- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How it compares
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Sony VAIO Z Series
- 13.1"
- Core i7 2.7 GHz Dual core
- 6 GB DDR3-1333
- 256 GB SSD
Released June, 2011
Rated 80% by by The Verge (Jul, 2011)My love for the Z’s display is pretty much unmatched, and if you’re ever lucky enough to set your eyes on the 13.1-inch, 1920 x 1080-resolution screen you’ll understand why.
Conclusion Check out the Sony VAIO Z Series
First reviewed December, 2011
Features Key features of the Sony VAIO Z Series
2.7 GHz
Intel Core i7 2620M
Rated 90% by by TrustedReviews (Feb, 2012)Whether you opt for the standard 1,600 x 900 resolution screen, or the insane 1,920 x 1,080 pixels of our model, you'll be greeted by one of the best screens to be found on a laptop.
screen size
13.1"
15.4"
14"
VAIO Z Series by lexter (Feb, 2011)Compared to other screens I have seen in this size the Z blows the competition out of the water.
VAIO Z Series by L.-Nguyen (Aug, 2012)Due to the high resolution (1920 x 1080) and small screen size, everything will look small.
screen resolution
VAIO Z Series by CSK (Mar, 2011)Operations is quiet, the high-resolution LED-backed screen is superb - but you need to have good eyes, I can imagine others will have a hard time with the super-fine resolution.
VAIO Z Series by Student (Dec, 2010)The screen is beautiful and the resolution (1600x900) makes it feel like it is bigger than it is.
cpu speed
| 0 GHz | 2.2 GHz  | 3 GHz |
VAIO Z Series by LaptopMag (Aug, 2008)Our $1,999 unit came fully equipped with Intel’s latest 2.4-GHz Core 2 Duo P8600 processor, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, and a 250GB hard drive.
VAIO Z Series by leon-jay-roomberg[...]. While the base unit was priced at $1,919, my model with the Intel i5 2.4 GHz processor, 4GB of RAM, 256 GB solid state hard disk, shipping, a docking station, and a three-year top-of-the-line warranty, I paid just over $3,000.
processor
VAIO Z Series by Mark-J.-Tierney--coastie-1980It's just to much chip to allow for cooling, so the dual core i7 is mainstream, but if you look close, this one has a much faster i7 than many.
VAIO Z Series by CAVIII (Sep, 2012)It has a quad core i7 and 6GB of RAM as opposed to the dual core and 4GB stated.
memory
| 0 GB | 3 GB  | 6 GB |
VAIO Z Series by MuddyAzian (Jan, 2011)This review is for the VPCZ line, and the version I have has the Core i7 M640, and 8 GB RAM.
VAIO Z Series by Raven-A.-Wind (Sep, 2011)Unfortunately, the VAIO Z series does not allow you to swap out RAM, so 4GB is all you'll ever have.
Performance Real world tests of Sony VAIO Z Series
3DMark06 CPU
VAIO Z Series by TrustedReviews (Feb, 2012)Its explosive performance in our synthetic benchmarks is confirmed via subjective use.
VAIO Z Series by LaptopMag (Aug, 2008)In Speed mode the system notched a 3DMark06 score of 1,718, versus 842 in Stamina mode.
battery life
8 hour
2.5 hour
5 hour
VAIO Z Series by CAVIII (Sep, 2012)The battery didn't charge 1% for almost 2 hours after opening but it slowly started charging after that.
VAIO Z Series by The Verge (Jul, 2011)With the slice screwed on, the package ran for over ten hours With all of the Z’s powerful parts, you’d think the system’s battery life would take a beating, but it actually holds its own.
cinebench r10 32Bit
VAIO Z Series by TrustedReviews (Feb, 2012)In PCMark Vantage, at least, it's the fastest laptop we've ever tested and by quite some margin.
VAIO Z Series by The Verge (Jul, 2011)Every part of the machine (okay, save for its touchpad and speakers) is built with the newest and greatest components around — the full HD screen is one of the highest quality panels you’ll find on a laptop today, the unique implementation of Intel’s Light Peak provides beyond competent graphics, and the Core i7 CPU and Samsung RAID 0 SSD trounces every other ultraportable in performance.
Our analysis How does it stack up against its top 10 competitors
pros
-
0.1 ms (SSD) -
the screen is large enough to display 1080p video without scaling -
168 ppi -
watch high-definition movies on Blu-Ray discs -
1920 x 1080 -
2.7 GHz -
3.4 GHz (Intel Core i7 2620M) -
SDSC -
8 hour -
DDR3-1333 -
6 GB -
572 MB/s (USB 3.0)
cons
-
13.1" -
256 GB -
3,451 g -
Jun, 2011 -
1 -
1 Mbit/s (Bluetooth v2.0)
Reviews Word on the street
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 | Rated by 55 users at amazon.com Rated 80% by by KindlePad (Sep, 2011) Rated 80% by by Mikonou (Oct, 2011) Rated 100% by by Narada--the-wondering-jew (Apr, 2010) |
Screen
Sony VAIO Z Series 13.1", 2.7 GHz, 6 GB, 256 GB SSD | Rated 80% by by Ziontrain (Aug, 2010)But compared to most PC laptop this screen is way better in brightness, clarity, black levels and contrast.
Sony VAIO Z Series 13.1", 2.7 GHz, 6 GB, 256 GB SSD | Rated 80% by by J.-Perkins (Oct, 2011)For example, the brightness of the screen automatically adjusts to the level of light in the room, but it is easily fine tuned to personal preference.
