New Z model with Intel Core i5 CPU

I can only hope there won't be any BIOS gotchas or "something left out of spec" foul ups that will cause it to be difficult or impossible to use the new Z with Linux. Configuring it as I did from that page (thanks for the link by the way), it seems all the hardware /should/ be Linux supported simply in the kernel, but there are a lot of things we don't yet know about the minutia of say, the wireless chipset etc. I'm tempted to order a new Z now and get one of the first batch, but others have stated that Sony hasn't played well with Linux in the past so I guess I'll hold off a bit longer.

 

Usually, that always happens. Hold off for as long as you can.

LOL! I agree, you spend all that cash to cover the lid. I do like that cover he was speaking of. Personally, I'd get a sleeve so that I can see that lid every time I take it out.

Does anyone know how RAM (Memory) works and how it's utilized by each applications when you have multiple applications in use? Debating on 4 or 6 GB's of Ram. Typically, how much Ram does CS2 uses up? Word? for example.

 

I'm kind of alternating between dreading and hopeful on what SonyStyle.ca's pricing is going to be on the new Z.

If I configure identical Z890 systems to the lowest specs offered between the two countries, the Canadian version is 17.6% more expensive (should be no more than 7%). Plus there's no available coupons/discounts.

On the other hand, with the F1190 series the price is actually slightly less in Canada (and that's before currency conversion) and many of the options are significantly less (256gb SSD is $235 vs $620, BD-R is $160 vs $180, premium screen is $106 vs $150). So I'm hoping the Z follows suit!

Edit - just took a look at the CW290 series. Base price is 16% more in Canada. Fully loaded is 9% more.

 

Are there any keyboard protectors for the Z?

 

In simple terms, RAM is the space you have for temporary files that the system can access almost instantly. Temporary files on the harddrive take much longer to read. How much you need depends on what you do. ie. what applications you have open, how many, and how intensively you use these applications.

Photoshop (CS3) opens up needing just about 50MB. But the more complex the images you have open (higher resolution, layers, masks, etc), the more ram it requires. It takes quite a bit to reach 2GB though, let alone 4GB.

Word 2007 requires about 30 MB with two documents opened up, each containing several tables and graphs. More documents hardly increase the figure. Basically you don't need to think about what Word uses when you have 2GB or more.

All in all I'd say 4GB is enough. With 6GB you'll notice a marginal increase in performance when you're working on several complex things at the same time, but in general the extra 2GB will be just sitting there. If it costed only a few bucks to upgrade I'd say go for it to be sure. At a 100 dollar premium you're better of waiting for prices to drop.

 

Ah, now I realize you meant "premium carbon" lid, not just "carbon" lid. No I don't have the raw carbon one - it's just for looks.

 

Well, I would say that if you are doing anything related to either Photoshop or Video editing, the more RAM the better. You set a batchjob with a number of RAW files and it will quickly use up all of that 8GB of RAM.....let alone 2GB or 4GB.

In my opinion, 2GB/4GB etc is something that is suitable for fairly minor tasks. Anything more taxing can definitely take advantage of additional RAM.

Things like RAM, the CPU, the cache memory available on the CPU, speed of the disk drive are all things that impact the overall computing experience. If the question is, can someone plod along with 2GB of RAM, then the answer is definitely yes, but IMHO, that will be a very unexciting time, especially if you are doing things like photo or video editing.

 

I think we're looking at this with different standards and requirements. Yours are considerably higher than mine.

And I guess we can't actually answer his question without knowing more about his standards and requirements.

 

How do I get to the Z CTO page from sonystyle.com?

 

On the site in the search bar, search for Z11.

 

Depends on the model, my Z45X has a UK keyboard (with the big ENTER)
Nice to see they ship US keyboards in NL!

 

No, it is simple and there are no different standards. Either someone uses "whatever name I dont even want to know consumer editor" or Adobe and in later case more RAM makes all the difference, 2Gb was standard a decade ago (when consumer were happy with 128 or 256 MB). The professionals cant even afford less because it costs too much time, be it seconds or minutes, they all add and in the end mean inefficient work and time , money waste. Today`s minimum would be 8Gb.

