Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

Drvec - correct. EVDO is not GSM. Even though 3G is basically CDMA, it's all different stuff to some degree. There are no SIM cards with Sprint (or Verizon for that matter).

 

Yeah they told me within a week few days ago. But I doubt it will arrive that soon

 

I haven't heard of any upcoming Intel chipsets that has an interface that can support some external video card. I think they are more concerned with fusing the CPU and GPU. But perhaps I missed some info on that.

I do know that AMD worked hard on getting an external graphics port working. First notebook to feature the XGP port is the Fujitsu Amilo SA 3650. Essentially a 13.3" that has major gaming capabilities when you bring it home and plug it in to an external graphics box.

Unfortunately, it's most likely it won't be available in the US. And it's also on the heavy side for 13.3" notebook (around 5.28 lbs).

 

Thanks for the info Hybr1dz, its certainly a step in the right direction. There are so many laptops on the market that have powerful CPUs, plenty of ram and fast hard drives but integrated graphics that make gaming impossible. I hope that in the near future, we can hook up powerful external videocards to them for when we want to game, have a mobile laptop with the power of a desktop in gaming power. Would put all the 17" gaming laptop monsters to rest.

 

Ahh! Got it. Doesn't work in Word, though, unfortunately, and I only tested it in Firefox. I assume it works the same in IE.

I don't think they have an Apple slant, I think they're just very jaded after having seen so many slick products. And of all the stuff they do see, there's a lot out there that out-does the Z, but not all at once. The MBA does cut cake (there's video to prove that), and imo is a nicer design ONLY in the design sense. Truth is, I agree with them on 90% of that article; I only disagree with battery life, which I've got nearly to 6 hours the other night with the screen off and only music playing. Don't be too harsh on them, they've seen a lot (and they do harsh on Apple a lot, especially for the iPhone and other Apple nuances).

Imo, upgrade the RAM from 3GB to 4. If you ever upgrade your RAM from 3GB, you'll be wasting the 1GB stick that you'll replace the 2GB stick with. Also, if you can live with it, get the cheapest HDD and upgrade it later when you need it; they'll be cheaper and may have options for larger drives. But if you're not planning on upgrading and you're just gonna use the Z for everyday tasks I'd say go for the 320 for storage. Get the 250 7200RPM if you plan on doing some HDD-intensive tasks like video editing or gaming.

I see... I didn't realize CS2 was that old already (now I feel old...). Did some research, seems people have problems with CS2 on Vista. CS3 demo, here I come!

Awesome, thanks!

 

I was wondering if anyone can help:

My Z used to turn the CD/DVD drive on/off to conserve energy/battery yesterday (while on battery or plugged in).

It doesn't seem to be doing so today. Any idea why?
(The "Auto Off" on the drive is still set in the advanced power settings, so I'm not sure why it's not doing it.)

 

Just look at the screen directly. So angle between scree surface and your eyesight is 90 degrees (best colors) (when looking at the center of the screen). Shen scroll/fit the test image to the center of the screen and start moving head upwards untill gray side dissapears. Tray to catch approx. difference between original (90degree) angle and the angle, at which gray side dissapeared.

I understand, that even at best position - the exact 90degrees are acieved only for the center of the screen. Just need to know - how quickly "light greys" get wanished on the screen.

Thank You! Does that mean, that gray side dissapears after slight viewer deviation upwards from the direct (90degrees) view? Or it doesn't?
I can't beleive. So the Z's screen is better, than avrage laptops mostly in color reproduction only. (but not angles ). My 2.5 yr old Acer "hides" that gray side after same ~10 degrees and inverts the image after further deviation

I'm sure Z's screen is best in class and I'll get it Just need to be ready for dissapearing greys

 

LG P310 comes with 9600GT 512 GDDR3 RAM

 

Which power setting do you have it on?

 

I don't think that i was being harsh. That was my opinion and still is. I have read that engadet website many times and i came to that conclusion. The people that also respond to the articles they seem to be in the majority people with Apple products. I was referring more to what they had to say about the software Vista and some of Sony's applications.

I do think that the favour the way Mac OSX operates. You don't agree with me that that is fine.

 

I have it on Vaio Maximum Battery...

 

Yes indeed. I should have picked up on that.

So the question of does P1 change the EDGE unit or simply unlock it? is interesting to me because, as certified Sony resellers/repairers, P1 might just be able to pop in the UK's GSM module straight out of the Sony spare parts catalogue... I'll email P1 and report back...

 

Out of interest, I've gotten into the habit of leaving my SZ on max battery all the time (docked, plugged in or otherwise). I only switch it to performance if I know I'm doing something demanding.

