Z1 or Z2 today

Hi,

Been considering getting one of these recently on the bay.

Newest gen I am considering is from around 2011, where the screens would cover most of AdobeRGB in either he 1600x900 or FHD models.

I know I may be addressing fans here, but I wonder what the overall feel is when regards to the longevity of these laptops. I have been a Thinkpad user almost exclusively and I would have considered VAIO if I had known about these rich panels then, but today I would be buying out of warranty (although Sony's warranty seems to not help much) and with many reports of keyboards not being as durable, or even noticing on ebay selling individual keys, and in some cases the SSDs having a limited lifespan.

All advise is appreciated.

Thanks

 

I own a VPC-Z2 since 2011, before that I was using a VGN-S5 (the great-great-grandfather of the Z2) for 6 years.
I had zero problems with the S5, despite using it non-stop. However, with the Z2 my experience is not 100% positive, unfortunately. My SSDs (Gen2, 256GB) started making problems around the time when my regular 2-year warranty was about to expire - luckily, I had purchased additional 2 years of warranty. The issue was getting worse, so I took it to a Vaio service center and got the SSDs replaced (see this thread for details). This was more than 1.5 years ago, since then everything seemed good, but the same problem happened again a few weeks ago, and also this week... I'm not sure how widespread this issue is, and whether Gen3 SSDs are affected.
Apart from the SSDs, I don't have any complaints about the Z2; it is a very solid laptop and I love it.
I have to say as a disclaimer that I take care of my stuff, so I'm not throwing the laptop around, jumping on it, typing with a club, etc. So I don't know how well it copes with physical abuse and whether its keys would start falling out (no sign of that currently, I like the keyboard).

All in all, I would get myself a VPC-Z2 or SV-Z (Z3) if I was looking for a used, non-touch laptop. But I'd go for a Gen3 SSD, preferably 512GB.

 

Hi,

Thanks for the advise. I think I will not consider them, in that case. Even as they sell second hand, for a min of £250 for Z1 variants and a min of £400 for z2 variants, that is quite a bit of money to place on a laptop of which its SSDs may fail. Maybe I could get an earlier version, like Z1, but I still think its quite a bit of cash for a laptop. I think I may just go back into considering the Thinkpad X series, some of which, can have AFFS or PVA screens installed with some home made builds.

Thanks again.

 

It's a good idea to look at other laptops, too. But before ruling out the Zs completely, you might want to wait for some other long-term Z owners to chime in, too. As I said, I don't know how widespread the issue I'm having with the SSDs is.

Btw., the Z1 offers more options for replacing the SSDs, e.g. with off-the-shelf ones.

 

I have both first gen Z1 (2008, with cylindrical hinge ) and 2011 Z2 (with Power Media Dock). Both working totally fine. With Z1 i had to replace keypad as it stopped working after 2 years or so (I even posted some pics about this in Z1 dedicated forum). Whole front fascia (keypad+palmrest) had to be replaced as it's an integrated part with keypad.

As for the built quality, I have to say I'm NOT impressed. Keypad worn out on both Zs in few months (instead of that nice sand-paper feel, some keys got slick and shiny eg. cheap plastic feel). Same with lid on top where you usually hold laptop when opening.So much about premium quality - they did have premium price though (each of them was about 2,700 USD). No wonder Vaio failed!

Also whole story about carbon fibre has been blown out if you ask me. First of all it's NOT carbon fibre but CFRP (Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic) which is another fancy name for "plastic with carbon fibre molded threads" (something we also discussed in dedicated threads). I have several other Vaios in family (FS-series and S-series) both made of magnesium alloy, no issues as mentioned above (not to mention much cheaper and way older than Zs!).

Z2 got some deformation below touchpad where you have cut-outs for SD card slots, it's very thin plastc (eer Carbon), I guess due to hands resting on palmrest?!

PMD is a great idea in theory (having outsourced GPU, keeping your laptop cooler) however 6650M is quite weak (same performance as Intel 5500) - which is mainstream nowdays. Too bad Sony discontinued Z series, maybe Z3 would hit the spot.

Where Zs really accelerate is Screen quality - which is really amazing. I compared Z2 with some of the latest laptops and I'm still amazed with color reproduction and vibrancy (I have 1600x900 screen, FHD was an overkill for my eyes - everything too small).

Z2 has i7-2640M - full fledged CPU not ULV, something some user may cherish.


With Z-series being discontinued, I'm yet to find good replacement. First on my list is Lenovo X1 Carbon, second is Vaio Pro 13 mk2 (currently sold only in Japan). What can I say I'm a sucker for Sony . Third option is Asus Zenbook UX300-series.

Hope this helps, if you have any questions please let me know.


Cheers,
Miki

 

Take a look at the Razer 14" as well. "Built by gamers, for gamers." is the tag line, but if the features suit your needs, it is a good, solid workhorse.

 

Thanks.
I didn't mention Razer 14", as it's a bit on a heavy side for me (around 2kg). Other than that is an amazing laptop.

I was also interested in Lenovo Lavie Z series (not Lavie Z360), but poor reviews/comments/keypad layout pushed me away.

Cheers,
Miki

 

Hi everyone,

Thank you all for your imput. I've decided that it would be best if I went for an X series Thinkpad. For an 240GB SSD, 8GB RAM, AFFS screen (or S-PVA) and a 1st gen i5 540m or i7 620m, I can get there for around £250-280 for the i5 or £310 for the i7.

No, it won't offer AdobeRGB coverage, and it would barely cover sRGB (as far as my educated guess goes) but it is a more solid investment as a modular system than the Sony Z and definitely proven ruggedness.

Replacing keyboards is easy on Thinkpads (at least the ones on Xx30 series and before) in case they fail, or anyother part for that matter except CPU and motherboard.

It is a shame that more companies didn't invest in AdobeRGB panels for laptops (Lenovo only offered such a panel in FHD resolution for the W510-520-530 machines) and I know of no other company besides Sony that did this.

I can't consider the Razer blade because it is still a biggie laptop (OK, not huge, but Z series Sony and X series Thinkpad are ultraportable) compared to what I am considering here. I already have a Thinkpad W530 with the AdobeRGB panel, 3 hard drives, Quadro K2000 (10 bit colour is key here) and 32GB RAM, and that's my workhorse

I also think that PMD was a great idea, especially as a concept for powerful ultraportables but yes, that GPU was weak for such a concept.

Thanks again, everyone.