New Vaio Z review from ITPRO

http://www.itpro.co.uk/634780/sony-vaio-z-2011-vpcz21m9e-review

One of the main reasons I'm considering upgrading my current Z to the new one is for the improved video card. This review seems to think that the 6550 doesn't perform very well at all in their testing. Can anyone shed some light on this? I really want to get this machine, but if it won't perform at least substantially better than my current card (330m GT) its not worth getting. I really need a machine that I can game on the go with (new vaio Z)

 

Not crazy about the fact that it's basically tethered to the external PM dock, very retarded. You can't use the Power supply with the Vaio without it being chained to the PM dock. People need to have their heads examined to spend over $3k USD on a laptop that can't easily use it's power adaptor on the go.

 

Huh? I think you've missed the point of the new Z entirely.

 

There are two[*] power bricks:
#1, 90W, plugs directly into the Z when not docked
#2, 110W, plugs into the dock

The thinking is that you leave the dock connected to mains at all times, and use the smaller power supply when away from the dock.


[*]: Well, there's a third one too:
#3, glomps on to the sheet battery

 

I see, the article doesn't make that clear at all. In fact one of the complaints in the review is that the power supply for the Vaio must go through the PMD.

 

On the go, it performs substantially worse than the old Z. Even though the integrated graphics is more powerful than the integrated graphics in the old Z, it's no match for even a low-end modern discrete graphics card.

When docked, it depends. The ATI card isn't the slowest (nor the fastest), and the bandwidth to it is ample, but the Light Peak technology introduces substantial latency, especially since it's used twice - to pass raw data to the graphics card, and to pass display data back again. If the app (game) has computational or bandwidth bottlenecks, like most games, that isn't going to be a concern, but if the game is latency sensitive, it can make a noticeable impact. Or, to put it another way, if there are relatively few but high quality textured models on a scene, it should work great, but if there are a huge number of individually moving and timed objects on the screen, expect far worse performance. Enabling triple buffering might help fight some of that latency.

Also, with this being an ATI card, you don't get CUDA and PhysX, and ATI doesn't play nice with OpenGL. To compensate, the ATI cards tend to have more correct rendering in DirectX, and you get more performance for the same price. And the 6550M is basically the same card as AMD incorporated in its new Llano CPUs which just came out, which means a boatload of software will likely be tweaked specifically for just this card.

 

No, I think the complaints is that the larger brick can't be plugged directly in to the Z. because the plugs are different. But why would you need to when you have a smaller one that does this? To charge the battery faster at the expense of battery longevity? No thanks.

 

Can one really expect almost 9 hours of battery life with the internal?

 

Pull the curtains, reduce the brightness, turn off WiFi, and don't run anything computationally intensive, and (most of all) with a new battery, and yes.

Browsing Web 2.0/3.0 sites with brightness turned up and a year old battery, and you'll likely not get half of that.

Use it for building Visual Studio projects or encoding video, and we're talking a fraction of the battery life.

 

I really appreciate your response, especially since you're the only one who actually maintained the thread's primary point. I understand that it will perform poorly without the dock. That is fine with me. The main game I play is Starcraft 2. Will the docked 6550 be able to handle it substantially better than the new Sony SA's 6530? (I think the SA uses that anyway). I'm really just looking to make sure this card will be powerful enough to play games much better than anything else out there in the ultra light 13 inch (with premium screen) laptops. Thanks for staying on topic

 

Yes in the Ultra Portable category there is no other laptop that will have better gaming performance than the new Z. Except the announced LG 13 incher but then no details on exact availability and the overall quality.

The 6650M is basically equal to a Nvidia GT540M which you find in the Dell XPS 15 and other so called "gaming" machines

And as for the Z with dock vs SA with 6630M, yes the Z w/ dock will be better but nothing significant. Maybe +/- 2 fps to 5 fps depending on the game.

