To ALL the New Z Owners...

Are you guys happy with paying over $2k-$4k for your brand new Zs?

I've been reading so many posts about slow boot times, loud fan whirring noises and screen issues. I don't understand how many owners settle anything less for a "perfect" machine for that much money. Just unbelievable. Are any of you really satisfied for the price you paid? Honestly, now...?

I'm trying to justify whether to splurge on the new Z or not. Anyone willing to shed some light on this? Don't want buyer's remorse.

 

The starting price is more like $1600, though.

 

Keep in mind, not everyone paid that price. Most new Z owners pre-ordered that Z back who knew when and they spent much more than the "measly" $1600.

 

Honestly, I kind of find all of this fan nonsense to be just that...nonsense.

"You won't hear it if there's *anything* else going on, but if you're in total silence, it'll tick you off."

That's just looking for a reason to complain, to me.

I splurged on the Signature Z. So far, Sony has messed up and caused me to miss out on the last order, meaning I won't get it til the 15th. But you know what? Three pounds + FHD + 512GB SSD? Yes, I'll be MORE than happy with it. It's the *perfect* laptop for me. I own a Dell SXPS16 and love that...but I told my girlfriend that if they 1080p in a 13" size, it'd be the best thing for me.

I can't wait for it. I won't give a crap about a fan. My Dell Inspiron 1521...now THAT had a fan that could get on your nerves...and even then, you got over it.

I also read tonight that someone felt that this screen was the best he ever had (that it was better than his HDTV). There can't be that much variance in quality here. I think some are just choosing to complain for the sole reason of complaining.

 

I'm not saying that everyone did, or even that most people did, but your original post neglects the possible lower price.
For me, the base model Z at $1600 would be a decent contender, but only if Sony offered a proper international warranty.

 

Wouldn't you expect a perfect notebook without the negatives surrounding the new Z when you paid a hefty premium, especially one from the signature collection? Somethings that are mind-blogging to me:

1) Fan noise - it's on even when it's idling... that is not something I'd expect from a costly laptop.

2) Incredibly slow boot times. Err? Aren't SSDs supposed to boot faster than normal HDDs?

 

I spent close to $2500 on mine and i'm more than happy with it. So far, the only real "problem" i've had with it is fan noise but no product is perfect. Besides, the pro's of this laptop FAR outweigh its cons.


*Edit*

ckthepilot: Where did you read about the incredibly slow boot times on the new z? I've only seen one person report this so far.

 

$1600 for a 13" is still very costly to some.

 

Who said the Vaio Z is slow in booting times?? LOL..Hell, it's even faster than my Gaming rig with a Core i7 965 Extreme processor!!!

 

What boot times are you guys getting? Can anyone share their timed boot time?

 

Perfect is subjective. Kind of like how beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or how some Z owners can't get past the fan issue, while others aren't even aware of its existence.

 

Does 15 seconds sound like an issue?? I haven't timed it..but that's an esitmate.

 

To tell u the truth, I laugh when I hear people complaining about the fan noise...I barely hear it, that's probably coz I keep the TV on most of the time and even without the tv on, It's too low...well for me at least

 

Went to the SonyStyle store today, shut down the new Z, booted it up and timed it. Took 35 seconds from the push of the start button for desktop to show with mouse cursor out of the "hourglass" mode. 15 seconds? err?

 

I've only seen boot times mentioned a few times in the Z Owner's Thread, but usually they're above 30 seconds.

 

Not when it comes to paying money for it Perfection becomes a narrower term when everyone's buying a price.

 

Or maybe I suck in estimating time? LOL

 

I don't get it, is 35 secs slow or something? I'm pretty sure that is a lot faster than any hdd based laptop...

 

My Asus UL30VT boots up in 20 seconds with Intel g2 ssd.

I had an Acer 1410T boot up in 15 seconds with the same ssd.

You tell me if 35 secs is slow or not

 

You are the only one that is going to be able to justify whether something like the Vaio Z is worth it to you. For many people the Z is the perfect size/performance/cost for their wants and needs.

Are you looking to spend almost $4000 for the Z, is that why you are asking? Why are YOU looking at purchasing the Z?

Boot times will vary depending on the model and whether it is running stock or has been reformatted/tweaked to remove some extra bloat.

The fan can be adjusted to come on more or less and it really depends on whats being done on the machine. This is a pretty high performance machine for the size so I would anticipate the fan being on a bit more than comparable notebooks at a larger size.

 

I paid around USD$2,500(HK Z117GG), I am happy with it.
It's mush faster then my desktop,
(Q9550S, 6GB DDR2-1066, P35 Mainboard, Intel X25-E 32GB, ATi 5770)
and my old Z.
(P9500, 4GB DDR3-1066, 2 x Intel X18-M 80GB)

 

The point is, you don't determine what my perfect is. My perfect is narrow, just as yours is. But my parameters are different.

You're now framing arguments and using examples to fit your specifically "narrow" definitions. Using a store demo computer does not make for a good example. And cutting out the rest of my quote, which would make the argument I've quoted here nullified, shows you're seemingly only interested in antagonizing...to what end, I haven't a clue.

