Questions about Vaio VPC-Z13V5E

Hello guys,

I am on the verge of deciding between a Vaio Z and a Thinkpad T410s and have a few questions for those who own a Vaio Z, esp. a model similiar to the VPC-Z13V5E.

Here is the system (its a customized model):

So here are my questions:

1) Can I (later on) swap the 500GB drive for a SSD?
2) How would I do a clean install without a drive? Can you boot/install from USB with the BIOS of Vaio Z's ?
3) (How much) Does the extended battery stick out? Any pictures of this? Whats the weight difference?
4) Is there an important reason to go with 2USB+1iLink instead of 3 USB? I know I need 2 USB for mouse + recharging my mobile or iPod at the very least.
5) Are there any well-known problems with Vaio Z's I need to be aware of? Things I'd need to check once it arrives?

Thanks in advance guys. When paying €1850 for a notebook I kinda want to make sure its a keeper.

gabb

 

1) Yes, it's a 2.5" Sata Drive
2) USB-Drive is fine, from what I've read
3) Read the FAQ -> http://forum.notebookreview.com/4109797-post10.html
4) Only if you already have a device using iLink. It is not really faster than USB
5) Don't know, there are some things like loose hinges, self-draining batterys, vertical lines on the screens, but that are things that might appear later on, not in the beginning

 

Thanks, can you tell me something about the comfort in typing? I write alot on my laptop and was wondering how comfortable the palmrest is, i.e. whether or not you can place your wrists/palms properly, while still able to reach all keys?

One more question, just to clarify something: This model has no optical drive, no SSD, but HDD instead. After reading numerous threads my understanding is that the Z has two slots, one of very-specific Sony SSD and one for HDD or an optical drive. So if this is a version without optical drive, the HDD slot is taken, right? And without some serious engineering skills I cannot fill the empty (?) SSD slot with anything, right?

 

I bought the Z12 in a very similar configuration to yours.

Only I got the i7 620M and 1080 screen. Also, only wanted the 320gb drive.

I swapped the hard drive for an Intel SSD; Not specially tricky, but requires to be careful.

This pc does not have a slot for a hard drive but they put an adapter on the optical drive to fit a conventional 2.5" hard drive.

The SSD sony fits in the vaio is custom designed, if I did not get it wrong it is possible to take advantage of the ssd space, but, if you want to have SSD + HDD, I think the easiest route is to choose a model with the sony SSD and replace the optical drive with an aftermarket caddy for hdd.

The keyboard is great for me so far, and the overall computer is superb, very difficult for me to find defects besides how much I need to save to buy one...

 

Awesome, thanks! So just to clarify: your model also only had a HDD, but NOT an optical drive? So your HDD is/was where the optical drive usually is and thats the place where your new SSD resides?

I am still wondering whether to get the 1080p or the 1600x900 one. I guess if the 1080p is too detailed for me I can always go down (both are 16:9, so little to no blur) or fiddle with DPI. Other than the resolution I have however heard that the 1080p is brighter / has better contrast. Any truth to that?

 

The 900p panel is brighter from what I've heard.
They are both extremly nice panels and very birght.
I would go for 900p, because 1080p is, in my opinion, too small for a 13" (900p is standard for 17", so its still a very high resolution).

 

that's right. 900p is enough for 13.1". if you go with 1080p, the text is pretty small, except increase the dpi.

 

Yes! But you can see it for yourself here, maybe it helps clarify things:

Vaio Z12 inside | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

It's my actual vaio Z12, no tricks!

About the screen, it is definetely very pixel dense. If some program has too small icons and/or fonts, it gets some time to get used to if they cannot be resized, but it sure pays off to have that extra detail level.

If you are half serious in photo editing, the 1080 is worth the extra 96% Adobe RGB color space coverage.

It is said that the 900 screen is brighter, I have not seen any so I cannot confirm, but the 1080 screen is more than bright enough.

If you are unsure, probably going for the 1600x900 is wiser.
It still one of the highest resolutions in a 13".