How happy are you with your Sony SZ?

Some benchmarks for the SZ

http://www.reportlabs.com/testbed/version1/nbv1/detnb.php?rcnb=64

 

This report makes me ask, what 3dmark05 you are running? If it is the "free" basic version, you are limited to running the test at 1024x768. If you are running a version that allows you to run in the native resolution such as the test indicated in that report, your numbers are probably OK.

 

If you updated your drivers, you probably have extra files sitting around causing the slowdown. I updated my drivers and my 3dmark went from 18?? down to 13??.

Here's a thread about how I fixed it: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=1290128&postcount=12

 

Can't answer your question as i 'found' this link on the web and thought it may help you guys out.

Will (hopefully) get my own SZ1XP soon!

 

I did that and i got 1893!!!
Thanks again. I really appreaciate all of your help.

 

I received my customized SZ140P about 2 weeks ago. I got the camera/bluetooth option but also swapped the standard battery for the extended (which kind of juts out of the back and props the notebook at an angle when placed on a desk).

My previous notebook was an HP NC6000, which is at least a pound heavier, so the weight of the SZ is noticeably lighter for me. I like the glossy screen but I miss having more pixels to work with. The HP had a 1400x1050 screeen vs the 1280x720 on the SZ. That's a big difference.

Some things I've noticed:

The keyboard spacing and throw are fine for me. I have the silver keyboard and it looks/feels more like a Powerbook keyboard to me. It's no Thinkpad, but it's on par with my old HP keyboard. I don't notice the "flex" issues that people are encountering, but maybe I'm a light typer.

The AC adapter is a monster for this size of notebook. I ended up getting a slim Kensington AC adatper for traveling and just leaving the OEM one at work. I know it's a 19V unit, but jeez, it probably adds a pound of travel weight.

The built-in camera is pretty medicore in quality. Most cell phones have better cameras I think.

The 34 ExpressCard slot is interesting. Sony bundles an SD card reader that you can use in this slot (in addition to the built in Memory Stick slot) which is something I was not expecting. I'd like to see what future peripherals are made available for this.

The Stamina/Speed switch for graphics is great. I definitely notice a difference in performance between the two. I would say 75% of the time I'm in Stamina mode since I'm running between offices, but when I need to demo some 3D renders it's nice to have the extra oomph for graphics. Haven't tried playing BF2 or other games yet on it.

Bluetooth implementation is actually by Toshiba, which is weird. Also feels like an add-on versus something integrated with Windows XP. Then again, the native bluetooth support for XP is a little lacking, so can't complain too much. The interface for management of Bluetooth devices is weird though. For example, if you've transfered images to the PC, you can't view them unless the bluetooth radio is on. That's a problem with the Toshiba software, not the hardware, so I hope this gets updated by Sony sometime.

Battery life for me is about 6-7 hours with the Stamina mode and about 50% brightness. Again, I have the extended battery. Using WiFi and Bluetooth seems to really drain the battery. I recently did the registry modification so I'll report back if I get better battery life.

There is a lot of junk software on the machine. I was going to do the clean install and I heard horror stories about people having problems getting the system fully functional again. I ended up uninstalling things individually. I wish it would have been cleaner, like on some Acer notebooks I've tried out.

I wish the notebook had a DVI vs. VGA adapter on it. That's just a personal preference since I connect my laptop to a big monitor at my desk vs a projector most of the time.

Left side of palm rest gets a bit warm after extended usage. Not uncomfortably so, but definitely noticeable.

Price for my unit was around $2100 with the extended battery. I think this is overpriced for the machine. Yes, it's got the latest Core Duo tech in it and some unique features (like the stamina/speed modes). I think if the notebook was offered at this price and included the carbon fiber lid as standard, it would be a fair price to pay.

Hope this was helpful.
-a

 

The SZ is expensive, however it has a good build qualitywhen compared to dell or hp except maybe the keyboard, which takes some getting used to.

 

The keyboard to me seems great even after my current HP which has a huge keyboard. I guess it depends on the person .

I suggest anyone buying it, should try it out at the store first.

 

the spacebar is my biggest problem. I have to hit somewhat hard to get the key working. the other keys are great except that you have to turn on num lock to use + and -(I program quite often and need them a lot)

 

Alshen, great review!

 

I found the mousepad keys are tiny squares...biggest issue for me , seeing that my current HP has huge rectangle keys. I guess its because of the Biometric Fingerprint Reader?

 

do u think they r going to change/update the keyboard in the near future? And if so, when?

 

I went to the Sony store in Brighton UK today. I had a look at the SZ 1.8ghz (premium).

I can understand what everyone is talking about with regards to quality of the keyboard. It is a little "plastic/Cheap" but it's not all that bad. I think the only reason for people giving the keyboard a bad name is becuase the notebook as a whole is very well made! The travel on the keys is no worse than any other i've used. I'm currently using an iBook and the travel seems to be the same.

