Alienware M11x vs Sony Vaio Z i5 Comparison and benchmarks

Introduction:

I know a lot of you are interested in a first hand comparison beween the m11x and the new Sony Vaio Z. Well now that i have them side by side i thought i'd give you my impressions. Later i hope to post a bunch of screenshots, and gaming benchmarks. Many of you may think it unfair to compare the two since a thousand dollars separates them, but the truth is there are only two "worthy" (6k+ 3dmark) ultraportable computers on the market, and that's these two.
My notebook's main use is for gaming on the go, so that's basically the bias of this comparison.

Sony Z: i520 2.4Ghz/4gb ram/330m/128gb SSD (CTO)
m11x: 7300/4gb/335m/500gb 7200 rpm hdd

Initial impressions:

When i first held the m11x i was really impressed. Really, really solid and much hevier than i expected. No creaking or bending. The Sony was also impressive, but i noticed right away that the battery doesn't fit perfectly and jiggles a tiny bit. Other than that i was quite impressed. As surprised as i was with the m11x weight, i was equally surprised at how light the sony was.

Build Quality:
This is a close call, but i have to give this to the m11x. They both feel really solid, but the jiggle battery and the flimsy feeling lid of the sony (you could bend it quite easily) makes the m11x the winner in this category.

Keyboard:

The m11x's keyboard is really nice, and very cool looking with its colored backlighting. The Sony on the other hand is MUCH nice to type on as the keys have better spacing and are a bit larger. I'd have to go with the sony on this one, by a tiny margin.

Size/Portability:

They are roughly the same size, the Z being slightly wider, and the m11 slighty longer. The Z is a bit thinner and far lighter, so it wins in the porability category, but it feels a lot more delicate, and i'd be much more inclined to throw my m11x in my backpack and not worry, i think i would with the Z.

Heat/Fan:

Running furmark on both, the GPU on the Z heated up to 83 max, settling down to 81 sustained over 15 minutes. The m11x hit 68 max and dropped down to 66. On idle, the m11x is at 40-44 degrees, whereas the Z is 56-60. The m11x has a relatively loud fan on idle (and comes on every minute or so), compared with the whisper quiet Z. Max CPU on the Z was 80, and 58 for the m11x.

After playing ME2 for about 15 minutes, the GPU hit 86 and the CPU hit 88 max. Odd that furmark was lower.
But under load my m11x fan noise doesn't really bother me, it's a large fan and has a low frequency, whereas the Z has a smal fan with many blades and gets LOUD under load. How load? Loud enough that i can hear it in the kitchen when i was running furmark in the living room. It's also a higher frequency sound and becomes quite annoying. I'm not a stickler for fans, so it's not really a huge deal for me, but if you are, the Z will likely bother you. I'll post more about fan noise as i start doing gaming benchmarks.

The chassis of the m11x gets quite hot especially on the underside to the left, yet the air being blown from the fan doesn't really get that hot. (The bottom of the m11x is a metallic plate, perhaps it's designed to be part of the cooling system?). The Z is the opposite. It never gets hot anywhere except the hot air blown from the fan exhaust.

Screen:
This is a big deal for me, and to be honest i wouldn't have gotten the Z if i was really happy with the m11x screen.
The sony has a matte 13" 1600 x 900 res LCD. The m11x has a 11.8" 1366 x 768 superduper-glossy screen. I suppose this might be unfair to compare, but i'm going to do it anyway as per my introduction.

Basically, as you might have guessed the Z pretty much blows the m11x away in this category. In terms of crispness i would have to say they are equal. But in terms of black levels, brightness, uniformity, color balance, color vividness/accuracy, and contrast ratio, (not to mention size and resolution) the sony is BY FAR the winner. Playing MassEffect 2 on the Sony almost made me cry it was so beautiful. The sony screen isn't perfect however, at max brightness (which to be honest is too bright) there is a tiny amount of light bleed at the edges. Also, curiously the Z has somewhat claustrophobic viewing angles, but it's only noticible on a white screen. It's hard to put into words because overall the Z has better viewing angles, but on a white background, the m11x is just better.

