The good: Sleek and light design; can switch between discrete and integrated GPU without needing a restart; high-resolution screen.

The bad: Expensive; only two USB ports; smaller ExpressCard/34 slot instead of full 54mm variety; one-year warranty.

The bottom line: A premium laptop for the business professional, the key selling point of the Vaio Z is its ability to switch between integrated and discrete graphics chipsets (the latter for after work entertainment.

Read full review of the Sony Vaio VGN-Z46GD »

By Darius Chang, CNET Asia
Sep 2, 2009

Its predecessor, the Vaio SZ series, was one of the first to sport both integrated and discrete graphics chipsets. However, at that time switching between the two required the laptop to be restarted. But when the Centrino 2 platform with its hybrid graphics capabilities came about, the new Vaio Z range took advantage of this feature to allow swapping between the GPUs on-the-fly. By not requiring the system to restart, the dual-GPU setup is much easier to use.

The Vaio Z series comes in several fixed configurations. The high-end VGN-Z48GD and VGN-Z47GD sport with solid-state storage and a Blu-ray writer, respectively. The low-end VGN-Z45GD slips in at under S$3,000 (US$2,157.19), but sports a slower processor and less RAM. We reviewed the midrange VGN-Z46GD model that is available in two variants. The VGN-Z46GD/B comes with a standard black metal chassis, while our test unit, the VGN-46GD/U, sports the new shadow border design (which will be detailed later in the review) and a S$100 (US$71.91) premium.

Design

As mentioned, the VGN-Z46GD/U costs more than the VGN-Z46GD/B but comes with a unique shadow border top lid. This is essentially black textured strips that run across the cover like zebra stripes. In our opinion, the extra premium is well worth the cost as the textured surface gives a better grip on your expensive portable.

Sony Vaio laptops are well-known for their sleek design and the Vaio Z is no different. The sleek and light metal chassis has a solid feel and the material even extends to the palm rest. The keyboard sports individual full-sized keys that are comfortable to use for long periods. Nice touches include a spring-loaded door to protect the ExpressCard slot and a rubber stopper for the modem port.

As a business tool, we do not fault Sony for not including multimedia controls on this laptop, though there are two configurable S1 and S2 buttons to launch applications. Unique to the Vaio Z is the GPU switch that swaps between the discrete and integrated video cards as well as dual memory slots that handle Memory Stick and SDHC formats. This allows the user to read the two memory cards simultaneous, which is a handy feature to have.

Features

Despite its high price tag, as a business portable its corporate-centric features are, at best, merely adequate. Sure, it has a fingerprint/TPM security chip combo for data security and harddisk accelerometer (which detects drops and parks the reader arm to prevent the magnetic media from scratching). But items such as a spill-resistant keyboard and HSDPA connectivity are sorely missed. That said, there is one key advantage this laptop has over its competitors--its dual-GPU platform.

The Vaio Z is equipped with both an integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD (Stamina mode) and a discrete 256MB Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS (Speed mode) video card. Though the latter is hardly a gaming-grade GPU, it should suffice for most online games as well as older titles. But with the integrated GMA video card having HD video capabilities, most of the time there's no need to opt for the higher-performing 9300M GS card, and the switch will be set on the Stamina mode for better battery life. The LED-backlit 13.1-inch display is also bright and easy on the eyes. With an impressive resolution of 1,600 x 900 pixels, the Vaio Z can easily double as a portable entertainment unit after office hours.

Other notable features include the fingerprint sensor (that sits between the mouse buttons) which doubles as a scroll bar and a VGA-resolution Webcam. Though Windows 7 is just around the corner, Sony is also offering Windows XP Professional downgrade rights that allow you to install the older operating system. We do have some gripes with this Vaio, though. One is that this model sports only two miserable USB ports. Also, the ExpressCard slot is of the smaller 34mm variety rather than the full-sized 54mm version.

Tags: Sony Vaio, Laptop Computer, Video Card, Expresscard, security chip

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