New Z model with Intel Core i5 CPU

So basically the solution to our worries is to find a free sata or 'something adaptable to sata' plug and some physical free space to throw our intel ssd's in?

 

I think most would want to replace the HDD with an own SSD. There are some questions (see all the discussions in the thread) about the RAID configuration and about the SSD drives themselves. As Peterman100 said, many prefer Intel or OCZ drives to the default Samsung ones.

I would personally prefer a single SSD model (with TRIM) with an optical drive.

 

I have tried to keep up with this thread but it is a full time job. Here is where I am. I have finally crossed the initial threshold of comitting to paying the price of the Z and am ready to order. I have two concerns, the lack of the 1900 x. 1080 screen on the US CTO page and the SSD drives. I could live with the SSD, but I really want the 1080 screen. So here are my questions.

Is there a site where I can get both the 7200 rpm HD and the 1080 screen with a US keyboard?

If not, can I get the 1080 with the SSD and a US keyboard?

If I get it from a foreign Sony site, will they ship to the US and will I be able to have warranty work done in the US?

Finally, do they recognize the Jersey Shore as a part of the US?

Bronsky

The first three Q's are serious. I am really perplexed. I know that much of this has been covered over the past 230 pages but it is all starting to run together.

 

Ah, so only the HDDs can be taken out. Buying the Z with the SSD config leaves me stuck with it?

Tbh, I might join the band wagon. Its no secret that SSDs are quite expensive right now and they surely will be much more affordable in the next year or two..or three. Sept that Id rather keep my optical drive..oh dilemmas

 

You will be able to order it from Conics.net as soon as new Z becomes available in Japan. This is Japanese site, and they ship world wide. You can select US keyboard and they will even install English W7 for you without Sony's bloatware.

You will need to send Z back to Japan in case of warranty claim.

 

EXACTLY the same questions I have

I want a US keyboard model with the HD screen and preferably (but not required) the HDD instead of the SSD/optical drive.

The US CTO options are ridiculous right now. I do not care what country I have to get it from. I am worried about the warranty but I guess I can live with it.

So, anyone know the options for people who want to import to the U.S.?

EDIT: igorstef must have answered while I was posting.

 

Within just a few weeks, my wireless adapter would just shut off all of a sudden and stay off no matter what I tried to do to get it back on. It always happened right in the middle of browsing or just working normally with the internet connection enabled. This also disabled bluetooth. Re-installing SmartWi made no difference and to make matters worse, after, and I mean after hours of trying to troubleshoot the problem and even letting Sony remotely connect to my notebook, it would come back on for a few minutes and then die for good.

The only way to get it working again was to unplug it, remove the battery, press the power button for 10 seconds to discharge and restart. The wireless would come back on quickly and within minutes fail again. It was sent to MTC who acknowledged there was a defective adapter and replaced it. I waited 2 weeks for it to be returned. I was relieved until I went to the coffee shop that very night when the WiFi light went down again, breaking my connection. Error reporting began racking up all kinds of conflicts, the computer wouldn't come out of sleeps or hibernations and my screen produced noisy red & green distortion blocks and blanked out repeatedly when switching from speed/ stamina mode. It was a nightmare and all I was being told by Sony was that they would ship me a box to send it back in. This happened 2 more times to make a long story shorter.

With 1 week left in my 1 year warranty, I managed to get a hold of Sony Toronto and had it shipped to them with all of the repair orders I kept on file (thankfully) instead of the usual outsourced 3rd party repair centre (frustrating experience there)! The morning after tracking confirmed it had arrived there I got a phone call saying my computer would be replaced free of charge. 3 weeks later I received a VGN-Z790 but was not asked how I'd like it configured, nor could I return it to pay for upgrades. It came with a P8800, 250GB 5400, 2GB RAM, 1600x900. Not omplaining but I would have paid for BluRay had I been given the chance. They said the policy for a replacement is to match the value as closely as possible to the one being replaced.

 

Just placed my (US) CTO order. While I too have some lust for the 1080 HD display, I'm pretty certain I won't regret not having it, for three reasons:

- The increased resolution will have a negative impact on battery performance (exactly how much is still tbd)

- The 20% increase in resolution (168dpi vs 140dpi on that sized screen) will almost certainly need to be compensated by increasing the Win7 DPI setting by 25% in order for my tired eyes to not end up strained after prolonged use. That will, imo, negate most (but not all) of the benefits of the increased resolution (and some apps don't play nice with non-default DPI settings in windows).

- I also found it curious that according to the manual the dGPU is required to drive the HDMI at 1080p, making me concerned that the integrated GPU would struggle at that resolution on the internal panel.

