Sony Vaio TZ series (VGN-TZ11XN) review

Sony Vaio TZ Review

Reviewed by: Rory Reid

Reviewed on: 5 June 2007

Hard-drive space tends to be limited in ultra-portable laptops, but the TZ uses the biggest available drive that will physically fit inside it. The Toshiba-built MK1011GAH packs 100GB of storage, which should let you stash a few dozen DivX movies, hundreds of MP3s and plenty of images. You can control playback of audio files via a set of media buttons along the front edge of the laptop.

The media control buttons sit just above a Wi-Fi activation switch

It uses Sony's G-Sensor HDD shock protection system, which helps prevent the disk becoming damaged in the event of falls or shocks. If you're super-paranoid about data loss, and you aren't concerned with storage space and an exorbitant price, you might opt for the top-spec TZ, the VGNTZ12VN/X.CEK, which has a 32GB solid-state hard drive. Obviously it's two thirds smaller and £200 more expensive, but it theoretically has faster disc access and boot-up times, and is more robust.

The TZ doesn't use the new Intel 965 chipset seen in the latest Centrino Duo laptops, but it does have a pretty special CPU. It's the first laptop we've seen with an ultra-low voltage dual-core processor from Intel. This itself is a first -- whereas the TX5 and its ilk used Core Solo processors, the TZ uses a twin-core Intel U7500 clocked at 1.06GHz. Its ultra-low voltage status means it doesn't consume much energy and prolongs battery life, and the fact it's dual-core means it's fairly nippy, too. The laptop has 2GB of system memory, so it's ready, willing and able to handle modern applications.

Wi-Fi comes as standard in 802.11a/b/g flavours, as does Bluetooth, but we were disappointed at the lack of a built-in 3G SIM card. Unlike the Dell Latitude D420, which lets you surf the Web anywhere,  the TZ requires you to be in the presence of a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Sony bundles a range of its own software for hardware diagnostics, AV playback and video editing, but many of these are available in the Microsoft Vista Business edition operating system, which comes as standard. You get a one-year collect and return warranty, which is rather tight-fisted if you ask us -- the laptop costs nearly £1,800, after all.

Performance
The TZ generally impressed us with its performance. Its dual-core ultra-low voltage CPU seemed wimpy, though. It racked up a PCMark 2005 score of 1,049, which is good, but lower than the 1,508 achieved by the TX5. 3D performance was about the same as the TX5. It scored a useless 124 in 3DMark 2006, a slight improvement on the TX5's 111.

Battery life is the most impressive aspect of its performance. Sony believes it'll last 7 hours away from the mains, but in our highly intensive BatteryEater tests it ran for 208 minutes, or just under 3.5 hours. This is pretty impressive, despite being lower than Sony's claimed figures -- BatteryEater munches battery life by bombarding the laptop with 3D modelling tasks. We reckon with lighter use, the TZ will last you closer to 4 hours.

The TZ runs coolly and quietly. Rarely do its cooling fans cause a racket -- and it doesn't get particularly hot during use either. If you're worried about burning your lap, the TZ is the one to go for.

Conclusion
Nearly £1,800 is a lot of dosh to spend on a laptop -- even if it is a Sony Vaio. You could buy a similarly sized, similarly specced Dell Latitude D420 for around £500 less. And what the Dell lacks in an integrated DVD rewriter, it makes up for with a built-in 3G datacard for on-the-go Web access.

If you have the cash, however, and care more about DVD playback than 3G, the Vaio TZ series is one of the best ultra-portables we've ever seen.

Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Nick Hide