Any new Vaio? Consider Z or wait?

I am comparing a few notebooks, the Sony Vaio Z, the Clevo/Sagers and Lenovo line.

The Sony Vaio Z as good as it is, is missing a few hardware features I want including an eSATA port and it's expensive considering it only has a Nvidia 9300 graphics chip. A Clevo/Sager notebook can be had for around the same price but is way more powerful and has both DVI and HDMI plus eSATA. (Can I compare notebooks in specific manufacturer sections? 'Hope so). So, why would I consider one over the Clevo ones?

But, I doubt I'd game on the notebook. I have a desktop for that. But, I originally preferred the portability. However, the features the notebook has is the number one priority so weight is secondary although a nice bonus if it's available.

Are any newer Sony Vaio lines coming out soon? If so, when and what hardware options are available (if you know)? Will any include eSATA?

I'm wary of the Nvidia hardware issue that is alleged to afflict various notebooks regardless of brand. I don't know if the 9800 mobile series will be included in that group but people say the 9300 is NOT effected but maybe Sony Vaio owners know better or can confirm?

Other than that, maybe I should wait for newer models before making a decision? Maybe the Nvidia problem won't exist for the newer models and maybe they will have options for eSATA? I am interested in eSATA because I tend to store my data on 'external hard drives. I know I can store via the usb port but I like the option of eSATA. Btw, what is it about companies stating 'Vista only?' That makes no sense. ????

Anyway, I know I went off on a tangent but any ideas, opinions or recommendations are welcome. I can't decide yet but that's because I don't know which 'hardware features' to compromise on and whether a less powerful system but with LED backlight screen is worth it.

Comments? Advice?

P.S. I know there are mostly Sony fans here but I have asked in the Sager/Clevo section, too. I thought maybe some ideas might send me in one direction or the other.

 

As you probably know you are comparing a 3kg 15" Sager with a 1.5kg 13" Sony. It makes a huge difference if you travel a lot.

My advice would be to first set your priorities and then make a shortlist. Not the other way around

Do you need to carry it often? If weight isn't that important to you Sony Z doesn't make a lot of sense in my opinion.
Do you want to play games on it? if so what kind. If not, Sager doesn't make a lot of sense in my opinion.
What kind of screensize and resolution do you prefer?

This is why we have the FAQ.

 

Weight might be important. But, no, I won't be lugging it around every day but there are places I would bring it. I don't know if it makes a huge difference. This will be my 1st notebook.

Games are not a priority, just a bonus.

The screen size and resolution is what I'm confused about. I am not sure the diffrence of one v.s. the other in a notebook. The Sony choices are 1366 x 768 and 1600 x 900 or something like that? Probably a 13.3" LED screen.

The Sager/Clevo clone I was looking at (M860TU) has 1680 x 1050.

I would like to watch movies on the screen when I'm not at home. I don't know which one is better but maybe a larger screen is better? Maybe I should consider the other Sony models with 16.4" screen but then we're getting a bit heavier, right? I might connect a LCD monitor to it if I'm at friends' or a relative's residence so the smaller screen might not be an issue. The lighter weight is more appealing in the respect. That's why the priorities overlap and can be cancelled out based on what's available and what hardware options are included.

 

In your situation I'd have a look at 15" and 16" laptops.

To get some proper advice: fill in the FAQ and post it in the 'what should I buy' forum.

 

I think the Sony FW meets your requirements: Awesome screen + Sleek look + Light weight compared to others in its size, oh and they come with ATI HD dedicated gpu for gaming.... (not intensive gaming, but a bonus as you wanted!)

 

You would take the FW over the Z-series?

I doubt I'd watch anything in HD. I have some movies in DVD and .avi format.

I might watch something on the notebook if I'm away from home. I thought I could connect to an external LCD monitor or just watch on the notebook.

What's the difference between the different screens:

Z590 – XBRITE – DuraView – 1600 x 900 resolution (has LED backlight)

FW290 – 2 choices:
XBRITE-ECO – resolution – 1600 x 900
or
XBRITE – FullHD – 1920 x 1080
neither has LED backlight?

Which screen is better and/or more preferable for watching video?

