Sony Vaio Z i5/i7 Official Owners Thread

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Sony Z frequently asked questions

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=477806

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Someone in the Z discussion thread suggested we start this now since we'll all have our hands on the new Z in a bit, so here we are! I've been waiting since last August for this new Z so I'm excited to start it!

Currently, the Z is offered with either an i5 or i7 processor, is in silver or black carbon fiber, and comes with a SSD. Now when you look back at this thread in a year, you'll be laughing at how much more powerful / customizable the Z is.

You can order the basic CTO here: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...Id=10151&langId=-1&LBomId=8198552921666065650

 

I agree that within a few months, the Z-series will come out with a refresh with even more higher-end componentry. Just the nature of how tech products work.

 

Dutch folks will be pleased to know they can get a cheaper built with a HDD instead of SSD. Although perhaps the Z series is the wrong series to look at if you're looking for cheap. There are of course other benefits to the HDD, like being able to upgrade to a better SSD in the future.

The downside is that it won't be put in the same position as the SSD would have been, but rather on the place where normally the DVD or Blu-ray drive would be. Strangely enough the optical drive doesn't fit in the place of the SSD, so that means you'll have to do without.

On a sidenote, I don't see any mention of the keyboard being backlit. Not with any of the color options, nor anywhere else.

Link to Dutch site:
https://www.sonystyle.nl/SonyStyle/VAIO-notebooks/Z-Serie-13-1/

 

ATTENTION CANADIAN Z SHOPPERS!

Z12 Series CTO pricing guide:

Code:

                                 Canada        USA
Base Price                     $2019.50   $1919.99

i5-450M                       -$  60.00        N/A
i5-520M                       -$  30.00        N/A
i5-540M                        $   0.00   $   0.00
i7-620M                       +$  60.00  +$ 150.00

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit  $   0.00   $   0.00
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit +$  50.00  +$  50.00
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit     +$ 100.00  +$ 150.00

Black                          $   0.00   $   0.00
Silver                         $   0.00   $   0.00
Premium Carbon                +$  30.00  +$  50.00
Metal Shield                  +$  60.00  +$ 100.00
Metal Mosaic                  +$  60.00        N/A

2gb DDR3 1066MHz              -$  60.00        N/A
4gb DDR3 1066MHz               $   0.00   $   0.00
6gb DDR3 1066MHz              +$  60.00  +$ 150.00
8gb DDR3 1066MHz              +$ 130.00  +$ 300.00

128gb SSD (64gb x 2)           $   0.00   $   0.00
256gb SSD (128gb x 2)*        +$ 350.00  +$ 300.00
512gb SSD (128gb x 4)         +$ 950.00  +$1300.00

DVD+-RW Drive                  $   0.00   $   0.00
Blu-ray Disc Burner           +$ 545.00  +$ 500.00

13.1" 1600x900 LED             $   0.00   $   0.00
13.1" 1920x1080 LED           +$ 100.00  +$ 100.00 

Standard Battery               $   0.00   $   0.00
Large Battery                 +$  50.00  +$ 100.00

Mobile Broadband                    N/A  +$ 100.00

Fully Configured**             $3964.50   $4019.99

* SSD configurations are shown with LOGICAL drives, or the total number of hard drives that the system will see. For the 256gb SSD option, International versions of the Z use 64gb x 4 LOGICAL drives, which is a quad RAID comprised of two PHYSICAL 128gb "dual" drives. However, North American models differ in that they use 256gb x 1 PHYSICAL "dual" drive, which results in dual RAID with 128gb x 2 LOGICAL drives. This has been confirmed by multiple forum members who have received the 256gb option. So, the only way to get quad RAID in North America is with the 512gb option.

