Full Vaio Z2 Review and Useful Guides/Resources

Sony Vaio Z2 Review

Note: I have the Z2 with the Intel Core i5-2310M CPU @ 2.5ghz, 4GB RAM, 2x128GB Gen2 SSD and 1600x900 screen. I’m running on a fresh copy of Windows 7 Ultimate x64.

Build Quality/Design
The Z2 is undeniably thin and light, but since I’ve been spoiled by previous generation Z’s, when I first got it, it didn’t feel that light; but in comparison, it is quite a bit lighter at 2.57lbs versus 3.5lbs.

The build quality compared to the previous Vaio Z is also much better. The chassis feels much more solid and I can hold it with one hand at a corner while moving it up and down without any flex. On previous generation Z’s this was sort of an issue, as the chassis felt kind of plastic instead of the solid feel you get from the carbon fiber. However, the hinge doesn’t feel as sturdy as the rest of the laptop. It creaks a bit when you open and close it and sometimes, it pops disconcertingly if there’s pressure being applied and you try to open it. Also, you get the typical Sony flex in the screen, and yes, I know that it makes the laptop better withstand impacts/abuse, but honestly, it just doesn’t feel right.

Compared to the Macbook Air, it doesn’t feel as solid, partly in due to the weird hinge design and partly because of the flimsy feeling screen. Also, there’s just this general creakiness that I didn’t like very much. Basically, I just got the feeling that I would have to be pretty careful with this laptop, just like with the older Z’s. In contrast, with the MBA, I felt like I could really throw it around and it would be fine – but this is just a feeling.

Looks

Again, I’ve been spoiled by previous generation Z’s, which have always been lauded for their looks. But obviously, this one’s a looker; it’s just a matter of taste. The finish (that nice soft, matte black color) inside the laptop feels especially premium, as one would expect. So I would assume black is probably the best choice of color here, especially for that understated, simple, yet elegantly sexy look you get from the Z.

It doesn’t look as thin as the Macbook Air because of its non-tapered design, but in reality, it actually is thinner (0.6in all the way through compared to 0.68in at the MBA’s thickest point). However, it definitely looks more expensive (rightly so).

Keyboard/trackpad/buttons

The keyboards on the old Z and the MBA are definitely easier to get used to at first (though the keys on the Z2 are better spaced vs the Z1). Why? Because the keys travel so little, so you really have press quite a bit harder on them (see the picture below that shows just how low the keys actually are). But as you get used to typing on this keyboard, you'll probably end up liking it more and more (in the end, I'd have to say the Z2 is more comfortable to type on than the MBA). This is probably because the keys feel really solid, firm, and springy, even with the small amount of key travel. They also make a very nice clicking sound though when pressed and keyboard flex is minimal. And of course the backlighting is nice; it’s just this ugly, mucky yellow color.

The trackpad is fine but I honestly don’t like it as much as the old Z’s. The surface is nicely textured, but there’s no separator between the glass buttons and the actual touchpad (and boy do I hate these buttonless trackpads). It’s very responsive though (more so than the one on the MBA), but it’s a bit small for my taste. 2-finger scrolling is fine, but not as smooth as the MBA. Between the 2 buttons lies a fingerprint sensor, which, unfortunately, isn’t as comfortable to use as the one on the old Z.

The “Assist”, “Web”, and “VAIO” buttons are kinda useful and this time around, they’re capacitive instead of actual buttons and glow white when you tap them. The wireless switch is quite useful, but it’s hard to flip since it’s so small. The power button is stiff, but it still retains that familiar green glow when on and orange glow when the laptop is asleep.

Speakers

Pretty bad. The tinny and quiet speakers are located on the bottom of the laptop. People have mentioned disabling Dolby, but this just made the speakers too soft to actually use for me. But then again, the speakers on the older Z’s were bad too, so I mostly just use headphones anyways. Not comparable to MBA speakers or even my Droid's speaker.

Screen

The screen is nothing short of amazing. It somehow manages to be even brighter than my old VGN-Z and when placed side by side, it was noticeably more vivid. I have the 1600x900 screen, which has high enough pixel density for my purposes. I would recommend it for most people, as for me the 1080p screen makes things a bit too small for me to see things clearly.

Performance/Benchmarks!

