Sony Vaio Z i5/i7 Official Owners Thread

I have been buying the z for quite a while and am typing this on a Z590, which I love. Also have an SZ680, which I still enjoy using, though it is a bit underpowered. And I have an S580.

All have been great, BUT I recently returned a z11 and then a z12 because of the fan noise. Just couldn't take it. Maybe I am overly sensitive, but it really is a different kind of sound, at least to my ear. Not a woosh at all, more of a buzz. All the time. Louder of course when it is under load.

I am trying out the Envy 14, but is it is no Z. Would much prefer the Z and am heartbroken the fan is so annoying, at least to me.

 

ugh, after 1 month, the LCD on my Z12 is developing some play by the hinge on the right side.

Should I call Sony on this issue or is it easy to fix myself?

 

If you're one of those Dell/Acer generic laptop people, than you just don't get it. No one doubt that it's expensive, but it'a testament to Sony's design/engineering capabilities.

 

I am having the same problem, on investigation it seems the hinge at the back of the screen has come a little loose. this leads to some disifugarion of the screen when i move to close it, but not to open.

I am considering operating, following instructions left by zoinks, but have been way too busy

 

Can u link me to it? If it's tedious, I might just take up Sony on the 1yr IN HOME warranty service.

 

Is there a lot of bloatware for the Z?
I did not get the fresh start option, just wondering if it's best to do a clean install.
You do get a driver and OS disc right?

 

UJ-242a blu-ray for $300. My trigger finger is getting itchy. Will this fit in the Z12?

NEW MATA UJ-242 UJ242 BD-RE Blu-Ray Writer Burner 9.5mm Ultrathin SATA Drive - $299.99

 

Re: the noise issue. I condiser myself sensitive to it and have returned computers for this problem in the past. In fact I had to junk a Sony laptop several years ago because the fan got really noisy with age and with an extremely irritating tone to the sound.

In this case I have been using the Z in Stamina mode and find it almost impossible to hear, but the little sound one does hear in quiet environments is indeed high pitched, which isnt the most soothing if you are able to hear it. It's not too different from the sound signature I had in that old Sony but in this case is dampenened so honestly its incredibly difficult to hear it in the first place - for me at least. And I was been concerned about the issue going into the purchase, so I was listening .

That said everyones ears are different and some can hear what others cant. And manufacturing by its nature means there will be variances in the fans put into the laptops as well as difference in the quality of the people installing the fans and the people inspecting what comes off of the assembly line. So I wouldnt dismiss anyone's concern on the sound issue - that's sheer folly just based on all the things that go into manufacturing, not to mention the fact that once cannot prove a negative. So people's positive experience simply cannot be used to prove that no one can have a problem with this. That's not logical in any way.

But the best way to know is the find the unit in store and try to listen to it for youself. Or buy it and return it right away if you find you are able to hear the sound and dont like it - after all, there is no laptop fan that ever gets MORE quiet over time.

Thanks - I had already tried disabling the wireless card's allowing the OS to put it to sleep for power management but that hadnt helped.

 

Yes (to me). No driver / OS discs, recovery disks can be created. Drivers also available online.

 

It would be great if they could sell just the palm rest part...

Edit: I'm looking at the part on the right and I doubt it'll fit well. In the picture it looks like it's a flat, one piece sticker but the Z's palm rest protrudes from the keyboard, so I'm not sure the fit will be that great...

 

Really!
That sucks, I don't know why more laptop manufacturers are doing away with them and making you make your own discs.
For a $2000 laptop it should and not take away valuable storage space.
So to do a clean install you have to buy a new OS?
Can you make the back up on a USB Drive?I have a 16GB that I can use.

 

Maybe they feel its one area they can cut back in cost, opposed to having a rep handle calls for cd replacements, trouble shooting, and cost of making the cd's they can have it user serviceable from the restore partition and the instruction manual. we're heading into a world less dependent on producers but more consumer and robotic based. ie self checkout at the supermarkets etc.

