New Z model with Intel Core i5 CPU

The TDP and Voltage numbers of the i5-540M and i7-620M CPUs offered for the Z are identical. Would that mean that, despite some barely higher performance specs (frequency, cache, etc) on the i7, the i7 shouldn't decrease the battery life and increase heat emission/fan noise by much at all--if at all? (Admittedly, TDP/Voltage is beyond my PC literacy level, but my sense is that those are the 2 most important factors in affecting battery life and heat.)

 

My thoughts exactly, that's why I went for the Signature fullly loaded Z. That and the full HD display.

 

Have you seen any good photos or vids showing just exactly what the glossy carbon fiber in that Signature version looks like? The official photos on the Sony site show both the Premium Carbon Fiber and Glossy Premium Carbon version looking quite comparably glossy. And the professional lighting makes it even harder to see what it would really look like in everyday lighting.

 

Well, back up there for a minute.

All of my computers have either come from Conics or Dynamism for the past 6 or 7 years. I always get the wide warranty, and if you have an issue, you send it back to them (Dynamism is in Chicago, Brett is in Japan), and they deal with Sony Japan. It's pretty painless; I've done it a few times and had experiences with both. My computers come back just like new, no hassles. You'd have to ship it to Sony here in the US, so why not Brett or Dynamism?

Great example: when my SZ's screen was broken on a plane after it flexed (guy in front of me put his seat back), I sent it back to Dynamism. Since I had the wide warranty, Sony Japan fixed it and I had it back in like 2 or 3 weeks.

If you want pretty much every configurable option and then some, ordering from Japan is the way to go for Sony Vaios.

As far as cost, I find the importers in many cases to be close. Configuring a Japanese Z vs. the top end one here, it's about $100 - $200 cheaper. Now, keep in mind if you go to SonyStyle Japan it will be cheaper; all of the importers charge somewhere between $200 - $500 for what they do on top of the list price. They need to make their money somewhere.

 

If I get the laptop from Conics and have them ship it over would I have to pay the sales tax on top of whatever Conics is charging me? Plus is there sales tax associated in Japan?

 

Perhaps someone can comment on this:

Is there a significant runtime hit in going for the 2.6 i7 vs the 2.5 i5?

 

The price you get from Conics is the price you would pay as it is run through their currency converter. The only thing additional I forget if they do or not is charge a little if you use PayPal; it's been awhile.

Since they're buying it in Japan, you're paying what the Japanese do + any amount they want to charge to make some money on top of it, which isn't a lot considering the service they provide (including building the working OS image, etc.).

Now, if you live in some countries you do have to pay duty. I've never had to here in the US. That has nothing to do with Conics, but your government.

 

If you're not fluent in Japanese, is the only way to order from the Japanese Sony Style site with the assistance of some of the middle-man sites that charge a fee for their service?

 

I wasn't being critical of Conics.net. I was merely pointing this out as a point of interest and was asking if anyone had some further information about this because it seems to be an interesting option to consider.

 

Find a friend in Japan who can order from Sony and ship it to you is the only way to avoid a middle man. All of the sites, be it PriceJapan, Conics, Dynamism, geekstuff4u, etc., charge something. PriceJapan ships you the laptop as-is, and you need to do any OS conversion and installing. I've had experience with two (more often than I care to admit) and they are great. I'd recommend both Dynamism and Conics if they have what you want and are willing to pay.

 

The wide warranty is very effective. As I said, it's really a matter of ship it to Sony USA (or wherever), or an importer to deal with Sony Japan. No real difference from a warranty perspective.

 

No difference except one thing. Conics wide warranty is cheaper than Sony Style U.S.A.'s extended warranty with ADH, and that is a good thing.

 

If this is true, I am for sure getting the i7. Can someone confirm this for sure? I would much rather have the i5 if there is any chance of it sucking up less battery life, but if thats not the case, ill take the i7.

Any expert opinions?

