Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

Yes there is an advantage: You can use the Logitech Nano VX.

 

Indeed. I think it's worth a port, personally. Saying that, the Alps touchpad isn't as annoying as I'd expected... so I don't use my mouse all the time - only for extended sessions or Photoshop stuff.

 

Should I pull the plug or not? Been thinking about it all weekend and still haven't made up my mind! I have been holding out for the 256GB SSD and now that they have it I have cold feet. I don't own a desktop and just use the notebook i have now for everything (DELL I9300) hooked up to the Samsung 226BW (screen size isn't and issue)

 

This is what I've said, but I don't think ppl will notice your post too LOL

Get that Z555 (it is actually an 590 with a bit less specs).
That Notebook has very2 good built quality, and I did compare it with Z590 (US CTO) and Z90 (built up) and z17 (built up)

It is the Cheapest Z590 and the best for notebook deal (price/performance/spec wise) for now.

My regret, is I didn't get one while I was in Canada a week ago.

Look at Can$ currency.... take that advantage LOL

 

What do you think is keeping you from getting it now that its available?

 

The one I have now works fine. Only reason I wanted to get another was because of my job I travel a lot. The 17" screen is not mobile at all....mostly just a sit on the desk and not move.

 

So its a matter of being practical. It gets down to a need or a want. Since your 17" works fine, you feel there's no need to unnecessarily spend on it, right?

 

Thanks to all for answers. I believe I'll get used to the small size even though my fingers are quite big...as it'll travel every day, so smaller mouse and receiver is big plus. But I'll consider the VX Revolution as well...how long can the battery resist?

 

A friend of mine has a VX Nano, and has bigger hands than me, however he seems to enjoy it. One problem I had with it was that it has no middle mouse button; you have to map it to one of the forward/back buttons to the left of the LMB. If you don't need it or can get past it, it's probably a good buy.

I've used the Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 (borrowed from a friend) and found it to be excellent with no lag or anything. The only reason I didn't buy it was because I'm really comfortable with the Microsoft Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse, which I recently replaced with the newer model Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 3000.

 

In regards to the SSD built in, I noticed that Sony installed a Samsung MMCQE28GFMUP-MVA.

Capacity: 128GB
Interface: SATA 3.0Gbps
Formfactor: Slim
NAND: 16Gb MLC
Voltage(V): 3.3V
Production Satus: Mass Production

Here is the related Link:
SAMSUNG's Digital World

Does anybody know whether it is a good device? Any reviews known?

 

yes, sure u can - what i mean why cant u without the nano-receiver? i know other logitech bt mouses work with the built in bluetooth (i'm using it too). so why block a usb port without need?

or is it something special about the nano that it wont work without the own receiver??

 

There's actually a middle button - it's marked with a magnifying glass and sits just behind the scrollwheel. On the VX Nano, the scrollwheel doesn't click for the middle button but rather if you click it, you just (dis)engage the 'frictionless scroll' feature. IMHO, this is the killer feature of the VX series mice - it makes navigating long web pages so much easier than a standard 'ratchet type' scroll wheel. If you install the Logitech software (which I don't bother with personally), the middle button acts as a magnifier. But if you don't install the software (or configure the software as such), the magnify button just acts as a standard middle button. I could live without a middle button as I use it all the time for opening and closing tabs in Firefox.

Yes - the VX Nano uses proprietary 2.4GHz wireless, rather than BlueTooth... hence only works with the supplied dongle. The dongle itself is minuscule and you can store it in the bottom of the mouse when travelling, so I find it a neat solution. It's supposed to be less prone to interference from other wireless devices according to Logitech, and I've certainly never had any problems with mine.

 

I'm using the VX Revolution (right one). Great mouse! The onlly issue I have (but doesn't really have to do anything with the mouse itself) is setting the scrolling speed to my preferred speed. When I'm browsing web pages I'm wishing scrolling would go faster (but if I put the setting to fast), then in for instance outlook and excel it goes far toooo fast!!

 

PCnation probably has the cheapest pricing on the Z now.

1. I want to get the Z540NAB for $1.4K and update the hd and memory myself and so much cheaper by doing it. Whats your opinion?

2. Are all the Z Series the same except for the processor, hd and memory? Same ports, same display and same graphic card?

