SZ780 CTO in Canada - few questions

Well considering how thin the screen of SZ is i think i can forgive a little imperfection like that. Besides i can only see about half a millimeter of the bottom part of the screen that isn't part of the LCD, if that last sentence made any sense. I look at it like a border around the actual LCD part of the screen. I measured this as the length of that little line in the centre of the bottom of the screen. As for weight, are you using the extended battery? I'm not and the weight of my SZ is less than 4 lbs.

I think you overhyped the SZ, so now you're disappointed that it's not absolutely perfect. No laptop is or will ever will be, but i think among the laptops available, the SZ does rank pretty highly. Just a note, i got the sz780 because im afraid that a total redesign of the SZ will introduce new problems, problems that have been fixed in the SZ7 series since the SZ1 series came out.

 

Exactly his problem. The SZ is pretty tough to be beat in terms of specs and price (given the 200$ discount too).

And I'm not seeing any circuit board on my screen. There is a tiny (1mm?) black border and I think its fine. The ibook I work with also has a similar black border. And in terms of weight, I doubt anything in the 12-13 inch category will be lighter - maybe the TZ, but that screen is too small imo.

PS - the 14inch thinkpad is 5.7lbs versus <4lbs for the SZ.

 

Well lemme say this guys, and theres no problem with me DellHall. I went to the Sony Store today with my laptop, compared the 2 screens, not only was the laptop screen at the Sony Store a lot better but, the Sony guy's told me there IS a problem and that it IS defective and to get it replaced. So there u go, Im not talkin gibberish. Personally find it a little to big and heavy for aa Ultra Portable anyways. But thats just me. To NICK DELLHALL, yea my old 14 inch Thinkpad is ligher believe it or not. Anyways I do appreciate the input guys and hope ur laptops work great for ya.

 

Can you take a picture of the problem with your screen? Maybe I didn't quite understand it the first time.

 

Is this what you're referring to? Below is what my screen looks like, the part shown is the worst. The bottom left, and right are also not fully connected though.


If so, thank god for onsite service because I'm getting my screen replaced.

 

well I have a small dotted line at the very bottom of my screen, in the black border part that's not part of the actual viewing area. My bottom black border part is also folded up in 3 places so that light leaks though a bit. Is that normal? I'll try to take some pics when i get home.

 

Uhh yea I can try my best to take a picture of it. But first can someone tell me how to post pictures?

 

Ok nevermind got it. Ok lok carefully, u can see the line at the bottom, thats what im talkin about.

 

Just copy paste this link

http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm178/cocoapuffs786/

 

yeah I have that same dotted line at the bottom. are you sure none of the floor models had that same line? (so that its an actual defect?)

It's good to note that its not cutting into the actual viewing area of the LCD, so it doesnt really affect the screen.

 

also, what was your computer doing when you took that screenshot? My dotted line is in the border part of my screen, I can't tell if that's true for your screen based on that screenshot. (can you bring your mouse cursor to the other side of the line at the bottom of your screen?)

 

It was in screen saver, but even when its restarting or when blank screen or even when at desktop, u look at the bottom of it and u can see it. and Yes I am sure the floor models were beautiful screens, me ans the Sony guys compared and yea for sure. Buddy ill tell u this ok, and take my advice on this strongly, Even though it aint cutting into the screen like u mentioned, this is a friggen $2000, not a $1000, not $500. $2000, maybe even $1800, thats not peanuts. I want a perfect screen for that kinda money or ill take my business else where. My uncle old ass Toshiba has a perfect screen, why should this not? Even other new ones with LED technology
have better looking screens than mine. I mean **** that. Theresfore I will fight them to the bitter end if I have to, I hate when ppl just accept **** from these companies especially when there expensive **** like this u know. Take it back and dont let them tell u anything, u just put ur foot down with these companies. Anyway lemme know if anything. BY THE WAY!, I tested Crysis on everything low and some Medium with all the **** on the laptop and it runs smooth man damn. Performance on ths laptop is fanaastic. BF2 everythng high runs perfect! Cheers!

 

By the way guys, I have an Important question, all input would be apprciated. I noticed as I mentioned before, Sony doesnt offer Centrino Vpro technology, when all other companies like Dell, IBM, Toshhiba offer Vpro. I only recieved Centrino. A sales rep told me that I would get Vpro. So now I dunno what to do?? I guess just replace it for a Vpro? or do they offer Vpro? What you guys think?

 

Based on my own experiences with laptops, current & latest LCD screens have been going downhill with each passing year. I recall that one of the companies manufacturing the LCDs mentioned that this is "part of the latest technology in making it have better power saving!" You can also see a very good example in the following link:

http://www.notebookforums.com/thread165750.html

 

i don't have that "leakage" problem on mine... and i think "ToRonTo-GuYY" and i got our laptops in the same shipment... that's really weird...

in terms of the weight, it is slightly heavy but i opted out for the extended battery... i think if u need anything lighter u need to go for the X61 with the 12"... there are not too many options out there for this price range...

