New Z model with Intel Core i5 CPU

Unfortunately, Optimus is what we hoped Z's hybrid mode was. Looking through the owner's manual, Z's hybrid mode only switches the graphics mode on a few pre-determined events (such as whether the laptop is on battery or not, or if it is docked or not).

Does optimus require a hardware component, or is it something that can be retrofitted back into an existing (new) Z?

-Peter

 

Word on the street has it that the Japan release will be tomorrow. The old Z is no longer up for sale, with a sign meaning "end of sale" on SonyStyle JP (the local Sony fanboys just call it "SonySta" here!). The latest thread is here, if you want to follow it or translate it. It moves FAST.

 

how does this math work? the new z weighs 3 pounds with standard battery (the older z890 weighs 3.3). the large capacity battery is 6 ounces or .3 pounds more. so the new z with extended battery should only weigh 3.3 pounds.

 

is the new model compatible with intel wireless display push2tv

 

Because we were talking about the " older " Z series, the outgoing model. My Z820 weighs 3.4 pounds with the standard battery. The standard battery weighs .7 pounds. The extended battery weighs 1.04 pounds, or as the box says....16.6 oz. Remove the standard battery and the Z weighs 2.7 pounds. Put the extended battery on it and it weighs 3.74 pounds.

Yes, the new Z will weigh less, you are correct on that.

 

oh gotcha. either way, the Z was never an obese 4 pounds.

 

I didn't expect anything special from auto mode. It's there more for marketing purpose. Even if auto choosing mode was more sophisticated,in this case I think user will always be able to make decision far better then any automatic process, algorithm. I even think making it more sophisticated would create more problems than benefits.

For me bigger and more practical concern is if we can install drivers update for 330M from nVidia site.

For old Z if you want to update 9300m drivers you will need to play with Sony .inf file since drivers for hybrid solution are not available on nVidia site and Sony is updating them only when new OS is released.

This is even more important for new Z since this machine is more gaming capable then old Z when it was first released.

 

Thanks a lot for the link and the info . I'll check at Yodobashi tomorrow

 

You're right - I can't speak for everyone. But when Asus announced their "automatic switching technology" at CES2010, where the discrete and integrated graphics were switched on a "second-by-second" basis after it was revealed that the Z would have an auto switch, I assumed both were using the same technology. The info from the Z's user manual was a big disappointment.

Drivers are a good point. Playing with the inf file isn't new - anyone who has used the drivers at laptopvideo2go is probably used to using a modified inf. Is that all we need to worry about, or is there more to updating drivers on a hybrid machine?

-Peter

 

Thanks for good news. I am considering to by new Z from Conics.net.

Do you know if new Z WWAN modem will be locked in Japan?

 

I am not sure, it may also involve repacking installation packages. Here is the topic about it for old Z:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=342947

I was hoping I don't need to go too deep in to it

 

To partially answer my own question, this article is pretty detailed. On the second page, it notes that on the hardware side of things, the required "Optimus Copy Engine" is integrated in all current 200M and 300M GPUs. Good news for us!

On the software side of things, nVidia adds some components to its drivers to manage the auto switching.

However, in the associated slides, it looks like additional hardware is required to implement switching without Optimus - maybe the Z could have been lighter, or at least, more efficiently laid out internally with Optimus enabled from the start?

As always, until the Z is in someone's hands to test, we won't know for sure. But I'm more hopeful this can be enabled in the Z.

-Peter

 

so did anyone's shipping update to today actually ship?

 

Mine still says it should have been shipped yesterday

 

I've never used an express card. I've heard this mention a lot. And have always notice this empty slot on my previuos SZ and Z. What exactly is it? And how is it different from a compact external or flash drive as storage devices? Are express cards purchased based on storage capacity such as externals -4, 8, 12, 16, 32, 64, 250, 500, etc.?

I hope your right about the Black. I just don't want Silver. And I don't mind purchasing from Frys or MicroCenter. Usually, within just a couple months of release, they have it on sale for about $100-$200 off - still priced better than Sony even with the 7% Student Discount. Even MicroCenter offers and instant 5% additional off at checkout for joining their free rewards program + rebates over more rebates . That's how I got that Z820, which I returned because of the new Z, for $1486.