Only down side was, they were not able to boot the machine for me as it would then need to be registered and invalidate the warranty. I must admit i was a little dissapointed but they said if i was not fully happy with the machine then i could take it back if i did not register it.

I think i'm pretty certain that i'm going with the SZ rather than the Asus W3J.

 

No and never.

 

One of the best laptops I've ever used (^_^)

But... battery life sucks, clean install sucks, not enough ports. Other than that, love it.

 

It's a good machine. Having checked other laptops, the best feature is extremely well build, with no heating and noise (at least not any I can hear). Especially the coldness of the hand rests - fantastic.

Downsides (starting from most important):
- RPC-2 DVD drive which is impossible to flash to RPC-1
- no DVI
- no CF reader (Dell Latitude X1 has it and it's even smaller than SZ)
- no surrond audio outputs (not even on docking station)

 

i love this machine, it's the best one i've ever had built/quality/feature-wise. so far, i've had HP, compaq, a mac (passed down to my bro after 2 months - play lotsa games so...) and a dell. best screen too.

i've become a real fan of the vaios. unlike what some people say i get 4 - 5 1/2 hours with the SZ (premium asia model). i also don't know much about keyboards so i have no clue about how the keyboard is bad.

the best feature would be the 2 GPUs - i really hope sony makes this a standard! and when salespersons of other brands told me i should give up the hope of looking for such a lightweight notebook that gives me good screen size and power (for games and such), i'm glad i shopped and researched until i found the SZ. it's the first notebook i've had that doesn't overheat or become noisy when i game for hours (max i've played games with the SZ is 3+ straight).

and all the other features :security TPM FPsensor , shock protection, built-in webcam are bonuses i didn't even think of before but now greatly appreciate.

i can't complain about the lack of S-video since i've never needed one before (dunno if i've even used one, heh). no problems with the spacebar too. so the only negative thing i can say is that the battery wobbles a lil (but i easily fixed that). providing me with the installation CDs would be nice too - just for the peace of mind.

 

i love the sz dont get me wrong. but i compared it side by side to a macbook and a mb pro and both of them were more solid in build. (yes heavier and hotter also). i have loose plastic and the round thing between the hinges (with the lights) scratches. sony repaired it once and now scratches and loose plastic are back. i thought i had bought in office service but it seems just to be for breakdowns...

 

I'm gonna also have to disagree on the good-build part. Mine doesn't have any distinct build quality problems besides the loose battery, but it does creak in several different places. My mousepad is starting to click, the little cover on the bottom for the docking station always flips open, and the cover for the ethernet/modem ports is kinda cheesy. I know there are fixes for this, but I can't say that this laptop has "very good" or "the best" build quality. My gf's Toshiba Satellite M100 feels a lot more solid than my notebook. But I still do love my vaio.

 

I am reasonably happy with my SZ. Only real issue I've had was the loose battery and I dealt with that easily enough. I don't have any other really tangible issues regarding build quality, but although it's quite attractive looking it does feel a tad bit cheap (for lack of a better term) to me compared to some other notebooks I've played with. On the plus side, unlike many others, the keyboard has not bothered me at all. In fact I rather like it. I also appreciate the fact that for such a thin, portable notebook that heat has not been a major issue.

My 2 cents

 

I must add the cheap feel is one of the things I like about my SZ160 (^_^).
I love carbon fiber, magnesium, reinforced plastics, titanium, etc... These material usually feel light, flex when thin, they even have a cheap sound when you tap it.
I hope one day there are laptops constructed with a one piece carbon fiber chassis and some lightweight alloys.

 

guys, i gotta say i feel like your trying to justify your very expensive computer. i think the sz is the best available computer right now (in terms of size features etc) but it is cheapfeeling (notice the spacebar issue?). my keys even feel loose let alone the other issues mentioned above.

 

To tell the truth I don't know if it's possible for a notebook computer as thin and light as the SZ to be the most robust and strongest built computer in the world. All I know is that my SZ160 does not creak, the keyboard does not flex (I've read some flexing issues with the Dell M1210) and all in all it feels good. The keyboard is not the best I have used but the keys are large and it's easy to type on. I think it's much easier to build a larger notebook computer than one like the SZ, considering how light and thin it is.

 

I guess this is directed toward me (>_>)~sniff

I'm not trying to justify my over priced toy, guess I should have wrote that solid feeling laptops feel cheap to me. I just wanted to point out that these strong lightweight materials have those characteristics, doesn't mean they are not well built. I have associated the carbon fiber and titanium characteristics with durability and quality from many years of bike racing and working with jets. I know when I purchased the SZ160 it was the best laptop for me at the time on the market, don't know if still would be now cause I haven't did my months of research of what's currently out there.
I will tell you all that I tried to avoid buying a VAIO cause the badge seems to add unnecessary $$$$. And I wish they had used more carbon composites within the body, there's not enough to really bring out the fibers strength. I would be very interested to know the percentage of carbon fiber within the laptop, bet it's VERY minimal.

