Competition in the ultraportable notebook PC market has been escalating in recent years, all the more so since netbooks failed to capture a significant share of the market. Sony’s latest offering — the Vaio Z Series — might be lightweight in literal terms but it’s a serious heavyweight when it comes to performance.
For starters, Sony’s new Vaios have Intel’s latest Core i5 and i7 processors doing the grunt work. The model we reviewed, the top-end Vaio Z217, features the higher-performing of the two chips (a 2,7GHz i7-2620M with “Turbo Boost” technology that takes the clock speed to 3,4GHz), along with 8GB of DDR3 RAM and two 128GB solid-state drives (SSD) in Raid 0 configuration, all of which translates into a boot time of about 20 seconds and incredible responsiveness, even when running multiple, processor-heavy applications.
The two most striking things about the Vaio Z are its weight, or lack thereof, and its screen. Weighing less than 1,2kg, the Vaio is unbelievably light. In fact, it’s astoundingly light — so light you’d be forgiven for thinking it a toy.
The Vaio’s TFT, LED back-lit screen is equally jaw-dropping. At 13,1 inches with a resolution of 1920×1080, we at first thought it was as Amoled screen, so vibrant, crisp and detailed are the images it produces.
As expected, the Vaio includes the usual selection of connection ports, including Ethernet, HDMI, audio in/out, VGA and two USB ports, one of which supports the new 3.0 standard and doubles as a Thunderbolt port (Sony calls it Light Peak). It also includes two card readers, one for SD cards and the other for proprietary Sony cards.
The keyboard on the Z217 is arguably the best we’ve used on a laptop. Its low-profile keys are both responsive and quiet, resulting in a typing experience that beats, dare we say it, even Apple’s finest offerings.
However, the same can’t quite be said of the Vaio’s trackpad. Don’t get us wrong, the trackpad is excellent: it supports gestures, it’s pleasingly textured — which isn’t something you see often — and it’s suitably responsive. But it could have been bigger.
Still, nitpicking aside, the Z217 isn’t meant for the freelance writer tapping out columns in a coffee shop. Rather, it’s a potent and ultraportable device meant for those who require intensive computing power. And intense it is. In an effort to test the Vaio’s limits, we installed the game Crysis 2 and still achieved a reasonable frame rate, helped by an Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 256MB of video RAM.
Being an ultraportable, the Vaio has no built-in optical drive, but Sony supplies an external high-performance Blu-ray drive of similarly sleek design that includes — wait for it — an integrated AMD Radeon HD 6650M graphics accelerator with 1GB of DDR3 video RAM. When plugged into the laptop, the machine uses the Radeon to power the display — Crysis 2 ran smoothly at 1080p with all sets cranked up to the maximum.
It’s essentially a computer in its own right and includes a USB port, a USB 3.0/Light Peak port, Ethernet port, full-sized HDMI output and a VGA connector. Both it and the laptop can be charged via a daisy-chain power connection arrangement. The 685g optical drive docking station can also be used without the computer to play Blu-ray movies on a high-definition and even supports 3D playback via the HDMI port.
The only problem with the drive/docking station is that it’s another piece of gear to carry, but then the idea is you don’t have to take it with you but have access to it should you require it. It’s best left on a desk at the office or at home — especially since its power supply uses an ungainly and bulky transformer block.
TechCentral’s Craig Wilson looks at the Vaio Z217 (via YouTube):
If there’s any complaint to be levelled against the Vaio, it’s that it isn’t the quietest beast. That’s not to say it’s noisy, because it isn’t, but it’s not quite Apple quiet either. This is due to the fan required to cool its mammoth innards.
As amazing as the new Vaio is, what’s even more staggering is its price. The top of the range model will set you back 30 grand including VAT. The Z217 is not for the faint of heart or slim of wallet: it’s for the professional who demands unrivalled power and performance, regardless of the price. If you’re that sort of person, you may just have found your next laptop. — Craig Wilson, TechCentral
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