Vaio Z13 vs Z21

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a Vaio Z. I'm hesitating between the following two laptops:

Vaio VPCZ21L9E (~ € 800)

- i5 (2410M)
- 1600x900
- 4GB RAM
- 128 GB SSD

Vaio VPCZ13V9E/X (~ € 900)

- i7 (640M)
- 1600x900
- 6GB RAM
- 256GB SSD
- 3G modem

The Z21 is second hand, only a few months old, the Z13 is refurbished with 12 months of warranty.

The drawbacks of the Z21 are obvious: not upgradeable, lower specs. But it's more portable, and can be extended with the PMD. The Z13 is less portable, and older form factor. But it has a 3G card, better specs and is upgradeable...

Main use will be programming, server administration and occasionally playing a game.

Any help is appreciated!

UPDATE: I also checked the Sony S, but I really don't like the viewing angle of the display. I plan to use the laptop outside, and it seems like a deal breaker to me. If I'm wrong on this, I would be glad to hear!

 

Well I have the VPCZ11, a much lower i5 config than the one you are proposing and was thinking to upgrade to the VPCZ21. I almost pulled the trigger but then I went back to the forums and reviews and read about the keyboard and the trackpad.
My brother got the VPCZ2 2 months ago and I tried it side by side with mine. I can say that I didn't regret not buying it. I hated the Z2's keyboard and trackpad. Visually mine looks still classy enough compared to the Z2 and the weight difference is not that important. So I will be waiting for the its successor.
The boot speed is much better with the VPCZ2, but didn't notice a big speed difference in Office tasks (he has the i7). I don't play games, but without the PMD the VPCZ13 is better.
Finally you might get some better battery life with the Z2, but thats all.
In your place I would be getting the VPC13. The extra SSD space is important and since it is an i7, you will not notice a speed difference. But the best is to try both if you can.

 

The bigger SSD and warranty make the Z13 worth the extra cost in my opinion.

 

the z11 is amazing. i miss mine. i can't believe i sold it away.... the new z is just soooo small, and the keyboard is just blah. and the PMD is just stupid. i want discrete graphics in the laptop itself.

doesn't make it any more portable having a pmd

 

Thanks for all the replies. A third option is available, only a bit more expensive:

Vaio VPCZ2290X (~ € 1050)

- I7 2640M
- 1920x1080
- 8GB memory
- 128GB SSD
- With PMD

I think this would be the best deal. Thanks for all the usefull replies, made me look a bit more at alternatives!

 

^^^^^^
I can't imagine having only 128GB of disk to work with. I have to watch the available space on my Z2 and that's 512GB. Want to buy the Z2 listed in my signature? PM me.

 

Sure, definitely interested. But I couldn't find a way to send you a PM. Most important question is where are you from?

 

Good question. I'm in the US and would only ship to another US address.

 

I heartily agree that 256GB is the minimum base SSD to have. Remember though, on both Sonys (Z1 and Z2) you get two SD card slots: one standard SD and one "Magic Memory" slot for Sony's proprietary format. This gives you the potential to add either 96GB or 128GB (can't recall the limit on the Sony card) of additional storage, especially good for files you stream, such as music and even HD (not Blu ray) video. The (much) slower read/write speeds of the SD type cards is fine for streaming media, not so great for loading programs. But there's another sweet option with the Z1: if you can live without the internal DVD drive (and these days most are virtually hostile to them! - not me btw), you can use the slot for a standard 2.5" SSD drive, and those are falling in price so fast they'll be as cheap as spinning drives soon (exaggeration - but prices well below $1/GB are reality for the best SSDs and those prices are still in free fall. While the Z1 operates at SATA II speeds (3GB/s), 1/2 the speed of the new SATA III busses in many SB machines and all IB ones. Still, the RAID0 SSD's in the Z1 are very fast and the best 6GB/S format SSDs are equally fast in the Z1's DVD slot.

Since you can't upgrade ANYTHING in the Z2 and you can upgrade pretty much everything (except CPU) in the Z1, which has a far better keyboard than the Z2 and somewhat better audio (a dubious distinction, but at least it gets loud enough without distorting that you can use it to show someone a Youtube if they sit next to you, which you can't do with the Z2.)

So, if you don't need the cpu power or SATA III SSD speed, the Z1 is a far more versatile computer that is a joy to use. Though, it must be said, two of the Z2's advantages are the 5-6 hr battery life, which becomes 9-12 with the sheet battery. Also, the Z2 is about the lightest laptop on the planet, at 2.5 lbs vs. the Z1's 3.1 lbs. The z2 gains about .8 lbs with the sheet battery, but that is well worth it to double your battery life to 10-12 hrs when the best the Z1 can do is about 3-4 hrs on its base battery or 5-7 hrs with its extended battery, which brings the Z1 to 3.7lbs, no heavy weight, but feels much heavier than the Z2 because its battery weight is distributed evenly while the heavy extended battery for the Z1 makes it unbalanced and feel heavy.

