Sony Vaio Z: Full HD an overkill?

Hello all,

I'm inclined in buying a Sony Vaio Z (VPC-Z13) but I still haven't decided about whether or not the full HD screen would be an overkill for that size (I'm asking cause I read some reviews that said it was... ie. ITShootout).

I mean I would never buy anything less than 1600x900 and I really like sharp and clear fonts even when they are kinda smallish but I would really appreciate it if some of you that already have the Z could advise on your overall experience.
Also, my other concern would be how the display would look when I use lower resolution for gaming?

Finally, has anyone seen the Z side by side to a Macbook screen or the HP envy's radiance screen with the glass finish? How does it compare?

thanks

anestis

 

Don't know if it's necessary or not but I know I ordered my last computer (VGN-AR830e w/17" screen) witout the HD screen and regretted it, so I ordered this one with it...what's an extra $100 when you're already spending a couple/few grand?

 

I'm about to buy one and went into the Sony store today to compare the two resolutions side by side. At 100% dpi words on the FullHD screen are small but readable - not great if you have to quickly glance at the screen but generally readable. At 125% dpi (the default) you couldn't tell the difference between the FullHD screen and the 1600x900 screen.

I'll be getting the FullHD screen because, as I see it, you have the option of switching dpi back and forth depending on how you intend to use the laptop. With the 1600x900 screen you're stuck with a single resolution. There are times when I will need the extra real estate of the FullHD screen at 100% dpi so it's the one for me.

 

@awenthol: well my dilemma is definitely not about the money.. $100 more is nothing when the laptop costs nearly 3 grand.

@jakem:

So I'm glad that you said u did a side by side comparison. I'm thinking of doing the same thing.. getting the full hd and maybe increase the dpi. I wanted to ask before getting it really cause so many reviews online say that it's far too small to be usable... 1 even said it's an overkill...

But to be honest my biggest worry is when it comes to gaming... 1600x600 is much more playable


Also has anyone compared the screen with an HP envy or a Macbook pro??

 

I didn't compare the screen to either of the laptops you mentioned but it really is a lovely screen. My girlfriend even mentioned how good it looks and she was only in the store under duress

Don't forget that the FullHD screen covers 97% RGB. I've read reviews that compare it to the Macbook screen and the Sony screen always wins.

 

Well I'm glad to hear that...
The sony panel is not IPS right? Cause I hear that the HP envy 14 radiance screen is amazing

 

Correct. It's a 6-bit TN display. The positive side is that TN displays have faster refresh. The negatives are bad vertical viewing angles and fewer distinct colour shades (mostly noticeable for greys and dark greens).

 

Full HD on 13.1" is too small for my tastes. Hurts my eyes.

 

This was discussed a zillion times before (including pictures and comparing the Z's screen to MBP etc.)

You should find what you are looking for by searching

 

I would seriously consider the 1600x900 if you plan on gaming. Turning down the resolution for gaming does slightly distort the picture. It's not unplayable by any means, but if you're a gamer, you might not like the look when you turn down the resolution to game (and the Z will likely have trouble with modern games at FHD).

I think that if you need extra real estate on your screen because business or school requires many windows and apps open at once, then FHD makes sense. If you're going to use the machine for more of a mix of activities, taking advantage of the GPU for some gaming, 1600x900 is probably the better option.

 

The other 2 things to consider.

1.) The 1080p screen is widely reported as not as bright as the 1600x900 screen (although most say it's bright enough still)
2.) The 1080p screen is supposed to have better color range (96% I believe)

My vote is the 1600x900 screen for all the reasons above.

 

If you're not sure, the 1600x900 screen is probably the one for you.

For me, the 1920x1080 screen was what sold me on the Vaio Z over any other laptop -- to get that resolution in a 13 inch notebook is a killer feature for someone who needs screen real estate and portability as well, but then I've always lusted after small pixel pitch screens (I'd love to pick up an IBM T221 monitor, which is 3840x2400 pixels in a 22 inch desktop screen).

If you're not so concerned about that, then the 1600x900 screen is better if your eyes aren't perfect, and is cheaper, and still better than just about any other 13 inch notebook on the market. I'd also say that running the 1920x1080 screen at 125% DPI setting is a bit of a waste, as it uses more CPU and GPU power (as well as costing more money) for effectively no more information on the screen.