** Not including WWAN or large battery.


For history's sake, here's what the Z11 lineup looked like:

Canadian prebuilt models:

VPC-Z112GDS ($1999.99)
i5-520M, 4gb, 128gb SSD, DVDRW, 1600x900, W7 Pro 64-bit, Bilingual Backlit Keyboard, Silver

Code:

                                 Canada        USA
Base Price                     $2024.99   $1899.00

i5-540M                        $   0.00   $   0.00
i7-620M                       +$  54.00  +$ 150.00

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit  $   0.00   $   0.00
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit +$  54.00  +$  50.00
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit     +$ 162.00  +$ 150.00

Silver                         $   0.00   $   0.00
Premium Carbon                +$  54.00  +$  50.00

2gb DDR3 1066MHz              -$  21.60        N/A
3gb DDR3 1066MHz              -$  10.80        N/A
4gb DDR3 1066MHz               $   0.00   $   0.00
6gb DDR3 1066MHz              +$ 162.00  +$ 150.00
8gb DDR3 1066MHz              +$ 378.00  +$ 300.00

128gb SSD (64gb x 2)           $   0.00   $   0.00
192gb SSD (64gb x 3)          +$ 175.00  +$ 200.00
256gb SSD (128gb x 2)*        +$ 351.00  +$ 400.00
384gb SSD (128gb x 3)         +$ 702.00  +$ 600.00
512gb SSD (128gb x 4)         +$1215.00  +$1000.00

DVD+-RW Drive                  $   0.00   $   0.00
Blu-ray Disc Burner           +$ 432.00  +$ 500.00

13.1" 1600x900 LED             $   0.00   $   0.00
13.1" 1920x1080 LED                 N/A        N/A

Standard Battery               $   0.00   $   0.00
Large Battery                 +$ 108.00  +$ 100.00

Mobile Broadband                    N/A  +$ 100.00

Fully Configured**             $4319.00   $4049.99

 

For me, a hard-disk option, which takes away the optical drive is not an option at all, since I definitely need the optical drive.

However, I believe there was a version of the new Z-series displayed in the Chinese market or so (as per one of the posted links), where the SSD could be replaced with an HDD, without touching the optical drive at all. Don't know if someone can check it out, since if that is true, then there is definitely hope for people who want the larger capacities and cheaper costs from having a hard-drive.

 

All of the HDD-versions I've seen posted of the new Z lack an optical drive.

 

When will the new Z models be in the Sony Style stores? Will they wait to display the model until it's in stock?

 

Same here.

 

It is already, just search Z11 in the search bar. (US site)

How much of you are waiting for the 1080 resolution screen to come to CTO or are you guys satisfied with the 900 pixel one? I ask because I'm looking for a laptop with a high res screen because I don't like the resolution on the macbooks or most of the laptops that I can see at best buy. This will be my first laptop so I don't have anything else to gauge with.

 

I am waiting for the 1080P resolution. Ever since it was announced as available, I have no more interest in going with the 1600x900 screen.

I believe this 1080P resolution option is available in both the EU and Asia. Why would they deny this to the US, other than in that over-priced $4500 )Signature series model ?

 

I haven't even been able to try out a 1600x900 screen though, why don't you like it? Is there any sites dedicated or a place where there is comparison pictures of the different screen real estates?

 

I mean in a actual store, not the website. No way would I pay $4500 for 1920x1080. I wonder how long it will take for them to offer it as an option.

 

Oh, there is no question of not liking the 1600x900 screen. Taken in isolation, that is a brilliant screen too. But since the 1920x1080 screen is available, that is what I plan to go for, even if it takes a little while to get here.

 

Sony has adopted some strange things with their CTO models.

When it comes to the F-series, they have denied the premium Matte Full-HD 100% Adobe RGB coverage screen to the US-CTO model - something that is freely available in both Europe and Asia. And they call this their multi-media powerhouse. The only screen options the US CTO model gets is their regular Full-HD glossy screen or the lower-res non-HD screen, which is not something that floats my boat or something that would be considered as desirable by graphics professionals.

When it comes to the Z-series, they provide a ton of things as options for the US CTO customers, but then goes and sneakily skips the Full-HD screen from the options list. Of course the European and Asian markets can merrily pick the Full-HD screen option.

 

Actually, glossy is generally preferred for multi-media (watching movies and such).

It's strange they don't offer the Matte option though.

