Sony Vaio Z i5/i7 Official Owners Thread

yes the keys retain oil and im not sure how easy it is to clean but what i did was i purchased a keyboard skin on ebay for about $10 and not only does it protect it from oil but crumbs, dust and, spills. Its a see through material made of TPU plastic so it still allows the backlit keyboard to work as normal too

 

I have absolutely no idea. Logic would say no, but hey who knows

 

Your external monitor most probably has a larger screen size. When you compare two screens of the same size but different native resolutions, the higher resolution panel has more tinier pixels with which to display the same font graphic. Your external monitor has more pixels, but those pixels could be bigger depending on its screen size.

 

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Its a feature built-in Windows that allows the laptop to cut power from some USB Ports that has/has not a device, thus saving power.

It has nothing to do with Bluetooth at all.

An example would be... you have a wireless mouse that has a USB dongle, if you don't use the mouse for awhile, Windows will turn OFF the power source going to that dongle, but it will also sense when its needed again, and will turn it ON later.

The above scenario is with Selective Suspend ENABLED, if DISABLED, it won't cut the power from the USB at all.

Hope that clears it out!

 

You should try VGP-AC19V39. It´s from the W series, but handles my Z very well!

 

That's interesting. According to one set of specs that I saw it only puts out 2 amps at 19.5 volts. That would make it only about a 40 watt device.

But you're saying it handles the Z OK, which is a 90 watt device???

 

That means the higher resolution with the same display size, the higher the dpi and the sharper the text and image. It also resulted in smaller text size overall. And the only way to increase the text size is to increase the DPI from an operating system such as Windows or MAC. Is this correct?

But increasing the OS DPI also mess up the proper display of the text and image which is a catch 22.

 

Yep, no problem so far. No overheating, so far so good.

 

Have you tried using that adapter while in Performance mode?

 

Just received my Z1290S today. Got to give it to Sony, I ordered it last week, on Tuesday I believe, and got the shipping notice this past Monday. Laptop shipped from Japan and shows Made In Japan on the bottom.

Ordered the laptop from SonyStyle.ca; $2991cdn shipped. i7 620m/8GB/DVD/1080p/256GB SSD/silver/standard battery/fresh start. Awesome specs in my opinion for such a small laptop - perfectly suited for my intended usage as a development/VMWare machine. My only regret is that I probably should have followed my gut and got the extended battery for $50. Even though I fondled a Z11 in the store, I forgot how light and small these laptops are - an extended battery probably wouldn't have hurt portability or weight much at all.

I must admit, I was extremely anxious when starting up the Z for the first time, as I'm always worried there will be dead pixels, or worse, stuck pixels, and that would annoy me to no end. I've never received a laptop with dead pixels before and thankfully, no dead or stuck pixels on the Z. Woohoo. Good job Sony.

I was concerned about buying the 1080p due to some of the negative reviews of it being too dim or not as vibrant looking. I saw the 900p panel in the Sony store and was quite impressed but honestly, the 1080p seems just as good. It is not glossly - not completely matte but there is definitely an anti-glare coating on it. It is very bright at full power once you turn off auto brightness control and to me, the colours look very true. I'm using it in my dimly lit bedroom right now and have it at 28% brightness and it is quite comfortable. Full bright in this setting is almost uncomfortable. So it meets my needs. With that said, while the 900p almost seemed a bit oversaturated, it is a bit brighter. I have noticed a slight bit of light bleed along the bottom edge when the laptop powers up at full brightness but it's certainly not a deal breaker or that significant. I think I saw similar bleeding on the 900p. It's not noticeable on the taskbar at all. One area where I think the lower density 900p wins as well is viewing angle, but this laptop will rarely be viewed by multiple people at the same time, so it's not a problem. The extra screen real estate is just priceless in a laptop this small. If you're like me and want the 1080p screen for the extra space but are discouraged by some of the comments here - don't be, buy the 1080p, you won't be disappointed.

So far, I'm really enjoying the laptop. I'm very impressed by the build quality and surprised at how natural the keyboard feels (never used a chiclet style before.) I'm generally very gentle with my work laptops, so the slight flex in the lid doesn't concern me. The chassis feels solid and that's where most of the abuse occurs anyhow.

What blew me away is the speed of the SSDs. I'm used a Vertex 2 in my wife's laptop and that is quick but this 256gb RAID0 setup is nuts. Very impressive.