 

Well in one of your posts you said "incredibly slow boot times" as one of the problems on the new Z. I don't see how 35 secs, especially on a display model Z (which has a lot of bloatware to begin with) is "incredibly slow".

 

Where do you find one for $1600? Sony site is like $1900 to start.

 

30+ seconds of boot time have been monitored by new Z owners in the owner's thread after a fresh install.

 

Tigerdirect and CompUSA runs 15% bing cb from time to time.

 

It's a bit slow compared to the ul30vt and acer 1410.

 

Seems to be the case.

 

I guess your perfect idea of a machine has audible fan noises even at idle? Come on... be serious here. That cannot be your definition of perfect.

 

Have every right to if I am going to spend 2-3k worth of my hard-earned money, no?

 

I gave you my definition of perfect. Light (3 lbs) + 1080p + SSD. The fans matter not to me, really. I always have stuff in the background, or headphones on my ears.

You're holding an argument to people for whom it does not apply. Your idea of perfection is not mine. My idea is not yours. It's a simple concept, really...one that, once you accept, will find you better rest.

Please, try to see past your thin arguments and understand that what YOU want is not what EVERYONE wants.

Good luck in your purchase.

 

BestBuy has the VPCZ112GX at $1729, with 5% BCB -> $1643.50 at the moment. Some people also got discounts of ~15% or more from Sony.

 

I know I'm pretty happy with the ordering process - I called and went through configuration yesterday afternoon over the phone (about 5 p.m. CST) and got an e-mail tonight that it had shipped. That's about 29 hours between ordering and shipping! And it wasn't a pre-configured model.

 

You have every right to antagonize with arguments that have already by proven, by many people, to hold no water? That's odd, and doesn't exist where I live, which is a small town called Reality.

Again, good luck with your purchase. I hope you broaden your horizons by then, just a smidgen.

 

I would love for someone to have told me what the perfect laptop was - I did a lot of looking. I almost ordered the Dell XPS16 until I heard about all the excessive heat and throttling issues. Let's say I did spend a couple of hundred dollars too much in some people's opinion. It was worth it to me to choose a solid machine and to finally end a month of analysis paralysis.

 

Can't argue with someone who has low standards :/ And that 1080p screen resolution. That's top-of-the-line Z model.

 

Yes. As I said in the first post in this thread, I got the Signature Z.

And my standards are high. I just don't give a about a fan. But hey, once again...whatever makes you feel better. You've done nothing but dismiss everyone in this thread. I'm not even sure why you created it. Seems you drank a jug of Hatorade before posting.

 

I own a SXPS1640, and I like it quite a bit. I've only gotten a new machine because my gf's Mac went to hell, and I actually have the dough to really get something that is right in my wheelhouse (ie 3 lbs + 1080p + 512GB SSD).

Unless the machine gives me herpes, or is packed with fire ants or something...I know I'm going to love it. But I still enjoy my SXPS16...er, my gf's SXPS16. ; )

 

Today's my first day in the forum - is this typical? Do people complain about other people's choices when it comes to more or less expensive choices in wine and cars too?

 

Sorry if I sounded like a rude and ignorant person but I just can't imagine myself not being petrified if I found something out of the ordinary with the new Z. Even the little fan noise would bug the heck out of me. I owned the old Vaio Z790 and that notebook was a bit noisy too and that one only costed me $850 from JJ (the guy I bought from here). Guess I'm wanting too much in a laptop...

 

No, this thread is atypical of this forum. I have found many people, namely Zoinks, lackofcheese, and Flash MJ, to be rather helpful and friendly (overly so with Flash, not that the others aren't friendly, but MJ reminds me of Ned Flanders with his overt kindness).

Welcome to the forum. Have you received your Z yet, Klue? If so, do you like it? What did you get?

 

I read someone paid $4500 for a Z

qte
Also did Sony include the $4500 invoice with the thing. As I plan to have it shipped to my US home and to my vacation home here in the Caribbean. Customs would simply kill me with that 4500 dollar invoice
unqte

that's a lot

 

Nah, I'm just on a rant

 

That's fine, though even in apology, there's some backhanding going on. ; )

I thought about being petrified. I have an Envy that I'm returning. When the palmrest when off a bit, I was petrified. In fact, I spent the entire first few days second-guessing myself. I got it because of Bing's 20% cashback at the time, rather than because it hit everything I wanted.

The truth is, I agonized about making such a purchase (Signature Z) for some time. I've typically been poor in my working life, and bought the Sig Z with student loan money (am in grad school). But, for me, someone who travels over an hour to school, works in an elementary school as a permanent building sub and therefore have no classroom, I need this kind of portability. But I also run an online baseball league, one of some size, and I use a couple of other sports games that utilize a processor well enough that a netbook won't do it.

I have known that a 13" 1080p is what I've been seeking. The rest of the Signature Z is icing on the cake. It is, spec-wise, the perfect laptop for me. Power, portability, and good battery life.