Benchmarks:

3DMARK06 (stock drivers/m11x OC CPU/stock GPU):
m11x 1280x768 : 6455
Z 1280x800 : 6204

Mass Effect 2 (1366 x 768 all default):
m11x:
Min: 24
Max: 61
Avg: 42

Z:
Min: 26
Max: 51
Avg: 38

Batman Arcane Asylum (Max/physx off/shadows off/vsync off):
m11x:
Min: 17
Max: 88
Avg:61

Z:
Min: 25
Max: 66
Avg:50

Batman Arcane Asylum (Max/physx NORMAL/shadows off/vsync off):
m11x:
Min: 14
Max: 82
Avg:29

Z:
Min: 13
Max: 37
Avg:22


Conclusion:

Ok, i'm not a great reviewer, and please forgive me, but here's my conclusion: I want an m11x with this screen and i'm done. I wouldn't mind a closer to full size keyboard as well, but that's far from a deal breaker. That said, i'm strangely a happier m11x owner after using this Z. 88 degrees playing ME2 for 15 minutes on the Z is just silly, and the fan is starting to drive me a bit nuts. Rest easy happy m11x owners, that while the Z is nice, the m11x overall is a superior ultraportable gaming rig in my humble opinion.
I intend to return the sony Z in a few days but i will do my best to take requests for game benchmarks and pictures.

I wrote this pretty quickly, so my apologies in advance.

Thanks for viewing.

 

http://i40.tinypic.com/1joxz8.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/23tjdwo.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/112egk4.jpg

 

Hah!! I sorta-called it! I have said a few times that I would expect in-game performance to be very similar between the Z and the M11x.

I'd be very curious though to see WoW performance on the Sony Z. People say its "all CPU" but its really a 50/50 mix. I would think the Sony would do a bit better in WoW at same resolution, but the GPU might hold it back too...

So far it looks like I was on the right track.

Obviously I wasn't saying this as a bad thing, more of just a comment.

Thank you for the excellent, easy-to-read write up!

Maybe in a year or two, we can look forward to a little more CPU oomph to match whatever they use for the GPU, and an RGB (or even OLED if we're REALLY lucky/rich) screen!

 

Thanks for the write up, really enjoyed reading it. I'm actually an avid Sony fan but I couldn't justify purchasing a Sony Vaio Z over an m11x, reading this only helps me justify the cause of purchase.

Sony really needs to become more competitive with pricing, if it was more closely matched in terms of price there could have been some serious competition (I'm not too certain, but is the Sony fairly priced for the hardware its packing or still overpriced?)

 

You should clarify that the Sony Z has a GT 330M GPU not a GT 335M.
Pretty significant spec difference between the two (48 CUDA cores v 72).

If the i5 were in the m11x you would see a significant jump in performance.

Also, ME2 is not a CPU limited game so that is not necessarily the best benchmark to use to compare the two sets of hardware.

 

The Z would blow the m11x in RTS games

 

@legoheads:

I actually did specified the GPUs in the intro.

 

Great comparison review...the pictures are helpful for seeing how the screens compare...heat and build quality were the key comparison points for me followed by screen quality...unfortunately (fortunately?), 2-out-of-3 ain't bad for the significantly cheaper machine...still on the fence though...ordered an m11x last week, and then Dell cancelled it...I guess my deal was a little too good for them even though it was a Dell sales rep quote...I grow tired of doing business with Dell...but Sony may not be any better...may wait until (if) the Vaio Zs show up at Best Buy...

I do think that you got the GPUs backwards...but since you can't choose GPU on either model, I think most of us know what you meant...

 

The display looks nicer on the sony..

 

Ah thanks for pointing that out. Edited original post to fix.

 

Does any one else agree that the sony has a nicer looking display or is just me.

 

no i agree that it looks good on the Sony, especially with the wallpaper showing through, thou it looks washed out when viewing the notebookreview.com site.

 

LOL was there ever a doubt? Sony and apple have the best displays cept for the rgb LEDs which are up there also

 

The sony display is far superior.. my camera isn't the best, but it's more dramatic in real life. That said, without the sony display sitting right there beside me i'm still more or less happy with the m11x's display.

It's mainly the black levels that bother me on the m11x.

