Sony Vaio Z i5/i7 Official Owners Thread

Iv read alot of people here have managed to get a 15-20% discount on their Zs in the US. Has anyone in the UK managed to get a discount when ordering?

 

Up to 5%...

 

They carried the last Z too. They carried the base model with 4 GB RAM for cheaper than Sony carried it.

Wow, I shop at BB all the time and never have issues. I am a premium silver member I spend so much and because of that get all this cool stuff like no restocking fee and 45 days to return. Sometimes you have to deal with stupid sales people, but hey, doesn't every place have those? Also, their inventory is usually pretty accruate, they mark stuff sold out when they don't have the physical product in their warehouse.

I still am in shock that the rating is so low. I have never had issues with returns or anything. Their Geek Squad before it was Geek Squad was a little dumb. The techs never knew anything so computer repairs could be hard. But I was always persistant and got what I wanted, since I normally knew what the issue was. But now they have even hired better techs because the last couple times were much easier when I had issues. Heck their install guys even seemed to know more when they installed my home theatre system, well the one guy did

Overall, I will go to Best Buy normally and not even look anywhere else for any electronic stuff. I normally price shop everything, but I don't with Best Buy because between my rewards and price match, I never have to worry, I can buy everything from there. The only other place I will look for stuff is Costco's.

 

Hmm, that BestBuy price is tempting...

Questions:

1. How long is the battery life on a Z while surfing the web if the screen is turned up to full brightness with WiFi on and a Bluetooth mouse being used?

2. How long is the battery life on a Z while watching a DVD if the screen is turned up to full brightness? (no WiFi or Bluetooth)

Thanks!

 

newegg has a strange config for preorder, 384gb..... sadly it's silver if not i'd order right away

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834127067

looks like you can get it an ounce cheaper at sony style if you CTO but of course, no taxes on newegg so it comes out as a better buy.

 

Anyone have a pre-order for the signature series VPCZ11FHX/XQ? It's showing it's on backorder now and delayed til 03/31!

Stefan

 

I do. It's supposed to ship Friday.

 

I don't want to be a pest--and I realize that maybe the information I need just isn't readily available--but I want to be sure my earlier post doesn't get lost in the flood. Any advice on use of the 1600x900 display (or the 1080 display, for that matter) for photo editing? Thanks.

 

Does it show Friday on your order? Mine still shows 02/08/2010.

Stefan

 

I think the 1080 screen has a wider range of colors, and it's 8-bits (compared to 6 for 900). People were also wondering if it's a non-TN display, but based on observations from different angles, I think the conclusion was that it's still TN, but pretty good. Apologies if I miss any post which mentioned anything different...

 

StefanB:
Hej!
I´m a fellow Swede. In Sweden you can "only" get the preconfigured version with i7, 6GB and 256 GB SSD. Have you or planned to get another version? If so, how and from where... I asked the people at SonyStyle.se and they do not offer discounts.
Cheers! /Johan

 

Perhaps you have to wait until August 2nd..?

 

Mine says :
Estimated Ship Date: 03/04/2010

Since the flex capacitor in my DeLorean is broke, I just chatted with Customer Care:

Here we go....

 

For less fluff and more stuff, check out this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=6022767

Or this one: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=6023280

 

I noticed that when you go to the order status page, that number tends to be wrong. But if from order status you click on the model number in Item Details, it takes you to the screen with the correct (or let's just say most current) date.

oh, and btw, its flux capacitor

 

I'm going to be receiving mine sometime today.
Will post some glamour shots later tonight [PST]!

 

Oscar, I'm just glad I spelled DeLorean correctly

 

mine is supposed to ship on the 19th. I called and confirmed this. Original ship date was 3/8/10

 

For those who received their custom configured sony vaio z's, is it made in japan or a different country? I know for a fact that the preconfigured base models are and was just wondering if it was the same for the CTO versions.

 

man i would hate to see anything break on a $3,000-$5,000 system

 

Hi, Folks!

Can those who own one of the Hong Kong configurations of the Z either describe, or post a picture, of the layout of the keyboard on your machine? Is this just a USA keyboard layout, or is it something else? Thank you very much!

Cheers!
Mark

 

I can't confirm for sure, but I was there last year, looking at electronics of course, and didn't notice them to be different from US. I'm very particular about this because I'm living in the UK but am used to the US keyboard.

