Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

I didnt get this offer - was it time limited? I ordered by Z590 Sept 10th. Can anyone tell me the details? Should I call SonyStyle and see if I can get it?

So far, I love this unit. Battery leakage/drain is the only downside. But i get huge battery life, upgraded the HD and did Vista Ultimate clean install (getting inside computer was a PITA). I do miss the little night light that my Thinkpad had for working in the dark. That's about it.

 

There was a 007 Limited Edition of TX when the James Bond movie was on theater 2 years ago.
Will there be one for Z this year? Maybe for TT?

 

This might be old, but was this what you saw?

http://www.upek.com/support/customersupport/techsupport/Topic.asp?ID_Topic=53

 

Here's a question only Z owners can answer ... because you own a Z it's obvious you have 'good taste' in notebooks ... the Z has the quality, design, keyboard, light wieght and more ...

Here's my question: If today you had to get rid of your Z and had to replace it with a notebook that has a 15" screen what would you buy ??

It's hard to find something cutting edge like the Z in a 15" notebook. We'd buy another Sony for sure, the FW is too big, and there's nothing special in the Sony 15" notebook line, at least not right now ... Maybe a T500, Sony BZ or ?? (not a Dell for sure)...

We may have to settle for a 14", I'm not sure what 'wow' computers are out there with a 14" monitor - T400, e6400 > really corporate oriented and not my style

 

well, if i was going for a 15" i would not look for a portability like Z, but something mobile.. so i would still go with the FW... i love the FW's design, its size and feel.. only reason i didnt choose over the Z was because of portability

 

yes, I'm thinking the new FW refresh may be appealing although I have no idea when they'll be in the Sony Store or BB stores in Canada?

The FW is thin, for what it is it's light I agree, haven't seen the high color screen yet but that's what I'd want ... patience I guess ...

 

or the new HP Elitebook 15" I hear the screen is very good with new technology and is also lightweight

 

....or a Macbook Pro (Wait for its refresh, rumored to be released in middle of October).

 

When is the next VAIO Z refresh? I am looking at ordering one this weekend, but if they are going to do a refresh in the next month then I won't.

 

Knowing Sony ~3 months = right before Xmas

 

Hey QUESTION, When I plug ,my laptop in my TV Via HDMI, how do I get it from not using both the laptop screen and the TV screen at the sametime while playing a movie for example??? I want just the TV to show whats on the laptop.

Thanks in advance! and pls only mentioned if u know for a fact! No guessing!! Thanks again!!

 

right click on desktop > Nvidia Control Panel > go to Set up Multiple Displays, you can see your options there

 

Thanks

Also...Does anyone know when the next deal is coming out? I missed out on the $300 one

 

Nothing. I don't want anything bigger or heavier. End of story. Unless someone makes a sub-4lb 15", don't waste my time.

 

Do you carry / travel with your notebook often?

 

I'm surprised that the monitor on your Z didn't automatically turned 'off' as it did with mine when plugged via HDMI into the TV. Go to control panel > nVidia settings. I can't tell you specifically cuz I no longer have my Z (P8600, 1366 res.), I'm opting for the P9500, 1600 res.

 

What made you say around 3 months?

I thought it's around 6...

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=302068&page=3

I would also guess that there will be a refresh (new part no ) in December.
So there would be no reason to wait, but my confidence is rather low in the GPU lifetime.

 

What could Sony possibly refresh in the Z?

The DDR3 ram just came out, as well as the "P" series C2D's. Nvidia has no new GPU's planned...

I just don't see what they can refresh it with.

 

european Zs have a lag of Blu-ray. Other CPU/HDD combinations
(new stepping/revisions of GPU's)

 

Ummm... Sounds great (sarcastically speaking).

I didn't bother with a CTO so a refresh probably means nothing to me if it is just new HDD/CPU combos.

AFAIK, Intel isn't realeasing any new CPU's the rest of this year.

 

From this review:

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/225537/sony-vaio-vgnz11wnb.html

"There's no Blu-ray configuration as yet; that's not coming until sometime towards the end of October according to one of our contacts."

I suppose is about time Sony will make a Z with both SSD and blu-ray, like the TT series.

 

Maybe 256GB SSD, a Blu-ray drive which can burn DVD DL and more colours?
That is for Sony's seasonal refresh, not completely refresh.

 

when did the Z come out in Aug? Sony seems to refresh every 3 or so months

 

My guess for a refresh of the US market Z would be a 256GB SSD option. I'd like to see a BD-ROM only option as well. It seems people want to watch Blu-ray more than they want to burn it. I think they could stand to put out an official Vista 64-bit model since it is a business level notebook.

Other than that, I don't see what else they could upgrade at this time.

 

It was officially announced during mid July if I remembered right. And then orders arrived around mid August.

Sony Japan refreshs Vaio very season, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. It can be some new colors, more option, new build in VAIO applications, slightly changes of body and change of model code.
One usual changes is the Sony logo sign under the screen. For Z, right now it's printed in white. I'm 90% sure Sony will change it to silver (chrome?) in one of the refreshes.

