Sony VAIO FZ Review

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by Jerry Jackson

The Sony VAIO FZ is the latest family of sleek, solid performance notebooks from Sony. With available Blu-ray disc drive, available HDMI video output, a reasonably tough build, clean looks, and enough processing muscle to handle a variety of needs, the VAIO FZ promises to be your mobile entertainment solution.

The VAIO FZ is available with a full range of Core 2 Duo processors (from the Intel T7100 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo up to the T7700 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo). The only screen offering is the 15.4&quot; WXGA but the notebook can take up to 4GB of RAM. Built-in wireless 802.11 a/b/g/n is standard.

Our review version of the FZ, priced starting at $1,199.99 with Intel graphics, has the following specifications:

• Screen: 15.4-inch screen WXGA (1280 x 800) with XBRITE-ECO (glossy finish)
• Processor: 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300
• Hard Drive: 200 GB hard drive (SATA, 4200RPM)
• Memory: 2GB RAM (PC5300, 667 MHz, DDR2 SDRAM) -- 4GB max memory
• Optical Drive: DVD+-R Double layer / DVD+-RW Drive (Blu-ray drive optional)
• Ports and Slots: Three USB 2.0, one FireWire 400 port, one ExpressCard 34, one S-Video, one VGA, one MemoryStick Pro reader, one SD card reader, headphone / line-out, microphone-in, modem, 10/100 Ethernet
• Wireless: Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
• Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 (NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT available)
• Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
• Dimensions: 14.0&quot; x 10.2&quot; x 1.4&quot; (Width x Depth x Height)
• Weight: 5.75 pounds

(view large image)

Build and Design

The overall first impression that one has when looking at the FZ series is that this notebook was designed to look clean and simple. From the matte black and silver plastics to the flat keyboard keys the FZ is a design that lacks the flashiness of the glossy, multi-colored notebooks that have become so popular in recent years. While some consumers will find the design a little boring, I consider the Spartan design elements to be quite attractive ... and less obnoxious than some of the &quot;look at me, I'm so cool&quot; glossy designs.

The lid of the VAIO FZ also has a nice matte finish with the VAIO lettering in a polished silver material. After opening the lid and seeing the black plastic interior and rounded brushed aluminum surface of the FZ you'll notice how this thin notebook has a remarkably solid build. The entire case is sturdy with relatively thick plastic and magnesium alloy reinforcement in just the right places. There are no creaks or signs of case flex anywhere to be found.

(view large image)

The VAIO FZ lid does not have a latch to hold it closed, but the hinge mechanism works well and firmly holds the lid in place. There is almost no flex to the screen lid unless you apply significant (as in way more pressure than you should) force.

Sony officially classifies the VAIO FZ as a “thin-and-light” notebook. While the 1.4&quot; thickness is certainly thin, the weight of 5.75 pounds isn't particularly “light” by today’s standards. Still, given the fact we're talking about a notebook with a 15.4&quot; screen, the weight is hardly an issue.

Performance and Benchmarks

The Core 2 Duo processors that come with the VAIO FZ-series provide more than enough performance, even at the 1.8GHz low-end of the T7100. The 2.0GHz T7300 processor in our review unit packs an impressive punch … despite the fact that our FZ isn't equipped with a dedicated graphics option. The 3DMark05 benchmarks are low at first glance, but this is due to the fact that our FZ uses the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 (Intel 965 chipset) which shares the notebook’s system memory. The available NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT dedicated graphics would have performed significantly better.

