Should I sell or keep my mint VPC-Z13 (this is not an ad)

Hi. Long time regular on the Z1 and Z2 threads, have to make a decision about what to do with a virtually brand new well configured Z13 I own. Appreciate your thoughts.

So, here's my situation: I purchased a new-in-box Z13 (config in sig) in December of 2011 and have hardly ever used it. It looks brand new and unused in all cosmetic respects. The SSDs have never had more than 25% written on them and this is really like having just purchased one of these babies from the last production run (it reads April 2011), ready for it's peak as-new performance. I bought it quite well and thought I would either use it or sell it to a friend or family member to give someone a great deal on the still-most-respected-ultraportable laptops ever made. But, as fate had it, it just pretty much lived a protected life inside a neoprene case in a closet.

My dilemma is as follows: I either need to put this into service or sell it. Otherwise it will just be a waste of $850 and a waste of a wonderful computer that still performs very competitively (except battery life) with the best of ultrabooks of today but with so many more ports and features.

I seek advice: do you think there is a market for this laptop? If I were to offer it for, say, $699, it would compete with used ultrabooks of the Ivy Bridge vintage such as the Dell XPS 13 or the Asus UX31A. If you were in the market for such a laptop, would you be more attracted to an essentially brand new, well configured Z13 or would you/most people in your opinion go for the newer, thinner more sleek looking ultrabook despite the fact that its ULV Ivy Bridge cpu and HD4000 IGP both slightly underperform my Z's Arrandale Core i7-640 and nVidia 330M gpu? Does Sony's having exited the computer biz make this laptop more or less attractive to a potential purchaser?

I might not be so uncertain of these answers if it wasn't for the fact that I owned several Z1s and Z2s over the past 4 years and loved them all, yet I bought a Samsung Ativ Book 9 Plus for $1,000 last year and tend to favor it as my daily driver with the Z1 a more versatile, sentimental favorite, but somehow long in the tooth.

I'm not soliciting offers (it is a no-no under house rules) but seeking advice as to whether you would choose to use this beauty if you had a new one with no wear physically or electronically or would you sell it and apply the money to a new Ultrabook with a QHD+ screen?

Thoughts/advice much appreciated.

Best,
Jeff

 

Only $699? I think I answered your dilemma completely with that question.

 

This is still a very good machine for someone who travels out of station a fair bit and wants a discrete GPU when away from home - to while away the hours in a hotel room, for example. I am finding that these are the only guys who need a discrete GPU - everyone else prefers to come home and play on something with real horsepower, like a desktop or console. For practically all other activities the integrated GPU is fine, and the Ultrabooks rule.

What is the battery wear like after 3+ years? If the person who buys it has to fork out for a new one, that could well be a deal breaker. BatteryBar is a good way to find out. BatteryBar Pro: Windows Battery Life Tracker

 

Forgive me, but I can be dense! Is your statement meant to convey your opinion that it's worth more than $699? If so, how much more? I've decided to put it up for sale, first on NBR Marketplace and maybe Craigslist, then maybe eBay if the offers seem too low. What would be your idea if the right listing/selling price if $699 is too low IYO. Thanks.

(Btw, please send PM if you have any personal interest - or referral, for which I will gladly pay you 5% "finders fee. ")

In any event, thanks much for the input. Jeff

I have 3 Sony OEM batteries, 1 std size with 92% capacity and two extended capacity (double std cap), one at 90 %, one at 94%. Since these came from the "good ol days," when you could just pop a depleted battery off and pop a nearly full one on, my Z can run for nearly 5x (1x + 2x + 2x) original out-of-box battery life if the user can travel with all three batteries (ea. xtd range batt = 0.7 lbs). In my experience, this model gets avg. 3.5 hr/std batt (range: 1.5 gaming, 3.0 wifi/streaming, 4.5 MS Ofc no wifi /BT screen 50%). Thus this awesome machine can work pretty much all day long off-grid. Takes 3 batteries, but pretty much equals stamina of today's MB Air, the Ultrabook gold std. for battery life. I find most people are pretty happy with 6-8 hrs off-ac and any two of these batts will cover that with ease.

All in all, this computer - with its three batteries - makes a pretty awesome road warrior machine, really much better than the best UB out there. So, I've just sold it back to myself! Where would you come down with the 3 batteries in the equation?