What about others?

I think the default for battery testing should be stamina mode and max battery mode (limits screen brightness) with wifi on (typical casual usuage). With reference to Engadget's battery complaint, I regularly get 5+ hours on my SZ, literally double my mate's MacBook (on the same settings and doing the same thing). I've been very pleased with this, yet I'd read all the same complaints about the SZ's battery life before I bought it. I can only suspect the Z out-runs my SZ with it's Montevina and Penryn goodness.

 

My battery lasted 5:20 with 0/8 to 3/8 screen brightness, a bit of web surfing every now and again, and a good bit of program compiling / testing.

Needless to say, I'm pretty happy about it

Wish I knew why it's not powering down my DVD drive though...

 

The Vaio Ultimate power plan setting is the only power plan that will do that automatically as far as i know.

 

I've gotten at least 5 hours on my Z so far, used between Speed and Stamina (mostly stamina), with WiFi on. I think Engadget's battery tests were probably either an average over a period of time, or they were messing with it more than most probably would. I'm more than happy with the battery life.

 

You can change this option in any power plan in the advance settings

 

^
I wonder what they will be priced at as well. The high end model is already priced at £1,749 in the UK.

 

i'm guessing, that model will probably have to drop in price and it looks like the VGN-Z11XN/B and VGN-Z11XRN/B will be the new top models, one with blueray and one without blueray.

Hopefully my wish has come true and i can re-order the Sony Z.

 

Wow, great news!

I was quite ordering a Z591 with blu-ray but when I read these pages I left it! I will order from here (Italy-hopefully they will come here too after UK) so I have the 3G and the warranty here, without the need of importing. Do we know approximately when these models are coming?

 

I'd hold off and wait. I don't think it should be too long. Sony only have to build models thats already being offered to the US Sony Z CTO's.

 

Paging TorontoGuy!

OK. Got back to my precious late last night after being out of town. My lovely wife gave me my first blu ray move; Jumpers. Probably not a great movie, but it is bound to have some good CGI which would highlight the picture, she reasoned. I attach a HDMI cable to our Westinghouse
42" 1080p LCD Monitor LVM-42w2. I go the Nvidia control panel and get both displays going (BEAUTIFUL!). I start the movie and all is going well. Then I get this error message:

"your display environment does not support protected content playback"

Dead stop. From what I have read you either cannot play the video using the included WinDVD and must switch to another program to play. OR, you need to do this AND/OR go to non Nvidia drivers.

I am hoping the "Collective" here can help. Anyway, I will put the solution on my review for others if any exists. I can't believe Sony would not have a previous experience with in on the FW or other models.

 

Think that anydvd or its HD version will sort that issue out. Seems like your TV might not be HDCP compliant

Also have read that HDCP doesnt like using Dual Displays, so try just using the TV as the monitor. Or again use Anydvd HD and that should just remove the HDCP.

 

It's odd, the specifications for the "new" Z11 models in the UK seem to be very similar to the existing ones. The updates seem to be very minor. No BR at all.

Z11AWN/B
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8600
Genuine Windows Vista® Business with SP1
Network 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T
Cache 3072 KB
Memory 4096 MB (Not Upgradable) SO-DIMM 1066Mhz (DDR3)
Hard Disk Drive 250 Gb (S-ATA)
(7.5 GB reserved - recovery space)

NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS GPU
Video Memory 256 MB
13.1" TFT WXGA ++ 1600x900
Sound Chip Intel High Definition Audio compatible

Optical
CD-ROM (read) : 24 x Speed
CD-R (write) : 24 x Speed
CD-RW (write) : 16 x Speed
DVD-ROM (read) : 8 x Speed
DVD +R (write) : 8 x Speed
DVD +RW (write) 8 x Speed
DVD -R (write) : 8 x Speed
DVD -RW (write) : 6 x Speed
DVD Dual Layer (write) : 4 x Speed

Ports on Unit
1 ExpressCard/34 Slot(s), 4 pins i.Link Port, MagicGate MemoryStick Pro Duo Slot, Secure Digital Card Slot, Bluetooth, 2 USB Port(s) (high (USB 2.0) / full / low speed )
Headphones Out, Docking Station Connector, Internal Microphone, Microphone In, Ethernet Port, VGA Monitor Out, HDMI,

Modem Built-in Modem V.92
Wireless LAN Data transfer 300 Mbps max - Range 10m to 100m
Keyboard 83 Keys

