Sony Vaio Z i5/i7 Official Owners Thread

Looks like the flights are going back to normal (BBC says 75%) today, I'm guessing there'll still be a queue of stuff the shipping company needs to deliver in addition to Sony's products. But at least things are moving And I'm thinking Sony would be inundated by calls, maybe later today when things calm down some rep might actually be brave enough to figure things out...

 

The volcanic ash has screwed up pretty much all shipments across Europe.

We tried sending a few servers from the US to London and Amsterdam via FedEx. They went out the 13th with next day service. They still haven't arrived.

I do some work with BMW of North America. The folks I talk with there said it has caused them massive problems with parts shipments. Apparently it is tough to even send them via cargo ship. They are all filled up.

It's really a horrible situation.

 

So you mde backup Disks with the Vaio utility and then restored using those CDs? If so you should have seen the option to get rid of the bloatware partition and then also get rid of bloatware during re-install. It is not called bloatware, it is called factory installed programs or something like this. You can search Zoinks and my posts we talk about it in this post several times.

 

Thanks fella, That makes me feel a little better knowing it's not just me. I'm obviously aware of the situation but it's hard to tell where you are when goods disappear into the twilight zone between producer and delivery service provider. Guess I'll just have to remain patient and keep myself distracted with the ongoing shenanigans in the hybrid/optimus driver thread. Realy want to get cracking on trying to get 'em working on the VPC Z.

 

Zoink, I had the same problem as SurferJon. The discolouration happen on the first day when I used a pencil eraser to remove the manufacturer stickers residual adhesive.

Also, I think the discolouration has been made worse due to frequent usage. Although I'm not entirely sure.

Here are the pictures


The slightly more intense discolouration happen after I used the pencil eraser, My guess is that is friction burnt.
IS there any advice to remove the discolouration? and also, the "squarish" mark from the manufacturer stickers are an eyesore, anyway to remove it ?

EDIT: I'm sorry for posting an oversize image, I'm in a rush and no time to resize.

 

I had a question for current owners from a potential Z owner. I am RIGHT about to pull the trigger but I still have hesitations over this Z's future proof. I plan on keeping this laptop for the next 4 years and I have 2 concerns:

1. Do you owners believe the SSDs will maintain a reasonable speed and not die in 4 years?

2. Do you think the GPU will be able to handle future games adequately in low/med? (i.e. Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3?)

Thanks a lot, hoping to join the club!

 

My own opinion: yes and yes.

 

Have you tried other power settings besides the super battery saver mode?
I use balanced. It gives me over 5hr web surfing on the standard battery and I have not noticed any stuttering.

 

To those with imported Z models from the US. You may well find that when you do the sim card mod that your wwan module is unlocked.
I was discussing with another forum member yesterday who did a sim mod with a US model UNDP-1 and they discovered that they could actually use this wwan module in the EU on the HSDPA network.
So you might be in luck. In the US other networks might be locked out but that might not apply to the EU. Wait and see i suggest.

That picture dliem posted is quite shocking.

 

Never, ever use an eraser to remove adhesive. Horrible idea.

Just use the sticker itself to remove any goo left behind. This is how I removed all my stickers and the palm rest is perfect.

Get some cellophane tape (normal tape), wrap it around your fingers and blot on the area.

Lastly, lets call this what it is... wear marks. Discoloration is misleading. What you are seeing is what happens when the plastic is worn down from skin oil and friction. The plastic is not actually changing color.

 

Your pics are so blurry it's hard for me to know what it is. It could be where the eraser ground into the plastic finish, causing discoloration from the glue that was already there combined with the abrasive rubber from your eraser, which ground it into the finish. My handrest is still perfect with the stickers removed, using a method that I and others touched on in earlier posts as well as the above post.

Trying stuff on your own without taking time to research the threads here can cost you sometimes. Judging from your blurry pics you seem like someone in a hurry to get things done. I could be wrong but it looks a bit too late for advice. Even if you did not feel you had time to search this thread you should have at least asked us in a post here before trying something like that on your own.