Vaio Z2 boot - http://youtu.be/ae7Vs2v98v8
PCMark 7 w/Intel HD = 3839 PCMarks - Comparably, the MBA gets 3630, the Sony Vaio SB gets 1805, and the M11x gets R3 gets 2050. It's important to note that having an SSD greatly inflates one's PCMark score.
3Dmark06 w/Intel HD (on driver from Intel's website) - 4728; (with the drivers from Sony Europe) - 4759
3Dmark06 w/6650m - 8543
Crystaldiskmark - 478.4MB/s read; 348.7MB/s write


This is the reason people buy the Z. The dual 128GB SSD provides staggering performance. Boot time never ceases to amaze me and is around 8-10 seconds with fast boot enabled. Applications launch instantaneously as you would expect from an SSD. See the crystaldiskmark benchmarks below. You get everything you would expect from a full power i5/i7 (unlike the underpowered ones in the MBA, Samsung Series 9, and those new Ultrabooks). But no quad core option is available.

Unfortunately, the 6550M is subpar, and just simply isn’t enough of an upgrade from the already decent Intel HD, which is adept at handling most tasks, even some gaming. I tried League of Legends on the Intel HD and it runs smoothly with everything set to Very High at 1600x900. In the end, I still wish that Sony could have put a better GPU inside the PMD.

Noise

When idling, or word processing or web browsing, the Z2 is almost dead silent. When doing something that involves the SSD working a bit, there’s a tiny bit of computer noise. The Z2 seems to have a couple of fan modes. The fan isn’t whiny; it’s more of a breathy sound, as if lots of air is being blown out. It’s definitely quieter than the VGN-Z fan at full load.
• At low speeds, it’s very quiet and barely noticeable in a quiet room. It will stay at this speed if you’re web browsing/word processing, even watching 720p Youtube videos fullscreen – about 30dB
• At low-medium speed, it’s a bit more noticeable but still quiet – 32dB
• Medium speed – light gaming/ heavy processor use - happens when installing lots of programs/windows updates at once – 40dB; The fan noise is completely acceptable at this point, but definitely noticeable.
• High speed—happens while gaming – 47dB; Here's where the fan noise gets annoyingly loud. Keep in mind it only happens when you’re doing intensive gaming, or maybe some heavy audio/video processing.

Temperatures

Under heavy load (such as while gaming), temperatures reach about 83C in the CPU. See the picture of max temperatures below. The bottom of the laptop is warm to touch at this point, while the keyboard and surface is very slightly warm. Heat is generally not an issue; the dual fan system seems much more effective at pushing hot air out and keeps the exterior of the notebook comfortable to touch under heavy load. This is in contrast to the VGN-Z, where the bottom of the laptop would get unbearably hot to touch under heavy load (probably because of the internal discrete GPU).

Battery life

Battery life is pretty good; much more than I expected from the smallish 4000mAh battery. At 50% brightness doing some web browsing and word processing, expect at least 6 hours. You could probably squeeze 8 hours out of it if you’re just word processing.

Configuration options

You can configure the laptop up to an i7, 8GB RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage. I would recommend the configuration I got, as the i5 is barely slower than the i7 and runs cooler as well as giving better battery life. 4GB is enough for gaming and most tasks, the 512GB upgrade is just too expensive, and the 1600x900 is comfortably sharp (and it's brighter than the 1080p screen).

Conclusions

The Vaio Z is a gem of a laptop, but still, a mixed bag. On one hand, you get a super-thin, super-powerful machine. On the other, you have its price; about $2,500 for my model, and its less than acceptable GPU performance. It doesn’t make sense to me that all Sony put inside the PMD was the measly ATI 6650M. They could have done so much more with the GPU, as the concept of the PMD is excellent, where you have a machine that could be powerful in everyday tasks, and be just as fast as a gaming laptop with the PMD connected – an ultraportable laptop that could do everything one could dream of.

So what I think is this; if you have a previous generation VPC-Z1, upgrading to the Z2 is definitely something to consider carefully. The performance improvements aren’t that great (besides boot times) and there are some things that the Z1 does better. But coming from a VGN-Z, the difference is almost night and day.

For those who are looking to buy a something like the MBA or the Samsung Series 9 or the Thinkpad X1, I would strongly recommend the Z2, as the price is similar between these 4 options (similarly configured - $1600 vs $1650 vs $1700 vs $2000), considering that the Z2 has the PMD included in its $2k starting price. Furthermore, out of the 4, it has the fastest SSDs, the best screen, discrete graphics, a full processor, and it’s considerably lighter (~0.4lbs). Thus, I see very little reason to buy any other ultraportable on the market, even with the arrival of the new Ultrabooks (which have similar, underpowered specs like the other ultraportables of today; e.g. ULV processor, integrated graphics). And of course, there’s that niche of power users like me- who want maximum portability with oodles of power – to which the Z2 caters perfectly.

