Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

ok thanks alot!!!

looking forward 2 my Z

 

I'm just referring to the software used to view the discs. It's "WinDVD BD for Vaio", which is not very good. It takes a very long time to start up, and it's very difficult to navigate disc menus or control playback.

Someone suggested PowerDVD, which I might try if I get a chance.

I haven't tried burning any blu-ray discs yet; I'll let you know if I do.

 

Been waiting for someone to burn a blue ray and see if it takes 29 hours or something insane.

 

I asked about this as well (sometime ago in this thread). Back then the concensus was it was not possible. Someone suggested simply getting the carrier software and that it would work. Done recall that experiment getting done. I would love to be able to us AT&T 3g!

 

Eh!, I thought u were on vacation while im stuck at work buddy! Whats goin on here, u take ur laptop with ya?

 

Hey Dude!

No one of the kids just had to play an online game. They had a wi-fi issue I had to fix and the test web site was...well you know. I just read your message when the **** thing went down again and I had to fix again.
I will be on "Z" duty soon enough!

 

The Z isn't an HD screen? I thought the 9300 lets you view in HD as well.

 

You can view true HD over the HDMI output...
the WXGA++ (1600x900) display can also display HDMI content but in this case it will scale the content down a bit (1080 -> 900)

 

I've not attempted to reduce the fan noise - having come from a Macbook Pro, the fan noise is so quiet by comparison I see no point in messing with it.

As to Stamina/Speed; no - you need to reboot. Nothing happens when you flick the switch, no alert on screen, and the LED on the switch doesn't change. Only when you shutdown and restart does it come back up with the other graphics card activated. Other than a quick test of CounterStrike source in Speed mode yesterday (~130fps) I've been in stamina mode all the time.

 

Thanks for your answers hdurdle. By the way, did you get HDMI to work in XP?

Well the point in 'messing' with it would be extending your battery life, bringing down the heat inside your Z and reducing fan noise.

If that is not appealing to you I can understand you are not interested in undervolting.

 

My z's been shipping since Aug 27. This sucks ***. My friends lenovo u330 arrived from china in less than 2 days with DHL.

FedEx sucks monkey balls.

 

It's clever marketting to say "the Z will play movies without any black bars" without saying that more than 50% of the movies you're likely to play will still have blakc bars. It's only true for footage shot in 1.85 format (real 16/9). In other words, it's exactly what the TZ, or any other screen in 16/9 does.

 

Full HD (ie Blu-Ray) is 1920x1080.
The Z screen is either at best 1600x900.
So you can it can play BR movies on it, but not in FullHD (the picture is scaled down to 1600x900).
Given the size of the Z, it doesn't make any difference whatsoever (it's too small to benefit from a fullHD picture anyway).
The smallest laptop screen able to display FullHD AFAIK is 15,4" (ie Dell XPS 1540). Although it's nice to have a biggger desktop, again when you watch a film on such a small screen, the FullHD doens't make much of a difference.
However, the "FullHD" sticker on the Z isn't a full lie, as the 9300M can indeed display in FullHD on an external screen. Just not on the internal screen.
Again, clever marketting from Sony...

 

Had a quick QUESTION. Will the Z work with WiMAX wireless internet?

 

I dont see what the problem is regarding the 1080p sticker. As far as I am aware, the sticker is for the BD + HDMI combination, and not the screen. The unit itself, as you have suggested, can easily output 1080p content, not by the screen, but via HDMI. So yes, the sticker usage is fine in this situation.

 

I just cant find an answer to my few questions.

Does the HDMI work with the XP pro downgrade?
Does the version from portible 1 allow other broadband wireless connections besides sprint?

 

Hey guys, which VAIO utility allows you to set the function of the S1 / S2 buttons?

 

Sorry, not yet. It needs a differnet wireless module:

Refer also to more posts in the above thread.