 

That all sounds good in theory but c'mon man it will cost them pennies to ship driver and OS discs.
One thing is I like to fix my own problems and not be on the phone for hours trying to trouble shoot a problem.
Oh well.

 

The chiclet keyboard is probably one of the least probable reasons for the price of the Z.

I feel the Z isn't overpriced. I was tossing up between a thinkpad x301 and the z, and I ended up getting a mid-model zfor $2600 (pretax) - it has definitely been worth what I paid. However, for my use a signature model would have been overkill and overpriced - for others, it has been worth the extra money. As with anything, if you don't use the full feature set (all the hardware, appearance, weight, etc) then the price will seem disproportionate to what you get, in which case you are not the niche market.

 

Well that's funny. I have both the z12 and the Envy 14 (read my post http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...-vaio-z-i-have-them-both-help-me-decide.html).

The Envy fan is MUCH WORSE than the z12. I don't even notice the fan on the vaio. When does it happen for you? The Envy 14's fan seems to be on constantly for me.

 

$700 over base price gets you some nice upgrades! I couldn't justify it, but the 512GB SSD from cursory benchmarks like Crystal Disk show that it is noticeably faster than the 256GB SSD.

The value of the Z is in the fact that it outfoxes the MacBook Pro 15" Core i7 at 2.6lbs less and cheaper when you add in the SSD drive.

 

That was exactly the point I was making.

 

This has nothing to do with nothing. The cost of burning a backup DVD has got to be like 10-15 cents. What is that on a thousand dollar computer?

If they want to save money the could start by saving themselves the money they waste on printing and glueing gazillions of useless stickers on the laptop - on on the box that is way out of whack with size of laptop or protection required.

 

I'm not sure if it's made for the 2010 Z or the old Z. Since I am from Brazil, it's hard to buy it and it's not compatible. I've email the manufactur to be sure. But if someone have it installed it would be better.

 

Lol @ nothing to do with nothing I wouldn't expect you to understand how running a business and advertising works, but for you to think and see things from a consumer point of view. There are other factors involved that will be too many to list, such as overhead expenses, telephone fees, etc.. Stickers are a form of advertising for the company, making the cost to make them worth while. I can understand complaining to an extent, but complaint should come with reasoning and understanding, if not you will never see the big picture

 

When you first get the laptop it will prompt you to make the recovery disks, as part of its initial nagging about stuff you gotta' do .

Also you can run Vaio Care at any time: in the Recovery section is an option to create the restore disks.

Once created, they allow the computer to be restored to the state it was in when you first received it.

Also Sonys have a recovery partition. This is a separate partition that allows restoration without having to dig out the recovery disks. Just press F8 on bootup to use that. If you don't want the recovery partition, there is on option, on restore, to do away with it. I know some folks with 128GB machines took advantage of that option.

Backup, now that's a separate question. Of course you can back up to a usb drive. Also to a network drive, sd card, expressCard HD, ... and all the other ususal options.

Why would you even wonder whether it's possible to back up over usb?

 

I seem to recall that various people had that issue, and that it was related to upgrading the Wifi drivers. That using the original drivers eliminated the problem. This was on the Z11. If you have a Z12 then maybe the original drivers ARE the new drivers. In which case, install the Z11 drivers maybe?

 

Thanks Oscar2.
I was mostly asking if a 16GB USB drive would be big enough to backup the restore portion.

 

is the GT330M faster than a desktop 4850?

 

For me, the problem with the wireless radio shutting down was there when using the drivers provided by Sony (13.1.1.1). It came up after a few hours of use. Installing the newer drivers from Intel (13.2.1.5) resolved the issue.

 

So it appears if your having this problem the solution would be to install the opposite drivers of the one you currently have

 

Has anyone else played with the HDMI output? I still can't get simultaneous audio/video output through HDMI. Sony customer care has been of no help. I re-installed audio/video drivers. I performed a clean install. I upgraded the Nvidia High Definition Audio driver by downloading their latest video drivers, but nothing solves the issue.

