Sony Vaio Z i5/i7 Official Owners Thread

I spat coffee onto my Z as I was laughing when I read that just now No palmrest wear on my Z yet, but possible a coffee stain.

 

Thanks!
Good to know it OC's well.So what program do you use to OC?
And lastly what res did you run 3DMARK06 at to see how my laptop compares at those clocks?
I have to say all members of the SONY forums are really helpful and don't chastise you for asking noob owner questions like other sections of this site. I won't go into specifics but it rhymes with underwear

 

Interesting. I just got a notice from Sony that my CTO order shipped (a week earlier than projected by my Sales agent). Yet the order status on Sony's website has indicated nothing but "Processing" from the day I received my order confirmation (now it says "Completed").

Just wanted to let those of you awaiting fulfillment of CTO orders know that checking the status on the Sony website provides no information at all.

But if that's the worst part of my experience with this computer, I'm happy. Looking forward to putting it through its paces when it arrives late this week.

 

I wish I could say the same...they cancelled my order on the Z11 and refuse to match the price on a Z12...

 

I am experiencing the faded palm rest issue.

I have been playing starcraft I & II lately... for an extended period of time.

Now it is showing the palm rest wear... hahaha.......

oh well..................

time to call on-site tech for replacement of touch pad....

which will lead to free replacement of the palm rest...??

 

I have peeled the tape off and re-applied new strips several times (just because I'm anal and wanted to get it looking perfect ). No issues with peeling off paint. Looks as good as new when I take the tape off.

 

Which site?

I ordered a CTO from the US site on the 7th of August and it went through several states - 'Processing', 'Your VAIO is currently being built' and then I got a shipping confirmation and a Fedex tracking number yesterday and the status changed to 'Order Completed' - this is also when they charged my card.

My other items definitely went into a 'Shipped' state when I got the email and Fedex tracking #'s, I'm not sure if the Z did though, it says 'Completed' now but it is still on it's way from Japan and I can track it through Fedex.

 

I use EVGA Precision. The 3DMark06 test was run at 1200x800 I think. Whatever the standard resolution is for the free version.

 

Just for the records:

No more uncool cursor blinks ​

Okay, first some history:

When I received my Z11 (no fresh install) with 4x64 GB quad raid I had 4 cursor blinks at boot time in the beginning. After a couple of weeks and several software installations and Windows/Vaio system updates the cursor blinks increased to 9.

Because I'm running Windows 7 Professional without Bitlocker I installed TrueCrypt 7.0 today and encrypted my Windows system partition on the raid. I didn't encrypt the 100 MB boot partition and the recovery partition.

TrueCrypt installed its own boot manager and what do you think about the blinks now?

No blinks at all!

(btw: the encryption with AES and selected option "no deletion of unencrypted garbage" took 61 minutes for about 185 GB on the drive. - In addition I feel no performance degradation.)

 

Hi all,

I am using VPCZ1290X w/ 1080p panel. I do use command prompt frequenly which displays bright yellow text on black background on blue Windows desktop background. The problem is that those text seems to cause interference on LCD image.

Do any of you also see the problem? I have attached a sample screen. Try open the image at its 100% and see if you can see interference on the desktop background image. Mine displays horizontal interference lines left/right side of the yellow text.

I wonder if this is just my LCD or problem of all LCDs for this laptop.

 

Same here. Ordered August 4th, status changed from "Processing" to "Your VAIO is currently being built" to "Completed" once it had shipped. I ordered from the US site and received it today. It shipped two days ahead of the projected date and after it had shipped it still made its original delivery date despite being delayed in customs in AK for 3 days.

 

I looked at your image and tried replicating something similar on my VPCZ1290X and was not able to duplicate the issue you are describing so I do not believe it is a problem with all FullHD/1920x1080 Z panels. Perhaps others might know better but I'd suspect the video drivers or chipset before I'd suspect the panel. I tried this in all three video positions (speed, stamina and auto) - are you seeing it in all three? If so, I'd make sure you have the most recent graphics drivers. If that doesn't work, a support call may be necessary.

 

Do any of you know why connecting my Vaio Z11 (1600 native resolution) to my HDTV with a good HDMI cable only allows me to work in 1024X768 resolution properly?

If I change the resolution, it only shows part of the screen. Furthermore, I cannot change the HDMI output to 1080p via the Vaio Control Panel thingie (everything except 720 is grayed-out and unselectable), even though I know that my HDTV supports 1080p.

Have any of you encountered this behavior and found ways to work around it?

 

Did you try changing resolution from Vaio Control Center? Display -> HDMI Resolution Settings has three options; 720, 768 and 1080.

 

Ran some 3DMARK06 scores stock and OC'd, this is what i got

 

Hi guys,

i was just unboxing my new Vaio Z12.. and the first question appears. I ordered a VPC Z12X5E and the Box says VPC Z12C5E, is there any difference?
I´ve got the i7core, 128ssd, 900p screen, 4gb ram, dvd, backlight, mosaic, professional.

Everything works fine, but the battery waggles a little bit, is this normal? How about your Batterys? I guess a new battery wouldnt fix it, the chassis is the Problem. Any ideas?

