Sony VPCZ112GX/S Quick Review

I purchased the Sony VPCZ112GX/S from Best Buy online for $1729.

It has

2.4ghz i5 core cpu
led back lit 13" 1600x900 screen
4 gigs of ram
330 geforce w/1 gig of ram
128 gig solid state hard drive
Came with Windows 7 but also came with a Windows XP downgrade CD

weighs like 3 pounds....

It was between this and a Macbook Pro and I'm VERY happy I went with the Sony over the Macbook Pro. Macbooks are nice on the outside but this machine is just EVERYTHING I could possibly want from a laptop at a great price. Runs games great, screen is amazing, decent battery life. I just couldn't say enough good things about the laptop. If anyone is interested in buying one and has questions just ask me, but I'll save you the run around...

I looked at 30+ different laptops, read tons of reviews and this was by far the best overall machine for the money hands down.

 

What did you like the most?

 

Exactly the same story for me! Disappointed with the 13's macbook upgrade, went for a Sony Z same as yours. And I'm very happy I did so!

 

count another new sony customer driven away by the limited macbook pro choice.

i have the 192Gb version, same specs for the rest.

i doubt i could be any happier, the Z is a small wonder.

 

The thing I like most about the Sony is the speed. The solid state hard drive boots and loads software really quick and the fact that I can actually play games on such a thin/light laptop is crazy. I know this machine isn't a dedicated gaming machine, but it runs the games all so well I just don't see the point in owning a desktop.

If you could take the specs from the Sony and put it into a Macbook Pro then you'd probably have a better machine, because I still feel that the Macbook Pro screens are king of the hill (edge to edge glass gives it that amazing look) however, for a PC, the 1600x900 back lit led screen beats the pants off of everything else I could find at a local computer store or best buy. Also the straight HDMI output from the laptop to my 40" back lit LED TV..... ya.... HULU on a giant screen anyone?

 

Yes the Z is an incredible little machine. I love mine!

 

was thinking of getting it, but when i went to the sony style website, it said that the model is no longer available......... apparently the Z12 is coming soon?

 

got mine a few days ago. LOVE IT WJF:OJWEOJWOJ AHHHHHHH

 

I hate to break the combo but I am actually a little bit disappointed with the Z.

To start off, I have the exact same model as OP does. I got it at Tigerdirect and comes out around 1600 after cashback. Without referring to the obvious pros, here's the set of things I am disappointed with. First, the screen is not as matte as the 15" 08 MBP(the only thing that I can compare extensively to), but not as bad as 13" unibody MBP. It's still very reflective. While this might to the best screen on the PC market, 15" MBP screen is still a notch over the Z in viewing angle and generally "looks better". The construction of the Z is only slight better than other sony laptops, not nearly as good as other business class notebook. MBP also has an edge in this department. Also, overall, the system is not as elegant and well build as MBP.

In the software department, I can excuse the fact it runs on Windows and not comment as much about it, but one more thing I noticed is that the ambient sensor does not work as smoothly as that of MBP. Another thing is multitouch touchpad, if you have used a MBP touchpad there's no elaboration needed.

I am pretty sure there is a fair share of problems for the MBP, but overall, I would say this is as good as a PC could get, but definitely not as user friendly as a MBP. This is my first laptop for a desktop person. I always hated Apple for their overpriced products, but after actually owning a laptop and using it I started to notice as well Apple implemented subtle details that makes the user experience as a whole a lot better.

If weight and size isn't a deciding faction, and for the same price I would get the 15" MBP with Intel SSD + matte screen over the Z. But then MBP would still cost a lot more compare to the Z, and it's the main reason why I didn't opt for the evil Apple.

 

I'm almost 100% sure the screen on the Z is less reflective than the 13" unibody screen of the MBP. As to regards to the reflective screen, the 1600x900 LED backlit screen gets so bright that reflective or not, I can see what I'm doing. About the construction of the Z, when you say the construction is just slightly better, what do you mean? The Z is carbon fiber, I've actually dropped my Z from my desk to the ground(~3 feet) and it was fine, no scratches/dents. If i did that with a MBP, i'd probably end up with an ugly dent. If you're referring to the flex of the parts of the Z, it's designed to be able to flex and rebound rather than just bending then breaking. (there's a thread in this forums somewhere regarding the absence of unibody sonys that describe this very well). Regarding the sensor, I do agree, it is not that responsive(although I'm sure Sony will update that), but in the meantime, I just place a sliver of paper over it as a temporary solution. As for the multitouch touchpad, if you go into the Sony Vaio Z i5/i7 Official Owner's Thread, you'll find a link to some freeware for multitouch Synaptic touchpads that give you two-finger scrolling + extras. I think they work adequately for all intents and purposes as I haven't really used a MBP's touchpad extensively.

And I completely agree with your last statements, my teacher bought the 17" MBP w/ i7-620m, 500 gb hdd, 1920x1080 LED backlit, 4 gb(2x2gb) RAM, 330m(512 mb) for $2400, I got my Vaio Z for $2100 w/ 192 gb ssd. =]

 

I thank you for the link to an awesome utility that makes less problematic, but against out of the box, bigger, more responsive touch pad of MBP I can't think of any excuse to even call Z's touch pad comparable to that of MBP. MBP simply outclass every other laptop on the market in multitouch.

For the limited experience I had with 13" MBP, Z's screen is in deed better without a doubt. But when you compare it to the 15" higher res matte screen I would beg the differ. It is the best screen I have seen on a laptop.

I am not trying to enrage the fanbois of this forum. My family and I have been following Sony products for a long time: camcorder, walkman, PS3, and even Sony Ericsson, and we are satisfy with majority of Sony's products. The Z is the most powerful 13" laptop on the market, and I love my Z. I was just trying to point out some flaws, minor or not, of a laptop that I was expecting to be perfect and disappointed to find out that it is not. On the bright side, you might find more ppl complaining at the Mac section than Sony's.

P.S. Heck, I paid less for my Z with SSD than the base model of MBP15.