Sony Vaio Z i5/i7 Official Owners Thread

New drivers for WIFI :
VPCZ11AFJ | ????? | ???? | VAIO | ???

Should work with any VPCZ1, mine likes it

 

Hey guys I have a question. If I leave the AC charger on the laptop while it is powered off, will the battery care (80%) function or will the battery be charged fully?

 

Just some old Sony ads for the new Z. Thought they might be interesting to anyone interested in purchasing.
YouTube - Reinventing the Z: Engineering an Aluminum Core & New Motherboard
YouTube - Reinventing the Z: Quad SSD & Dynamic Hybrid Graphics
YouTube - Reinventing the Z: Project Overview
YouTube - Reinventing the Z: Concept & Design
Drop Test

 

Interesting. I didn't know they Japanese models had a 6250 option (WiFi and WiMax).

I'm seriously contemplating WiMAX, so much so that I'm going to check out Sprint's new HTC Evo 4G that released today. It is a WiMAX hotspot, amongst other things.

EDIT:

I'm going to use the new wireless driver, but there is a newer version of the audio driver too.

The US driver is version 6.0.1.6015

 

sony singapore site shows VPCZ127GG : Z Series : VAIO Notebook & Computer : Sony Singapore

 

Actually I took a closer look to the jack of these noise canceling headphones and I'm wondering if once again Sony made a new standard of its own they are the only one to follow???

A basic jack has three connectors: left sound, right sound, and return for both.

An headset combined jack, as far as I know and as found in the iPhone and in some other rare devices, has a fourth connector for the mic input.

On these noise cancelling headphones there are five connectors. Which sound logical as there seems to have two mics, each in one ear... So I guess it really works like I think it does: all the noise-canceling work is done by the computer, putting additional sounds according to the mic inputs.

But it also means that it won't work properly with any other device???

I hope it could be used at least as some basic headphones but... Your iPhone tests starts to freak me out.

Oh well, I'll see the day I try it. I wouldn't return my Z just because the headset can't be used with anything else! (though it definitely would be a shame for Sony, another one yes I know)

 

Just tested the Z's noise cancelling headphones, it appears that it works on the latest generation of iPod nano. But it doesn't work on my Nokia N97

 

The supplied headset has 4 insulator rings and 5 areas of metal. But I would have thought one was for power going to the unit since most headsets only have one mic.

 

Maybe they work well where headphones are supported, but not headsets with mic.

 

I tried to duplicate this. I closed just to the point the display went off, but without making contact. Then immediately opened and the display always, instantly, turned on.

Then I realized that I keep mine in Stamina mode almost all of the time, so I tried switching over to Speed mode.

Voila! I do now see the effect you are referring to.

 

I tried to use them with my Nokia 5800 Xpressmusic and it didnt work... in fact, my phone automatically went into tv-out mode... maybe it's a problem with nokia handsets?

 

From that page:

 

Yes well... we are all just still waiting and hoping that it's actually true. First one to get one has the duty of reporting back the actual Z12 palm rest material.

 

actually that is the same specs of the Z11 series..

 

anyone know?

 

I recall there was lots of speculation about this before the 'new' z dropped as it did seem it was going to be metal...even though that would possibly hamper the japanese card reader system..but then it turned out to be plastic, wonder if we'll get fooled again

 

The 1:55 mark of that first video is very interesting. It inadvertently reveals why all the noise complaints about the fan these days. Sony had a goal of reducing the thickness of the device further - and the fan was the key item that had to be made thinner to acheive that goal.

In this video, when they show the old and new fans side by side, its quite obvious that the old fan could push a much larger volume of air at comparable RPM than the new, thinner one. So that is why the fan is now more noticeable - its operating at faster speed and more often than previous fan had to. All just meet the goal of more thinness - and prossibly reduction in materials usage. Bad tradeoff IMO.

 

Excellent tradeoff IMO.