 

My battery does not wiggle at all, make sure both the tabs are locked in the bottom.

 

That's what I expected to see at some point ("Your VAIO is currently being built"), but my order status went directly from "Processing" to "Complete".

I hope they didn't just pull my unit out of a returns bin!

 

it is locked... damn i seem to have a monday version.
should i ask for a new battery?

 

Try removing it and locking it in place again.

 

ikas.. allready did that, could u make a photo of the back without the battery? maybe i can see whats different inside

 

Mine wiggles a bit as well, but it didn't bother me.

 

I tried to switch to Stamina / Speed / Atto mode to see if that makes any difference, but didn't make any difference. I even tried to change refresh rate, but also didn't work. And I think I am using the latest video driver as well.

Did you close all other windows and just opened the image from your browser? It would be nice if you can try move the window up and down.

In real use case, the text scrolls from the command prompt I use and I noticed this interference because of that. It bothered much becuase I could see moving horizontal lines.

 

Here is the actual screen that shows the interference I see from my LCD.
See the horizontal patterns shown right side of text on the blue background.

This is much more noticible when you actually see it than the picture I am attaching. (Sorry for the low quality of the pic which was taken with my mobile phone)

 

the loose battery has been a looooong-running complaint from many vaio users

sony have never seen fit to address it - seems like it is one of their 'design decisions' that has not been adequately explained to the public. see also:

overly flexible lid on first Z - supposedly stronger but ended up with scratches from palmrest and keys

wiggly power socket - probably to stop it breaking but feels odd to users

'battery care' leading to battery drain when powered off...pretty much a sony thing, don't hear complaints form other owners...has been debated forever

similarly the palmrest fade and 'key shine' goes wayy back - my silver a-series had this happen - it's all to do with the oils in your hands, the makeup of your sweat - people are different

 

Very interesting.

 

2 Vaio Z Accessories Questions: (i've got the z1290x, i7,8gb,256gb,1080p,BD)

1) The noise cancelling headphones - are the earbud wires intentionally asymmetric??? the ones I got have the wire coming from the jack, that then comes to the little rubber connector piece (that has the model number on it), and then the odd the thing is that wire for the right ear bud is 20 inches, while the one for the left earbud is 5 inches!!! And the little rubber connector isn't an adjuster as far as I can tell..it's where the main wire splits into a Y. Did I get a mishaped pair? Would it be worth complaining to Sony - they were free, so it's hard to imagine them doing anything?

2) Has anyone tried using the pre-installed Adobe Photoshop Elements? The cursor is totally messed up in that program. If I'm outside the canvas, it's fine, but as soon as I pass it on to the canvas, no matter what tool is chosen, a ghosty image of the tool (any of them, incl dropper, hand, paintbrush) repeated 3 times shows up...they're very hard to see, and very hard to use as it's impossible to see where the real pointer is (ie, which one of the triplet is the correct one - and it's really just a few pixels making up a ghosty outline)? Anyone else have this problem? Is this a software issue? An issue with comparability with the graphics cards (have the same effect in Speed and Stamina modes)????? I tried making print-screen grabs, but the cursor isn't included in those, so I can't show you.

Please help - please check your earbuds and Adobe Photoshop Elements if you've got them?

 

yes it is intentional - they go behind your head

 

Anybody else has a Z CTO order "on hold", especially in Mexico?
My current Z12 CTO order from Sonystyle Mexico is being checked as the price given to me and confirmed to order was apparently "incorrect". Awaiting more information.
Z12 CTO has since disappeared completely from Sonystyle Mexicos website.

This after a 15" EB was shipped with a 768P resolution when 900P was offered, specified, confirmed and promised... The return DHL AWB took 2 weeks to arrive for that.

Hoping for a better experience buying the Z, although I have big doubts.

jetz9335:

What about starting windows in safe mode or command mode and doing the same thing?

But I'd definately check that with Sony just in case. An old Acer TM800LCi laptop of mine had a similar (but much worse) problem resulting from the soldering ballpoints of the onboard ATI graphics chip coming loose due to heat.

 

The long one drapes around the back of your head.

 

Don't duplicate the image on both monitors, extend instead.

By selecting extend then each display can be at its correct resolution. When you duplicate then Windows just picks something compatible with both (and what it picks is NEVER very good unless both monitors happen to be of the same resolution)

 

... or cause more headaches

It's not the first time I've seen this issue posted. Yes it does cause interference, though it's slight for me: I had to look really closely at the screen. Someone posted another image before, it wasn't that bad as well.

 

Nice score with the overclock. What clock speed did you end up going with?

Regarding the wiggly battery conversation, as zendar mentioned, this is a long running complaint. Try doing a search in this thread, as there are potential explanations as well as potential fixes, if it really bothers you.

 

A lot of people have reported battery wiggle. Mine is secure. If most were wiggly, or most were secure, I'd be OK with it. The fact it seems a pretty even split says poor quality control.

 

I have followed this thread since its inception. You are the first to report that the battery does not wiggle.

All others have been discussions over whether the wiggle bothers them or not.