But as said, the best way to know for sure is to go and take a look at the 1600x900 screen, the 1920x1080 screen at 125% DPI setting, and the 1920x1080 screen at 100% DPI setting, and decide from there.

 

I'm about to buy a Z myself & went in to the Sony Style store so I could evaluate this very question. Looked at an HD video on both screens side-by-side and the premium HD screen was clearly superior, not only in resolution (duh) but also in brightness (both were on full) and in color range and saturation. The difference was noticeable and pushed my decision to the full HD option. Unfortunately (and you'll have to forgive the rant here), I can't order the HD option in the 1290 model, only in the 1390, so instead of it being a $100 upgrade from the 1290 configuration I was planning to order before my visit to the store, it's a $200 upgrade because the 1390 model starts at $100 more than the 1290 for the same base low-end configuration. When I started to think about this, it really started to annoy me to no end that Sony even has this model distinction, i.e. you have to pay an extra $100 just to get the full range of configurable options compare to a stripped down set of options in the 1290. IMHO that's just pure and brazen exploitation of the high-end computer consumer and Sony should be ashamed. Someday there will be a competitive machine to this one in terms of features/price (I'm thinking the next gen Macbook Air), and this type of pricing arrogance by Sony is certainly a hit to any brand loyalty that I might be feeling once I own the machine. But that will be a decision for a future day, I'm resigned now to the 1390 with the upgraded display option.

 

^something was configured wrong in the sonystyle store if the fulhd was brighter than the 1600x900. Perhaps autobrightness was enabled on one and not the other?

 

That's what I was thinking.

 

That could be a possibility, I might go back again tomorrow just to make sure. To be honest, the superiority was most evident in terms of resolution and color range/saturation, not as striking in brightness as both were quite bright but it did seem to me that the full HD was a bit brighter. I'll repost if I go back tomorrow.

 

The 1600x900 is definitely brighter than the 1080p screen. However you have to also remember that the 1600x900 screen at max brightness is gonna blind you, at least indoors anyway. So there is still a lot of room for the 1080p to be dimmER than the 1600x900 without being "dim" or poor in brightness.

 

I have the full HD screen and wish I had the 1600x900 instead (I didn't choose the laptop).

I don't like to change the Windows dpi setting because it makes the UI weird looking IMO. But at default dpi setting 1920x1080 is too small to read for extended periods.

Also, when I'm at my desk I have a 24-inch monitor so I use 1920x1200 for that. If I changed my dpi settings in Windows, everytime I connect to my monitor I would need to change the setting.

So I end up running my laptop at 1600x900 even though it's 1920x1080. Obviously that doesn't look as sharp as a native 1600x900 screen. When I connect to my monitor it automatically switches to 1920x1200.

 

@nventor: I wish I could go to a sonystyle shop myself and check it out but the closest one did not have any Vaio Z models. So if you go back please give us some feedback. Also apart from a video file check out a web page side by side!

@18000rpm: can you please explain some more why u wish u had the 1600x900. At 100% dpi is it that small that u can't use it as ur only dpi setting?

 

I strongly suggest looking at the 1920x1080 screen on the z13 it's really small but depending on what you do with your notebook. the 1600x900 is a perfect screen foe all people, but I prefer the 1920x1080 because I use a lot of windows and was used to work with multi screen I can almost do it in the same screen of the z13 1920x1080

 

In ur signature u're saying that u sold the Z11 with the 1600x900 is that right? So after having used both u still prefer the full HD for the Z ?

 

1920x1080 at the default dpi setting is too small for extended use IMO. It's too fatiguing.

1600x900 is just about perfect for a 13" screen (again IMO). And obviously it's much better to run an LCD display at its native resolution.

 

I have been researching on this topic of 1920x1080 vs. 1600x900 for about couple weeks now.
Today I went to local Micro Center store and spent some time comparing and contrasting two screens.
I must say both screens are fantastic, but to me, HD screen looked brighter though. (I was looking at new z13 models)
I don't know if they upgraded/changed the screen with new update with Z13.

Anyways, IMHO, 1600x900 should be adequate for normal users who do some gaming and playing movies.
As for the 1920x1080 screen, it has lots of real estate but text are too small and it really heavily taxes your eyes though. If you work with digital photos and video editing or programming etc, HD screen will be great.

