Sony Vaio Z i5/i7 Official Owners Thread

1) May I ask at what resolutions?


2) Also is there any Sony Vaio Z gaming benchmark threads on this forum?

3) Would there be a difference in gaming performance between the i5 and i7 versions of Vaio Z?

 

Probably not. The GPU will be the bottleneck in the 330M + i5 configuration, so a better processor shouldn't improve performance. You may see slight performance increases with the i7 on CPU-demanding games (Crysis maybe?), but from what I've read, I'm comfortable that gaming performance won't be different between the two processors.

Can't speak from experience, because I don't have my Z yet. lao3hero had two Zs at one point though, one with an i7 and one with an i5. He was kind enough to post his experience indices (interesting that the i5 actually returned a slightly higher gaming graphics performance...):

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6198064-post4208.html

 

Yeah I saw that, but frankly that has to be impossible. Why would the graphics be better on an inferior processor?

Some settings might have been different, or it rates it differently, because the CPU/GPU is more even in the i5 machine, where it seems worse in the i7?


I dont really care if I get a i5 or i7. I am more worried that the 330m will be a major bottleneck. According to notebookcheck's review, they said the 330m is more like a 225m in the vaio z's case..

 

Those were at native res (1600x900)

 

It can almost certainly run at stock 330m speeds on near all vaio Z's, so that doesn't really seem to be a problem. (Temps don't get that much higher)

 

In addition, folks in this thread have also reported overclocking the GPU beyond its stock speed and achieving system stability.

It seems pretty clear though that the 330m is the "slowest" component in this system (regardless of processor), and thus will be the bottleneck. But IMHO, skull333's report of the GPU's performance is reassuring. And realistically, it is hard to expect a lot more out of such a tiny machine. This isn't really a gaming computer. And for its size and weight, its performance sounds fabulous. I'm very excited to get mine.

 

Hi,
Have just bought a Z11 and dont want (read can not) do a clean install. What crap programs can I remove?
I am used to Window Washer, has anyone tried it on z11 or shall I g for CCleaner?
I used to back up with Norton Ghost, but it does not seem to support SSD. Have anyone used Acronis or Gost and it works with creating an image back up? Any other good ideas how I shall do my backups and have an easy restore ppoint?
Best,
Chris

 

Acronis True Image and Ghost 15 both work on this system. And backups are your own choice, specific folders ,drives etc. We can't decide that for you.

 

I read a few like this???
Acronis True Image destroying alignment information? Useless for SSD / RAID use ? - Wilders Security Forums


Best,Chris

 

Has anyone had issues with the graphics? Anytime I play a 3d game it goes okay for a few minutes (regardless of the settings), and then starts stuttering. I have deleted and reinstalled the graphics drivers from Sony's site, but still the problem persists. Thoughts?

I have the Vaio Z 13 inch model with the i5

 

which game? I haven't had any such issues with BFBC2, Dirt 2, CoD:MW, UT 3 and various others

 

Maybe try changing the game to run on Directx 9 vs Directx 10. I had this problem with BFBC2.

edit: from the VPCZ1 (Vaio Z) Graphic Issues! thread... I thought my overclock was bad, it was just the DirectX acting up. Now it runs fine =)

 

lol, i see someone did noticed my that particular post
Thx

 

I am a noob at backup programs, may i know which of these 2 are more user-friendly? thx~

 

good review of the Z: Sony Vaio Z Series i5 laptop reflections Clarkezone on Zone

 

I'll give this a try - thx!

 

anyone know how to stop the annoying beep whenever i use the function keys to turn up/down brightness or volume? i turned off sounds in the control panel but they persist, thanks

 

Funny how many people are saying Optimus works on the Z1 and points to the thread on this forum. Guess that's what happens when Engadget picks up on it.

Fact of the matter is that, yes, it does work. Unfortunately, there is a slow boot-up problem and demo text overlays. Until these are resolved/removed, it isn't a viable option.

I'm going to make another few passes once a new Optimus driver package is made available.

 

Doesmt Nvidia's VERDE driver, mean that even Sony's VAIO line could use stock nvidia drivers?

Also, I use Badaboom to use the GPU to encode video. having the latest drivers could improve speed.

 

No. The open drivers are for Nvidia-only machines.

That doesn't mean one can't be shoehorned on, but it won't work by default.

 

Guys, are the Z11 and Z12 identical because I see the only difference is aluminium palm rest, but from where I am going to purchase , it clearly states High Durability & lightweight: Carbon top cover & single-piece milled aluminium palm rest. http://www.sony.com.sg/product/vpcz115gg

Can anyone clarify this for me

 

That's new. The pics look like the standard plastic flavor, but it sure does say aluminium.

+1 added to my upgrade list. We need a part number.

 

Sooo ?? The singapore version has aluminium palm rest ??

 

i think they meant the entire keyboard area, without the palm rest. I think this wont be changed, but if it does...wel great.

 

It says palm rest pretty plainly. Not too many ways of confusing that.