Bottom line: they're both marvelous machines but most who have owned both are in love with the Z1 and heavy like with the Z2. For example, for all my praise of the Z1, I just got a Z2 and I adore it, and find it's becoming my daily driver. No way I'm getting rid of the Z1 though!

 

Thanks, great reply! I knew about the possibility to replace the DVD with another SSD. I also like the fact that the internal graphics card is somewhat better than the internal one of the Z2. Just got an new offer for the Z13 for € 850, so I might take it. I only still have to convince my wife

 

Z1 has both graphics adapters inside; Z2 has Intel inside and AMD in the PMD. If you think that you'll ever need discrete graphics on the go, then go for the Z1. If you think that you will only need discrete graphics at one place (where your PMD is), then the Z2 comes into the frame.

Could someone who has both please tell us whether the discrete adapter in the Z2 PMD performs any better than the GT330M in the Z1?

 

The Z2 PMD performs much better than a standard-clocked GT330M, in most situations easily twice as fast. If you overclock the 330M the difference is smaller, but still quite a big chunk.

The GT330M is okay for some older or lighter games on the go, but don't expect it to run the latest games. I have a Z13, if I overclock the 330M then at 1600x900 these games are playable with low-ish settings: Team Fortress 2, World of Warcraft and Assassin's Creed Revelations (absolute lowest settings but still native res). Not that good, but more than enough on the go.

 

Thanks, Ambroos.

 

my vote is for Z1- series... the best ultraportable ever made. with aluminium frame, so solid so beautiful. for me it is the last sony I've bought. today's sony so much POP, not a solid PRO like old times (<2010).

 

Not only that, but you can get an e-GPU for your Z1 (check out this thread or PM Nando, the eGPU "guru" of this forum) that will connect to your ExpressCard slot in the Z1 (not present in the Z2) and produce double triple the frame rates/benchmark speeds as the PMD with it's sickly AMD 6650. You actually run a desktop caliber GPU in an eGPU because, like the PMD, it's a separate box that runs on its own AC PSU. In any event, there are some pre-made eGPUs and lots of DIY help via the link above, but you should know its an option if you go with the Z1 and for the trouble of having to have a separate box that requires AC power instead of it only working with the one computer it was made for - and only weakly at that - the eGPU will work on any computer with an ExpressCard slot, which are becoming rarer, but business class models (Thinkpad, Dell Latitude/Precision, HP Elitebook) still have them so there should be a better resale market for them. I don't know what being in Europe changes in all of this. Anyway, it's another option, another feather in the Z1'a cap. Point is, the Z1 is infinitely flexible and you can make it do just about anything you want, a good thing

Have to agree. I've been alternating between my trusty z13 and a z22 for the past 3 weeks now and the weight and fast boot and fast execution of certain things are a kick on the Z2 but the keyboard is giving me carpal tunnel (too darn shallow) and the backlighting is hard to see unless your room is very dark and there is no way to control it yourself, as there is in the Z1, with its bright light backlight.

In the US there was just a "blow out" sale of Z2 clearance models (new, never sold, probably mfd by Sony for purpose of having "clearance sale!") and you could find a low-med. spec Z2 for around $1,100 and high spec models starting at about $1,400. Don't know if the sale extended over the pond, but I would expect to find some of these make it to eBay pretty soon but perhaps not for shipment outside North America. Worth looking into though.

 

Yes, I looked into this. I hesitated to order one, but the costs after shipping and EU taxes are a bit too high unfortunately. I will go for the Z13, just got a nice deal for a full specced one for € 860.

Thanks all!

 

Good for you! what a sensational deal? what is the config? Use and enjoy!

 

Config is exactly the same as your Z13. And it's brand new, with a year of warranty. Thanks!

 

Nice work. You will love it. I still have a hard time adjusting going from my Z13 to my Z22, even though the latter boots up in 12 seconds!

Run some benchies if you get a chance.

 

I'm gonna run Linux anyway, so boot time will be fast. And, Linux does support TRIM on ext4, so that's also no problem for me Will run some benchmarks when I have it.

 

I have no idea how Linux and hybrid graphics will go together. You may need to use the hacked BIOS and use the static graphics mode.

FYI Boot times are quite fast with SSD models, and even faster with Windows 8.