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Sony Vaio VPCZ116GX/S – Upscale Notebook
Sum and Substance:
Thumbs Up:
Compact, light, large SSD drive, graphic cards is switchable, performance is excellent.
Thumbs Down:
Expensive
Specifications:
Sony Vaio VPCZ116GX/S belongs to Vaio Z series, it has color options of silver, premium carbon fiber black, metal mosaic, glossy premium carbon fiber. Processor is 2.66GHz Intel® Core™ i7-620M processor with up to 3.33GHz using Intel® Turbo Boost Technology4. It has a 4 MB of L3 cache. For storage there is option up to 512 GB SSD drive. Memory included is 8 GB DDR3 SDRAM.
Expansion slots include Memory Stick PRO Duo™ media slot, ExpressCard® /34 slot, SD™ memory card slot. Communications options are 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T, Integrated Stereo A2DP Bluetooth® technology, Available Verizon Wireless Mobile Broadband Built-In, WiFi: Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6200 (802.11abgn).
The LED backlit display is 13.1 inches big and has a resolution of 1600×900 resolution. Graphics card is NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 330M GPU (1GB VRAM) with Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator HD. It has VGA and HDMI ports.
This notebook comes with 1 year limited warranty with Onsite/In-Home Service. Bundled software is VAIO® Media plus Multimedia Streaming Software, VAIO® Movie Story, VAIO® Care™, PMB VAIO® Edition, VAIO® Media Gallery.
Razzle Dazzle:
Sony Vaio VPCZ116GX/S is not as thin as 13 inch MacBook Pro but it is definitely lighter. The processor inside isn’t ULV but the body makes it feel like one. The chassis is magnesium and brushed metal which makes the notebook sturdy and airy too. The design is a bit industrial; it has a blocky raised panel for wrist rest, two tone base, and black keys on the silver finish. For the graphic switch, there is a big metal slider. This makes the notebook feel like a 90s product. The notebook doesn’t look sexy from any angle we would like to see all manufacturers follow the unibody layout for exteriors.
Inside Dope:
Sony Vaio VPCZ116GX/S is another 13 inch notebook that will make a big hole in your pocket with its price tag. Demand for such notebooks is quite low because people prefer going in for $600 ULV machines or $300 netbooks instead of spending this big. Other products in this category include Vaio Z series by Sony, Adamo XPS by Dell and Envy 13 by HP.
Vaio Z comes with Nvidia GT 330M GPU which can be switched off when not in use to save power. There a zippy Intel Core i5 processor, 256 GB SSD (which is huge), and a DVD drive. The latter is now skipped by most manufacturers for this size to keep up with the compact size demands. All this will take you back by $2,299 which justifies the title. This notebook is indeed and upscale product.
Price aside, the Vaio Z is our new favorite in the 13 inch laptop range. It was much faster than other laptops in this category. The downside for the speed is the battery life. Speedy processor sucks in to the battery juice faster and the notebook won’t last long without a plug even with the Dynamic Hybrid Graphics System. It refers to the graphics switch which can be switched off.
They keyboard has island like buttons just like the ones in Apple’s Mac Book air. The keys feel a bit small and there is a bit more space than you’d expect in a keyboard. On the bright side, the keys such as Tab and Shift are still big and we didn’t have many issues with the layout of the keyboard on Vaio Z. The touch pad is big and feels great to use. The mouse buttons are separated by a fingerprint reader.
We have always complained about the large number of bundled software that come preinstalled in Sony laptops. It feels like Sony is forcing these softwares on us. It seems somewhere Sony is listening to our tantrums, because this time, Sony hasn’t given much here.
Above the keyboard there are three quick launch keys. One is for the built in software which launches trouble shooting apps, Sony’s support resources and info for tech support. The second key is user programmable. The third one launches Sony’s Media Gallery application which you can use to organize you media and has tools for playback. We think this is superfluous, we usually use Windows Media Player or iTunes.
There is a 3 way switch above the keyboard that relates to the switch able graphics interface. You get options for Auto, Stamina and Speed. These labels can be confusing if you are not tech savy. The Auto options automatically switches the card on and off according to your activities.
This button system, we think, is moot because of the Nvidia’s new Optimus technology which automatically switches the card on/off on the fly. You screen doesn’t blink even for a second and you don’t have to quit any applications. We have tested this technology and it is seamless. This notebook doesn’t support Optimus technology but we would like to see it in notebooks hereon.
The LED display of the Sony Vaio VPCZ116GX/S is 13.3 inches big and has a resolution of 1600×900 pixels. We were glad about this resolution but it is not unexpected in such an upscale notebook. Cheaper 13 inch notebooks give you 1,366×768 or 1280×800 pixel resolution. The big resolution lets you enjoy 720p videos and you also get lot of real estate on the screen.
Sony Vaio VPCZ116GX/S costs $2300, and at that price, you’d expect a Blu-ray drive. You don’t get that on this notebook there all the standard set of connections and ports are there. Sony manages to fit in a DVD burner, something which was skipped by Toshiba’s T-135, Dell’s 13-inch Adamo XPS and HP’s 13-inch Envy.
We have seen a lot of notebook running on Core i5 chip and their performance has been stellar. Sony Vaio VPCZ116GX/S continues this trend and this laptop was far better than HP Envy 13 which we reviewed earlier. We reviewed the HP notebook back in November 2009 and we also checked the manufacturers Web site to see if option for Core i5 had been included, but it was not so.
Discrete graphics cards are rare in such 13 inch laptops because they are made basically for traveling people who need to use basic applications while on the go. The built in Nvidia GeForce GT 330M GPU gives 57.2 fps in Unreal Tournament 3 at resolution of 1440×900 pixels. This may not be a high end gaming rig but can handle mid range gaming well.
The performance of the Intel Core i5 is impressive but it comes at a cost of low battery life. The Sony Vaio VPCZ116GX/S ran for three and half hours in our video battery drain tests. Other 13 inch ULV’s give you about 90 minutes more than this.
Sony Vaio VPCZ116GX/S comes with a one year warranty for labor and parts. Onsite service is also included. Other support includes 24-7 toll free helpline, driver downloads and online knowledge base. There is bundled support software which can be launched through a quick-launch button on the tray of the keyboard. It gets you to the diagnostic tools, trouble shooting tips and online resources.
Nitty Gritty:
Vaio VPCZ116GX/S comes at an astronomical price but this is what you need to shell out if you want a huge 256 GB SSD, discrete graphics and Core i5 chip all in one package.