 

from looking on the sonystyle.com site in order to get the 1080p screen you would have to pay $4500 for the signature series...there is no option to add in the screen as an option wow thats expensive..

anyone know if running a 1080p resolution on a 13 inch screen would be very difficult to read anything on the screen...??? is the regular 1600 x 900 just as good to view hd content on??

 

I really suggest reading the other new Z thread, as the resolution has been discussed a fair bit.

 

Well, by "multi-media" in the F-series, I am referring to things like photo editing and video editing than watching movies. The 100% Adobe RGB Color gamut availability is a big plus for such serious work. The Quad-core CPUs available in the F-series is also a big plus here.

They offer 2 Full-HD screens in Europe for the F-series. One of them is what is referred to in the EU market as the "premium" screen and has the matte full-HD screen with 100% Adobe RGB color gamut coverage. This is what is unavailable in the US.

And the second version in the EU is the non-premium, which is the US glossy full-HD screen (the only full-HD screen option for the F-series in the US).

 

oh good news... it does have backlit keyboard !!! woo hoo

Specs for the asian model...
http://www.sonystyle.com.hk/ss/product/vaio/vpcz117gg.jsp

it says...
約 19 毫米鍵盤按鍵/ 2毫米按鍵距離•82 按鍵•智能式游標控制板
• 背光鍵盤

translated to:- Approx. 19 mm key pitch/2 mm keystroke, 82keys, Intelligent Touchpad, Backlit Keyboard

 

It does too in the US, there's just no mention of it in the Netherlands. It wouldn't be the first time something didn't get mentioned, so it could well be they do have backlit keyboards.

 

Actually, I would love to see a model with SSD AND HD. Fast SSD for OS/apps and HD for data. That would be perfect. You could always use an external DVD or Blu-Ray drive.

 

100% agree. On a model like the Z ditch the optical drive for a hdd. Leave the BR as an option.

 

I called the Sony Style store in San Diego. I was told that they usually don't get new products until they are available for shipping on the website. Looks like I'm waiting till March.

 

The whole point of a Z is that it is a well rounded product, which includes a built-in optical drive, in a 13.1" form-factor, while weighing in at 3 lbs.

Take that optical drive away, and it will no longer be of any interest to me.

PS: You can use an external HD, if you absolutely need an HD too.

 

True, but I'd probably use the hdd 100x for every time I'd use the optical drive. I bet I'm not alone. More options are better then less options. I think we can agree on that.

 

+1, I prefer an alternative solution: choosing between optical drive and 2nd hard drive, just like they do with the 3rd USB / Firewire (never used it in my life).

 

To give you an idea about what the difference in resolutions would be, here is a comparison of the available real estate between two prior Z's. The left is at 1600x900 res, the right at 1366x768. 1920x1080 would indeed be pretty small - I imagine scaling/dpi adjustments will be used by most people who opt for this screen, but graphics/ BluRay will look pretty pristine! However, well shot 720p/ 1080p videos from sites such as WMV HD Showcase look great on my 1600x900 screen as well.

 

Thanks for the attempt, but I can't tell much from such a small image, because they obviously both look small that way.

 

Yes of course, but in terms of real estate, you can clearly see how the browser & start menu do not overlap each other on the 1600x900 screen. Full HD would increase the real estate again in the same proportion as there is between the two screens pictured. That's getting pretty tight for 13.1"!

 

i've had my eye on this notebook for the last few weeks. the blu ray option is intriguing, but i'm not sure if i can afford to tack on an extra $500.

Do you guys think that sometime in the future you'll be able to buy a BDrom drive seperately and install it yourself?

And does anyone know what kind of screen it has? I work a lot in photoshop so matte screen is a must..

 

Just wanted to say Hi. Waiting for the new z. Thanks for the company. I don't feel lonely

 

Seriously, I know... I paid $499 for an Oppo BDP-83. Now that's 5 Bones well spent! A notebook Burner? I don't think so. But they're entitled to charge what they want. I'm just waiting to see what the prices/ specs will be in Canada before making a decision on another purchase. A rep told me 30% more for the new Z over what's currently on offer. That seems a little high since the exchange rate is pretty low right now but maybe it will be. A BluRay burner may well be $500 but other component prices may be more reasonable which could even the total price out. I'm hurrying up and waiting!

