Some questions on 2011 Sony Z series.. could it still be had new?

I'm thinking of buying a lightweight notebook (ultrabook and non-ultrabooks), but for the price:spec ratio could an older model of the Z series be a better deal?

some questions
1. is it still possible to purchase a 2011 Z series new? and if so where and how much should it be?
2. Since it's been out for a year, has there been any significant issues? I've had some bad experiences with Vaios before.. 2 bad FE and 2 bad SZ models that "coincidentally" went bad right after the warranty expired. I assume the 2011 one uses the ATI card
3. Since it uses an external video card, has Sony developed new ones that you could connect to it?

thanks! :hi2:

 

1. Yes, and they beat the tar out of any comparably priced Ultrabook out today, The Sony Outlet still has a few (check daily; they come and go and by now most are refurbs, but that's fine IMO and experience. They are also sold by most online retailers (again, they come and go) including amazon.com, newegg.com, microcenter.com, Blinq.com, and there are quite a few more. In addition, eBay has quite a few listings of new in a sealed box (and "open box" listings.

Price is entirely config dependent. An i7, 8GB, 25GB ranges from $1,200 - $1,700. )An i5, 4GB, 128GB has ranged from $900 - $1,300. These all include the PMD; if you don't need it, you can probably sell it for $200 easily, up to $300 for one with a Blu ray burner. If you want to sell it quickly, keep price under $250.) The best deals are those that still qualify for a 30% discount off of the already 15% - 30% discounted prices. Hate to say you missed the best deals but around 3 weeks ago there were still plenty of new clearance models at the low end of the prices I've quoted above. There were still a few Z2s in that promotion now, but it's down from, like 25 unit to 3-4.

(A bonus: there are still models with the 900p screen around. It's been discontinued in the U.S. for the IB SVZ13 model and as amazing as the FHD screen is, the 900p is significantly brighter (around 280 nit vs. 230), has double the contrast ratio and renders text that is more readable for many. In fact, there are people who find even 900p @ 13" makes text too hard to read. I have one of each and love them for different reasons. Also, though the FHD display covers some 92% of the Adobe RGB spectrum, the 900p screen covers 100% of sRGB and about 70% of Adobe RGB and those are still phenomenal color specs, still better than any other 13" screen out now, including the rather amazing Asus UX31A IPS FHD, which has 430 nits brightness.

2. You really need to read some of the threads here to judge for yourself, but other than driver issues with the PMD/AMD 6630 there are no chronic quality issues. They keyboard is very shallow, even for an ultrathin model, but I and most people got used to it and even type faster on it than on the Z1. You will get a little more wrist fatigue when typing long pieces. Also, the PMD is a pain in the but and the d-GPU in it, AMD 6630 is meh, lower mid-range by today's standards.

3. Though the PMD for the newer but nearly identical (other than IB chipsets) SVZ13 is not mandatory is identical to the Z2's; the AMD chip has a new label number(7670?) but is the identical chip as the 6630.

Whew, those questions were far easier to ask than to answer!

 

thanks for the reply but unfortunately doesn't seem like amazon, new egg, or the sony depot has any more 2011 Vaio Z models

 

Yes, you can. MicroCenter still has new 2011 models.

Link Here: SONY VPC-Z

You'll need to go through each store, look above site for menu, and see the inventory for each store. MicroCenter mostly has the high end configured models.

 

This is a pretty good deal for the new one, an excellent deal for the open box one. Gotta move quick cuz they usually only have one or two. They have a true unconditional 30 day full refund policy so there is really no risk. I had a probelm with an order once and they were great about taking care of it.

EDIT: On second look they make no mention of the PMD for either the new or the open box one but I think it's safe to assume it has one. That specific model came with a DVD, no Blu ray. Also, that model # is black, which they also don't say in the listing.

Also, did you check eBay? There are usually a couple of base spec (i5/4GB, 900p or 1080p) for around $1,300 new in box with wtty. Here's a new one for $1,200 Sony Vaio VPCZ21AGX/B 13.1" i5-2410M 4GB 128GB PMD DVD VPC-Z21AGX/B | eBay.

Good luck. Report back!