But the problem is this. For the average consumer who cares about price and wants a portable laptop, there are options like the Toshiba Portege R830 for around $700 that are almost as portable and still have the same i5, 4GB ram, and decent battery life (but no SSD). To complicate matters, there’s always the option of buying 2 laptops - maybe a MBA (for $1k) and a real gaming laptop (for $1k), which would give you both portability and more GPU and CPU power at your desk (minus the SSD)– similar to the concept of the dock.

But for me, out of the countless laptops I’ve used, Sony’s VAIO Z has been the laptop that I’ve been happiest with—the combination of power, portability, and looks is perfect. And the Z2 is no exception.

Full Review with pictures

 

Useful Guides/Resources

How to enable fastboot: (If you need the files inside the VAIO Boot Manager folder, I posted them here.)

How to do a Clean Install of Windows 7

 

Useful Discussions:

New Z2 GPU driver released!
Overclocking the ATI in the Z2 PMD?
ViDock 4G for Light Peak (Z21) - POSSIBLE.
Vaio Z2 PMD driver testing and investigation
Vaio Z2 SSD Performance - Post your results!
[VAIO Z2] Shielding the Z2 - How-To
Vaio Z21 cracking and scratching hinges...
How to take off a key on the Z2
Sony Z2 - Photos and Teardown
Sony VAIO Z2 - SATA II vs SATA III
Z1 vs. Z2 - Sticking with the Z2
Z1 + ViDock + GTX 570 > FTW (the Z2/PMD killer)

 

Interesting recap, and moreover your review mentions the creaking hinges problem I noticed on mine.

I inspected another unit, and noticed the same problem, so I am expected it to become a widespread (if not major) issue of the Z2...

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/606541-vaio-z21-cracking-scratching-hinges.html

 

On my old Z, the hinge didn't feel that sturdy either and it would pop sometimes too (mainly because of a loosened screw), but it never broke or anything, so I'm kind of used to the fragile feel of the hinge. I guess Sony isn't that great at making hinges.

 

Very good post. I've added a link to it in the first post of the VAIO VPC-Z2 Owners' thread.

 

Bravo - great review, thanks for sharing.
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Have you opened your Z2? I'm getting mine with 128GB (64GB x2) RAID 0 but i have 512 (256GB x 2) on my vpcz1290x. Hopefully i can switch them out.

 

Excellent thread, it's been linked in the helpful threads in the sticky thread at the top of this forum.

There is also the Z2 owners' thread.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...-vpc-z2-vaio-z-2011-series-owners-thread.html

 

Nice thread, didn't read the review tho

Prolly want to put this thread in here too. It has the only disassembly photos. I also took some comparison shots with the Z1 and a Macbook Air 11"

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/603509-sony-vaio-z2-vivisection.html

In hindsight, I should have picked a different title.

Rachel, if you have the time, can you rename this thread to Sony Z2 - Photos and Teardown

You should be able to do this, but the new SSD's are SATA III and much faster than the older models.

Might want to add this thread as well: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/607410-sony-vaio-z2-sata-ii-vs-sata-iii.html

Golly, I'm helpful

 

I think that the SSD's are proprietary parts, so you can't just replace them with the ones in your Z1.

 

^ Incorrect. You can swap SSD's from the Z1 to the Z2, it just isn't a good idea since the Gen3 SSD's are much fasater

 

^You sure about that? Z11 used zif, Z12 and Z13 used microsata drives. Are they the same physical size as the drives in the Z2? Regardless, the Z12 and Z13 drives won't have the correct connector.

 

My Z2 should be arriving today, after creating recovery disks for it I am going to open it and see how the new SSD compare to my Z1290X. I have the Gen 3 256GB, its a waste if I can't fit them in...

 

So do the SSDs from the Z1 work in the Z2?

 

^The adapters look the same to me, but beaups knows his stuff and I don't have good reason to doubt him. I'm pretty sure the Z2 can take the extra thickness of a dual-sandwich setup. Who knows on mounting them tho

We'll need to wait until somebody actually attempts the transplant

Still a bad idea IMO, especially if you get the G3 SSD's. They are much faster

Regardless, I recommend buying the size you need rather than going small and putting in a larger Z1x sandwich in the Z2.

 

This was my findings. Z2 has a ribbon style connector. Also, the SSD's seemed thinner than my Z1's SSD.

 

Is the SSD easy to change in these?

 

They are easily accessible once the bottom tray is removed. No junk on top of it. I haven't tried pulling it out yet, but it looks like a few screws and a cable pull.