Thanks, Jeff

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[ Btw, as a complete aside, Battery Bar is fine for measuring capacity drain, but I discovered "BatteryInfoView" a while ago love to pass the word on it as it provides far more precise, near-real-time readings of, say, the precise impact on power drain rate from changes in screen brightness, turning wifi & BT on/off, streaming a movie from Netflix. It gives reasonably accurate, cosistent output from sampling as iften as every 30 seconds. I sill use Battery Bar for its always-on % remaining indicator. Free online from Nirsoft, makes several great Windows "utilities" - these days called "apps" ]

 

You understood right.
Not sure how much more, as I am not from the US, and whether you can sell it in the US makes a big difference. (you surely can sell it for such a price in Europe, but I notice Apple is becoming worringly big in the laptop market in the US, and plays a big role).

Whether it is faster or not compared to current ultrabooks is not important really. That is a machine in its own right, category and niche market. It's a very robust machine, with much to offer.

I would make an offer, but it's not a quad core

 

Bump. I'm really having trouble deciding about this. I'm aware that there are many Z1 lovers who would like a chance to "start over" with a virtually brand new, well configured (see sig) Z13. Yet every time I start to advertise it, I use it a little and stop. I have 3 other lovely laptops, two with Windows 8.1 and FHD and QHD+ touchscreens, yet somehow every time I use the Z13 I question the wisdom of parting with such a gem for the $700 max I could get for it.

Advice very much appreciated. Interest: please PM me. Jeff

 

Another way to check for a price is checking sold price on ebay. It may give you an idea how much you can let it go. Try to use buy it now with offer other then bidding.

Sent from my D6616 using Tapatalk

 

Hmm, my advice is...if you are going to sell it, sell it quick...for more bucks
The thing is, laptop tends to de-value over time, no matter how good they are, especially the case when they are opened and used.
In terms of performance, I checked some video gaming test/benchmark last year and saw that Iris 5000 is already pretty much on par with my 425m (Vaio F)
So most likely Intel Skylake coming out this year will already have surpass many old graphics card even though they are intergrated ones.
Thus new tech will be more powerful (cpu & gpu), more power efficient, more features like faster SATA speed...etc. There is just no match.

 

Yes, buy you don't get a comparably equipped laptop - even with a slightly stronger cpu/gpu for $700, and it won't have every port at full size plus 4 usb ports plus either a blu ray dvd drive or use of its bay for any 2.5" SSD, up to 1 Tb, for a total of 1,256 GB! All this in a 3.06 lb package with 90% aRGB screen, 350 nit, 1,100 contrast. Sure, 15% weaker cpu/gpu than Haswell U, but way more powerful than Core M.

I'm not trying to argue or "sell" this, but if you read my OP I am asking whether the market would recognize the rather amazing attributes for such a low price (it would only be of interest to Z fans) or do you all think people would use an argument like the one above and instead spend $1,400 for a Dell XPS 13 that may perform games @ level of a 4 yr old Sony F, far from a computer for gamers.

 

I get the feeling you value your Z more than most people would. But if you need the money, all I can suggest is put it on ebay (using the points you make to advertise it) with a reserve set at what you're willing to part with it for and see if it sells.

 

I think....to be honest with you...
if the item is unopened brand new sealed, it could be regarded as a collectable's item, thus getting a good price out of it...possibly...
As Ashers said, if you treasure it so much, why don't you keep it instead? Sadly, I just doubt ebay buyers will agree too much on your argument, unless you are very lucky

 

I agree, more or less. The people who will be receptive to your well reasoned arguments are those who already own one of these beauties, and thus have no need of buying one. This is a good machine; the only thing that will entice me to ditch mine is the Razer Blade 14", which is a good 20% costlier than what I paid for it. If I were visiting the US I might be tempted, but as things stand the shipping charges and import duties will kill me.

 

Thanks for the thoughts. The good news is that I sold it to a Z-phile for $900 a few weeks ago. You are entirely right - only one who had once owned one (or still does, but it's on its last legs) would be interested. Turns out there's a lot of such folks. See this sale yesterday of a lesser model on eBay for $1,100

Truth is, I'm still sorry I sold it - it remains equal or better in all respects I care about than my (truly wonderful) Samsung Ativ Book 9+. Let's face it: nothing that made the Z1 a work of genius in 2010 has been surpassed by anything being sold today at the $1,000 price point except battery life. The screen, cpu, d-gpu, SSD and all other functional components are no better on today's ultrabooks than they were on the original Z1. Yes, you can buy a better laptop today for around $1,200, but it will still be missing several features of the Z1 and lack 100% of the "charm." I suspect the new owner will be finding my mint Z13 will more than meet his needs for at least another 2 years, after which I'll bet he still gets $500 for it! Let's face it: it is a fabulous piece of design, engineering and manufacturing, which Sony never equaled before or since.

I miss it!