Finally a real Vaio Z review

In german: http://www.notebookjournal.de/tests/638/1
Translated: http://translate.google.com/transla...nal.de/tests/638/1&sl=de&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

 

Does that benchmark show 270 min battery life?

 

Yes 4.5 hours for 2.53Ghz under some load I believe.

 

Good Find.
The extended battery doesn't stick out does it (like the lenovos)?!

 

The extended battery sticks down.

 

I believe the 6 cell sticks out on T400. The 6 cell on Sony Z does not stick out.

 

That's wicked how it sticks down, it's like a little docking station!!

 

Disappointed with the battery life on Stamina mode. I thought Montevina would show much better battery life performance. Wasn't the Thinkpad X200 supposed to get 8-9 hrs? I understand that's attained with a 9-cell battery, but nearly double the battery life with 3-cell increase?

My Santa Rosa MBP easily gets 4 hours with some normal usage load on OSX (a bit less on Vista though). But it uses a dedicated nVidia 8600 graphics card at all times.

 

Yeah, I'm torn between liking it 'cause it elevates the back for a better typing angle and airflow underneath (cool thighs!) and worrying that it might stick out annoyingly far when you are carrying it around or stowing it in a bag/case. I haven't seen one in person yet.

 

Just get both and your dilemna is solved

 

You must not have noticed that that 4.5 hours was under a constant 30% CPU load. That's amazing. Under a constant load like that most laptops will drop to 30 minutes to 2 hours battery life, and the Z manages to get 4.5 hours under a constant load. You should be able to get 6+ hours easily on the Z, probably even 7.

 

hey phil, I was first: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=272690&page=198

tests are ok on notebook journal but there also some strange statements about the palmrests, hinges and a non-glare display. but nevertheless it is the first review and gives a little orientation.

 

Actually, the first review was that Japanese one with all of the benchmarks. But who's counting!

 

I am writing a review on this machine (but in Czech) and I have hiend model with C2D P8600, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD, GF9300 (256MB) and 1600x900px LCD, but... I am very unhappy, that this machine will replace good old SZ series, which has better keyboard and quiet fan. This fan is annoying (everytime) and GPU temperatores are very high (>90°C) when testing 3D games in speed mode (dedicated graphics).

Moreover I have a problem with CPU performance. It's 25% lower in speed mode in all benchmakrs (fixed 2,4GHz frequency); for example Cinebench:

Code:

CINEBENCH 9.5 - INTEL
****************************************************

Rendering (Single   CPU): 318 CB-CPU
Rendering (Multiple CPU): 563 CB-CPU

Multiprocessor Speedup: 1.77

Shading (CINEMA 4D)                : 375 CB-GFX
Shading (OpenGL Software Lighting) : 803 CB-GFX
Shading (OpenGL Hardware Lighting) : 1080 CB-GFX

OpenGL Speedup: 2.88

****************************************************

CINEBENCH 9.5 - NVIDIA
****************************************************

Rendering (Single   CPU): 233 CB-CPU
Rendering (Multiple CPU): 420 CB-CPU

Multiprocessor Speedup: 1.81

Shading (CINEMA 4D)                : 270 CB-GFX
Shading (OpenGL Software Lighting) : 1042 CB-GFX
Shading (OpenGL Hardware Lighting) : 2107 CB-GFX

OpenGL Speedup: 7.80

****************************************************

...I think it's a problem with CPU overheating :-(

 

OMG Swarm!!!!!!!

Are you 100% sure u got a legit Sony Z WITH new Centrino 2 intel processor???????

(Sonority is officially in a state of DENIAL..)

 

oh sh*t, i just placed my order

 

It's not meant to be a gaming machine. There are other laptops which are more geared towards that.

And in your CPU tests, what CPUs are you comparing against?

 

Swarm, how's the battery life on Stamina and Speed modes? I am seriously thinking of the Thinkpad X200 now (very quiet + 8-9 hr battery life), and $1000 cheaper.

 

full brightness, wifi on, 4h, surfing downloading, watching you tube.

 

Stamina or Speed?

 

When do you think you'll finish your review? There's just one crappy one on Zive , where the reviewer even doesn't know it comes witch Blu-Ray opinion outside Europe....

Looking forward to have quality review in Czech

 

stamina mode. i think you can easily get 4.5-5.0 if you lower the settings. i am on silent mode and max battery life mode.

