The Vaio Z replacement thread

The demise of Sony's Vaio laptops means we will no longer see the cutting edge Vaio Z which was a powerhouse in true portable form. I still have my first gen Z which has withstood much abuse and drops over the years and it still is a better laptop than what I see available today. So for those who are ready to upgrade their Z and now find themselves lost without a clear leader in the high-end laptop space, i'd like to dedicate this thread on suggestions of viable replacements to our gradually aging Z's .

So far I haven't seen anything (Windows based) that is:
<1kg (3lb)
- 500gb+ SSD
- 6+ hours battery life
- Sexy
- Durable with good quality material
- Fingerprint scanner
- Wireless ac

 

I'm still struggling with this too...So far I haven't been able to find a good Windows replacement. It puzzles me that Iris Pro laptops are virtually nonexistent...Anyway here's what I've found so far:

• Sony Vaio Pro 13 (look through the forums for more details)
• Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro (review)
• Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (review)
• Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus (review)
• Asus UX301 with Iris Pro(review)

Otherwise, Macbook Pro 13 is your other option...It's got Iris Pro and can run both OSX and Windows. I'm leaning towards this option myself...

 

I am in the same boat. I have wanted to find a replacement for a couple years now.

I love the docking station and have three of them. That is a feature I doubt we ever see again.

I removed my optical drive and installed a 1TB drive. So with 500gb ssd, 1TB storage drive, docking stations - pretty much impossible to find anything to replace what has been the greatest business warrior laptop I have ever owned.

Unfortunately it looks like the new Macbook Pro that is due out looks like the future for me.

These missing features make me want to upgrade... instant on, the way you pretty much never need to turn macs off, usb 3.0 (currently using pc card), 3rd gen i7 cpus,.....

 

I've noticed a few used Vaio Zs for sale on B&H every now and then. I guess established vendors on Ebay might be the best place to source one?

 

Check out the Razer Blade 14". Heavier than the Z because they went with Aluminium instead of carbon fiber, but terrific in terms of power in a small package. Great battery life too.

 

gigabyte p34g is like the Razer Blade 14, except with a much nicer screen although so physically not as nice looking.

 

I have the last model of Z made, the SVZ13, and while it's been great the new Dell XPS 15 touch with the QHD+ display has been sorely tempting me. While much larger dimension wise compared to the Z, the weight is still pretty reasonable at 2kg.

 

not sure about the 6 hour battery life, i used to get between 2-3 hours max on standard battery in "good" condition according to vaio care.

 

Guys, check out the new Razer Blade 14". Except for the weight - 2.03kg/4.4lb - this is looking very good indeed.

https://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade


Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-4702HQ Quad Core Processor with Hyper Threading 2.2GHz / 3.2GHz (Base/Turbo)

Chipset: Mobile Intel® PCHM 8 series chipset, HM87

Memory: 8GB onboard memory (DDR3L-1600MHz)

Graphics and Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 870M (3GB GDDR5 VRAM, Optimus™ Technology)

Display: 14.0" QHD+ 16:9 Ratio, 3200x1800, with LED backlight, capacitive multi-touch

Storage: 128GB / 256GB / 512GB SSD (SATA M.2)

Power: Compact 150W Power Adapter; Built-in 70Wh rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery

Webcam: Built-in HD webcam (2.0MP)

Additional Features:

Razer™ Synapse 2.0 Enabled
Multi-point touchscreen interface
Built-in stereo speakers
Backlit anti-ghosting keyboard
Array microphone
3.5mm microphone/headphone combo port
USB 3.0 port x3 (SuperSpeed))
HDMI 1.4a audio and video output

Communications: Intel® Wireless-AC 7260HMW (802.11a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth® 4.0)

Size and Weight:

Width: 13.6” / 345mm
Depth: 9.3" / 235mm
Height: 0.70"/ 17.9mm
Weight: 4.47lbs / 2.03kg

Operating System: Windows® 8.1 (64-Bit)

 

looks like my new notebook, I'll just have to get used to the extra 2 pounds Anyone want my SVZ??

 

Just to say that as a long term fan of the Sony z series I switched to a Razerblade 14 about 6 months ago. Really the weight isnt very reasonable given the power of its processor - you can easily get light weight with a 'U' processor. The Razer Blade I have is an awesome machine although I am rather jealous of the much improved screen on the new version (still I am a docking port guy and usb 3 docking ports are great news.)

Finally I would point to a feature that the Razer Blade has that isnt 'directly' in the specs. It comes with a choice of 128/256/512 GB msata SSD. But whichever model you buy there is a spare msata SSD port whereby you can add another SSD (up to the 1TB size that Samsung now offers.)