So while I was originally bummed I couldn't configure that option, it will likely be better for me in the long run sticking to 1600x900.

I am *extremely* excited about my new purchase. Mid-march can not come soon enough.

 

What was your components for CTO order ?

 

Capacity.

And for some people with special workloads, the worst-case latencies for random writes may also play a part. Like hooking up a laptop to a testing station for data capturing to databases.

 

Update on my order:
Though the ship date was for today (i5 Signature Metal Mosaic model) so far no joy. I called and they said if it's not shipped by tomorrow then I should give them a call back and they will escalate it to 2nd level support. She said it's only 6pm where they are so the day is not over yet. (sigh...my precious...)

 

No, the reason for that is that HDMI also requires the ability to send MPEG compressed data streams. Plus all the audio signals and whatnot, so you need to be able to handle over 10 Gb/s, plus real-time encoding if needed.

 

With respect to the whole SSD issue, it seems to me that it's all pretty much speculation until the units actually hit the street and there are some real-world numbers to work with. I'm a bit amazed that people have already made hard decisions based on soft facts.

 

i5-540M CPU
8GB RAM
192GB SSD
Blu-Ray ODD
additional Large Capacity battery
Fresh Start OS install

 

How long would it be for normal use, i.e. web surfing and a video game now and then, before a trim issue crops up? Weeks? Months?

 

If the new Z has a standard LIF/ZIF connector then we can do as we damn well please with little to no soldering at all.
I happen to have a dozen LIF connectors around as well as some LIF ribbon cables so I can experiment hooking up a 2.5" SATA HDD to my Viliv S5s to prepare the connectors while waiting for my new Z.

 

It´s possible to comment each component decision ?

 

As long as it has GC that works you likely would never see any noticeable degradation. Being that it is a software raid I am fairly certain they have worked out a GC for it before release. But I don't think anyone can really answer your question until some people get some in their hands and can report on the GC. My feeling is that they had to do a software raid so they could have some form of GC with a raid array but like I say all speculation, I think pretty much everything posted will be speculation until enough people have them in their hands so if you are really worried about it you will have to hold off until after release.

 

Is anyone else thinking that after this thread we could well get together and make our own version of the Z...?
1080p Adobe RGB Display,
100% pure silver heatsink and heatpipes for even better cooling.
nVidia 335M or better?
Standard 1.8" or 2.5" (naked) SSDs
USB 3.0
Firewire 800
and the mic and headphone ports on the side.

I know many of you may think that's edging on overkill but I need a superlight workstation for 3D and VFX...

 

Sure, however understand my choices were made for my needs, and are not necessarily appropriate for everyone else:

CPU (i5) -- I chose the i5 over the the i7 because my belief is the performance increase is not enough for my needs to justify the additional price and potential battery time decrease.

RAM (8GB) -- One of the things I've learned over the years is more RAM is always better. More RAM gives better performance, lets me keep more apps open without disk thrash, and ultimately will help extend the life of the laptop as OS and apps demand more resources in the future.

Hard Drive (192gb) -- This was a tricky one. I chose the 192gb option as it seemed to hit the closest to the capacity/performance/price balance for my needs. 3-drive RAID in an ultralight laptop is amazing, and while I worry about the TRIM concerns others have expressed, I do believe that will be fixed with updated firmware/drivers over time, and I also believe the performance will never get to be worse than my current laptop HD.

ODD (BluRay) -- I fly alot, and think it will be nice to be able to watch my blurays (which is largely the only media I rent/buy now) on the plane.

FreshStart -- I love that they offer a no-crapware option. I'm a saavy PC user, and typically the first thing I do with a new PC is format and re-install. I'm hopeful in this case (for the first time ever) I won't feel the need to.

Large Battery -- In my current laptop (an old Dell XPS) I have both a standard and large capacity battery. I've learned that there are definitely times where battery life is more important than weight, but there are also times where it is not. Having both provides the best flexibility.

I don't need WWAN, as I have a MiFi wireless router, and I already mentioned that not having the 1080p display is not a terminal loss (imo it definitely does not justify the super-premium price of the one signature edition sku in the US that has it).

On paper, this laptop seems just about perfect, small/light but still really powerful with a great screen and ports that I need. Would I like USB 3 ports and the Optimus style dynamic GPU switching? Sure, but in reality, not having those will not dramatically change how productive I will be able to be on this incredible machine.

 

I'm about to pull the trigger on the preconfigured $2499 model. At first I did a CTO with the same specs and it came out to $2399, but I then realized the preconfigured model has the extended battery, which I agree with millercentral, is always a good idea.

Hmm, come to think of it, maybe I'll do CTO anyway. (Price comes out the same if I spec the extended battery.) That way I'll have the Fresh Start option.

