Sony Vaio Z i5/i7 Official Owners Thread

For those having problems with the pixel issue on their laptop, "Dio" kindly posted this link on a different thread.

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-software-solutions-to-fix-a-stuck-pixel-on-your-lcd-monitor/

Since this laptop has been out for less than a month, here is another link if you want to put a carbon fiber look on your palm rests to try and prevent discoloration just in case it becomes widespread.

http://www.sgpstore.com/advanced_sea...ds=laptop+skin

Hope it helps...cheers.

 

Just do a quick good... dead pixel laptop. You'll see every manufacture has a "dead pixel problem" It's not a Sony problem. as I mentioned before Asus is the only company i know of with a good dead pixel policy.

Analogies are usually used to help make a something you are trying to express more clear. Obviously using this Toyota analogy is far off enough that people's attention is taken away from what you are trying describe. And furthermore when you have to explain your analogy more it's pretty much a failed analogy. Those facts alone should be enough for you drop it

 

Untill we have a wrist rest clear option, this could also do, although my stickers would be covered:


$16.99 is not bad: http://www.sgpstore.com/product_info.php/products_id/1303

Btw, we are focusing on the wrist rest, the keys will get oily and shiny after a few months, any solution for that?

 

Folks, I lied.

The color of the palm rest DOES NOT GO ALL THE WAY THROUGH. It is indeed painted.

This is my mistake. I'll post more pics later.

 

That looks quite good, any idea how it's stuck on? It's not a giant sticker, is it? Then again, I don't know how else it can remain there... I guess a cloth to cover the area would also be necessary otherwise the screen might get into contact with it.

=======================

All the talk reminded me of Marie, "Everybody loves Raymond"'s mother. She wraps her couch in some sort of transparent sheet...

===================================

There's this keyboard skin sold on the same website, nothing for the Z but perhaps it'll come soon:

 

Looks like it is for the old z? I though the wrist rests differ for the old and new z

 

Both the types are painted Zoinks. Rem the Z demo at the sony style store...the silver paint has scratches and was worn down and the silver paint is gone at the edges and stuff

 

BTW Guys. Incase you didn't need the full power of an i7 and wanted a Z for a good price. The Sony Oulet has a 30% coupon right now for some decent deals.

And no i'm not trying to thin the ranks of my competitors trying to get the i7 Z >_>

 

Knowing is half the battle

 

@Zoink: I've looked at the DIY custom kit from BSE. They do have some good stuff and luckily for me they offer international delivery. What are the measurements of the film I need to order?? Actually, I'll just wait for the manual.

 

Like I said before....I'm not going to beat a dead horse and considered the matter done perhaps you don't read very well. If you want to come in at the end ippikiokami and take your cheap shot....hope you enjoyed it.

 

12"x14", I purchased 5 of them

 

I think the dead horse is now hamburger.

Lets just move on

 

Hi Hollywood,

why don't we agree to disagree n just move on

 

@Zoink: 5 sounds like the right number, I was thinking to buy more than one myself knowing that I can get very clumsy at times. Although I don't think I'd want to protect the lid. I like the metallic feel and I don't think my lid will get damaged easily.

The palmrest on the other hand... is an entirely different thing. I'd do whatever I can to stop it from getting worn out by oil or anything. Do you also protect the keyboard keys?

 

Sounds good to me....

Here is another option I found on a thread about placing a Carbon Fiber look on the back of a lcd screen but it could also work for the palm rest. This method would look like a custom fit as well, once you apply with a blow dryer carefully cut around the palm rest edges where there is a thin gap of space with a razor blade and you're done.

If you want to take the stickers off without ruining them and apply them over the carbon fiber palm rest skin, its easier if you use dental floss and drag it under the sticker slowly, lift a corner of the sticker first then the dental floss to separate the sticker from the rest of the palm rest.

Here is a link on how these guys apply it to a mirror.......thoughts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pH6j9lmwrE

Edit:

I think the Carbon 3 or 2 style would look the best.

http://www.decalfx.com/carbon_3_black_sheets.html

http://www.decalfx.com/carbon_2_sheets.html

 

Thanks. Dental Floss works great. It really helps to give that initial lift. Why didn't I think of that?

 

Glad I could help....cheers.

 

I'm writing up the post now...

Published: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=478061

 

I have just read a user from http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1416453&p=5#r91 state the changes (or lack of) in the second generation of Zs coming out mid-late May in Australia.

The lower end comes with 3G as standard the the higher end model stays the same... possibily may come with a free PS3 (only in Australia by the sounds of it).

So for guys in the US, I don't see many changes (if any) as you guys can already CTO 3G cards.

Edit to add:

Quote directly from the link above:

"The Z127 is the same as the Z116 but has built-in 3G.

The Z128 is the same as the Z117 but comes with a "free" PS3 via redemption..."

 

Interesting re: May refresh on Z. Sooner than expected. I was hoping for July.

So based on the new model numbers, the 2nd digit is the digit that changes per refresh.

Currently in US, its Z1 1x, the next refresh will then be Z1 2x, followed by Z1 3x, Z1 4x and so forth.

 

Mistake.......

 

Okay so I tried the Windex on the palmrest and it did absolutely nothing. XD

 

@Zoink: I remembered you mentioning that you also installed the skin from BSE on your BB Bold 9700. Just one question about that, does the skin also cover the leather part of the back cover?