 

Start -> VAIO Central -> Special Buttons

or, according to VAIO help: "You can change these button assignments in the window for changing the S button assignments. To display this window, press and hold either button or launch and navigate through VAIO Central."

 

LITHIUM, is there any way of working around this. For example, If I want to sign up with Bell Wireless Portable Internet Service, can I use a wireless card to get wireless internet?

Bell is an ISP/phone campany, incase you are not aware.

Thanks.

 

You go to Control Panel, then User Acounts, then 'Turn the Way User Log in and Log off'. Uncheck the box and it'll ask u to restart, and ur set.[/QUOTE]

Turn the way user Log-In and OFF? TorontoGuy, huh? What exactly is that? (lol) I went to User Accounts and I can't find where you can turn off Vista Warnings! Please Clarify!!!

I don't have Vaio Central; the closes is Vaio Control Center. And there is no indicator to set S1 and S2 buttons? Do you have the Z? Please clarify!!!!

 

At GEEE, lol ok sry Clarification:

Control Panel

User Accounts

Turn User Control on or off (click last option)

Uncheck, and it'll ask you to reboot, and ur set!

 

By the way, my buddy just got the Dell XPS, and the screen is beautiful and bright. I can't even imagine how the Z could be better. Is it really better than the Dell screens?

 

sony screen is alot better then the xps 1330 lol. =/

 

Geeee- I have an SZ670, so I may have overestimated the new Z's similarity to it. I'm really considering buying a Z. Try holding down either S button a few seconds until the Windows User Account control asks for your permission to run the 'Setting Utility Series'. Good luck.

 

I agree to a certain degree... My Z took a while to get to me, but it arrived on-time. The problem I had with FedEx was that it was in Cali for the longest time, then all of a sudden it was here, on a truck, out for delivery, at 10:40pm. PM. I thought this was B.S., or that maybe it was just on the truck waiting for the driver the next morning. Turns out, my Z arrived at my house at around 6:40am. I've NEVER seen FedEx deliver that early...

Did you ship via Ground?

Geeee: TorontoGuy's method should work; that's the method I've seen every other site recommend. Sounds kinda weird and I had to take a step back and check sites to make sure, but apparently that's how Microsoft wants you to do it. >_<

Defragging my disk now. Is it just me, or is MS taking more and more visuals away from Defragmenter in every iteration of Windows now? It was pretty fun to watch it work in 98, then in 2000 and XP they put those vague colored lines in... now there's no visuals whatsoever. What's next for Windows 7? Not even anything that says it's defragmenting?

And one interesting note... I don't know if any of you have seen this yet, but I accidentally bumped the table my Z was sitting on (pretty hard, at that... upward, with my knee...) and a balloon popped up from the right bottom corner saying the hard drive protection had been turned on. This was while Defragmenter was running. I've never seen this in action before, even with computers I had prior that had similar tech.

 

I'll bet there will be. I'm sure when Wimax gets rolling, so too will Express cards and USB cards! I take the local trains into Chicago everyday, and more and more I see commuters with wireless internet access cards sticking out of their laptops. I use an SZ670 with it's built-in Sprint EVDO. Some examples of wireless cards are here http://www.evdoinfo.com/index.php

 

1. By all accounts, no. On the SOny Asia site (link in another thread) it specifically mentions this.

2. No, it's what Sony provides. You'll need USB or express card external modems to use another carrier.

 

This is what I understood about HDMI in XP: The Sony site says 'maybe not'. It probably means they have not got it working yet, or they have hardly tried.

It may be fixed by something as simple as installing a Laptopvideo2go driver.

 

This is what I see Once I'm in User Accounts....
There is no option to turn User Control On or Off. Am I missing it? (lol) Or do I need to go "beyond" User Accounts?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=293880

follow my guide to get everything working.

start from scratch.

 

Hello,
I'm from France, and I come in NY and Boston in 14 days.
I want to buy the Z590NGB.
Do you know where can I buy it in town ? (I don't know if these kind of Business mondel are sold in Sony Style shop).
Moreover it seems to be sold by "BestBuy for business". Do u know if this shop is available for me or only for corporate ?