3. Has anyone put a 320gb hd at 7200 rpm on the Z? I want to get the 500 gb hd to put on my Z when I get it.

 

1. Check sonystyle.ca
2. no, Z590. z90, z17 and some z11 have 1600x900 while z540 is 13xx x 768
3. Changing HD in Z while doable it ain't easy and current 500GB HD size will not fit (320gb 7200 rpm will)

 

How hard is it to change the hd on the Z?

The manual only show for changing the memory.

Sonystyle.ca price is actually higher than in the US.

 

forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=272690&page=90

 

just returned my Z530 to amazon. I think imma wait for the premium carbon or get a Z590 with the 1600x900 screen now. Thank God for Amazon 30 day return policy =p

 

Can anyone verify whether or not the z540nab has the WWAN module? If not, is this module sold separately somewhere?

 

any idea where I can buy it?

 

Hey guys, I talked to Sony about the issue with my laptop, their gonna gimme a new one, done and done.

 

what issues did u have?

 

You had issues with the speaker, right? Will you be able to exchange it and get a new one directly from a Sony Store where you got yours or will you have to send it in? How were you able to get a new one w/o having to send it in to a Sony Repair Center for repairs? Thanks.

 

The Z540 has what carbon?

 

did you have to pay shipping back?

if you buy from canada you will end up paying customs?

how much is that?

 

Correct, yea I spoke to the Manager at the Sony Store, and said that its so new still, why should this have to be repaired?, so he's like ok just bring it in and ill order u a new one. I mean what I say is true but still, he is doing me a big favour though, he's a good guy though so. I think its how u talk to ppl and ur body language, which fortuntley I have a lot of, im really a ppl person so I tend to get away with these things lol. You guys think I should give it back how it is or do a recovery with the original operating system and all on it? Cheers.

 

I didn't know there was even a magnifier button there lol. I knew the middle click changed the scroll modes of the wheel, when I found that out it immediately made it so I could not buy it. My friend and I are both 3D modelers, and the middle mouse button is crucial to our work. The magnify button is a bit too high on the mouse to be frequently used. He works in Maya, and putting the MMB onto one of the Fwd/Bk buttons on the side aren't so bad, but for me in XSI, MMB is the Y axis between the LMB (X) and the RMB (Z), which would throw me off quite a bit... so I couldn't buy it .

I have the G9 gaming mouse from Logitech which has that fast scrolling, and I really miss the super-fast scroll rate when I'm not using it. The switch between click and fast scroll is a button on the bottom of the mouse. I just wonder why they didn't just do that, since the Nano is so much smaller than the G9 and much easier to flip over.

Btw, did you mean to say you couldn't live without the middle mouse button for opening and closing tabs in Firefox? I know I can't live without MMB in Firefox. Sooooo handy!

 

Interesting. I thought you were happy with your Z...

 

Sony Spare Parts dept have the M a t s h i t a BD-MLT UJ232AS:

http://servicesales.sel.sony.com/ec...1&searchOperation=modelSearch&searchText=z590

 

Holy CRAP that's expensive!

 

That is going to be one popular part on ebay I expect.

But I guess any slimline bluray player would work.

 

Chong... you know it is in Canadian Dollar right?

And you are comparing price of z540 vs Z590??
Seem you are not even bother researching and just ask questions blindly...

Put down that burger and do your DD first.

 

phobebusvh what do you think is different with the screen on these new models?

I am most probably going to buy the model that i linked to below. I don't really want a 7,200rpm HD but that is the only model that you can buy that uses a premium carbon fibre lid and that does not have the blu ray drive. I definetly do want the premium carbon fibre lid.

I would configure one but i hope to get someone to buy it for me duty free at T5 in Heathrow airport so it would bring the cost down a bit. I also plan to claim back the VAT as well so it could bring it down to about £1,550 or thereabouts.
I doubt that Sony would give me enough of a discount if i called in or went to a store so i think that this is my best option.
I am a little bit excited.
https://www.sonystyle.co.uk/SonySty...2BC29B854860D303D26B005EE10080022BC29B74)/.do
I wouldn't be able to do this until about 3 weeks time as these laptops are not even in stock yet.
I don't think that these ones comes with the 3 year warranty as standard like Z1 did when they were launched.

 

I am happy but the carbon fiber looks soo sexy

 

I am curious to see what a Dell Studio XPS looks like - touted to have a glass coating etc..

