Does your SZ vibrate ?

I noticed that the SZ650 they had in Best Buy a few weeks ago vibrated when I touched it.
They had the newer model SZ750 when I went in last week, and it vibrated even more.
Just a light touch and I could feel it vibrate. A little more pressure and it stopped.

At first I thought it was electrical, but I could even feel it when I touched the clear surface of the screen, which isn't metal. I thought it might be the hard drive, since it's around that area where it seems to vibrate the most.

The CR320 sitting next to it did not vibrate on the palmrest that way, though I could feel some vibration if I touched the metal strip on the left side of the laptop, near where I think the hard drive is located. But it didn't vibrate all over the way the SZ did.

Is this a "feature" of the SZ that they all have? Or is it only the ones at my local Best Buy that have it?

 

I don't know, but I was "studying" the SZ770 at the local Frys here and I didn't notice any vibration at all. Of course, I wasn't looking for vibration, but I held it, typed on it, etc. quite a bit and didn't feel any sort of vibration, or even the slightest trace of sound coming from it (although the store was somewhat noisy).

 

I wasn't trying to look for vibration. My palm brushed the palmrest when I was trying the keyboard, and zzzzzt. At that point I started checking it in various places, trying to figure out what it was that I felt.

If it were an electrical zap, it would feel the same no matter which part of the metal palmrest I touched, right? And I don't think the clear part of the screen would conduct electricity. The vibration was strongest on the left top of the palmrest. And it was most noticeable when I touched it very lightly, like when I brushed it getting ready to type.

 

No, if it was an electric shock then I think it would be impossible to feel it on the screen, and especially the carbon fiber casing. It also would most likely be uniform everywhere on the aluminum palmrests. It seems unlikely that the screen would vibrate, however, even if the machine is vibrating inside.

Edit: Further research shows this:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=44978

Strange, because the SZ650 and SZ750 shouldn't have 7200RPM hard drives. Maybe someone who actually owns a SZ6/7 could comment on this.

 

I have a SZ650 and I can assure that there is no vibration, even when the HDD is rotating...
However, it could be the and electrical choc, but again, like you said, you wouldn't feel it on screen...
(maybe the unit you tried had a missing plastic "leg" causing an instability ledding to the vibrations...)

 

My SZ381 doesn't vibrate unless when playing DVD. But that is normal for all laptops.

 

hi my sz doesnt vibrate, but the fan isnt exactly silent under a heavy load.

 

not sure what vibration u talking about, but my sz seem to be vibration free, even playing a dvd.

 

My SZ has never vibrated at all...even with a DVD or CD.

-Mike

 

Thanks for the link. Looks like duffyanneal had the reason for it

However with the one I saw/felt, I wouldn't say the vibration was subtle. Not if it was enough to be felt by touching the laptop's screen.
From the posts in this thread, it doesn't seem to be a problem with every SZ though.

 

i had SZ a year ago and I remember that "vibration", it also described "tingling sensation", I had Dell X1530 briefly for a few days and it exhibited the same thing. As far as I know it's due to aluminium used on palm rest, but I could be wrong

 

Yes, exactly same question was bothering me when I've had SZ in my posession. It looked like electric and at the same time I thought it might have vibrated. But only when you JUST touching the aluminum panel... It's a real thing that happens with SZ's covered with aluminum. I have checked couple SZ's at the store and they all had that issue. I am still thinking it's some kind of electric shock as it disappeared in a moment after you touch it.

 

Hi, I have a sz650 and have always had this vibration. It does not happen all the time, and I have yet to figure out what it actually is. It happens on the palm rest around the touchpad (more specifically I feel it the most in the angled part of the palm rest going to the keyboard). But it does not go away when I touch it; in fact if I slide my fingers gently across it, I feel it continuously. I always thought it was kind of cool. I have a Hybrid 5400 rpm harddrive btw.

 

Have the exact same device as you, and I can tell, I think it's some kind of electricity stuff...
Oh and, what is your boot time with your SZ?
I, from the moment when I it the power button to a usable desktop get between 1:05 and 1:10 (this includes the fingerswapping).

 

My boot time is more like 1:35. It used to be 1 minute like you but somehow it changed over time. It may have been when I followed the Vista tweaking guide and used TweakXP to defrag my disk. I don't know, but maybe it slows down boot up time for hybrid drives. In any case, when SP1 releases I am reformatting again.

 

This is WITH SP1 installed
Disks are defragmented and I used the tweak guide too (disabling lot of ****).
I did a disk image and from time to time do a full system restore, that way I always have a "fresh" Vista install

 

Yes, it definitely has a current-related vibration. I have been testing this with my Vaio SZ. If, for example, I remove my shoes and touch the aluminium cover firmly with one hand, if I rub my foot lightly on a smoothe cement floor my foot vibrates at the point of contact. Inversely, if I am standing on a floor and making a ground connection and I lightly rub the aluminium, especially where it is sloped towards the keyboard, I can feel a distinct vibration effect.

I took this a step further to confirm it. If I switch off the power supply and run off the battery, it stops immediately. The effect is not felt if I touch no ground - if I keep my feet off the ground for example. But then if I touch someone, there will be a slight vibration where we touch.

It is definitely unrelated to the hard disk rotation or anything similar. But I am unsure as to what exactly causes it. I know that some years back my company had a number of IBM thinkpads and we routinely got slight shocks when we were earthed and our wrists touched the metal sides. The Vaio has a more elegant and sophisticated effect!!!

 

Now I know why my wife likes to use my laptop in bed.

 

Pretty confident that it was the hard drive. Most floor models (in retail stores) are abused; they're plugged in to AC power and the power settings (typically) don't shut off the drives. Twelve hours a day seven days a week; notebook drives just aren't designed for that wear and tear.