This notebook is amazingly light and thin. That tiny fan noise is the tradeoff, I'll take that any day.

 

I agree. I honestly never notice my fan unless I'm doing some really heavy work running multiple tasks. I am always amazed by how light the laptop is when I hold it or put it in my lap

 

I concur; the fan is the least of my problems and usually the last thing on my mind when using the Z. The amazing part is how cool the laptop stays as the hot air exits the vent. I don't think Macbook Pro users who have basically the same configuration can make that claim.

 

videos above are awesome, convincing me i really need to toke out this $4k for this machine.

bit concerned though, if one of the main purposes of this laptop is as a uni student, taking it in for lectures and such, will this machine deliver? that is, i notice one of the cons to this baby is the poor battery life, and power points around uni are kind of limited.. so if i have a long day at uni with lots of lectures, will i be screwed?

also how feasible is the larger battery? anyone know how much extra it is? choose this option? looking at pictures, really seems a bit cumbersome sticking out a fair bit?

 

Hi,

I see that Sony have released an update to the Vaio Care, was version 5.x & now updated to v6.x

This also includes options for turning off DEFRAG but default is on.

If you have an SSD I would suggest unticking this before running the tune up.

The new version 6.x works by pressing the ASSIST button (as per version 5.x) and seems much tidyed up.

I have not yet had time to run the Tune up but will later.

I also notice an option to 'performance monitoring' anyone know what this does ?

Cheers,
T

 

that and is it true it has ty sound quality? (unimportant)

 

Battery care will work regardless of the notebook beeing turned on or off.

 

What's the URL please?

When I go to what I thought was the URL it still only shows the version 5.x

Here is my URL:

Sony eSupport - VPCZ112GX/S - Software Updates & Drivers

 

Check the japanese Sony Vaio Z site; ??????????? | ???? | ???? | VAIO | ???

New Vaio Care looks really nice, layout got a nice makeover ^_^.

 

Hi,
URL
http://support.vaio.sony.eu/computing/vaio/downloads/updates/index.aspx?m=VPCZ11A7E&l=en_GB

(see Vaio care V6)
Cheers,
T

 

are these updates applicable to VPCZ119X (US-CTO)?
I'm not running VAIO care or Smart network, only VAIO control center and event service. (Currently 4.1.0.10160 and 5.1.0.12290)

 

My login and shutdown screen has changed to a Win 7 login screen with olive vines or something on it. All I did was try some different themes. I put my old theme back on but the login screen remained the same. I don't exactly remember the original screen but iirc I'm guessing it was a vaio logo theme? But whatever it was, it deffinatly didn't have any olive branches on it. lol

How can I get it back please if anyone has any idea.

Thanks
GD

 

I wouldn't say the battery life is "poor." It's not excellent though. If you follow the extensive recommendations made earlier in this thread regarding extending the battery life, you should be able to get at least 4 hours, probably more. So If you have a break during your day of classes, find an outlet and charge for a while. Or make sure you sit by outlets in the classrooms that do have power points.

Sony Style USA at any rate charges $100 for the extra battery. Though I considered that (I'll be using my Z for grad classes this fall), I decided the extra expense wasn't worth it. While the larger battery may be a bit more cumbersome and won't fit into a bag quite as nice, it does help to elevate the laptop and therefore is likely helpful in assisting with cooling.

My two cents anyway. I would check out your class schedule and see when and where you'll have access to outlets. You could also buy both batteries and swap them out during the day if you need to. Extra expense though.

 

Plus wouldn't it be a pain to charge these two batteries at home? How would you do that? Wake up in the middle of the night to switch the batteries so they are both charged in the morning?

Two batteries is hardly an option if you needs them every days in the week. Unless you have an external charger, but I don't think there are any for the Z.

 

I agree; The new Z is much, much better on battery & in Stamina Mode, with Brightness moderate on standard battery with email & Internet browser running & listening to music, battery shows >3.5hrs
The extended battery might be a better option at >5hrs.
Cheers,
T

 

Is the battery life really only just 4 hours after doing tweaks?

