Sony Vaio Z i5/i7 Official Owners Thread

Here's one



It is normally set to 10 seconds

 

I will take any complement.
My download rates are bad, so I will post the 3Dmarks score tomorrow.
WPrime
32M. 16.723 s
1024M. 538.56

HDTUNE

Transfer rate(MB/S)
Min 299
Max 328:5
Average 323

Access rate .2 ms
Burst rate 470 MB/S
CPU usage -1.0%

 

So the backlight keyboard really only works when it's dark? (or you have to put something on the sensor)

 

Haha interesting. Do all Sony software have English like that?

 

They should at least try with one generation of high end product and see if for example Z without proprietary BS will win enough customers to at least cover what they get by playing dirty.

Sony at least try not to sell highly mobile laptop with locked WWAN modem!!!
In Japan it wasn't enough just to lock the modem, but also provider they chose is preventing users to use Skype when they are connected over WWAN .

Regarding proprietary mambo jumbo business logic Sony is only second to Apple. I don't care much about Apple but engineers in Sony are something else. Too bad they are working for narrow minded management and incompetent marketing team.

I mean come on, they create one of the best laptop in the world and you can barely find couple of youtube videos about it.

On a long run they are losing money because of proprietary stuff and only reason they are still around is because they have brilliant people working for them.

 

Do you still have the Vaio Control Center if you select "Fresh Start" from the CTO page?

 

I'm glad my objective evidence has turned out to be correct: the new Z is a bit quieter than the old one on idle. Without a baseline to compare decibel results, the numbers don't mean much, though. That's why it will be good to hear from Notebookcheck...

There is no option for anything disk-related, aside from the boot options. Perhaps arth could correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the Intel SSD Optimizer tool use TRIM? I wouldn't have been able to even run it if TRIM is not supported. I have two X25-V disks that are mirrored (RAID-1), and cannot run the Intel Optimizer in this case, stating that "RAID is not (yet?) supported."

I would assume so, since it contains many system settings that can't be adjusted via Control Panel.

 

Interesting. I'll have to read more, but here's what Intel says in this whitepaper:
http://download.intel.com/design/flash/nand/mainstream/Intel_SSD_Optimizer_White_Paper.pdf

Based on this chart, one would think the SSD toolbox can "optimize" on XP and with the RAID (Storage Matrix) driver, just not with a RAID set configured.

JBOD would work, but only on G2 Intel SSD's???

 

Decibel is not the only factor determining the perceived noise, the frequency is also important. A higher pitch tone in the same decibel level as a lower pitch tone actually has more energy and your ears will tell you it's more noisy. Does Notebookcheck measure frequency as well?

 

dimension6, u did a clean install, right? how did you install Vaio Control Center?

 

Quick question regarding the outer shell material, as previously said some of the silver ones paint was wearing off... HAve you guys experienced any degradation of the paint in ur Z's? is it an issue similar to the MAcbooks(the ones you dont take care of gets ruined faster) or does it degrade automatically/like is the shell paint/material crappy?

Thanks

 

I had to extract it from the recovery partition (it's in one of the .MOD files that you can extract using 7-Zip). Extracting the tools is a very time-consuming process, but you only have to do it once.

 

Thanks! I have never done clean install before, so I'll be busy learning when I get my Z:
1 - burning recovery disks
2 - swapping (very carefully) the HDD with Intel X-25 SDD
3 - clean install (from recovery disks?)
4 - install proper drivers + Vaio Care (from .MOD files on recovery disks?)

--> is that more or less correct? I'm sure I can find some specialized threads... but just to get some idea what my "to do" list looks like!

Btw: What is "recovery partition"? I've heard it being mentioned a lot

 

Yes that would be a good solution for now - just schedule the Intel SSD Optimizer to run every week or so. It will work (on an Intel SSD) as long as the drive is not RAIDed, no matter what HD controller driver is running.

Having had an X25-M now for several months I think this is the way I will go - buy a European model Z with HDD and WWAN and take the HD out and put in my X25. Hopefully Intel with eventually release a driver for the Z's ICH9M controller soon that is TRIM enabled.

 

dimension6
What brand was the camera you used to take photos of your new Z. I'm just amazed at the clarity of your photos. Thanks.