Could they be wrong? Certainly.

 

According to this review: Notebookcheck: Review Sony Vaio VPCZ11X9E/B Notebook

The CPU reaches 97 Degrees under stress, and the GPU 84 Degrees!

That's near maximum of what is dangerous for the life cycle of the components arent it?


Is it it the same on the i7 model(same or worse... higher temps?) and will it be a problem?



I am a bit concerned about this, as my previous laptop had a 8600m GT that would overheat. It was a very expenssive laptop, and I was sad when I couldn't use it for gaming/video editing because of the design flaw in it.

Since then I have been paranoid about temps in laptops...


The review doesn't list temperature as a negative thing, so I am a bit confused? Am I reading it wrong?



"The little Sony notebook's surface temperatures stay pleasantly tempered in all application situations. The Z11's surfaces even remain fairly cool even under extreme load due to its rather loud cooling system.

However, the internal sensors partly reach critical rates in our stress test. CPUID Hardware Monitor records up to 97°C for the processor and up to 84°C for the graphic card. However, a subsequently executed 3DMark05 delivered the expected points, which is why you likely won't have to count with throttling. After a longer gaming load, the internal temperatures stay at a good 66°C (GPU and CPU), though."


what does throttling mean?

and about the gaming load thing - Does that mean, that after gaming for a while that the temps go down, or dont they go down until after the gaming session is over?


So if im playing a game... say WoW, and I go AFK in the game, and the game has been on for hours, will it be hurtful for the computer with temps around 84/97 for a long time? I mean, if Im gaming and doing video editing a lot.. is it something I should worry about, even if I am not considering overclocking? (for the i7 version!)

 

Throttling refers to the system protecting the hardware by "throttling" down the CPU in order to avoid overheating and damage.

I agree that the review doesn't seem real clear in that paragraph. I especially like the word "partly" in the phrase "partly reach critical temperatures in our stress test." What does that mean? But I do take away that the reviewers were pleased with temperature control. Note that the "critical rates" were achieved during their stress test, which is specifically designed to push the components to their max. I don't think most games are going to probably push the CPU that hard (though they probably will push the GPU). Still, the 84 degrees recorded for the GPU during load looks fine to me. I personally wouldn't worry about that temp. The CPU temp does seem really high, but I bet you're not going to see temperatures reach that high under normal usage...even while gaming.

I don't think anyone in this thread has complained about overheating, even with the i7 processor. The community can correct me if I'm wrong. Any users out there see their CPU temps reaching close to 100 under load?

 

Has anyone in this thread noticed that windows get resized when going into Speed mode? It's not that big of a deal, but it's annoying to have to always change the size of my windows back to where they were whenever I go into SPEED mode.

 

oh mine doesn't...

 

In my Z11 no windows resizing when going into Speed mode.

I lose some pixels at the edge when I plug in external HDMI, specially in games: very frustrating, but that is another matter.

 

Afternoon Gents,

Just checking in to say I am now the proud owner of a Z series. I got the £2.4k prebuilt one (i7, 6GB, quad 256GB, etc).

First 30min impressions:

• the flex on the screen concerns me.
• it weighs nothing!
• Very nice overall build quality
• The disks are BLINDINGLY fast. I have used SSDs for approx 4 years now. My first was a 64GB gen1 in my Dell XPS1730 and cost me £500. SSDs in the past have been better than HDDs but each time I buy one I feel like it wasn't worth it... this one however..... holy mother of god its quick!

I can't wait to get a clean install and latest drivers on this puppy

 

I do have the said VPC-Z115GG(GW)/BI, not sure if it really has the AL palm rest. Definitely need to check it out.

BTW the VPC-Z117GGX also has the AL palm rest VPCZ117GG : Z Series : VAIO Notebook & Computer : Sony Singapore. But mine doestn't 'feel' like metal at all

Zoinks: How do I find out what the palm rest is made of?

 

moogleassassin,

Congrats on your purchase. I had that same POS SSD in a Dell M1330, no comparison.

Don't worry about the flex. It is completely normal.

 

The intel rapid storage technology reported that one of my drives is at risk and I should contact my manufacture and get it resolved. Anyone ever seen this. Should I be shaking in my little cotton socks? (seriously?)

 

Congratulations!

The flex was a bit odd for me, too (as I often see screen flex as a sign of weakness with the build). However, with a screen so thin, and for a machine so light, I now view it as a bit of a strength. I wouldn't worry about this whatsoever.

Enjoy the machine! I love taking it everywhere with me (WaterField Cozmo FTW). Doesn't ever feel like I have it with me. And I actually rarely stay tethered to the wall with it. Just a stupendous machine.

 

Run a "Verify" pass from within the Intel control panel. See what it tells you.

You may have a bunk disk so I'd also recommend backing up any important data.

 

Thank you for the input. I recently upgraded my external display from an old VA Iiyama 1680x1050 display to the FHD Mitsubishi RDT231WM-X 23" IPS display (nice display, perfect viewing angles and HDMI audio works well with the Z). I had to cycle through the various external monitor modes to overwrite the old monitor's settings, which were still saved. Now, switching between to SPEED mode doesn't change the window size any more, as far as I've tested.