Note, from Wikipedia:

 

Hi, Drvec!

Cool! So, it sounds like my plan will be to buy a machine, then get a Chinese friend to help me with the "Anytime Upgrade" process that'll install Windows Ultimate. With that in hand, I should then be able to download and select the English language pack, and we should be in business.

Thanks again for letting us know about this great value, and for the keyboard info!

Cheers!
Mark

 

Does anyone see a problem using the Z with the ViDock 2 ( http://www.villagetronic.com/vidock2/index.html) product? I have a 30-inch monitor that I must be able to use with my new laptop, and the ViDock 2 seems to allow that. I do not play games so the bundled ATI 4670 adapter should be enough.

Is there a problem with ATI and Nvidia adapters/drivers running on the same system? Is it likely that these can be used at the same time (I'd think so). This way I could use 3 monitors simultaneously: 30-inch external connected to ViDock, 24-inch external connected to Nvidia, and the laptops own screen. Does this sound feasible?

Alternatively, I repeat the question asked here before: does the Z's HDMI port support 2560x1600? What about the docking station's DVI port?

 

IT HAS ARRIVED!


Mine was shipped yesterday and it arrived today, much to my surprise.

Also a surprise: I ordered CTO but received the headphones nontheless.

256GB, silver, standard battery, i5-540, 4GB.

One other thing... (cue the drum roll):

4GBx1 (not 2GBx2) !

 

Sure. I didn't mean to stir up anyone's anger, I just found myself a bit miffed that I didn't get what I thought I was getting. I can return it and get my money back so it's all good.

Anyway, been playing around with the new Z for just over a day now. Battery life seems pretty good given the specs. Got about 5 hours of out browsing and e-mail over WiFi yesterday with brightness at 80%. No heat issues while operating in this mode, but the fan does make make itself heard a quiet room. With some ambient noise around you, though, it is unlikely to bother anyone.

As for build and feel, it's not as solid as a Macbook Pro, but certainly better than my Lenovo X200s which feels very "plasticy." My two minor annoyances are a) the battery is a bit loose, and b) coming out of sleep mode while operating on battery turns the DVD/Blu-ray drive on again, despite the profile being set to off. Might be a Windows issue rather than the Sony software, not sure.

Without using the font DPI scaling, the text on the screen is very small. Too small for me, in fact. I've set scaling to 110% which alleviates the issue for most applications without being too big (default is 125%). The high res screen (1600x900) is very nice when watching 720p/1080p content, however. Colors are quite good and the back light is exceptional if you turn it up. Overall the screen is very enjoyable.

The keyboard is one of the better ones I've had the pleasure of using. I still prefer the unibody Macbook Pro keyboard over the Sony, but it is close enough that it isn't on my mind when typing. The touchpad works and that's about all I can say about it. I'm used to the little nub on my Lenovo and the multi-touch on my Macbook Pro so it'll take me a few days to adjust. Nothing stands out as bad with it, however.

Needless to say, the RAID 0 SSD setup is quite speedy out of the box. I've never experienced Windows booting this fast, and launching any application is simply instant, even when it's not profiled by pre-fetch.

A great first impression to be sure. I'll use a for a few more days to see if it makes sense day-to-day, but will likely end up returning this and get the 1x256GB - that's 2x128GB, right? - and use it in JBOD mode if I decide that the computer works for me overall.

 

My father in law purchased a Sony laptop (from Sony) in HK a few years ago and that was definitely in English language OS as sold.

 

WOW. Congrats. That's surprising (re: 4GBx1), in a good way of course!

I'm curious....was their estimated shipping date accurate?

Mine is supposedly shipping on the 23rd. (Ordered it on the 11th.) I'm up in Nor Cal, and my sales tax rate here is 8.25%, but since I'm going to be vacationing in LA for spring break during that time, I'm having them ship to my dad's house where the rate is 9.75%. So I'm having to pay and extra $30+ in taxes. I guess I shouldn't complain since I got a 15% discount.

 

Yes, it was accurate. I just didn't believe it (since they have been a wee bit unreliable when it comes to shipping dates and such.) Actually, the order info was originally indicating 3/23, then it dropped to 3/19. Then all of a sudden they indicated that it had shipped out on 3/15, due for delivery on 3/16.

I figured it could all just be a glitch in their site as much as anything real, when all of a sudden, it shows up.