 

+1 for the review.
When 2 months ago I said that M11X could most likely be compared to 13" notebooks in it's size and weight, many stones were thrown at me.
But I guess "The NetBrick" is very popular regardless of its inferior screen.
Anyway, both are very good!
Enjoy

 

Sadly poor contrast (black) levels is an issue with most screens other than CRT.

If the M11x and the Vaio Z i5 were the same price, I'd without a doubt go for the M11x personally.

 

How well do you think that Sony Display would fair against the M15x? Reasons why I ask is because I haven't gotten mine yet.

 

would the panels be different on the M15x to the m11x? other than resolution I'd say they would have similar if not identical specs.

 

hows battery life between the two? for gaming and just web browsing

If these two units costed the same I would definetly say the sony is better, but since the price difference is 1k..... I think the m11x is far superior bang for the buck


In very cpu intensive games for sure the sony will win but in heavy GPU games like crysis the m11x will definetly win. Im simply blown away by how good the m11x plays crysis

With those kind of temps in the sony z... doesn't look like there is going to be any head room for overclocking and if we are lucky we might be able to overclock our m11x's to a real 1.73ghz or maybe even higher if somebody can code setfsb for us, something like 2.1ghz would be nice

Anyways that Sony is definetly one SLICK machine for the weight! Really nice screen too, you can always count on a sony notebook having a nice screen!

 

Well I just checked the M15x uses a WLED display just like the M11x... so thats a bummer.

 

>.> seems like the m11x wins for sure then, the z has almost no room for overclocking with those temps.

 

It would of made more sense to add a RGB LED display on the M15x.

 

Apparently the m15x 1600x900 screen is absolutely fantastic according to Joker, whose opinion of screens i respect very much.

Mind you he went through an Asus, an XPS16 RGB, a Clevo, an m15x, and finally settled for a m17x RGBLED. He might be the only person pickier than me screenwise

 

Yeah, no kidding, considering you are already using a CPU clocked at 2.4GHz...0.7GHz overclocked from the overcloced SU7300...

 

people comment on how games are cpu intensive, is there a method or workaround to redirect that processing into the gpu instead?

 

Thanks for the article, very interesting.

 

Nice Review ! +rep!

 

The Sony in my sig is my third Sony laptop, and pretty old as it stands and all three heated up faster then my microwave.... I still cant believe they havent done much to address preventing these laptops giving you third degree burns after watching a movie or gaming for an hour.

I do get it these are business orientated laptops though.

 

But the OP said the m11x is hotter than Sony Z on the case where you actually touch and get in contact with...

 

It's extremely strange how Dell defines WLED. I used to have a Studio XPS 13 which also sported a WLED. The WLED on the SXPS13 was significantly better than the one on my M11x. It could be two entirely different WLED technology. But then again, the WLED on the SXPS 13 was a $100 optional upgrade.

 

Ah you're right...I skipped the middle part of the review where greater detail of the heat was being explained, do forgxive im feeling the effects of St patties day

 

It's true, in terms of physical heat, the m11x shows more signs of it. The left palmrest and the underside of the chassis of the m11x heats up a fair bit. Not so much that it's an issue, but noticable. But the GPU gets more than 20 degrees hotter on the sony, and the fan gets really loud as well.

Gaming on a notebook is all about tradeoffs, i've come to realize. But one thing is certain, the m11x has far better heat dissipation over all.

For someone like me who is extremely screen quality-biased, to prefer a gaming notebook with a lesser quality screen to a competitor really says something, and that was one of the main points i was trying to get across. I own both notebooks at the moment, i could sell one or the other very easily, but i choose to keep the alienware.

I can't wait for the day when OLED technology is the norm on notebooks.

 

Also got to realize the major difference in cost.

 

Not longer. The vast majority of current LCD's found in Sony's have really poor viewing angles including my own CW. This is the case with a lot of manufacturers these days sadly. Seriously, go to Best Buy. Look for the washed out, low contrast panels and you'll be surprised which laptops are sporting them currently.

The Z obviously is their premium line so it's the exception and not the rule. My old SZ, which was the same tier as the current Z also had a fantastic lcd.

In any event, painting that broad stroke really does no good.

