Sony Vaio VGN-N38Z/W review

Weaknesses
While it can hold its own for office performance, it's no match for 3DMark06 as its integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics chip was only capable of pulling in a miserable score of 246, which is very low, ruling out the possibility of playing the latest games on it.

Despite the amount of physical space available on its body, the N38Z/W is a little lacking when it comes to expansion ports. The left edge only holds the DVD writer while the front has just two slots for Memory Stick and SD cards. Modem and Ethernet adorn the rear with everything else (two USB, 4-pin FireWire, headphone, microphone, VGA and Express Card/34 slot) dotted along the right hand edge.

It doesn't feel particularly hardy and the case flexes a little more than you'd expect, making it feel unsuitable for frequent travelling without additional protection. It's also rather on the heavy side, pushing nearly 3kg so you're unlikely to want to carry it around for too long.

Conclusion
The N38Z/W is big on battery life, with reasonable application performance and a decent display for working on and is reasonably priced. Its design is clean, if a little boxy, but it falls into a slightly awkward middle ground between super portable and desktop replacement. If gaming is your thing then it's probably best avoiding all together.

Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Jon Squire