Sony Vaio Z i5/i7 Official Owners Thread

Sure but I want to keep things as simple as possible. I'd rather waste some disk space and wait a little for my backups than making the process a chore and finally avoiding regular backups...

By the way disk space is cheap on the big PC (not like the Z SSD!) and file transfer is rather quick on the Gigabit LAN.

Also restoring a backup is mind-blowing easy too, as you'd imagine.

Speaking of inefficiency, I'm also copying the free space in the container

Then the files I want encrypted will be faster, but the other files I don't care about will be slower. I'm not saying this is a bad idea, I'm just not sure it's better... ?

Also I usually keeps the computer in standby mode; I love when computers are usable under a couple of seconds. Before going out of my home I unmound my encrypted containers before putting the thing into standby mode; the password is not kept into memory. Encrypting the whole drive would mean that the passwords are kept in memory because obviously you can't unmount the system drive in standby mode.

Also from my experience backing up a whole directory is a mess, it takes forever because Windows starts by making an inventory of all the files, which can be really long when there is a lot of small files. I'd rather transfer a big file than waiting for Windows to make its inventory.

Back on the differential backups: the same thing can be said. On a Gigabit LAN, is really the analyzing of the files to make the differential process faster than actually transfering one big file? Certainly faster than the "copy one directory" Windows way but not sure agains the "copy one big file" way.


Thanks for the advice anyway! If you point me to some differential software that works both well and easilly I may give it a try. But the ones I tried were rather... Disappointing.

 

Thanks for the video. Do you have reviews for longer periods of play? What I (and one other person) found was that when the GPU heats up (usually around 72-73 deg Celsius), it throttles, which translates into video stuttering. So it seems that the Z by itself cannot sustain that frame rate for long.

 

Solved this using KeyTweak to permanently change the right alt/appkey/ctrl/shift to a far more useful home/pgdn/end/pgup.

 

Ha. I recant what I said above. I reinstalled Windows, and found out that the cheaters at Sony had the font size cranked up. It's TINY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still, do not regret it one bit. Btw, James - regarding brightness, you bring up a very good point, but I think if one isn't satisfied with the brightness as it is now, there is nothing that can satisfy - I find it's pretty bright on the brightest setting.

 

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Bump. Anyone having issues with a clean install unit freezing as it enters sleep?

 

Anybody have any news or hope on USB 3.0 for future versions of the Z? Perhaps in September/October of this year?

 

I agree with you. I describe the Z screen as "harsh". The really oversaturated colors have a lot to do with that. Is there a way to crank it down? I've tried to do the "color calibration" but it doesn't seem to help. The Nvidia control panel does allow for the adjustment of color. Can I run that on a Z.

Nevermind. Found the Intel control panel. Ah... much better.

 

Don't see that happening anytime soon, I think Intel is actually delaying USB 3.0 until 2012 because they're developing LightPeak as well.

 

Describe what you're trying to do, I'll try it on mine. Going into hibernate? Standby?

Make sure no "unknown devices" are in your Device Manager.

Btw: speaking of, anybody know what "Simple PCI Communication Device" is? I have one and I can't find any drivers for it.

 

Bump....i may need to find alternatives to google talk and evernote (are there any)

 

For Gtalk, you could just use IE and use the browser-based version (which is more advanced anyway, since they ceased development of the desktop one - all of their effort is now aimed at the online one). Not sure about Evernote. Maybe MS OneNote? Assuming it is the same.

 

I previously said that the noise-cancelling headphones were useless. Well finally it's not true; this morning in the train enabling or disabling the noise-cancelling feature did make a noticeable difference. At my greatest surprise, indeed.

So it works... In some environments at least.


The proprietary plug is still a shame, though. Not sure I would have cashed the additional 30€ if I'd known in advance that they wouldn't work in anything else than the Z.

 

But is there any reason why the computer can't switch between graphics modes when these programs are running? Is there a list of programs that don't allow it to switch?

 

Solution: Just leave the switch in Stamina mode unless you actually need the Nvidia chip running (in which case put it in speed mode). Problem solved. As long as you don't use Auto, nothing switches when you plug / unplug.

 

ok, so some good workarounds....

but why does this happen? is it happening to anyone else?

 

I ended up using the built-in Windows 7 color calibration to adjust the gamma only (I turned it up a lot to hit the target appearance of those circles). This fixed the supersaturated colors and it looks good now. Note that if you check the box beside the calibration button, Win7 will adjust the LUT values on the videocard for you. Make sure you turn anything else off.

A friend of mine has a hardware calibration device (Spyder 2?) that I plan to give a try later on.

 

What, really? They're not working on the desktop version anymore?

 

Nope. a) the version hasn't changed in months, and b) check out all the new features in the Web-based version (video chatting, etc.) - none of them are in the desktop ones.

 

I think video chatting is there in the desktop version, but some recent things like group chat certainly aren't. :/

Edit: Also, you can't set your status to invisible in the desktop version.

 

Thanks for the reply. I have the machine set to enter standby by closing the lid and by pressing the power button. On occasion, either of these methods of entering standby will cause the computer to freeze. There are no unknown devices in the Device Manager.

 

Has anybody had issues of data corruption on their Z's SSD?

A PNG image I saved from Photoshop yesterday spontaneously had a single byte corrupted some time in the last 8 hours or so. It was initially OK since I copied it off the machine (thus can compare).

Obviously this is worrisome, but I am not sure what kind of extensive drive tests I can perform on an SSD that are meaningful and also won't contribute to premature aging...