 

Sometimes in forums people don't post so much if there on a lack of a problem, nor participate in a discussion about an issue that they do not share. I base my judgement on real life observation, and not soley on this forum. It's quite a popular model at work, and a good percentage have battery wiggle, and a good percentage do not. That aside, IKAS V mentioned their battery doesn't wiggle either a couple of pages back.

 

Not true, I reported mine sitting fast (not wiggling) a while ago. An interesting thing is that standard and extended batteries are not created equal: standard wiggles about 1/2 millimeter on the side closest to the fan exhaust, extended (purchased not from Sony) does not. I believe tolerances on the battery plastic shape are pretty wide. Hence the difference.

 

Unfortunately, I just returned my Z to Best Buy. Within a short period of time I was experiencing raging headaches from the pulsing of the screen when it wasn't on the brighest setting (which is pretty damn bright!). For my eyes, it was similar to an old style CRT being on a low refresh rate. It's not something that you overtly see...but your eyes know it after just a minute or two.

Doing a little research online, I found plenty of MacBook Pro owners complaining about the same thing. It appears to have something to do with the way "dimming" works on an LED screen. Apparently, to simulate the dimming feature they cut off the voltage to the pixels on a certain cycle. For most people their eyes and brains don't perceive it as a flickering (which it is) but just see it as less bright.

I'm not sure if it's an inherent problem with the design of that particular screen...or I just got a bad display, etc.

Has anyone else experience this with the Z's?

 

Sevenall, I think all LCD backlights flicker to some degree when not at the highest brightness level. The exact pattern varies and some are better than others. People also have various sensitivity levels. I notice this problem on my Z12, but I am sorta ok with it.

But I think some other laptops have much better screen backlights in this regard.

The flickering happens because in order to have a lower brightness, the backlight has to be turned on and off rapidly. The proportion of time it's off and on determine the resultant brightness.

 

Well, there you go...

I stand corrected.

Whether it's an even split I don't know, but apparently we have two camps, the wigglies and the rigid. I guess technically there is a third camp: the former wigglies who surgically converted by putting the tape (the transgender? crowd )

 

650/820/1350 if I remember correctly.
Now there's no way I ever will keep it at those clocks just wanted to see how far I can push it.
I have one with the i7 and temps are pretty good, highest temp I got when I ran 3DMARK06 benchmarks was 85c for the GPU and 90c for the CPU.
Fans ramped up quick but the noise level was not bad,

 

Hmm... playing Bad Company 2, i got 99C for CPU and 93C for GPU at stock clock... But then again... the ambient temperatures is about 85F(here in SoCal)

 

So after reading the instruction manual i got a little curious as to if this Z has the SIM card slot or not, and what do you know! Its does right under the release tab in the battery bay. Not sure if its on all models since i have the VPCZ1290X with GPS built in. Can any Z11/Z12 owners confirm this?

 

My Z11 has the SIM card slot in the battery bay on the right side.
But I think just all Z11s and Z12s are featured with that due to the fact that it's easier and more cost saving to produce/use fewer parts with less variants.

To answer your question more precislely, I guess there are models like yours with GPS for which you need a built in card that is the Gobi 2000. This card provides you with WWAN and/or GPS when built in.

So if one ordered a Z without checking the option of the WWAN module than his or her laptop would surely have the slot for the SIM, but no Gobi card inside.

I had this situation with my Dell XPS 1330 (SIM slot but no descrete card inside, so no WWAN for me).

cheers.

 

Mines doesn't, but then again I dont have the built-in Verizon/Gobi/GPS chip. It's already been discussed that the built-in Gobi Wireless card for Verizon can be unlocked using Sony Europe software and a SIM card from any GSM carrier can be inserted then used.

 

Interesting. - So, your Z has no slot for a sim in the battery bay?

That means, that Sony doesn't try to streamline its production process with this diversification of parts.
And secondly, in case of an existing SIM slot, a customer eventually would have the advantage to upgrade the laptop with a Gobi card easily at a later time.
And finally, production costs would also decrease using such parts.

 

It may just be a difference between the Z11/12. But then again, it may just be a customization error.

 

Excellent, didn't think of trying that (Doh!).

Thanks for the tip, I'll sure try that!

P.S: I thought that when I close the lid it automatically extends (since the screen flashes when I do that), guess I was wrong.

 

Looking at their signature's it appears both Achusaysblessyou and Stonehinge have the Z11. Their model numbers seems slightly different but it seems from their statements that they both do not have the built in GPS please correct me if I'm wrong. So I would like to know why one has the SIM card slot and the other doesn't? Considering Verizon is CDMA and not GSM, I wouldn't think having that option would make the difference in have the SIM slot or not.

 

i allready read about the WEI of some people here.
some people have 4gb ram , other 6 or 8.
The Windows Experience Index is 5.9 for 4gb an 6+ for the others.
The point is, everyone has 1066mhz ddr3 ram. Does the WEI only rate the amount? because everyone has the same ram speed.
.. the problem is:
i have only 128gb SSD and got 7.9 Points -> i dont think WEI rates the amount here..

so.. are there speed differences between 4 and 8 GB ram?