New Z model with Intel Core i5 CPU

I would say, whatever they can get away with. When it comes to the Z-series in particular, they know they can get away with a lot.

 

Yes, I'm taking about extended warranties in that post. The reason is that based on your example of the camera lens, you're saying that since the Vaio Z notebook is as "premium" as the most "premium" camera lens, then for repair/service, then maybe this Vaio Z series notebooks can only be sent back to Japan for repair/service. Unfortunately, although the Vaio Z series are marketed as "premium," I don't think that they're that "premium" after all.

So you're saying that Sony can/will only use the exact same assembling policies because your company (& "related" companies) do things this way?!?!? As far as I know, Sony usually does things differently to what the "norm" is.... Anyway, I fully agree with what you've mentioned, since it seems like your company is also handling Sony's assembling processes.

Anyway, I'm happy to know that Sony is not "Like.N ther." Now Sony, just release the d**n new Vaio Z series notebooks ASAP.

 

Hey Vogelbung, so are you ready to get rid of all your Vaio SZ notebooks & replace them with the new Vaio Z notebooks?

 

Agreed. The wait is excruciatingly painful...

 

It'd be great to see these without ssds, maybe bring the price down a bit. Doubt that will happen though.

 

Strange, so SonyStyle USA has 4 preconfig. models, two which we know are the signature models and know what their starting prices are. But this page doesn't reflect the actual price of all 4 models, except for one-VPCZ112GX/S, Silver for $1899. I wonder why Sony only priced one of them?

Based on psyang's post/prices, and this particular model that's a part of that list,

I expect the model I want, with the same specs above, offered now at Sonystyle VPCZ11CGX/X to be $2750. I added $50 for the glossy prem. carbon lid. The lid was the only thing different from these two models. Is that a good estimate? Wow, that's alot to ask for a New Z!

Maybe, if I CTO it with 128SSD, I can get it from 2750 to 2350. $400 off from 256 to 128SSD, the estimated cost as stated from an earlier post

 

Oh man, I'm not so sure if I'll be able to fork out that much money if its $2850! LOL..

 

If your referring to the preconfigured model now offered at SonyStyle USA - VPCZ11CGX/X, YEP, I expect that one be $2750. I matched the specs. with the list psyang generated and I found one model with the same specs just without the code: /X for glossy premium carbon. I added $50 to the $2700 price tag, because that's the cost of the lid if you CTO'd it with the current Z.
That's outright crazy for an averaged-spec'd Z.

I may just settle for the $1899. It is a step up from the Z820 I returned, but not a leap as I had planned. I just hope I can get it in premium black.

I'm hoping I'm wrong with the estimated price. Maybe, Sony is shocked as I am. I want to see $2299 next to that model.

 

I've finally decided against it. I want something smaller. I have a perfectly operational 15" MBP which does Windows XP perfectly fine. The Sony X just doesnt do it for me though and the other Sony models don't seem to have any pazazz for me. A new version TT would be nice. Either that or a Macbook Air next version. Time has a way of sobering me up toward the more logical. A Sony Z no longer makes sense and cool as it is and the price gets really out there when it comes to Blu-Ray. I could get a whole Playstation 3 for less than a $400 Blu-Ray internal laptop drive.

Or maybe (*choke*) an iPad...

 

Reposting since no one answered.

 

I suspect those 4 now on SonyStyle can be preordered early Feb. You may receive them mid to late Feb. CTO's maybe around the same time frame. Other pre-built models will most likely surface in March - Just my hunch. It seems March is when all these new PC's begin to hit stores.

 

It may just mean that that particular model will be available for order/sale this coming week!

 

OK, after seeing my friend's Lenovo T500 with 1920x1200 resolution on a 15.4" screen tonight... there is absolutely no way that 1920x1080 on a 13.1" screen is going to be *usable*, even set to large system fonts.

Yes, it'll look fantastic for photos and videos, but productivity applications are another story.

 

Seems like we know the prices of 3 of the models:

The Signature series with everything maxed out (premium carbon glossy): $4500

The Signature series with the Metal Mosaic lid: $2350

The base model: $1900

The differences between them are all available on the Sony website, if you go through the specs, with the key additions in the maxed out model being that it comes with a Bluray Burner (while the others only have a DVD burner), it comes with 512GB SSD (while the other 2 options come with either 128GB (base model) or 192GB (Signature with metal mosaic)), it comes with full-HD screen (while the others come with the 1600x900 screen), it comes with 8GB RAM (while the others come with 4GB RAM), it comes with i7-620M processor (while the others come with either i5-520M (base) or i5-540M (signature with metal mosaic)), it comes with Windows 7 Ultimate (while the lower-end models come with Windows 7 Pro).