 

I have pulled my SSD on my Z2 and compared with the Z1 SSD. Z2 flex cable is about 1mm wider than the Z1 model. You can change out the flex cable and bend it so it will use mSaTA instead of ZIF connector. I don't know how to take the motherboard off or else I would try to swap out the connector.

 

Thank you for posting this thread, it just helps me immensely in configuring my new Z21.

Bump for other new Z owners.

 

Hi! Can someone please upload the original login screen backround of vaio z ?! Thanks

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/625418-new-z2-gpu-driver-released.html

 

I'm doing a clean install right now on my Z21, using the clean install guide from this thread.

After installing "Sony Notebook Utilities" (not sure if my error is related to installing that, just mentioning) I get an error which says that the installed battery pack may be incompatible with the computer or is installed improper. It suggests to press the "OK"-button which just puts the computer into hybernate mode and that I shoudl take the battery out and reinstall it again.
(the error can be found in the manual on page 173 as well)
I've already tried taking the battery out and in again and pressing the battery off button for 3 sec, but nothing helped.

Any ideas?


***edit***
Just recovered from recovery media (usb stick). Problem seems to be gone.
So what do I do now? I can't just drop the "Sony Notebook Utilities"... (note: still not 100% sure if that's the reason for the error message)

The "Sony Notebook Utilities" installtion includes:
Battery Checker 4.5.0.02140
VAIO Control Center 4.5.0.04280
VAIO Event Service 5.5.0.06100
VAIO Power Management 5.4.0.04280

So I think it could be possible that the "Battery Checker" doesn't work properly.
No solution found yet.

 

You have to install the Sony software in a certain order, at least some components. I had the exact same problem on my fresh install.

First you have to install ' Sony® Shared Library' before you can install "Sony Notebook Utilities"

It was my first time I actually read the (Important) notes


edit;
When I look back at it, I think I got this problem after installing some of the 'Sony Applications'
*VAIO Care™ Software
*VAIO® CPU Fan Diagnostics Software
*VAIO® Hardware Diagnostics Software
*VAIO® Gate Software
*VAIO® Location Utility

I haven't installed any of these, and my Z2 runs great now. I've no idea what they do, but I can do without them.

 

As I've already said, I've used the order from the first page of this thread, so that should be fine.
I've already solved the issue. Thanks to my brother, who had the same problem.
The SFEP driver from sonys site didn't work for us, so we just installed the SFEP driver from an image.


Another question:
Does anyone know how to uninstall software like "VAIO Hardware diagnostics" or "VAIO Location Utility"? I can't find those anywhere.

 

I've tried it myself as well back then, unfortunately, without success. I had to do another fresh install to get rid of it. I don't think I'm going to install those ever again.

 

FWIW, I decided early on to stay with the original install version and manually delete the unwanted stuff.

Haven't really noticed anything untoward yet (about 3 months running, now).

 

Hi! Since I'm going to perform a clean install of Windows 7 on my Z2, which has been bought in in Italy, I would like to know if such Sony® Shared Library is still necessary, because it is not available for download at the italian site. Of course I can download from the link above, but I just want to know if a driver setup from the recovery cd would be sufficient.


Other questions:

I clicked here but I'm not able to download ABR. When I click at the link at the end of the text it reloads the same page. Shall I register and login to the site?

After the Windows 7 clean install, can I simply use only the Recovery DVD to reinstall all the drivers? Or I have to do exactly what is written in the first post?

Linux question: since I would like to install also Linux on my Z but I don't want to remove Windows 7 for now, I would like to know how do you suggest to do. What I think to do is to disable the RAID0, setup Windows in the first hard disk, and Linux in the second one. Is it possible?

 

I think you still have to install the Sony® Shared Library, otherwise you might lose some options/functions of the "Notebook utilities". I don't know what functions you will lose if you're installing neither of the two. First try it without, and if you're missing some functions you need, you can always install it .

As for the drivers, I don't know if you can find them on the recovery CD. I downloaded and installed the latest available drivers from the Sony website.

 

Thanks for the answer.
And what about the ABR Beta With Windows 7 Support? I really am not able to download it! I found this one instead.

EDIT: just another question. Most of the drivers on the Sony Site require to be installed with the PMD connected. I don't have the PMD. What to do?

 

I've never tried the ABR software. (I used another method I can't discuss here)

I don't have a PMD either, and I could install all drivers without problems. As for the graphics, I just installed the Intel graphics driver from the Intel website.

 

Great in-depth review.

However, the keyboard is a deal breaker for me. I just cant type at full speed with so little feedback from the keys.

 

I agree with you laidback, but I think it's just a training issue!
Changing keyboard could make this happen at the beginning.