 

This is from a foot drop onto a hard surface while in a bag encased within a neoprene VAIO cover...





This is why I would like to see laptops with a one piece main body made of high quality carbon fiber, I believe it would have just bounced. I think the (premium) VAIO only has carbon in the lid and an EXTREMELY small percentage.

 

i hope that drop wasn't just an experiment with the build! what kind of bag did you have?

i'm not the type to drop a bag with my notebook inside it, especially a foot high on hard surface, even if it was my 3 year old 8+ lbs compaq. while i'm dismayed by what happened to the casing of your unit, i'm also relieved that it didn't damage any hardware. call me an optimist, heh

i hope i didn't seem like i was dismissing what people say is a bad keyboard, but even with the SZ being my 5th notebook, i'm not sure if i can distinguish between a good and a bad keyboard. maybe if they weren't full-sized. for me, there's nothing at all wrong with it.

 

Yes - only the lid, but no - it's a high fraction, of very high quality raw material, and highly engineered. It is as tough/stiff/strong as can be for the dimensions.

 

Well, I read the threads on the lid and I couldn't find info on the it's construction. And this is from Sony Style USA...

"Carbon-Fiber Casing*
Carbon-fiber casing employs the same cutting-edge material used to keep jet airplanes light and quick and sports cars fleet, yet durable. This ultra-durable housing is made of multi-layered carbon fiber, which is even lighter and stronger than the magnesium alloy casing used for most notebooks.
*Available only on SZ Premium Notebooks

Premium Carbon Fiber Casing**
The Sony VAIO® SZ Premium SZ281P/X notebook also features a cutting-edge carbon fiber casing. During the molding processes, a gelcoat resin is applied to the carbon fiber casing of the SZ281P/X, exposing the multiple layers of carbon and providing a cool brushed look and crisscross pattern.
**Premium carbon fiber available on model SZ281P/X "

Where did you get your info visitor? I can't find exactly what percent and how it's incorporated in the lid. Sony can put one strand of the highest quality carbon in their lids and and say, "It's the best yada yada, blah blah bling".
I did bend my lid just a few min ago and would agree that it IS consistent with high quality carbon construction for it's dimensions.

@ Catherine...



It's not the best protection for a laptop, and the way it rolled onto the floor hitting it's corner, I think it held up nicely. When I get around to it I might look into getting a new section and replacing it.

 

I'm in the business (see this link for a previous post of mine on this topic Since that post, I've had a chance to speak to people in the know on the SZ cfrp lid, and for what my anonymous word is worth, it is the real McCoy.

 

That's a great post on the subject of carbon fiber. I myself don't have a PhD in materials engineering but do have a good understanding of strong, light weight materials. I will have to take your word when you say "I've had a chance to speak to people in the know on the SZ cfrp lid", but was hoping to find some official Sony documentation.

 

...Agree that my anonymous testimonial is a rather weak second to official Sony statement!

Cheers

Visitor

 

In addition to what others are saying (s-video, bloatware, keyboard, etc), i would have liked a slot-loading optical drive. The existing one feels extremely flimsy and will need to be babied.

other than that i think the premium SZ is superb. It fast and portable, with a great screen and slick design.

 

All I wish is that the Vaio SZ was made by Apple and came with OSX...
Perfect balance of weight vs speed and the screen is great.
But Windows sucks...

 

i agree. Someone here has gotten osx to work on the vaio. do a search and check out the osx86 project

 

The ASUS W7J now stocked in the US and next week in Canada is a proper comparisson to the SZ's. They have been on pre-order for a month now, and i've done that. i was looking at the SZ aswell but the price can't be justified when compared to a system that is, IMO slightly better. go check up on the specs and a preliminary review at the ASUS thread.

 

Yeah, that's interesting and all, but are you happy with your SZ?

 

My vote was negative:
- too high temperaatures, similar to macbook temps;
- low-quality keyboard;
- fragile opticaldrive carriage;
- 1 fixed blue pixel.

I expected something better

 

wow, I may stay away from the sz then...

