Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

so i'm browsing through NBR right now and i'm starting to notice a slight difference in brightness of the screen... as i move to the right, it seems like the screen gets brighter.

it's not terribly noticeable, i think it's exaggerated bc i'm in a dark room, but is this unevenness typical?

edit: nevermind... i think the dim light in the room, which is positioned at an angle to my laptop is creating this...

 

Thanks!

There is an unevenness to the Z's backlighting system, which I have mentioned in other posts/threads, but not a big deal. Almost every notebook I have seen has this "issue", but the glossy ones make the unevenness less noticeable since they provide much more contrast. The best 13.1/13.3 screen is the Macbook Air 13.3". It is by far the best screen of this size class, although the rest of the notebook is lacking, to say the least! Overall the Z is a fine notebook, and I am quite happy with it!

 

As I posted, it's really not smaller, just different dimensions.

 

Just to answer my own question: the docking-station does NOT support Dual-Link DVI. The Max Resolution you can get is 1920x1200 - even on a 30" Display

 

ok, I know! But in this case you add another 2GBx1 and u get 4GB. Only if u need a matched pair of sticks, but this is a marketing trick I see no benefit.

 

i took some photo of nvidia 9300m GS at work while playing guild wars..
1600 x 900

surprisingly the game is able to support that type of ratio natively, and even more surprisingly, it's playable lol


http://www.geocities.com/nvss/gw003.jpg --> 33 fps with everything max
http://www.geocities.com/nvss/gw009.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/nvss/gw012.jpg --> 50 fps with 75% setting

EDIT: bandwidth overload, pls use the links below

 

Firestone, they wont show up? Maybe your bandwidth expired by scores of Z gaming enthuiasts..

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/drgnfly20/GW#5250003712288795618
http://picasaweb.google.com/drgnfly20/GW#5250003717108235042
http://picasaweb.google.com/drgnfly20/GW#5250003714503696418

ya... it went down due to bandwidth expired..
i xfer the pictures to another webby..
see whether this work now

 

Great pics!! Nice detail, for a low end 9300m GS on a PORTABLE laptop they look perfectly playable/satisfying! (though I dont wanna play any games on my shiny new Z just YET, lol)

And I actually have been taking it to class and back!! One step at a time, I will get there!!!! lol

 

so can anyone answer my question please? lol

how do I activate the scroll (up-down, left-right) on the mousepad?

 

Go to Start -> control panel -> select classic view -> mouse icon -> go to function tab -> tick the box saying "use scroll function" -> scroll settings to set the alignment.. and after that -> click ok

me too lol..
but sometimes when i be in school for more than 12 hours, i need to bring a charger as well..
and the weight is starting to bother me -_-
maybe i should get an extended battery, and leave the charger at home?
hmm...
or is there no differences in weight urgh...

i wish the batt can last 12 hrs..

 

Here's a link to a Sizeasy comparison. As FenderP states, it's not really smaller. It's actually bigger by volume.

http://www.sizeasy.com/page/size_comparison/17915-Sony-VAIO-VGN-AC19V29-vs-Sony-VAIO-VGN-AC19V25

However, it is lighter, and because of the way the cords are handled (the DC side is short and wraps around the bottom of the adapter) I feel it may fit better into smaller bags. And bonus! It comes with its own bag!

Attached is a quickie 3D rendition of the two. You can see that the stick version is longer and a little taller.

One thing worth noting, the prices of AC adapters from Japan are, for some reason, considerably more expensive than the ones sold here. A standard adapter for the Z costs about $120 US. The Stick AC Adapter is even more. Factor in shipping and you have an extremely expensive AC adapter. I want one of these, but I'm going to wait till they bring these stateside.

In your task tray you should see an icon resembling a touch pad. Double click that and you'll get the options menu for it. You'll find what you need under the Function tab.

Check the first picture attached in this post:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3936595&postcount=3470

 

Isn't that called having "narrow" viewing angles instead of unevenness?

 

I dont have "function" tab when I open the mouse icon...

 

anyone using the "S1" and "S2" keys for something actually useful?

 

I'm using S1 for Hibernate (so I can just click it and close the lid when shutting down for a while) and S2 is set to Max Brightness. I'm happy with S1 but to be honest I should do something more useful with S2.

 

im using s1 to change between fan levels (silent, balanced, performance)
using s2 to open windows mobility center

 

Ok, but its still my call and i want the 2gb stick for when 64-bit vista becomes available for the Z

 

I don't have a Z, but on my SZ I use:
Power button = Hibernate
S1 = Mute
S2 = Standby (I set up my lid to simply shut off the screen because I like to let it download / etc. with the screen closed)

 

I don't have a Z either, but on my SZ I have S1 to mute and S2 to turn off the screen. The power button is standby.

