Sony VAIO Z2 - SATA II vs SATA III

This thread is for current-gen Sony VAIO Z2's ONLY.

UPDATE: 9/2/2011

Looks like most markets that sell SATAII setups in preconfigured Z2's also have options for SATAIII's in Configure to Order models.

Confirmed countries with Gen3 SSD's:

• US
• Canada
• Japan
• UK (£30 option)

Countries shipping Gen2 SSD's

• Germany (via TechData)
• Malaysia
• Singapore
• Hong Kong
• Indonesia

There have been reports about different SSD drives being shipped in different regions. The concern here is that the SATA II SSD's have lower performance characteristics that their SATA III counterparts.

US Models have what members are calling Gen3 SSD's. They come in the following flavors:

128GB = 2x 64GB on one sammich
256GB = 2x 128GB on one sammich
512GB = 2x 256GB on one sammich

People in Europe are reporting that they have the slower SATA II parts, these are being called Gen2 SSD's.

I would like to get a running tally of who's got what drive.

Easiest way to determine if you have a SATAII/III is via the Intel Control Panel:



If your SATA Transfer rate is 6Gb/s, you have SATA III and a Gen3 SSD
If your SATA Transfer rate is 3Gb/s, you have SATA II and a Gen2 SSD

Please list the following:

Country of Purchase:
Retailer Name:
Purchase Date:
Model Number: (full number, pls)
SSD Size:
SATA Type:

Here's the data from the two Z2's I've had:

Country of Purchase: USA
Retailer Name: Sony Style Store (Dallas)
Purchase Date: 8/11
Model Number: Sony Z VPCZ21SHX/X
SSD Size: 512GB (2x256)
SATA Type: SATA III

Country of Purchase: USA
Retailer Name: Sony Style Store (Dallas)
Purchase Date: 8/11
Model Number: VPCZ21AGX/B
SSD Size: 128GB (2x64)
SATA Type: SATA III

 

Country of Purchase: Hong Kong
Retailer Name: Sony Style Store Hong Kong
Purchase Date: Picked up on 10th August
Model Number: VPCZ217GG
SSD Size: 256GB (2x128)
SATA Type: SATA II

 

Thanks sir

 

Country of Purchase: Japan
Retailer Name: SonyStyle Online Japan
Purchase Date: 8/4
Model Number: VPCZ21AJ
SSD Size: 512GB (2x256)
SATA Type: SATA III

Here in Japan, the standard retail models (pre-built and sold at major electronics shop) ship with the 128GB (2x64) SATA II drive. But all orders from SonyStyle (pre-configured units and CTO) ship with the SATA III drives (128GB, 256GB, and 512GB).

 

Hmm.. I wouldn't mind that if they told me about it upfront, and let me choose based on either the price differential or the capacity. Hiding things like this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. (Ok, maybe not hiding, per se, but not making the buyer aware of the difference).

 

In UK sonystyle you have the option to choose. I choose 'Gen 3' and have 6Gbs

 

Yep, same here. In the UK and specced Gen 3 (around $30 premium on a 256GB SSD) and have 6Gbs.

 

Interesting.

I get leaving value-based models with the Gen2's, but poor ota-con has a higher-end flavor. I'd be fairly agitated if this happened to me.

To my knowledge, Sony isn't advertising the Z2's as SATA3 capable, so I don't think they are doing anything insidious or anything. If I were buying one, I'd be happy to pay $50 extra for the guarantee of having SATA3.

Hopefully we can figure out what Sony's distribution plans are for these drives so people can do better than rolling dice to get the faster storage.

 

That's how you do it. Glad they have the option in the UK.

I'd tell anyone debating the upgrade to do it without hesitation.

 

Thanks. I cancelled my order request already

No point paying 4k and getting sub par equipment

 

Yup...kinda sucks...that I am stuck with gen 2. I would have gladly paid more for the gen 3. I guess now I have a good reason to buy the next refresh if it comes with gen 3.