 

I have a problem with turning off the dvd player: when I boot my Z, the dvd is turned off (as configured in battery mode), bt when I switch to balance mode or I plug the AC adapter, the dvd player is turned on automatically (even if in the power mode, I have decided to keep it off) and refuses to be turned off manually.
When I come back to energy saving mode and pull off ac adapter it is still on ...
Anyone encountering the same issue ?

 

Is it common to have no change in specs for a mid year refresh?

 

It covers both, but I didn't use that specific piece.

 

I fixed my problem about the error msg box : \device\harrdisk1\dr1
I changed the drive letter of the first ricoh card reader (D: -> F: ) and I didn't see this error anymore.

D: is now my dvd drive.

Card reader have to be not C: (of course) or D:. That's what I learned today.

 

how did you change the drive letter ??

 

Well a late May refresh goes with Sony Vaio's history of being refreshed every 12 or so weeks.

Technology moves fast! One can ever catch up... unless if you have a heap of spare cash

 

Well I've been waiting for the U.S. release of the Acer 3820TG to see reviews and compare to the Sony Z. But it's taking Acer forever and I'm inching ever closer to getting the Z. So I need advice guys...

i7 or i5? I plan on overclocking the GPU and if you've seen any of my previous posts you'll know I'm worried about heat. I'd like the increased power of the i7, but if the heat difference (especially under load) is significant, I'm thinking I'll opt for the i5. I'd like a bit extra battery life anyway (though I guess the geekmontage review didn't see much difference). Any comments?

Thanks.

 

Depends on what you'll be doing with your Z. If you want to use it for encoding and other softs that are cpu intensives, go for i7.
If not, or if its also for gaming (as your gpu overclock suggests) the i5 520m is more than enough, believe me I have it, and I use it for gaming. You will be limited by the gpu not by the i5 520m.

 

It won't work for you mate cuz you want to OC the GPU and also at the same time want better battery life. OCing and battery life cannot exist together

 

Got it from Conics:

o Conics gets it with Japanese Windows, they then install English Windows. No English recovery partition. They do however burn the Japanese recovery DVD and include it. They also say the license sticker on the bottom of the laptop is valid for any language of Windows.

o I see Acronis on the machine, I had thought it wasn't standard. No bloatware.

o Conics checked it before shipping, I see no dead pixels.

o It's FHD, with the font size at 100%. I love it.

o Fan is pretty quiet, softer than my room's air conditioning. The HDD is louder.

o Palmrest is smooth, doesn't look plasticky to me. When I ran my fingers over it, it sounds hollow. That's when I thought it might be plastic.

o Laptop is thicker than I thought, then again I come from a really thin netbook. And, in a weird way, I'm glad because of the things I want to fit in it.

o Storage controller is ICH8M-E/ICH9M-E/5 series SATA RAID Controller. Does this mean it has two controller chips? I had thought the Z only had the first controller...

 

Only 1 SATA controller

 

Congrats tofu...has been a ride but it is so worth it Hdd in 2010...yuck jk...have fun

 

My X-25M has been hanging around for 1 month. But that's the consolation prize: I'm still working on adding hardware RAID. The next board I'm testing (with a Steelvine 5744) will also (coincidentally) be arriving today. I don't think ICH8M-E/ICH9M-E supports port multiplying, but that's ok since 5744 supports hardware, on-board RAID config and I've gotten a SiI3124 host controller anyway...

 

Thats interesting. let us know how it goes

 

I am also thinking of raiding a pair of X18-M in my Z. Looking forward to your project.

 

The RAID boards I manage to find seem to be of a certain size, smaller than the 2.5" drive, but larger than the Sony SSD space (I can confirm later today or this weekend). So yeah I probably have to use the X18-M as well (waiting for NewEgg to drop the price below $200, but I don't think that's going to happen). For the connectors on the board I'll probably have to solder the SATA cables directly onto it, but I'll have to verify the amount of space first...

I suppose someone skilled in building multi-layer PCB can try and buy the RAID chip and surface-mount that with the rest of the components, I think all those can fit within the Sony SSD space. Too bad I don't have that level of skill nor equipment (PCB manufacturing).

 

I suppose one can try this but not sure of the performance gain

http://www.photofast.tw/products/ssd-evo.html

 

That was my first choice. It seems a bit wide but that might not be that big an issue. The thing is I couldn't find some place to buy it, and in the video I think the bloke said it costs $1000 or something That's like... 4 80G Intel X18Ms, or like 300+ tank full of gas...

 

I think that's price of the drive combo (adapter + 2 SSD). The adapter shouldn't cost much. The expensive part is the custom build SSD (like the Sony one)

 

According to this site the adapter costs around US$100.

http://shop.tsukumo.co.jp/goods/4571281834081/209999900000000/

 

Wow, someone needs to try that out I'll see if I can get install / config info...

Edit: I should have asked Conics to package it together with the Z. D*mn...

Edit: This statement on the website looks strange:

 

I think it means you cannot RAID a RAID drive (what a mouthful )

 

A lot of the websites pointed to by Google is in Japanese

I'm wondering why, if a RAID-ed disk appears as a single device, it cannot be cascaded (Steelvine's latest generation can do this). Someone said in one of the English pages that it's because of the J-Micron controller, I guess it's not easy to explain why the two kinds of controllers will interfere...

Still, someone needs to try it Or at least translate a real-world customer review into English... Again, I should have asked Conics if they could package it together...

 

Asus is very friendly about dead pixels, but frankly, I'd argue they have the worst screens (viewing angles are horrific and bleeding on the edges). Not to bust on Asus (still my favorite company along with Sony).

 

Enjoy

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/28..._monster_v5_256gb_solid_state_disk/index.html