Sony Vaio Z i5/i7 Official Owners Thread

Interesting point:

I ordered the Fresh Start option and sure enough, no crapware.

However, there was no camera software installed either. For that I had to go up to the Sony site and load it.

I will now go through the site to see what other "original" software didn't make it through.

Edit:

Also had to manually load their media apps in their "Application launcher" (i.e. the VAIO button).

 

This suggests to me that the 4GBx1 may be a temporary change. Perhaps they are low on the 2GB memory sticks and have no choice but to use the more expensive 4GB sticks in order to quickly fill their orders, but they didn't want to raise the price of the base CTO model so they left the price as-is. It's possible that sometime later the base CTO will revert to 2GBx2. If this is the case it means no one is getting ripped off, but rather the people who buy the CTO with 4GB are just getting a really good deal while this is going on.

 

Thank you very much rmcx. I'll be watching intently for further updates from you, and of course all the new Z owners here in the forum. And thank you to everyone doing all this thorough testing.

 

Environmental observations:

Fan does make a whooshing noise. Not loud, but it's there. Edit: It does get louder under load.

Right half of the unit is cool to the touch.

Left upper half is warmer than the right side.

Left lower half is warmer still, although certainly not 'hot'.

Fan exhaust is indeed hot.

 

That's strange, I've seen the new Z get 6.4 for both graphics benchmarks elsewhere. These should all be the same since it's the same GPU, but it could just be that Windows Experience Index is not a great benchmark.

 

I'm also finding the fan noise really annoying. I've tried using the vaio control center silent mode, and it hardly makes a difference.

 

Yup, I find the fan noise annoying too. The high pitched whine sound seems to be most prominent when the fan is running at a lower rpm and this is what really annoys me especially in a quiet room. I actually prefer the noise the fan makes under full load because it's more of a whooshing noise than a high pitched whine.

 

Try setting up a profile in Windows "Power Options" and setting minimum processor state to 0% and cooling policy to "Passive".

Between "Power Options" (click on the battery indicator), "Windows Mobility Center" (CTRL + X) and display options (CTRL + P) you rarely should need OEM programs like like VAIO Control Center etc.

 

Its just that it seems so quiet compared to any desktop that to call it a high pitched whine is perhaps overstating it a bit.

I can hear what I think you are talking about if I hold my ear right up to the case (altho your ears are probably better than mine )

 

Well, you could try SonyStyle online and see if you can get 15% off the base model. If so then: $1900 - 15% = $1615 + whatever your tax is.

But the nice thing about BB is if they have them in stock (there's a lot to be said for instant gratification)

 

I knew the fan would be loud! Argh! That's it I'm cancelling my non-existent order!

 

At BB the Z is an "Available Online Only" model so the gratification won't exactly be "instant".....although slightly more "instant" than ordering from Sony....

 

Thanks, usefull info! Please keep us updated if you find anything else that may need to be installed.

 

(1)
Fast
High heat
Low noise

(2)
Fast
Low heat
High noise

(3)
Slow
Low heat
Low noise


Choose one. MacBooks (also MacBook Air) and the recent Dell M4400 I've used fall into the first category and result in throttling. The Z falls into the second category when under load, and IMO under the third category when idle on Stamina mode.

 

Is Silver the only color these Brick and Mortar Stores will get?

How about the Battery Drain, is it sill prevalent?

 

Seems like it is doing EXACTLY what it is designed to do. To efficiently move out all the heat from the laptop's innards !

 

Yes, the rest of it is remarkably cool considering how much power they've packed into such a small package.

 

My estimated shipping date has changed like four times. Now it's Monday.

 

My opinion on heat is that there are bound to be at least some "noise" coming from the fan. I mean one needs to fully understand that the new VAIO Z packs a powerful CPU as well as GPU. If the fan is not "doing its job," how the h**k is the heat generated by the internals coming out & thus maintaining the overall coolness of the notebook?

Furthermore, I think Sony is doing a good job because based on what I've read around this forum, the fan on the new VAIO Z notebook is less noisy that the ones on the old VAIO Z notebook that contain less powerful CPUs & GPUs. Surely, that says a lot about the "quietness" of these new VAIO Z series. Or am I wrong?

 

Hi,

I have the Z117 HK model and I can confirm that it has the US keyboard layout with no weird characters on the keys.

 

Hi, Ota-con!