 

The keyboard is perfectly fine. Unless you guys are those with gigantic hands and type like something is pissing you off then I can why the keyboard is a deal breaker here. The trackpad sucks balllllllllllsssss IMO

 

Hmm. Well after you get used to it, you can type normally. The keys are really springy (even with little travel), so for me, I can easily type at full speed.

 

@cherry

you dont happen to be Weng from wengstechtoys?

 

^

Nope.

 

I love the keyboard. Less travel = faster speeds. Click click click. Watch me go!
As for trackpad, installing the twofingerscoll programme made a huuuuuge difference. It's now almost as nice as a mac, just no inertia.

 

Hello,

since I'm having some problem booting an Operating System which resides on an external USB drive, could somebody help me to check this please?

Could it be that there is some setting in the bios that causes my hard disk is detected even if during the boot process it is not seen? I've searched into the bios for such an option, but I am not sure on what to enable/disable.

I know it could be confusing, but I want to investigate on what is the problem.

The problem is that my external USB disk seems to be recognized only after the BIOS starts. Actually it loads the bootloader (GRUB), but then, only the two internal SSD disks are detected.


EDIT: no changes to the BIOS have to be made. I've added the rootdelay=10 to the kernel line in the grub.conf file.

 

I bought Sony Vaio VPCZ23A4R. This is the third great Z series VAIO I've bought.
Soni VAIO Z is the best mashine!

Questions:

What makes this clean install exactly?


1. Only free 14Gb space?

2. And no unnecessary programs?

3. Enabling fastboot gives only 1-2 seconds faster boot, right!?


Can I only do enable fastboot and did not do a clean install!?
Or this steps will work together!?

PS what antivirus do you recomend!?

 

You should do a clean install if you want to get rid of all the random programs that Sony installs.

Yes, fastboot should be an option in the Vaio Control Center already (you only have to follow the steps to get it back after a clean install) and it only makes the boot a little bit faster.

And I just use Microsoft Security Essentials - its pretty lightweight and its free.

 

Thanks. I think It isn't so huge different for me.

That do you think about 1920*1080 resolution!?
Web text is too small and I need scale by ctrl +.

Maybe 1600*900 better for Z series.

But in another way you could use external monitor with 1920*1080 resolution more comfortable.

Please give your opinion

 

Hi, I bought received the z2 laptop on friday. Right off the bat, i had the following issues: all of my computers at home run windows7 and connected to the homegroup. It took me 3 attempts before the sony vaio recognized that the homegroup password was correct and connected to the homegroup.

I got a blue screen crash while making the recovery image discs.

Are these instability issues common when you havent done a clean install? Will a clean install fix these issues? On all my previous computers, I've never had stability issues with windows 7 (much less on a brand new computer)

 

I didn't have these issues (still running a Sony install today) initially and don't recall reading a lot posts from others having it.

I did have the occasional blue screen (don't recall why) before upgrading BIOS and various drivers. Particularly useful was this video driver that never reached the US web site: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/625418-new-z2-gpu-driver-released.html#post8081222

 

well, its still not recognizing all my homegroup computers, so I'm going to proceed with doing a clean install.

One question though: how do I know what the current video drive is that is installed on my sony/available through sony's US website. Or are you saying the sony US website was NEVER updated and therefore the link you posted as the latest drivers for this video card?

 

^the US Sony web site driver is the same as the one that shipped on my machine last August. I believe the link is to a much better version hosted on the Sony site in Germany. There is also the Z3 driver which some have had luck with on the Z2. I havent tried it. Then there is the user supported drivers that i also have not tried.

The driver from the link has been around for quite a while now and is pretty safe to use.

 

okay i'll install that. I just got done updating my system, but I cant get the keyboard to light up in the dark.

It lights up during POST but once in windows, it only lights up when the laptop is picked up or moved. Is there a place to enable illuminating the keyboard lights when pressed?

 

So pressing a key doesn't trigger the backlight? The keyboard doesn't stay lit all the time. You can check the settings in the Vaio Control Center app under Keyboard and Mouse/backlit keyboard.

 

pressing a key does NOT trigger the backlight. the keyboard only lights up for a second when the computer is lifted or tilted. In VAIO control center it is set to "turn on in low light conditions: turn off after 10 seconds". It also takes quite a while to boot (it used to get me to the desktop before the windows logo formed over the black screen, now the whole logo forms and vibrates a few times like on my older computers before I get to the desktop)

I followed the guide on the front page and installed drivers in order (there are no device conflicts or anything).


EDIT: nevermind, it all works, in pitch black, the keys light up just fine. and windows loads a lot quicker when the PMD is not connected.