Another bonus is that the Intel 6200n is working really well with my NetGear WNDR3700 on the 2.4ghz band. I'm averaging 5-6MB/sec from the bedroom with the router in my basement. My wife's Dell 11z can only get the basic 2-3MB/sec - unless connecting to the 5ghz band but then signal degredation limits speeds to 3-4MB/sec anyhow. Very impressed with the wifi speed.

Backlit keyboard is awesome.

Laptop suspends and resumes in 1-2 seconds.

Speakers are weak but sufficient for what I need them for.

Touchpad is surprisingly good - probably one of the best I've ever used. I don't find myself accidentally bumping it when going for the spacebar which is a bonus.

Already disabled scheduled defrag in Windows and turned off wake timers (had a bad experience with that one time. )

This is my first Sony laptop. I'm usually a Dell-guy when it comes to laptops (I prefer to build my own desktops) and was very hesitant to go with a Sony product. I just remember hearing horror stories about VAIO products in the past but so far, I'm quite impressed and very satisfied with my purchase.

I'll try to get some pics and a vid up of the 1080p screen for potential buyers to reference.

Edit: I haven't done any gaming yet but the fan noise is nonexistent while browsing or doing general tasks (Word, email, Skype, etc.) I've heard it rev up when installing software but it's still a low hum and certainly not annoying by any means. I'm sure it gets plenty loud when gaming, but what do you expect. If you put your ear up to it you do hear a harsher metallic buzz but it isn't noticeable when using the laptop in a regular sitting position. The chassis stays cool to the touch when moderately taxing the system, with the exception of the area underneath the side vent, but that's understandable.

 

Just got mine too
So far it's exactly what I thought it would be, awesome.
Still trying to learn exactly what does what and got a couple of noob owner questions.
1. Can I manually turn on the backlit keyboard on?
It only turns on when I shut off the lights it also turns down the display brightness.
2. Can I not make the display lose brightness even when I shut the lights off?
Also still trying to figure out how the stamina and power features effect the display brightness.
The manual that comes with this laptop is very,very basic and does not help any new owners.

 

Just picked up my Z from FutureShop, currently creating a system image.

All i can say is when i saw the screen in person for the first time today i fell in love and am amazed at how great it looks. Also this keyboard is working very well for me too, first time using a chic-let keyboard and i can type faster than i do on a normal one .

I got the i5 520m version with 128GB SDD, 4 GB RAM, and the standard Z 330M 1 GB Graphics Card, 1600x900 screen.

The backlit keyboard is an awesome feature and it works very well, just need to get my preferred programs on here and i'm good to go.

Also, for me the 1600x900 screen is just perfect, if i got the Full HD screen the writing would be too small.

 

1. No, not in the way you mean to do it. But what I do is tape a postit note over the sensor(it's that little hole by the numlocks LED)

2. yes, go into Vaio Control Center >> Display >> Automatic Brightness Settings and then uncheck "Adjust Brightness Automatically" and then use Fn+F5 and Fn+F6 to your heart's content.

The user manual is in the laptop itself. Hit the windows key, on the left hand side column(if you didnt change the start menu that is) should be Help and Support, then click on Use my Vaio, and then VAIO User Guide.

 

Thanks!
That really helped, the screen looks even more amazing now.

 

1)
Yes, the text will be smaller when both set at the same DPI. For example, at 96 pixels per inch, those 96 pixels take less space on the higher resolution display.

2)
I think this is correct, the OS will handle this. When you increase it so that the text is of the same size on both, the higher resolution display will be using more pixels to render the same graphic. The higher pixel density, provides a sharper image in this case.

3)
The OS should be able to display everything correctly even at the higher setting. However, some programs which are not written to handle this correctly (e.g. use fixed dimensions) may not accommodate the bigger text correctly. I've also noticed some icons that look distorted.
If by image you mean a fixed size image (e.g 100x100px), this setting will not affect the display of those.

 

I have some questions and I hope I am not repeating but 697 is too many pages to read and I am in such a rush.

#
Intel® Core™ i7-620M processor (2.66GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 3.33GHz (Reg. price $150.00)
#
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
#
Premium Carbon Fiber
#
128GB (64GBx2) Solid State Drive with RAID 0 Technology
#
4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1066
#
13.1" VAIO Full HD Premium Display (1920x1080)
#
CD/DVD Player/Burner

This is the kind I want. I believe this will suit my needs and last me 4 years. I need to buy a notebook fast for college.

