novice considering VAIO VPCZ122GX- pros and cons?

Hi All

Im a computer novice (whose 14in wsxga+ thinkpad died) and I am considering a VAIO VPCZ122GX. I have been researching for a new computer for a while, and had decided on a thinkpad X1 (129126U -once i found a price i liked)- mainly b/c I really like thinkpad keyboards, have simple usage needs, and really need a durable computer.

However, a clearance new old stock VAIO VPCZ122GX with a 3 year squaretrade warranty is around the same price. so far, i know i would be sacrificing usb 3.0 and sandybridge- I just have no idea about the current vaios- what are the pros and cons to this machine? What makes the Z series so 'special' (the SB in person was unimpressive to me, in terms of build quality)?

thanks for the help!

 

graphics performance will be about double that of the HD 3000.

Screen resolution is higher (1080p if you want... i sure do...)

Light as heck

Full powered CPU

backlit keyboard (pretty much standard)

Snappy SSDs in RAID0

Caveats:

dark ones have a fading palmrest problem (mitigated with clear protector or unsweaty palms)

hinges get loose once in a while (fixed by applying loctite... if you want)

runs kinda hot at full load (with discrete GPU + CPU at load), but what do you expect from a 1" powerhouse? (note: while surfing the net, and other menial tasks on stamina, the laptop is pretty quiet)

compared to SB, you will get lower battery life (possibly 33% lower).

IGP isnt as good as HD 3000... but that's mitigated by the discrete chip.

note: when i say SB i mean Sandy Bridge. When i say HD 3000, that's the IGP of SB

 

Achusaysblessyou- thanks so much for the info, it is super helpful! I will be using it for general student type stuff (office, spss, email, skype video chat, movies) + occasional overseas travel for study abroad and internships - and it sounds like i will not really be taxing the computer at all, which is great news.

a few questions
- In terms of durability- could the computer last me 4+ years? (I like to buy and keep for as long as possible)
- I read that the SSD (2 of them?) is proprietary- does that mean I can never upgrade to a bigger size/switch out?
-Can the optical drive be switched out for an HDD?
-Are the Z series' cased in aluminum or carbon fiber? (i think ive seen both mentioned?)
-What is the significance of raid 0?

oh- here are the specs of the machine under consideration:

* Intel® Core™ i5 - 520M
* 4GB DDR3-1066 RAM
* 128GB Solid State Drive
* DVD±RW Drive/CD-RW Drive
* NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 330M GPU with Intel® HD Graphics
* 10/100/1000 Network
* Wi-Fi: Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6200 (802.11a/b/g/n)
* Stereo A2DP (2.1 + EDR)
* 13.1" Widescreen LED-backlit Display (1600x900)
* Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)
* Black

 

I can try to answer some of your questions best I can, though Achusayblessyou may have further insight...

1. For the computer's size and weight, I would say it's durable. That being said, I would recommend being gentle with the screen and hinges. There is a lot of flex in the screen which is good because it keeps the screen from breaking. But I would treat it with care.
2. The SSDs are proprietary and are smaller than standard. I do not believe you can upgrade to a larger size unless you purchase the proprietary drives, which if I remember cost a fortune. I'm pretty sure you can't swap them for a standard size drive.
3. To ease the sting of #2, yes the optical drive can be switched out for a standard size HDD. This has been done by numerous users, and there is a thread or two on this forum that describes the process.
4. The top panel surrounding the keyboard is an aluminum sheet. The bottom I believe is carbon fiber, as is the screen lid.
5. The significance of the RAID 0 is that it makes your SSD run very very fast. The are various downsides, such as a lack of TRIM support. This thread (even the first post) may be helpful in understanding that: http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...g-term-ssd-performance-post-your-results.html. However, there is a "garbage collection" utility that appears to be working to keep drives functioning efficiently, but this issue is not without some controversy.

In general, the Z will be able to handle what you plan on using it for with ease. You could even probably expand a bit into the gaming world if you wanted to take advantage of the GT 330m graphics card (not a spectacular card, but pretty nice for a computer this small).

 

1. I think the thinkpads are more durable. And they have spill-resistant keyboards. I've dropped my thinkpad a few times and not had any problems. I wouldn't want to do that with the vaio - it seems a lot more fragile.