Super Pi comparison results:

Notebook	Time
Sony VAIO FZ (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300)	0m 59s
Dell XPS M1330 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300)	0m 58s
Lenovo ThinkPad X61 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300)	1m 01s
Lenovo 3000 V200 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300)	0m 59s
HP dv2500t (1.80GHz Intel 7100)	1m 09s
Lenovo ThinkPad T61 (2.00GHz Core 2 Duo Intel T7300)	0m 59s
Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.00GHz Core 2 Duo T7200)	1m 03s
Toshiba Satellite P205-S6287 (1.73 GHz Core 2 Duo Intel T5300)	1m 24s
Toshiba Satellite A205 (1.66GHz Core 2 Duo)	1m 34s
HP Compaq 6515b (1.6GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-52)	2m 05s
HP dv6000t (2.16 GHz Intel T2400)	0m 59s
Dell Inspiron e1705 (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo)	1m 02s

PCMark05 comparison results:

Notebook	PCMark05 Score
Sony VAIO FZ (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	3,377 PCMarks
Dell XPS M1330 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS)	4,591 PCMarks
Lenovo ThinkPad X61 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	4,153 PCMarks
Lenovo 3000 V200 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	3,987 PCMarks
Lenovo T60 Widescreen (2.0GHz Intel T7200, ATI X1400 128MB)	4,189 PCMarks
HP dv6000t (2.16GHz Intel T7400, NVIDA GeForce Go 7400)	4,234 PCMarks
Fujitsu N6410 (1.66GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400)	3,487 PCMarks
Alienware M7700 (AMD Athlon FX-60, Nvidia Go 7800GTX)	5,597 PCMarks
Sony Vaio SZ-110B in Speed Mode (Using Nvidia GeForce Go 7400)	3,637 PCMarks
Asus V6J (1.86GHz Core Duo T2400, Nvidia Go 7400)	3,646 PCMarks

3DMark05 comparison results:

Notebook	3D Mark 05 Results
Sony VAIO FZ (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	910 3DMarks
Dell XPS M1330 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS 128MB)	3,116 3DMarks
HP Compaq 6510b (2.20GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, Intel X3100)	916 3DMarks
HP Compaq 6515b (1.6GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-52, ATI x1270)	871 3DMarks
HP dv6000t (2.16 GHz Intel T7400, NVIDA GeForce Go 7400)	2,013 3D Marks
Dell Inspiron e1705 (2.0GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400)	1,791 3D Marks
Acer TravelMate 8204WLMi (2.0GHz Core Duo, ATI X1600 256MB)	4,236 3DMarks
Alienware Aurora M-7700(AMD Dual Core FX-60, ATI X1600 256MB)	7,078 3D Marks
Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.0GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400 128MB)	2,092 3D Marks
Asus V6Va (2.13 GHz Pentium M, ATI x700 128 MB)	2,530 3D Marks
Fujitsu n6410 (1.66 GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400 128MB)	2,273 3DMarks
Dell XPS M1210 (2.16 GHz Core Duo, nVidia Go 7400 256MB)	2,090 3D Marks

3DMark06 comparison results:

Notebook	3DMark06 Score
Sony VAIO FZ (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	532 3DMarks
Dell XPS M1330 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS 128MB)	1,408 3DMarks
Samsung Q70 (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 and nVidia 8400M G GPU)	1,069 3DMarks
Asus F3sv-A1 (Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0GHz, Nvidia 8600M GS 256MB)	2,344 3DMarks
Alienware Area 51 m5550 (2.33GHz Core 2 Duo, nVidia GeForce Go 7600 256MB	2,183 3DMarks
Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Xi 1526 (1.66 Core Duo, nVidia 7600Go 256 MB)	2,144 3DMarks
Samsung X60plus (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7200, ATI X1700 256MB)	1,831 3DMarks
Asus A6J (1.83GHz Core Duo, ATI X1600 128MB)	1,819 3DMarks
HP dv6000t (2.16 GHz Intel T7400, NVIDA GeForce Go 7400)	827 3DMarks
Sony Vaio SZ-110B in Speed Mode (Using Nvidia GeForce Go 7400)	794 3DMarks
Samsung R20 (1.73GHz T2250 and ATI 1250M chipset / GPU)	476 3DMarks

 

Screen

The 15.4&quot; glossy screen is a WXGA 1280 x 800 beauty with rich color and excellent contrast. The display features fairly bright and even backlighting with eight levels of brightness. Horizontal viewing angles are excellent, but the vertical viewing angles weren't as good. If the screen is tilted just slightly forward or back parts of the screen “wash out” or colors begin to invert ... making it all but impossible to see low contrast details.