 

Holy hyperbole, batman!

Remember, the original poster asked about CS2, which has recommended (not minimum) requirements of 384 megs of ram. I'm guessing, but I would think that 4gig is probably sufficient for the average CS2 user. 6 or 8 gig would be nice, of course, but it's debatable whether the OP who asked the question will notice it - it depends on their usage. And I think that's all that Solinx is saying - different users have different standards.

Just found this link describing how CS2 allocates memory. Basically, CS2 can only use up to 3gig max as it is a 32bit application. If you have more than 4gig of ram, CS2 will use the extra ram as a cache to speed IO. This cache will only be used for files that are large enough to require it. But the application itself can only address 3gig of ram. What is a "large enough file". The link explains that operations affecting the entire image will essentially make a copy of the entire image. Operations that affect only a small part of the image (like a brushstroke) will duplicate only that part of the image. So if you are applying 5 masks/filters to an image that affect the entire image, you'll need 5 times the cache space as the original image size.

Bottom line - if you are working with huge files and/or applying many operations to the entire (larger, but not as huge) image, ram over 4gig will help. But for lesser usage of CS2, more than 4gig won't be noticeable. Is the performance improvement worth $300? For some yes, for some no.

Boy, if 8gb is minimum for you, you shouldn't be interested in the Z - go instead for the Clevo's with triple-channel memory. No typical consumer laptop is going to support more than 8gig until greater than 4gig sodimms are available.

-Peter

 

Applications that I'd like to use "simultaneously" will be CS2 - Basic photo editing - 5MP images, Word Doc., Video Maker for Basic School Projects, iTunes/Music Program to add music to Projects, Powerpoint to create school presentations, Adobe PDF to create files as PDF, Web Surf, Email to send docs.


I do have both CS2 and CS3, but I tend to always launch CS2, which tells you I don't do anything intensive.

Note: Ultimately, I'd like to have all these applications launched up and running altogether. Otherwise, anything in BOLD will definitely be in use "simultaneously", then I'll usually close those programs, except iTunes, Internet, Email and launch the others that are not bold-typed, so will 4GB of Ram suffice if I want "all" those applications opened? Or will 4GB Ram suffice if I decide just to have what's Bold-Typed. Thanks.

Z11 CTO USA

Wow! 8GB is the minimum. Can I get away with 4GB with what I'll be doing above (see my first post above this).

 

@Aviray:
Really, I'm telling you I have different standards and requirements than you or Roweraay have, and you tell me that can't be? Your reasoning sounds nice, but it doesn't hold in reality.

The hardware requirements of Photoshop are tied to what you use it for and how you use it. I use Photoshop mostly for webdesign and occasionally for photo editing. When I do batchjobs, I don't use it for large numbers of high quality RAW files. As a result I almost always keep the total system usage under 3 GB.

Simpler and cheaper stuff would have fulfilled my needs at first glance, but the benefits of photoshop are for example that my collegues already used it and that there are plenty of tutorials online. As a student I could purchase photoshop at a reasonable price. I found either of the mentioned benefits to be worth it.

This establishes the possibility of users who don't use Photoshop for heavy duty photo editing and as a result don't need a minimum of 8GB ram.

The way you describe it, the benefit of having at least 8 GB is blatantly obvious to any serious photographer. Yet Geee didn't know about it. Furthermore, he indicated he'll be using the student discount earlier on in this topic. (Which incidently also means he could get photoshop for a nice price.) A third point is that he uses CS 2, which is two generations old.

All of these observations tell me Geee probably isn't a professional photographer, and perhaps only uses photoshop from time to time to do light work. That he doubts about the 100 dollar upgrade further suggests he doesn't make money with photography, nor is as serious about his hobby as you or Roweraay.

Few things are simple.

@Moderators: Sorry for getting off topic.

@Geee: I hope all this hasn't actually made the decision thougher to make

Edit: I think psyang provides the best answer. It depends a lot on what you do with photoshop. Opening three or four 5MP images to fiddle a bit with the saturation requires much less than opening tens of images where you add all sorts of masks and layers.

