Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #2597 in Personal Computers
- Color: Black
- Brand: Sony
- Model: VPCZ214GX/B
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 1.43" h x
13.43" w x
9.26" l,
7.61 pounds
- CPU: Core i7 2620M 2.7 GHz
- Memory: 4GB DDR3 SDRAM
- Hard Disk: 0.256GB
- Processors: 2
- Display size: 13.1
Features
- Intel Core Duo Processor 2.7GHz
- 4GB RAM
- 256MB Hard Drive
- 13.1-Inch Screen, Intel HD Graphics 3000
- Windows 7 Home Premium
Sony VAIO Z VPC-Z214GX/B 13.1" Laptop (Black)
Product Description
Enjoy the powerful performance and the portability of the 13.1" under 3.5 lbs VAIO Z Series notebook with one-of-a-kind uncompromising elegance weaved into a go-anywhere package design and an LED backlit wide screen display, with a scratch resistant LCD, for a brighter, crisper, tougher display and the convince of having an even faster read/write times and greater durability of the Solid State Drive.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
38 of 44 people found the following review helpful.
Very powerful, but I'm not sure who it's for... (-1 Star for Sony Support)
By I. R. Smart.
The Sony Vaio VPC-Z214GX/B 13.1 notebook is very powerful, there's no question about that. This review is going to focus on the pros and cons of this PC in an easy-to-read list:Pros:1.) Extremely quick, with a standard-voltage Core i7 processor running at 2.7Ghz dual-core, or single-core 3.47Ghz mode on demand.2.) Two Solid State Disks (SSD) in RAID 0 configuration. This essentially "stripes" the data across two internal disks for extremely fast performance.3.) High resolution 1600x900 16:9 13.1" LED-backlit display.4.) Extra sheet battery for the word travelers among you. This slips under the notebook and screws in by hand in seconds.5.) Power Media dock with external Blu-ray drive and AMD 6650M 1GB video card.6.) Extremely light-weight, at just over 2.5lbs without the sheet battery attached.Unfortunately, there are some cons to this machine, and some of them are extremely frustrating...Cons:1.) Sony is using two different types of Solid State Disks in their Vaio Z2 series notebook. It's completely luck of the draw if you get a Generation 2 or a Generation 3 set of disks (Sandy Bridge notebooks like these are ALL 6Gbps compatible). If you get Generation 2 (3Gbps) disks in your Vaio Z, you can expect around 450MB/s read speeds, and 370MB/s write speeds, very respectable numbers indeed! However, if you have the Generation 3 (6Gbps) disks, you can expect up to a whopping 950MB/s read speeds, and anywhere from 450MB/s-850MB/s write speeds depending on the disk. If you bought this notebook, you can check this in the "Intel Rapid Storage Technology" application pre-installed on your Vaio, and go to the "Manage" tab. Then you can see if you have 6Gbps SSDs or the slower 3Gbps SSDs. Either way, for this kind of money it should be consistent 6Gbps across the board (I got 3Gbps drives, sadly).2.) I don't really understand the Power Media Dock. The video card isn't very powerful considering it's an external device, and it MUST be plugged into the wall to function, therefore you can't use Blu-ray on the go unless you're near a wall plug or car adapter. And 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?3.) The screen is fairly good, but at 16:9 you don't have a lot of vertical resolution at all. I find there's simply not enough height to the screen, especially by comparison to a 13.3" 16:10 MacBook Air/MacBook Pro. The really unfortunate part of the LCD, though, is the terrible viewing angles. You have to get the screen "just right" to not experience washout/darkening of colors. This is most noticeable on a white background. If you tilt the screen a small amount toward you or a small amount away from you - the whites change incredibly. For comparison, the MacBook Air 13.3" display has no such issue with such small movements.4.) While the unit runs very quietly when you're doing more menial tasks, once you tax the system with a game or processing images in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, the computer sounds like a vacuum cleaner. Very loud and distracting.5.) The speakers are the absolute worst I've ever heard on a laptop of any sort. They really are terrible. My wife thought they were broken, but they are in fact working "correctly," but they're not worth using for any music. Use the included noise-cancelling earbuds instead. There's a reason Sony put them in the box...6.) The trackpad is quite sub-par. It's not very large, not very responsive - especially two-finger scrolling, and the mouse buttons are on the exact same plane as the trackpad, causing my fingers to wander too low onto them and think the trackpad had completely stopped working.7.) I removed the Windows 7 Pro installation and reinstalled a completely fresh copy to get rid of the "bloatware" and to install just the required drivers and software from Sony's esupport website. When I was done (which took around 2 hours and was a complete pain!), I had only 92.6GB free out of a total of 119GB usable space. That's crazy if you ask me. To have only 92.6GB free on a $2.5k machine is once again, extremely questionable... And if you want a 256GB version or a 512GB version of this notebook, you'll be paying quite a bit more.8.) The trackpad buttons are glossy and made of slimy-feeling plastic. They also had some hairline scratches on them out of the box, disappointingly. I'm sure they will pick up more scratches with use being that they're glossy plastic!9.) Quite a bit of flex to the chassis for a $2.5k computer.Overall, I'm really not sure who this computer is for. If you're a gamer, you could buy a dedicated gaming PC AND a MacBook Air for the same price as this Vaio. Sure you don't get Blu-ray on a MacBook Air or a "dedicated" video card (that really is mediocre in all senses of the word), but on a notebook do you really need Blu-ray player that you HAVE to be connected to the wall to use? It just seems that this computer is trying to appeal to too many people at one time, and ends up not really being completely useful to anyone in particular.That said, it's VERY fast, the LCD (resolution-wise) is excellent, the keyboard is pleasant (if a tad shallow), and if an ultra-light notebook really is in your future (and this puppy is lighter than a MacBook air by 0.4lbs), I'd suggest a cheaper Vaio Z model without the Power Media Dock. $2.5k is a huge amount of money, and I'm just not sure this particular model is worth its asking price.3 stars out of 5.