 

According to a rep. at SonyStyle Store, one of the refresh would be a combo SSD and Blu-Ray, all-in-one Z. Hopefully, the SSD will be 256, just like the new Vaio TT. I mentioned this a few pages back, but I think that refresh will be very soon. I can only speculate, like others here that it will be around the holiday season.

What's the difference between 32 and 64bit Vista? I saw an ad on Friday's Fry's Ad and their FW OS has 64-bit Vista. So I think the Z will eventually have 64bit as a refresh.

 

The main difference that many care about is that 32-bit operating systems can only recognize around 3.2gb of ram, whereas 64-bit can recognize far more than that, I forgot the limit but its more than current personal computers can hold.

Unfortunately, most software is 32-bit only and some won't work in 64-bit operating systems, so be careful of that.

 

TZ

 

thanks, so a 64-bit vista os will recognize far more than 4gb of ram, which is the ram max. for the Z. Then why not just settle for 32bit vista?

 

backlit keyboard. was using mine in the dark last night, backlit keybaord would have been great.

With Europe\UK, new models with blueray and SSD be great.

I would have held off but with the free 2 year warranty and the price i paid, i can't really complain.

I would for sure be fitting an aftermarket SDD around 320gb once available and blueray once available and cheap.

 

Or they could also use the ATI Hybrid graphics instead of Nvidia's a few refreshes down the line....

 

Hey guys,

My new Z is working great!! One little problem...ThirdPartyAppMgr.exe is taking up over 125 Mb constantly. I know that it is used to switch between wifi/wwan/bt, but why the heck is it taking up so much of my RAM? Can I cancel this or replace it with some other, more efficient app?

Also, my boot up time is taking forever. When i hibernate, it takes about 45sec-1min to get back up and running. What can/should I do to remedy this annoying issue. Thanks guys.

 

check out the price on this vaio TT

 

^
So surprise there re: price.... I would rather get a decked out powerhouse notebook/DTR (a la the new M6400 which is sweet) than that.....

Ultraportables are cool and all just not very powerful (for the price, at least).

 

yeah, id rather equip a Z with all that power

 

My Z is fantastic, but I got a good deal. I can't imagine spending $4k on a laptop that isn't very powerful, but that is just me and my $0.02

 

Hey Z Owners,

How many of you have your Z as your desktop replacement or at least their main computer?

My Z is now my desktop replacement / the only computer I use for all my work... plugs in via HDMI to my large monitor at my desk and sit's perfect on the table/lap when I'm at home away from my desk ...

perfect!

 

I took the plunge on a Z earlier today... It is going to be my desktop replacement!

 

Congrats! You will love it (I am still in awe everytime I use the Z)....

 

sure, I'm going to guess a lot of Z owners use their Z as their only computer ... makes sense hard to find a better keyboard or screen

 

I use my Z as my main computer and desktop replacement.

This includes Photoshop work and 3D modeling work. It's an awesome computer!

 

-Tj- I'm just curious which processor does your Z come with.. is it the P8600 or the P9500? coz I'll also be using it for intensive photoshop / vid editing.
And are you happy with the speed?

Thanks.

 

I agree, the Z is perfect and it will be my one and only computer as well.

I'm curious, how many of you would have opted for the TT instead had it been released the same time as the Z? Also, I'm having a hard time debating on which res to buy; 1366 or 1600. What were your reasons for choosing the resolution on your Z. Thanks.

 

You can't really improve the hibernation restore time. It's mostly depending on the amount of RAM you have. If you have 3-4GB, it will have to load a minimum of 3GB of DATA into RAM before it boots up. You're limited by the HDD speed. It might be faster on SSD systems....or if you have less memory.

 

Main computer here... ditched the desktop years ago. I don't do anything high-power enough to warrant it.

Been awesome so far. No complaints....

 

I've experienced in the past week quite a few freezes on my Z P9500 (two in the past hour already...). It happened sometimes when attended or not, in balanced power mode and using stamina mode (Intel IGP).
Not sure where is this coming from, maybe CPU overheating. Using HWMonitor it's showing the cores running at around 42 degrees C.
PS: the vent at the left is unobstructed.

 

42 celsius is not overheating at all.

Lockups/freezes can be caused by so many things - drivers, bad cpu/ram/mobo, etc....

Good luck in tracking down the culprit

 

thanks to stephanb for the pic of the TZ and Z side by side
i was wondering about that this weekend actually

the TZ does seem more 'blue' - i think the colour looks more saturated possibly, darker
i presume the settings are the same on each, or is the TZ a little more saturated?

i'm also impressed with how much more screen space is on the Z without the notebook itself seeming too much larger

interesting!
thanks again

 

Do a lot of you Z owners plug into a larger external monitor/tv when you're at your desk?

Some of you mentioned doing photoshop work, cad, 3d rendering etc, that's much easier/faster to do a larger monitor, no?