So does Sony charge the credit card immediately? Or do they wait until it ships in March? (I'm assuming at the very least they'll do the authorization immediately at order time.)

 

I've never ordered a Sony laptop before, but Fresh Start seems like a gimmick to me. From the way they word it, it seems like they just uninstall all the crapware / bloatware off the system before they send it to you. It was all installed and they just remove it.

I am in the group of people who usually does fresh re-install of Windows when they get their order. This may be overkill, and I'm sure Windows 7 handles the software removal much more cleanly than other versions of Windows, but it still makes me a tiny bit uneasy because there is a difference between a completely fresh install and install where extra software was removed before shipment.

Like I said, I've never ordered a laptop with this option, so someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

EDIT: Of course if you don't want to deal with a re-install but still want the bloatware gone without the hassell, it's a great option!

 

I'm also after that $2499 preconfog. model, but had no idea it had the extended battery. Does it come with the standard as well? If you elect the preconfig, you get 10% off at SonyStyle or 7% off at Sony Online with student discount. Worth considering.

 

Sony only charges when they ship. That's the law. I placed my CTO order a week ago and there's no charge on my card. Waiting for March 16 (estimated ship date)!

 

Just an FYI - I ordered the VPCZ1190X CTO on 2/9/10 with the large capacity battery. I also ordered the standard capacity battery at the add accessories page. Sony processed that part of the order but sent me the old Z battery part VGPBPS12 - this new Z needs standard capacity battery part VGPBPS20.

Sony USA needs to update the add accessories page to include the new Z parts. I have to return the old at my expense and have already ordered the new.

Can't wait for mid March to get the new Z!

 

It is somewhat gimmicky as Sony does not specify what they install or not upfront. I think based on past feedbacks it is a cleaner image -- not "install then remove", it's plain "not installed". However, people are somewhat surprised when they saw some Sony software they considered bloatware in there while Sony believes that's a needed part to bring you the "VAIO experience"...

 

It sounds like Sony's fault -- probably not intentional, but it is their page that misled you. Are you sure you can't get free return?

 

It's not a big deal - just wanted to let others know Sony USA has the wrong battery parts listed on the add accessories part of the ordering process for the new Z.

Maybe save someone the hassle of a return...

 

Wait wait wait..I just configured a CW

1600x900 ($150)
i5-540M cpu ($142)
6GB RAM ($161)
320GB 7200rpm HDD ($19) (extra $57 for the 640GB 5400rpm)
Blu-ray read/write ($171) ($85 for blu-ray read only)
Nvidia 330m

Total is $1.4k in all after student discount.


Let me put that into perspective.. Z HDD config

1600x900
i5-540M cpu
6GB RAM
320GB 5400rpm ($110 for 500GB 7200rpm)
No optical drive
Nvidia 330m

Grand total of 2k (2.1k for 500GB) and it lacks a optical drive let alone a blu-ray one.

My question is why is the Z so much more than the CW with the same performance specs. Only thing the Z has over that is the smaller size, 2 hour longer battery life, and 2lbs lighter, right? Am I missing something? Is there a catch? Dont get me wrong, I can totally see how the smaller size and longer battery life can be a big deal for some, just not that big of a deal for me considering the above.

Dont kill me, Z thread! Im legitimately bringing it up so I can make an educated decision between the two for myself. This post is for my personal info incase im missing something/got something wrong.

 

Size=Money if smaller size is not a concern you will save quite a bit going with a larger laptop same specs regardless of manufacturer.

My question is where did you configure a Z without an SSD?

 

You answered your own question didn't you? The same hardware but 2lbs lighter!! 2 hours longer battery life! The Z is a business machine, and is designed with stronger lighter weight materials. It also has a different motherboard from my understanding (to allow you to switch between graphics cards). Also has a backlit keyboard, but that wouldn't cost much to add to the CW I'm sure.

 

Europe ! Shame its not in US yet, yeah? I should note that I dont think the CW offers 1600x900 in US yet either. So id be waiting on that.

Hmm, Z overall looks sexier to me (also not a fan of gloss), and im gonna miss the finger print sensor (never got to try one!), but I might have to take the CW even just for the extra features with lower cost. Can I replace the CWs HDDs with SSDs later like everyone wants to do with the Z?

edit: ^ Ah, I suppose I just thought it was a stretch to say all of that would make it cost that much more money, specially when the CW is offering a blu-ray drive along with it while Zs HDD config loses it. Guess it is that much more!

One more edit: Damnit, I wish I could put into perspective size differences ! Im not even sure what 13.1" display 12.4"x8.3"x1" laptop looks like and I cant picture what a 14" display 13.44"x9.18"x1.5" laptop looks like either. To best buy I go before decision making I suppose.