 

I think it is confirmed unlocked. The way these cards work is that you load a specific pre-compiled firmware onto the card for a carrier, or a generic one. If you download the EU tool, "WAN Connection Manager" it will allow you to load a different firmware on your US Verizon WAN. This doesn't do you much good without a SIM slot, however. There is a door for the SIM underneath the battery but it appears as if there is no SIM receptacle behind it.

 

If the plastic silver palmrest is the same color all the way through and not just a coated finish perhaps there is a way to remove the discoloration using something like formula 409 high strength kitchen cleaner. I'm not responsible for the results if you try it though.

 

I've ordered a customized serie Z 8 days ago, and since it went into production 3 days ago I called customer service to get a more accurate shipping date. They told me there would be delays because of the volcano ash. I'm gonna have to be more patient then.
Thought I should share the info with the others waiting for their order. I'm in Europe (most precisely Paris)

 

You are not alone, today I got infamous "Shipment exception: Delay beyond our control" status from Fedex. It manage to get to Europe (from Japan) but they didn't manage to put it on a plain for Serbia today. Hope tomorrow it will be here. Then day or two lost with the customs and it will hopefully be in my hands. This is just unbearable, two month of waiting and now problems with shipment caused by volcano

 

A word has been banging on the inside of my head quite a bit so I'll let it out: alcohol. I think it's a safe (and cheap) way to try rubbing alcohol to dissolve any impurities that might be sticking to the surface. Another couple of words would be "Goo Gone" (or something similar) but I think that may be a bit strong...

The picture isn't so clear, I'm guessing the palmrests aren't completely smooth, so if you decide to clean it maybe something like a toothbrush will help. If I were you I would try on a small patch first...

And I'm thinking if you have a silver case and you manage to bleach the palmrests white, that might look quite cool

 

That doesn't look good at all.....prevention now is the only way to stop that from happening.

So disappointed in Sony right now......seems they have followed in the footsteps of Toyota.

 

Or maybe, just don't use a pencil eraser to take off the sticky goo....

Come on people really! Toyota! seriously?

 

These Icelanders. Not content with stealing UK savings and stopping people getting back to the UK, they are now stopping me getting my Vaio Z!

[Joke by the way...apologies to any Icelanders I have offended]

 

How you actually remove keys. Is there some direction you need to bend it?

 

Looks like the new Macbook Pro line has problems switching on and off the GPU.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/21/macbook-pros-with-nvidia-geforce-gt-330m-silicon-making-question/

I like my Sony Z three way GPU switch a lot better now.

Can't they get those two USB ports any closer together?


Still, is it only the Z 330M that was underclocked and not the MBP?

 

It's all a sinister plot by Bjork.

 

409 is too strong. You just need to use Windex to pull up the skin oil. Just spray the rag, not the palm rest. Use a soft touch and just rub it like crazy

Insert proactive "that's what she said" <here>

Totally agree

As these kind of things go, I'm sure the Apple community will blame it on Intel or Nvidia. Too bad Sony and Asus have this working, Sony for several years.

 

I believe the GT 330M in the mbp is underclocked to 500mhz on the core; slightly faster than a stock vaio z (475mhz). Don't remember what the shader and mem clocks were on the mbp.

 

On the volcano...

http://www.fedex.com/us/update.html

 

Hi all! I am new to this forum. I got yesterday my Sony Z11FHX/XQ with the new HD screen (1920*1080). Fantastic machine. Except... when you put a black background on the desktop, and look closely, you notice a lot of green (dead) pixels. On mine, i found 7. A friend with the same machine found 9.

Is it something common with the new LCD screen? Dead pixels are hardly noticeable on a screen like that, but they unfortunately exist.

Thanks for your help.

 

Four small plastic clips hold it on, I bent the back upward first, gently until it pops. Then after the back was off, I pulled the front up until those popped. After that, only the metal bar is left which also snap out easily once the four plastic clips are popped.

 

I don't believe that's common. I have gotten several Sony's of different types and have yet to find a dead pixel.

 

Have of you guys in the US figured out how to get the 1920x1080 screen?

-Acree

 

www.conics.net

 

Wonder if it has anything to do with different GT 330M models (device ID 0A29 in MBP vs. 0A2B in Z). Like different stock clocks, for instance.

 

....Anyone?