Extrapolating from this and also after factoring in the component prices from the current Z-series, according to my calculations, the new Z-series, with everything maxed out, except for the SSD being left at 128GB and the Windows 7 version being downgraded to Windows 7 Pro, will be sold for: $3280 (pretty steep by any accounts !)

In other words, for $3280, you will get the following configuration:

i7-620M
8GB RAM
128GB SSD
1920x1080 Full-HD screen
Bluray burner
Windows 7 Pro

 

Anyone knows if this new Z will support trim?

 

I agree. 1600x900 @ native resolution is challenging enough. However, with dpi set to 125%, it makes fonts very comfortable.

 

Yeah, although they're well on their way to being got rid of already - I've resurrected one old SZ61 as an emergency standby but the 7x machines have already been allocated to other duties. I'm pretty much living off the Apple (insert word I might here for an animal byproduct)Books at the moment. I'm also going for a fewer number of machines in general, for equal parts management and money issues - previously I had people to look after my machines elsewhere, but now I don't - so the fewer PC's I have to manage, the better so I probably won't be buying more than two this time.

I'm holding out some hope that the minor redesign gets rid of some build quality and panel moulding issues I had with the Z. I'd actually like not to go Sony after all the troubles I experienced with their current stuff last year - especially after what happened with the head of the customer relations department , but looking around I still don't see anything near as compelling as the Z.

 

Whats the estimated price on this configuration?
Full-HD 1920x1080 screen
Core i5-520M
4GB RAM
128GB SSD
DvDRW+DL

The only change from the minimum would be the resolution i guess

 

What about the rest of the screen?
Are things such as the taskbar, window title, icons in Word etc. all going to be 20% smaller on a 1080 screen compared to a 1600x900 screen, even with the DPI set high?

 

I am guessing around 2400$ 2500$.

 

I am guessing around $2000, since the only change over the base ($1900) is the increase in screen-resolution.

 

One thing that might skew the results upwards is the price premium put on a Signature model (if any). What do you pay extra for the Glossy Carbon Fiber lid, as well as the fact that signature models are only produced in limited supply?

This makes me wonder, too, about the price list I found. The maxed out VPCZ11LHX/X was only $50 less than the maxed out signature series, but may not have included the HD screen (all Z series on that list were listed as WXGA), and wasn't a signature model. Tough to see such a small price discrepancy between the two...

The other question I have regarding pricing is whether a CTO model will be more expensive than its preconfigured counterpart - that is, if both have the exact same specs, will a CTO cost more?

-Peter

 

In the current Z, the "premium carbon lid", which was a signature series color, costs an additional $50, over the non-signature colors.

 

I have not tried to price out a CTO model in the exact same configuration as a pre-built model, since I like things like RAM and CPU etc to be maxed out, even if the HDD/SDD is of a lower capacity, and such configurations/combinations are only available via CTO.

 

Interesting...in my last post, I wondered why the price I found for the VPCZ11LHX/X (maxed out preconfigured model) was only $50 less than the maxed out Signature series.

Poking around the site where the list came from, I found this message that was posted on Jan 27th:

Based on this, it sounds like his pricelist includes a 3-3.5% markup plus, possibly, a bit more for profit if he is *buying* at 3-3.5% over MSRP.

If I subtract 3.5% from his original pricelist, the new pricelist becomes:

Code:

VPC-Z11GGX/X  Core i7-620M 2.66Ghz  4096MB  256GB SSD  BlueRay   $3,226.00
VPC-Z11HGX/X  Core i7-620M 2.66Ghz  4096MB  256GB SSD  DvDRW+DL  $2,733.00
VPC-Z11JGX/X  Core i7-620M 2.66Ghz  6144MB  512GB SSD  BlueRay   $4,057.00
VPC-Z11KGX/X  Core i7-620M 2.66Ghz  6144MB  512GB SSD  DvDRW+DL  $3,545.00
VPC-Z11LHX/X  Core i7-620M 2.66Ghz  8192MB  512GB SSD  BlueRay   $4,299.00
VPC-Z11MGX/X  Core i7-620M 2.66Ghz  4096MB  384GB SSD  BlueRay   $3,497.00
VPC-Z11NGX/X  Core i7-620M 2.66Ghz  6144MB  384GB SSD  BlueRay   $3,651.00   
VPC-Z11PGX/X  Core i7-620M 2.66Ghz  6144MB  384GB SSD  DvDRW+DL  $3,110.00   
VPC-Z11QGX/S  Core i5-540M 2.53Ghz  4096MB  256GB SSD  DvDRW+DL  $2,609.00   
VPC-Z11RGX/S  Core i5-540M 2.53Ghz  4096MB  512GB SSD  DvDRW+DL  $3,207.00   
VPC-Z11SGX/S  Core i5-520M 2.40Ghz  6144MB  256GB SSD  DvDRW+DL  $2,705.00   
VPC-Z114GX/S  Core i5-520M 2.40Ghz  4096MB  192GB SSD  DvDRW+DL  $2,172.00   
VPC-Z116GX/S  Core i5-520M 2.40Ghz  4096MB  256GB SSD  DvDRW+DL  $2,366.00