 

What have Sony done to make the screen better or maybe worse?

I would have loved a new fresh model but i bought mine because of the 3 year warranty for free which sony no longer do. Plus, i also got mine from T5 Sony Store. Maybe know the same contact as you ;-)

I'm now going to wait until Sony release a Sony Z with Backlit keyboard and then hopefully by then the Blueray will be cheaper and SSD drives bigger.

 

If you're hooked up to AC power most of the time, either use the Battery Care function, or if you prefer to have 100% battery available when you're out and about... just remember to fully discharge your battery every few weeks. (To discharge fully, go into the BIOS setup, close the lid and leave the laptop until it goes flat.)

Charging to 100% is only a killer for batteries if the battery is frequently 'topped up' without discharging it. If you rarely need 100% capacity because you're not away from AC for long, it makes sense to use Battery Care instead...

 

Yes, sorry. I suppose the "n't" on the end of "could" was kinda important to that making sense! I could blame my Z's keyboard, but that would be fibbing...

 

Hi everyone.
Yesterday I've Bought a Z12GN (It's an asian Model) but I see it says that it's display is WXGA++ TFT. Until now, I've thought it must be LED backlight and also anti scratch (sth like DuraView in american models).
Someone tell me are they the same (just difference in naming) or not.
another problem is that It's Display has one dead Pixel. is it a rootin problem or not.
Thanks!

 

Didnt know internet is worldwide.

What do you mean by rootin problem?

 

because in it's manual, sony says the dead pixel is not a malfunction. I just wanted to now if someone else has this non-malfunction(!) problem with their vaio.
What about the led and anti scratch technology? do you know if asian laptops have it?

 

I finally got around to checking out the Sony Z and Asus U6V in person at Microcenter. For that past couple of weeks I have been planning on getting the Asus due to its smaller screen (12.1"), but my assumption that smaller screen = smaller laptop wasn't really accurate and that became pretty apparent when I looked at these things next to each other. They are basically the same size (the Asus a little deeper and the Sony a little wider). That made the decision an easy one.

I ordered the Z540NAB from PCNation for $1400, picked up a 2GB DDR3 for $60 on Newegg, and a 320GB Seagate Momentus 7200.3 with G-Force for $100 from Tekwave(?), Zeroshock III for $35 from ebay, and a Shaggymac for $20. All in all, I only went over my $1600 budget by around $15-20 and should hopefully have a pretty sweet setup.

Now I can finally get some work done and stop reading forums all day long (at least for another few days until my Z arrives)!

 

Congrats drewdat! I would love to see your boot up time comparison with the momentus drive!! (isnt it the fastest avail presently?)

 

Actually the Hitachi Travelstar 7K320 has the fastest XP boot time, but the momentus has the best throughput. I was actually leaning towards the WD Scorpio Black until I heard a lot complaints about it being loud and clicks a lot. The Momentus actually had some bad user reviews based on total failure within the first month. I guess I'll have to make sure I keep everything backed up for a while until I have some confidence in the drive. There is a good article on Tom's hardware (I'd post a link but I'm still not able too) for anyone interested in installing a new hard drive.

I'm planning on using the updated XP downgrade install listed elsewhere on this forum. I'll post some bootup times after doing all of this.

 

It seem like I will get the cheapest z and update it myself also.

So you all are comfortable updating to the bigger hd on the Z?

Also, no 500 gig HD would fit the Z?

 

I can't find it now, but I know I saw a walkthrough with pics on replacing the hard drive in a Z. I thought it was on this thread. Can someone post a link?

 

Sure, WD5000BEVT fits and performs close to 7200rpm drives.

Seagate 7200.4 500GB could be here in november, but might aswell be december or later.

 

Okay here is a walkthrough with pics:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=272690&page=90

 

There's an easy way to find it, in the Sony forum the first topic is "useful threads and posts" and there it says:

Vaio Z series F.A.Q., Links and Useful Topics
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=295113

 

I'm thinking about buying the new z21 but I still can't decide which one.

Either the WN with the the 5.400 rpm hard-disc or the VN with the 7.200 rpm hard-disc.
The price difference in germany between these two is about 280 €.
So my question is if the faster hard-disc is worth its price?

Does someone really feel the speed-difference?
I read that hard-discs with 7.200 rpm need more power so the battery-time will decrease!?

Greetings
Spiekero