Keyboard, Touchpad and Other Input Buttons

The keyboard on the VAIO FZ is quite nice if you don't mind flat keys. The keyboard itself has almost no flex, keys have minimal travel with excellent cushion and response, and there are dedicated keys for home, end, page up, and page down.

(view large image)

The touchpad is nice and large with a very usable and responsive surface. The mouse buttons are likewise nicely sized. The touchpad buttons have slightly shallow feedback and produce very noisy clicks.

The VAIO FZ also features dedicated media buttons above the keyboard and beneath the speakers. The media buttons make watching DVDs or listening to music files as easy as using a DVD or CD player. Next to the media buttons is a dedicated “AV Mode” quicklaunch button that lets you activate the media player functions without booting Windows. At least, that's what the AV Mode button does in theory. We received two FZ units from Sony and neither one had a functioning AV Mode button. The first review unit simply booted up Windows Vista when we pressed the AV Mode button. When we press the AV Mode button on our second review unit we get a black screen with an ugly DOS-style message (pictured below). At first we thought it might be an issue with our review units, but several new FZ owners reported in our forum that their AV Mode buttons don't work either.

The power and media buttons ... including the AV Mode button that does nothing. (view large image)

The DOS-like error message that pops up when you press the AV Mode button. (view large image)

Input and Output Ports

Let's take a quick tour around the port offerings of the VAIO FZ:

Front side: Nothing here except the wireless on/off switch and the two media card readers. (view large image)

Back side: Nothing except the battery, the Ethernet port, and the modem port. (view large image)

Bottom view: Here you'll find access to the memory slots, some well-placed vents, the battery release switch, and the battery lock switch. (view large image)

Left side: Kensington lock slot, heat vent, a blank slot (obviously designed for HDMI), S-Video, VGA out, a USB port, FireWire 400, and an ExpressCard34 slot. (view large image)

Right side:  Headphone and microphone ports, two USB ports, optical drive, and DC jack. (view large image)

Although the port selection is pretty good, a 15.4&quot; notebook really should have at least four USB ports rather than just three. In addition, I still don't understand why Sony includes a separate reader for the MemoryStick Pro card and another reader for the SD card. Every other manufacturer uses a single 5-in-1 memory card slot that reads SD/xD/MMC/MemoryStick type cards. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that Sony wants to draw attention to their proprietary memory card format.

Audio

The VAIO FZ has stereo sound via speakers located above the keyboard. With the speakers located on the top of the interior in this way they tend to direct the sound at you and make for a reasonably enjoyable listening experience. While the built-in speakers aren’t the best that I’ve heard in a notebook of this size, the sound they produce has good clarity and loudness despite the almost complete lack of bass. The headphone jack is located on the right side (a less than ideal location for people who like to plug in external speakers while using the optical drive and/or an external mouse).

Heat and Noise

The VAIO FZ runs extremely quiet with the 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo processor. Still, even though the fan is silent it kept heat under control. The bottom center area gets a bit warm, but temperatures remained comfortable enough to keep the FZ on the lap. Temperatures are likely kept within acceptable limits thanks to a rather large copper heatsink visible through the vent on the left side of the FZ.

As mentioned, the system fan is quiet when running. You have to put your ear down at desk level to hear it over any other ambient noise in the room. Despite the lack of noise the fan pushes out a significant amount of heat … enough to make your hand uncomfortable if you put your left hand next to the vent during benchmarking.

Battery

Battery life on the FZ was far from impressive. Even with the screen brightness set to less than half, wireless on, and Vista power settings set to maximize battery life, the FZ powered down in less than 3 hours (2 hours and 52 minutes). While I'm sure it's possible to get more battery life by turning the screen brightness all the way down and turning off the wireless, this isn't particularly useful for a modern notebook. Of course, Sony offers a high-capacity, long-life battery for the FZ if you're interested in longer battery life.