It's convenient using an external monitor with the same resolution as the Z so I don't have to mess around with resizing all my work to fit a new resolution (whether it be higher or smaller).

 

Is the Vaio Z a quad core i7 or a duel core i7 because the cpu usage is showing me 1-4 cores?

 

duo core, you see 4 because of hyperthreading (virtual cores basically)

 

Hyperthreading allows two threads to run per core (by providing two sets of registers to switch between). So a hyperthreaded quad core would show 8 threads.

 

I paid well over 2 grand for the new Z and there are a few things I'm not satisfied with. I am surprised with the slow bootup even though the machine's got dual SSDs. It takes 40 seconds to boot up to Win 7 desktop screen. The shutdown process is also rather slow. This is all after a clean install of Win 7. One more thing is the frequent crashes with the Speed mode enabled. The HD Youtube videos work in Stamina mode but when its in Speed mode (fullscreen), it just completely freezes the notebook and emits a high buzzing noise. I had a UL30VT before and did not encounter those problems and the Z is more than double the price. Is Sony aware of these issues?

 

My turn to complain about the Z
Of course its a wonderfull machine ! but,

- when it goes to sleep or shutsdown and is then turned back on with an external monitor connected in extended view with the laptop monitor, the brightness on the laptop monitor goes to highest setting and cannot be controlled with the FN button anymore (probably the graphics drivers)

- Im having nvidia driver has crashed and was restored warning errors after moving my mouse afetr the screen turned off

-its ridiculous to have two buttons (vaio and assist) which don't do anything useful

and thats pretty much it for the moment. As i said though, great machine for heavy duty calculations/ CAD and video games

 

I'm very happy with my machine so far. No crashes, the only time the video driver restarted was when I first attached an external enclosure (ThermalTake, now on sale on NewEgg). Single SSD (X25-M), 35 sec to boot from power button pressing to desktop including fingerprint reading.

Very happy with VirtualBox, initially thought of upgrading to 8GB memory but now I think it's not that urgent. Running Ubuntu 10.04 with no issues at all, this is bliss

Going to stop talking now or I'll jinx myself...

 

Thanks guys. A friend of mine was asking me this question on Youtube, didn't know what to say before but I told him now.

I know what you mean. When watching HD videos on fullscreen, the BLACK SCREEN OF DEATH does occur. This happens only on speed mode which means there should be something wrong with the Sony/Nvidia drivers.

Did anyone found out a solution yet for this issue or know when Sony/Nvidia will release a driver update?

 

Hi,

I'm a VMWare user myself and use it on the Z. I didn't realise VirtualBox existed until recently. Have you made a conscious choice to use VirtualBox rather than VMWare (I'm keen to hear your opinions on both if you've used them---I'm too lazy to install VirtualBox and try it out)?

 

Does anyone know if the plastic palm rest is attached to the metal surrounding the keyboard, the graphics switch, etc.? I got into a bike accident the other day and bashed the metal in next to the left of the graphics switch and below the left hinge. As some of you may remember, my palm rest's paint is already fading (it's so ugly now... one big smudge). I'm just wondering if when they replace the metal, the palm rest will also be replaced... like is it all one piece?

 

Other problems I've had (I've posted about some already):
- The laptop wakes up sometimes when in sleep mode. Not sure why.
- The screen dies often. Sometimes I'll close the lid, open it up, and it'll be black but you can still hear things. Or sometimes, I'll open the lid and everything will be staticy, like when you don't have a signal on a TV. It's snow. I've also gotten a lot of pop-ups saying the graphics card failed or something to that effect.
- This laptop gets HOT! Even for basic things sometimes. I'm not sure if it's damaged (I posted earlier how it turned on while in my bag and overheated), but maybe other people are experiencing this?
- Palm rest's paint has faded drastically.
- The mousepad's paint is also fading.
- The lid seems to get scratched out of nowhere. It'll be sitting there and I'll notice a new scratch!
- I can see keyboard marks on the screen. I treat this laptop like it's a priceless vase, so I don't understand why there's already marks showing up. Maybe from some pressure while in its bag in my backpack?

 

SurferJon,

If I were to take a guess, I'd think they would replace the entire keyboard assembly, including the palm rest, when replacing the metal housing.

Everything is removable, but not easily.

 

Hello,

I didn't spend too much time comparing the too, I think VMWare has more features but I won't be using most of those anyway. I wanted something light, and VirtualBox is also free

There's one issue though: at times the Windows key gets 'stuck', i.e. when I press 'U', it became 'Windows'+'U'. I can just press 'Windows' to get it back to normal, it bugs me just a little. Maybe I will try VMWare sometime...

 

I haven't searched for this, so forgive me, but I'm in the airport and don't recall what package needs to be installed to enable the Sony headphones noise canceling function (I'm on a clean install).

Any quick tips?