 

if anyone is interested, on the sony chinese support page, there are all the drivers and softwares (including control center, event service etc.) that u need:

http://service.sony.com.cn/vaio/Download/29697.htm

http://service.sony.com.cn/vaio/Download/29682.htm

 

But ... is this in english?
I am thinking of ordering a Z from sonystyle holland.
The only thing I am not sure is the colour either carbon or metal zilver.

But I plan to change the internal HDD with my just purchased x-25 ... and if these drivers are in english then that would be awsome

And one more question: do I need to install all of these?
I presume some I can let windows touse it's own.
(I will be ordering ultimate 64bits )

 

These drivers and softwares are multi-language, US English being one of them. At least the ones I tried are.

I don't think you need all of them, but I downloaded them all just in case.

 

That's interesting, I haven't heard about it before.

Are you sure, that the premium carbon finish is better in terms of HoM? Judging by the looks, yes, but I think that they're both just finishes and none of them is really rawer/purer than the other.

 

In the end, it's all up to personal preference. IMHO the black is "honest" enough...

 

Interesting, thanks!

I can't download them though

 

Basically that's it. The drivers are located under the Windows directory, and the system software, etc. is located in the .MOD files. These are not descriptively named, so you have to open each one to see what is inside. You can extract the .MOD files by using 7-Zip. I think you might be able to do a clean install from the recovery disks, but I used my own Windows 7 license.

Thanks! I used a Panasonic DMC-LX3 camera. It has a great size/performance ratio, and, unlike Sony, Panasonic regularly releases new firmware updates (with new features!) even after two years since its release.

 

Which vaio z model has GPS?

 

First click on the bottom right orange button.
Then click on the bottom right black button. (disclaimer)
Then click on the black right buttons for individual downloads.

 

Thanks that's great! It will make the fresh install much faster!

 

Thanks for the tips about .MOD files, I'd be lost!

I must agree, amazing pics for such a compact camera!

 

Yeah, I'm also going to use them. By the way, when will ur Z arrive? Mine is still weeks away (estimated delivery mid April).

 

Should be Thursday evening .

I will put a 1tb 12.5mm hard drive with a fresh install.

 

I know a 12.5mm HDD fits in the old z - are you sure there's space in the new one?

 

Update, my order has been shipped. Should be getting it soon

Oh hell yeah! I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 and I love it. Much better than any Sony camera.

 

On Sony UK you can order the Z in black, with a HDD in place of the optical drive and no SSD, and the 1920 resolution is only an extra 50 pounds. But they don't ship to America.

Are there any reputable businesses that will buy products in the UK for you and ship them overseas?

 

I know this is off topic, but real quick. Are Panasonic Cameras better than Sony? Were the settings when you took those photos dimension6 on "AUTO"? Or did you have to adjust for "Lighting" / "Whiteness"? Thanks. I'm in need of a camera and this may be the one. Really Great Photos. Great enough for National Geographic; Well, maybe PC MAG......
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I'm heading out to check the Z in person. Unfortunately, all Sony has available is Silver, but maybe, and I'm hoping, they received stock since I called a few days ago. I'm really curious to see how cheap this Silver is.

 

Mine still hasn't shipped, apparently; they haven't taken the money at least. Does anybody have a full picture of the metal shield version? I've seen the lid but not the whole thing. I'm guessing that it's just plain aluminium on the keyboard/etc part? I wish they'd done one with a black inside and silver outside (like my current laptop).

 

I don't know if there is a company that will do that, but you do realise that the keyboard layout is different?

 

Just got mine on friday, its VPCZ116 GG came along with bonus of a free sony walkman 8 giga.

 

I asked this here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=467410
but since I was not able to get an info, please forgive me asking it here.

I am from Japan, but since I live in the US now, I plan to buy the Vaio Z i5/i7 from SonyStyle US.

I noticed that when I browse Japanese Sony Style site regarding to the new Vaio Z, it says that it has Sound Reality, which enhances sound quality, but in Sony Style USA, it just says Intel® High Definition Audio. Does the US model have Sound Reality?

I confirmed that last year core2Duo Model Vaio Z series didn't have Sound Reality in Japanese Edition, I thought the new Vaio Z US edition continued not to include Sound Reality because it's not showed up on their web page, while Japanese Z series started to include Sound Reality from this spring's core i model.