 

You mean you got your sony vaio Z up to 90 degrees Celsius(~194 degrees Farenheit?) O.O I didn't think it got that hot... However, I did see some people managing to get their CPU's/GPU's to ~80-85 degrees Farenheit...

edit: actually, I stand corrected... There are reports before of people getting their vaios up to 80 degrees Celsius

 

Forget about the pencil eraser, the fact that the wear/discoloration occurs on the palmrest so quickly within a month is not good news....yes I stand behind the comment of Toyota. You spend $3k-5k and the palmrest is wearing out within a month and as a tip with many people you get 4-9 burned out pixels.

I don't see the quality in that...do you?

 

80-85 deg. C. sounds typical. 90 is a tad hot though.

 

You must be playing on high performance energy profile. By default it is configured (you can see it advanced option for battery) to stay at 100% in cpu performance (min and max). My advice is to lower the min cpu to 5% (therefore when the game is not using much cpu, it will heat less) and max cpu to 90% (you won't be using turbo boost, which burns the hell out of your core i5 or 7).
Don't forget to put the fan to performance mode in VAIO control center.

With this you should get less than 80°C.

Hope this will help

EDIT : by the way Crysis is obviously a gpu limited game for the 330M, so with or without turbo boost, it won't affect your fraps.

 

I've had mine for one month also and it still looks like new (I don't know maybe its because it's silver or maybe it's because I DIDN'T TAKE A PENCIL ERASER TO IT!)

I also have a Vaio Tx (in silver) that I have had, and used every day, for over 4 years, still looks like new.
(Its palmrest is plastic by the way)

I even have a Vaio Z505 from 1998 (yes, (sigh) the purple one). I will admit that one no longer looks brand new (in fact it sorta looks like the picture of the one that had the eraser treatment done on it)

But seriously, I don't mean any disrespect, just a little humor . If it's dirty then a little goo-gone may do wonders. If its shiny from wear then perhaps I wonder if a little abrasive buff may bring it back to its brand new wonderfullness.

After which, perhaps the application of the 3M plastic covering that Zoinks was talking about. In fact I think that may be just the ticket for all of our plastic, easily worn out, palmrests.

Anyone want to start a business out of making aluminum replacement palmresets?

 

What is a SECURE_DElete? sorry I'm a newb to computers. Does the degration only occur when all the space on the drive has been taken up and then you delete stuff?.......And even if the problem is not immediate, If I am gonna fork over 2500 for lappie.......it needs to not have any problems even ones that won't take place soon.

 

Why would we want to buy it from japan?

 

try using duck tap.. put a strip over the affected area and leave it on for a min than peel it off and dab it or reapply it and take it off .. see if it rips off any dirt.. worked for me

 

Because the Japanese models have MANY more options in regards to color, screen, bluetooth, etc. There's even speculation(or maybe confirmation) that the non-US HD screens are better than the ones in the US Signature Series one.

 

Ok , I've changed the min cpu to 5% and max cpu to 90%.
Where do I exactly find the fan option in VAIO control center?

 

Open VAIO control center, then go to power management section, then options, there you should see temperature controle strategy: select performance or balanced (if you want less noise).

 

@cons5179: I think it's a bit late already for me to use ductape as I removed the stickers a month ago and now there's no residual adhesive left to remove

@Zoink: I shall try using windex or alcohol to remove it, hopefully it works as that wear mark from oil AND the eraser is too much of an eyesore.

 

I would assume that one would have to pay a significant amount in duty fees and customs taxes when importing a +$2000 laptop.

 

Am I just odd or what but I don't mind the stickers that are on the Zs?

 

I actually like them...gives me a warm fussy feeling.

 

Yeah, same here, haha Reminds myself how cool the machine is! I have never ever wanted to remove any stickers from laptops before.

Anyway, still it is pretty bad that the palm area is losing its colour only after a month of use!

 

If that doesn't work and you really can't handle the site of the marks, maybe you can put on some "classy" stickers? Or maybe even find some solid colored stickers and stick them on the entire palm rest. It will look a little off and MAYBE a little tacky, but at least you can cover up that battle scar

 

no u ain't odd, at least not to me; i luv ma stickers!

Esp. the iCore 7 & the Full HD ones..