 

Bang for the buck these M11x's were are just insane. Back when you can spec it for $750 or so with the coupons. Ridiculous.

 

Not all LED's are created equal. The Asus UL80VT's LED, for example, might be the worse panel I've seen in ages.

 

Wow! Thanks for this comparison! Right after ordering my m11x I started looking at the sony and started doubting. But after reading this Im very happy with my order for the m11.

On a side note: I totaly agree that the m11x and sony are comparable. Because of the size of the machines itself instead of the size of the screen or price.

 

I'm glad I canceled my Z order.

I really care the fan noise

 

I got no discounts on the m11x, but still consider it very fairly priced.

 

thanks for the comparison. You're right as a gaming rig, the M11x still does better it seems even with the ULV. I've just found myself encoding a lot of video lately and the extra virtual cores would help. Fortunately more programs with CUDA are available. Mediacoder being one.

 

Honestly, I own a current C2D Z and I wouldn't even consider the Core i7 Z if I am looking for just a portable gaming rig (alright, maybe I will consider Z if I am looking for a portable Flight Simulator rig, but most gamers nowadays are not into that genre anymore).

Z is capable of gaming, and is very competitive in benchmark and actual game performance against m11x , but Z is not optimized for portable gaming and you are paying (a lot) for multiple features that you don't use. In fact, if you go to the owners' thread, most, if not all, bought it for hardcore programming or some sort of professional work that requires the CPU power in an extremely portable package. I am sure they play games at their spare time, but first and foremost they need the CPU power and they need the portable pacakge.

I agree with you that it should be made clear for anyone who is debating to go with one or the other: I don't care how pick you are about the screen, or the weight, or the build quality, or the optical drive, or the SSD. Whatever. you have to be picky about all of them could Z be justified. And that's what Z is -- you want everything and you have the money? Here you go. It's not perfect, but it's the only thing you can have now.

 

Great read.

I love the Sony styling 10x more than the M11x, but I'm glad the M11x I ordered seems to perform better, especially bang for the buck.

Shame about the screen though.
::kisses HDMI cable::

 

@dallow:

I know what you mean. I've never been a huge fan of the alienware style, but i have to say i was staggered by the build quality of the m11x. There isn't a picture online that does it justice.

 

Thanks - great info. Can you tell me at all about performance of the Z vs S? I am going to buy a Sony, but hate to shell out the big bucks for the Z if the S is just as good for my purposes (no gaming or graphics, but major multi-tasking and hate sluggishness).

 

The only Sony VAIO S available in US is the one carried by Best Buy and that one has a Core i5-430m in it, so your CPU is pretty darn close to the i5-520m in teflonsheep's config. I don't think you will notice anything unless you are running something really CPU intensive like video encoding.

 

That's good to hear, my main gripe is really just the vented "top".
Other than that really, it does look solid from all the pictures.
I get mine this weekend, and this benchmark has me hyped, thanks much!

 

This is one great read. +rep to teflonsheep for the review.. Simple and straight to the point. - No BS intro .. sleepless night waiting, shaking fedex hand etc..

I must say I would go with Z despite a 1K price. I own the m15x and Z (2009 model). The feather weight, superior screen, quiet rubberized keyboard, fast SSD, cooler touch & the faster CPU (i7) is worth the price upgrade. The screen is simply too gorgeous to ignore. The Sony LED screen is the best screen I ever seen. The screen is so good that I prefer to watch it on my laptop than on my 52" LCD TV. Put on a headphone, switch off the light and play a DVD. Screen is as good as watching in cinema... black levels are really black, besides the screen dimension fits wide screen format well.The side by side comparison pic is pretty accurate... it makes the m11x screen look pretty bad.

Yeah I would go with Z if I will to buy... I think I will buy soon ... A feather weight business machine with gaming capabilities is something I have been waiting for the last 5 years.. Kinda of like all in one

 

One major downside is that the hard drive is not replaceable.

 

Whoa really?

That's a deal breaker on any laptop if true.

 

@dallow:

If i understand correctly, the unit ships with a proprietary SSD that is not replaceable. However, if you order it with 2 drives, the second drive replaces the optical drive and is replaceable.

Someone please correct me if i'm wrong.