Software

Sony includes some useful and not so useful bloatware with the VAIO FZ. Here's a short list of some of the highlights:

• AOL
• AOL Pictures
• AOL Video
• AIM 6.0
• Click to DVD - Sony DVD creation software
• Sony SonicStage Media Player
• 30-Day Trial Version of Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI
• Microsoft Works 8.5
• 60-Day Trial Version of Microsoft Office 2003
• Norton Internet Security 60-Day Trial
• Napster
• VAIO Security Center
• VAIO Productivity Center
• VAIO Entertainment Center

While none of these applications are horrible and some are even helpful, many of these applications are hogging system resources when you startup the FZ for the first time and experienced users will likely want to uninstall most of this bloatware.

Conclusion

The Sony VAIO FZ is a nice looking notebook with a solid set of features that are sure to appeal to people looking for a full-featured notebook with clean lines. While the entry-level version of the FZ with integrated Intel graphics lacks the power for serious gaming, even the Intel chipset provides enough performance for a mobile multimedia center. The optional NVIDIA graphics, blu-ray and HDMI make the FZ a perfect HD powerhouse. If Sony could only find a way to fix the annoying AV Mode button error, remove some of the bloatware, and improve battery life the FZ would be nearly perfect.

Pros

• Simple design with clean looks
• Fast Core 2 Duo processors and up to 4GB of RAM provide plenty of system performance
• Screen has excellent horizontal viewing angles
• Solid build quality and sturdiness
• Stays cool and makes little noise
• Good keyboard if you don't mind flat keys

Cons

• Useless AV button
• Too much bloatware installed
• Poor battery life
• Only three USB ports.

 

First post in this one! Great review Jerry, I have checked out the FZ in person a few times and find it to be reasonably well built and surprisingly thin myself. The keyboard is a big improvement over say the SZ's. That is rediculous about the A/V button though, maybe there is an option for a ready boot feature that bi-passes windows for DVDs and Music like very other manufacturer has that was not including in this unit under review or simply will come later on? Atleast Sony only included three things from AOL instead of everything AOL makes like the C and N series come with.

 

I'm considering getting this laptop, although with an 8400 GT.
Could you get some temperature readings, if you can?

Btw, great review. Pics looks superb.

 

Good review. The PCMark05 score is much lower than for the Lenovo T7300 / X3100 models. Something is pulling it down. Is it the 4200rpm HDD? The 3DMark results are in the right range.

Personally, I don't like the cluster of ports at the front of the right side - they get in the way of a mouse.

The photos have a blue tint. What is the true colour of the notebook?

John

 

Very pale gray/silver over all. In person the black around the keyboard looks more like a very dark ebony gray to me.

 

An FZ review was long overdue.Thanks Jerry for a nice review of a fantastic laptop.
But wish you had reviewed the one having nVidia graphics.

 

We wish we could have reviewed an FZ unit with the nVidia graphics and blu-ray as well. Unfortunately, we can only review what we receive.

We could have waited until a review unit with nVidia and blu-ray was available, but that would have delayed the review even more and we know there are plenty of people interested in the FZ.

 

nice notebook nice notebook

 

No Gigabit ethernet? And that volume / media control wheel reminds me too much of an my iPod, and it just looks weird on the notebook.

 

Why offer Blu-Ray and then only a 1280x800 WXGA option!?

 

I agree, that is pretty stupid actually.

 

I suppose most people interested in watching HD content want something bigger than a 15.4" screen ... so the HDMI out port allows you to use your FZ as a mobile blu-ray player.

Still, I agree that if you're going to offer a blu-ray or HD-DVD drive on a notebook it really should have a display capable of 1080p resolution.

 

I'm guessing their thinking is that people will use the HDMI to output to a better display. It is somewhat misleading that Sony touts it as a "high-def" display, but all the manufacturers are doing that these days.

It's refreshing to see the price on this VAIO notebook be competitive with other machines. In days gone this seems like something Sony would have slapped a $1,400 price tag on. With rebates I've seen this notebook as low as $1,099.

