VAIO Z cons

Hi guys

thank you for your continuous help

I am about to buy VAIO Z, I just wish you to help me on pointing out its cons based on your ownership experiences..

 

It's too light and the screen is too beautiful.

 

Since it is now possible to enable VT, the only last disadvantage would be the out-dated graphics card. It's been a whole year so it's supposed to refresh for 105M or 4570 or something like that.

By the way it's not as durable as ThinkPad. I can't find any other weakness so far.

 

the fan gets noisy and the lcd panel is flimsy and flexes (by design i believe)

 

It doesn't feel like a tank...Thinkpads are better at that.

Also, the stylish design isn't exactly theft-proof like thinkpads...

 

I thought Sony was only going to look at enabling VT on other models except for the Z?

See here: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/06/sony_vaio_virtualization_disabled/

 

They say that Lenovo is losing a lot of money and cutting down costs which might affect its quality. Anyone bought a new Lenovo thinkpad and tested its build quality?? Actually I was considering a W500 or a T500 thinkpad vs the VAIO Z..

 

It has heat problems too...

 

Hey, I want a piece of action too. Here goes:
- need to put something between LCD and keyboard when closing LCD or risk scratching the latter
- space bar flexes
- power connector is flimsy
- only 2 USB ports
- too much hassle with getting hybrid graphics drivers to work

 

bateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery problem.

 

I second the battery drain problem. I hear a lot of problems regarding this. My Z however loses minimal charge upon storage.

 

Keys squeek - At least on my heavily used machine.
Power connector doesn't feel like it will last long
Paint on touchpad buttons is chipping - No idea why, but it is heavily used.
Screen has scratches from the top of the palmrest (when closed and put in a tightbag)

But, its only a work tool so not bothered. Still my most fav laptop I have ever used!

 

Expensive 4 11 CONS

 

I think it's amazing laptop, but fan is abit noisy, but others are great

 

There is a vast difference in size/portability/battery between the Z and T400/500, don't know about the W500.

 

Which is of better build quality in general????????

 

I think we all can agree on lenovo, for the build quality and the keyboard.

The talk is that Lenovo tries to cut weight (maybe cost too) by using a newly designed keyboard backplate (with more holes), which makes the keyboard not as firm/flex-free as the older thinkpads. I think they've also changed the keyboard manufacture.

 

bonbooni, I don't know where you're based in right now.

IMHO, if you're able to buy one from Sony or an authorized reseller that offers excellent return policy, I'll suggest that you go ahead & buy it to try it out. IMHO again, the cons of the notebook are subjective. Therefore, your opinion of it may or may not differ from others. The best is to try it out for a few days under your regular work environment so that you can best judge if it is suitable &/or "durable" enough for you.

Good luck.

 

Planned to buy the Z too BUT battery problem, 16:9 aspect ratio (I am from the old school)

Bought the Samsung X360 SU 9300 with SSD , I have NO complaints

 

I am sorry, but what major battery problem is associated with the it.

 

Battery drain - leaving your battery in the laptop overnight loses around 10-15% charge. This shouldn't really happen. There is a thread on this matter.

 

But this does not happen to everyone, or it does?

 

Too most...it happens. It's one main problem of the Z. A few lucky people have less battery drain.

 

-Weak graphics card compared to other high end 13 inch laptops.
-No backlit keyboard.
-No esata connection (the fastest connection you can get when connecting external hard drives)
-No 7200rpm hard drives available in the UK which is annoying because the americans have that option.

 

The Z will probably be my next laptop after the macbook, but man, it sure is expensive as hell!

Still, that screen is so gorgeous..... makes my macbook display look fisher price.

 

Can you recommend some potential models that can replace the Z?

I have looked at Acer Timeline but the processor is just too weak - it even has trouble running YouTube videos in HD.

 

Daz, you make me think again. What else can I buy that has a 512 MB video card and with a supreme build quality??

 

Haha. We Americans, along with the rest of the world, has the 7,200 rpm HDD option. Please don't single us out... I do feel sorry that you have to pay a much higher price to get the same machine.

I don't think it's the problem of if, it's more like a problem of when...