 

Notebooks I own or have owned:
AST SX386 (it was huge and I thought I was the ****)
Sony FSxxxx
IBM T40
Sony SRX
Sony TR3
Sony SZ260

The screen on the Sony is the best in the business. My last two sonys have had hinge problems. No one else seems to complain but that may be because these are mostly new laptops we are discussing. If the hinges on my SZ are as good as the IBM I will be elated. I have always known battery life is overstated like gas mileage on a new car window sticker. I am hard to please as I have had double capacity batteries on my last two ultra portables SRX and TR3 which lasts 4-5 real hours maybe longer with everything on the highest setting. Basically, for 1lb difference I got a huge upgrade from the TR3. I was contemplating getting another ultraportable and looked at the X60 and TX series. I don't think I would buy another computer that had an external optical drive or 4x3 aspect ratio screen. Frankly, the only other computer I would consider is a Mac as I am so used to better screen technology that only Sony seems to have. I would say I am very happy with my choice and if I wasn't I would put it in the box and take it back.
The first thing I did was upgrade to 2gig or ram. The next thing I did was buy the battery charger and one extra standard capacity battery. I am thinking about buying another battery to have three total. The battery charger will charge two batteries at once, kind of. Since we are just dreaming up improvements I will add mine here.
1. higher resolution would be better than stretching the same res that is on the TX or TR3. I can tell the difference and although the screen was only 10.6" on my TR3 it was easier to read text.
2. Faster DVD write speed.
3. External button for volume and camera like on the TR3
4. EVDO (CDMA Verizon) built in rather than Edge
5. Svideo out
6. 7200 rpm drive should be standard unless there is a reason like power consumption or heat keeping the engineers from implementing the faster drives???
7. Computers shipped with 1gig of ram should have an extra slot (1 x 1g rather than 2 x 512mb) so the old ram doesn't have to go on craigslist.com.
Who really cares about these little gripes when you can get such a beautiful display on a notebook. I still can't believe it is like .25 inch thin WOW......Carbon Fiber is nice too. Oh, I definitely love the Nvideo video option. I play a game or two on occasion (in the airport or something) and I see that being really handy. Lastly, this is the coolest running (with intel video) notebook I have used. The TR3 used to make me sweat when I used it.

 

I have sz 250.
And my exp. negative too. In the shop i cheked screen, but after 2 days of use, 1 dead pixel appeared. Its blue and can be seen on black background.

How you fixed them? I too massage this place, watching dvd and bad pixel still there.
My major problem is matrix. I can see lamps above and down of the screen.
And on black background except for 1 bad pixel, lamps, i can see like mosaic picture if look close.

 

i also checked screen in the store, i can't' be able to view the blue pixel on black screen too. I haven't solved the problem: the pixel is in the top-right of the screen and it doesn't disturb me on normal use. No other problem with the screen.

can you check your temperatures? i've written a post with mine and i search a comparison with the temps of other sony sz.

thanks

 

But you write 1 fixed blue pixel.
What its mean? You fix it? How?


Temperature? Its hot. But i think one blue pixel in the centre its more problem that hot air from the cooler, or from carbon case.
Temperature of this notebook its not problem for me.

And what model you have? My sz 250.

My blue pixel is on top-left of the screen and most of all it can be seen on black background. On white (red, green, yellow...) i don’t see him.

 

sorry it's a mistake due to my poor english.with "fixed" i meant that the pixel is always blue.

my model sz1M/B

 

In our poor village called Kiev, Ukraine i bought this notebook for 2750$. And its not official coz Sony not official sells notebooks in Ukraine. 1 year guarantee not official too. One bad pixel (always blue, on black background) in the center. And hour before i saw that bad pixel i tore away all stickers, so now i cant bring it back to the shop.

That’s why in overall for question How happy are you with your purchase?
I answer No, it's been a horror story!!! (please comment).
Comments included.

And i have spacebar issue. But i solved this.

 

I have installed OSX a while back: no wireless, no nvidia support, no sound...
Make you computer rather useless.

JY

 

I am looking replace my 5 yr old Vaio PCG FX A47 and I found this very interesting and very informative discussion.

I have got a SZ160P for a day to test, but if I get this it is without warranty as it is a grey import; it's a 1.83 ghz duo, 1 gb, 100gb, bio, bluetooth, camera, multi card reader, NVidia and the usual stuff.

Officially (with warranty) the closest model is the SZ28 (G/P I think). That's got a 2.0 ghz duo core and everything else is the same.

The sellers are not very well versed with laptop tech and I can't make out what in the world is the difference between the 160 and the 28 except the speed. Price wise the 28 (with warranty) is only $200 extra and that's no problem for me. I have searched in most places but could not find the difference between the two. Does anyone know what the hell the difference is? Is the casing (carbon vs something else) different, is the video card/memory different? Can someone help me make up my mind?

Also, what do you guys think about the 12.1" Dell Inspiron? Similar specs but it's around 2 kilos (4.4 lbs). Is it slim and better built?

Thanks in advance guys, AMK.

 

How did you solve it?

 

To you SZ owners, can some one measure the distance from the bottom of the keyboard to the end of the palm rest? I'm pretty curious to how deep the palm rest is.

 

Tyranimo
Search forum. With sticky tape.