 

In regarding to the signature edition, the diff between conics and sonystyle usa is about 800-1000$ if u buy with an amex card.(5% off)

Edit: add to that conics 200$ shipping to NA

 

Sony Japan does great repair work, too. My G2 is due to be fixed at the moment.

 

Thanks, FenderP. I'll look into the sites you listed. I want the 1080p screen, but haven't found an importer that doesn't add obscenely to the price. It's disappointing cause the few sites I checked only charged about $50-60 for the screen upgrade.

I got my data via Wikipedia. So assuming it's right... I'm sure Intel has it listed on their site somewhere too.

 

Why does the Conics site list the i7 as Quadcore ( http://conics.net/catalog/product_i...d=479&osCsid=c013d9e68f026103fa6641ff53e354e3 )? Isn't the i7 620M dual core?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...2Arrandale.22_.28standard_voltage.3B_32_nm.29

 

Qty. Total
Sony Vaio Type Z VPCZ11AGJ [2.66GHz Core i7, quad SSD option]
- 1st AC Adapter Option Std, long cable Adapter
- 1st Battery VGP-BPL20 (7800mAh, 460g)
- Bluetooth Yes, Internal
- Colour Black
- CPU Core i7 620M 2.66GHz
- Docking Station None Required
- Extra AC Adapter no extra Adapter
- Extra Battery no extra required (1 only)
- HDD/SSD/Optical Drive 4x64GB SSD(RAID 0), Blu-Ray-burner
- Head Phones Not Required
- Keyboard US English with backlight
- LCD 1920x1080
- Memory 6GB RAM [under 64bit OS]
- Palm Rest Colour Gray (for Black / Carbon colour PC ONLY)
- Security Fingerprint sensor & TPM
- Unlock the Modem not yet possible for this model
- USB / iLink 3x USB (2.0)
- Warranty 3 years "Wide"
- Web Camera 310K Pixel Motion Eye Internal
- WiMAX or WWAN[3G] WiFi (a/b/g/n) MIMO 3x3
- Windows Version Windows 7 [Pro] English 64bit

This CTO is from Conics.net and cost $4247.47 U.S. Note that the max RAM offered is 6GB. This CTO does include the 3 year Wide Warranty which has ADH and the 1920 x 1080 screen. And I did add on the extended capacity battery to this CTO.

As for the CTO from Sony Style U.S.A., the only way to get the 1920 x 1080 screen is buying the preconfigured signature series which only comes in glossy carbon, which I don't want. Yes, for that $4500.00 it has the 512GB SSD but it does not include the 3 year warranty with ADH, so add on another $400.00 and then include tax and then the Conics.net becomes a very attractive option to consider, if you want the Full HD screen and without the glossy carbon lid.

 

Well, it's not an expert opinion, but I asked an employee today, if in general the i7 needs more battery power than the i5.
He answered that in general the i7 needs about 20 percent more... (but I think he compared i5 - 520M and the i7 - 620M... forgot to ask exactly for the i5 - 540M, but I think the difference isn't too much)

 

http://ark.intel.com/Compare.aspx?ids=43544,43560,

 

The TDP is the maximum power that could be dissipated as heat and is more of a design value for manufacturers. The i5 is likely more power efficient, despite the identical TDP values.

 

Actually, the 8GB is there. 2nd option +$289.72 US.

Also remember in Japan stuff you get here that you don't want you don't have to get, like the fingerprint sensor or camera.

 

Haha...yeah. Thanks. I see it now.

 

I just want to add that you can choose the english keyboard option and choose 7 ultimate with the multi-language feature.
So basically you can order a 100% english Sony Z from Sonystyle Japan.

haha, for once I pay cheaper in Japan , the price of Alienware in Japan is easily 300-500 bucks higher than in the USA

 

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Intel-Core-i3-i5-i7-Processors-Arrandale.25085.0.html

Can anyone smart make anything from it? Overall the i5 seems like a better deal (check the power consumption part) but I have an additional question to ask. Looking at these results above, and with your current knowledge, can you tell me if the i7-620m will give me any much of a better performance in gaming? Now same question, but with my programming tasks.