In Starcraft 2 though, you will not gain anything with the new Z. Maybe 2-3 more fps at the max, SA with 6630 does well in this game though with a lead of around 8-10 fps over both old Z and new Z. I would suggest stick with your Z12 For on the move gaming its much better than the new Z without dock and almost as good as a new Z WITH dock.
Instead wait for the Ivybridge Z3

 

If you intend to game on the go you won't be able to use the power media dock on battery. This is when you'll need to use the external adapter and for some people this will be limiting.
For those that only game on their desk the vi dock solution is there as well.

Moving On

They referred to the display as glossy, i notice that some reviewers do that with these hybrid displays. I guess Sony is still using the hybrid display. Also, their comments about the display itself was a bit surprising.

The battery life is interesting. The Sony SA models with an SSD drive and higher capacity battery in stamina mode seems to get less. My Sony TT manages 12 battery life over wifi with quite aggressive settings but over WWAN i think it's only about 5hrs or 6hrs. I'd be interested to see a little more realistic tests.

The Sony Z looks like a good laptop, i think i would have liked to have seen a matched external optical drive but of course that would enroach on the sales of the PMD so that won't happen.

 

Like this, you mean?

 

Yes, this would be ok i guess for the black one but not really as ideal for the gold one. Think of Apple and their external optical drive. The dock looks very nicely designed, for those that don't need the gpu though it's pointless and it's also 1.5lbs also, a nicely designed optical would have been nice but it's not going to happen.

 

People atually care whether the exterior of a drive matches the exterior of their laptop? Do they dress to match the laptop too?

 

Like i said, it would have been nice, it would have been a nice touch but it's not going to happen. People if they don't need the PMD will just need to find an alternative.

 

Not worth a pile of money to upgrade a Z1 for a Z2 *just for gaming*. Save yourself 500$ for this silly PMD, which is not very powerful and build your own GTX460 eGPU for less than 350$. This is practically the same, just not so slim and connects to your expresscard slot - with your Z1 hooked up to your desktop lcd, you will equal a Radeon HD 6970M in DX9 games and outperform it in DX10. And you have all that CUDA and physx stuff.

 

Save on the laptop too, because the Z2 doesn't have an external expresscard slot you can do this with.

To summarize, if you want to use the computer for gaming, the Z2 is not for you. Get an Alienware M11x instead. It's cheaper, and far better fro gaming.

 

The m11x does weigh like a brick though (2 kg for an 11 incher, same as the 13" MBP), I believe the new Z with both the dock and machine itself weighs less than that. The m14x is a better pick IMO, the GT 555M is better than the 6650 and 540M by quite some margin, though it weighs a tough 3 kg (more than twice of the VPC-Z1).

 

the bummiest part of that review is the part where they said the screen was kinda iffy

 

By game on the go I meant - be able to game away from home without trucking along my m17x. Dragging along the Z2 + dock would be fine for going out of town or setting up at a coffee shop. If you all are saying that the gaming performance isn't significantly better than I have no reason to buy it. My current Z works perfectly for everything else and even works fine for games on low - mid settings.

 

Well, here's my experiences regarding gaming performance. Our family has another PC with the GT 540M, which is very close to the 6650M in performance. The best thing my Z (330M) can handle is 1366x768, Normal texture in Modern Warfare 2. The 540M PC can handle 1920x1080, High texture.

I'm not quite sure what you're playing but it's likely more demanding than MW2. You may try to lower down the resolution to 1280x720, it is more than acceptable for a 13.1 inch PC. That way you'll be able to get the most out of your gaming experience.

 

Only demanding game I play is Starcraft 2.

 

You must have not done the bios hack. MW2 can easily achieve 60+ FPS all hign on the Z13. I can get 60+ fos at 720p on Black Ops on high (No AA or VSync)

Although, this is also a good example of what one might expect from this PMD. Underclocked with poor driver support. Thank god for a few driver and bios modders here on these boards. Natulis, Andrew and Commputer Cowboy have helped me bring my Z to its true potential.