 

Country of Purchase: Canada
Retailer Name: sonystyle.ca
Purchase Date: 23 July 2011
Model Number: (full number, pls): CA-VPCZ2190S-LBOM
SSD Size: 256 GB (2 x 128 GB)
SATA Type: SATA III

 

USA CTO, gen3

 

Same here.

 

US CTO Gen3 also

 

Country of Purchase: Germany
Retailer Name: TechData, German Distributor
Purchase Date: 12th August
Model Number: VPCZ21V9E/B
SSD Size: 256GB (2x128)
SATA Type: SATA II

 

Where are you and which model did you consider?

Thanks to all who posted thus far. OP update in a few.

 

I am from Singapore, and there is only 1 model - which is equivalent to the top end signature model from USA (except it's without wwan and it's a 2nd gen ssd)

the model should be the same as ota-con

 

I'm probably speaking for all Singaporeans, since we only have 1 lousy model on sale.

Country of Purchase: Singapore
Retailer Name: Sony Style (official retailer)
Purchase Date: August 6th
Model Number: VPCZ217GG/X
SSD Size: 256GB (2x128GB)
SATA Type: SATA II

To be honest, I would have gladly paid $100 more for a gen III SSD. As it stands, we're stuck with what we're offered.

 

And I'm probably speaking for all Malaysians, since only one model is available for sale.

Country of purchase: Malaysia
Retailer name: SonyStyle
Purchase date: August 28th
Model number: VPCZ21GG/X
SSD size: 256GB (2x128GB)
SATA Type: SATA II

Speedtested slower than the OCZ Vertex III I have in my souped up 2011 Mac Mini, and definitely slower than my Pegasus Thunderbolt RAID Storage. It is, however, benchmarked faster than my CTO 11" MacBook Air.

That is in benchmarking. In practice, they are all snappy without any apparent difference between them. Unless you're into hardcore video-editing that require fast transfer speeds or using that internal storage as scratch disk, all these numbers will not mean anything to normal day-to-day usage.

 

Got my Z yesterday!

Country of Purchase: Germany
Retailer Name: sony.de
Purchase Date: 15th August
Model Number: VPCZ21C5E
SSD Size: 256GB
SATA Type: Sata III

 

Congrats, did you have to apply any upgrade to get the g3 ssd or was it bundled?

 

If Sony is reasonable, the Z22 should be the end of 2nd gen. SSDs.

 

Yes, there's an option to choose between Gen2 and Gen3.
G3 costs about 25€ (~ 35$) more than G2

 

If in Germany you order straight through Sony, you get to choose between 2nd and 3rd gen SATA. 3rd gen is preselected and 20€ more expensive than 2nd gen.

Fun fact: You have to pay 15€ extra for the backlit keyboard.

 

Interesting. I wonder if, minus currency conversion, maxed out systems cost the same. Like if you can opt out of more options in Germany and the UK

 

They won't cost the same!

I payed ~2500€ (~3500$) for the following configuration:
-i7-2620M
-8 GB RAM
-256 GB Gen3
-Backlit keyboard
-1600x900 display
-No WAN
-Win 7 Pro

If you buy from sony.com, a similar system costs ~2600$, but WITH the PMD (which is at least 440€ extra in Europe)!
So it's really expensive her!

 

I wouldn't want to post this in a new thread, since it pretty much concerns the very same topic Zoinks has brought up.

I'm a tad annoyed that I'm getting a gen II SSD as opposed to the faster models other markets are getting. Is there anyway I can bring this up with Sony? I understand that I should have done my homework before I purchased the Z; I'm just seeing if there's anyway I can get this model replaced with a newer (future) Z configuration that comes with a gen III SSD. I don't mind paying a bit more, I just want to ensure I'm getting the best, especially since I paid $4k for this baby.

Thanks in advance.

