Z12 Available on SonyStyle (US)

Will the new z12 have configurable options for both the 1600x900 and 1920x1080 screens, or only the 1080p screen?

 

From what I remember from seeing the page, 1600x900 was standard and the 1920x1080 screen was an option for ~$100.

 

yay, thanks for the heads up. It would be such a pain to run games smoothly if the native resolution was only 1920 x 1080 on the Z.

 

Can someone explain exactly why ssd in raid is not a good idea?

Is it only performancewise a bad idea or will it affect other aspects aswell?

 

'Asia' customers have been getting the top two free for years, for example Sony notebooks bought in New Zealand. Only the most budget of Sony notebooks did not come with photoshop elements and premiere elements, basically the model was deemed not to have sufficient power to run either program.

My FZ came with Premiere Elements 3 and Photoshop Elements 5, and I can recall Sony models before 2.5 years ago coming with Adobe software.

Adobe Acrobat Standard though is a new addition that I have not seen in an Asia/Pacific model. However some Asia models are now coming with Lightroom, take the upper end F series for example.

So yeah congratulations to US Sony customers for catching up with what Asia/Pacific has had for years, although we still don't CTOs.

 

I'm sure a search would have found it for you, because it's been discussed here quite a few times, but:

0: Plain striping isn't really RAID, which is why it called RAID0. There's no redundancy (the R in RAID) at all.
1: No TRIM.
2: Decreased boot time is offset by increased boot wait.
3: When one drive fails or has a non-recoverable error in a RAID0, you lose all the data on all the drives. This increases the risk of failure quite a bit. And, remember that on the Z, there's no way for a user to replace a failed drive.
4: Only sequential transfer speed for large files is increased by RAID0. I.e. a RAID0 on the Z is really only useful for reading large files into memory, or copying large files from one area on the combined drive to another -- otherwise, the bottleneck will be elsewhere.
5: Less easy to set up multi-boot into other operating systems.

In the case of the Z, it's a marketing decision. Big numbers sell, and people tend to compare the (seldom attainable) max speeds, rarely the real world speeds, and almost never what matters the most: worst case speeds. Yet I tell you: The emperor has no clothes.

 

Available as a non-CTO!!
VPCZ12CGX/X | VAIO® Z Series Laptop | Sony | Sony Style USA

VPCZ12CGX/X

Not long till the CTO comes aboard!

 

Does anyone know why its quite a bit more than the one before it?! Does't look the specs show much of a change!

 

It's more expensive because it has Win7 Pro, and the upgrade to a 256GB SSD, and the Verizon Wireless option added. If you add those options to the Z11 configuration, you get the same price.

 

ok gotcha, im in Canada so when I saw those prices I wondered a bit. I customized a Z series before they took them down for the refresh and was looking at about $2200 CDN, but it was the smaller SSD.

 

I haven't read the thread on z11, but is there really no way to replace the hdd? I'm mainly interested in the z-series because of the screen and portability, these raid problems is a dealbreaker for me though. A single intel x-25 80gb or 160gb would have made this the perfect computer...sigh...

Anyone who can recommenend a similar laptop?

 

Is this a z12 series at a reseller? Sony VAIO VPCZ122GX/B 13.1" Z Series Notebook PC - Black in PC Notebook Computers at JR.com

 

Is this a full Lightroom, or a feature-reduced/SE version?
If the former, that's a $300 value, and also allows you to put Lightroom on an additonal computer. From the Lightroom license:

 

You can't replace the Sony installed Samsung SSD. But the Raid "problems" may not be all that bad. Check out the FAQ link that is in the first post of the Z11 Owner's Thread. ZoinksS2k created a dedicated thread regarding testing the Z SSDs, and the results, albeit preliminary, look positive.

For me, it was between the Z and the Acer 3820TG, which hopefully will finally be released in the U.S. this month. It would cover your portability requirement, but not your screen requirement probably. It's 768 resolution and not nearly as high quality as the Sony. I guess you could look at the Envy 14, as it will have a good screen. But you sacrifice in the portability department (larger and heavier). But still not a clunker by any means.

 

Tigerdirect looks to have the Z12s now too:

VPCZ122GX $1949

VPCZ124GX $2249

VPCZ127GX $2899

 

Very interesting, Lightroom as standard is kind of shock for me.

