Sony VAIO VPCF21Z1E review

Gaming is also underwhelming in 3D. The issue is that, while the laptop sports one of Intel’s lightning-quick Sandy Bridge processors, the graphics chipset is Nvidia’s modestly powered GT 540M. This is perfectly capable of playing games in 2D, but switch to 3D mode, where the graphics card’s workload almost doubles, and modern games are only just playable. Even at low settings, Crysis struggled to maintain a smooth frame rate, and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was barely playable even at 1,024 x 768 resolution and minimum detail.

If you’re not intrigued by true 3D gaming, the Sony still has plenty to offer. The quad-core 2GHz Core i7-2630QM Sandy Bridge processor delivers huge amounts of power, gaining 2.02 in our benchmarks, and in tandem with the 8GB of RAM, glorious HD screen and Blu-ray writer, the VPCF21Z1E is well equipped for the demands of HD video editing and disc authoring. You will, however, want to remain within easy reach of a mains socket: with no graphics switching available, Sony’s hulking 3D laptop lasted only 2hrs 56mins during our light-use test.

Turn your attention to less engaging pursuits, and the Sony largely gets it right. There’s a little give in the keyboard’s base, but the crisp-feeling, short-travel keys feel great under the finger. Only the touchpad could be significantly improved: the wide rocker button often felt stiff in use, forcing us to deliberately press at its extreme edges to get a click to register.

Meanwhile, there’s little lacking in the way of connectivity. There are three USB ports (two of which are USB 3), mini-FireWire, an SD/Memory Stick card reader, an optical S/PDIF out and, for playing 3D Blu-ray content through a TV, an HDMI 1.4 socket. Meanwhile, networking is covered by Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth and single-band 802.11n wireless.

The unavoidable thorn in the Sony’s side is its price. With Sony suggesting the VPCF21Z1E is going to retail for around £1,800 inc VAT, you’re paying a staggering premium for that 3D display. As a technological showpiece, the Sony VPCF21Z1E largely delivers the goods, but when the same kind of money could buy you a 40in 3D TV, a PlayStation 3 and maybe even a budget laptop, too, it’s a luxury reserved for only the most affluent of enthusiasts.