3. Swapping the optical drive with an HDD is not that straightforward. So, if you're a novice, I wouldn't recommend it - certainly, I don't fancy doing it!

If you would like a hi-res screen, then you have no choice: The Vaio Z is the only PC that offers that in a light machine. Otherwise, you could consider things like the Thinkpad X220 with its IPS screen.

 

i am making a post on upgrading the vpc-z with a 2nd hard drive caddy with photos and stuff which should give you some insight on how it works and what caveats you should be aware of

 

Not to hijack the thread but I thought this would help the OP for aguments sake. How do the old Z's compare to the new SA.

 

Since you specifically mention the Thinkpad keyboard, be sure that you can handle the chiclet keyboard of the Vaio. The Vaio keytops are flat, not concave. I really don't care much for that myself; the Thinkpad keyboard is IMO superior. However, I almost always use an external keyboard.

Otherwise, it is a great machine.

 

I love my Z11, but the SA looks like a very nice machine (at least on paper). Has the "old" Z's hybrid graphics feature which I've really appreciated and has a slightly better graphics card. Don't know if it's underclocked like the Z's GT 330m, but I would imagine it probably is. The processor options are pretty nice (second generation i processors as opposed to the Z's first generation), and there is an option for an SSD in RAID 0. Looks like the major drawback on the SA is the lack of a FHD screen, but the 1600x900 is still lovely. The SA is a bit bigger and heavier as well.

Another major issue for the SA (imho) is the lack of an eSATA port or at least an expresscard 34 port. Still, seems like a valid option to consider.

 

Other thing about the thinkpad keyboard is that it has 7th row of keys which gives you dedicated keys for page-up, page-down etc. You don't get that with the Vaio.

One other point to note coming from a Thinkpad is the Vaio Z has a semi-glossy screen, so you do get some reflections compared to the old Thinkpad's matt screen (though it is not as bad as the standard glossy screens - e.g. the X1 is more reflective). However, the Z screen is very bright so that the reflections are not too intrusive. The Z screen is considered to be much better than the SB.

 

1) I bought mines last year and i hope it'll last 4 years(only 3 more to go!) but it seems fairly resilient (few scratches on lid). Although since you got a black one, i would place some tape or clear protector on the palmrest to protect from fading. Also, the one maintenance you'd have to do is probably tighten the hinges once in a while... or just use loctite once... and hope you never have to service your LCD. And like JP said, take care of your baby (I place mines within a ZeroShock III case)

2) SSD is proprietary, but you can actually buy some aftermarket 1.8" drives (intel or Crucial c300 I've seen work), take them out of their enclosures (void warranty) and place them into where the SSDs used to be. as shown here. Since you're looking at a 128GB Z12, you shouldn't need to buy any different cables... (the Z12 128GB mostly came with Toshiba drives with mSATA on both ends, the samsung drives used msata->ZIF)

3)yep, detailed here. do note that you can buy a different caddy from newmodeus with their instructions

4) i think JP is all correct on this except there's been debate about the lid, it's been mentioned that it's just plastic... but I dunno, it's durable as seen here on the previous VGN-Z

5) the idea of RAID0 (which stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks and the 0, meaning false in binary) is the idea of, if writing on one drive is slow, why not write on two at the same time. Now it's not redundant, hence the 0 (false), but it is an array(collection) of disks. It's less secure b/c if one disk fails they all fail. The rest is mentioned by JP.

to elaborate on JP's point on gaming, the 330m will play Bad Company 2 at lowest settings at 45-50 fps at 1600x900 res. and SC2 at medium settings at 40+ fps.

p.s. haha, how'd you know i'd elaborate JP?

p.p.s.s. if people are wondering how i always seem to know the links to stuff... i keep a file on my e-mail where i store all the different links to threads that i think i'll find useful throughout the life of my Vaio Z

 

My colleagues have provided a great deal of useful information, so I will add just a few stand-out points I think you should consider, even though they may be repeats of points others have made.

1) The screen on the Z1 is by far and away the outstanding feature of it, and truly no other laptop in its size class comes close at all. Though the finish is not a very dull matte, you will not have any problems with reflections, as it is not at all glossy and is very bright with superb contrast ratio and very, very wde color gamut. The Z1 is an altogether wonderful computer, but if the screen quality is not #1 on your list, you may want to consider something else. The Thinkpads are more durable and they have the latest components and extra batteries for days (or so it seems!) of battery life. But whether you get the 900p or the 1080p screen on the Z1, it will blow you away. I happen to prefer the 900p because it is significantly brighter and my eyes cannot read unadjusted tiny fonts. But both screens are "legendary" and will cause your Z to hold its value far longer than any other 13" made in 2010-11.

