Sony Z (12) vs HP Envy 14

Seems to be a bit of a debate between the two laptops in terms of performance.. while I can configure the envy 14 to outperform the z at its price point, I want to see specifically what people think about the two laptops. How is the sound card built into the z? Also, does the 13" size have any problems with reading/doing work for long durations of time?

 

If they issue bing cash back again at 25% whien they release the 14, you can configure an I5-540M/160 SSD HD/14" 1600 x 900 350 nit display/1 dimm 4GB ram/HD 5650 in the area of $1,350. But, you get a 14.5" notebook that weighs 5lbs. On the other hand, the GPU will significantly outperform the 330M GT.

 

I've seen some Envy's in person and I don't know what it is about them but they just look and feel like there's something missing.
It's one of those notebooks that I wouldn't buy with my gut instinct.
It's hard to explain but I think a lot of you know what I mean.

 

The envy does have the slightly faster GPU and you can get a real quad if I can remember. And the slot loaded DVD is nice....but no Bluray.

For me the Z's Triple or Quad SSD does it for me.

 

heavier and no backlit keyboard....no deal

 

It does have backlit keys. The 5650 is faster than the Z's 330m.

But lets not forget that the storage system is one of the slowest part of the system, and here the Z is way ahead...especially in quad and triple ssd config.

 

Envy laptops are gay................ Im switching to Z

 

reasoning?

 

not really a fair comparison, the envy 14 is a 14.5" 5.25lb+ laptop while the Vaio Z is a 13.1" 3lb laptop. Laptops with similar size, weight and performance to the Envy 14 is quite common, but that's not the case for the Vaio Z.

 

The 2 lbs difference doesn't seem like it's a lot, but when you carry the notebook around with its power brick (envy's will no doubt be heavier) and other accessories, you will definitely feel a difference.

I carry my Z11 around with me quite a bit. I had a 5.5 lbs 14" notebook prior to this and the weight difference is night and day.

I will never go back to anything that weighs more than 3 lbs.

 

You have to define your usage and what kind of person you are to choose a nice gadget with you, Envy is for fashionable people and Vaio Z is definitely for business people. However the whole new HP laptops look just alike, you cant barely spot a difference in design between Dvt and Envy. Last words , Envy is for hippies, Z is for men

 

fair judgement.. I am not too concerned with weight at all though.

your saying fashion doesnt matter yet you bring up the whole ordeal of the laptop looking similar to the rest of the companies line? Not sure where your going with that statement.. but the envy deff packs a significant amount of power in its class.

 

Specs wise they are close, even when the Envy is heavier and has a 14"
Saying that one is multimedia and one is for business all marketing.

 

The envy is a 14.5". Ever see a 14.5 before? Me neither.

That said, it's going to be significantly larger and heavier than the Z....and higher performing.

Your question is best answered in what size machine you need. If 14.5 isn't too big, why not get a 15.6 with all the bells and whistles?

Either way you are sacrificing quite a bit of portability vs. the Z.

 

I owned an Envy 15. The Z is the better package, in my opinion. The specs are in my sig. Basically, the battery slice added a good bit of weight, so much so that it was not quite the portable machine I had hoped.

I can't speak towards the Envy 14, but the Z is the best machine I've ever owned...easily.

 

Yeah 13 inch is perect size.....14 and up is kinda big.

 

With the Envy i don't know if HP has cheapened the materials to get the lower price point compared to the 13" Envy. Smaller and lighter laptops do tend to carry more of a premium but still...

You could also get the Envy and a pretty cheap netbook/CULV notebook for on the road for around $1,400-$1,500 total. You can get some netbooks with 3G built in now. The netbooks also tend to have excellent battery life.

The weight of the Envy is ok if you only need to take it on the road very occasionally.

 

seems like the main argument revolves around the weight issue vs the z. The weight isn't too much of a factor to me.. the biggest factor is more of the screen... I understand the screen size is smaller on the z but with the resolution being HD.. is it possible that the difference between the screens are minimal as far as viewing?

 

if screen is your primary concern, I would be taking a close look at the 1920x1080 screen on the Z. available in the us in the signature and other regions in the cto models.
some things looks a bit small....but wow

 

OP if size/weight aren't a concern to you, there is no need to look at the Z. Better configs are available in 15" sizes with better specs for lower prices. The Z is all about size/weight/performance.

 

True, the Z doesn't have the best cost-to-performance ratio.

But much of this has to do with the SSD which is faster than those other 14+ inch options.
The Blu-ray at $500 is just plain too much, its not even slot loaded.

Other than that, the Z is THE 13 inch to get if price is not a prob.

 

How does the GPU on the Z perform when overclocked? The 5650 is the lowest I'll go, but if the 330m performs on-par after overclocking I may consider the Z.

 

The Z's GT330M gets around 6700 - 7000 3dmark06 points overclocked, so that would be in the range of the 5650 ( min: 6101, avg: 6921, max: 7870 Points; from notebookcheck.net), although ingame i'm not sure about fps differences.