When I first got my Z in late February/ early March, I didn't notice the battery leak at all. Thinking back, I probably only lost about 2-3% of battery life overnight. I thought I was among the few lucky ones that didn't have the problem. However, in the recent couple weeks, I've noticed that my battery would lose around 8-12% of its charge overnight... It is a little concerning, but it shouldn't affect my usage since my Z sits on the docking station 70% of the time, and when I do bring it to school, I would usually bring the AC adapter with me. 65% of battery life at startup is more than enough to last me through my 3 hour course schedule.

Also, I've noticed that the battery has lost at least an hour of juice since March (around 4 and half hours compare to 5 and half to 6 hours). Note that I use this as my primary machine. I may have to get another battery as early as Christmas.

 

If you are looking for a gaming machine, be prepared to sacrifice battery life, and/or the probable louder fan noise, heat problems, etc.

There is always an inherent tradeoff, no matter what laptop you buy. That's the cost for manufacturers when they have a given set of resources, and those resources have to be allocated into certain areas (price is one factor in said resources too).

What you are getting when buying the Z is essentially an ultraportable laptop. Most ultraportables don't come with a graphics card, the Z does but the difference is is there is option to switch it off on demand.

 

Battery seems to leak for no reason.

The fan can get loud.

I can hear dripping water noise on my hd. Maybe it was this model. But when I put this hd in my SR, I dont hear that noise anymore.

My biggest problem was that the screen lid is too flex and hence it got scratched on my screen since the first week. Very sad indeed!

Overall, this laptop is light and its only .5 lb heavier than most netbook I have seen.

Oh, the other thing is the screen at 1600x1200, its hard to see. They use to make it at lower resolution, but those are hard to find these days.

Now I am happy with my SR.

 

Don't you mean 1600 x 900 pixel screen? Odd that mostly all the Z I am have seen on sale are the lower res ones.

 

If battery drain's not a big issue to you, I suggest that you should try the SR: it's only slightly heavier, the specs is similar except for a better GPU and it doesn't have heat problem, battery life's good too.

And if battery drain annoys you, better take a look at another brand.

 

one other question please, my TZ and FW harddisk is always in operation, I mean I can see the LED indicator for the harddisk operation always blinking and I hear the sound of the hraddisk activity as if it is doing something most of the time...Is this the same with the Z..?

 

This was on a customer review for the Z on SONY"S site:

QT
This laptop is absolute garbage for the money
Date: August 10, 2009
Pros: Looks nice, light weight, but unfortunately I can't say much more
Cons: poor performance, extremely extremely overpriced, poor quality, poor service, can barely run microsoft word well!!!
-Poor performance for price: computer becomes laggy and slow even when microsoft word is running
-engraving hardly noticable contrary to the misleading pictures
-No virtualization tech. (VT)
-Came with a wobbly side casing, after five days, disc drive became ajar and is no longer flush
-apalling in-store service
-warranty repairs take many weeks with no loaner laptop
-disc defrag doesnt work
-this computer is an absolute piece of garbage to use a euphamism; I've seen faster $600 computers
QT

 

zimbros12, thanks for sharing that review & I appreciate that.

IMHO, that is really a spectacularly amazing review!

 

I singled you Americans out because it's true. As far as i can see no country in Europe offers the Vaio Z series with 7200 rpm hard drives. Only you lucky americans get that option and 512gb ssd's. In the UK we get rubbish 5400rpm hard drives or only 256gb ssd's.

 

No offense but it has not always been true that we Americans get the best all the time.

When the Vaio Z notebook was first released (Z5xx series here in the US & Z1x series in Europe), the Z5xx notebooks only offer 5,400rpm HDDs (for non-SSD configurations), while the Z1x series in Europe offer 7,200rpm HDDs. Maybe Sony realizes this "unfairness" & decide to make the swap for one Vaio Z series?!?!

 

LOL. Don't forget Asia.

 

Cons:
1. Fragile at the back part of notebook.
2. Gets real hots running NVIDIA 9300M GS unless downclocking.
3. Flex screen till it touch keyboard.
4. Silly ethernet port cap. This thing tend to loose if frequent close and open the protector.
5. Hinge feel fragile.