 

Best way to decide is to open all those apps/images on your current system. After a fresh reboot (to accomodate possible hung processes that are eating up memory). Then open task manager and under the performance tab look at the Memory usage. That will give you a decent idea of what your memory requirement will be. Memory usage can be more than your physical ram - the os will compensate by swapping (writing info from ram to disk and vice-versa - a very painfully slow operation that you want to avoid). Keep an eye on the memory usage throughout a day or two to get a feel for peaks.

-Peter

 

Your not off topic because your helping me understand how much Ram to get on the Z should I CTO. So base on my requirement above your post, will 4GB of Ram Suffice. Your right, I don't do anything intensive, just basic use of all those programs. Thanks.
_______________________________

Thanks too psyang.

 

If I buy from the NL can I choose english Windows or is it dutch only?

 

My Z51 is from the Netherlands. The first time I turned on the computer I had an option of choosing Dutch or English.

 

https://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wc...0151&langId=-1&categoryId=8198552921644702499

 

If you're only going to use one program at a time, and the others are just open, you'll be fine. Windows swaps out memory pages that you haven't used in a while to disk (or just discards them if they are mapped to a file, like an executable), which frees up memory for the apps you actually use at the time. The price for this is you may have to wait a a couple of seconds while switching between programs.

If you're going to actually use multiple programs (i.e. you have mastered the ancient[*] art of not blowing apps up full screen, but stagger them partially behind each other, and jumping between them without bringing them to the front), you need more memory. But can work a lot quicker than if you minimize or blow up apps full screen.

[*]: The default on X workstations since long before Windows, KDE and Gnome were invented.

 

Thanks arth1. I'll stick to 4GB Ram then.

Just waiting.......for that one model to be priced.
If that one model prices out at $2399.99. With 7% Student Discount plus 5 points per $1 spent on Sony Card = $111.60 Off that would take my total including CA. state tax to $2315.70. I hope it's worth it.

EDIT: Yeah, I'll just upgrade Ram later. It's much easier to install than a larger capacity SSD.

 

Don't forget you can always upgrade RAM on your own for MUCH cheaper than Sony offers it. I'll probably get the default 4gb too, and upgrade with my own stock!

 

Man this thing is expensive but very lust worthy
I hope SONY has solved some of the heat issues that plagued the old Z series.

 

I little question for you guys, what would you do;
premium carbon
1080p
i5 540m
6gb ddr3
500gb hdd
extended battery
get myself an external dvd drive (USB)
for like €1850 or something if i remember it right, or

premium carbon
1080p
i5-540m
4gb ddr3
128gb ssd
dvddrive
extended battery
for about €2000

 

Does anyone have any information on the headphones that are shipped with the new Z, like model number or anything?

 

All Z models are out of stock and can't be ordered in Sonystyle HK and they are not revealing any information on the new Z. Do you guys think that the new Z will be released in HK soon?

 

Even though I've been looking for a 13" notebook for a while now, I never thought seriously about getting a VAIO. I was looking for a screen resolution higher than 1366 x 768, and that's when I saw the z890. There were some things that I thought it was lacking for a notebook with such a high price, so I wasn't sure about getting it. But I am very excited about the z1190. If only I could order one with a 128GB SSD, a 500GB HDD and no optical drive It'd be perfect.

 

I'm ordering this config end of february (when i got the cash =P), i'll get myself an external hdd (500gig or so) later to store data, most important stuff will be on the ssd =D.

 

@hxkclan:

I'm planning to do upgrades, so I'd go for the first option, minus the ram. If I weren't, the second would be my choice. I think it is better balanced (with the SSD) and will be able to keep up longer with a simple ram upgrade.


Personally I'm going for something just over the base configuration:
- Premium Carbon
- 1080p
- i5-540m / i5-520m
- 4GB
- 320 GB HDD
- extended battery / normal battery
For about 1700 - 1600 euro.

Basically I'm only sure to spend extra on those things that can't be upgraded later on, which are the screen and casing.

320GB is plenty for now, and while the 5400 rpm means it performs a bit less, it will also consume a bit less. When prices for good performing SSD drives with a decent capacity drop, it will be replaced.