I thought it could do 5-6 hours when doing light tasks such as browsing with wifi at low/medium brightness, is that not right?

 

Oh and by the way...

About extended battery life

I can get 7+ hours out of the extended battery doing remote desktop over Wifi in the bed... Without doing anything special like setting the screen to 16 bits 40 Hz, no it's at 32 bits 60 Hz. More than 8 hours should be easilly doable in this setup.

But that's really a special case: the CPU does next to nothing, the SSD is never used, and the brightness is pretty low. I guess the CPU + SSD + display backlighting can consume much more than the Wifi...

Another use case: in train. There no Wifi but I'm working locally, so both the CPU and SSD are used. Not much (just wandering around actually and listening some music) but still. Also, the display backlighting was much higher, close to the max so that I can have a bright view despise the sunlight reflecting on the display from the window. Then the battery monitor speaks about more than 5 hours. 6 hours should be reachable using more battery saving settings.

I also plugged an USB external HDD but it doesn't seem to decrease the battery life by much.

Of course in all these cases I'm on "stamina" mode. Not using nVidia at all.

 

I've got the extended battery, and at first, i did think it stuck out a bit. But now i'm so used to it that it would actually look super weird without it ! plus the angle of incidence that it gives the keyboard is just perfect i find (like the litle feet underneath desktop keyboards); Also, its only about 120 grams more than the standard battery, so my laptop weigh with HDD version and extended battery 1550 grams.

I remember i used it on a train for about 5 hours on stamina mode with no wifi and just typing RANS and LES notes and it was giving indicating 10 hours of batter life, with 40 % left after 5 hours. I actually looked under everest how low it could go when not doing much with it but still typing etc, and it read 10000 mW/h. So on a 90000 mw battery, you pretty much get 9 hours.

Consumption goes up quite fast though as soon as you decide to launch apps and used up the cpu.

I will also be using this laptop for Uni and pretty much not planning to bring the power brick at all for seven hour lecture days, and i think itll be fine.
Hope that helps

 

Be careful not to find yourself out of juice at the most important moment ;-)

It would also mean that if you get bored you should refrain yourself from entertaining with the computer you're using! :-D


As for the size and weight of the extended battery, I agree that it's fine. This is not part of my complains.

 

Well; I can only report what is real for me.
I set CPU at 50%
Set 16bit colour
set 40Hz screen refresh
Set Brightness at 30%
Set dim after 1min

With email (outlook) running, using IE8 & listenning to music in Media11 with Wifi & WWAN on (but using WWAN to web); my 'normal' battery indicates time remain of 3.5-4hr at 98%

I feel (and happy to be corrected) for in real terms (ie for normal usage); I would expect 3-4hr & assume any better as a bonus.

Cheers,
T

 

If Sony ever decides they'd like to send me the computer I paid for five weeks ago mad , I'll be able to speak more intelligently about this. But your experience is exactly what I expected from reading through this thread. If I can get the same results, I'll be satisfied.

 

Yeah too bad -- what are they doing???

But be patient. I dont see how you could be disappointed!!!

 

forum members, please verify this...

I have VPCZ114 GX/S.

I posted one thread regarding high pitched noise from near the CPU (CPU is seen when the memory cover is taken out).

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UXWD576J

This is the sound that I can hear from it.
Background noise is from fan and it is normal. However, if you turn up the volume a bit, there are different kinds of sound on the top of the fan sound.
First it was just plain high pitched noise. But after about a month of use, it elaborated and now I can additionally hear something creaking or squeaking sound from CPU.

Recently, I have posted one thread about expresscard which can't stay inside of the expresscard slot and keeps ejecting itself. I think I am very unlucky when it comes to buying electronics...

this is not right??? and needs repair??
Thanks for your time....