Pros:
1. Lightweight and powerful machine.
2. Beautiful lcd screen.
3. Solid carbon fibre on top and downside notebook.
4. Easy to bring around on the go as in easily fit any backpack.
5. Switchable hybrid graphic.

Nope. its do blinking when theres activity like brwsing a website. But its doesnt light all the time. When the machine idle, hardly blink, maybe i turn the hd off when theres no activity at control panel

 

Had mine for about 4 months now... I use it 4-5 hours per day, everyday, carry it every day between work and home.
Cons:
main one now is neck pain that is caused by flexing neck to look at small text on screen. the screen resolution on this machine is awesome...however, it is too much and I find myself trying to get closer to view text, graphics etc.,, the problem is more of a dimension size and a sacrifice for 13 inch models...I probably should have purchased a 15 or 17 inch..
there are some issues with screen flex and scratch...but this is very minor.
Battery has never been an issue or problem for me.
Unlike the earlier post, this machine is very quick and performance has been exceptional. It has NO problem running microsoft office apps, and for that part, when I am working, I generally am running an extended desktop (a 20 inch HD flat screen monitor via an HDMI cable), with this, I usually have several internet explorer programs, or chrome with office, excel, powerpoint, listening to media player, running SPSS programs, editing in photoshop and probably downloading torrent files.... With this multitasking, the machine DOES not even seem bogged down..., this works faster than my desktops or other laptops.
Other Cons: I had a memory chip go bad (it was a Crucial add-on.) I was very pleased with Sony Customer Service, they figured it out.

I get 35 MBPS download internet speeds (From internetspeedtest.com) with my wireless, (it is 2-3x faster on the net than my Lenovo t60 and 5x faster than my ethernet wired 1year old Dell desktop)

 

If I put some thing between the keyboard and the screen will it still get scratched, and "how much" and "where exactly" does it get hot when operating the higher graphics card? can't I tolerate to put it on my lap?

 

i'll answer it for ya.
1) put something soft , it wont get scratched for sure. if bought the Z currently, sony will provide a cloth to put between the lcd and keyboard. i guess they're realize about this issue.

2) it gets hot (when running graphic intensive program/software) on top side of notebook (at the keyboard). you wont feel hot under the notebook since the carbon fibre keeps the notebook cool. you may touch and feel the backside as its operating at 40+c, but if you monitor using a software (e.g: gpu-z) it reads the temp at 95c. i usually run the profile to downclock the gpu, the max temp it raise will be at 85c, averaging 78 ~ 82c. *running NVIDIA 9300M GS* back to your question, yes, the heat is tolerable for your lap. but hey, you wont gaming on your lap right?

 

It depends on where one buys the Vaio Z notebook. For the U.S.A. market, Sony does not include the cloth. Yeah, we Americans don't always get all the best things.

 

i did get the cloth, bought my laptop 2 weeks ago

 

Really? That is good news then. Unfortunately, for the rest of us that bought our Vaio Z notebooks a little bit earlier, it s**ks then.

 

The Americans always get all the best things including prices. I bought my Z690 from the US and I was unlucky that it was intercepted by the UK customs. Even after I paid the tax/custom charges it is cheaper than purchasing a Z3 directly in the UK with lower specifications! More importantly, there is no option to choose US keyboard layout in the UK!

 

To others maybe, but I don't think I get the best things here in the U.S.A. One example. I didn't even managed get the productivity/mobility rebate even though I qualify for it.

 

Really? how much did you pay for it? also,where did you buy it from? how much are the customs, shipping and taxes to the UK?

 

there are 3 main weakness for vaio Z.

1. the screen is too flexible. when pressed down slightly, the screen will meet the aluminium palm rest. pressing too hard will result in scratches on screen.

2. the hinges is one of the fragile part of the machine. if it drop down at an angle with the hinge (adapter / power button) hitting the ground, most likely it will crack or damage.

3. the LCD casing doesn't seem to be solidly built. *True Story* ... I placed the laptop (opened) on a chair beside a cupboard while changing clothes. accidentally knocked the laptop against the cupboard. impact is minimum.

but the screen casing split open. i have to close it back manually. nothing was damaged, not even a scratch. that's how light the impact was.

if you gently press the LCD casing on the side, you might feel that it "wobble" a bit. this is probably due to the "no screws design"