 

There is no perfect answer, you have to make a decsion between 10-20mn more battery OR 3-5 more FPS.
So it really depends on your daily use. If you're using the Z so much that you finish the battery all the time on the go. 20mn would be really valuable. If you think you'll have always at least 30mn left before to charge, it's no use to you.
Concerning the 5 FPS, it's also really subjective. This lappy will slaughter Bioshock over 50 FPS, so between 55 and 58...not really a big deal. However if you play GTA4, WoW with eyecandy on (dalaran and raid 25), Dawn of discovery, yeah between 25 and 30 FPS you'll definitely notice it.
As I said, there is no perfect answer...
Well, I got mine though...L battery size With I7 .
Yes, I will have a ugly battery part sticky out from the clean Z shape. But I have a LG P310 and I know that if you stick your notebook to the table, the heat will accumulate and your gpu will slow down (and the LGP310 has the reputation to be cool). So to me having 1 cm above the table for the fan vent is perfect. It looks bad but I can live with this.

 

Since all we can see is synthetic benchmarks, can we all agree the i7 620M is faster but not much faster and as a result of having the same TDP with the i5 540M a little more efficient?

Without having actual Vaios in our hands we cannot say for certain which is better and by what % merely by looking at some benchmarks.
So for now just shelve the question and those of you who cannot decide, hold off until we can give you a proper answer.
This 540M vs 620M question has been going on for as long as the TRIM discussion and while for SSDs we have some existing technology to base the answers we provide, for the i7 and i5 chips there is nothing to compare.

EDIT: I am using the extended battery on my current Z and it has never bothered be, I have the regular sized one sitting in the box, only used for like 3 days until I received the L one.
As an added bonus, the Z will be tilted towards you so you get a better angle of view of the keyboard.
Also, aside from really frail people I cannot imagine anyone who has a Z will take issue if the laptop weighs in at 1.6kg instead of 1.4kg...

 

Quad SSD? Is that what you're reading?

 

First: please, please read or search this thread before asking a question that has already been answered a half dozen times in full!

Second: notebookcheck's i5/i7 comparison numbers as quoted time and time again are essentially useless. Why? Because their own later published numbers don't support them!

Schenker mySN MB6 @ i7-620M (the one people keep quoting)
Idle Min: 26.5w
Idle Max: 30.2w
Load: 64.5w

Schenker mySN MB6 @ i5-540M
Idle Min: 17.6w
Idle Max: 20.5w
Load: 50.5w

Ah, so the i7 is a power hog, right? Wait! They also published this!

Lenovo T410 @ i7-620M
Idle Min: 12.7w
Idle Max: 17.8w
Load: 67.5w

This shows the T410 with i7-620M having LOWER IDLE WATTAGE than the mySN MB6 with an i5-540M. Gee, so I guess with this one number we should all now jump on the bandwagon that the i7 is actually more power efficient than the i5?

No - becauce all of these numbers are useless without further confirmation! We need more numbers from other respectable sites with true apples-to-apples comparisons. Yes, the i7 WILL take more power than the i5. It's faster. What was worrisome was the completely disproportionate idle wattage.

Here's a couple other notebookcheck i5-based numbers:

Samsung NP-R580-JS03DE @ i5-520M
Idle Min: 13.3w
Idle Max: 23.6w
Load: 101.2w

Dell Studio 1558 @ i5-520M
Idle Min: 19.4w
Idle Max: 26.6w
Load: 82.3w

 

Sunfox I totally agree.
I have come to realize the Core i5 and i7 are very flexible as any manufacturer can implement them in a number of different ways.
So let's put this debate to rest for the moment.
I am sure if we had two lenovos, two toshibas or two of whatever equipped with the 540M and the 620M we could come to a better conclusion but as Sony has reworked their cooling system for this series I expect that every number will be off until actual Zs are out in the open and identical benchmarks are run on every variant.