 

It depends. Most widescreen movies are 16:9 format, just like the Vaio Z screens. This makes the movie fill the screen exactly. The unknown brand machine you mention has a 16:10 ratio screen, which means that you'll either (if you're lucky) get a small black bar over and under the video, or (more likely) a video that's stretched, so everybody looks slightly taller and skinnier than they really are, and cars look shorter or longer as they turn a corner.
Some people can live with that, while others can't.

Are you going to use the machine for picture editing or decent quality printing? If so, neither is likely to be a good choice. The Vaio Z has a small colour gamut (in English: can't display or distinguish between many colours visible or distinguishable on better screens), and in addition, a lack of ICC colour profiles. The other laptop is unlikely to be much better, given the price/specs.

Finally, whether you are going to use the machine outdoors or indoors makes a difference too, and even what kind of light you have in your surroundings. The Z has a rather reflective screen, so you may have problems if you sit with a bright lamp behind your shoulder. A laptop with a matte screen (e.g. a Lenovo) would usually be better for that kind of situation. On the other hand, the Vaio Z can be adjusted to be quite bright, so bright daylight except direct sunlight is not a big problem.

The resolution choice -- 1600x900 or 1366x768 matters most in how sharp things will appear. The higher res screen will display things sharper, but will also display images smaller. Text is no problem, because you normally adjust that first thing in the OS, so you'll really just end up with sharper and better defined fonts.

 

I think I might like that - if the movie fills the screen. Right now, I watch movies on a 22" Samsung LCD that has a res of 1680 x 1050. I often get the two black bars (one above and one below) even if I change the setting to the media player to be full-screen.

Probably not. I'm curious, though. What/Which laptop is better for that?

True. I don't think the reflection and light will be a problem. What I'm after is a high quality screen/picture. Lenovo/IBM were noted for quality constructed notebooks but not so much for the screen. Sony manufacture LCDs so I thought their laptop screens have potential to be better.

Then again, HP manufacture both monitors AND computers but they don't even offer the LED backlight technology (that I know of) in their laptops. Regardless whether they do or not, Sonys have the better rep for HQ screen.

It sounds like teh 16:9 resolution is what I'm after, minimum. I think I can cope with the smaller images. Most of the time there are settings to change the res or increase font/icon size.

Any further comments? Anyone? Thanks for the feedback so far! It helps!

 

I thought two of the selling points of the Z were its colour accuracy and non-reflective screen?

 

Yes you are right. It has one of highest color gamuts of all laptops, except for RGB LED screens.

The screen on the one I had wasn't reflective and perfectly visible in outside light.

I'm surprised that any owner would think different.

 

My experience is very different. I've used a lot of 16:10 laptops with all kinds of players (WMP, VLC, MPC). On default settings I've never seen them stretch a 16:9 file to 16:10. They show the files with small black bars.

Also, very few movies are shot in 16:9. Most movies are shot wider.

 

I second PhilFlow on that, the screen is out of this world. But there is more to like about the Z series. Like weight, power, sturdiness. What it doesn't have is screen size! So if you need that, you should stick with FW or AW Series.

 

I think I need to go see a Vaio Z-series in person. It sounds pretty good overall so I have to see if I really want the portability and can accept the small screen.

I like the specs in the Z and although the graphics chip isn't the greatest, I don't plan on gaming much so I don't need the powerful GPU and there is the integrated Intel X4500 if I really need to switch to that (for battery or whatever).

I like that it has DDR3 RAM and the only drawback besides screen size is that it lacks an eSATA port.

I might even welcome the smaller size and portability, too. I probably would take it out with me if visiting family or friends. I might even have other reasons to take it on the road, too, so it might be ideal. Not sure yet.

I need to find out whether watching video and movies on it is okay on a 13.3 screen. If the quality of the screen and picture is there, then it's just a matter of whether the 13.3 is okay for movie/video watching.

 

The Vaio Z movie/video experience is one of the best i have ever seen on a laptop. The Res and LED make it simply superb.

In my opinion the small screen is more than satisfactory for gaming/movie watching due to the resolution.

 

HDTV signals (eg: ATSC broadcast, such as those you can receive with a portable USB HDTV tuner) are all 16:9 (~1.78:1, usually 1280x720 or 1920x1080) and will fill the Z screen nicely. I don't have a Z yet but I did get to test one out at a local store, and it does in fact play 1080i videos without any lag/skipping -- and the image quality is amazing! On the other hand most Hollywood movies are shot in cinema widescreen ~2.39:1, so on the Z's 1600x900 screen, you will get black bars on top and bottom each 115px wide. Of course with a 16:10 screen, those bars would be even wider.