 

Just a shame sony dont offer higher resolution screens...

 

I am considering this laptop instead of the Dell 1520, but I have some questions:

Would blu-ray dvds still look great at 1280x800 on this laptop?

Does it have blue-tooth capability?

 

Blu-ray discs will still look better than a standard DVD on the FZ's display, but you won't be seeing the true quality that blu-ray is capable of on a 1280x800 screen.

Yes, the FZ comes with bluetooth ... at least it does according to the official specs. We didn't have any bluetooth devices on hand to test with the FZ when it was in our office for review.

 

how is this screen compare to hp's dv6500t?

 

I think I've read that the A/V mode works if you build one with integrated graphics. Maybe I'm just going crazy.

 

That may be the case based on what some forum members have said, but we never received a clear response on the issue directly from Sony.

All I can say is that the first review unit (one with nVidia graphics) booted up Windows when I pressed the AV Mode button. The second review unit (with Intel graphics) gave me the DOS-looking error message posted in the review.

Still, there's a larger issue here. The AV Mode button still exists on FZ units with the nVidia graphics configuration. Since Sony has gone to some length to advertise the AV Mode in other VAIO notebooks, people expect the AV Mode button to work properly (to boot up the AV Mode quicklaunch application).

If Sony knew the AV Mode wasn't going to work with nVidia graphics then they needed to make a second version of the keyboard top plate that doesn't have the AV Mode button.

If you buy a car without all the extras your car doesn't come with the buttons and labels for all the extras you didn't buy ... it's just a blank section of your dashboard.

 

On sony's website it says that the AV mode is not available if you select a blu-ray drive model.

Go to the specifications tab and look at the footnote for the AV Mode:
http://b2b.sony.com/Solutions/product/VGN-FZ190N5

I don't really care about the AV Mode not working. It just isn't a big deal to me to have that capability.

 

You make a good point.

Sony has been accused of hiding this detail in the fine print, as I think is their intention.

This wouldn't be as big of a problem with a budget laptop. But with a company known for expensive quality, I agree, this is unacceptable.

 

So hopefully you can do another review when you do get a unit with nVidia and blu-ray
Not too many blu-ray laptops have been reviewed you see.

 

I'll be the odd ball here and say that I was not impressed by this machine when I looked at it at Best Buy. I couldn't find any reason to pick it up over an HP 6500t, save for maybe the fact that it doesn't pick up fingerprints. I especially didn't like the feel of the keyboard. My 3 year old HP ZT3000 has a nicer keyboard IMO.

 

15.4 inch + 1280 max res = FAIL

Shame more mainstream manufacturers don't grasp this little concept.

 

hehe... sorry, but how do u think a 1080p resolution would be on a 15,4" screen? ^ ^
Think about it and then maybe u change ur mind!
1280x800 is moore than enough to watch 1080i or 720p. Even on 42-50" screen it´s prooven hard to se the difference between 1080i and 1080p!
Only reason (making big backup copies aside)a 15,4" laptop has blu-ray or hd-dvd is for watching movies on bigger external screens!

 

But they could have at least offered WSXGA

 

The FZ keyboard takes a while getting used to because of its flat keys.
But once you are accustomed to it, it feels much better than any other conventional keyboard.

 

Great review JerryJ, thanks !

Here are some readings for you guys from an FZ with a T7100, a 128mb 8400GT, and updated Nvidia drivers:

PCMark05: 4353
3DMark06: 1705

Processor core temp. during idle/low workload between 21 and 31 degrees Celsius, and the highest reading i've got stressed (just for a few moments, usually it's around 37 degrees) is 41 degrees Celsius.

I have used mine for over a month now on a daily bases, and I just love it, even the keyboard

If you want to know more about performance etc. of different versions of the FZ may i suggest the Sony Vaio FZ users thread? There's 60 pages of user info for you right there.

 

is there any whine from CPU ?

 

Why is your 3dMark score so low? I've seen others with 2300-2500.

