Ladies and gents, i present you the VAIO SZ :)

I'm telling you this FE's screen was insane....It was about 2 laptops down from the FS and they were not the same quality. Does anyone have the 3DMark scores for the FE? Would it be safe to assume that the FE and SZ will have the same performance assuming the systems are configured the same?

 

Any idea on the differences between the sz160 lcd screens and the screens on the standard models?

 

I just called J&R Computer and they have an SZ Series model in stock, available for immediate delivery, on their website. It's the VGN-SZ110/B. It appears to be a "basic" version of the "premium" VGN-SZ160P/C; that is, identical specs except:

1. The case - The 110 uses a magnesium alloy frame instead of the carbon fiber one used for the 160
2. Windows version - The 110 comes with Windows XP Home Edition, vs. Professional in the 160

They do not have a floor model at their retail store. Rep said they expect to have one on the floor next week. Also, no firm date on when they expect to get the 160 in, though he said he figured it must be on its way (thanks).

Incidentally, if l've read the 110's specs right (and J&R has them correct) then the 110 and the 160 are identical except for the case and the Windows edition. The 110 is listed for $1999 at J&R, while the 160 is listed at J&R (and at sony style) for $2499. Assigning $100 to the difference in OS editions, the carbon fiber body is effectively a $400 option. That seems steep for saving 1/2 a pound ($800/lb?). I guess there's a difference in the screen technology -- to make it thinner -- but its not clear to me that there's a performance difference between the two.

 

The 160 uses an LED backlight, which I guess is new. It is what allows the screen to be so thin. Jury is out on whether that will improve or reduce performance. I don't think we'll know until they're both available to view side-by-side. I also don't know if the technology is used on other laptops (sony or otherwise).

 

Does anyone know if the SZ110 comes with 1Gig configured as (1G x 1 or 512M x 2)?

 

The sz in europe comes with 1g x 1, I don't know the american configuration.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the J&R. I just put in an order with them. I need a PC laptop NOW for work purposes. The SZ110 pre-customized model is a pretty good configuration. It turns out to be better than the one I ordered from Sony Style and cost less (no tax and cheaper shipping cost). With their best shipping, the order came out to be just ~$50 more than the order I had in with Sony. Plus, I get it very soon and can start using it. I will be canceling my order with Sony Style tomorrow.

Now, to provide heads up to anyone who can wait and want the absolute best deal may want to check out Amazon. Same price as J&R, no tax, even cheaper shipping, AND $100 rebate. The only caveat is that the estimated shipping time is April.

I cannot wait! Now, I need a nice case for this gem.

 

how much dedicated video memory is present in the sony viao vgn-sz140? i saw that the geforce go 7400 supports upto 128 ram.

 

No problem. Also, the ship date on Sony Style for the SZ 160 has been pushed back to 2/22. I don't know if that only applies to new orders, or if orders placed earlier have been pushed back too because of production/logistics issues.

 

RJH,
Thanks, for the info on J&R computer. I will order the SZ110 today. As for the LCD, if I read the specs correctly(white LED backlight technology), its the same on for both the standard and premium. The major difference is the case.

My wife have the TX650 and I believe this have the same technology.

 

just called to get an update. sz160 is the 15th now. can anyone else confirm?

 

Do NOT buy from J&R. These guys are bastards!!!! I called back this morning to make sure they actually had stock before I called Sony Style. They assured me they had inventories and I would get mine by week's end. I then called Sony and canceled my order.

Just a little while ago, I checked the website and my order was still in processing and their website still shows that they had them in stock. I called them up, and they tell me there is a backorder situation! @#!@# J&R and the donkey's ass they came out of. They have lost one customer for good.

 

That's f***ed, Calxn! I've used them twice and they've been pretty good, but I'll now bear your experience in mind.

The confirmation page for the Sony order I placed on 1/24 still says Ship Date Unknown.

 

I could have warned you about J&R...I live in NYC. Its not that they're bad - they usually do have great deals. You just have to realize that they're hustlers and if you're going the route of the discount hustlers, you're going to put up with this kind of crap...stick to Sony or Amazon to give it to you straight.

