Sony Vaio Z 2011-2012.. a good choice?

Hey guys,

I am looking at buying a factory refurbished Sony Vaio Z series 2011 notebook and a Power Media dock. In the past i have used a lenovo thinkpad with a 'normal' docking station and it's time for an upgrade.

I am looking for a laptop that has a docking station because i use it a lot both at home and on the road and i have 2 24inch screens at home that i like to work with.

My question is:

1) Is is possible to use the Sony Vaio Z with the lit closed and hooked up to the PMD? As said, i have 2 big screens and i don't want to have the 13inch laptop screen open and distracting me

2) Does anybody know how the touchpad works under windows 8? Are the gestures working and if so.... are they working properly?

Many thanks, if you think i should consider another laptop, please let me know..
much appreciated!

Dennis

 

1. Yes, you can close the lid to use on external monitor by setting it to do nothing under power management.
2. Yes, both VPCZ2 and SVZ13 touchpad supports gesture as stated in their factory specifications.

 

Just don't expect Windows 8 to be functional with the PMD! With Windows 7, it works fine just how you describe it. You could even have your notebook also switched on and work on 3 displays at the same time (and add a 3rd screen you attach to the main unit for 4 screens).

 

Once you've owned a Z it's hard to go back! That said, it is clearly not ready for W8 and it may never be, so you need to factor that in. Also, the PMD is not exactly a full fledged dock in the way, say, a Lenovo dock is. It's primarily a housing for the (rather mediocre) d-gpu and DVD drive with ports to replace the ones it uses up on the main laptop, plus one or two extras. Also, the laptop itself through its internal speakers sounds about like a 1965 telephone receiver!

I adore my Z - both of them! - but if you're seeking advice I think you should know the good, the bad and the ugly. My Z, which happens to be the lightest, fastest laptop its size on earth with 10 hrs battery life with an extremely narrow sheet battery attached, and with close to the best 13" screen in existence - and while cosmetically it does show scratches and such fairly easily (I recommend an SGP skin), internally it is extremely well constructed and reliable as any laptop I've owned, and that would be in the dozens! Sorry to say, if I wasn't using my Z, I probably would go to a Thinkpad simply because it is so well made and does most everything well and doesn't skimp on ports and it doesn't use proprietary parts, as the 2011-2012 Zs do. The main thing you would lose would be the screen quality, but it sounds like you mostly use external screens.

One other good thing about buying a Z at today's much lowered prices for used/refurbs: it is always easy to resell if you decide it's not for you.

Best of luck.

 

Have my 2011 Z2 up and running with a couple externals. As stated, simply choose what closing the lid does under power settings and you'll be good to go.

It took a little tweaking (a solid evening), but I have Win8 Pro fully up and running with the PMD courtesy of Leshcat drivers. External monitors and acceleration both work and CCC is accessible.

Win8 gestures work with generic driver from Synaptics installed, but you should know that the touchpad can be a little cramped for them.

There are some pretty good guides on here for setting up a Z2 with Win8. Although most recommend a clean install, I ran mine as an upgrade and it ended up working out. Let me know if you need links to any of it.

 

thanks a lot for this great write up. It is funny you mention the thinkpad.. it's exactly the alternative i am looking at. The dock is cheap, the machine is cheap but it's easy to replace parts and upgrade later on etc. - that said, the screen is NO comparison... i am bidding on a sony vaio Z and a thinkpad on ebay .. Z ends first, if i miss that one i try my luck on the thinkpad.. let ebay decide!!