Thank you

greg

 

The Z's screen is noticeably better. This is readily apparent if you do any sort of content creation as the colors are accurate and vibrant. My coworker got a Dell XPS 1530 recently as well and it has a nice screen but it can't match the contrast and saturation of the new Z screens. Also, the Z's Duraview coating makes the screen even better with muted glare.

 

Hi,

I’m having some trouble getting my z11 from Sony direct (UK) and was wondering if anyone else is in the same situation.

Ordered it ages ago, but missed the first UK batch but was promised to be on the second batch in the country. It was supposed to be shipped last Thursday and arrive Friday or at latest’s today (Monday) but I would be emailed a tracking number Friday afternoon.

Didn’t receive any tracking number so called them up on Friday and they said that they were having problems taking payments of people so it wont be sent out until Monday. That to me implied that they had the stock but some people where having funding issues

Called them up Monday morning and now they are saying the truck carrying in the Zs was stopped and not allowed in the country. I was like right.....

Then I was told that it will be a week, so I won’t get the laptop until next Monday. Does it take that long for a truck to get Clarence to enter the UK? Or did it drive all the way back from where it came from?

This all seems a bit suspicious, and I think I read somewhere that the truck carrying the first batch had an accident that’s why it was delayed. Are the Zs cursed or is this some delaying tactic until they get the real stock in!

 

You're in the right area.

Now all you need to do from there is click "User Accounts" OR "Change your Windows password" and the "Turn User Account Control on or off" option should be at the bottom.

I'm giving it a try now to see if I can get around it, too. I've heard that red shield with the X pops up after you do this, and that it, too, can be a pain. Time to give it a try.

Edit: Seems to have worked just fine, but the Windows Security Alert does stay in the task tray. I've heard you can turn this off, too, but I'd rather leave it on just in case a virus scanner turns off by accident or something.

 

I missed the first batch too, and was in the same limbo as you find yourself now. In the end I phoned round all the Sony Centres in Hampshire and found that Basingstoke had one on demo, and one boxed in stock. I phoned Sony Style and cancelled the order and picked my VN up that afternoon. The guy on the phone at Sony Style wasn't surprised that I was cancelling - apparently a good number of people had done the same thing - and he wasn't expecting to see any stock online until "next week". He said quite a few of the retail stores had stock while online didn't. This was last Wednesday (August 28th).

I'm lucky in that I have 5 different Sony Centres all within a 40 minute drive. Your milage might vary - literally.

Howard

 

Did anyone recieve their Z with the 64gb SSD? Which company is the manufacterer (I am guessing Samsung?) - I am waiting for your boot time/performance review

 

The zoom function that works under Vista. I never tried it myself. The buttons do nothing under XP.

See attachment for keys (and note the cat hair that has already worked itself under the 9 key!).

Howard

 

Heh, that told me!

I'll take a look at RM Clock - it's not something I'd considered before. Thanks.

 

UK

Looks like we won't be seeing the Blueray drive anytime soon for the Sony Z.

Tim Danton from PCPro.co.uk emailed Sony and got the following response.

I’ve had a response from Sony: “There are no current plans to include Blu-ray as an option on the Z-Series. The focus of the Z-Series is as a business PC in the UK, and we don’t see any great demand for Blu-ray from a business perspective at this time.” That’s from Chris Trewhitt, VAIO business product marketing manager.

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2008/07/16/first-look-sony-vaio-z-series/

Real shame as other laptop manufactueres are/will be offering Blueray.

 

Hi All Z owners,

I read all 265 pages of this thread but couldn`t find a definite answer or my eyes are bleeding (not from the purty Z pictures thou) with answer if the Nvidia Geforce 9300M GS 128/256 in the sony Z Uses DDR2 or GDDR3 for its dedicated video memory.