 

^@ Sunfox, noted.

Decisions decisions ..I wish there was a comparison of those two in particular. Btw, Id just like to say im with you. I honestly dont mind the bulk and usually do take the bigger battery option.

I am in the "frail" category though and like Ive said before, I cant even bench the 40lb bar and I work out with 5 lb weights so carrying the bigger battery around will be a no-no for me when it comes to school. I dont know if the 10-20min will matter or if its even accurate for everyday use.

 

is the 1600*900 screen also an 8-bit panel like the Full HD one? The HD screen is non-TN which is the better one right?

 

I know that the HD screen is an 8 bit screen which is supposed to be better.

 

yellowfrizbee I did not mean to sound offending in any way with the "frail" comment but it sounds absurd (to me) to bother much about 200grams of weight... Please note I am no hulk myself.
Anyway, as a sidenote, I am running my Z with the configuration you can see in my signature for an average of 4.5 to 5.5 hours on "Speed" with the large battery but I also have very power hungry SSD in my express card slot, two standard-sized SSDs in place of the two 1.8" SSDs Sony usually installs and I operate my Z with full brightness and I have also changed my wifi card to the intel Advanced N 6300 (faster but more power hungry as well) So I somehow have a feeling the new Z will last longer since it has better power management (comes with the new Core i5 and i7 processors) and also because Sony has upped the cells in each type of battery.

 

man the spec looks soo hot and sweet! Built in GPS!!! damn!

I wonder if they will release a little cousin of it (i.e.: revised SR)

 

Oh no, not offended at all! No harm done.

Im confident in those numbers btw. Good to know and thanks sunfox, I guess we wont know until it comes out. Off of speculation and better ontopic, what is everyone configuring theirs with as of now ?

 

Well...
I wanted mine to have the Full HD display and be delivered asap so I went with a preconfig Signature Glossy Carbon Fibre with the following:
Intel® Core™ i7-620M
Genuine Windows® 7 Ultimate 64-bit
Features: Full HD 13.1" LCD, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD

Expected modifications out of the box:
Replace Advanced N 6200 with Ultimate N 6300
Replace palmrest with my own custom made Carbon Fibre palmrest.
Replace standard with extended battery.
And maaaaybe replace the heatsink with an identical made of .995 silver
I did the heatsink mod in my current Z and it has helped tremendously to dissipate heat when I installed the QX9300

 

When laptops generate more than 100W of heat, one should start worrying about cooking some of one's body parts.
No matter how good the HSF assembly is, it will deposit that heat in the immediate vicinity of your lap. (Unless these new superlaptops come with a long exhaust pipe, that is...)
Never mind how many pounds of batteries you need for powering such a monstrosity for more than minutes.

Count me out for anything that uses more than ~50W when going full throttle.

 

Just a quick follow up, nutman, regarding your post:

I pulled this from another thread. Someone said,
' Well the 6200 has 2 antennas and the 6300 has 3 antennas. So in theory the 6300 should have better reception. It doesn't mean better range, but because of the extra antenna, connection speed will be better at the same range. So you could say you have a better range.'

What technology do you need at your router/gateway in order to reach 450Mb/sec? 5 Ghz Spectra?? Gahh I'm confused.

I can see replacing the cooling sync necessary if this thing just gets too hot. Which it might, but no one knows. I think this one would be subsequent to testing by everyone for a while (or hours, for some of us lol) to actually gauge the temperatures in relation to everyone's unique combinations. Ex. another HDD instead of just SSDs, swapping out an optical bay, then writing hard to that HDD; how the screen performs under high usage and if the increased wattage output; (albeit, miraculously Sony has incredibly efficient screens in all sizes including the new Bravias , mm).