 

I set one of them to Windows Mobility Center. Lots of useful functions for your laptop in one spot.

Hold down the S1 or S2 button and set it to launch this application: C:\Windows\System32\mblctr.exe

Edit: StrongerThanAll already said it, but the .exe location is useful

 

My friend just got his Z with 64gb SSD and we put our Z's together and powered on (plugged in) - DUDE! his boot up was SOOOOOOOO fast! like Vaio > windows > BOOM > desktoP!!!!!!!

Mine was still on the little Microsoft Bar back n forth when his desktop had loaded (icons visible) = UNBELIEVABLE!

I showed him how to follow Vista tweaks thread and his became MORE speedier than mine (I mean really, I am not even a power user and I felt the difference was amazing)..

I may utilize the 20 day no q asked return policy =P Someone quickly tell me why SSDs are NOT good STAT!!!!!!!! lol

 

They'll empty your wallet quickly, that's mostly it.

 

I configured it (instead of 590 i chose 540 to save $) comes about same

 

Low capacity would be the obvious reason. 64GB is nothing now a days. I have the most basic software installed on my system right now that I need for my work (circuit simulation software, office, miktex, browser, matlab, money, all on top of the basic Vaio included software), and I am already hitting 68 GB out of 320 GB total. No music, no movies.

Even my xbox has 120GB . My 4 year old mp3 player has 30GB (1GB free space on it).

So, 64GB is alright if you are running bare-bone system with limited # of software only. If you plan on storing music, and media, then forget it .

Second, I don't know how much improvements they've made on it, but the SSD seem to be consuming more power on average than HDD
Here's a link discussing this in Tom's Hardware: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-hdd-battery,1955.html.

So if you want good battery life, perhaps a good idea to stay away from SSD for now until the technology has had more time to mature.

 

Just a quality control issue perhaps...


I noticed that the left tube channel, (where the power plug is inserted) is quite wobbly. Also, the edges of the screen, the space where the plastic (carbon fiber?) joins is not really together. It is easy to separate by just sticking a fingernail in. I'm a bit concerned about these problems getting worse as I will be carrying it around the campus soon. Has anyone else noticed this as well? I'd like to know if there is a remedy to this. thanks!

 

I had the Z 550 with 1366x768, I didn't know that 540 came with 1600x900 res. You did say you had the higher res. from a previous post? Where did you get your Z and how much? I'm thinking about just getting the Z570 at SonyStyle Store, but the cost is still at $2350 with 1366x768, and it does have P9500 cpu which is more important for me than the higher res.

Do you pr anyone know if there will be a difference between P8600 versus P9500? Thanks.

 

Can you take a 'macro' picture of this region your speaking of?

 

P9500 operates in the range 1.050V - 1.162V, while P8600 operates at 1.00V - 1.250V. Since P9500 has a lower voltage operation, it would have little less loss compared to P8600 and maybe extra 15-30 minute of battery life. (well this might be debatable, as the P9500 is operating at a faster rate and will consume more power, so that might balance the battery life or be even higher than P8600 - not sure).

P9500 has 6 MB of L2-Cache, while P8600 has 3MB. P9500 thus has faster response time when working with the same data as its already right next to the CPU.

Some of the Z's with P8600 also operate in the DDR2 based RAM architecture, while the P9500 setup use DDR3. DDR3 is assumed to have faster data transfer rates (latency remains the same though). It also allows you to go up to 16GB, but that doesn't matter to the Z owners (capped at 4GB).

 

I wonder if anyone experienced this or not...

After resuming from hibernation, my fingerprint software stopped working and the service failed. The error reporting said there was a fix for whatever the problem was. It took me to UPEK's site where I was able to download the version 5.8 drivers. I upgraded over the 5.6 version shipped with the notebook and it works like a charm (not like it wasn't working before).

The new software has nicer icons and adds new features and more options. Pretty nice. Oddly enough, you can't simply go to the site to download it...or at least it wouldn't when i tried the same link from another computer. I'll see if I can find an official link otherwise I'll throw it up on rapidshare or something.

 

There was a follow-up article regarding this on their site a couple weeks later; turns out they made some mistakes during testing that mistakenly made SSD out to be the bad guy (but they were right on some drives anyway). Read this follow up article to see what changed:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-hard-drive,1968.html

I'm not sure how the SSDs being installed in the Z compare to the ones in that test. I guess we could rely on some real-world tests by owners of said SSDs on this forum, no?