I too would love to see eSATA on the Z, but you can also think of this: eSATA doesn't supply power, so in order to hook up a HDD you'd need an extra power brick. So unless you're willing to carry extra weight around for the HDD, you probably won't use eSATA while you're on-the-go. When you're back at home or at the office, it should be comparatively convenient to use an ExpressCard/34→eSATA adapter.

 

Not so. Colour intensity should not be confused with accuracy. The Z has an X-BRITE DuraView screen, which is optimized for max colour saturation at the expense of colour correctness. The X-BRITE HiColor (found in some other models) have far more accurate colour gamuts, where the more intense subpixels are reduced in intensity to preserve colour-correctness.
In other words, with the Z, you get bright colours, but not very correct ones. The LED backlight ensures max colour brightness, but ruins colour correctness.

Also note that the colour temperature adjustment has been ripped out of the bundled and crippled nVidia control, making it almost impossible to properly calibrate the screen. The white point is at about 9300 K (D93), which is standard for high contrast office work, where you normally would want it at around 6500 K (D65) for picture work. But, more importantly, the white point being at D93 instead of D65 means that even though the gamut is "100% of NTSC", it is shifted so far towards cold colours that while the amount of colours is undoubtedly 100% of NTSC (but not of AdobeRGB), they're the wrong colours.

To check how inaccurate the colours are, compare a standard Gretag McBeth colour card with a PDF or TIFF of the same displayed on the Z. It will be an eye-opener. The colours sure are bright, but inaccurately so. Open the nVidia control panel and reduce the contrast and gamma, and the overall result will improve, but the colour correctness is still no better than your average laptop, and in many cases worse due to the exaggerated saturation.

The Vaio Z is great for presentations, office work and the occasional movie (if you reduce the ridiculously high contrast), but not photo work or accurate printouts.

Using a Vaio Z for Photoshop is like trying to recreate the works of Rembrandt using Day-Glo colours.

As for the special coating on the DuraView screens, it does indeed reduce reflection, but is primarily meant to reduce scratches. The Z's display is still no match for true matte screens when it comes to non-reflectivity. Compare it to, say, a typical Lenovo laptop and you'll see what I mean.

 

Thank you! This info is interesting. I never thought about the ExpressCard option. I am not sure how it would work. For my desktop, I use an external drive (well, internal drive in an enclosure) via usb (even though eSATA is an option for it) without any troubles. I am just using it for storage so usb will be okay. But, that ExpressCard option sounds intriguing.

The Sony Z is sounding more appealing and just the price seems to be the only drawback. My other contenders are all cheaper including the Thinkpad T400 which when configured with DDR3 RAM and the 14:9 LED screen is comparable although perhaps not as ideal, it is nonetheless, cheaper. I need to go check out a Z myself!

 

That may be true but I am not looking for a notebook to do major photo editing or photoshop work. Laptops that have all the features I'm looking for plus offering a matte LCD screen are far and few between. Most are glossy screens whether we like it or not. Glossy screens as I understand it are preferable for watching movies anyway. I am not going to use this notebook outside much and I think I can control the lighting conditions sufficiently to cut down or limit the reflection. We shall see. If I am wrong here, by all means point it out but I think the chances of finding the ideal laptop with a matte screen will be extremely difficult.

Please recommend a notebook, though, if you think the Vaio Z should not be a contender. I'm still looking/considering...

 

True -- most movies from the US are in 1.85:1 (37:20) format, which is slightly wider than 16:9. However, widescreen DVD and TV is 16:9, and that'll likely cover most every movie you'll see.
I have rarely seen a digital movie in 1.85:1 format. It will almost invariably be cropped or letterboxed to 16:9.

The new Vaio coming out next week is interesting, though. It may be able to show 70mm (11:5) movies almost without letterboxing. Hopefully there will be video software for it that allows correct zooming when a 70mm movie has been letterboxed in 16:9.

 

Oh, I think the Z is excellent for watching movies (as long as you reduce the contrast). 16:9 and a video card that handles HDTV resolutions is great.

Other contenders? Well, Asus have a couple of models in the G series that have truly excellent screen quality. The are big and heavy, though, and the battery life sucks.

The rule seems to be: Battery life, image quality, size and price, pick any two.