 

Ok, I was thinking about the post several pages back where someone called Sony Canada, and was informed that models in Canada were delayed to add TRIM support, which required a modification to the motherboard.

That sounded a bit strange to me - why a motherboard change to add TRIM support? So here's my conspiracy theory. Maybe Sony is actually adding Optimus support to the Z - the Auto switch turns on Optimus, while the other two positions allows you to fix either integrated or discrete graphic options. That seems to me to be the best of both worlds.

We already know that the 330M card has Optimus support built in. I think I read a post recently where someone mentioned Sony telling them that orders were delayed over an uspecified redesign. Based on one of the Japanese reviews, it seems that the Z's auto switch was done in collaboration with nVidia and Intel as close partners - sounds like Sony must have known Optimus was coming down the pipe, but for whatever reason didn't support it out of the gate (maybe Asus had some sort of exclusivity deal with nVidia for launch?).

Sorry for the rumor-mongering. Just going crazy waiting for more hands-on reviews of the Z...

-Peter

 

Hi People, again,

Which SSD configuration will be Quad SSD in SonyStyle USA ?

 

If they do that, they might have me back on that buy. That was a huge reason I was turned off. I dont like to think that down the line my SSD is degrading in such a crippling way.

The optimus is a nice plus too. That is, if what any of that your are saying happens. Bleh, im just gonna hold off buying anything for a month or two. Wait and see. Im so torn..

 

Where do you find the CW with GeForce 330M? All the ones I see are 310M. There's a huge difference between the two. The 330M should be about twice as fast as the 310M.

 

I actually think Sony has a better solution than Optimus. I've read that Optimus can add as much as 2 seconds to the load time of programs, because it has to "detect" which graphics processor to use. That's totally unacceptable. Using the Nvidia GPU when I am plugged in and the Intel when not, with the added benefit of a manual override, is right 95% of the time.

 

You mean that buying at a preconfig model at a sonystyle physical store nets you 10% discount? That would be sweeet.

 

NOO! CW models dont have the amazing green light up side power buttons/charging arrangements like the Zs. This is heart breaking.

interesting find on the optimus being a disadvantage rather than an advantage. Source?

1600x900 models are 330M.



And heres a vid of the new Z thats pretty recent. You wont be able to understand a word theyre saying, but hey, who here doesnt like eye candy of the new Z in action? Hope you havnt seen it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqC96ckncgY

 

That's where youtube's new CC feature comes in.

 

Interesting find: Video of the Speed-Stamina-Auto Switch Speed:

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

To Speed - 8.8s
To Stamina - 1.9s
To Auto - 7.9s


On a i7 / 512SSD / 8GB system

 

Anyone in Japan buying a Z?
I really like the Briefing Vaio Case for the new Z.
If there's someone buying the Z and they can get me a case as it is not available anywhere else in the world I would be most thankful.
Of course I will pay for it and all shipping and handling costs. Paypal is the easiest way.
EDIT: I am talking about this case: http://www.jp.sonystyle.com/Special/Computer/Vaio_acc/Z/Briefing/index.html

 

If the CTO page is accurate (and that's a big if) then ONLY the 512gb will be quad. The only other quad possibility is for the 256gb model, which is listed as being quad on some international sites using two 128gb drives, but Sony USA is specifying one 256gb drive.

Personally, until Windows has better color management I'd rather continue to have a standard gamut screen. Of course if you plan to use it almost exclusively with color management aware applications, then 100% Adobe is desirable.

 

Second question is whether Dual-RAID model will come with single LIF cable or dual one.

And since 128+64 model exists I'm pretty sure that connector supports single SATA drive (it appears as 128gb RAID + single 64Gb drive, doesn't it?)

P.S. Do models with Verizon Broadband have SIM-card slot?

 

Anyone in the Starcraft 2 beta? I need to know if the Sony Vaio Z will be able to run Starcraft 2 at the highest setting.

 

Yes, any preconfig. model "in stock", and purchased in-store, qualifies for a 10% student discount and 15% on all accessories - case, mouse pad, docking station, etc.

Just verified the battery for the preconfig., and it comes with the standard only, according to what's "IN THE BOX" header.

 

I'll be honest, I wished Sony didn't put in the graphics switch on there, I know it's been a real pain to get Windows 7 x64 drivers for it and I'm sure that if there was only discreet graphics it would make the laptop a more long term investment (if one can make an investment out of a laptop )

 

So are people still getting them by this week or was that an error on Sony's part? I really hope we don't have to wait another month.

 

And one more video of the new Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP-c_9UIer4

 

Dang does that glossy premium carbon fiber look good. Guess we'll never get it over here on the CTO's though...