Im considering purchasing a viao with SSD, and I would like to hear your
impressions/experiences with it. Any info, tidbits would be welcome.
Also, if anyone knows of the manufacturers of the SSD in the vaio Zs and SRs that'd be nice.
What HD marker does sony usually use for their vaios? Something like the NW or CW series...
View 4 Replies View RelatedDoes anyone know what kind of SSD drive Sony ships with their SR and Z series laptops?
I've been doing some research on SSD drives and it seems like a bunch of them slow down considerably after prolonged use (albeit still faster than HDD)
Really looking forward to those. I think that's when I'll upgrade my SZ680. I was really not happy with it until I installed Windows 7. Now, it's good enough until the Core i7's come out.
View 10 Replies View RelatedAnyone have any luck being able to enable their Nvidia card within Linux? I could care less about trying to switch... But I have spent some serious time trying to do it and unfortunately you cannot just turn off the intel graphics card in the BIOS..
View 3 Replies View RelatedI don't watch films on my computer.
I don't like 16:9 for computing
I realise Intel is releasing their new processors in Q4. Sony Vaios would of course get the new processors.
My question is, are the benefits / advantages worth waiting for or is the current line of Vaios good enough to last for the next 5 years? I am looking specifically at the Z and the TT.
how many of you invested in a good surge protector for your beloved VAIOs. Do they actually work?
Do Sony AC adaptors have surge protector built-in?
All these years, I've never had any problems without using protectors (touch wood) and so I wonder if it's worthwhile to buy one.
My SZ was destroyed but the insurance is paying for it (hooray!), now I have to decide what notebook to get. I loved my SZ, it was thin (especially the screen), lightweight, fast, and well built. Makes me sad that they got rid of it. It appears that the next closest model is the Z, which seems nice but isn't quite the same. It looks as though the keys are smaller are further spaced apart (why??) and it looks a bit chunkier (especially the screen), although the other features seem nice.
if there will be a debut of any new business class premium notebooks at CES in a few weeks? Should I wait or just buckle down and get the Z?
I have a TT190 with a factory-installed SSD. As many of you are probably aware, Windows 7 support for TRIM greatly improves the performance of an SSD that is used over time. But the drive must support it.
Recently Intel, Samsung, Corsair and some other manufacturers have released new firmware for their SSDs that supports TRIM.
My TT190 contains a Samsung MMCQE28GFMUP-MVA SSD drive. I suspect that Sony uses that same drive (or drives from the same series) in other Vaio models.
I wanted to understand if there is any TRIM firmware already released or planned for this drive, so I sent an email to the relevant support group in Samsung. After two weeks I received the following reply:
Quote:
Thank you for your inquiry to Samsung Semiconductor.
At the end of this month or, if delayed, next month, we will open a web site on which all FW updates (including the VBM19C1Q, with ATA-TRIM) and tools will be available for easy update all devices PM800.
Unfortunately, the SSD model MMCQE28GFMUP-MVA is not supported in this FW update (it is not PM800 series) and there will be no support for TRIM in the future.
We do sincerely apologize for the inconvenience using our products
I especially like the last phrase.....
I just came across a disturbing photo in the big Z series thread of a so-called "Canadian" keyboard littered with far too many labels and colors, all in the name of being bilingual.
[url]
My question is, is this really what Sony Canada is sending out on any notebook listed with a bilingual keyboard? It's horrible! Not only is it far more confusing to figure out what's where, but it has the European L-shaped Enter key and repositioned backslash which I simply cannot live with (20 years using keyboards the "other way" have pretty much conditioned me).
I guess they got tired of making a custom model for 23% of the population, and would rather annoy the other 77%.
My Canadian SZ160P I bought 3 years ago came with a "normal" keyboard, I was completely surprised to find this out now. And just after I had talked myself out of the Dell Studio XPS 13.
Is there ANY WAY to get a English keyboard in Canada? CTO maybe?
