New Vaio 2008 model listing with indication prices - FW - Z - SR - BZ

This will change because OCZ Core SSD 64GB will be around 220 euros. Available in a couple of days. Link: http://geizhals.at/a347918.html.

I share your opinion about XP. I've been reading that it has drastically improved in Vista, especially in SP1.

 

Yes, but who says that Sony will even use them?
I have a feeling that Sony will still charge plenty to upgrade to SSD, just Apple does for memory in the Macbook Pro. Sony has so far used only Samsung for their SSDs I think.

I also think those OCZ ones use a cheaper technology, so they do not last as long, but that they are far cheaper for only a little drop in quality, so they are worth it.

But we'll see a guide on these forums on how to take apart the Z and you'll see lots of people ordering the Z with a cheap hard drive and replacing it with an SSD.

 

Well I believe Miki was not talking about Sony but about Notebook.de who deliver CTO of Sony SZ in Europe.

If notebook.de delivers OCZ Core is not sure, but they might. When I said 'this will change' I was referring to the price of 900 euros for 64GB.

 

Oh yeah? Hmmm... that would be great. I'll have to look into it.

Any idea what this Vista "feature" is called?

 

I don't know if it is a separate feature. I just know that what you described as "everything looking out of whack" has been fixed. At least, that's what I read in a magazine. But it would be nice if someone could confirm this.

 

Oh, I know... that why I put "feature" in quotes. But a big improvement like that should (most likely) have a name of some sort.

I hope so. That would be great.

Yep. Can any Vista users help us out with this?

 

While researching the Vista DPI scaling thing, I came across this article. It's old now, but perfectly details my thoughts on changing the DPI in XP:

http://www.techspot.com/news/24402-anyone-using-custom-120-dpi-scaling.html

 

Here's a screenshot of my 1280x800 desktop at 120 DPI on Vista. Everythings scales perfectly as far as I can see but you'd have to check all the non-MS programs to be sure.

XP's graphics capabilities are poor and outdated.

 

Pop on down to the sony uk website to see what looks to be an image of the SR (I think its too thick to be the Z)

http://www.sony.co.uk/article/2008/07/vaio-10th-anniversary


Direct link to image : http://www.sony.co.uk/res/images/image/77/1215514456577.jpg

 

Hey, that does look pretty good. Thanks, Drvec!

 

Hey, I've been trying to sell my Sony TZ198N, let me know if anyone is interested.

 

Take out the "T" and we'll talk...

 

How were you able to take that screenshot?

I too changed DPI to 120, the only program I noticed that was out of whacked is MS Word 2007. Toolbar looks crunched, like your trying to squeeze in as many of the tools in the same location. If Drvec can show me how he did that screenshot, I can post it. Other than that I haven't noticed anything out of place.

 

Not sure if this has been mentionned, but although it doesn't help with other applications, there is a great feature in IE7 (and up) which allows you to change the "zoom" on the fly. Just type "ctrl +" to zoom up and "ctrl -" to zoom down. Very useful, especially on the TZ... It just affects what's displayed in the browser's window, not the menus, and it looks very neat (at least in Vista).

 

Maybe you could reallocate some of the options in the toolbar, or maybe Word has an option where you can set the toolbar size.

Wow nice work!

 

I work at an Australian computer store. So far we have the SR and FW's in the system but we haven't ordered them yet. I can get the exact models and prices if anyones interested, but Vaio's are way overpriced here so they may not be of much use. I don't see any Z's in our system, maybe those will be availiable for purchase later?

 

Why are you selling it ubercool? Planning to purchase a new Vaio (Z or TZ)?

 

Is that Word 2007 on XP? scaling on XP simply does not work. To post a screenshot just press 'Prt Sc' (or similar) on your keyboard, then open MS paint and press 'Ctrl V' or Paste, save it to desktop then press the little attachments button when you post and upload from the desktop. To screenshot only the active window hold 'alt' when you press 'Prt Sc'.

Also note that you can choose any number for your DPI, 96, 120, 150.

 

Well, if you can give us the prices on current Vaios, and the pricing on the SR and FWs, we could at least get an idea.

Does your system show any other info, or just prices?

 

It shows specs as well, I'll post it all when I get back to work tomorrow. The SR's come in different colors like the CR's, and the FW's can be either black or white

 

I don't know if you are aware of it but there's quite a lot of pricing information and specs on the first page of this thread. Some of it American prices from Circuitcity, some of it European prices.

That would be very interesting as we don't have that information yet.

 

Yeah that would be great it we could get the price. Thanks. I reckon we aussie always the last people that could get the VAIOs for the highest price (Sony sucks ).

 

There's a first page??

I'll check it out... thanks!

 

Not only overpriced, they come here 3-4 months later.

Well the first pages doesnt include Australian prices. I for one would like to see what EffZee can obtain in terms of Australian pricing.

 

Yes sure I understand. I just thought that Soundsgood is not from australia, but even that I don't know for sure.

 

Nah, U.S.

But my wife would love to visit Australia. Does that count?

 

With the AUD as strong as it is, it will work out cheaper to import from the US anyway. The Sony Australia prices are always disproportionately high. I got My SZ sent to Aus from P1

 

Or when you're in Australia it can be interesting to import from Japan. Conics.net and Pricejapan.com can deliver CTO configurations from Sony.co.jp

There is a lot of info available on this forum about these companies.

 

does the hd3470 on the SRs outperform the 8400m on the current SZ models?

 

The Ati is faster in 3d mark06 and 05, but in older benchmarks the Nvidia8400M GS is better. So newer games will perform better on the Ati.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

 

I checked the benchmarks on the ATI HD3650 256MB as well. It seems decent for most games. Because it's a mid-range GPU, I'm worried that it will get outdated pretty quickly.