 

hi, can anyone confirm how reliable J&R is for buying stuff? cause i live in canada and im thinking of getting the Z12, and they have that extra 150 off which helps my budget alot. Total comes to about $1865, plus tax so around 2100-2200ish CAD. anyone know if i should just wait the extra week till sonystyle has it or if there are better deals around?

 

http://www.sony.co.nz/product/vpcf127hg

I can only see lightroom coming with the most expensive version of the F series at NZ$3500. It does not come with our version of the Z for example.

The specification sheet for the F series says that it has 'Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2'. I don't know if it is a reduced functionality version or not.

On the really cheap models sold here they say if the adobe software is trial or not. This is the case with some of the cheaper E series notebooks which have 30 day trials for Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements. Notably though the Y series which you can get for the same price as the cheap E series notebooks does come with non-trial versions.

I am not sure how the licensing works for these. I have never tried to install the full version of photoshop or premier on this notebook, so I do not know if there is any conflict. I do however know that they update, although neither has updated for me in close to 2 years because Adobe no longer brings out updates for them.

 

You can trust J&R; they are a trusted chain in NY and have good reseller ratings/reviews. I, too, have purchased from them a few times and they have been very fast and responsive. I think J&R also has Bing available for 5% cashback so you can try it to get an additional $90-92.5 USD off. Tax only in New York. Through SonyStyle, you can get up to 15% off but tax kinda kills it (unless you're shipping to one of few exception states). It's actually about $10 cheaper to bundle it w/2-year extended ship service warranty plan. As a comparison:

From J&R
VPCZ122GX/S: $1,849.99 (tax only in NY) - 5% BCB = $1,757.49
VPCZ122GX/B: $1,799.99 (tax only in NY) - 5% BCB = $1,709.99

Z11 from Sonystyle (i5-540M)
VPCZ1190X CTO: $1,689.80 (w/student discount) + Tax - $10 (w/2-year warranty)

We can only speculate on how prices will fluctuate (if at all) this coming week. In other words, your guess is as good as mine or any others'. Since the J&R deal is till the 20th, I would wait right up till that date to see how other stores react to the revisions (and sonystyle inventory). -TJ

 

Yah, I bought my SR from J&R. They are a big retail store co. in NYC.

 

I wonder if TD jack the price due to the bing discount.

 

price on the z12 seem kinda high. The price for a z11 with 386gb ssd and 8gb ram with larger battery comes out to $ 2,508.20. Do you guys think I should wait for the z12 or jump on the z11 deal. from the spec from JR it doesn't seem much different from the z11

 

I don't see any advantage to waiting for the Z12 at this point...unless you want the full HD screen. I was just reminded that the full HD screen will be a CTO option on the Z12.

 

The Z12 is here....next week even the US gets the entire line/
Also preconfigured models will get the Full HD: VPCZ12HGX/X and the VPCZ12JHX/X

No need to wait for the Z12....its HERE

 

What's the lowest price on a Z11 these days?

 

Could you tell me where I can find this price? I really want to buy one.
Thanks.

 

Does the Z11 have face recognition and biometric reader? TD states that the Z12 is. Unless I'm mistaken the Z11 CTO comes in at $200 less than same as TD Z12.

 

sony campus using the student discount got like $400 off. It shows lower prices then after you build it, it will discount even more.

https://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wc...551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&XID=F:sscampus:ss

 

Wow, I'm being severely tempted! I was waiting for the Acer 3820TG, but I've always been drawn to the weight, performance, screen and overall build of this computer. I at least need to sleep on it a couple days, but the Acer's days may be numbered in my mind.

Does anyone know if the Bing discount will work even with the $100 J&R is currently offering?

 

I got the Z118 (384gb) from JR for like $2200. Had a good experience.

 

Although it is very unlikely, I hope next week when Sony USA makes the VAIO Z refresh available for order, they will have the following CTO options:

1) HDD only instead of SSD + optical drive
2) 2x USB Ports (USB2.0) + iLink instead of 3x USB Ports (USB2.0)

 

I see no option on SonyStyle USA for a Z12 CTO. I only see one preconfigured model available. So for some of us, we might not consider that "here" yet. The point is, if you want a CTO Z, and you only have the option for Z11 as of right now, I personally see no need to wait for a Z12 CTO.

 

Next week....21/22.

 

I was very intestesed in the Z for my business when it was originally released, but was waiting until all of the unit's options were avaiable for CTO in the US. With the approaching release of the Z12, I am again considering the Sony. I have also been looking at the Acer 3820TG due to its superior GPU and price.