Or am I simply going to have to buy from the US and deal with having no warranty, because there is no sale with that keyboard...
I have currently owned a total of 3 Vaio noteooks. All except one "CR" were made in Japan. I am wondering if the owners of the pre-built AW's could look under their laptops and tell me where they were built.
The CR that I have was build in China. I has had several booting issues among other things. I have noticed that the higher end Vaio books are made in the land of the rising sun
Questions:
1. What kind of performance issues have any of you seen in the two different Z-series notebooks, specifically with light gaming? I know the Z540 is a 128MB card and the Z590 is a 256MB 9300GS. I was curious if there was any real downside to the 128MB card?
2. Have any of you heard any rumors about when the new CTO Z-series will be available?
The reason I ask both is that I am looking at a newly released Z-series on Best Buy's website:
[url]
Basically looks like a Z540 CTO with good options. My overall goals with the machine are writing code, basic web stuff and of course, WoW.
WoW is my biggest concern with the 128MB card because I have had a 9300GS before and it was pretty poor in the implementation and playing WoW. I was curious if anyone had impressions on the way the 128MB card handles WoW now on the Z-series and if the machine above would work or if I would need to wait for the "newer" Z's to come out and get the larger RAM card.
I find it very useful when I'm away from home and have to reinstall my computer. As far as I know, after installing Win 7, I will lose that ability. Let's me know how the computer run on Win 7 vs Vista.
View 10 Replies View RelatedNo vaio E-series official owner yet @ NBR ? Is it available for delivery or not ? And one biggest flaw I can see is there is NO OPTION FOR FHD 1080p at Sony USA site
View 10 Replies View RelatedI suggest you try this before voting if you did not already tweaked your monitor profile: Vaio_F11 Monitor Profiles Roundup & US glossy vs. EU Premium Displays.
From the FAQ: "You may view the current results for a poll before you vote by clicking the 'View Results' link". Click any blue number to see all the user names.
So non-Vaio_F11 owners, don't skew the results as we can see your user name.
You can only vote once & can't change it by Notebookreview's poll rules.
How do you handle 1600x900 resolution on a 13.1" screen?
I haven't seen it yet in person, but it seems like it would make everything VERY small (text, images, menus, etc).
Do you change the DPI? Do you modify any other settings? Do you get a stronger contact lens prescription?
Interesting article here:
[url]
What do you say about this, is it true, did you notice and reduce of speed and after how long?
I plan to buy a RAID 0 SSD Z serie notebook, but if this problems are true, I just need to stick with my current SZ for some time then.
For those with the new Sony Vaio Z11, how does the Sony MS card and the SD memory cards fit in their respective slots? Once inserted, are they flush against the notebook body contour or do they stick out?
Also, is there a locking mechanism that holds the cards in place? Or are the cards just wedged in there
Question for Vaio TZ owners:
How well is the screen visible and readable outside, on a bright and sunny day?
Is the screen reflective and does that limit readability outside?
I've been comparing the new FW equipped with an hd 4650 and the current AW and am quite torn. I've assembled a few questions to help me figure out which model suits me best. I intend to replace my desktop which I primarily use as a multimedia and gaming am willing to settle for the FW's 16.4 inches only if the 4650 places its performance well over the AW's.
1.) Is there still any risk involved with the 9xxxM series (specifically the 9600m gt)?
2.) Are benchmarks for the 9600m gt reliable/universal (or would the AW's specs enhance its performace)?
3.) Given: P8700 2.53ghz, 4gb ddr2, 7200rpm hdd, and 1080 display in both; is the hd 4650 of the new FW worth the loss of 2" and the sleek build of the AW equipped with the 9600m?
4.) Is the above config suitable for adobe's cs4 products, orange box, ut3, sixth gen console emulators, and occasionally wow all in high settings?..................