I can get video out OR audio out, but not both. If hooked directly to the TV, video shows up fine, but there's no audio. If hooked through a receiver, audio output works if the TV is not connected to the receiver or if it is turned off. Right after turning on the TV, the Audio Devices show that the receiver is not plugged in, and video shows up on the TV.

I tried with a different receiver, and still have the same problem. My 3-yr old Dell laptop doesn't have any issues outputting video/audio though HDMI to any of these devices.

 

although it worked with your old laptop I would try using a better quality hdmi cable because they have diff types such as 1.3b, 1.3b, etc and I'm aware that the diff is that some can carry diff bandwidths of information allowing multiple streams of data. i would try different cables and see if that helps just a suggestion

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/477806-sony-vpc-z11-frequently-asked-questions.html

 

would be great if they could sell any of it

just under the price it says .. "note: wrapsol ultra is not available for this product at this time"

 

I was wondering if someone with a Z11/Z12 and 1920x1080 display could do me a huge favour. Can someone take a picture of their desktop, preferably with a blue-toned background, without using a flash, and post it?

I know it is a lot to ask but all the Sony stores around here only carry the 900p display, which looks great, but I'm interested in the 1080p. What has me on the fence is that I've read that the 1080p screen, while intended to be better, might actually be more washed out and not as pleasant as the 900p. Unfortunately, the only YouTube video I could find of the 1920x1080 is under harsh flourescent lighting and appears to have a reddish tinge to everything. Not sure if it is the compression, video camera settings, etc.

The 1080p is exactly what I want for work purposes but not if the colours are off or poorly represented or if the screen is too dim.

Thank you in advance.

 

Wrapsol ultra is different from normal Wrapsol I believe. For some items, you can choose to get it in the ultra or original. In any case, the wrapsol for the z is for the old gen model, sucky.

 

bummer .. i need something for my palmrest. not bad yet, but under certain light i can see the wear marks beginning to show

 

The screen is really bright, i never use it at the MAX setting. As for the blue background, i currently have a blue-isch background and it looks amazing. I tried making a picture, but the picture is always washed out on my Cellphone. It looks awesome irl.

 

I can't get a good picture of it but the screen is amazing, I am glad I have the 1080P screen. Color and brightness are great!

 

My Z11 works perfectly, I just need to put it in Auto or Speed mode and plugin the HDMI cable into my receiver and it would automatically output with both video and audio.

 

exactly. Where did you confirm that it's for the old Z?

 

@ IKAS V

Regarding fan noise, listen to the mp3 link in the first post of this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/500972-z1-my-fan-abnormally-loud-mp3-file.html. That is what the Z's fan sounds like when you put your ear several inches from the heat sink. In my experience, when I'm doing normal computing, it is completely inaudible. When under full load, you hear that sound a bit louder combined with the whoosh of air you'd expect. I still do not find it bothersome when I'm in my house. If I was in a quiet library I might be a little embarassed, but I'd just find a quiet corner and be good. I would not be embarassed in a cafe, as the fan is not loud enough to interfere with the normal din of people. And keep in mind I can only make the Z noisy if I'm doing something like playing a game. If I'm doing normal office activity (which I'll most likely be doing if I'm in a library), then the Z is virtually silent.

Bottom line in my humble opinion...the noise of the fan is completely fine.

 

There's a thread out there that has a picture of the 1920x1080 and 1600x900 screens paired side by side. I did some quick searches and didn't find it yet, but you might do some searches in the Sony forum. There are also numerous threads out there discussing the merits of the two different resolutions. Here is one example: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/504639-13-1600-x-900-screen-vs-1920-x-1080-how-key.html.

 

Not sure if this will help

http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...al-owners-thread-post6408281.html#post6408281

 

That's great to hear. Sounds like that is the display I want.