Someone also mentioned that the FW series will come in either black or white...

 

Well there are also silver FWs as we can see on the specsheet.

 

The Z will be coming out after the FW and SR, I wonder how much later though.

Montevina/Centrino 2 with dedicated graphics is to be released tomorrow and the integrated graphics in August at the earliest, the Z of course uses both dedicated and integrated.

 

so tomorrow we can begin to order the SR???

 

All prices in Australian Dollars:

VGNSR16GNB/P/S :

2.26ghz
3GB RAM
250GB Hard Drive Space
DVD +/- RW
13.3" LCD
Vista Business
$2199

Comes in Black, Silver, or Pink


VGNFW15GB/W:


2.26ghz
2GB RAM
250GB HDD
DVD -/+ RW
Vista Home Premium
16.4" LCD

Comes in Black or White
$1999

VGNFW16GW

2.4 ghz
2GB RAM
250GB HDD
Blu Ray
Vista Home premium
HDMI

Comes in White
$2499

VGNFW17GUH

2.53ghz
4GB RAM
320GB
Blu Ray
HDMI
Vista Ultimate
$3399

Not sure what color

As per all sony models there will be between 10-13% markup in retail

 

If the SR is to replace the SZ model at 13 inches then what will be their tz replacement for sub notebook at 11 inch size??? the Z series is projected at 13 inches also.

 

No news on it, the lower voltage Montevina processors for smaller notebooks won't be out until September, so expect announcements on Sony's ultraportables then.

 

Cheers mate. Seems like the prices are OK. These prices are cost price right?

 

No, recommended retail. Again, theres about 10-13% markup, at Harvey Norman at least.

 

So they are the only models currently listed? i figure there should be some more.. only one SR would seem strange, but then again we dont see to get many options normally. Can only imagine how much the Z is going to cost

 

Only ones listed in our system for now. Im sure there will be more to come

 

If SR is $2199AUD, can you imagine what the Z will cost at $USD with HDMI and Blu-Ray if available. WOW! That's expensive for an SR, especially if the SR's are the models speculated to replace the SZ Magnesium (non-fiber model). I expected SR's to range $1500-$1700 preconfig. and Z to be $1800-$2400 preconfig, but based on this, I suspect the Z's would be well over $2k USD. I will be very surprise if there's a model released for well under 2k with carbon.

Well, in less than 24hrs, we'll all know. I just hope they have specs, pricing, and photos of the Z.

Will someone posts pics of Z - in all angles; as soon as you get the information from your country. THANKS

What's the issue with Nvidia that needs to be cleared up?

Yes, your the 2nd person to suggest that. I agree about the CPU, but did you notice the hard drive on the one you suggested is only 160GB, whereas the other two models were 200GB and 250GB. Go figure. I wonder why that is? You have to give up to receive something better. I guess I can always get an external Hard Drive.

 

Didn't he warn that they were really overpriced in Australia?

 

I assume they're referring to this issue. From the thread, it seems like Vaio owners are mostly okay so far, but I'm personally staying away from all the GPUs listed on that page in my future purchases just to be safe.

 

Yes, even at cost price our models will tend to be double what you pay in the US

 

... ...

 

I wouldn't be too worried about the price the US. It'll probably be around 1200-1500USD for that model or a similar one. Quick question were those the 250 GB hard drives that are 5400 rpm? Or is there finally a change there?

And I'd like to thank everyone that contributed to this thread, its been a blast waiting for the new models with you guys. Not to mention all the information we were able to get.

 

My notebook Sony SZ750 made it on that list.

Affected mobile models:
GeForce 8400M G (released May, 2007)
GeForce 8400M GS (released May, 2007)my SZ750
GeForce 8400M GT (released May, 2007)
GeForce 8600M GS (released May, 2007)
GeForce 8600M GT (released May, 2007)
GeForce 8700M GT (released June, 2007)

Issue:
This is a heat related issue with the bonding substrate used in the manufacturing process. The thermal tolerance for these materials was lower than what the specs required and can not handle the Hot-Cold-Hot-Cold states caused by power cycling the computer as well as voltage variations by the power management software. Notebook users are seeing failure sooner than their desktop counterparts specifically because of these reasons. ("usage patterns" mentioned in the 8k report)

So what's the probability SZ's will be affcted? Have an SZ owners had any issues with this?

 

From what I've gleaned from that thread, it seems that Sony has better heat dissipation design than Dells & HPs, add to that the hybrid design, so Vaio owners probably aren't as badly affected as the Dell & HP owners. This is just me throwing out a guess, but maybe if Vaio's don't overheat as much, then the hot-cold-hot-cold transitions are not as drastic as the other models, so Vaio's are okay so far?

Still, by all accounts, it sounds a bit like a ticking time bomb that with prolonged use, will eventually cause the graphics card to die - even with their fixes to the drivers that cause the fans to kick in sooner and even with better design. The only difference is how long it will take depending on what notebook you have.

 

I agree. Prior to the SEC filing my SZ typically was on Stamina mode for the entire work week. Speed mode mainly used during the weekends. If that's a typical usage scenario it might go some ways in explaining the failure rates among the manufacturers.

Yeah. Time is probably less important a factor compared to how often that temperature cycle occurs. It's likely that most users will be out of warranty when it happens.

(back on topic) I was disappointed by the choice of the 9300M in the Z. Still a 64bit bus? No 65nm fab? Bleh. Even ignoring the G84/G86 fiasco I can't recommend that card; you get better performance from the ATI in the SR. Give it a couple of refreshes and (if they stick with Nvidia) and you'll see a 9500 in it. That's what they should have launched with imo.