Mouse Touchpad
Camera VGA
Weight 1499g
Dimensions (W x H x D) 314mm x 24.5 to 33mm x 210 mm
Warranty 1 Year
2 years for Germany *, Austria *, Czech Republic *, Portugal *, Belgium ** and Italy ***
Special Buttons Fingerprint recognition


Z11MRN/B
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8400
Genuine Windows Vista® Business with SP1

Network 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T
Cache 3072 KB
Memory 4096 MB (Not Upgradable)SO-DIMM 1066Mhz (DDR3)
Hard Disk Drive 200 Gb (S-ATA)
(7.5 GB reserved - recovery space)

NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS GPU
Video Memory 128 MB
Display 13.1" TFT WXGA 1366x768
Sound Chip Intel High Definition Audio compatible

Optical
CD-ROM (read) : 24 x Speed
CD-R (write) : 24 x Speed
CD-RW (write) : 16 x Speed
DVD-ROM (read) : 8 x Speed
DVD +R (write) : 8 x Speed
DVD +RW (write) 8 x Speed
DVD -R (write) : 8 x Speed
DVD -RW (write) : 6 x Speed
DVD Dual Layer (write) : 4 x Speed

1 ExpressCard/34 Slot(s), 4 pins i.Link Port, MagicGate MemoryStick Pro Duo Slot, Secure Digital Card Slot, Bluetooth, 2 USB Port(s) (high (USB 2.0) / full / low speed )
Headphones Out, Docking Station Connector, Internal Microphone, Microphone In, Ethernet Port, VGA Monitor Out, HDMI,
Modem Built-in Modem V.92
Wireless LAN Data transfer 54 Mbps max - Range 10m to 100m
Keyboard 82 Keys

Mouse Touchpad
Camera VGA
Weight 1480g
Dimensions (W x H x D) 314mm x 24.5 to 33mm x 210 mm
Warranty 1 Year
2 years for Germany *, Austria *, Czech Republic *, Portugal *, Belgium ** and Italy ***


Z11VRN/B
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P9500
Genuine Windows Vista® Business with SP1

Network 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T
Cache 6144 KB
Memory Information SO-DIMM 1066Mhz (DDR3)
Hard Disk Drive 320 Gb (S-ATA)
(7.5 GB reserved - recovery space)

NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS GPU
Video Memory 256 MB
Display 13.1" TFT WXGA ++ 1600x900
Sound Chip Intel High Definition Audio compatible

Optical
CD-ROM (read) : 24 x Speed
CD-R (write) : 24 x Speed
CD-RW (write) : 16 x Speed
DVD-ROM (read) : 8 x Speed
DVD +R (write) : 8 x Speed
DVD +RW (write) 8 x Speed
DVD -R (write) : 8 x Speed
DVD -RW (write) : 6 x Speed
DVD Dual Layer (write) : 4 x Speed

Ports on Unit
1 ExpressCard/34 Slot(s), 4 pins i.Link Port, MagicGate MemoryStick Pro Duo Slot, Secure Digital Card Slot, Bluetooth, 2 USB Port(s) (high (USB 2.0) / full / low speed )
Headphones Out, Docking Station Connector, Internal Microphone, Microphone In, Ethernet Port, VGA Monitor Out, HDMI,
Modem Built-in Modem V.92
Wireless LAN Data transfer 54 Mbps max - Range 10m to 100m
Keyboard 82 Keys

Mouse Touchpad
Camera VGA
Weight 1480g
Dimensions (W x H x D) 314mm x 24.5 to 33mm x 210 mm
Warranty 1 Year
2 years for Germany *, Austria *, Czech Republic *, Portugal *, Belgium ** and Italy ***
Special Buttons Fingerprint recognition

Z11XN/B
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8600
Genuine Windows Vista® Business with SP1

Network 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T
Cache 3072 KB
Memory 4096 MB (Not Upgradable) SO-DIMM 1066Mhz (DDR3)
Hard Disk Drive 320 Gb (S-ATA)
(7.5 GB reserved - recovery space)

NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS GPU
Video Memory 256 MB
Display 13.1" WXGA ++ 1600x900
Sound Chip Intel High Definition Audio compatible

Optical
CD-ROM (read) : 24 x Speed
CD-R (write) : 24 x Speed
CD-RW (write) : 16 x Speed
DVD-ROM (read) : 8 x Speed
DVD +R (write) : 8 x Speed
DVD +RW (write) 8 x Speed
DVD -R (write) : 8 x Speed
DVD -RW (write) : 6 x Speed
DVD Dual Layer (write) : 4 x Speed

