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Sony VAIO Z12 review

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Verdict

Extravagantly expensive, but Sony’s VAIO Z12 is a premium cut above your average ultraportable

Review Date: 29 Jul 2010

Reviewed By: Sasha Muller

Price when reviewed: £1,432 (£1,683 inc VAT)

Overall Rating

Features & Design
5 stars out of 6

Value for Money
4 stars out of 6

Performance
6 stars out of 6

PCPRO Recommended

Rivalling the slimmest, lightest laptops on the market for sheer portability is no revelation in itself, but the Z12 speeds ahead when it comes to performance. Our basic model came with a mere 2.4GHz Core i5-520M processor, 4GB of memory and twin 64GB SSDs in a RAID0 array. Needless to say, it flew through our benchmarks with an overall score of 1.57.

And thanks to the switchable graphics, there’s even a modicum of gaming ability for when the occasion demands it. The Nvidia GeForce GT330M manages an almost playable average of 24fps in our Medium-detail Crysis test.

And for when battery life is more important than all-out power, changing to the Intel HD graphics embedded on the processor is as simple as flicking a switch. It’s not quite as elegant a solution as Nvidia’s Optimus – as employed by Alienware’s M11x R2 – but being able to swap between maximum power and maximum efficiency in an instant is probably a better solution for the professionals this laptop seeks to attract.

Indeed, stick with Intel’s HD graphics, and Sony’s Z12 displays uncanny reserves of stamina for such a powerful laptop. Our light-use test is, admittedly, a best-case scenario, with the system sat completely idle, screen set at 50% brightness and Windows’ power scheme set to Power Saver, but the Sony’s 9hrs 2mins is still impressive. Our intensive-use test shows quite how much brute power lies in reserve, however. With the CPU working flat-out and Nvidia’s GT330M enabled, the Z12 died after just 1hr 19mins.

Those unfamiliar with Sony’s luxurious ultraportable may be surprised to hear that this but, at £1,432, the Z12 is the cheapest of the three models in the range. That’s expensive enough for most, but the priciest in the range effortlessly soars over the £2,000 mark by combining a Core i7-620M processor with four 64GB SSDs in RAID, 8GB of memory, a 1080p display and an upgraded carbon fibre lid. If you’ve got nearer £4,000 to burn, Sony’s website allows you to configure models with optional extras such as 512GB SSD arrays – an extra £1,140 over the standard 128GB model – or a Blu-ray writer for another £550.

All things considered, though, there’s precious little missing from this lowliest model. The whole gamut of wireless networking is supported with 3G, Bluetooth and dual-band 802.11n, and security is at the forefront thanks to a fingerprint reader and a TPM 1.2 chip.

Needless to say, precious few will be able to afford the price of admission, but Sony’s VAIO Z12 is probably the finest ultraportable in existence. Justifying such an extravagant price would be difficult for most laptops but, frankly, not for the Z12: it’s ergonomically perfect, physically gorgeous and blessed with the kind of performance that would make most laptops weep. If we had the money, we’d buy two.

Author: Sasha Muller

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Comments

User comments

TRIM Command

Does the Z12 require the TRIM command to maintain access speed as the drives fill up and is it enabled? I believe it was not enabled on the previous version and Sony did not seem to be able to answer whether it was required. Also, why cannot they put a USB 3 connector on it and a better resolution camera for such an expensive model?

By Nicolau on 1 Aug 2010

TRIM

No, TRIM will never work on drives in a RAID array. Garbage collection, however, does.

From my reading around the subject - the intrepid Z owners over at NotebookReview have been hard at work - the Sony's GC system recovers write speeds pretty quickly, so it's pretty much a non-issue.

I had to give back our review unit fairly sharpish, but I'll see if I can't borrow it for some testing of my own in the next week or two.

By SashaMuller on 2 Aug 2010

VAIO Z good, yet proprietary SSD, chiclet and incomplete kbd

I had the VAIO Z in hands (13.1in). Yes it's incredibly beautiful, light, sturdy, and powerful: i5-520M (2×2.40 GHz TB 2.93, VT-d, TET with TPM, New AES), 13.1in 1600×900 retro-LED, GT 330M 1GB, 8GB RAM,W7 64b Pro, 128G SSD-Ultra-SATA, Gbit, WiFi n, finger print reader and TPM, backlit kbd, etc.

But it has a few shortcomings hard to admit IMO in such a high-end product:

- The case is too small to accommodate at the same time, a Standard HD or SSD, and a standard optical drive. While I would admit this in a 10in or 11in laptop, I don't in a 13.1in one.
- Whence the two different flavors, X (with proprietary SSD and Std Optical Drive) and V (with standard HD and no Optical Drive). Yes, on the X model, the SSD is proprietary, you can't replace it with a standard SSD.
- The keyboard is incomplete: it lacks the Edit column (Home, End, PgUp, PgDwn). I find this flaw, and the following one as well, unacceptable on a high-price writing tool, whence intended to "power writers".
- The keyboard is made of chiclet keys. This gives up the sub-conscious auto-centering of finger strokes you have with traditional concave keys that writing machine makers used so many years to perfectly tune. This will result in lower reliability and speed, not only for touch typists, but also for everyone.
- The screen quality is, after some users (whom I don't know, so I am not sure on this), not the quality expected on this item.
- A .3Mpix (VGA) webcam is sub-par for this item
- Given the above shortcomings, better wait and see if new laptops come (from SONY or others) with USB3, SATA6, SDXC, 3D...

Versailles, Wed 04 Aug 2010 17:29:20 +0200

By MichelMerlin on 4 Aug 2010

No optical drive?

The review says an optical drive is an optional extra, yet Sony's own spec sheet says that it's included with this model with no hint that it's only an optional extra (http://www.sony.co.uk/product/vnp-z-series/vpcz12
m9e-b). A search for the cheapest deal on google shows a few places selling this model for around 200 quid less than Sony's RRP... but am I to assume these may not be the great deals they seem because the spec may not be the same as Sony's spec sheet for this model? *sigh* Whose idea was it to have the same model number for models with different specs?

By gjscott75 on 4 Aug 2010

Optical drive...

My bad. This model DOES come with an optical drive.

I think I must have been suffering from a chronic lack of caffeine.

By SashaMuller on 5 Aug 2010

Not so customisable

Battery life will depend on the processor - if you use tue i7 it will be less than stated here.

Also - other countries get the choice of 1920 x 1080 screen along with designer covers - notably premium glossy in japan. It seems inconceivable that Sony still limit choice for uk consumers - let us decide!

By Virtuatw on 18 Aug 2010

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