Could some kind souls post the GPU-Z results for both the 128MB version (1366x768) and the 256MB version (1600x900)? I think bogart ask the same question on page 209 as well.
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1153/TechPowerUp_GPU-Z_v0.2.7.html

At the moment i see that the FF XI Benchmark is slower for the 9300M GS compared to the 8400M GS?? http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/pcuser/articles/0807/24/news037.html

SZ94　- 8400M GS (64MB GDDR3) FF XI Benchmark 3
Low - 8379 (Default) - 9297 (Overclocked)
High - 5340 (Default) - 6090 (Overclocked)

Z70/Z90 - 9300M GS (128/256MB GDDR3?) FF XI Benchmark 3
Low: 7687/7816
High: 4844/4947

Thanks

 

Try Start > All Programs > VAIO Control Center. Then look under Special Buttons > S Button. You'll find the settings for them in there.

Edit: oops, was this answered already?


Bunbuns: 256MB version:
GPU: 06E5
Revision: A2
Device ID: 10DE - 06E5
Subvendor: Sony(104D)
ROPs: 1
Bus Interface: PCI-E 2.0 x16 @ x16
Shaders: 0 Pixel/ 0 Vertex
Pixel Fillrate: 0.6 GPixel/s
Memory Size: 256MB
Driver Version: nvlddmkm 7.15.11.7449 (ForceWare 174.49) / Vista
GPU Clock: 580 MHz
Memory: 702 MHz
Shader: 1450 MHz
Default Clock: 580 MHz
Memory: 702 MHz
Shader: 1450 MHz
NVIDIA SLI: Disabled

All others either Unknown or blank. I don't think that tells you what you wanted to know.

I'm a bit confused as to why you'd like to know this. If you're looking for a gaming machine, this is probably not it. For the price you can get something much higher powered in a larger laptop, and no doubt a higher resolution. However, it plays UT2004 just fine at maximum settings (I'm averaging 30-40fps in most situations, sometimes over 60).

As for the FFXI benchmarks, I have a feeling the CPU is a large factor in the score. My older laptop with a much more powerful GPU (7950GTX, 512MB DDR3) but slower CPU (P4 3.8GHz) actually got a lower score than the Z. Your benchmark numbers note that the higher scores on the SZ are from an overclocked machine, so I don't know how that would compare to an overclocked Z.

 

lol, no dude, you gotta Click User Accounts to get into it, then take it from there with my instructions. This is as easy as opening up Internet Explorer


By the way, I wonder if theres a way for the Z555 with 256mb to somehow pull that 1600x900 screen resolution. If someone could look into that to find something, other Canadians and myself would greatly appreciate this as this model is unique in that it has a 256mb video card with a 1366x768 resolution.

Cheers!

 

Why you don't just imports a Z and have the blu-ray drive? Sony doesn't consider European customers, is not the first time that specs are different from US or Asia. Portable One and Conics.net are excellent choices and they ship to Europe.

 

Theres the issue of warranty and keyboard. It will probably be american or japanese keyboard layout, not UK.

 

Also if you want the WANN module, it's different in everywhere. The EU one works everywhere whilst imported ones only work in their respective countries

 

Also, if Sony have done this before, what do they normally do? Will they include it later or simply discontinue the model and not bother.

 

This is the keyboard if you import:

http://conics.net/catalog/images/keyboard/keyboard_z_en.jpg

About the warranty:
I prefer having a model that I like and how I want it, and if something happen you send it to America.
WWAN: You take a 3G express card and you are done.

For me, the issue is time. If I buy it here after a couple of days I have it. If I import it will take 3-4 weeks at least.

 

Unless you buy it in store you really won't have it in a couple of days!

 

I have a veryy strong feeling down in my gut that Canadians will get their laptops by tommorrow. Am I God? No, Am I a magical Pony? No, Am I drunk? No. But its just one of those deep down feelings.

(This is for the smart pre-order's)