single online or offline shop actually offering the laptop in stock.

tried to order on amazon - they do not deliver this version to austria :-(

 

I'm pretty sure when you switch to stamina mode, the Intel graphics will use the laptop's system memory. I don't think it has access to the dedicated RAM on the nVidia card. I think that's why you are required to close all applications before switching between modes because you will lose any graphical data stored on the corresponding memory systems.

 

Don't know if you're interested in importing but there are many US resellers who will deliver to Europe. Laptopsinc.com is one of them afaik.

 

thanks phil for the quick reply; someone mentioned it already on this thread, it does not really pay off to import from us, if you put all taxes and customs together you save maybe some 100 euros. and you do not have the guarantee and the hsdpa (as far as i remember)

hmmm

 

What exactly is a plethora?

Oh, OK...

 

Hey guys,

If my Z does not detect the optical drive in BIOS, it means the drive is faulty right? After trying to clean install a couple of times, my optical drive disappeared in Vista. I go to the device manager, and it's not there either. So I checked to see if I can boot with my recovery disk and it doesn't.

My verdict is the drive is dead, what do you guys think?

 

Maybe I'm a little confused as to what you mean by running games at non-native resolutions on the 256MB card and 1600x900 screen. I would prefer to run my games at 1600x900 (native res) with low detail to keep the frame rates high, while some will likely want to lower the resolution and keep the detail high. Why I suggest the higher resolution screen is so that when you're not gaming you have the advantage of more screen real estate, and the option of going with lower resolutions when you are. If you go with the 1366x768 screen you don't have the option of going to 1600x900.

 

With non native resolution on the 1600x900 screen I mean any lower resolution than 1600*900. For example 1280*720.

Sure. But 9300M GS isn't enough power for many games at 1600*900 even with low detail. And the 128mb at 1366*768 performs better than 256mb 1600*900.

If I would have to choose I would go for 1600*900, but it would not be for gaming because I never game.

 

what do u think guys
Z550 ($1,882) VS Z570 ($2,150)
do u think the extra 268$ is a good choice to have Z570 with P9500 and 320GB HD ?