 

Country of Purchase: Indonesia
Retailer Name: Sony Center, Grand Indonesia
Purchase Date: 22nd August
Model Number: VPCZ217GG/X
SSD Size: 256GB (2x128)
SATA Type: SATA II

 

Seems like the markets that have the gen2's also have options in CTO for the the faster g3's. I think it is buyers beware on preconfigs, but you might call to see if they'll let you swap it or something. Doubtful tho

 

Just curious, have you contacted Sony to see if they would do something for you? You can't be much past the 30 day return date, though I guess you are past it. Saying you have a good reason to buy the next refresh - unless you have money to burn, that's going to be a very expensive way to get a $35 upgrade. Maybe Sony didn't advertise falsely, but this is certainly in a gray area. Why in the world would they offer it both ways? Is there a rational reason to choose the SATA II for such a tiny cost difference?

 

Sure, they're Sony.

 

Just got a brand new Sony VAIO VPC-Z214GX/B 13.1-Inch Laptop (Black) from Amazon.com today. Arrived not 20 minutes ago. SATA II, sadly (64GBx2).

 

Strange how inconsistent the company is in selecting parts. Perhaps the Z22s will all be SATA III.

Or, perhaps not.

 

well... 64GB drives are normally filling a quarter of avalible controller channels, making SATAIII very hard to justify, even in RAID0...

 

Country of Purchase: Germany
Retailer Name: Sonyonline
Purchase Date: 16.8.2011
Model Number: VPCZ21C5E (CTO)
SSD Size: 256GB
SATA Type: SATA III - Gen III - 6Gb/s

 

Not when they're selling the world's most expensive production laptop. Besides, as other readers have noted, some but not all of the Z21s with a 2x128GB configuration are also SATA-II.

 

Minor sidetrack: Fully loaded MacBook Pro 15's and 17's are more expensive.

 

I guess he meant starting price?

Though some Clevos (X7200, in particular) and the Alienware m18x may give it a run

 

The 17" MacBook starts almost $500 higher than the base Z2, at least here in the States.

You get a better processor, a larger but SLOOWER hdd, etc.

 

ah, I see. I never bought a mac, lol. Well, except for a poor old 2009 era MacBook white that was used as an iTunes machine for a while, before I went to Zune and never looked back. Except for AT&T not having any stinkin WP7 phones within 50km^2 when my company gave me a 4 hr deadline for buying a new phone, so I got an Atrix instead

 

I have a question.
How about Vaio VPC-z212gx/b selled in amazon?
Is it SATAII?
Is there anyone who knows the answer exactly?

 

I meant similarly configured. A fully loaded Z2 is about $4500 while a similar Macbook 17 with 512GB SSD, 8GB RAM, etc. is about $4100.

 

Hmmm. I went through and priced out fully loaded configs for each of them (not counting software packages) and the 15 and 17 were still more expensive.

Are you doing US prices??? (BTW, Sony seems to have a roughly $300 "sale" going on now and I guess without that, they're closer to each other.)

 

I'm using US prices. The high-end Z2 Signature is $4499.99.
13.1" Lightweight Performance Laptop | VAIO Signature Collection Z Series | VPCZ21SHX/X | Sony USA

The MacBook with all the onboard hardware options (no software or warrenty options) is $4099.00
Configure - Apple Store (U.S.)

 

OK, right. I didn't do the Signature series, just a CTO.

I looked at the Signature series in a Sony store and asked the guy what made it worth nearly $500 more than an identically loaded CTO. He couldn't actually give me a straight answer. We ultimately agreed that the only benefit was that he would give me a 48 month payout schedule if I wanted.

I opted for a somewhat less configured CTO (see signature, below).

 

Just received mine today:

Country of Purchase: USA
Retailer Name: Microsoft Store (Microsoft Signature Image)
Purchase Date: 9/23/2011
Model Number: (full number, pls) VPCZ21BGX
SSD Size: 256
SATA Type: Type III - 6 Gb/sec

And so far, I'm lovin it.....

 

I bought Z2190S series laptop last week. Could not make the Vaio button works. All other Assist and web short cut button works perfect. There is no option to make Vaio Button work. Also I could not make the Auto lcd brightness light control work. When enabled it goes back to default once the system is logged off. Any one can help to resolve?? Contacted Sony esupport and installed Notebook utility it did not fix the issue

 

Just got my VPCZ21BGX
256GB = 2x 128GBPC
SATA Type: Type III - 6 Gb/sec

 

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