I have been reading the Sony threads for months and although I find a lot of interesting stuff, I'm not sure I understand everything I'm reading so I have some basic questions:

1. have you owners been able to make Optimus work on the Z? I've read the thread but don't know what to conclude.

2. if you add a HD to the ODD space, does the caddy cover the side of the Z or does it leave a gap? I've read the thread but am not sure about the answer.

3. Will the I7-620M be offered with the new CTO.

4. Can the GT330M be overclocked and what kind of 3dMark06 scores can be achieved?

5. is Sony US sill giving discounts on phone orders?

Thanks

Bronsky

 

Can't answer all your questions Bronsky, but a few...

4. I have seen some nice overclocks posted by owners in the owners' thread and in a thread talking specifically about overclocking the Z's GPU: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/473593-sony-z-m11x-3dmark06-scores.html. Some folks seem to have had a harder time keeping overclocks stable though. But it looks like 3DMark06 scores of 6-7000 are definitely possible. Good, but not like the 3820TG.

5. Yes! I got a very good discount over the phone. I got a good discount originally when I ordered two months ago. Thanks to their bungling service over the past two months, they increased it, so now it is very good.

 

Thanks - that is helpful. Esp. the discount part . My company's budget for our notebook is less than the cost of the Sony so I need to push in both directions.

It's wierd about the GT330M in the Z only reaching scores of 7k when overclocked. MBP owners report scores of 8960 with an I5/GT330M.

http://img294.imageshack.us/f/screenshot013ii.jpg/

I'll have to read the thread and see what the story is. But, thanks again.

 

Maybe because Sony runs hotter, so less room for OC?

 

Possibly, though I don't remember seeing reports of GPU throttling on the Z. The OC'ers seemed to maintain similar temps even with the overclock. The hang up seemed to be instability more than heat.

 

I wonder if the operating system makes that much difference. Is OSX that much more stable than Windows 7?

Bronsky

 

No. God no.

I write apps that have to run on both Windows and OS X. OS X crashes far more than Windows. At least Windows gives me a pretty good idea of what goes wrong when it does crash, especially since Vista. OS X just locks and I have to hold down the power button until it reboots. Syslog has no sign. I have to reboot fairly often just because Xcode, the Apple development environment, refuses to run.

The whole OS X is more stable thing has always been a kool aid driven myth.

OS X is much more battery friendly though. About double the battery life of Windows on the same machine. Could just be horrible bootcamp drivers though.

 

What an expressive phrase! Well played sir.

Bronsky

 

its almost certainly horrible boot camp drivers. why would apple want people running windows on their hardware?

 

I just purchased the VPCZ124GX/S using Bing Cashback from TigerDirect. Got my cashback confirmation this morning. End price: $1980. I couldn't resist!

 

Funny running into you in this thread. Great minds think alike. Since the availability of a 3820TG/HD5650 in the US looks bleak, I started looking at the Z again. I have some time before I need to make a decision since I have a mobile workstation for the summer (pure comfort). I was looking at the Envy, but the Z would be a better option for me becaues of the Z's portability. I'm waiting around to see what CTO brings.

Bronsky

 

This is what it might come down to for a lot of us. Need the extra portability and don't mind the higher pricetag? Z all the way. Otherwise, the Envy 14 is looking mighty good. Such a shame about it being over 5 lbs, though.

 

I'd considered the Z11, which seemed to have all I could wish for, but several reviews mention its being very noisy, which is a big no-no for me (as I need to bring it into the recording room). For those of you who have ordered the Z12, if you could report on that aspect of this refresh version, it'd be swell.

 

I don't understand why some reviews have said it was noisy due to the fan. Sure, you can hear the fan, but it's relatively quiet as those things go. The fan is far quieter than the fan on my other 9 laptops. Sometimes I have to hold it up against my ear to see if it's running.

 

I just my z11 a couple weeks ago and it is whisper quiet compared to my MBP. No heat issues either. I also don't think that the z12 refresh is going to change any of that. From the looks of it it seems to add some colors and a few more CTO options and appears slightly more expensive.

 

I think it's actually a bit less expensive. You can now get 256GB SSD for what you would have paid for the 128GB before (at least using Bing Cashback).

 

I just got mine yesterday. While I haven't stressed the GPU at all yet, I have also found the Z to be uber quiet so far.