Sony Vaio Z i5/i7 Official Owners Thread

hmm... Not sure what that page was trying to say, but following the link at the end, and searching for kunkoku got me to 8 videos of disasembly and benchmarking the z... here

http://www.ustream.tv/discovery/recorded/all?q=kunkoku&order=most-popular&top=week

 

FYI, I just talked to a Sony customer care rep and they confirmed my delivery estimate is still for the 19th of March for 2x Signature 4.5K Zs.
Order was placed in SonyStyle US before the ordering system was open to the public (early Feb)

 

You can get a pretty good look at the glossy carbon lid in the first video. Shiny

 

Quite possibly, but not certainly. The colours in the image aren't "pure", but choosen for looking perceptually grey with a gamma of around 2.2, so if your gamma correction is different, you may still get one of the colours appearing brighter, even if calibrated correctly.
The image was produced to illustrate the vertical viewing angle problem of TN displays, and I think it does quite well for that

 

The image changes a bit between red and green, so it's probably a TN display. However, it's nowhere near as blatant as on my work PC (VAIO C Series), where moving my head slightly can make the colors change. On the Z, I have to move the screen quite far before seeing the same pronounced color change. I can still also see the green lines from a very low viewing angle. I think it's safe to say it gets "redder" and "greener" depending on the angle.

As for the 8-bit vs. 6-bit test, I see banding on they greyscale gradient on the image attached. I don't see it on the upper gradients, but I do see some clear color banding on the lower gradient. It's a 6-bit panel unless I hear conclusively otherwise.

 

So is the 1600x900 display worse quality than the full HD screen (not in terms of resolution)?

 

Absolutely. I'm comparing against the previous Z, though. It's brighter, the colors are better, and the viewing angles are better. For more detailed reviews, you'll probably have to wait until Notebookcheck gets it.

 

So it's worse than the full HD screen in terms of brightness and color, but it's still better than the outgoing Z's screen, right?

Also, I'm still waiting on these guys to post their review based on all the questions we asked them to address last week: http://www.geekmontage.com

 

When you say, it, do you mean the previous Z or the new one? (which one is better?)

 

Last week I followed the link to get the 7% student discount and ordered the pre-configured 256GB Z.

Today I called up Sony to see about the 15% discount instead. So we canceled my other order. Only problem was that since I had followed the student link in, that one time, I was now considered a student. The 7% discount could not be removed so that the other discount(s) could be applied in its place.

So she opened a separate account for me and then was able to apply the 15% that way. Also, when you order this way you can cto and still get the discount, which is nice.

So make a note: You may want two accounts. One that gets student discount (apparently its a one-way trip), the other for regular use and non-student discounts.

 

Sorry if this has been addressed - if you get a signature collection version in the US, such as the glossy one, can you not specify "Fresh Start" option to get the image without all the trialware junk?

 

I don't think dimension6 is saying this - he can only compare his current HD screen to the older z's 1600x900 screen. He can't compare the current 1600x900 screen to the older z's 1600x900 screen.

They still haven't put their review up? I thought it was supposed to be up last week. Hopefully this means it's going to be very detailed...

-Peter

 

I called today and the rep could only promise me 10%. How are you all getting 15%?

 

Think you have to get the accident coverage warranty, and a fairly high spec'd machine.

 

I believe that you gots to get the service plan. I got the 2 yr $180 plan
(Does anyone know if I can cancel it afterwards, because I don't actually want it. Those things always make me feel all guilty about opening my laptop and such)

 

I don't think that a hi-spec machine is needed. I cto'd a 256GB, 4GB, silver, i5 and got it.

 

Yeah - they quoted me the $4.5K glossy + 2 yr express ship plan, but still only 10%

 

hmmm... maybe it matters who you get (did you try sweet talking her?).
If you are buying that nice of a unit ($4500), it would be worth calling back and re-ordering to see if you can get someone to give you the 15%. The additional $225 you save, why that's your extended battery right there

 

Z review, if it hasn't already been posted.
http://www.hardwarezone.com.au/reviews/view.php?cid=14&id=3165

 

Anyone want to send their Z in so we can all get scratch protection?

http://www.zagg.com/invisibleshield/laptop/sony

 

Can someone help me decide on the amount of RAM for the new Z? I've heard 4GB is plenty, but many people seem to order 6 or 8GB. Just wonder if I ever feel the difference. I play games (more than 4GB doesn't help I heard), otherwise a regular user, no heavy photo editing (that's when u need higher RAM?). Just want to make sure I won't regret if I stay with 4GB.

dimension6, u have 8GB right? do you think your benchmarking results would be affected by lower RAM? does RAM have anything to do with CPU throttling?

 

Is the new Vaio Z screen scratch-proof enough or should I buy a screen protector?

 

I plan to add my own memory later since the 4GB is listed as 4GBx1 (instead of 2GBx2 like before). Ostensibly this means that you can buy the other 4GB, just about anywhere, for much less than Sony will sell it to you.

More memory is good if you will be doing things like running another OS virtualized, or heavy duty photoshop or mpeg encoding. Not so much for normal usage tho.
Best way is to open up task manager and just watch the memory window and you can get a real good idea from that just how much memory you are actually using at any one time.

 

I was just wondering, about the pixels in the 1080p display... do you have to look really close to see them (since they have to fit more in) as opposed to the 1600 display? Or does it not work that way?
thanks!!

 

Yes, that's exactly the way it works, and whether everything would be too small is dependent on your preference and how good your eyesight is.