Originally, I thought about going with HD screen, but today I made up my mind that I will go with 1600x900 screen.

I just have quick question though. How is screen for playing 1080p movies with 1600x900? Do you get chopped up screen size or anything like that?

 

When I first got the FHD Z I found it too small.
But I got used to it...and now I find it awkward using larger screens with lower resolution.

 

yep, i prefer the full HD for what i do with my notebook i use huge Excel files and analytical doc. but for every day use (normal use depend on people^^) i strongly suggest the 1600x900 because the full HD is very small for a lot of people you have to use it at 125% and that's what i do when i'm not working with it. i zoom on it is very fast to do though. Sometimes i wish to get the VGN-Z890 screen back it is even better than the VPC-Z11 one. i don't know if people are experiencing the same thing but when you look closely at the edge of the screen in the right side, the display on the screen is probably 1 mm fat from the edge of the plastic with the VGN the display of the screen is perfectly aligned !!! don't knew why but i got that in the Z11 and now in the Z13

 

The 2 toshiba SSDs that u have in the Z13 are the ones from the factory or u changed them? Also since u owned the Z11 before did u see any improvements with the Z13?
oh and have u tried any of the extended batteries?

 

If you care about precise color reproduction, get the 1920x1080 screen.

It really makes a big difference when working with color, like photoshop or other imaging/designer software.

It also allows to get more detail on screen, but obviously things get smaller.

It also shines at high def video, but I guess 1600x900 would be as good for watching movies.

Mine is Full HD, and even in bright daylight, you can see the screen.

People say 1600 screen is brighter. I cannot confirm, but, if true, it may also allow to save battery, since both might have the same backlight and it would let you set the bright level lower to achieve the same luminosity -I don't know if I explained correctly my theory-.

 

I read from another thread that the 1600x900 is inherently brighter. There's a registry setting that can unlock the full brightness of the screen. The brightness was toned down by Sony to match the dimmer 1080p screen.

 

The 2x128 Toshiba ssd are from the factory did not changed them

The only improvement was a little bit of speed with the i7 640 and more space to work with the 1920x1080, as I said earlier the ful hd screen is very useful for me

Sorry I did not test any extended battery. I got the Z because it is very light, I don't want to use an extended battery it's too heavy and don't really need it. In normal usage my battery can hold 4h more than I need to recharge

 

i have the 16x9 display its quite bright! and also its small (the text). if you go for the 1920 x 1080 then that would not be easy on the eyes at all. But it would obviously show movies at native res. the brightness for the 16x9 doesn't seem to go all the way unless i deactivate the checkbox in vaio control center for automatic brightness control. under my typical lighting situations, it would only reach as high as 90% (checking in with the vaio control center), when pressing the f6 (brightness up) key. if you want to go manual though, it does allow the full brightness which is very bright, the screen appears to come out more white though. if you're doing any sort of coding or work with text alot i think you want the 1600 display. you could always output to any resolution of monitor anyway. having said that though, if you dont mind a bit of resolution fuziness, you could get the 1920x1080 and set your res to 1600x900. i personally got the 1600x900 since i want a crisp resolution without any scaling going on.

at first, when i powered it on, i thought i ordered the 1920 display. yes its that small already at 1600x900. so be careful with your choice on this matter!

 

I'm sure you could find someone to happily switch either screens, or machines (if identical or nearly identical) with you. Where are you located?

 

I was asking the same question couple of months ago before I finally purchased my z13 1920x1080

Here in Canada, that was the only option on their CTO webpage, so I opted for it anyway. When it arrived, I had no issues with reading text, it was very comfortable for me. Sometimes i find having to zoom in, but I also do that with my 24" monitor from time to time, so I would say it's pretty normal. I believe Sony ships with a 125% DPI when you get the 1080p screen, I haven't had to change my DPI setting, but I think it's set at 125%. Either case, I don't notice any change in programs, everything looks good to me. I love this screen and I don't think I would go for the 900p anymore.

I recommend installing the new synaptics drivers when you get your laptop, so you can pinch-to-zoom, very useful

 

since i play games, i picked up the 1600x900. even at times with this, I find it to be a bit small, so i could never imagine using the 1080p screen; however, if you're a graphic designer or use photoshop, maya, etc..basically applications where screen realestate is vital, then i'd definetly consider the 1920x1080 res.