 

Sorry if you already know this... the expresscard latches on when you push it in, to eject it you push it in again to unlatch. That doesn't work, right? If so I think it's a good idea to bring it for repair...

 

Thanks for your reply.

Could u be willing to listen to the audio file that I uploaded and confirm that there's sth wrong with it?

 

It's not the normal CPU whine that my MBP had before, i.e. not the issue with CPUs whining when they idle in C3/C4 state (IIRC). It sounds mechanical, lower pitch than the CPU whine (which makes me want to poke chopsticks into my eyes and swirl them around in my brain). I don't have a sense of how loud it is, but if it bothers you enough, I think you need to have it looked at. The only thing I would associate it with is the fan...

Edit: when you run CPU-intensive apps, does the pitch change?

 

I got onsite warranty repair done to replace the fan b/c the sony thought that it could be due to the faulty fan. (I had to replace it myself b/c the onsite technician broke my 09' VGN-Z, and I think I did superior job on this) However, the noise persisted. The whining disappears only when I am running Windows Experience Index, especially when it is testing the cpu's performance.

The squeaking sound is newly introduced with a month of use and I am sure it is not the fan causing it.

thanks, TofuTurkey

 

My Windows Experience Index gives me only 5.9 for my memory (i5 520 CPU), 2 x 2GB sticks, which is a lot lower than what other people get.
These are the out of box drivers, with all Windows/VAIO updates installed.
Is anything missing? I should be well over 6, I think?

 

fwiw I am getting 6.8 on an i5-540 w/8GB.

Personally I don't think the Windows Experience Index gives a very meaningful or useful value. I wouldn't spend any time worrying about that one.

Maybe if you find a ram test app. that shows the real memory access rate under varying circumstances, and maybe if you compare that to others and find a discrepancy worth noting, then maybe see if there are system tweaks you can do for improved memory performance, or see if something is loading the system down.

 

I'm out of reasonable steps to take so I will now degenerate into suggesting ridiculous ones

o Try swapping the memory sticks' positions (i.e. take them out, put each in the other's slot).
o I can't find any software that stops the CPU from going into C4 idle state (though it seemed so common for the MBP). If you're desperate and don't want to change the motherboard you might try undervolting / underclocking the CPU.

 

if i dont get the extra battery with my initial purchase of the computer, can i still get it at a later date and not be negatively affected?
also does the z really beat other portables in the high end range, ie the dell adamo and the HP 13/14? should i be looking at these as viable alternatives if i cant get the z?

 

well you could buy it later and I know in the US they send you a coupon with like 15%(or was it 20%?) off accessories. But yeah, you should consider an external battery pack? Zoinks(the Vaio Z god) suggested the Energizer XP18000. I'm considering getting one for uni next year too. But for now I get about 4-5 hours on standard battery, wifi off, 32 bit, 30% brightness, word 2010, light stuff.

The dell adamo is overpriced for the seriously weak components they included... seriously culv, and no dedicated graphics... for 2k+? The Envy's are more of a challenge to the vaio, but I dont know if they have switchable graphics and the cpu on the envy 13 is horrible. The envy 14 looks promising but since it's not out yet(I think it comes out on June 17 or 20th...) there are not many reviews on it and it wont have any ssd's in raid 0 anytime soon. However the graphics will be stronger although the screen res is poorer.

I personally love my Vaio. But my palmrest after about 1.5 months of use has faded on the left hand side... and it's pretty disheartening... but i've got sweaty wrists so I dunno... I'll post pics soon once I get my hands on a better camera.

 

No it shouldnt, my vaio with 4 gb ram(1x4gb cuz it's a cto) gets 5.9 too. it's only the 6gb and 8 gb that are 6+ on WEI. I think I remember reading people reporting that the 6 gb gave a 6.3 and the 8 gb got like a 6.6 or something, but the point of that was that there isnt much difference b/t 6 and 8 gb ram w/ respect to WEI.