Some questions are

1) Will the RAM be okay for 4 years or shall I upgrade to 6 GB DDR3

2) I planned on using the 7% student discount but is it true if I call I can get 15% and is it easy to order online?

3) Convince me to buy this and not the Apple MBP 15. I am split 50/50 between these two laptops depending on my mood I lean towards the Vaio Z which I have wanted for the longest times and other times I lean towards the MBP. Please help I am leaving for university in like 1 week and want one before classes start.

 

Right now Sony is having a deal on upgrades, so it is worth the money to upgrade to 8GB of RAM, especially if you plan to use this machine for 4 years. I ordered from Sony Style USA | Sony VAIO® Computers | Sony Consumer Electronics (from the US) and it was a very easy experience. My student discount was 5%, and I don't know of any further discounts for calling, but let's just say I have not had great luck reaching knowledgeable people when calling Sony. I placed my order on 04Aug and it shipped two days ahead of schedule on 11Aug. Unfortunately, it seems to be stuck in customs in Alaska so I don't know when I'll receive it. I'll leave it to someone else to convince you not to buy a MBP...

After reading several posts about how to best protect the Z, I purchased a number of options to skin and protect the laptop. Once it arrives, I'll post some images of the products I tried and the results.

 

alright 8gbs really I think 6 will be ok. I will check how much upgrading to 8 will cost If i can get the 15% off I will def. get the Sony Vaio Z

 

just out of curiosity.

does anybody here actually own the Full Specced Vaio Z?

i tried to configure everything to the max

i7-620M
512GB (256GBx2) Solid State Drive
8GB (4GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM
13.1" VAIO Full HD Premium Display
Blu-ray Disc
Large Capacity Battery

and comes at $3,999, and it's an Overkill price

if you do, damn that is like 1 sick 13inch laptop

probably faster than any last year's desktop out there, always an admirer of the Vaio laptop, but budget isn't realistic enough for me

it's a shame that the Z doesn't offer GPU options

 

ok, i realize i've asked TOO many questions, don't worry, i'm going to get one next week. I've settled for the i5-520 256gb 900p screen 4GB ram. Only hanging spec. is the color. I was going for the black as at this morning but i noticed only the black colored Z's had the palm wear issue. Can anyone discredit this information, else i'd have to get silver. Any tried and tested palm skins btw?

 

I do. Although I don't use the Blu-ray as much as I thought I would. Its ridiculously fast.

 

I got my VPCZ122GX/B which is the "cheapest" version of the VPCZ1 from B&H Photo Video Digital Cameras, Photography, Camcorders for less than $1800.

I really like it. The display is great, I have the 1600x900 version, the Full-HD version is too small for me (pixel pitch wise) and would have cost a lot more.
I did some tests on the color gamut, the display covers sRGB color space to 100% and Adobe RGB more than 90%. I read on the UK and Australia Sony website that they advertise Adobe RGB 96% with the FullHD version, I think that is only marketing to spend more money with buying the higher resolution display. The sales guy I've talked to in the Sony Style store told me that there would be no color difference between the 1600x900 and 1920x1080 display, and he has also the VPCZ1 and uses it for photo editing.

But I am disappointed with the cheap SSD's (from Toshiba THNS064GG2BNAA) what Sony uses at the 128GB disk (which I have).
I tested the IOPS with IOmeter and at writing 4KB blocks random the throughput collapses after 20s to 40IOps (which is only half of what a normal spinning HDD can do) and I get over a test period of 10min 290IOps. Settings were 20000000 sectors and 100 Outstanding IO with 1 Worker.
I did the same test on a 160GB IntelX25-M Gen1-SSD and the throughput collapses to 1200IOps (+/- 300IOps) after 2min (that is 10 times faster than a normal spinning HDD) and I get an average of 2590IOps over 10min test period.

I'll look into replacing the SSD's with the ones from Intel.

regards

Enrico

 

Yep, no problems!

 

I really wanted the Blu-ray burner as well but couldn't justify $500. If I want HD video on the laptop, I'll rip a Blu-ray and view it from the SSD. The burner feature is great but I've already got a LG BD burner on my desktop and honestly, have only used it once so far. That's how I talked myself out of the BD option.

