Sony VAIO VPCZ12CGX – An Ultra-Portable Versatile Laptop

Today we have received our brand new Sony VAIO VPCZ12CGX ultra portable laptop and managed to test all its features. We are very pleased with this amazing piece of technology as Sony seems to integrate only the top hardware components in its stylish case. At first glance this laptop catches the eye with its elegant lines, medium dimensions (12.4 x 1.0 x 1.3 inches), and light weight (less than 3.04 lbs). Once we began testing its capabilities, we were surprised by how powerful and agile the Sony VAIO VPCZ12CGX really is. It exceeded our wildest expectations and passed all our tests with brio, taking its place in our top 10 best laptops of the year list. Let’s see why.

Sony VAIO VPCZ12CGX’s central processing unit (CPU) is represented by the very capable Intel® Core i5 – 540M processor, which works at a speed of 2.53 GHz. Power users will be thrilled to find out that they can go up to 3.06 GHz by using the integrated Turbo Boost Technology. Our laptop had an incredible speed when going through even the resource intensive of our tests, so we will give it a 9 out of 10 score due to its relatively small L3 cache, 3 MB. The central processing unit greatly benefited from the 4 GB (2 GB x 2) DDR3 random access memory (RAM) and its high, 1066 MHz frequency. If that looks to be less than what you need, you can always upgrade to 8 GB, the maximum capacity.

1GB of dedicated video RAM power Sony VAIO VPCZ12CGX’s very agile NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M Graphics Processing Unit (featuring integrated Intel HD Graphics capability). This capable video card managed to output clear, bright images on the laptop’s rather small 13.1 inch LED backlit display. The display’s maximum resolution is 1600 x 900 pixels, but you can always send the HD signal from the graphics processing unit to an HDTV using the HDMI Output port. The last but not least of our tests was performed on the hard disk drive. We were very happy with the 256GB (128 GB +128 GB) SSD (solid state drive) hard drive. However, given its price, $2449.99, we would have expected a solid 512 GB hard drive from the Sony VAIO VPCZ12CGX. So we will give the hard drive just 8 out 10 points. Other useful features are the built in Verizon Wireless Mobile Broadband, Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200 (802.11a/b/g/n) Wi-Fi, and Biometric Fingerprint Sensor. The notebook receives some extra points due to its usability and versatility.

By: Nadav Snir

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