Ports on Unit
1 ExpressCard/34 Slot(s), 4 pins i.Link Port, MagicGate MemoryStick Pro Duo Slot, Secure Digital Card Slot, Bluetooth, 2 USB Port(s) (high (USB 2.0) / full / low speed )
Headphones Out, Docking Station Connector, Internal Microphone, Microphone In, Ethernet Port, VGA Monitor Out, HDMI,
Modem Built-in Modem V.92
Wireless LAN Data transfer 300 Mbps max - Range 10m to 100m
Keyboard 83 Keys

Mouse Touchpad
Camera VGA
Weight 1480g
Dimensions (W x H x D) 314mm x 24.5 to 33mm x 210 mm
Warranty 1 Year
2 years for Germany *, Austria *, Czech Republic *, Portugal *, Belgium ** and Italy ***
Special Buttons Fingerprint recognition

Z11XRN/B
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8600
Genuine Windows Vista® Business with SP1

Network 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T
Cache 3072 KB
Memory 4096 MB (Not Upgradable) SO-DIMM 1066Mhz (DDR3)
Hard Disk Drive 250 Gb (S-ATA)
(7.5 GB reserved - recovery space)

NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS GPU
Video Memory 256 MB
Display 13.1" TFT WXGA ++ 1600x900
Sound Chip Intel High Definition Audio compatible

Optical
CD-ROM (read) : 24 x Speed
CD-R (write) : 24 x Speed
CD-RW (write) : 16 x Speed
DVD-ROM (read) : 8 x Speed
DVD +R (write) : 8 x Speed
DVD +RW (write) 8 x Speed
DVD -R (write) : 8 x Speed
DVD -RW (write) : 6 x Speed
DVD Dual Layer (write) : 4 x Speed

Ports on Unit
1 ExpressCard/34 Slot(s), 4 pins i.Link Port, MagicGate MemoryStick Pro Duo Slot, Secure Digital Card Slot, Bluetooth, 2 USB Port(s) (high (USB 2.0) / full / low speed )
Headphones Out, Docking Station Connector, Internal Microphone, Microphone In, Ethernet Port, VGA Monitor Out, HDMI,
Modem Built-in Modem V.92
Wireless LAN Data transfer 54 Mbps max - Range 10m to 100m
Keyboard 82 Keys

Mouse Touchpad
Camera VGA
Weight 1480g
Dimensions (W x H x D) 314mm x 24.5 to 33mm x 210 mm
Warranty 1 Year
2 years for Germany *, Austria *, Czech Republic *, Portugal *, Belgium ** and Italy ***


I copied this off Sony's Technical Support website. Here's the link: http://support.vaio.sony.co.uk/specifications/specifications.asp?site=voe_en_GB_cons&c=0&s=VGN-Z&m=0

It ties in with the Sony man saying that there are no plans to release BR in the UK as it's aimed squarely at the business market here. Hence all being on Vista Business. It doesn't many any sense why they're doing it though.

 

Thanks for the specs.

At least we don't need to speculate now. NO BLUE RAY!



.............. Back to waiting

 

Thanks. However, the tests were made with newer SZ series (ie. >SZ3), that were supposed to be quieter (my friend's SZ6 indeed is).

Also, any comments on the power plug? Is it compatible with SZ? I have a nice Kensington power supply and wouldn't want to throw it away (or fight with them for new power plug).

 

The Bluray drive isn't that very easy to build in?

In case you need the warranty just put the old drive back and no problem.

 

I got it yesterday, I love this Notebook

I testet same games ^^


Counterstrike: Source

Auflösun: 1600x900
Model/Tex-Details: middle
Shader: low
waterreflection: low
Shadow: high
AA: off
Filter: Trilinear
HDR: off

CSS Benchmark: 79,1 FPS
If you play maps with 16 Player you have about 50-90 FPS


Aquamarkt

Settings: Standard (1024x768,....)
Score: 48227


3DMark 06

Resolution: 1280x768
other Settings: Standard

Score: 2262
SM2: 884
HDR/SM3: 797
CPU: 2162


C&C3 TW
Resolution: 1600x900
Shader/Terrain/Texture: middle
Decals: low
Other: low

You can play very well :>


X3 Reunion

Resolution: 1600x900
Texture: middle
Shader: low
dynamische lights: on
other: off

You can play well, but in some cases (much spaceships and a lot of battles), the FPS can go down


If you dont have enough frames, you can change your resoltion to 1280x768 it looks ok and you get more frames ^^

 

nice results! What are your specs?