The lack of an optical drive in itself saves a bit of power too. I already have an old external DVD burner, but I plan on getting an internal Blu-ray drive for my next HTPC/server. I don't need an optical drive on the move, so I'll be fine with sharing the Blu-ray drive over the network.

Although the ram is actually well priced compared to what it would cost to get the separate module for an upgrade, 4GB ram is currently plenty for my needs. Upgrading ram later on when I actually need the extra is easy and will be considerably cheaper.

The regular battery is claimed to provide 4.5 hours in graphics mode and 7.5 in stamina mode. I need 6, which looks to be manageable with the standard battery. The extended battery does look great though, providing 6.5 / 10.5 hours.

Before you order the extended battery, call them up and ask why the premium for getting the extended battery during CTO is higher than the price difference if you were considering purchasing either of the batteries separately. Might be you can get a discount. (Do check whether the difference is still there before you call.)

As for the CPU. The pricing of these models is pretty close (the difference is about half the 50 euro premium), which made me wonder how much of an performance increase the 540 provides over the 520, and whether it is worth the 50 euro. This really is something I still need to look into though.

Up to yesterday the i5-540 was a no-brainer, but my current HTPC/home-server just died on me, so I need to redistribute the reserves a bit. Same goes for the extended vs regular battery. I'll probably end up with the lower config now.

 

I would jump on this now but for the SSD. I really need space .. hoping against hope there will be a 500GB HDD option.

 

There is a 500GB hard drive option but you will lose the optical drive.

 

interesting .. would like an optical, but tbh my optical broke a while ago and i'm getting on fine without it. do u have a link to the option please? i didn't see it on the sony site. has it just arrived? i might just hit the order button on this one

 

If you really need that amount of space, chances are that you are going to use it for something where the raw transfer speed doesn't matter that much as long as it's high enough. Like video.
My advice: Just buy a 500 GB (or bigger!) external drive. They're pretty cheap compared to what a Z costs.

 

As far as I know this can currently be ordered over at Sonystyle Netherlands via CTO here.

 

thanks for the advice but i know what it is i need

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...Id=10151&langId=-1&LBomId=8198552921666065650

no mention of HDD, could someone point me in the right direction?

 

cheers i'll have a look now

 

Guys, is there a slightest chance of getting hands on vpc-z service manual? if such a thing existed, that would clear up a lot of things here.

 

This is the 2nd of 3rd time that i'm reading about the optical drive consuming power. You can power down the dvd when on battery power. Sony provide software in order to do this. In that case it shoudn't negatively impact on battery life.

Also, the battery life i've read up to 6hrs for the standard battery for this model with wifi on etc. I haven't read any Mobile Mark figures for this new model.

Those who have placed orders might now want to open up a new Z owners thread.

 

Shouldn't we wait until someone has the new one?

 

Wait, could somebody show me where the option for the hdd in place of the optical is? I wanted just that, but i cant find it.

thanks, if i can get this, everything is perfect for me.

 

That's pretty neat

@tomokatsu:
The option of HDD isn't available in the US (yet?)
In Europe the V serie has the HDD drive instead of an optical and SSD (X serie)

 

In the Owners Forum for the S Series, I read someone already complaining of heat issues and another post was re: battery drain.

Someone did post the Z11 Owners Manual/User's Guide some pages back. Not sure if this is what you would consider a service manual. You have to seep through the thread, unless someone remembers the page. I downloaded the PDF Manual and it's definitely got interesting information.

 

Could you PM me a link? I'll try to browse back but it might be buried way to deep... Basically I'm lookin' for measurements (at least approximate) of the SSD slot

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=447505&page=103

scroll to bottom

here is the link to the user guide:

http://www.docs.sony.com/release/VPCZ110_series.pdf

 

Awesome. Thank you. Decisions decisions....

 

From what I read, changing the RAM on the Z-series is not as easy as doing it in other larger laptops. It takes quite a bit of disassembly to accomplish the RAM change.

 

It was very easy for the old Z. As simple as unscrewing one screw at the bottom.

 

sonystyle website being updated!!! under maintenance.... prices for the new Z's? I HOPE SO... can't wait!!!

 

I still can't decide between i5/i7.