 

Both test are with same laptop and same CPU. First in Stamina mode (Intel GMA), second in Speed mode (NVIDIA). Main problem is that the CPU dependant tests should be indentical.

4:55 - text reading/writting with powersave settings, 30% brightness, stamina mode and disabled wifi/BT = less than SZ.

I have it only one day. I did only some benchmarks (HWiNFO, Cinebench, 3Dmarks, battery) and some measurement (temperatures, power consumption). I have one week to do all the work, but it will spend next one week, until it will be published (NOTEBOOK.cz).
It's 3rd VAIO notebook in my lab this month (VAIO FW11S, VAIO SR19VN).

 

Is the fan really THAT bad? Also in stamina mode? We've heard many different opinions about it. I'm interested in how it sounds just surfing the web using stamina mode and an energy saving profile so the processor mainly uses lower frequencies (Intel speed step) - since most of the time there's no need to use whole processing power the CPU is able to deliver. Thanks in advance!

 

it is a very subjective topic. everyone needs to find out for themselves. i got used to it, but since i was using mostly 14/15" laptops I didn't heard a fan at all. for such a small machine with that "big" processor it seems a fan is more needed than with bigger chassis. i would recommend to move to a notebook store where they offer sony, or saturn and take look for yourself.

one thing is sure, the fan is moving a lot but not always. but only in silentmode and battery saving and stamina. in speed it is always on and audible.

 

Is it very dynamic? My old VAIO R600HEK was horrible: the speed of the fan wasn't regulated in different steps (e. g. low, medium, high) but seamless.

Additionally it was sensitive to cpu load: if a started a programm the noise of the fan almost immediately changed its pitch and seconds later it was much lower again. That is much(!) more annoying than a static audible air flow.

 

I am very sensitive in these things. Even in stamina mode there is a big difference in fan noise of my 14" ThinkPad R61 and this VAIO. It's not a problem for many users, but I can't use noisy notebooks, becouse I use it in silent room and then I can't concentrate to my work.

 

oh really? never start working in a company with a open-plan office.

don't forget what you are getting with a R61 or a Z, very different packages and i think not compareable.

 

It was only example. I can say that VAIO Z11 has more noisy fan than 16" VAIO FW11S, 13,3" VAIO SR19VN, 12" ASUS U6V (smaller and more powerfull than Z11), 14" ASUS F80Cr, 15,4" Acer Aspire 5930G, 13,3" Toshiba Satellite U400, 13,3" ThinkPad X300 and many other notebooks that I have tested in last months.

My opinion? Yes, it's noisy notebook. But as I say, it depends on each user.

 

I worked with the Z11 yesterday and immediately noticed the fan. Not too bad but more than a like. I'm still hoping someone is able to undervolt it below 0.9000V and that way the fan can switch off completely.

 

What was your impression Phil of the Z, except of the fan?

 

u6v is more powerful? so it comes also with a hdspa module, 1600x900 resolution, switchable graphix card? i mean specs are compareable, but more porwerful is the wrong term in this comparison. could be that the asus is quieter, but how about warmth and battery life? you tested both, the asus was better, screenwise too?

hope you are getting what i am trying to say.

 

It's a great machine but did not really live up to the hype. The screen looked good, but was not that bright imo, contrast was good but not excellent. It was confirmed when I read the Notebookjournal review: Z brightness of 276 cd/m² and contrast of 400:1. (for comparison MBA brightness 387,5 cd/m² and contrast of 666:1.)
http://www.notebookjournal.de/tests/514/3
http://www.notebookjournal.de/tests/638/1
But the screen is bright enough for working outdoors, so that's all I would need.

Keyboard and touchpad were excellent. Form factor really nice. Weight incredible.

In my opinion, with European prices Z is too expensive. I'm looking forward to Dell E4300 reviews and the new macbook.

 

wow, that's quite a difference. I have been playing with MBA, screen is fantastic, US customized version (Glossy screen) and I was astonished. I was hoping that Z (well according to various screen images) will be shoulder to shoulder with MBA.

This "FAN ISSUE" reminds me on first iterations of SZ11,21 were very noisy, then SZ61 was pretty quiet and finally SZ71 was noisy again

Come to think of it, Sony was showing off with new " especially designed and material used" blades for Z series, How come noise level never crossed their mind. I mean, this can really spoil the fun.