I do not find the battery life - using a 9 cell - in the Z1 to be that much shorter than what is published for the SA, the X220 (with a 6 cell) or the new Z. I get 7-9 hours with the 9 cell battery in my Z13 Note however that the SA and the Thinkpad X220 have auxillary "sheet" batteries that more than double the battery endurance, to 24 hours or so. You could come close to that with a second 9 cell taken along with the Z1, but it's not quite as convenient. Still, for a day's power away from the wall outlet, the Z1 with the 9 cell battery, with conservative settings will get the job done.

Keyboards are very personal. I have never been fond of the Lenovo concave key, very long stroke keyboards used on ThinkPads, though most are, and they are the "darlings" of all the reviewers. (Since you've had a Thinkpad, you know what they are like) Personally, I can type much faster on the "chiclet" keyboard on my Z1 (not so for all chiclet keyboards), or an Apple Macbook for that matter, than I can on a Thinkpad. (Not true, btw, of the Z21, nor the Apple MBA 13, each of which have very shallow pitch due to their razor thin body.) The Z1 and Apple Macbook Pro have a pretty deep pitch, about 2mm, and a tactile "click" when the press is registered. Plus, for me, a backlit keyboard - and the "Think Light" on the Lenovo is not a very good substitute.

So for me, not a gamer, a total screen fanatic, battery life important, though only occasonally, it's a Sony Z1 all the way, from the Sony Outlet Store or a new or lightly used one from ebay and nothing comes close. It's just the "classiest" notebook computer I've ever used and no matter what one I change over to I immediately miss my Z and can't wait to get back to it! The Macbook Pro is the only one that comes close in this size class, but the screen resolution is way lower and, for me, OSX is a total non-starter, and Macs do not run very well in Windows.

I find it hard to recommend the SA over a good deal on a new or refurbished/warranteed Z1, as the former will cost a good deal more and the one thing I take strong issue with is a commenter here that the Sony SA screen is "lovely." It is not, and in fact it is worse than the average low quality laptop screen in all respects except resolution, which is 1600x900, but of all the things that make a screen great, resolution is probably the least important. See this review Review Sony Vaio VPC-SA2Z9E/B (i7, SSD, HD 6630M) Subotebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews for how bad the SA screen is. On top of this, the SA is very expensive, especially if you get it with SSDs in RAID0.

Sorry I ran so long with this, but in years of buying/selling, installing, demo-ing notebooks, I have never found one so far superior to everything in its class as I do the Sony Z1. Now that you can buy one for around $1,200 or so, the biggest negative - price - has been eliminated. Good luck to you !

 

oh my goodness- thank you all so much for all of your help- especially the thinkpad comparisons- it really put the Z in perspective for me. I wish i could hang out in the vaio forum more often........but here is my sob story........

I had come across the aforementioned Z12 in stock for $880 on the site for the microcenter store near my parent's residence. After reading around a little, I started this thread and placed a reservation for the machine at the store (outside of business hours).

Once the store opened, I got a reservation cancellation email! Not in stock?!?

wail.

 

Tough luck. But keep your eyes peeled for similar deals.

Adding to all the other comments:

1. Big downer: the internal speakers are very bad indeed. Not usable except in very quiet surroundings. Very good earbuds bundled, though.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/598048-vaio-sa-volume-not-loud-all-normal.html

2. The carbon fibre lid is not very scratch resistant (mentioned above). I kept mine very carefully, and still managed to get a couple of scratches.

3. Lid hinge gets loose (mentioned above). Loctite not recommended; rather, a dab of rubber adhesive on top of the screws that can be peeled off later if needed, or nail polish.

4. Microsoft/Intel/nVidia have moved on from hybrid graphics to the superior Optimus technology. You might not get any driver updates in the future. Latest hybrid drivers that work well are Nvidia 26314 - Intel 2266 signed prepared by Andrew08.

 

This is true, but if you really want the best drivers and performance, the BIOS hack, with lightly modded nVidia drivers and vanilla Intel drivers, is the way to go.