 

Guys,

I'm in doubt about 3 notebooks...

SONY VAIO VGN-FZ190N4 (+1gb memory, + NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT)
HP PAVILION dv6575us
COMPAQ 8510p (+1gb memory)

I was quite buying the Sony, but now, after read Pavilion's review, I don't know what to do!!

I read all these models' reviews but I don't know how to decide. I will use it, basically, to work and I dont usually play games.

Which is the best choice?

Thnx

 

I Have a FZ190N4 Too, I Have A Problem.
I Can Not Install Windows XP On My NoteBook.
It Cannot Detect My HardDisk.
Can You Help Me?
I Will Open New Thread,Answer It There.
Thanks.

 

^ You need to slipstream SATA driver into your XP installation disc AFIAK, otherwise XP disc cannot see HDD on santa rosa laptops. I think more details can be found somewhere in this forum.

From that list, FZ or 8510P. FZ has better LCD, while 8510 has better keyboard. Despite the positive review of Pavillion here, I wouldn't recommend that laptop - build IMO isn't great, and its GPU is significantly underpowerd compared to other two.

 

I was a little taken aback by the post from "bi4re" regarding a problem installing Windows XP. I was searching this forum and joined so that I could get advice on the following:

I need to purchase a new laptop for work and am kind of partial to Sony VAIO products as I've had good experiences with them in the past. This will not be a gaming machine, but it will need to run image processing software that is currently only XP compatible (and no Vista patches or upgrades are likely to be available for some time --- I checked with the software publisher).

That said, I have been considering a VAIO BX760 or an FZ. I like the modularity of the BX series (optical drives are swappable, easy to upgrade HDs, etc), but like the slimness of the FZ (but the HD is abysmally slow!). Since I can still get a BX with XP and "bi4re" had problems replacing Vista with XP, should I just go for the BX?

Anyone have any experience with the new BX760 series? I've had a hard time finding opinions, although the specs look good...

Any other opinions? I need:
Windows XP Pro
2GB RAM (with ability to expand to 4GB)
100+ GB HD (at least 5400 rpm, preferably 7200 rpm)
15.4" widescreen
Decent graphics card
Durability and style are a plus (which is why I prefer Sony!)

Thanks!

 

Hmm...

This week I was looking for other options and I've found the Lenovo 3000 N200

Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 (2GHz, 4MBL2, 800MHzFSB) with
Genuine Windows Vista Business (0769A8U)

* 15.4 inches WSXGA+ VibrantView TFT with integrated camera LCD Glossy (1680x1050) (Silver)
* 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 with Turbo Cache
* 1GB PC2-5300DDR2 SDRAM
* 160GB, 5400rpm Serial ATA
* 8X Max DVD Recordable (Dual Layer) PATA Fixed Media Bay drive
* Integrated fingerprint reader
* Bluetooth Version 2.0 + EDR, Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN
* Dimensions Width 14.2" x Depth 10.5" x Height 1.24"
* 6 Cell Lithium-Ion Battery
* 1 year Customer Carry-in Repair​

This Lenovo has everything that I want and it is cheaper comparing with all others... (it is a little bit uglier, at least in photos) but it has bluetooth, camera, high resolution and fingerprint!

What do you think? It is comparative with FZ or 8510p?

 

Hi Ibreno. You can't go wrong with either Sony FZ190E,If you travel alot ,go for Sony CR models.I have FZ190E,regardless it has only 1080x800 Res.but it looks impresive with blue ray movies,I don't really think it matters of res/higher than 1080x800(which can handle 720P/1080i).Mine has no problems with AV/Button, Just few ckicks in control panel,and it woks like a charm. GoodLuck and Have fun .

 

the point of the av button was to not run windows.

not to bring up media player.

 

I know what you mean,but I think it'll take much more than the player to dig into programs/files without physically run the HDR. But, you know
extra is always good,Right??? Cheer!!!