If it turns out to be too pricey here however, a well equipped Z790 with BluRay is currently on sale for 2K - (P8800 2.66Ghz, 4GB RAM, 320-7200 HDD, BluRay). Plus an aftermarket SSD can be dropped in no problem. Hopefully it will still be around when the release date comes or the outgoing Z890 goes on sale too. I have a Z790 but with no BluRay which I'd like to have now since I can make use of the tech and it is plenty fast.

The lighted keyboard on the new Z would be a bonus too because I do find myself using it a night a lot. The checks and balances between the two that I go over in my mind is starting to get comical!

 

Having an optical Bluray burner in such a 13.1" laptop is a rarity - in fact the Z-series is the sole occupant in that segment. So this optical unit has to be literally custom built for the Z-series with no other model to spread the cost around with.

If this were a larger laptop, a blu-ray burner would have costed an additional $150, simply because then the same unit can be sold to dozens of different laptop manufacturers, including Sony, Dell, HP, Lenovo etc and thus the developmental costs can be recouped for a lower per-unit cost.

I doubt you would be able to develop a built-in BDROM drive for the Z-series. But you may be able to buy external Blu-ray burners for much less than the cost of a built-in unit.

 

Really? Did you click on the images to make them a little larger? I have never seen the comparison before, but wow, that is a huge difference. I would love to have that much more real estate on my screen. I tend to do a lot of compares and stuff like that, so having two windows open comparing stuff gets tough on my current PC.

 

True. But a HDD is a storage device - a function that is very competently served by the already available SSD drive. An optical drive serves an entirely different function, from that served by an HDD/SSD.

Bottomline, take that optical drive away, and the Z-series becomes like a dozen other products available on the market. The whole reason for people considering the Z-series, is due to its well-rounded-ness. It is literally a desktop-replacement machine, while being highly portable in a 13.1" form-factor, with available mass storage (via the SSD), relatively high-end GPU, large amounts of RAM, high-end CPUs.....AND....a built-in optical drive.

A few people might be willing to give up that optical drive but a majority of the users would not buy such a product that lacks an optical drive.

 

I'm just saying if it can be built to suit the user than make it an option.

 

If you want to watch Blu-ray movies on your notebook & can afford to spend that extra cash, I'll encourage you to go for it.

I cannot speak for you &/or anyone else but being a Vaio Z690 owner, I regret not getting my Vaio Z690 with a built-in Blu-ray burner even though my only purpose is to have it as a portable player to watch Blu-ray discs while on the go. This is especially so as I've bought myself quite a number of Blu-ray movies during the past Nov./Dec. using the fabulous Target $5 Blu-ray off coupons. It was especially good for those $8.99 titles on Black Friday, which brought those titles down to just $3.99 before sales taxes. I've previously not even dared to dream that the prices for a Blu-ray movie disc would come down so low so quickly even when on sale. That was why I chose to "cheap-out" & not spent that extra $450 for the Blu-ray optical drive.

Unfortunately, if I'm to buy the Blu-ray optical drive (M a t s h i t a UJ-232A) as a spare part from the Sony Parts Department, it's gonna cost me $1,030 (before sales taxes). IMHO, it is definitely silly to pay them those kind of money. Of course, I can always buy it somewhere else. However, there are not too many places that sell them (these are 9.5mm optical drives) & ebay is probably the best bet where these drives (some are Lenovo-branded) can be had for about $300. It sounds good but IMHO, the thing is that these drives come in bulk/OEM form & you just wouldn't know for sure if you're paying for a new drive, even if they are being advertised as new, which is what bothers me. I mean even if I'm to spend $300 for an optical drive that is advertised as new, I damn sure want it to be genuinely new.

 

This is exactly the point. A lot of folks try to economise up-front and try to save a few bucks and then regret that decision for the entire duration of product ownership.