 

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/laptops/355384/sony-vaio-vpcz11z9e-b

Review from today on the new Z, ssd read times are 600mb/s and write is 430mb/s.

 

Mine stills shows estimated shipping for yesterday.

 

Good find! 1 hour in high performance/max brightness/intensive tasks, and confirmation of no trim when the drives are in raid 0 are a little disappointing though. I wish they commented on heat too. They did confirm the keyboard is really great, and that the chassis is ultra-solid - good stuff.

Oh, they also revealed the part number for the SSD: MMCRE28GQDXP-MVB

-Peter

 

Those numbers are way beyond SATA 3.0! (and maybe SATA 6G too?) I guess that means they are running the SSDs through PCI-E or something like that. The lack of TRIM is very disappointing though. Might even be a dealbreaker...

 

disappointed about lack of trim, kinda scared about after market SSD support..... but what else has 330M level graphics in such a thin and light package?

If the alienware 11x wasn't so guady looking and chubby or have such a low end CPU, then MAYYYBBEEE but, eh :\

 

One thing I've thought about regarding the lack of trim: Instead of running a scheduled defrag cycle like I used to, I would run a create image/rebuild raid/apply image cycle periodically based on performance degradation.

Not ideal, obviously, but at least there is a solution that isn't too unwieldly.

-Peter

 

Imagine a company or big business purchasing a fleet of these new Z's. They are going to have to hire someone who specializes in Sony VAIO Z optimization and upkeep, because the average Joe or Jane business person might not think about things like Trim, Raid, Image Cycling, SSD Performance Degradation, etc.

 

Hmm... that battery life is a bit disappointing, especially since it's half of the outgoing Z. Maybe it's the i7 processor? Maybe the i5 would increase the battery life.

 

^ wouldn't be much improvement. the only difference between these processors is a slightly higher clock.

OMFG.

those of you concerned about having to rebuild the array...just keep up-to-date images of your drive (I use ShadowProtect Desktop, but Norton Ghost and Acronis TrueImage are popular).

the backup process will probably only take 25 minutes on this system. to re-add the image might take less. and bam; i'd be like a brand new machine again.

For those unfamiliar with images: it makes a copy of your HDD and stores it in a file. if your HDD crashes or some such, you can just load the image up and your computer will be back in the state that it was in when you first ran the imaging application. google it for better explainations.

this machine is a damn miracle. I think that if I wanted a 13" machine, this would be my first and highest priority. However, I need a 16"-18" screen (graphic designer), so all I can do is hope for a similar solution in that size.

this computer's performance is sweet mana from heaven.

 

sounds like a good job to have. even in the wost case scenario, it would only take about 45 minutes, and you could do multiple computers at once, provided you have the software installed on all the computers to run the imaging. and a network backup solution.

 

Problem is, if you are in the habit of filling up your drives close to capacity, performance degradation could happen in a matter of weeks.

 

How about just buying a new Z for some serious couch surfing ? Hehe.

 

I'm not as knowledgable about SSD's. Really, that fast ? Sony must want us to buy the 512 GB version I guess.

 

These performance degradations aren't permanent, right? You simply have to format the SSD every once in a while and it's back to new? Or not?

 

nope they aren't permanent. you can use norton ghost as the above poster has said. But I can't believe sony has left out TRIM support after making such a wonderful ssd drive Feel like there is a catch somewhere.

 

^ It's not that they left it out. you simply can't do TRIM in a Raid 0 configuration. kinda like how S.M.A.R.T. features on HDD disappear in Raid 0. no way around it.

epic page-loading confirmed.

 

No its definitely not permanent, but having to do a full erase every couple months would be a serious pain. It is possible to have TRIM in a raid configuration, but the controller needs to be able to pass down the TRIM command to the drives when one is issued by the OS. So far, there aren't any that are capable.

 

Gottcha. But what about all the business users that sony is targeting
I used Norton ghost previously. Is it still the best around for price and convenience?