Initially, I, like many others, was thinking the 1080p would be too small in a 13.1" screen, but I did a simulation in Photoshop of both resolutions, and I think my almost-40-year-old eyes would be able to handle it OK. (It's going to be hooked up to an external monitor 90% of the time anyway.) So part of me wants to wait a few months until Sony (hopefully) makes that display more readily available in less expensive configurations, even if only to "future-proof" my purchase by a small amount. But the impatient "early adopter" in me really wants to order a mid-spec'd Z NOW even it comes with just the 1600x900 display.

 

i am very close to pulling the trigger and placing an order but i'm still unsure if I should get the high capacity battery for an extra $100. Has anyone used these high capacity batteries in the previous gen vaio z? and does it add a significant amount of bulk to the laptop?

 

It's thicker than the standard battery and will raise the rear of the unit up a bit (1/2" or so), which might be a good thing depending on your preferences (tilts the keyboard toward you).

 

Unfortunately, here in Japan, the 4GB is listed as 4GB（2GB×2） So perhaps going for 6GB would be a good compromise?

 

yea, myself I give it 50/50 odds at best that I will actually get a single 4GB simm. But it's a risk I will take

 

Any word yet from any 256GB people out there as to whether they actually got the 64x4 vs the 128x2?

I am going for maximum byte-choking raw speed and minimum possible reliability . So I am really hoping they are shipping it as a x4.

 

anybody notice the new promotion up on the sonystyle.ca website? march madness sales event? but when i click on the link it has no info?

 

Unless you know you won't use/need the memory, I would just go for the 2x4GB here in Japan. The upgrade was cheap (relative to previous 4GB SODIMM upgrades).

 

I can't find that march madness on the sonystyle.ca site. Do you have a link?

 

http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/servlet/PromotionsView?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10001

Seems like a lot of the older notebooks have been discounted - but it is hard to tell.

 

Here: http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/se...langId=-1&promotionId=SonyStylePromotion01057

 

Have anyone confirmed this can be done on the new Z? Can it be done through the Raid controller, or do we need to put the disks in JBOD mode to do it, then re-create the Raid 0 array before restoring from a backup?

I could live with having to do that once or twice while waiting for a raid controller firmware upgrade (hopefully). But if that doesn't work to restore full performance, I'd be pretty upset (with Sony).

 

lol i like the way they put the picture in the promotions area of the new vaio z and f series..meanwhile its only for the older discontinued model computers

 

I would like to know the answer to this as well .. Can someone please confirm this?

 

if you hook an external monitor, the resolution you get depends on the native resolution of the external monitor, regardless of the maximum resolution you have on the Z.
Please tell me i'm right. As i plan to purchase z with 1600*900 and if i need higher resolution, i hook up an external monitor with Full HD and the Nvidia will be able to handle it.

 

Looks like the estimated ship date changed from 3/16 to 3/23 if you're buying it now. Great, now I have to wait even longer... Grrr, someone figure out if it's worth getting the i7 over the i5 so I can buy the stupid laptop already!!!

 

Correct. The same actually applies to me too -- even if I get the Z with 1600x900 now, it will be more than capable of driving the 1920x1200 monitor I have on my desktop.

 

Dude, just get the i7 already! Unless you have a serious need for absolute maximum battery runtime...

 

I'm too anal about perfection with this laptop! I'm going to wait until that GeekMontage site gets their review up before pulling the trigger, since I asked them to make sure to test the differences between the two processors. And yes, battery life is important to me since I'm a student... though there are outlets in the classrooms now that I think about it!

 

How long are you in class for everyday? I found four hours to be more than adequate for classes. Plus you should be carrying your charger around in your bag anyway.

 

Is it four hours for stamina or speed?

 

Stamina I'm sure. Why not go for the i7 and extended battery? I'm sure that'll hold you for a day in class.

 

Ya know, now that I think about it, the only reason I was worried about battery life was for when I go to Japan this summer and go on the bullet train. Everywhere else there's going to be an outlet. Wow, funny how this one little detail buried deep in my head was influencing my whole decision. I'll call them in the morning and tell them I want the 15% discount or I'm going to go buy the Mac Book Pro, and if that fails, I'll keep harassing them until one of them breaks. Moohahaha.

BTW, was it 15% for the laptop and warranty combined (like one number) or 10% for the laptop and then 5% for the warranty? This is what I want... I don't really care about the full HD screen since I think it's going to be way too small for me.

* Engraving
* 6GB (4GBx1 + 2GBx1) DDR3-SDRAM-1066
* Fresh Start
* Intel® Core™ i7-620M processor (2.66GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 3.33GHz
* Blu-ray Disc™ Player/Burner
* Standard Capacity Battery
* Premium Carbon Fiber
* Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64-bit
* 192GB (128GBx1 + 64GBx1) Solid State Drive with RAID 0 Technology

Laptop: $2,999.99
Warranty: $399.99
Combined with 15% off: $2899.98
Split (10% off laptop, 5% off warranty): 2699.99 + $379.99 = $3080

 

15% for all

 

I get the impression from your posts that you prefer the i7 more so than the i5. Go For it!

 

It is recommended that if you plan on playing HD content movies that you have the i7 chip, for just editing and encoding HD video the i5 chip is fine. This is on Sony's website. I strongly urge you to get the i7 chip as this would help in playing HD content on your screen and even more so playing it back on a large LCD TV via the HDMI output as the video card can easily output the 1080P resolution.

The i5 may cause stuttering during HD playback.

Hope this helps....cheers.