Currently, in Japanese model, only Vaio Z, T, J, and L has Sound Reality, and not F, A, S, etc.
http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/Products/...Hq/index2.html

If you or someone have the new core i Vaio Z ordered in the US, I would greatly appreciate it if you can check in your control panel to see if there is an option for Sound Reality, and post the image if possible.

I have a Japanese Vaio SZ that has a Sound Reality, and there is an option for Sound Reality in Control Panel like a picture below, marked with a red square.



For the US SZ Series, Sony Style US clearly says that Sound Reality is included on its Specification page.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...specifications

Thank you in advance.

 

Damn, idanawi.

I absolutely LOVE the black carbon with anodized alluminum. Look fantastic!

Nice little win for you too with the media player.

 

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Zoinks, the screenshot shows that ur cpu usage is 100% full, but it also shows that you have reached to 2.66ghz. I thought your max cpu is around 2.9ghz?

 

Good point

 

It's max is 2.933 GHz. Looks like I picked a bad time to do the screen capture. The Intel Turbo gadget shows the max GHz when it is, well, turbo-ing.

Bad timing on my part.

 

After reading a few topics about the old Z it seems GPS is a part of the WWAN module. So - any model with WWAN, probably.

 

Z series is able to play Crysis at low settings getting an average of 69fps at a resolution of 1,024 x 768
source- http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/laptops/355384/sony-vaio-z11/benchmarks

 

notebookcheck.net is your friend if you care about benchmarks and fps. they have both for most all laptop graphic cards.

 

@stauffer
have notebook.net tested gaming on the z series. apperantly that site is not working?

 

Not sure why you guys are trying to download from the Chinese Sony site when you can get the same things from the US one.

http://esupport.sony.com/perl/select-system.pl?PRODTYPE=1,24,26,66,9,70,5,72

Just type your model number on the right, and everything is available under "Drivers and Downloads"

 

Anybody fron US got one yet?

 

I cant wait. Mine should be here soon, it shipped on the 12th. I still would like to know the definitive answer to two questions before I decide on keeping the Raid array or JBOD.

1) Does the TRIM command work in JBOD or not?

2) Are there two SSDs in the 256GB or four? Guess ill find out for the USA forumers.

I know weve been speculating #1, but I understand there has been a little fog over the controller IDE etc.

Real quick, I promise! Its no problem! I cant speak for Dimensions, but I use AUTO mode 90% of the time because 90% of the time it does a great job of knowing what settings to use and I end up completely satisfied with the result. Oh and 720p HD video is a great plus too! No need for a video camera, yeah? Two in one!

I personally think, compared to most cameras, that the amount of manual options are slightly less than average, but then again, Dimensions Panasonic is a good $200 more expensive than mine so maybe he has more options

 

"Any Sony Camera" ?

There are Sony still cameras (like the A900) that contain Full-frame sensors and just the body alone, costs nearly $3000. The lenses cost extra, with the really good ones like the 135mm f/1.8 (the world's best for a 135mm prime) etc costing another $1400 or so. A lens like the Sony 300mm f/2.8, usable on this camera, costs $6300.

Now when it comes to video cameras, Sony's broadcast models, costs well over a Million dollars, per unit, depending on the model.

I assume you were talking about point-and-shoot models, right, when comparing Sony's lowest end consumer models, with Panasonic consumer camera models ?

 

Callin me out !


Nah, I meant compact point & shoot cameras. Even then, that was just me spouting opinionated crap. Roweraay, youre in the right.

That said, I still keep my bias stance

Panasonic > Sony when it comes to cameras. Only cause Stereo mic, HD vid, and still awesome wide lens 10MP 12x optical zoom in a compact P&S is great! But ill stop talking about this since its off topic.

 

Yeah, I was just yanking your chain a bit. I used to have the LX3 in the past, and did like it. It has a reasonably fast lens and bucks the trend of adding more and more MP onto these P&S models, by restricting the MP count to 10MP. The lens (being one with a relatively short range) is pretty decent - for a p&s - and provides a genuine 24mm (equiv) wide-angle.

However, I got spoiled by the image quality from DSLRs (simply not possible from these p&s models) and got rid of the LX3, after a couple of months. What I did not like about the LX3 was that the camera body itself was small/petite but the lens projected outwards and once one puts the lens cover on (which adds to the front of the lens again), it was not as portable as it initially seemed.