 

Feel like we have gone back to the days when ssd's first arrived and they had this problem of slowing

 

the SSD speeds are megabits not bytes
divide by 8

600/8 = 75 megabytes read
430/8 = 54 megabytes write

those are on the lower average for MLC SSD

 

Intel is working on drivers to support trim. Check out the first post in this thread from an Intel employee:

(emphasis mine)

Another thread in the intel forum references this German thread that claims the latest RST drivers do support trim (though it seems only for single drives, not in raid):

(Google translation from German).

The Z, based on pictures from the Taiwanese link posted a few pages back, is using the Intel ICH8M SATA RAID controller, which would use the RST drivers noted above.

Who knows, maybe by the time the Z is released, we'll have trim-enabled RAID drivers. One can always hope

-Peter

ps. no word on whether the drive's firmware will support trim. That will also need to happen.

 

No man, you're wrong. Those are Megabytes and W/R seq. speed is simply insane. Did you see this video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1ASbjg5LOI

4 seconds for copying 1 Gigabyte from SSD raid to itself (almost 250Mbs transfer speed which is equal to (R+W)/4 numbers).

 

Yes it's hard to believe but it's actually 600/430 megabytes/s. Insane

http://translate.google.com/transla...w/nb/talk/?prod_id=457&tid=3073&sl=auto&tl=en

 

Like that one article series on SSD's said dozens of pages ago, the most important thing for speed is the small, random writes the SSD can make, not the large transfers that people seldom do.

 

In U.S. - No TRIM on a single 256GB SSD drive & no plans for a firmware upgrade that will support it either according to Sony Engineering dept. via a lengthy phone call

In CANADA - The reason why there is a confirmed delay with Z11 CTO purchasing options until early March is because Sony Canada has been negotiating to have a modification made to the Motherboard that WILL support TRIM on a single SSD configuration. They are aware of the demand and want it to happen. If this is the case however, I can't see the U.S. market being deprived of it. My fingers are crossed, otherwise I'll be getting a fully loaded Z790 for 2K and drop in a higher capacity X25m if & when they become available.

No USB 3.0, no TRIM, no real time graphic card switching & no confirmation as to whether or not one can even swap out their SSD's is (at least not to me) not worth the added U.S. $900 cost for this model with 256GB SSD + BluRay.

The lack of up front consumer info on this model is rather annoying. I've practically had to pull teeth to find out what the true capabilities are with this particular notebook but at least with the help of everyone on the forums and reviewers, we're finding out what we want to know.

I thought about the 1/2 hour system image restores it would ttake to regain performance on this setup but decided it's not gonna be one of those things put on my to do list.

My current Z790 is outstanding but I would like a BluRay burner built in over the DVD RW since I can utilize this technology now. In any event, I'm routing for Sony Canada to make TRIM happen. I can live with a USB 3.0 expresscard... I suppose

 

Why did you say about no real time switching?

 

All of those points are disappointing, but in light of Nvidia's recently announced Optimus technology, I'm very surprised it isn't part of the package, it seems like the Z would be perfect for it. I guess I can cross my fingers for TRIM, USB 3.0, and Optimus in future refreshes.

 

Where did you get this info? All from Sony via a phone call? Seems like a big deal to redesign the computer for one market while depriving another of the same thing...

 

As the demand changes from moment to moment based on what application I am using or not using the graphics card doesn't adjust to that each and every moment. My understanding is that Auto mode just sets the notebook into stamina or speed mode based on power settings and whether or not the computer is plugged in or not plugged in when turned on. Very gimmicky since all I currently have to do is flick a switch for that.

 

Especially for Canada. We don't get nuttin' special - except for annoying combination English/French keyboards.

 

You guys have awesome maple syrup

 

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=868

 

From a lengthy phone call with very specific questions and long hold times! Someone had to do it

Also - Not a redesign, Sony Canada says they are working on having a possible modification made which is causing the delay for CTO availability

1-888-289-7669

 

Peteman100: Yeah, and all the good stuff is exported! Just like Canadian Bacon...

Synchro: what exactly did they mean by "single SSD". So far even the smallest configuration for the Z - 128gb - is actually 2 SSDs in 1.

 

A change to the motherboard is not a small thing. And from the speeds people are posting in reviews, the current SSDs aren't using a standard SATA interface.