 

Sony Vaio Z WN/B
CPU: 2,4 GHZ
Graphic: 9300m GS 256 MB
RAM: 4GB DDR3
HDD: 250GB 5400rpm

 

Quick question for those who have the notebook. Is it capable of handling both an SD card and Memory Stick (Pro Duo) at the same time? I have both and would like to be able to have them both plugged in at the same time.

 

On previous Vaios it was possible so I expect the same goes with Z

 

Thats a good question xD
I only have a SD Card, and its hard to get the SD card out <.<
But i think it car work ^^
But to get both it, i think its a little bit trouble :S

 

No 3G WWAN?

S

 

It should. I am almost sure it will. Its no different when your using both USB ports. The pro duo and sd card have dedicated ports, therefore, allowing them to be viewed together. Go to "My Computer" and you should see both appear.

 

Well spotted, I didn't see that you could get the specs as well on the support website!

This is disappointing, but these are not the new models I'm still hoping we'll see in November. They seem to be minor variations of the existing ones.

The Blu-ray models have been unoffically hinted at by some Sony dealers in France and Australia for November, and the UK Sony man is just saying whatever he can come up with to justify a stupid decision. He knows that if he says BR models are coming in a few months time, SOME buyers are going to postpone they buying decision, and that's bad for his third quarter sales figures.

Countries other than US and Japan have no CTO, where they stock parts and build laptops according to demand. They have to ship and stock fully built models from Japan, which is expensive. I guess they decided it didn't make sense for them to stock BR models, at least for the launch, until they can assess how much demand they would have for each model (T9600, BR, SSD, etc) as they are the more expensive models to build and stock. Especially with SSD, where prices are falling by the minute, if you build and stock models you don't sell, you can actually lose a large part of your profits.

When they get a sense for the actual demand, and if they think it's high enough to justify shipping and stocking fully configured units, they will offer them.

At least that's what I'm hoping for...

Otherwise I'm buying from Conics in December or January...

 

I was using my Z11VN on the train today, surfing the web with 3G connectivity given by a phone connected by USB. Laptop was sitting on my knees and leather sleeve and I then smelled a VERY strong scent of burned plastic. The kind of smell you and me with plenty of experience with hardware failing that means that something went wrong, I didn't have the reflex to sniff around the vent to check if the scent came from there. I know I opened my mobile because it crashed and I did the old taking the battery out trick, not sure this is related. So I am left now to wonder if it's a component in my laptop or my mobile that went really bad! Oh no!

 

About the new Z11 models...In the support page they just appear what they want us to see, untill now imo. It sure doesn't make sense at all introducing new models with any change. Manni is right though, I don't think untill November we gonna see any new BD or SSD model or the Z11WN-Z11VN are not going to sell at all.

 

If the Z Series uses a 12.7mm (height) optical drive then yes.
If the Z Series uses a 9mm optical drive I don't know how readily available they are.

Can someone with a Z please confirm if it has a 12.7mm or 9mm optical drive?

 

PS to my own post: Hopefully I am not experiencing the Nvidia overheating issue! I read a few posts about it here and this early symptom is identical to a few owners of laptops with faulty nvidia chips.
PPS: I was running a 3D game when I picked up a burning chip smell...

 

It's a 9.5mm

 

Cheers!
Yea 9.5mm Blu-Ray drives you can't even pick up on ebay yet...

 

The only 9.5 Blu-ray Drive i could find on the web and it`s 365$ Dollars and read-only.
http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/p/panasonic-uj120t-ext-slim-bluray-disc-drive/

Does Anybody know of another blu-ray 9.5 drive?
What`s the Product Name of the Z90 blu-ray drive?

 

Check Sony Parts (DAPC)

I searched for the 590 and I think this is it:
http://servicesales.sel.sony.com/ec...earchOperation=modelSearch&searchText=vgnz590

For a whopping $1k!

 

Sorry I meant you cant pick up 9.5mm Blue Ray Writers Yet.

The Z's Blue Ray writer is the UJ-232 (see a couple dozen posts back)

 

More Blu-Ray info for those who asked:

1) I watched my first Blu-Ray film in 1080P on my Sharp AQUOS TV, and it looked great. Had no problems getting it to work; it's exactly the same as setting up a 2nd monitor.

2) Burned my first BD Disc. I burned 24 GB of DVDs onto a single-layer 25GB BD-RE (rewritable) disc. Nero estimated the burn at 44 minutes, but it actually took 93 minutes. I don't know why the estimate was so off. Anyway, the burn went ok and I can read the disc fine.

 

Could it be you need to switch to Speed Mode to play over HDMI?

 

It's in the manual I believe to use HDMI out you need to use Speed and the NVidia.