SONY VAIO SZ6 with SANTA ROSA IS HERE!!!

Is it? The Sony business website lists the same dimensions for the 680 and the rest of the models.

Also, I'm a bit confused about the warranty. If I customize a 680 will it be covered under a 3 yr accidental damage plan from Sony?

 

Just got confirmation from P1. They are a Sony Service Center. It doesn't void the warranty.

It's the screen, not the laptop itself. The casing is also sleeker and smoother.

I'd never thought I'd be that excited about a reseller... But their service was just that good...

 

Where are the side by side pics you mentioned? The specs listed say that they both use LED screens... does the 680 have the carbon fiber weave?

Also, what is P1’s '3 Year Advance Replacement Warranty'? If I have any problems with the machine can I send it in to them instead of Sony? Will I need to purchase the Sony warranty for this support or do they have a warranty of their own you can purchase?

 

Is your configuration as stated above the same as if a sz680 was outfitted with the 200gb 7200rpm HDD and if P1 can add WAN to it?

I'm a bit dumbfounded that resellers are selling the SZ6xx and they are not even available through Sony Styles.

 

No. The SZ640 has a traditional LCD screen (i.e. thicker, heavier, dimmer, uses more battery). Portable One's website confirms this.

 

Ouch, just configured an SZ680 as similar as I could to my M1330 order and the SZ costs $350 more with the port replicator included! I love the fact that the SZ has the docking station, gigabit ethernet, and hybrid graphics. But I don't think I would pay that much more for the SZ than the M1330 knowing I would have to downgrade to Vista Business, no HDMI, and more expensive accessories I would have to purchase.

 

Portable One gets a pretty good review on Reseller Ratings.

Why doesn't the premium SZ6 offer a decent hard drive? The 200 gig is a 4200 rpm which will be insanely slow with Vista. The 160 gig is a hybrid which I don't want. The 120 gig is a 5400 rpm but it's a little on the small side.

I really want to buy the SZ6 but Sony make it hard - it's not on SonyStyle - they load it with bloatware - and they give you a crap selection of hard drives!

 

I've been trading emails with Ivan at P1. They just added the sz691 into their inventory. The 200gb 7200rpm HDD is not an option through their website but you'll have to ask for it. He told me that they don't want any more 200gb 4200rpm HDDs.



EDIT: What is the difference between the sz670 and sz691? Both are premium editions with the carbon casing, correct? TIA.

 

Yes, their both premium models. However, the 691 is the "premium" carbon fiber, which means you can actually see the weave.

 

the portableone site is listing the sz670, 680 and 691 as weighing only 3.7lbs

the b2b site shows these at 4.0lbs and the 650 at 3.95 (which they list at 4.1)

typo?

 

How do they pre-install Vista if you swap the hard drive?

 

I wonder if you swap the hard drive of the SZ680 when configuring on Portable One, will they still install all the Sony bloatware?

 

They told me that they will remove the bloatware free of charge.

 

Can I install XP on SZ series? This will be my 1st laptop purchase. I am planning to format the HD and clean install XP, it should work like standard desktop right?

 

I decided to go all out since I usually don't upgrade laptops too often. I just ordered a sz691n/x with 200gb 7200rpm HDD through the awesome people at PortableOne.

As much as I was reluctant on voiding the Sony warranty right out of the box, what good is it if their customer service is unresponsive while you have P1 that are super responsive and seem to back their work 100%.

Ship date is around 8/22 but then again it could arrive earlier... old adage of under-promise and over-deliver as opposed to being frustrated with promises that can't be met.

 

Umm...check out this thread and this one.

Installing XP on the SZ6xx is apparently a B!tch since Sony hasn't "certified" it on XP. They apparently don't plan to offer any kind of support for XP on the 6xx series, and as a result, they don't make any drivers for the SZ6xx available for XP. Some of the SZ6xx's Vista drivers may work with XP, but it's probably hit-or-miss. Check out MonsterMaxx's posts for the gruesome details.

If you really want XP, I'd recommend the SZ3xx series. The chipset may be a little bit slower, but you'll get XP support, XP's nearly 20% performance boost over Vista, and better battery life. If you already plan on dumping Vista, then you clearly don't need DirectX10 for games, so it may be a better alternative to the SZ6xx.

 

From what I know they are planning on having XP Pro support for the SZ600's. They know it's a popular machine in the business marketplace and so they are not going to shoot themselves in the foot by making the machines Vista only. I'd keep an eye out for the drivers on their website soon.

 

Where did you hear that nixon?
Support specifically told me NO to XP

 

well I will use my SZ for adobe lightroom and adobe photoshop only. some games now and then. should i get dell instead? Sony has better LED right, it is important for me. I am a photographer

 

Sony VGN-SZ390PW1 looks good. It has WWAN than I need and Window XP but it is $2500

 

The HDD has the portable1 warranty the rest is sony. it does NOT void the warranty

 

You can choose a 200gb 7200 rpm and they will take the bloatware out for free. Can´t get better than that (dont forget free fedex shipping and a vaio sleeve)

 

I dont get the P1 "free fedex shipping" thing. when I checkout the order online, it says that "If a product you are purchasing claims that there is no shipping, you will indeed not be charged regardless of the FedEx shipping rates above. All free shipping is by FedEx service within the continental USA." The SONY SZ680 I'm trying to purchase however when I select the overnight delivery service charges me for delivery even though it says "free FedEx" shipping. What's up with this?

 

and can you order without the operating system?

 

Long time lurker, first time poster

I've been visiting the various forums since the m1330 debacle. I just ordered the SZ680n05 with the 160GB 7K drive and 4GB of memory (for only 300?! f'yeah). Would have loved the premium carbon fiber casing, but kept my money where the performance is.