That's great to hear! Now, if Sony HK would actually permit orders, that would be a great step forward! Unfortunately, the website claims that they're back-ordered, and it would appear from here, at least, that they won't even let folks get on the back-order list when they're out of stock - at least from the portion of the website that's shown in English. I've been completely unable to get the machine into my cart thus far. I've also emailed Sony HK, with no response yet. I'll keep trying.

Thank you very much for the solid confirmation!

Best Wishes!
Mark

 

Any1 have a nice HD video of their Z put up? would love to see one in action!! thanks

 

I was at the Sonystyle shop Causeway Bay in Hong Kong a few days ago and they said they will most probably get new stock towards the end of the month. But the problem is that they sell out before they get a chance to update the website or the sales callcenter.

 

That is good to hear. I am seriously considering the Z117GG from HK as it is probably the cheapest high spec Z available. Only thing that worries me is the crazy resolution. How are you finding the screen? What DPI setting do you use to make the text readable?

Yeah, I noticed the same thing...it seems that the lowere specced 128gb SSD version is available though. Might have to wait a while until the Z117 is available in the Sony Stores and go over and pick one up.

 

The full HD screen is nice. I would say medium setting 125% is comfortable for text. At smaller 100%...the text is pretty small...

Yes...the Z116 and Z115 is available...I guess everyone is after the Z117.

 

More observations:

The speakers are quiet to the point where it will require a call to Sony support. I have to crank them up to 80 in order to match what was about a 25 or 30 on the SZ.

Don't like the USB ports so close to the front. Plugging in a wired mouse, for instance, keeps the cord right where it's guaranteed to become snarled.

Miss the SZ's Fn+F1 key combination for switching between the different connectivity options. Will have to try to program that one back in.

And did I mention it was fast? Yes, fast. Word 2010 loads in about 1/2 second...seriously. Ditto for Excel and Outlook.

Tomorrow's projects will be my work environment: SqlServer, Visual Studio, etc.

 

Has anybody in the UK / Europe received theirs yet?

If so could you please post a picture of the european keyboard....

I am interested to see the differences between the UK and US keyboards, thanks.

 

No, it seems it's a pain for everyone to get it in Europe... Sipping date keep changing.. I was supposed to receive mine on the 8th, and it postponed to end of this week... I think I will get it next week...

SonyStyle ship in 4 to 5 weeks, and all resellers are waiting for their stocks.. everybody is in pre order...

 

Congratulations

My Z will be like yours but with HD screen and I will need to wait for it until middle of April.

I am planing to use my Z for development same as you. Please let me know about speed of building project in VS (especialy interesting if you have more then 2-3 projects and multiple setups in the solution ). Also are you planing to run virtual machines on it? (like VMWare)

Currently I am ruining my environment on Toshiba R600 and building one of my application with 8 setup takes at least 2 minutes. Also opening forms design especially if one have complicated design or opening any WPF form is painfully slow. Microsoft Expression Bland is also struggling on R600.

 

Yeah !

I have my UPS tracking number and its "Out for Delivery"

Its a shame I'm at work and the delivery is going home, I best ring the wife and make sure she doesn't steal my un-boxing glory.

Mappy

 

any owners frustrated by the shared keys for arrows and Home, Page UP/Down, and End?

any work arounds without having to press the FN key?

 

Also, is there a way to switch the Alt and Ctrl next to the arrow keys? I like to use Alt+Arrow with my pinky and ring finger to go forward and backwards in Firefox.

 

Yeah, that's been my biggest gripe since they switched to this keyboard design on the old Z. My even older SZ has a similar footprint with dedicated home/end and page up/down, not to mention full-sized arrow keys as well, so they really could have worked them into the existing space if they had wanted.

IMHO the best keyboard layouts in the notebook world are from Lenovo.

 

@Mappy
have you ordered a cto or preconfig model?

...because i have ordered a cto from germany at the end of february. then i got the mail for the start of the production on march 9th.
on march 13th the production was finished

then they said it will be shipped on the 16th buti haven`t heard anything new since the finish of the production.
Anyone else experienced something like this?
i know its just the 17th, but the z is produced so its not possible to say out of stock or something.

how long can it take to get a mail and get shipped?

 

Ok so heres my experience

25th Feb : Placed CTO order

25th Feb: Got a Order Acknowledgement email same day
"We expect your VAIO order to be shipped out to you within 4 to 5 week"


26th Feb: Payment Cleared Email

6th March: Order in Production Email
"We expect your VAIO order to be shipped to you between 14.03.2010 and 19.03.2010."