 

You know what, im beginning to adapt to the size and weiight of the laptop which is why im giving it a few days tto try before i exchange or return it. Did u see the link of the pic on the last page I posted of my screen problem? Check it out. Not so much a screen leakage but some screen misplacement problem I guess you could call it.

 

Yea, thats bs, I wouldn't accept anything like that on a screen. My 2006 HPDV1000 doesn't have that. haha. I feel sorry for you man.. Hope they get you a new laptop. Or at least a new screen.

Thats a defect to me. Maybe you can adjust the screen like you can on a desktop computer monitor? Where you can ajust the position of the screen, and size. etc etc..

 

The question would be whether u really need vpro and whether u understand what it does. Unless ur part of a large corporate system/environment u wouldn't see much benefits w/ vpro (google up other forums). I think vpro is more a marketing gimmick that doesn't really benefit regular consumers.

As for the screen - ur seeing part of the edge lit LED effect. Floor models at local stores also had it and i was quite aware of it, tho i doesn't really bother my view at all. Try returning it to sony and see if urs is sitting a bit higher than it should be.

 

I just went to my local sony store and looked at their sony szs and heres what i found: The floor model sony sz780CN has the same little dotted line. The floor model sz645 doesn't have the problem. Now the sz780CN is the one with the LED screen which is the premium, thinner one and was completely made in japan. the sz645 has the non-premium, non-LED screen. I'm quite convinced the dotted line is normal in sz780s and is simply how all sz780s are built. But I think the problem is minor and hard to see if you're not looking for it. But do update us on whether you're able to return it or not, sony might refuse if its not an actual defect.

 

Also, TorontoGuyy, can you see your mouse pointer below the line on your screen?

The presence of the line is normal, but the actual LCD part of the screen should be positioned above it.

 

Any cpu whine on these computers? I got a m1330 too, but its going back because I can't stand the whine like D50.

 

No whine on my SZ650 or SZ320.

 

No I cant see my mouse pointer below the line of the screen. All I can tell you folks is that when looking at floor models very carefully comparing with mine, FOR A FACT, the fact of life and reality if you want to believe it or not, is that my screen is defect, or call it the screen, LED, misplacement of someting, i dont care, but something IS wrong. Anywho I decided to get it replaced, luckily I live right beside the Sony Headquarters on Gorden Baker rd. So ill take it in myself tommorrow, and apparantly they'll ship me a new one. Thanks again for all the input guysss. Anything else lemme know.

 

Make sure to let us know if your replacement has the same problem or not. If your new one doesnt have the defect then I might want to replace mine too.

 

Will do man!

 

so i'm not crazy after all! lol the customer service lady gave me the impression that i'm "hearing" things

this machine has the same level of fan noise as M1330 mind you though that this is equipped with 2.1ghz and my m1330 was 1.8ghz... but absolutely no cpu whine...

dude the build of this machine is 10 times better than the xps... it feels compact and well-built... and for some odd reason my xps used to collect lots and i repeat "lots" of dust on the screen so had to clean it every day... with this baby i haven't cleaned it even once yet... no dust whatsoever on the screen!

i hope you'll enjoy it as much i did... it's a bit pricier but i think it's well worth the difference...

 

yea the weight is OK it's not the lightest but it's still good for me... i saw the pic i don't have anything like that on mine... only thing i've noticed with the screen is that when it's dimmed to the max (dimmest (?) ) you see vertical alternating bright and dark rays of lights going through the screen... there are 5 dark lights and 6 bright... but that's in the dimmest and on a white page otherwise you won't notice it...

my m1330 would make a noise when i dimmed the screen so had to keep it at full brightness all the time... this baby doesn't make a noise at all

 

are you sure you don't have that line at the bottom? try putting your brightness to max and blanking your screen to all black (use the screensaver "blank"). Then look closely at the bottom at different angles, having low room lighting might help. All the floor models plus my own machine have identical lines and light leakage at the bottom edge of the screen. I'm convinced its part of how all the sz780 screens were constructed, intended or not.

 

Quiet and smooth as hell. and mines full of junk and everything.

 

I have until the 12th to return the Dell, so I'm giving it one more try and getting them to ship me a third replacement. I usually wouldn't bother, but they threw in a T9500, vista ultimate, more ram, more hdd space, complete care, and now a 100 dollar credit...

I checked out the SZ at the sony store today... I agree. Lack of seams, no flexing of the lcd screen, and much more solidly built than the m1330. Most importantly, NO FRIGGIN WHINE on the display model.

 

no i don't have it... i will take a photo and show it to you guys... alsi i'll try to take a photo of it when it dim with the vertical dark/bright rays of light...

your is made in US as well?

 

if you accepted the replacement in hope of getting the noise fixed most likely it won't.... i have a replacement too and it was exactly the same... they offered my 4 years warranty and 230 dollars discount... but i didn't want a whining laptop for 4 years! lol

mind you i had the RMClock and it reduced the noise and still it was giving me headaches coz i mostly study last night and it's very quite around me...