I am 100% sure I'm getting the i7, regardless of heat or battery issues, running the latest games thru Steam definetely requires as much Horsepower is available, and they always help. As mentioned it's about your personal preference and use.

 

You ordered yours already? How did you place the order? Orders on www.jp.sonystyle.com are set to begin on Friday at 10:00. I've got my specs already ready to go so the order can be smoothly placed when it's available. I wonder how long it will take to ship...

 

It is. 16.7 million colours, compared to 262,144 colours dithered to 16.2 million.

While Sony bragged about the Z's screen, I've always found it one of the weaknesses -- exaggerated saturation, no Sony provided color profile (and almost impossible to make your own since you can't set the colour temperature to D65), a narrow vertical viewing angle without the colours changing on you, and only 6-bit with visible dithering artifacts. So the new screen is welcome news.

But it also needs far more backlight (and thus power) to display at the same perceived brightness. So it comes at a price beyond just the purchase price.

 

Thanks for the explanantion

 

ReactionRED: Yes the Ultimate N has 3 antennas and 99% of the situations you will not get better range unless you install a more powerful antenna.
In my current Z I have placed a 5db antenna where the WWAN module was supposed to be and I think I get extra range but the truth is I can find a Starbucks wifi which is two blocks away and before I couldn't.
Also the 6300N has 3x3 channels and has always given me a solid connection as opposed to the (old) Zs standard 5100AGN.

 

people springing $2000+ for a laptop sure as hell should have an extra $180 for an Eye-One Display 2 monitor color calibrator.

seriously. it makes a big differences and represents a fraction of the investment you're making into the laptop itself. the one I have I've used on all of my laptops and desktop monitors.

accept no substitutes (unless you're going for a $400 model).

 

I've always had trouble getting anything vaguely accurate out of my SZ's screen (one of the first LED-backlit models). The native gamma is totally out of whack, and even with Nvidia's correction tools it's never been close to my calibrated NEC IPS panels. It's nice and bright and vibrant, but it's a nightmare for dark colors and has very visible posterization.

So while I'm completely against the idea of 1920x1080 in a 13" screen, if it's actually PVA or IPS this might make enough of a difference to sway my opinion (assuming it'll be available on more than the $5k model in Canada).

 

Fortunately the 100W is peak not sustained. The median consumption for that machine is 70W on full load, and the hottest part of the laptop gets to around 43degC on load, which is surprisingly not bad. http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Samsung-NP-R580-JS03DE-Notebook.25529.0.html

EDIT: Actually it appears when notebookcheck says min med max, they don't mean variations in their experiments, but actually three different conditions under which they run their tests. So it looks like for that Samsung machine under max load it does consume 100W but still, the temperatures are surprisingly low.

 

I'm curious about the heatsink mod. Do you only replace the metal plate in contact with the CPU core, and not the whole heatsink/heatpipe/fan assembly? If so, do you have to solder the replaced heatsink to the heatpipes somehow?

 

Actually their data is perfectly consistent. The i5/i7 tests are done ceterus paribus, i.e. the conditions are the same (same system, etc.) except for the different processor, and this yields a valid result for the differences between the two processors.

The other experiments you list are using different machines, and so comparisons cannot be made to the i5/i7 comparison experiment because other variables have been changed.

This is not to say that I believe the notebookcheck numbers to be completely reliable. I too hope that the i7 is not much more power hungry than the i5s which would justify me getting one. And we would need more comparisons like what they did to establish the differences between the two processors with more confidence. But for now the notebookcheck numbers remain a valid data point, there is no reason to doubt its validity just yet.

 

I'm interested in getting into colour calibration, is there any quick read for a noob and where can I get the colour calibrator?

 

Comparing the different usages about the i5 and i7, there is a mostly no one who has do a test below 65w.

It is only under load this way.

So i decided to get the i5 because of the Power isnt much less, and the mobility is better.