As far as a fan goes...fans haven't bothered me in the past. I can't possibly see how it would start now. I *always* have something running, whether it's a podcast or Netflix or my iPod. When nothing's running, it's usually because I'm too deep in thought to even notice.

So, the question is asked....how could I possibly let something so small and pointless as a fan's presence get in the way of such an excellent machine, especially when I simply do not care about it to begin with?

This is why I say perfection is subjective. I could be bothered by something that would make you scoff. The fan concept makes me scoff. I simply need, and want, a machine with these parameters. The pros of what this machine will do for my everyday life far, far outweighs a fan.

I hope this time, the explanation is clear and concise. ; )

 

That's what these forums are here for, to bring us all together in mutual agony.

The (agonizing) process of research for a purchase of my own (which I still haven't made) is what brought me here - I just like to be an expert on as many areas as I can, and once I know my stuff why not share it around? Even so, I admit I won't be here anywhere near as much once I actually buy something. I did the exact same thing when I bought my desktop 3 years ago.

Thanks for the compliment earlier, by the way

 

No I just ordered it yesterday and was told that it shipped today - the original ship date was estimated as 4/9. It's the i5, 4GB, 256 SSD. It will be my first experience with an SSD so I've been looking for advice on set-up and maintenance tips and joined the forum today so I can ask dumb questions when I get it!

 

When I bought my SXPS16 (a year ago last week), I came here searching. I knew, once the decision was made to dump my gf's Mac, that I'd be back.

In truth, this is a good forum to be, just to keep on top of things out there. My main sites nowadays are here, CNet, ESPN, and Total Sports World (sports sim gaming community, link in my sig). I imagine that'll stay that way for some time.

And the compliment is earned. You don't BS or slant your comments against a particular company. When I was looking at the Envy, there were many who were throwing out the fault rate of HP machines, among other things. This machine has been a good one...I'd keep it if it weren't for the Z.

 

A slim and lightweight notebook capable of running with no fan at idle would require a processor that generates no significant amounts of heat. Which is only going to be even conceptually possible with a ULV chip. And I don't want a ULV chip in a high-end machine. Thus, there is heat generated. I can assure you that my i7 generates enough heat even at idle that the fan is very much needed.

Could the fan have been quieter? Judging by some of the reports here, yes. However my new Z is a heck of a lot quieter than my SZ when surfing, and in fact is quieter than any laptop I've owned. I'm thinking that these fans do NOT sound the same...

 

Also remember, people will more willingly complain than applaud. Happy customers rarely spend time in forums but the ones with issues are all over them. So, what you have is isolated and somewhat disparate incidents:

- fan noise: Reading this forum, you'd expect something akin to the roar of a 747 on take off from close range. I'm in total silence and yes I can hear it. Barely. In my case, it is partially covered by the ticking of my watch!
- Screen: I have the 1080p. Some people argued that Sony should not even have installed such a screen in this laptop, that it was heresy, sheer folly, uselessness at its best. To me, it is was one of the single best asset of this machine!
- SSD: half a terabyte of RAID SSD. Amazingly slow to boot (actually, that's Intel part booting the RAID which is the longest). So slow that I don't even care when I see the dreaded message that something will now require a Windows restart. Shutdown in a few seconds. Wakes up from sleep in 3 seconds... I use to be able to go make (and eat !) a sandwich in the time it would take my old Dell to restart. I've lost 107lbs in the 2 weeks I've owned my Z
- backlit keyboard: the shimmering light shinning through the keys is so enticing, so intoxicating that I cannot fathom the thought of working in anything but perfect darkness from now on!
- Battery life: some seem to say that the battery life, even of the extended model, is so meager that they barely have time to boot before requiring shutdown on the extended battery. In my case, I've been working on this machine for close to 2 hours now and battery bar still reports over three hours left, on the standard battery.

etc, etc, etc...

The internet in general (and forums in particular) are often more filled with opinions than fact. Personally, I prefer facts. Of course, that's just my opinion

Oh, and two more things:
- I paid $4,893.74 for my Signature Z11, less than a year after spending $4,772.67 on my Z698/Y
- This is my perfect laptop, in my humble opinion. And so was my previous Z when I purchased it.

 

Anyone with a slight understanding of heat dispersion would know why the sony has a fan that is louder then you would expect (whatever that means). Understand this. The 330GT gets hot. The Intel Processor gets really hot. Plastic and carbon fibre aren't great at dispersing heat. Even if you had massive amount of cooling pipes and a huge heatsink, you still need a way to get it out of the laptop. So you need a fan. Sony have tried to make a laptop here, not a notebook. Sony's goal is, and always has been, to create a usable machine for long periods of time.

If a company comes a long and makes a machine which is as light, is as powerful, and is as usable as the Z, I will buy theirs instead, but I have yet to see it in all my years in IT (over 10 years now).

My life is laptops. I have many types from all over the world at work. I have had around 25 laptops in my life (I usually keep them for 6months) and the brand that has never done me wrong with engineering has been Sony.

That is why I have decided to spend the last 5months of my savings on the bottom end Z. I know when I need it, it will work first time everytime!

My 2 cents...