 

Interesting, thanks. Does the new version support the latest Firefox?

 

Hi,

Guys, i took the plunge. Saw the Sony Z in the Watford Sony Store and loved it. The display is awesome.

Anyway, was flying out and managed to pick the UK top of the range for £1388 from T5 SonyStyle Store. SO thats

£1749 - 14.89% plus another £100 off = 1388.57 (plus another 5% cashback via American Express = £1319.14)

Well chuffed plus i will still get the extended 2 year warranty for free. What more can i say.

 

Congratulations! I'm sure you'll love it.

 

Guys, now that i got my Sony Z. Few Questions.

As i have my own Microsoft Technet Subscription, I want to reformat it and install Vista Ultimate.

1. Its comes preinstalled and licensed with Adobe Acrobat 8.0 std and Adobe Photoshop Elements 6. Where can reinstall these from since there are no installation media?
2. Are there 64bit drivers for vista ultimate?

 

From your recovery discs so make sure you MAKE them before you do anything!!

 

I dont mind 64gb, really.. I just want INSTANT boot uP! lol I hate it in class the lecture begins, your Z is turning on.. and by the time its fully on, you missed half page worth of notes! lol Start up time is really annoying =( with my friend's SSD Z I really was AMAZED I mean boom less than 10 seconds or so it felt! lol and was so much more 'zippier' than my 5400rpm Z

 

guys, i have the recovery discs for a fresh start windows vista business.. but im planning on getting vista ultimate on a new hd.. (i wont be having the old HD, so no chance of cloning).. will the recovery discs of the business version work with the ultimate?

can i simply install the new hd, install vista and use recovery discs to install all drivers?

 

Hmm, thats interesting STA..

I think you should just download new drivers/software off the clean instal page using the sony links provided for each driver = less hassle. And if you're still missing some, put it in and see if it works!

 

It is now in the hands of FedEx.

Will someone please tell me if the 590 can run Second Life.

 

From its website:

NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or better
OR ATI Radeon 9500 or better
OR Intel 945 chipset

So the Z with 9300M GS will Definately work!! heck expect the integrated x4500 to work in Stamina lol

 

thanx sonority,

i guess ill try, will i have access to internet via ethernet once i have installed vista?
or do i have to install drivers for the ethernet port?
so what are the clean install guides for? is it only useful when you dont want to activate windows again?

 

yes ethernet will work but dont connect anything until AFTER the very final stages of vista installation + reboot - follow the clean install guide, its step-by-step on which drivers to download in a sequence to have everything working good.. Mega-Man also answers some questions about things that didnt work well and solutions all on it - overall I think many have followed it and got stuff working great

 

Yes, the new version does support Firefox 3 finally.

 

Hello All,

Just wanted to add my name on the list of happy owners. Ordered mine from Conics (fully loaded CTO) - took 19 days from when payment was accepted to arriving in my hands. Haven't had much time to play with it because of working OT. But I'm off all next week, and ready to dive in and see what this bad boy can do.

 

nice specs agitprop, how much did it cost ya + shipping? 19 days isnt too bad, do you live in the states?

 

The installation/setup file for Acrobat is included on the HDD within the installed directory in Program Files.

Use that to reinstall - no serial required IIRC but you might as well record it. When you reinstall it creates the setup files again for you.

S

 

Hi pkja1,

It cost $3,461.70 USD + $55.15 for shipping via EMS. I live in Shanghai but that should not really effect the shipping time if you live in the states because of the 12-15 hour lag.

For me this was a great deal, expecially since if I bought this set up in Shanghai it would have cost me another 400-500 USD - provided if the 2.8GHz was even available here, CTO's for the Z in the mainland are quite skimpy.

-ap

 

Eh, how do you turn off the point device touch pad by the way? Really annoying when im typing I keep hittings it.

Anyone know?

 

Instant boot up would be soooooo handy. Not sure I could sacrifice drive space for it though lol. I've already used up well over 64GB on my 200GB drive. The 256GB RAID setup they've got on the TT sounds good (but expensive!!). Have you thought of just leaving your Z in standby between classes? It's no 10 second boot up, but it should be a lot faster than full load from completely off.

You mean the ability to left click or double click by tapping? Check in the tapping tab of the mouse properties. There's a check box to turn tapping on or off. There's also an option to turn the tap off while you type (really helps!) with a delay for how long after you typed before it turns tapping back on.