Sony VAIO F21Z1E 3D review

Sony is continuing its roll-out of VAIO laptops featuring Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors with the F21Z1E, a 16in powerhouse. As well as great application performance, the range-topping system also includes USB3, a 3D-capable Full HD display and a Blu-ray optical drive.

Even the smallest details in movies and still images are preserved on the amazingly sharp display. The super-high 1,920×1,080 resolution is a perfect match for watching Full HD video, but desktop icons and text are tiny and hard to read. 3D video was decent, although the sense of immersion isn’t as complete as it would be on a larger display; although we expect to see it on more laptops in the future, we don’t think 3D in its current implementation is suited to a small screen. One pair of active shutter glasses is included in the box, and we can’t see anyone sharing this screen with others.

Sony’s trademark VAIO styling has taken a back seat to the new technology, as the 3D display is incredibly chunky. It’s almost as thick as the main body, which isn’t particularly slim itself. Make no mistake, in spite of the 16in screen this is a desktop replacement laptop. It weighs over 3kg, which doesn’t take into account the very chunky power brick. You’ll need to carry that brick if you want to use the laptop on the move, especially as the battery lasted just under three hours in our test.

It may not be the most mobile laptop then, but performance is another story. The Intel quad-core i7-2630QM was nothing short of mind-blowing. Running at 2GHz by default, Turbo Boost pushes the clock speed to 2.9GHz for demanding applications such as our multimedia benchmarks. A stunning overall score of 143 eclipsed just about every other laptop we’ve seen. Combined with a massive 8GB of memory, the F21Z1E should sail through even the most intensive tasks. The downside to all this power is that the processor gets warm very quickly. It only takes a short time for the fans to spin up and at full speed they sound louder than some desktop systems.

The 3D display is powered by an Nvidia GeForce GT 540M, which is easily capable of playing high definition content. It can also handle games reasonably well, averaging 40fps in our Call of Duty 4 test. By disabling anti-aliasing, it still managed a solid 32fps at the far-higher native screen resolution. Unfortunately playing games in stereoscopic 3D increases the workload on the graphics card and the mid-range 540M can’t keep up. We had to lower the resolution and turn down some detail settings to achieve a playable frame rate.

We were very impressed with the backlit keyboard, which includes a numerical keypad. Each key was very responsive and the raised wrist rest made it very comfortable to type on. An ambient light sensor enables the backlight automatically when working in poor lighting conditions, making it a breeze to type in the dark.

Performance is absolutely immense thanks to the quad-core processor, but the F21Z1E is held back by a comparatively underpowered graphics card. Although it can play 3D Blu-ray titles, it can’t play games in 3D at decent levels of detail. The loud fan noise and limited battery life also detract from the overall experience. As one of the first Sandy Bridge systems available we would suggest waiting for other manufacturers to show their hand before taking the plunge.