So differences between $75-$150. The VPC-Z11LHX/X is now $200 cheaper than the signature model, and the VPC-Z116GX/S is $466 more than the base model, or $466 for a 128Gb SSD.

Seems more realistic to me...

-Peter

 

Thanks for the clarification. So there's no other price premium because the Signature model is "limited quantity"?

Based on this, on the updated (reduced) pricelist I just posted, the only difference between the VPCZ11LHX/X and the maxed out signature series is the lid and the HD resolution. So $50 for the lid, and $150 for the upgrade from 1600x900 to 1920x1080 screen.

-Peter

 

No additional price premium for the Signature model that I know of, other than the fact that the Signature color may not be available right away for the CTO process. I am just hoping that the full-HD screen will be available for the CTO process, right off the bat.

In the F-series, the European Union gets a "premium" Full-HD 1920x1080 Matte screen that covers 100% of the Adobe RGB color gamut, in addition to the regular glossy Full-HD 1920x1080 screen. The US does not get the Matte full-HD screen, even via the CTO process and only gets glossy versions of both the 1600x900 screen and 1920x1080.

Hopefully that trend will not extend onto the CTO of the Z-series and that the Full-HD screen would be available via CTO.

 

Here's the first picture I've found of the new docking station for the Z.

Click on the product sheet pdf file for fun

-Peter

 

This is exactly what I plan on doing. As much as I love the idea of the high resolution screen - it would be nearly the same as my desktop - I just know I'm going to hate it. My friend with the 15.4" screen at that resolution? He's a programmer and bought it last summer, and absolutely hates it - even set to 125dpi it's still microscopic, and changing the DPI much beyond that causes undesirable things in XP (which is what he's using).

This is tricky to answer as the size of the taskbar, title bar and even file icons is dictated by several customizations. You can make them bigger or smaller. Windows 7 apparantly has some new DPI options which I'm going to have to take a closer look at.

 

I hope it's true, but according to the specs listed there, it also has SSD, which we know the Z115 does not have. We'll see.

 

All I can say from experience is that 125% dpi setting makes a lot of difference. Your desktop icons/text are easier to read. Start-up program list are also legible. As for Word, I noticed, the increase in dpi did not change. However, W7, as Sunfox quoted does offer some sort of dpi settings. Perhaps, someone here can verify that on their current Z.

If you can get access to a current Z with 1600x900 or check one out from a retail store, play with the dpi and see what it's like for you.

Still waiting for Sony to officially announce the price on that Z on their site - VPCZ11CGX/X. Please let it be around $2300.

 

Both Vista and W7 offer DPI scaling of icons and widgets too. Increase the DPI setting, and icons will scale in pixel count to retain the same physical (in inches/millimeters) size.
The only thing that won't be scaled are bitmap images and widgets, in apps that aren't DPI aware.

That said, the correct DPI setting for the 1600x900 Z screen isn't 125%, but 140 DPI (146%).
For a successful result, first set the DPI to 140 and then adjust the default font sizes, icon sizes and border sizes to what's comfortable. The end result is much clearer text, which is the exact same physical size on screen for a given point size as it will be in a print-out or on a different computer with correctly set up DPI.

 

arth1 Where do you adjust the default font sizes, icon sizes and border size? Can you run through the steps, please. In control panel, in DISPLAY, I know where to go to set it to 140dpi, all else, will require your instructions. Thanks.

Interesting... I didn't know this.

 

There are several ways to get to the Appearance Settings -- here's one:
Right-click desktop, "Personalize"
Click "Window Color and Appearance"
Click "Open classic appearance properties for more color options"
Click "Advanced"

A slightly more intuitive way:
Hit F1 for help
Enter "Change Windows fonts"
Choose the top result, which should be "Change Windows fonts"
Follow the instructions.