BR
Miki

 

Perhaps it is the anti-glare screen that cuts down the brightness/contrast on the Z's. (I still haven't seen one in person.) I wonder how much less glare there is compared to MBA.

 

As far as I know anti glare coating cuts light reflection FROM the outside light source to screen surface, not the other way around

 

CPU performance? better
GPU performance? same
temperatures? +- same
battery life? 7 hours with 9cell batt
HSDPA? yes

There is only one advantage of Z11 - LCD.

 

swarm: The Asus U6V is a 12.1" model, yet it's actually heavier than the 13.1" Vaio Z. That's nothing to be proud of, if you're comparing to the Z. Also, what battery life does it get with a 6-cell battery? The Z gets more than 7 hours with it's extended battery AFAIK (judging by Sony specs). Also, what CPU does it have that makes it better than the Z's 2.53 or 2.8 GHz?

What it does is diffuse the light across the screen (matt coating), rather than reflecting it sharply. Glossy can give better perceived brightness because rather than spreading glare evenly across the screen, it keeps it in a single spot.

 

I spend some time on the Asus forum reading up on Asus U6V and Asus customer service, I lost any interest in buying it.

 

My question to you Z experts: Will a 64gb SSD really reduce fan noise/overall heat and thus fan turning on often? Or is the data density so low the performance would be negated compared to 320GB 5400 drive?

 

I don't believe the hard drive is that important for fan noise. The CPU is.

If someone would find an undervolting application that allows undervolting beloew 0.9000V it would maybe be possible to make the Z completely silent in silent mode.

 

Don't you think, that the touchpad is exactly the same as on the TX? As I said before, I was playing with the Z in Sony Center for a while and I was quite surprised how many design details Z got from TX...at first shape, than design of the screen, silver plastic part design, touchpad design, ...

 

Um, I don't think that's possible, since the lowest voltage available is 0.9V in RMClock. Isn't it hard coded into the chip during manufacturing? I believe 0.9V is the lowest you can go. The only thing you can do is undervolt the higher multipliers. But that's going to be pretty minimal if you idle most of the time.

 

I never used a TX, only TZ. But it did not remind me of TZ.

 

The Z seems pretty bright to me. I have my TZ and Z side by side, and the Z is actually brighter even with the mattish screen, than the TZ.

The Z really would be the perfect laptop if it wasn't for the slightly louder fan. I actually love everything about it, except for what everybody has been complaining about. Its the perfect form factor. I find the TZ just a bit too small and underpowered.

 

The only thing I want with the Z is a powerful external graphics card. I take the Z around at my university and its all light and portable and then at home, hook it up to my HDTV, connect an external graphics card to it and its a gaming PC.

 

Couldn't said it better. Dont compare apples with oranges. It doesn't make sense.

I am sorry, that you couldn't find love for the Z, Philflow. But if you still have time to wait, that's ok. I waited 1,5 year for the Z and I am loving it. The weight, form factor, built quality, screen, keyboard makes a perfect package. I am totally getting over the fan, and a bios update could help it.

Of course the MBA has a great screen. But remember the reflections, the lousy hdd and overall speed and lack of ports. I think to wait until the months or at least to January for the update on the MBP or MB would be worth it.

 

Do you know what the battery capacity is? Someone posted that owns an SR and they posted that their battery capacity was 54xx and someone else posted that their battery capacity was 4800. I am wondering if these new notebooks maybe Sony is lowering the battery capacity.

 

Don't get me wrong I like the Z a lot. But we've been making such a hype here on these forums and some people have reported that 'the screen completely blows away x and y' so maybe I was expecting too much.

So it is a very nice notebook.

And I was only mentioning the MBA screen for comparison. I'm not seriously considering buying one because I had one before. And by the way I was never bothered by reflection, even working outside. The glossy coating is hardly reflective, especially with such a strong back light.

 

I will check the battery at night. I am working on Z11 now and I don't have AC (I don't want to break my work). I think that my piece has ~5400mAh.

So... I fixed some problems in preinstalled OS (it was used before Sony lent it to me) and now it's more ok. Battery is showing better times: (stamina mode, wifi on, 100% brightness)



Fan is still loud, but sometimes it turned off (for a while).

Pros:
+ Good hi-res screen (better than many other 13" notebooks)
+ excelent build quality
+ (maybe) battery life

Cons:
- fan
- keyboard (PgDn/PgUp/Home/End)