 

try looking at the screen during bootup, its most noticable then. you might have to stick your head pretty close to see it.

cowsmoo: I'm pretty sure its built that way too.

 

Yeah made in the US, but that doesnt matter at all. All the floor model sz780s, that aren't CTO and thus made in japan, have the exact same line at the bottom with exactly 3 pockets of light leakage. So I'm thinking even if we do complain and sony sends us a replacement, it'll just have the same problem (UNLESS, they realized the problem after making a few thousand units, but i doubt that). Well, lets just see how TorontoGuyy's replacement sz780 will be.

 

No im not getting any verticle lines of any sort u mentioned above.

 

So ya ill definitley keep you guys posted on this situation. I am taking it in this morning, I will also try to get them to throw in a bag or something for the hassle they caused me, and believe me I will, im a good talker . To be honest, that day I opened my laptop, I was in a really pissy mood, and just tired and misserable! So I had a negative impact right off the bat lol. Now I Love this laptop, so sleek and smooth, really strurdy and really fast!..So now just this stupid ass screen thing, if you guys saw it in person for sure I know you would know something is wrong. I asked at least 5 of my buddies and they all told me it looks strange or something looks off, so yea anyways ill keep you guys posted. Cheers!

 

Like I said man, I took mine to the local Sony Store, and compared mine with theirs, and theirs didnt have that line crap, which means it could either be a defected screen, or the CTO builds lack in that area, which if is the case, I will keep pushing them till I get one thats good, even If I have to drag the god damn Sony Support guys by the ears and show them, I will.

 

are you sure you're looking at only sony sz780s? Yes all the other sony laptops dont have it, including the sz645 (because it has an entirely different kind of screen), but all the sz780s i've seen (specifically sz780CNs) had a line that was EXACTLY identical to mine. Hmm, I don't know...

 

loll, Yea bro, gimme some credit, I aint thattt stupid man come on! Why would I go and compare apples with banana's.

 

i looked at it during boot up.... there's nothing... i will post a pic as soon as i get a chance...

after you guys mentioned this i looked closely everywhere for any design flaws and the only thing i found is that the plastics on the screen (besides the webcam) leave marks near the mousepad... and that's the only thing i could find wrong with the laptop so far...

also when in speed mode (which i never use) it heats up quickly and the fan is a bit loud... but when in stamina it's perfectly fine...

 

what is the video card for sz780cto? not hybrid?

 

The sz has an Nvidia 8400 plus an Intel integrated one, thus the hybrid moniker.

 

i see the shipping is not free?????? costs me about $45...

 

Well you gotta put Express Shipping and then it will automatically deduct the shipping cost. Anyways, after plenty of fighting and arguing with these Pricks, and then finally writing a letter to the President of Sony, I finally got a replacement. So lets see how it goes! Thanks President of Sony!

 

Wow you certainly had to get a hold of the higher ups to get that replacement. When are you expecting it? I'm quite curious to see how it'll turn out. Did you have to send yours back first?

 

I sure did, I mean What The **** kinda kinda sh it is that, I get a defected unit I didnt ask for and I gotta go through Hell just to get it replaced when its only a few days ****ing old, I mean come on. They were like we can repair it for u sir a million times, so I said u guys have wasted enough of my time, I will NOT accpet a repair especially when it clearly stats and when a bunch of ppl verbally told me over the phone that they would be More than happy to exchange but not refund unless I paid a 20% restocking Fee IF the unit is defected which it clealy was and Sony techncians looked at it also saying there was a problem and again told me they would ****ing repair it like morons. I then just walked out and delt directly with the Presdent of Sony, Im lucky enough to be right beside the Headquarters of Sony as I mentioned before, otherwise it would have been almost impossible. So be warned guys, otherwise techncal support is friendly so far, and not their fault, just doing their job!

 

Sorry also had to mention, cuz of ONE lousy son of a bit ch, I had to go through allllll that shi t, otherwise other other guy outta the 2, was a pretty nice guy and was willing to let me replace it, but the other guy wouldnt budge that *******, so all that cuz he wanted to be a prick and not Authorize it.

 

Another update, they have decided to let me return the laptop without any restocking fee due to of course the President of Sony's authorization as I mentioned before. So now I dunno what to do, what laptop should I go for now? Same one again? I dunno. Maybe just wait till Centrino 2 (Montevina) laptops? Darn diddle doo!

 

Why not get another sz780 if you can get one without the line at the bottom?
I'd also really like to see one without the line, so a pic of yours D50 would be great.

 

Yea thats what im thinking but who knows if I will get one with the line crap again, they said for sure next time it happens, there nothing at all they can do, infact they were discouraging me to get another one cuz of this situation in all honesty. So now ive got some thinking to do. Any input/suggestions would be highly appreciated guys!