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The VAIO FZ is available with a full range of Core 2 Duo processors (from the Intel T7100 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo up to the T7700 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo). The only screen offering is the 15.4" WXGA but the notebook can take up to 4GB of RAM. Built-in wireless 802.11 a/b/g/n is standard.

Our review version of the FZ, Intel graphics, has the following specifications:

• Screen: 15.4-inch screen WXGA (1280 x 800) with XBRITE-ECO (glossy finish)
• Processor: 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300
• Hard Drive: 200 GB hard drive (SATA, 4200RPM)
• Memory: 2GB RAM (PC5300, 667 MHz, DDR2 SDRAM) -- 4GB max memory
• Optical Drive: DVD+-R Double layer / DVD+-RW Drive (Blu-ray drive optional)
• Ports and Slots: Three USB 2.0, one FireWire 400 port, one ExpressCard 34, one S-Video, one VGA, one MemoryStick Pro reader, one SD card reader, headphone / line-out, microphone-in, modem, 10/100 Ethernet
• Wireless: Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
• Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 (NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT available)
• Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
• Dimensions: 14.0" x 10.2" x 1.4" (Width x Depth x Height)
• Weight: 5.75 pounds

Build and Design

The overall first impression that one has when looking at the FZ series is that this notebook was designed to look clean and simple. From the matte black and silver plastics to the flat keyboard keys the FZ is a design that lacks the flashiness of the glossy, multi-colored notebooks that have become so popular in recent years. While some consumers will find the design a little boring, I consider the Spartan design elements to be quite attractive ... and less obnoxious than some of the "look at me, I'm so cool" glossy designs.

The lid of the VAIO FZ also has a nice matte finish with the VAIO lettering in a polished silver material. After opening the lid and seeing the black plastic interior and rounded brushed aluminum surface of the FZ you'll notice how this thin notebook has a remarkably solid build. The entire case is sturdy with relatively thick plastic and magnesium alloy reinforcement in just the right places. There are no creaks or signs of case flex anywhere to be found.

The VAIO FZ lid does not have a latch to hold it closed, but the hinge mechanism works well and firmly holds the lid in place. There is almost no flex to the screen lid unless you apply significant (as in way more pressure than you should) force.

Sony officially classifies the VAIO FZ as a “thin-and-light” notebook. While the 1.4" thickness is certainly thin, the weight of 5.75 pounds isn't particularly “light” by today’s standards. Still, given the fact we're talking about a notebook with a 15.4" screen, the weight is hardly an issue.

Performance

The Core 2 Duo processors that come with the VAIO FZ-series provide more than enough performance, even at the 1.8GHz low-end of the T7100. The 2.0GHz T7300 processor in our review unit packs an impressive punch … despite the fact that FZ isn't equipped with a dedicated graphics option. The 3DMark05 are low at first glance, but this is due to the fact that our FZ uses the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 (Intel 965 chipset) which shares the notebook’s system memory. The available NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT dedicated graphics would have performed significantly better.

Screen

The 15.4" glossy screen is a WXGA 1280 x 800 beauty with rich color and excellent contrast. The display features fairly bright and even backlighting with eight levels of brightness. Horizontal viewing angles are excellent, but the vertical viewing angles weren't as good. If the screen is tilted just slightly forward or back parts of the screen “wash out” or colors begin to invert ... making it all but impossible to see low contrast details.

Keyboard, Touchpad and Other Input Buttons

The keyboard on the VAIO FZ is quite nice if you don't mind flat keys. The keyboard itself has almost no flex, keys have minimal travel with excellent cushion and response, and there are dedicated keys for home, end, page up, and page down.

The touchpad is nice and large with a very usable and responsive surface. The mouse buttons are likewise nicely sized. The touchpad buttons have slightly shallow feedback and produce very noisy clicks.

The VAIO FZ also features dedicated media buttons above the keyboard and beneath the speakers. The media buttons make watching DVDs or listening to music files as easy as using a DVD or CD player. Next to the media buttons is a dedicated “AV Mode” quicklaunch button that lets you activate the media player functions without booting Windows. At least, that's what the AV Mode button does in theory. We received two FZ units from Sony and neither one had a functioning AV Mode button. The first review unit simply booted up Windows Vista when we pressed the AV Mode button. When we press the AV Mode button on our second review unit we get a black screen with an ugly DOS-style message (pictured below). At first we thought it might be an issue with our review units, but several new FZ owners reported in our forum that their AV Mode buttons don't work either.

Audio

The VAIO FZ has stereo sound via speakers located above the keyboard. With the speakers located on the top of the interior in this way they tend to direct the sound at you and make for a reasonably enjoyable listening experience. While the built-in speakers aren’t the best that I’ve heard in a notebook of this size, the sound they produce has good clarity and loudness despite the almost complete lack of bass. The headphone jack is located on the right side (a less than ideal location for people who like to plug in external speakers while using the optical drive and/or an external mouse).

Heat and Noise

The VAIO FZ runs extremely quiet with the 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo processor. Still, even though the fan is silent it kept heat under control. The bottom center area gets a bit warm, but temperatures remained comfortable enough to keep the FZ on the lap. Temperatures are likely kept within acceptable limits thanks to a rather large copper heatsink visible through the vent on the left side of the FZ.

As mentioned, the system fan is quiet when running. You have to put your ear down at desk level to hear it over any other ambient noise in the room. Despite the lack of noise the fan pushes out a significant amount of heat … enough to make your hand uncomfortable if you put your left hand next to the vent during benchmarking.

Battery

Battery life on the FZ was far from impressive. Even with the screen brightness set to less than half, wireless on, and Vista power settings set to maximize battery life, the FZ powered down in less than 3 hours (2 hours and 52 minutes). While I'm sure it's possible to get more battery life by turning the screen brightness all the way down and turning off the wireless, this isn't particularly useful for a modern notebook. Of course, Sony offers a high-capacity, long-life battery for the FZ if you're interested in longer battery life.