Z2 Gaming - Throttles like crazy!

Temp Numbers... 5 minutes of Black Ops. Like I stated before, the Z does not get hot and the fans ramp down during gameplay.

 

Man, everything you describe sounds like thermal control strategy setting. Does the gpu fan pick up and blow out hot air?

 

Yes it does. The Z calms down though.

Will unstalling Vaio Control Center stop remove the thermal settings? I dont care about battery life, I just want to see the Z2 run at max clockspeed. This way I can eliminate this idea/thought.

 

I have been unable to find the time to do comprehensive tests. But today at work I tried running CoD 5, no PMD, external LCD with laptop LCD turned off, and got exactly the stuttering behaviour you observed.

The fan was roaring like crazy.

I was actually quite concerned until I remembered that the PMD wasn't plugged in.

 

There should be a setting for thermal strategy. If the Z2 throttles where the Z1 doesn't, I'm going to be sorely disappointed.

 

Just finished playing 4 hours of Crysis 2 at 768p...runs pretty well.
With PMD/performance power plan/performance thermal startegy
I didn't experience any stuttering or pulsing.

 

I think the problem is that my Z thinks its time to chill out once the PMD kicks in.

I noticed that the lagging doesnt start happening untill the fans strat ramping down on the Z. I tried Black Ops again tonight and the fans on the Z were dead silent after two munutes.

So how do I keep the Z engaged in the process. I just tested it on MW2 and SFIV and noticed the same pattern. Two minutes after launching the game, the Z completely looses interest in the party. Even toggling through menus is choppy at that point.

 

Really weird, have you tried starting the laptop with a bootcd and do some benches in order to check if both the Z and the PMD kicks in and ramps up the fans? This really smells like a weird driver or OS issue.

 

So sad, there's still no resolution.

Maybe your Z is defective.

 

Sorry, but where is the possibility to set performance in VAIO Control Center? Can´t find that...?

I think the "old" gpu drivers could be a problem. Sony made some special settings to the driver set, but they are not the newest. My problem is, for example, that only OpenGL 1.1 is supported without the PMD. On the intel website, the Intel HD is listed as OpenGL 4.0 Capable! This is anoying! I´ll hope sony will give us a new driverset, maybe this can fix a lot of problems.

 

---Problem solved by receiving a replacement Z216GX/B---

The problem is not present in my new system. I can say, that the performance of the PMD stock is about on par with an overclocked Z1 330M.

Now the quest begins... Has anybody attempted to overclock the PMD? ATI tools says it can not find any ATI drivers.

I will post an updated video in the near future. Thanks for all of your help.

 

Very good to read that your problem is fixed with a replacement machine

I think first we need updated drivers for our machine - the stock intel part is really bad i think. OpenGL 1.1 is the only supported thing, no chance to play minecraft (!) without the pmd...

But i´m not sure i´ve we can update only the intel part through the device manager...

 

It was due to a faulty PMD. I tried the old PMD on my new system and it was bad for sure.

The new PMD is so quiet while gaming. The bad one ran its fans at full blast constantly.

 

So i think i´ve to test my PMD first

But i´m not joking, i think the intel gpu driver is not the best. Too old and buggy.

BTW: Can you give me the youtube link with your "problem" again please?

 

Yup...the PMD is pretty quiet when gaming.

 

Absolutely sounds like bad thermal conduction between PMD's heatsink and GPU resulting in thermal throttling and massive stuttering.

 

How did you convince Sony to make the exchange? Did you try running it with a different PMD at the store?

 

I need to do more comprehensive tests. Did you experience the same stutter running any benchmark tests?

I played League Of Legends, and i was able to get a solid 30fps on very high settings. I lowered the settings to get higer frame rate, and while i was able to get up to 60fps, it felt as if it "suttered" or lagged every few seconds.

However, i ran TF2 on High, and got 60fps without any issue. CoD: BO ran fine as well.