Sony VAIO Z Series 13.1", 2.7 GHz, 6 GB, 256 GB SSD | Rated 100% by by lexter (Feb, 2011)Generally speaking they push the boundaries with their high-end models and offer some of the most vivid colors, best contrast, and good looks out of any other panels I have seen on the market.
Storage
Sony VAIO Z Series 13.1", 2.7 GHz, 6 GB, 256 GB SSD | Rated 80% by by K.M.I was looking for a small, lightweight, high performance laptop with a nice screen, backlit keyboard and SSD hard drive.
Sony VAIO Z Series 13.1", 2.7 GHz, 6 GB, 256 GB SSD | Rated 100% by by Raven-A.-Wind (Sep, 2011)Still, it managed to make some very nice DVD-DL discs for me (restore discs, actually) and plays Blu-ray movies quite well.
Sony VAIO Z Series 13.1", 2.7 GHz, 6 GB, 256 GB SSD | Rated 80% by by K.M.Although these drives are only Sata II (3 Gbit/s) this RAID setup is very fast.
Dock
Sony VAIO Z Series 13.1", 2.7 GHz, 6 GB, 256 GB SSD | Rated 80% by by Mark-J.-Tierney--coastie-1980When you open the box the new Z comes in, you'll find an a/c adapter for the laptop, then as you dig more, you'll find even a larger a/c adapter for the power media dock, it's quite large.
Sony VAIO Z Series 13.1", 2.7 GHz, 6 GB, 256 GB SSD | Rated 80% by by KindlePad (Sep, 2011)There are several parts and pieces and if you want a single laptop with no docks, etc then you might want look at a different Sony or brand.
Sony VAIO Z Series 13.1", 2.7 GHz, 6 GB, 256 GB SSD | Rated 100% by by Raven-A.-Wind (Sep, 2011)It has considerable power- Especially when connected to the Power Media Dock.
Optical drive
Sony VAIO Z Series 13.1", 2.7 GHz, 6 GB, 256 GB SSD | Rated 100% by by Raven-A.-Wind (Sep, 2011)The Blu-ray Disc reader that comes in the Power Media Dock is handy, though I would have loved it if it had been a BD burner, too.
Sony VAIO Z Series 13.1", 2.7 GHz, 6 GB, 256 GB SSD | Rated 40% by by I.-R.-Smart.--Tzu-CrazyAnd Blu-ray on a 13.1" display just isn't as impressive as on a big TV, and if you can only watch Blu-rays when plugged in (i.e. at home or at work), wouldn't it be simpler to just buy a dedicated Blu-ray player?
Sony VAIO Z Series 13.1", 2.7 GHz, 6 GB, 256 GB SSD | by LaptopMag (Aug, 2008)In a side-by-side comparison of the Z530N and a VAIO Z with a Blu-ray drive, it didn’t take long to tell the difference in quality between the Blu-ray version of the Heroes disc and the regular DVD of the same episode (we could see more detail in the actors’ faces and in the background on the Blu-ray disc).
Ports
Sony VAIO Z Series 13.1", 2.7 GHz, 6 GB, 256 GB SSD | Rated 80% by by leon-jay-roombergIf you need more professional image or use a better microphone, you can always buy a Logitech 9000 combination microphone and camera.
Sony VAIO Z Series 13.1", 2.7 GHz, 6 GB, 256 GB SSD | Rated 40% by by I.-R.-Smart.--Tzu-CrazyIf you're extremely well off and want a super lightweight laptop to use in bed with the noise-cancelling headphones, this is definitely your laptop.
Sony VAIO Z Series 13.1", 2.7 GHz, 6 GB, 256 GB SSD | Rated 100% by by Michael-D.-Briggs--Dark_Psion (Jan, 2012)The speakers in the laptop only provide basic sound, but plug in some headphones and the sound is great.
Competition What else you should consider
 | 3 | ASUS Zenbook UX31E 3-way tie: Really fast internal storage ASUS Zenbook UX31E vs Sony VAIO Z Series |
 | 4 | Dell XPS 14z Fastest processor Dell XPS 14z vs Sony VAIO Z Series |
 | 6 | ASUS ZENBOOK UX31A 2-way tie: Newest on the market ASUS ZENBOOK UX31A vs Sony VAIO Z Series |
New duel?
Let the battle continue or dare to compare.
Editions Editions of the Sony VAIO Z Series
| Price | Edition | Internal storage | Internal storage random access time | RAM capacity | Manufacturer code | Compare | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | | 80 GB | 10 ms | 1 GB | VGN-SZ640N01 | | ||||
 | | 128 GB | 10 ms | 4 GB | VPCZ122GX/S | | ||||
 | | 128 GB | 10 ms | 4 GB | VPCZ133GX/B | | ||||
 | | 128 GB | 10 ms | 4 GB | VPC-Z112GX/S | | ||||
 | | 128 GB | 10 ms | 4 GB | VPCZ122GX/B | | ||||
 | | 128 GB | 10 ms | 4 GB | VPCZ212GX/B | | ||||
 | | 128 GB | 0.1 ms | 4 GB | VPCZ213GX/B | | ||||
 | | 128 GB | 0.1 ms | 4 GB | Unknown | | ||||
 | | 256 GB | 0.1 ms | 4 GB | VPCZ216GX/B | | ||||
 | | 256 GB | 0.1 ms | 6 GB | None | | ||||