 

I call J&R this morning and the sales rep told me they have 15 in stocks. Call back an hour later to order and I was told they are out of stock. Estimate to receive more in March. They must have sold more then what they have in the inventories.

 

Wow, that does suck, calxn. I spoke with a sales rep just now and he confirmed they are out of stock. He said they had 100 of them as of yesterday, and they sold them all (plus another 7, which I guess go on back order) in first 24 hours. J&R does do absurd volume, so it's not beyond reason.

Sorry that happened to you, calxn. That's a very crappy turn of events.

 

Don't believe their lies. That's the line they gave me too, but I express my great disappointment and they went to check up on what the real story was. They came back and told me they NEVER had them and that they were sorry. They said it was a simple mistake. They kept giving me different stories. I thought they were reputable, but they sounded like those sketchy online camera stores based in Brooklyn.

 

is there a definitive answer to how much dedicated video ram is on board the 7400? is it 256mb, or 32mb with the capability of sharing 256mb?...

 

Just ordered a 160 and the est ship date I was given was 3/4.

 

For those wondering about how the Go 7400 will perform, I found a pretty good article which explains this TurboCache deal and basically showing a GeForce 6200 kicking the snot out of an x300SE. I would imagine the 7400 is a jump over the 6200 so maybe this thing is pretty good after all. I do believe these are desktop cards, though, but it gives a good idea of what to expect.

http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/article/1766/

 

I just got to play around with the SZ at my local Best Buy. They were about to close so I didn't get to do much with it. They had it in a corner behind a pole but the little time I did get to play with it made me want it even more. It is a beautiful laptop. It was sitting next to the FE and the screen looked similar. My only gripe was I thought the keyboard felt spongy but I would need more time with it to be able to tell.

 

what was the price?

 

i just tried calling local best buys in portland, or but they dont have them in stock, what was the model number?

 

I don't have the number. I was at a Best Buy closer to my house and they didn't know anything so I called one a little further to see if they knew anything and they told me they had one on display. The price was $2099.99 and no rebates. If you want to try to call the best buy I was at it is in Nashua NH

 

They don't have them on the BB site yet.
CompUSA has them and they will most likely be the same items.

VAIO SZ120P/B Notebook: $2,099.99
VAIO SZ160P/C Notebook: $2,499.99

There is someone on another site that sez he just bought one and clocked 1969 3DMark 05 out of the box.

Also, the SZ120P/B is listed as having 256 MB dedicated VRAM. He sez it is 128 MB dedicated and 128 MB shared.

 

i already own 2 fe550g laptops, all bestbuy stores in portland dont hve sz in stock, i know compusa has the sz on their website, but do they have them in their stores? i went to one earlier tonight to buy the acer 5670 laptop but they didnt have any sz in stock

 

what was the other site to read his review if u dont mind me asking

 

http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?p=1715142#post1715142

 

Lol, this thread has 22K+ views. Poor guy could end up with a lot of questions......

 

So how well can a 3Dmark05 of 2000 run such games as HL2, FEAR, or Call of Duty 2?

 

Read: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=1254645#post1254645

Exact same question lol !

 

haha i think he just copied and pasted mine and added doom 3....thats aite it probably should be in the gaming thread rather than here although it specifically pertains to the sony sz

 

A cool flash demo from Sony Japan on the SZ:

Theory of S


OK, so most of us don't read Japanese, but there are some great pictures in here. The carbon-fiber premium model looks very cool, though I opted for the SZ140 as I wanted a faster processor...



The downloads section has some nice wallpaper as well, as shown above...

- ncdave, self-confessed SZ junkie even before its launched

 

thats a pimped out wallpaper you've found ncdave

if only they had a customizable premium version....i just dont got 2500 dollars to throw around

 

just spoke to the folks at compusa. was told they are getting a total of 40(!) sz 160s in stores nationwide and that 23 of them "have already been spoken for" (whatever that means). and we're certainly not getting any of those 40 here in tucson.
any news when they will be in stock at best buy?