 

I didint deal with Sony as I ordred it from Amazon. Sony's (Bonehead) tech department barely know wah a PMD was let alone a Z2. (Sorry Beaups)

Anyways, I sent the PMD in for replacement because I was stuck with the unit from Amazon. They said the issue would not be present enough to not charge me a restock fee. So I sold the Z2 on ebay and am sending the PMD in to Sony for replacement.

In the end, I now have two sheet batterys and two PMD's. I took a $375 loss, but I dont mind that if I can keep a PMD at the office as well. As for the second sheet battery, I will sell it off and buy a case.

 

Thats until we figure out how to overclock it!

 

Hey Maven,

so in your opinion, is this a decent gaming machine?

i was about to buy the machine till i thought the system throttle the performance. but since it's due to faulty component, i'm back to thinking about it again.

I do casual gaming ... probably stuff like guild wars 2 / diablo 3 / aion ...

I'm currently using macbook (Nvidia 320m integrated gfx) for gaming.


btw... does the laptop make a lot of fan noises? i went to try the demo set at sony store, and there are distinct whirling noise ... like someone using finger nail to scratch on a blackboard ... well.. maybe not that bad... but you get the idea...

 

the Z21 with PMD should noticeably faster than your 320m, the game you mentioned are not out yet ( GW2, D3) hard to tell if it'll be enough.

As far as fan noise is concerned.. you can make you opinion looking at the few video available especially this one http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/603137-z2-gaming-throttles-like-crazy.html

Imho The Z21 is unacceptably noisy. If you come from a Sony this migtht seems ok , but if you come from a mac or a thinkpad you will find is noisy (while playing), expecialy if you use it in a quite room... If you use it in an office where the background noise is two to three time higher than in a quite room, you should be less disturb by the noise.

 

My new replacement Z2 is a fantastic casual gaming machine. I have removed my video from YouTube because the unit was faulty. Actually, the PMD and the Z2 are quieter than my wifes MBP while gaming. If you can handle the idea of the PMD, you won't regret it. Get the 1080p screen tho.

 

I come from a Macbook pro 2009 and the z21 is fine noise wise. In a normal room its barely above ambient noise, even when I am gaming. Go see one in person, it really isn't bad.

 

I saw one in person , unloaded in a music loud sony store, it seems pretty silent.
Now loaded with games or such , I can only base my opinion on what I saw on youtube, or the reviewed on the net (are all the review sample faulty ?)


maven1975, would you mind posting new video ?

 

Hi all.

Thanks for the comment. The noise is based on when you tilt or shift the position of the laptop.

I know it's a weird request but can you guys try to tilt slightly left and right while holding it. Or shift the position of the laptop while it is on the table.

Does it remit more noise compared to stationary, or is it silent

The reason I'm asking it is because I'm trying to determine whether the set I viewed the last time was faulty or is it normal.

There is only 1 configuration available here and it cost around $4400.00 inclusive extended warranty. I don't want to waste that much funds and it turns out to be a faulty set.

 

I have shot a follow up video. I was/am really tired, but have received sevreal requests for it.

Sony Vaio Z2 -Gaming Update- - YouTube

 

Its about the same sither way. The noise is produced through the side vent. If there is a difference, it would be less than 10%.

 

Just posted one for everyone. The phone cam is REALLY sensitive to noise. I would say the noise you hear in the video is exagerated and recorded about twice as loud as it really is.

The Z1 still is a better performer overclocked by about 15% with Black Ops, MW2 and SFIV Arcade edition. However, this is not the case with Crysis 2. Also, SFIV Arcade Edition ran like garbage on the SA, so this could be a driver issue as Nvidia dumps on ATI in this respect.

We must figure out an overclocking soulution for the PMD.

 

Hi,

Thanks for the video... the sound that I've heard is totally different from the one that is from your video... the sound that I've heard is more like someone grinding knife or a wheel spueaking...

I think I will test the set before buying to see whether it's a 1 off thing...

 

How much different is performance and noise in the same gaming situation if you have Thermal Control Strategy and Windows power plan set to Balanced?

 

I have to say while playing Age Of Empires Online without PMD, the cpu fan is also going crazy and the game is shuttering somethimes.