 

The only games I play are SC2 and Civ4.

The current Z can only just handle SC2 on medium. I hope the new Z can do better.

 

Yes, I have not done the BIOS hack. First, it is not worth risking a $2600 computer in an attempt to gain better graphics performance. Second, I'm not an expert at computing either (I know almost everything in the Windows userspace, just not something advanced like editing the registry). Third, a forum member with the exact same computer as mine rendered his computer unbootable as a result of flashing the BIOS.

I'll give the graphics drivers on this forum a try though.

Regarding the PMD, I highly doubt Sony would underclock them. A 6650M is basically a 6630M (as seen in the SA/SB) with a higher clock. They have exactly the same amount of shaders and use DDR3 memory (6750M uses GDDR5). If Sony were to underclock the 6650, why not just stuff a stock 6630 into the PMD and save a couple of bucks?

 

M-A-R-K-E-T-I-N-G.

(See Z1, a 330M sounds better than 325M although it is actually a 325M inside.)

 

That is entirely true as the clock on the Z's 330 is equivilant to that of the 325M's default clock. However, look at the F series and the L series (all in one), they both used the 540M. Sony could've used the 550M to do better in marketing, but apparently they didn't.

 

In all actuality its not JUST for gaming. I use my Z12 for everything under the sun while I'm out and about. I just like having the ability to play games on the go when I want to, is all. If you all are saying the Z2 isn't for that, and that the 6550 in its dock doesn't work that well at all, then its not worth getting. I just honestly thought, when looking @ the Z2, it would be a perfect machine with its super light weight, awesome screen, fast CPU and SSD's and great video card.

 

How could I even do that?

Would it be as small as the Z2 external dock? Or at least comparative? I want something I can just stick in my bag and set up easily on a desk on the go.

 

After using the SA for over a week and overclocking the 6630, I dont find the GPU worth the upgrade.

If you crave the utraportability, get the Z2. If you use your Z for work, games and entertainment (All three on a constant basis) on the go, I find the Z13 the better choice.Currently, with the best drivers on hand, there is less than a10 FPS difference in most games. (More like 5)

Yes, that was me, the A-hole on the plane with my Z13 playing Black Ops with 360 controller. Would not want to be doing that with the Z2.

 

lol Where are you on my flights? We could have a LAN party!

 

I suppose he's just fooling around in zombies mode, I don't believe you can get on multiplayer on a plane ;D

 

My latest favorite it Street Fighter Arcade Edition. Jesus does it look beautiful in 1080p! Disclaimer (Must have Bios mod)

 

new Z is def not suited to "gaming on the go" when you have to carry the heavier power brick, a separate PMD, and plug it all together.

The LG P330 may be more appropriate

 

Or maybe the Acer 3830TG, a good 1.87 kg, which isn't too much of a burden to carry. The 540M (which can even be configured with a gimmicky 2 GB of RAM) packs quite a punch and is equally as good, if not better than the 6650M featured on the Z2's dock. And you have it in one package! Sadly the i7 option seems absent and the best thing you can configure it with is the i5-2410M.

 

I will be interested what kind of resolution the LG P330 offers. If they have a 900p version, it will be a very interesting laptop.

Although it's battery life is probably measured in minutes.

 

It uses Optimus and we have no idea about the battery capacity it will have.

 

Of course you can, if you don't mind the high latency from 3G. If for some reason your flight blocks those ports, you could always VPN into work or somewhere else.

Doesn't really matter though since battery time drops to about 60minutes when doing something like that.

 

True. When I fly i have two extened life batterys for my Z. One for daily us and the other ready for the flight. My routine flight is about 4:30 hours and I have just enough jusice to do anything I want the whole way.

Living life out of a suitcase sucks, but I have the Z to keep me entertained.

 

See the attachment. These guys have reviewed the power media dock. [ link]

 

3DMark03? Dear god. At least test it on 3DMark06.