The things I would never skimp on are the CPU, RAM (more the better), screen resolution, GPU, optical drive (bluray burner if available and if not, at least a bluray player) etc.

I would definitely compromise on disk drive capacity, since that is the easiest thing that can be added back in, at a later date (not very sure if that is true with the new Z-series, however).....cheaper and better. SSD capacities are increasing and prices are falling by the day and in a year or so, 512GB SSDs should be as common as flies around a honey-pot and should cost a couple of hundred bucks.

 

Dear all,

Haven't been here for a while, long times ago
I was a die-hard poster in the Zepto threads on NBR But okay..

I want a new laptop and the Sony Z is really really great!

But I can't answer the question, schould I go for a conventional HDD or a SSD..

The configs here, the Netherlands, have this prices:
i520 / 4GB RAM / 1600x900 screen / 320GB 5400rpm: €1500,- / $2050,-
i520 / 4GB RAM / 1600x900 screen / 500GB 7200rpm: €1570,- / $2150,-
i520 / 4GB RAM / 1600x900 screen / 128GB SSD: €1800,- / $2465,-
i520 / 4GB RAM / 1600x900 screen / 192GB SSD: €1940,- / $2650,-
i520 / 4GB RAM / 1600x900 screen / 256GB SSD: €2070,- / $2835,-
i520 / 4GB RAM / 1600x900 screen / 512GB SSD: €2730,- / $3740,-

If I choose a SSD it will be the 256GB version, but that will cost me €570,- / $780,- extra...

I don't need the SSD speeds at the moment, happy with a 7200rpm'er...
If I choose for a conventional HDD I want the Hitachi 7K500 in my Sony Z!

So I want to ask you, owners:
- Somebody know which HDD's Sony uses? If it's the 7K500 I'm happy!
And if it's not the 7K500:
- Can I replace the normal HDD myself? Because then I'm gonna buy the 320GB 5400rpm'er...

In the Engadget review, there is one picture of the bottom:



But I only see a cover for the RAM and not for the HDD, just like my Zepto:


So I don't think I can replace the HDD myself without voiding the warranty?

Thanks in advance!


EDIT: And has anybody of you pictures of the Premium Carbon Sony?

 

Even on my old SZ you had to dig under the keyboard to replace the HD (and I hear the old Z is harder). However with the custom, non-standard SSD size in the new Z, I don't see much reason to them to make getting to the HDs easy, since there's currently nothing to swap them with.

 

So far, the HDD versions are optical-less, so the HDD would actually sit in the optical spot. It would most likely still be just as hard to get to as the SSD, though.

As for the brand, like every other manufacturers, Sony does not use just one HDD supplier. By my observation, you are most likely to get a Toshiba HDD, followed by Fujitsu (I think they sold the HDD unit recently), Hitachi and Seagate.

 

In the F-series, the SSD (without RAID 0) is from Toshiba, while in case of the Z-series, the SSD (with RAID 0) is from Samsung.

 

Hmm thought so, that's a pity...

If I could replace it I should buy it for 1500 euro's..
And that SSD-version (256GB) will cost me 600 euro's.. hmm difficult..

 

Ain't the OPPO a jewel? I never thought blu-ray players could be so good and so stable.

 

When I go to the regular sony site, it doesn't show this available, what is special about that link for ordering the new Z series

 

When you go to the Z, click on detail or something like that. Below on the left hand side is a link for the new Z's.

 

Is VT activated? Would love to use windows XP mode

 

Yes, the new Vaio Z will come with VT activated. Even the current (old) Vaio Z can be VT activated through a BIOS update.

 

Removed to put on other more popular Z series, core i5 forum (sorry, got in trouble once for "double posting"

The one thing I will say is that this link enabled me to order my new Z, for delivery 3/16, when I couldn't order them direct from the SONY web site. Thanks.

 

The CFO of the company that I work for wants to get the new Z. Anyone heard anything about whether the docking station will be available around the same time the machines will be (the estimated shipping date if you configure the laptop says 3/16/10)