Is anybody running newer Intel RAID drivers than 9.5.4.1001?

 

I have the same problem. Every 3rd or 4th time when closing the lid or hitting the power button to go into either sleep or hibernate-it will freeze in either, it freezes with a black screen and I have to manually shut it down. I went to the Sony store today and the tech said he would pass the issue on to the engineers after I was able to replicate the problem in front of him twice. I already restored the Z to its factory settings, applied all of Sony's updates, and have no unknown devices. If anyone has a fix, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hi

I checked on the SONY US website but they dont have an option of i7?
Will it be appearing back anytime soon??

Anyways, can u Please give me heads up, on how the new Sony Z handles games like COD MW2, GTA 4, NFS shift, Left4dead 2 etc in med to near high settings? [even if its with the i5...]

Thanks

 

What's the hardware ID of the device? From the description (PCI and Communication) it must be Intel Gigabit network adapter.

 

I thought it would be, but it is not.

PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3B64&SUBSYS_905A104D&REV_06

Doesn't come up with anything on google

 

By the way, is the NVIDIA driver for the Z12 different then the Z11? The one released for the Z12 is of a later date. Soooo..... anyone have some information about this?

 

I tried them all... The only change was a bump in GPU BIOS, the software driver itself remained unchanged. I don't know what the effect of the BIOS bump is, mine's now 70.16.51.00.0A.

 

I'm sure the Z11 and Z12 are identical - probably a colour change, is all. The X11 and the X13 only differ in the existence of a pink-coloured version.

 

It's the Intel gigabit network adapter. Download drivers for the ''Intel 82577LC Gigabit Network adapter''.

 

Searched my registry (regedit), found this:

 

Ahh, that makes sense. I remember NOT installing that 'cause I didn't see what the point of having it was.

 

I installed it and I *still* don't see the point

 

Intel Management is for corporate environments to diagnose and manage computers from a central locations. It might be useful in some other situations (some other packages may use it) but I have not found any thus far.

 

Cool, I learned something new today Need to go look up on that some more...

 

I've been trying to adjust my desktop colors with the Intel Color Management program. The problem that it doesn't even show up under Control Panel now. If I try to run it, it's called gfxui.exe, it locks up my Z. Anyone know what's wrong?

Nevermind. Fixed it. It's weird. I rebooted and powered off numerous times to no avail. Finally I switched to the Nvidia chip, ran the utitlity and then switched back. All is fine now.

The controller doesn't work very well though. When I move the saturation slider it seems to change the saturation, but also changes the hue somewhat.

 

I am wondering about this too; I need some benchmarks on a few games and since this is classified as a "business laptop" there are not many gaming benchmarks for the Z.

...and to mani234, the Z is currently undergoing a refresh and is going to be configurable with an i7 option on June 20/21.

 

Well sometime since yesterday, this corrupted file has recovered itself. I deliberately kept it around to poke at more. I do have evidence that I'm not insane though, since I copied the file while it was corrupt to another computer.

Hard to tell what to blame this temporary insanity on. Could be an SSD glitch that got a bad read then that data stayed cached on subsequent access. Or a memory error in cached data. Or a driver bug....

I did upgrade to the latest Intel RAID drivers from their site (9.6.0.1014) yesterday. I suppose that could have fixed the pseudo-corruption, but I doubt it. The drivers run fine, but I noticed they produce an event popup about the DVD-ROM when it gets power cycled.

 

@KBS

Thanks buddy...hope to see the i7 back!!!

I am now more inclined to buy the Sony z(As it is lighter and handles games decently) rather than the HP Envy 14.

I found these on the youtube. (Yeah I couldnt find gaming benchmarks in websites...) These videos show gameplay in the new Sony Z series

COD MW2

YouTube - GTA 4

 

I'm starting to see lines develop on the screen from the keys on the keyboard. Any recommendations for film to place between the screen and keyboard when the laptop is closed?

 

I put a piece of microfiber cloth between the keyboard and screen when the lid is closed. I got a bunch of them from auto section of Walmart.

 

It sounds like there is not quite enough space between the keys and the screen for this to be happening. Are the little bumpers wearing down?

 

More likely this is because the lid is flexible - bumpers won't help. Microfiber cloth is probably the easiest solution.

-Peter

 

Has "Share My Connection" in the new Sony Z already been mentioned?
Share My Connection

I was wondering is this software that can be downloaded on the Z?

 

Ah, that's incredibly simple. Here I was spending time on amazon looking for something commercial. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

Why not just use the cloth that fits between the screen and keyboard that came with the Z?

 

My CTO(vpcz1190x) didn't come with a cloth with it. I think that's specific to some preconfigured models

 

So I've been trying to calibrate my colors. The blues on the Z are more violet than blue. Any suggestions how what to change?

 

I found that with the following settings I got very natural results in color-managed applications (Photoshop, default Windows Picture Viewer).

• Default driver color settings
• Windows Color Management->Devices->Profiles Associated with this Device = Sony VAIO display profile_D65 (default)
• Windows Color Management->Advanced->Device Profile = Sony VAIO display profile_D65 (default)

You might try that and see if things look more how you expect in those applications. I still haven't figured out how to get the same good result globally. Use Windows Display Calibration with that color profile does not change anything.

I am running with Device Profile=Sony VAIO display profile_65 and the gamma jacked up via the Calibrate Display option.

 

Thanks. I already had those set. I guess I'll just have to get used to it. For example, looking at this page, the links look violet instead of royal blue like it does on all my other machines.