*EDIT September 21*After using it some more, there are a few more issues I wanted to point out:1.) The backlit keyboard is nice, but unfortunately it's not something you have any control over. It comes on and stays on for 10 seconds when you type on the keyboard in a dimly lit location. The most you can adjust is for it to stay on 60 seconds after the last key-press. But then it turns off after that maximum 60 seconds until you press another key. This is really annoying if you watch a short YouTube video in bed at night and then you can't see what keys to press when you're done watching! I just hit the spacebar to get the keys to light back up. Sony, why can't we leave the keyboard backlight on at all times?2.) The computer (palm rests and lid) is a total smudge magnet because of their "plastic-y" material. I find myself wanting to clean it all the time.3.) The thermal management isn't particularly subtle. If the computer is under any stress for even a few seconds, the system fans speed up quite audibly. And as soon as the CPU stops working hard, the fans spin down. What this means is the fan can jump up and down in rpms over and over, which is definitely distracting. This is I'm sure due to a higher voltage processor being in this notebook over competing computers.4.) This is not a laptop. It's a small notebook. It gets quite hot in your lap. Unfortunately, the way the rear hinges work it's also very, very uncomfortable in your lap as the screen is actually part of the base so the computer does not sit flat when in use. So when you open it up it has these plastic legs that dig into your own legs. Owie! Thankfully, with the sheet battery attached the notebook does sit flat, and also helps keep the heat away from your legs if you work with it on your lap!*EDIT September 22, 2011*My Vaio Z's display has developed some very strange shadows/patchiness in the LCD, so I took a trip to the Sony store in Seattle. While the tech lady there tried her best to help me, they don't do any repairs in-house, and so I will be without my 2-day-old laptop for approximately 7 business days. It needs to be mailed off to San Diego for repairs, and then sent back to my house. Any repairs, no matter how new the system is, have to go through their warranty system, which means being without your laptop for 1-2 weeks. With Dell doing on-site repairs, and Apple Stores doing repairs in-house, where is Sony's repair system? If you depend on your notebook and can't afford to be without it for 1-2 weeks if it goes wrong, this is NOT the computer for you.For those wondering what the display malfunction looks like, I added an image to the product description so you can see. I'll update the review when the laptop is returned to me, hopefully in the condition it left in....(Edit: Since then, I have been informed the laptop actually went to a local service center in Redmond, WA, about 15 miles away. The closer, the better!)*EDIT September 30, 2011*I called my Sony Store in Seattle, to find out what is going on with the repairs to my notebook, after having been told on September 28 that "it's difficult to replace the screen which is why it's taking so long." From that I took it that the repair was in process! Friday, September 30, I call the store to find out that the service center is in fact waiting on the LCD panel, so work hasn't even been started on it, yet! So the Vaio Z sits, gathering dust, for over a week so far. Bear in mind this was a brand new computer, less than 2 days old. The Sony Store and repair center have no idea when the LCD panel will be in so they can replace my panel.*EDIT October 3, 2011*I called the Sony Store in Seattle this morning, and was informed that the LCD panel is on back-order but should be in stock October 4, and overnighted to the repair center. I *should* have the Vaio back by the end of the week. If I do, that will be just over two weeks without the notebook. Will update further when I know more.*EDIT October 6, 2011*Called the Sony Store once again to see if I'd really have the Vaio back for the weekend, and was told the LCD panel was still back-ordered! So that's now exactly two weeks since I dropped off this computer, and nothing has happened. As a result, I've dropped my rating for this laptop from 3 stars to 2 stars. What's the point of a warranty if there are no parts to fix it with? Sony has offered no replacement laptop, - nothing. Just a "Sorry, hopefully the part will be in soon, but we don't know when." I do not recommend this notebook at this time. Not one bit. A 1-year warranty isn't much use if there are no parts to fix problems!*EDIT October 17, 2011*Finally got a message from the Sony Store today telling me my Vaio is ready to be picked up, which I did. The LCD was replaced, and the new one does not exhibit the problem I experienced with the first LCD. Aside from some superficial scratches on the lid and underside of the system and a nice red stuck pixel on the new LCD panel (which is, of course, not exactly ideal, but is admittedly minuscule), the system works fine. If I had paid for this computer, I'd be a lot more upset about the situation than I actually am. As it stands, this saga is over for now, but I simply can't recommend the Vaio Z as a notebook to own if you can't be without your computer for a while if something goes wrong.*EDIT* February 25, 2013I've added a comment in the comments section below, but just to update: this laptop is still working just fine after the initial LCD issue. The battery life isn't amazing, and the problems that bothered me at the start still greatly bother me. If 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. :-) I use this Z series for that quite a bit, among other things. Naturally I can't run 1080p video without the fans going mental, but that's one of several design flaws with the system unfortunately.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful.