 

1. Depending on the price of the 8gb upgrade... I mean if you bought the laptop and then bought aftermarket RAM for ~$100 per 4gb stick would that be more than the price to upgrade. I think for the current Vpcz129's the 4gb is 2x2gb internally, which means if the upgrade is ~$200 through sony, i'd go through them.

2. if you're in the USA, you can call in, and add a warranty and 2 accessories to your order and they should give u 15% off. Then you can cancel the warranty and return the accessories, but do it discreetly, or just choose two accessories you want(I got a laptop lock for college and a pair of earbuds for my sis)

3. MBP is heavier, same video card except the Vaio has more allocated memory(better for hooking up to external display), the Vaio has better heat management, The Vaio has the hybrid switch which i like better than having an Optimus-type system(more control, but if you like MBP you dont want control over your laptop), The Vaio has SSD's in RAID0, and for the same price, the Vaio beats out any MBP. Oh! and dont forget about Win 7 which runs like a beaut =p and the free noise-cancelling earbuds aren't a drawback either.

Haha yeah that is a sick laptop. Umm Zoinks bought a VPCZ11 Signature(fully speced one), I think Bluex has one too =p. My parents paid for mines as a gift for getting into Cal and i already feel guilty for asking for the config i have...

Haha if you're going to be laying down $2000+ you have every right in the world to ask questions about it. About your color dilemma, yes, the Black/Carbon Fibers have the fading palmrest issue(I've posted pics of it on my Vaio) and NO ONE with a Silver Vaio Z has complained of the issue so, i'd say their finish is more durable, but you never know a year down the line(since the gen of Z's has only been out ~5 months). However, when it comes down to aesthetics, I would get Silver over Black. I went to Fry's and when i saw the Black cover, it really does look like cheap plastic(someone in this thread said the same). The silver looks good, but i really like my Premium Carbon Fiber, but for $50 and a potential fading palmrest(not everyone with the black/carb fiber has reported theirs faded, i use mines intensely and i have sweaty palms so... ymmv?) might not be worth the looks.

I found this post by shurcooL of the different colors, i love the lines in the carbon fiber that make it look more metallic. NOTE: all the lids are the same material, it's just the finish that's different. But if you can, go into a SonyStyle or BestBuy or Fry's or MicroCenter and see if they have the Z on display and check out the lids there

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony-owners-lounge-forum/457519-sony-vaio-z-i5-i7-official-owners-thread-612.html#post6443458

 

Anyone know why my wireless is turning off? Windows says it cant solve the problem, so i have to go into Device Manager and then Disable/Enable the Intel Card

 

The Blu-ray drive would have been a waste to me since i planned to replace the dvd drive with a 640gig WD hard drive using a caddy. The only way it would have been feasible is if i purchased the 512gig hard drive, which I'm pretty sure that if could have afford the 512gig hard drive in the first place, I could have afforded the blu-ray too

 

Nobody has replaced the Toshibas with 1.8" Intel drives, it is not confirmed that the latter can fit. Would be great if you can try It's pretty certain the Intels will need to be bare, i.e. without casing.

 

Try upgrading / downgrading the wireless driver. The driver from Intel can be used, doesn't have to be Sony's.

 

Gonna try it now, found this thread also

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/480994-wireless-keeps-turning-itself-off.html

I used the update check in Device Manager but that didn't work, the newest version is 13.2.1.5

Hopefully it will be fixed

 

Yeah you don't really need it. But for the occasional Blu-ray in the train or airplane its nice.

 

someone in South Korea replaced his 64x2 toshiba to 80x2 intel.

the casing of 1.8" intel drives had to be removed.



the ssd has two partitions c = 80gb, d = 80gb
not sure if the write cache was turned on.

 

Hey guys, I just ordered a VPCZ12CGX/X,
It's carbon fiber and I was worried about wear on the palmrest, so I came across this on ebay, seems like a decent fit! (scroll to bottom of page for area of coverage)

Protector Body Cover Shield Film Skin Sony VAIO VPC Z - eBay (item 160459171952 end time Aug-20-10 22:09:59 PDT)

Seems to be a japanese product... been trying to find it for cheaper but no luck.

What do you guys think?