The headphones were a surprise. Was that a fluke or can others confirm that cto gets them even tho not advertised as such.

 

Hi, LPX!

Right you are! In fact, upon looking more closely at the specs, I finally realized that this will indeed be ready to go! The specs read:

I'd scanned over this too quickly the first pass, seeing only the second line. Hot dog! It'll be ready to go right out of the box.

Thanks again, folks!

Have Fun!
Mark

 

congrats on the new laptop. Could you check if the laptop is made in japan?

 

I received a US spec 256GB which appears to be configured as 128GBx2. (According to the "Intel Rapid Storage Technology" app that came re-installed)

But that others have indicated they received 64GBx4 so ymmv.

 

I would happily do so. What is the best way to determine this?

 

It should say on the bottom of the laptop or on the box.

 

Hmm, I see. Good to know, thanks!

 

so i think im about to pull the trigger on the best buy model VPCZ112GX/S which is the lowest base model. with express shipping and tax in MI total isabout $1820. anybody know how to get it any cheaper than that?

 

Bing cash back is 5% at bestbuy IIRC.

 

Just arrived:

CTO
Regular screen
i7-620M
512GB SSD (4x128)
8GB (2x4)
CD/DVD
Std Battery
Premium Carbon
Verizon WWAN
Fresh Start
Fingerprint Reader
Earphones included
("Made in USA with foreign components")

Here are first benchmarks

 

For the U.S. market:

CTO models - Assembled in U.S.A.
Pre-config models - Assembled in Japan

 

@ rmcx, how is the 1920 x 1080 screen ? Thoughts and opinions would be great. Thank you.

 

Since his was a CTO, I don't think he has the full HD screen

 

My bad, I overlooked the premium carbon and standard dvd option he has. Sorry. Still interested in what he thinks about his Z though.

 

His/her VAIO Z notebook is a U.S. CTO model & so I'll assume that his/her screen's resolution is 1600x900. No?

Oops. Peteman100 has answered the question. My bad.

 

Congrats! Those are some sweet specs. Just curious, the Windows Experience Index score, is that on Speed mode or Stamina mode?

 

Does anyone have a photo or a video of a Z without the fingerprint reader? Thanks!

 

I meant to put in my original manifest that it was only the regular screen, since you can't CTO the HD unit in the US.

The regular screen, though, is "OK". Better than most, brighter than my SZ screen. Colors are "OK".

Crisp. I find that I don't even need to up the font scaling for my use.
EDIT: It comes natively set to 125% font scaling.

 

It's set to auto and since it's plugged in, it's in Speed mode.

 

@ rmcx, what are your thoughts on the SSD situation and how will you be using the 128GB x 4 configuration ?

 

I require max disk speed and capacity for what I do (development, database, etc.) and will keep the RAID config as is.

While I'm intently watching the whole SSD conversation here, I'm going on the assumption that I won't have any sorts of degradation issues that require more than 1/2 day every 6 months or so to correct. I'm mindful of those actual owners who have reported their previous SSD Z's have performed admirably over the long haul.

Now, being an assumption, I'm well aware of where that can lead. So, I intend to research and test (as time permits) during the returns period to try to validate that assumption. If the problem turns out to be insoluable and my system is reduced to a stuttering heap after the returns period, I'm fortunate to be high enough up the food chain in my organization to roll this thing downhill and go back into the marketplace for whatever is latest and greatest.

Although I'm sure I'm guaranteed to get a lot of stick from some forum members here, I'm going to ignore the whole RAID failure issue. I consider it a non-issue and if there's a failure, I can get it repaired rather quickly at PortableOne. It's a calculated risk, but really, other than the particular bad unit, this is after all 2010 and storage media (both still and rotating) are quite, quite reliable enough for my needs. (I've had my SZ for 3 years now and it turns out that the extra warranty was a complete waste.)

 

That's rather surprising - in a good way.

However it also means that they're charging an absolutely ridicious price for the 6gb memory upgrade ($150 for a single 2gb stick) and nearly twice what would be reasonable for 8gb ($300 for a single 4gb stick). Even Canadians aren't being ripped off that much.

Basically it seems they changed the 4gb configuration from 2x2 to 1x4 (which they did - it used to read 2x2), but left the other prices unchanged as if the bottom option was still 2x2.