So ensuring i didnt get a defective device and while i'm still within my 14 day return period I was wondering if other people with the FW series (I have the 465J) version have a little give on the piece on the laptop where you plug it in to charge (top left of the laptop) and if you press it on the top part of it, it sorta pushes in a little bit. I also noticed its easily scratched as a I have a small scratch right where the the screen touches that part when closing the laptop (look at it from above as you slowly close your screen youll notice a little piece sticking out from the screen that can scratch the power input piece).
After rereading my own post I think people might confuse the power input to the power adapter, I'm referring to the place where you plugin your laptop located on the top left of the laptop near the hinge.
I have a PCG-F580K running Win2k and Ubuntu in a dual-boot config. It runs great for most things I need it for but could use a little more memory. According to Sony, I am maxed out at 256MB but I believe it could take more. The PCG-F580K uses the 440BX chipset, which accepts 256MB modules, but only certain low density types. These should theoretically be the same ones used by Thinkpads of the same vintage. I will point you to [url] for reference. Can anyone confirm or deny the ability of my Sony to use 324 or even 512MB of RAM?
View 4 Replies View RelatedI'm trying to determine if owners of Z590s that were purchased after the win7 upgrade start date (6/26) have been able to register for Sony's upgrade program.
View 6 Replies View RelatedIs it me, or do these massive Official VAIO blah Series Owners Threads not work to well?
They're tooo big and very dificult to find things buried in them.
I think forums work better when you have a specific problem and start a new thread on that... then people respond to help in that thread... And the conversation is so much less likely to go off on a tangent...
I.e. use these forums how they are normally used... One thread per subject. Most people are pretty good a adding the model in the subject if it's needed. This should make it a whole lot easier to browse thru and find stuff that it is right now...
I know a few of you have 8800GTX SLI setups right now. What kind of temps do those cards hit under a heavy load such as Crysis? Are any of you overclocking them yet? How many fans does the M1730 have, and how loud are they on high speed?
View 15 Replies View RelatedThe LCD is bright and clear when viewed head-on, but the slightest change in vertical angle causes the brightness and colors to vary like mad, making the system unbearable to use on my lap.
I tried to figure out who made this particular LCD, but the intel graphics driver makes it hard to get the EDID info.
The only thing that sort of worked was MonInfo:
http://www.entechtaiwan.com/util/moninfo.shtm
And that only worked by getting the raw data string from the EDID structure, which indicates the LCD is part number "NU412.
Do you think your card is outdated? Are you having any problems playing any games with it? I'm not asking about the hottest new title games, there are few computers that can play those anyway.
View 8 Replies View RelatedI'm about to pull the trigger on either the 13 or the 16. It's really come down to how well the above to games run for you (those are the two that have me hooked at the moment, so i'll be familiar with how I'm used to it performing compared to your settings).
I'm currently on an Asus G2S-A1 thats overheating like crazy. Time to upgrade. It's specs: 2.2Ghz core 2, 4gb ram, 5400rpm hdd, 8600m-gt 256.
Will the XPS13 with a 2.66ghz, 4gb ram, 7200rpm hdd, and the N10-M 512mb gpu perform equal or better then what I'm currently on? I ask because I'm having trouble finding a comparable benchmark.
This wont be my primary gaming rig, it will be portable entertainment. BUT it does need to be able to run on par with what i have or better to entertain me Should I be happy with the 13 or do you think the 16 would be better. The only reason I'd go with teh 16 is for the Radeon 4670 1gb if the 13 has problems with wow and L4D.
If you play WoW or L4D on the 13 (or even the 16) I would GREATLY appreciate the peace of mind i would get from hearing back what your FPS are and what detail/quality settings you're getting them at.
I'm considering undervolting my Studio XPS 13 that is arriving tomorrow due to the well-known heat issues of that laptop.
I was just wondering if anyone with other Dell laptops (or the Studio XPS 13 ) have undervolted, and if they've run into any problems and how they like it now.