Reading all the good reviews and comments here about Portable One sealed the deal. Hopefully this will fill the void in my heart created by Dell

Thanks for all the info

 

Im in a debacle. I want looks and performance, but reality is, I am just a mortal with a budget. I will decide tomorrow between 680 or 691

 

thanks! I stopped by Shirokiya today.

I really love the look of the new SZ650.. but I really really wish they use the style of keyboards the CR and TZ use, it feels soo much better.

I guess I'll stick to the FZ190 this year and take a look at the SZ (or whatever 13.3 they'll make) next time around.

 

Does SZ6 come with Vista CD or just preinstalled vista. I want to clean install when I purchase mine

 

The SZ6 does NOT come with any disks. You can burn 'recovery disks' but using these will junk it up just like it comes.

You have to buy a disk if you want a clean install and Sony won't sell it to you, M$ or a reseller like CompUSA.

The good news is that they have changed their tune from NO, WE WON'T SUPPORT A CLEAN INSTALL ie, no drivers avail seperatly, today, they just put about 2/3s of them up on their site, hopefully the rest will be soon.
NO SUPPORT for XP (yet)

 

So I can basically format the drive, clean install vista and download Sony drivers and install them again. Do you know which one are mandatory drivers. I want to install the important drivers only. Less junk=faster

 

I cant find SZ660NC drivers. They have only SZ650NC. So does this means I cant install WWAN driver if I clean install my 660?

 

Yes, that's what it means. However, for the first several days I had the SZ650 there were NO drivers on the site.
Maybe they'll update them soon.

 

How much is P1 charging for the 200 gb 7200 rpm drive swap?

Has anyone actually ordered from them yet? I'm interested to see how their Vista load is. I'd happily pay for a 'real' Vista install with Sony drivers minus bloatware.

 

They charge the website 250 but on an email to me they said 200 so I would try to email them [email protected] I believe. They take all the bloeatware out for you providing you upgrade the HDD (you may want to ask even if you wont). There are some guys that got it from there already but none of them that upgraded the HDD without the bloatware have received it.

Im not sure where I saw this, but if you go through the sz6xx threads you should find it. I would udually find it and post the link for you but I am temporarily using a PIII 499Mhz lapotop with spyware all over it so this time is up to you to find it.

 

What about dedicated video memory for the 8400GS card...is it 64Mb or 128Mb...and what kind of memory GDDR2,GDDR3???

 

Hey guys, can anyone help me?. The SZ680N02 model is carbon or magnesium?? Keyboard is black or white?? Wanna buy it from newegg ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834117560) but i hate white keyboards. It seems that they have only 680 model in stock now.

 

Newegg states "Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce 8400M G and Intel GMA950" for the SZ 680 video sistem. Is it a description error or something???...I belived SZ comes with 8400GS and x3100.

 

It's surely a description error.

 

I bought two of the VGN-SZ680N06 from Newegg on Friday. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834117564

I was a bit concerned when I saw "NVIDIA GeForce 8400M G and Intel GMA950", but I'm pretty sure it's just a description error. Everything else points to the GS. As does this site for the same model number: http://biz.pcconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Product/Detail.htm?sku=7887732

 

All the premium are carbon fiber. in the new 600 series only the 640 is not premium so yes all the 680's are carbon fiber. Tip: If the palmrest is black then it's carbon fiber

 

Can u make some photos of this vaio? I am a bit angry with this white keyboard . Oh, i really don't like it on photo's . Maybe in real it looks better

 

just look this pics

vaio sz660
http://b2b.sony.com/Solutions/b2b/d..._d1bdbe09a889a12be1c68ca70ccd1de13d06afe6.tif

and

vaio sz680
http://b2b.sony.com/Solutions/b2b/d..._a55d6aa33e1e8893fdfbd2ed53655c8cece4c609.tif

what looks best?

 

I didn't notice the white keyboard... It's not that big of a deal. It does detract from the look in the pictures though. I bet you'd be able to swap it if it bothers you that much. I'll be sure to take pics when I get it.

 

I ordered a SZ691 through P1 with the 200gb 7200 HDD upgrade.

In terms of memory, is 2GB the standard or is there a stock 4GB? Otherwise, if I wanted 4GB, this would be an aftermarket upgrade?

Lastly, anyone have a list of bloatware I should expect? I'm on the fence whether to have P1 remove all of the bloatware or whether I should decide to do it on my own so I can pick and choose what to remove in the event I want to keep anything.

Thanks.

 

If you zoom in on the SZ680 picture from the Sony B2B site, the keyboard looks more like the optional silver keyboard rather than a new white one...I don't think the pictures are indicative of the pre-configured SZ680 models anyways since the label in the picture only says "VGN-XXXXX" rather than VGN-SZ680

 

But if you look at the PDF spec sheet of the SZ680, it's always shown with a white keyboard.

Tracking says I'll get 'em Wednesday. I'll be sure to post info.

 

Is it really that hard to remove bloatware? Everyone always talks about Sony's bloatware but is it really that much worse than all the crap we always have to delete whenever we buy any new computer?

 

Bloatware often slows down a sytem's boot time and overall performance. Even after uninstalling the bloatware, a lot of junk can get left behind that uses up hard drive space and may continue to slow the system down.

A lot of us enthusiasts here build our own desktop PCs. One of the advantages is so we don't have any bloatware. However, notebooks are more difficult to build yourself and have less options than desktop PCs. So most of us end up purchasing pre-built laptops from companies such as Sony, Dell, etc., and then finding ways to remove the bloatware that came preinstalled.

 

Question for SZ6xx owners:

Has Sony updated the BIOS to let you boot from a USB drive (as well as the traditional CD/HDD/FDD options)?