Sony Europe has recently confirmed that the VAIO Z laptop will come with a number of features to push performance, including options for a quad SSD setup. Four solid state drives linked together in a RAID configuration. On a 13-inch notebook. That’s four fast drives on a notebook that you can walk around with comfortably.
Of course, solid state drives come with limited capacities compared to more standard hard drives, so the quad SSDs are listed to amount to only 128GBs or 256GBs combined. But you have to remember that speed is the key here; Sony boasts that the four RAID-linked SSDs can serve up data up to 6.2 times faster than your average 5400rpm notebook drive. Solid state drives are more compact and use up less power too, so that’s definitely a plus. Unfortunately, SSDs are also significantly more expensive than your average everyday drive, so don’t expect the price of four SSDs—in a 13-inch VAIO no less—to come cheap.
The VAIO Z also comes with a GeForce GT 330M graphics to give this portable a good 3D performance boost. The laptop will feature a switch to control between performance and efficiency with a switch that toggles between speed and stamina modes, depending on use. It’s unknown if the stamina mode switches the system onto integrated graphics or if it just dials down on the GT 330M’s clocks, but the general idea is still there: performance and efficiency in a 13-inch portable.
It has also been reported that the VAIO Z will also come with a high end model, the Z9E, that fits a 1080p HD screen, 6GBs of memory, and a 2.66GHz Intel Core i7 processor. Now that’s noteworthy—not because we’re doubting if the GeForce GT 330M can handle full HD video (because it can). We’re just not sure if a 1080p HD resolution on a small 13-inch screen is worth it.
If you’d like to check it out, the VAIO Z starts at around $1,900. It’s set to be released in Europe by the end of March, and in North America by April.
Tags: Notebooks, Sony, Sony Vaio