11th March: Factory Despatch Email
"We expect your VAIO order to be shipped out to you on 12.03.2010."

Then Nothing ( pre -sales - block)

So I call every day until I get a UPS number - I got told the number over the phone, I didnt get an automatic email containing the shipping ref - I asked an d the rep told me what it was over the phone

16th: March - I get UPS number

17th March: Order is on its way to my house now

YEAH !

 

I had the same experience as Mappy for my CTO order, with the exception that my expected delivery date is currently the 19th March.

 

Have any Z owners gotten an SSD configuration and then popped the optical drive out to add a hard drive to that bay?

I'm curious what the process is like, what you have to buy for a drive to fit comfortably, and if there are any quirks with having two disks installed (e.g. Sony's BIOS refusing to read more than one disk at a time or something).

 

Thx Mappy, thatsexactly the type of answer i wanted to get
so my Factory Despatch Email was 2 days later. so i will try to get my ups number today or tomorrow(DPD in Germany)via Phone.
But a cto is alwys dispatched from japan, right?!

 

I dont know whether its dispatched from Japan in the first instance

All I know is that it has to get from somwhere ( possibly Japan) to the Sony Netherlands distribution center before It can be shipped to a local UPS depot.

Heres the UPS data
DARTFORD, GB 17/03/2010 7:06 OUT FOR DELIVERY
17/03/2010 6:33 ARRIVAL SCAN
STANSTED, GB 17/03/2010 5:33 DEPARTURE SCAN
17/03/2010 5:07 IMPORT SCAN
17/03/2010 3:46 ARRIVAL SCAN
KOELN (COLOGNE), DE 17/03/2010 3:40 DEPARTURE SCAN
17/03/2010 3:36 DEPARTURE SCAN
17/03/2010 1:25 ORIGIN SCAN
NL 16/03/2010 12:19 BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

 

Stooooooopppp
pont 4 of ups-data:
KOELN (COLOGNE), DE 17/03/2010 3:40 DEPARTURE SCAN

i live in cologne
man i was so close to the(your) laptop^^

so 5 days after the factory dispatch it was in NL.
should be tomorrow 4 mine
Wow, with a lot of luck i could get my z friday/saturday. or at least next week...very very nice, hope im right!!!
but i still have to buy my ssd to swap the hdd.

 

I used SharpKeys when I first set up my Z to remap the Application and Right Ctrl keys as PGUP and PGDN, respectively. I found I really didn't use either (or at least, PGUP and PGDN are more important!). Unfortunately, you can't change the right ALT key or map any of the keys to become an FN key, but my method does just fine.

 

I'm interested in this dual-drive setup, too, but I'm concerned about voiding the extended warranty. Also, what drives (HDD or SDD) would the optical drive bay accommodate?

 

I'm not an owner (but thinkin' about it) and this issue is a biggie for me. I use the Home key in particular A LOT so I love having the dedicated key. I like being able to use just one hand to hit Home, just like we can use just one hand to hit Delete.

Frankly I think there was room for these dedicated keys on the Z, so I'm disappointed that they were not included.

 

Thanks for this suggestion dimension. You are absolutely right. the application key is seldom used. Unfortunately, i use the right ctrl key often and so i will use prt sc key instead to function as home. cheers

 

yeah i should have realised this. the older sz model had dedicated keys for home and the rest. but i've got to say the new z keyboard is a real pleasure to use. it's got the right tactile feel.

 

agreed. thinkpads keyboards are the best bar none.

 

How do you feel about the small 13.1" screen with high 1600x900 resolution?

Better yet, here's a thread asking about that if anyone here would like to post your comments.

Thanks.

 

Our principal app consists of about 20 sub-projects and takes about 45seconds to build on my desktop. Will run compares later today (I hope).

Yes, we use VMWare to run an installation of Asterisk on Ubuntu since it's a real-time telephony app. We also use it to run some copies of XP and Vista so that we can test the app for compatibility.

 

I've checked Fedex this morning, and it says my new Vaio Z CTO will arrive in Alberta tomorrow. So YES! It's coming!

 

Great thanks. My project are not that big but we have similar environment setup for development. Looking forward to hear about your experience with new Z and development tools we use.