By the way, are you guys in North America? I found a post from someone that suggested the panels in Europe/Asia might be different than what we get here. Doesn't make sense to me, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Thanks again.

 

I'm soo ecstatic right now, just rec'd my Z12 two days ahead of scheduled delivery and strangely this time the notebook box was in another box without padding in between so the two boxes fit inside without movement and i was afraid it might have taken a beating from Japan to where I am now but like a trooper everything is perfect! NO DEAD PIXELS! On my 1080p screen, It feels good to say that and no flashing screen on boot up I'm good to go! It also came preloaded with Vaio Care 6.0 so i'm hoping there are other improvements that were made as well. I'll keep everyone posted but for now hdmi outputs audio and video simultaneously(monster ultra high speed cable so im not sure if that makes a diff), the mouse cursor doesn't jump as it previously did which leaves me to believe it was either a defect or driver issue.

 

Is the 1080p screen glossy or slightly matte (anti-glare) in finish?

Edit:

Oh and thanks for the screenshots.

 

@fscussel"

The Cut of the Protective film Shows that its for the VGN-Z, Plus, I bought it for my VGN-Z.

So, It won't fit VPC-Z.

@TigerBone:

Cheers mate and Congrats, I'm dying waiting for mine to arrive, Could you please check if your model has:

1. Updated WiFi Drivers? - or at least show us your version
2. Bluetooth Firmware & Drivers Version.

thanks in advance.

Gang:

Can we use Acronis to (Image and Backup) the Recovery Partition? well it be easily restored later, if it was deleted and Merged with the System partition? C: Drive !

Poor us with 128GB.

I'm Looking into various things to compensate for the little Space.

A. a 16GB MemoryStick DUO
B. a 32GB SD Card
C. a 64GB ExpressCard /34 - regular Flash or SSD, don't care for speed

Your Thoughts!?

Will

 

So I tried with different HDMI 1.3c cables, long and short length (~1m) and got the same results.
I connected the TV to one of the receiver's analog outputs, and was able to get audio out with downgraded video to the TV. Switching the TV to the HDMI input would cause audio to stop going through HDMI.

I found a trick. While having the TV input set to HDMI, audio not coming though, I can switch inputs rapidly, and before the laptop has finished enabling audio output I have set the TV's video input back to HDMI. Then, both audio and video work through HDMI.
However, this also causes the automatic switching to stop working, as even after disconnecting the HDMI cable, the HDMI audio device still appears as connected. Plus, it's not fun having to go through this every time I want to use HDMI, as it can also take a couple attempts to get it right.

 

A few questions for you guys related to security (I think)...

1. I was able to change my custom battery settings when I first received my new Vaio Z12 (I went to Vaio Control Center - Power Management - Battery - Advanced Settings - Custom). NOW - the Custom button no longer appears! I'm logging in the same way and my User Name has Administrator privileges.

2. Also when I first received my Vaio Z12 I could make changes, add/delete programs, bookmark favorite Web sites, etc. with no problem. Recently, I keep getting errors or messages that I can't performs certain funcitons. I have not altered my laptop or my user account in any way. All I've done is intalled updates. Maybe it's something realted to Norton AV?? IE specific for certain things?

 

anytime as for the screen its more of a glossy with an anti-glare finish, so its not as shiny as a normal glossy screen and has a lot less reflection but not matte at all.

 

Np the info given is what i found in the control panel not sure how to find the firmware though. Intel centrino advanced-n 6200agn date 1/13/10 version 13.1.1.1 and bluetooth device(pan)(enumerator) date 6/21/10 version 6.1.7600.16385 BT foxconn date 9/9/9 version 6.2.0.9405

 

It might be on the televisions end that your having difficulty i would confirm that its not your notebook by connecting to another hdmi set if possible and see if you still have the problem.

 

Could be possible Norton has a way of telling you what you can and can't do when trying to access certain files on your computer. when it comes to system tasks etc i'm not sure if it does. I would disable it temporarily reboot and see if the problem still persist.