Fast but Flawed Notebook
By J. Perkins
I really like this computer. I use it primarily for working from home (document intensive work) and browsing the internet so I haven't tried out its gaming or other entertainment features yet. As other reviewers have covered the specs and technical aspects, I'll just give my top 5 pros and cons:Pros:1. Very, very fast. I do a lot of work from home via a Citrix connection with my office. The Sony VAIO toggles between my remote desktop and home desktop in the blink of an eye, a task that takes several seconds to several minutes on my other laptop and has actually crashed my netbook on more than one occasion.2. Very long battery life. After attaching the external sheet battery, I get over 16 hours of use. Inconceivable! The automatic battery saving features are great. 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.3. Flat keyboard. Other reviewers have mentioned that they don't like the shallow keyboard, but I love it! From the moment I first started typing, I thought it felt great. Just a small amount of pressure on each key does the trick. I can type super-fast on this thing!4. Very nice LCD screen. Text is clear and sharp. Pictures and video are vibrant. This is my first HD device, and I'm looking forward to streaming HD videos (too bad the speakers stink). The BluRay player on the Power Media Dock is a nice extra...I don't own any BluRays, but perhaps I'll get one just to try this out.5. Very thin and very light. If, like me, you've never owned an ultra thin notebook before, you'll be amazed! The screen is so thin that it seems to just disappear when you close the computer.Cons:1. Not a great touchpad. The textured touchpad does feel a bit reptilian, but I could overlook that issue if it consistently performed well. I've experienced quite a few glitches with cursor movement -- the cursor will freeze up causing me to have to repeat my finger movement only to end up with a cursor that jumps across the screen. Two-fingered scrolling is also tricky -- I often end up in a continuous downward scroll without intending to.2. Terrible sound quality. It seems to be the general rule that notebook computers have poor speakers. I had hoped a higher end notebook like this one would deliver a more enjoyable listening experience, but unfortunately that is not the case. It's ok for playing the occasional youtube video or newsclip, but don't waste your time setting up a mp3 playlist unless you plan on using headphones.3. Loose power connection. The DC power jack on the computer does not seem to be a great fit for the adapter plug. A few years ago my old laptop's DC jack became loose and stopped working after a year or more of use so I'm concerned that the DC jack on the Sony VAIO is loose right out of the box. Keeping my fingers crossed.4. No built-in DVD drive. I would like to play and burn DVDs straight from the computer without having to connect to the Power Media Dock.5. I can't think of another Con...so the Pros have it!
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
OK if you never need support
By christoph nielson
I purchased a vaio vpc-z computer two years ago. The first machine would spontaneously reboot every 2-3 weeks. The first onsite repair left the machine unable to start. Over the next year the machine was returned 4-5 times. Turnaround was very slow taking weeks to months. Sony finally bought the computer back. Foolishly I bought another. It has functioned better but the screen developed black lines several months ago. I was traveling and wasn't in a location for onsite repair. In view of the weeks required for a factory mail in repair, I called and asked if onsite repair would be ok in a month... which was shortly into the extended warranty. I was assured onsite would be acceptable. Two days ago Sony set up an onsite repair. Today Sony calls and adamantly refuses onsite repair. Not only is tech support incompetant but now it appears that one cannot rely on their committment. Be very careful with any verbal promise. The computer is OK but Sony service is simply nothing short of disaster.
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