 

Hi Jerry. This is a awesome review.Since you have so much knowledge about this laptop,I hope you don't mind if I have 1 question,
I 'm trying to set up a Ready boot flash drive for my laptop FZ140E,
Do you think I can use a Sony Micro Vault Flash drive for this? I Appreciated.

 

I just got one of these at my local Micro Center for $1699, with the Nvidia 8400M GT and Blueray HD DVD-RW drive too, overall I am very happy with it although I may get the WD Scorpio 250GB 5400 rpm HDD and use the included 200Gig 4200 rpm HDD on an external enclosure for backup purposes only, the other thing I do not like like on my X205-9349 I got 2 weeks ago both had way too much bloat ware it will take me a couple of hours uninstalling all of the useless software or should I say garbage hhmm crappp!!.

 

I enjoy this laptop but recently one om my keys broke and i have to press little harder then the others and it gets annoying. rather then sending it away and paying a repair fee, i would like to know if i could lift the keyboard up myself and how to see what the problem is

 

Beautiful and intelligent gift from my wife Thanks for the gift and thanks to Sony for launching such an excellent product.

 

Hi All,

I am going to buy a notebook soon and amongst my choices I have shortlisted the following SONY VAIO FZ VGN-FZ25GN which was introduced recently in India :

http://www.sony.co.in/product/vgn-fz25gn?site=hp_en_IN_i

Could some one please confirm whether the AV button problem and some whizzing sound problem,about which I have been hearing in this and some other forums,has been solved in this new model or not ?

Thanks in advance,

Regards.

 

Even I want to know answer to this whine or whizzing problem .

 

Nope, not on my FZ-190, with X3100

 

Hi to everyone. First post for me... and a question.
Does VGN-FZ21S (or VGN-FZ21Z) have the HDMI 1.3?
On the website this in not clear, they only say HDMI...
Anyone tested it with an AV receiver via HMDI 1.3 in Blu-ray with DTS-HD multichannel audio tracks?
thanks.
F

 

Hey guys. I'm new here. So please, be easy

I just purchased the VAIO FZ240E (core 2 duo 2ghz, 2gb). Performance wise, it's great! My ONLY complaint about it is the fan noise. I get a high pitched ringing noise when the fan starts up. And this is how it sounded out the box a week ago when I purchased it.

I read the FZ review on here by JerryJ. He wrote, " The VAIO FZ runs extremely quiet with the 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo processor. Still, even though the fan is silent it kept heat under control. " Well, this sadly is not my experience. In a quiet room the fan could be heard across the room. The noise is very obtrusive.

I called Sony. They had me change my power mgmt and try out the different options. And though the fan isn't always on when in 'power saver' and 'balanced' modes, it is when on high performance (the mode I need it to be in).

I'm wondering, is the fan suppose to sound this way? Or is my definition of "silent" different from JerryJ's?

I'm taking the VAIO to a near-by Sony authorized diagnostics place and find out if this is the way it's suppose to sound.

If anyone here has suffered VAIO FZ fan noise, please share thoughts, experiences and solutions with me.

Thanks guys

 

hi i have just bought this machine
VGN-FZ25GN and downgraded to windos xp from vista..
i am facing some problem after installation of drivers which was available on the sony-asia web site...
i installed them as mentioned in the document...
but still i am not able to do these things
1) cannot hear sound... i added the kb patch and then installed the audio.exe but its giving me error like "device object not present"
2) camera is not working
3) power management do not reduce the brightness of the screen... which is making hell for me looking at the screen... its showing brightest and i can look at it for long time...
if any one has installed these drivers successfully then please please help me

waiting for the reply
thanks
gaurav

 

also one thing... i created my own windows xp CD after adding SATA drivers which prevented me to spend on buying a new external floppy drive....
i hope this is not the reason of the problem which i am facing...
thanks

 

walla..

now its working...
i installed kb888111 patch and then let the system search for the driver.....
earlier i was double clickin on the device deriver' exe...
now windows has installed it from the drivers amongs the provided by sony...
Camera has also started working now...
brightness is still a problem for me
cud any one please tell my what sud i try for this

thanks
gaurav