 

Just something i found interesting. Just called sony to get an update on the shipping date for my sz160. She said unfortunatly mine is one of laptops that have been pushed back to the 22nd. Which i already knew, but she followed to say that they recieved 50 of them on the 15th and their next shipment will be on the 22nd which will cover my order. So anyone recieve one of those 50 that shipped on the 15th?

 

I just called about my order for a customized SZ140 I ordered on the 24th Jan and they're sticking to the "shipping on the 17th" story...

 

i just call to SonyStyle and rep confirmed that sz160 has 256mb geforce go 7400 on board, and they have a couple in stock ready to ship.

still can not decide b/w asus w3j and sz160 though

 

In Stock ready to ship?? I'm not sure about that. Anyone confirm?

 

i can provide name and ext # for rep i spoke. the reason i called was to double check that sz160 has 256mb. after that i asked if this model is available for order, he checked and said that they have a couple in stock.
i do not know what to tell. just what i was told.

 

Anyone know what the maximum battery life of the SZ premium is? On some spec pages at Sonystyle it is listed as 7 hours. On other sonystyle pages it is listed as 6 hours. Looks like Sonystyle messed up once again.

 

If you go to sony.com and read the spec, you will see
For SZ140 is 6 hours
For SZ160 is 7 hours
so for the SZ Premium is 7 hours and for SZ standard is 6 hours

 

See here:
http://www.learningcenter.sony.us/Notebooks/SZSeries/Research1/SZFeatures
Under long battery life, the page says the standard models will have 5.5 hours, and the premium models will have 6 hours.

Also here:
http://www.learningcenter.sony.us/assets/Computers/Notebooks/SZ/SZspecs_a.html
The SZ150 and SZ160 are both listed as having 6 hours of battery life.

 

if you customize sz140 at smb.sony.com you'll see that estimated ship date is 2/28/06 ,but as i know actually they ship before their estimated dates.

 

The "Intel Core Duo USB 2.0 bug" and battery life, demystified...

All,

AnandTech has a GREAT article on this issue, recently discovered by Tom's Hardware. The issue is not really a bug in the Core Duo, but also in other Pentium M laptops with any USB 2.0 device and its affect on battery life / processor power states.

http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=2693

Of particular interest are the results for ASUS notebooks with an integrated camera. The battery life for the notebook is diminished by almost an hour with the presence of the camera, even when it is not in use. The fear is that the integrated camera on the VAIO SZs may also diminish battery life.

I have a Sony VAIO TR2AP3, with an integrated Motion Eye camera at the top. Using the device manager I see that this is a USB device, but I believe it is a USB 1.0 camera. Battery life on this two-year-old laptop has been outstanding, at greater than 7 hours using the large capacity battery.

I have been unable to find any specifications on whether the Motion Eye camera on the Vaio SZ 140 (or other) is USB 1.0 or 2.0. If it is 1.0, we're in pretty good shape, but if it is USB 2.0 then we should all be aware of this power drain issue and consider the temporary fix described in the article.

- ncdave

 

A question. Does anyone know if the SZ160 has 1 Gb stick of memory or 2 512 MB sticks?

 

i am curious how different the screens are on 160/150 & 140/120

 

Does anybody know how hard it is to replace with hard drive with a 7200 rpm one? Is this impossible?

I do a lot of audio recording and a hard drive can be a bottleneck when recording multiple tracks at once. I still find myself debating between this, a macbook pro or the eternal wait for something around the corner.

It's so small I find it very tempting, definitely SxZ.

 

I was doing a little bit of research... found those ones:


SZ 120 (normal screen)
From a user of notebookforums.com



CES 2006: SZ ??? Premium (LED backlit screen)
From itmedia.co.jp


CES 2006: SZ ??? Premium (LED backlit screen)
From engadget.com

It would be useful if someone can post the original wallpaper for comparison...

 

Two more...


SZ 120 (Normal Screen)
From notebookforums.com


SZ ??? (LED Backlit Screen)
From itmedia.co.jp