Now, for the Item pulldown menu, go through the choices one by one and adjust the sizes as required. I use 9 pt in most of them, but slightly more readable fonts than Segoe UI.
I also adjust the icon size. 32 px icons with 52 px horizontal and vertical clearance seems to work well for me.

Most apps will generally work well and use default fonts based on the choices you made in the Appearance settings.

Some 3rd party apps use their own font rendering engines, and you have to adjust the font choice from within the program. FireFox is probably the #1 used app that's neither font aware nor DPI aware, and to add insult to the injury, the "point" sizes that FireFox reports are just plain wrong. Firefox assumes that everybody uses 75 dpi (the default on old Linux machines).
So, to get a 9 pt font in Firefox, do 9*140/75, which equates to 16.8. So choose 17 as default in Firefox, and it should be very close.

(The above formula for Firefox fonts can come in handy for other displays and DPI settings too. Want an 8 pt font on a 125 DPI display? 8*125/75 = 13.3, so choose 13 in Firefox)

 

Thanks arth1

Can't wait to try it on the New Z with 1600x900. When I had my old Z550, I changed dpi to 120 without all the other modifications you mentioned, but then again the res. on that was lower (1366x768).

And these are settings you suggest on a Z which has a res. of 1600x900 and a 13.1 screen. It would be ok to assume that these settings be different with even the higher res. offered on the new Z?

In Firefox, I had mine set to 16, so I may not notice 17. Hey, Thanks again.

 

Yes, 140 DPI is for a 13.1" 1600x900 screen.
For the new 1920x1080 VGN-Z, the correct DPI is higher: 168, if I remember correctly.

A 9 pt font is about the same size as most books use, which should be readable for most of us. Some like slightly smaller and some like slightly larger fonts than that, but 8-11 is generally a "safe" range for normal text.
I've met too many people who haven't set their DPI, and instead set their font to 14 pt or even bigger in Word to be able to read the text, and then complain when it comes out "all big" when they print out the document. Well, duh, 14 points is a physical measurement of about 5 mm, and if the display had been set correctly, the fonts would have been 5 mm tall on-screen too... It's not Word's fault that it supports font sizes correctly!

 

@arth1

You mentioned hybrid nVidia drivers for an old Z on another thread. Since we are dependent on Sony for nVidia drivers how often Sony released updates for them in case of old Z.

If they are releasing drivers every leap year it can be a problem for those of us that will sometimes like to play some games on new Z. Especially since new Z has decent GPU.

 

I would say that Sony releases new graphics drivers just when new OS is released. So you can expect fresh new (about half a year old) drivers, when Win8 will come out

On the other hand...there are always some skillful smart ppl who compile hybrid drivers from newer version for others. Don't count on Sony though.

 

Thanks Metsn

That's just what I expected to here .

 

In my experience, how often is never. As an example, when the Z5xx came out, it came with nVidia Forceware 174.49 drivers. Now, 18 months later, there have been no newer drivers for the Z5xx
So again, with Sony, what you see is what you get, and you can't count on updates becoming available. Bug fixes, for a while, and that's about it.

 

I wonder how other vendors handle this since drivers update for nVidia GPUs are relatively frequent. Asus for example also has hybrid system on some machines.

I expect hybrid systems to become standard on high end laptops so I hope nVidia and ATI will work with Intel to standardize this so we can download drivers from GPU vendor site.

 

this thing is perfect... why'd it have to be so expensive

 

I know, it makes me sad.

 

An hour and a half until "early February!"

XD

 

Haha. I can't wait for it, I think I'll purchase it when it gets a price drop though. I am actually still wondering how they fit so much in such a small machine.

Btw, does anyone know if there are other options rather than the quad SSD. I mean, it's cool and all, but I think I'd rather have a 7200 rpm 500 GB hard drive, considering that would drop the price a bit.

 

I know that with the asus ul30vt hybrid system they use the geforce 210m. To my understanding, the card is no longer supported. Nvidia drivers will not work. And Asus has outdated ones on their sites....

And this is nvidia, if ATI joined the hybrid train, I wonder what kind of mess they'll get themselves into; ATI never seems to get their drivers in order...

 

It's early February now! Where's my dang laptop, Sony?!

I bet people will be able to order it this week or next since "early" usually means the first 1.5ish weeks of the month while "mid" usually refers to the 12th or so and on.

 

This is the ordering for the premium models, not CTOs?

 

Yeah. And I just went to the CTO page and it says "preorders," not "orders," so I guess people still won't have the Z for another few weeks.

 

how did you get the page?
would you please give me the link?

thanks