 

vavabavava, regarding the test results. They are useless they tested only against the internal cache of the SSD, because the get around 40000IOps at the 4KB random write test. You see only how reliable/good the disk is when the test runs long enough (longer than 5min) and over a very large area of the disk (10GB+).

 

Well I spoke too soon the bluetooth problem came back after a reboot.

So a Sony tech came out to replace the motherboard in my Z a couple days ago and the motherboard he brought was DOA, so he put the original motherboard back in... now the bluetooth has disappeared from the system entirely. He went back in twice to check the connections and such and it is simply gone. Nothing in the device manager related to bluetooth. So I am back to using the targus adapter. The good news about all this headache is that I will get a brand new replacement computer out of the deal eventually. Sony is sending another motherboard, when that doesn't fix the problem, I am almost certain that it won't, I am going to insist that they cross ship me a new computer.

I don't know what the deal is with this, it appears that I got a lemon, but only in bluetooth functionality, everything else works perfectly.

I am still a happy Sony customer, they are doing everything they can to make it right, and I know eventually it will be fixed/replaced.

 

Wireless Problem was fixed after updating driver.

torrent time

 

That could work and the price seems right, or you can get this: Wrapsol | strongest, easiest and fastest-to-apply protection for Sony Vaio Z Series

Also get a Keyboard cover (Clear) to protect the keys.

 

hmmm, seems legit and is just a bit more expensive than buying the DIY, excluding the cutting time. there ofcourse is no way to tell for sure until someone tries it. mind trying it for us?

 

pics of it actually installed? the results seem kind of low......

 

This is news to me, thanks! It means that perhaps the motherboard is different between Z11 and Z12 to make room for the 1.8 drives. And I think the write cache is on, otherwise the write speed wouldn't be so high.

 

The Wrapsol one looks like it is for the old model z. Does it fit the new model too?

 

Are you discussing sleep or hibernate, because mine takes as long or longer to go in and out of hibernation than to actually power on and off.

 

Guys, there have been various reviews about the Standard Battery, some say its:

1. 5200 mAh
2. 5400 mAh

what is the Real deal?

please take a moment to check the battery while the laptop is OFF, it'e clearly written on the back of the Battery Pack.

TIA

 

My Z11 indicates: 5200mAh, 10.8V, 57W.

 

It takes a second or two to sleep and around 20 seconds to resume from hibernation. Start up takes a bit longer as all the services and applications have to load.

It's very impressive how quickly it starts up and shutdowns.

 

Thanks Admiez for the follow-up. Does higher resolution always produce sharper text and images? Or that depends on the panel technology such as 6bit vs 8bit TN, IPS, etc?

I'm asking is because most of the time, there is no way to demo a laptop that I'm interested.

 

Thank you Osacr2

cheers mate!

 

Okay so this is my first large battery replacement and the max life I'm getting is about 5 hrs thats with every battery saving option known to man of such as Stamina mode, 40hz, battery saver background, power saver plan, 16bit, brightness 2bars, and auto off on dvd drive and no external devices plugged in. It appears my battery care isn't functioning either but i have to watch more closely and report back but If i'm missing something please feel free to let me know. My last Z12 was giving me aprox 8-9 hours. Considering this is my second large battery and that I'm getting less than standard times with it. I just wanted to know if anyone has had this problem before and what times their getting out of the standard and those out of their large batteries. So my questions below are.

1.is it possibly that the laptop is defective. the Sony rep stated it could only be the battery not the laptop but this is my second battery.

2. does it take a while for the battery to reach its full holding capacity, and is there steps needed to do so?

3.lastly can everyone tell me what battery times their getting with either standard or large capacity batteries. which i would assume with all power saving options is a minimum of 6-7 hours on standard and more with the large.

Thanks in advance!

 

I think most get 2-4h on the standard. 4h if you are careful, 2h if not so careful.

5h is doable, on the regular battery, but I don't think of it as something I can count on.

The large battery gives 50% more capacity.

 

Thanks Oscar2, so you would say 7 1/2 hours on the large sounds normal? I was getting estimates at one point in windows of 8-9hrs on the last Z I even timed it from unplug to finish and i actually saw 8 to 9hrs but maybe that one was an anomaly. The only diff in my setup now is 2 more gigs of ram. Has anyone else seen over 7hrs or 8hrs on their large capacity battery?