Sony VAIO T Series SVT14122CXS Review
Anyone looking for an Ultrabook under 600 dollars has to have noticed the Sony VAIO T Series SVT14122CXS 14-Inch Ultrabook. Let’s take a look in more detail at this device.
The Exterior
In typical Sony VAIO fashion this Sony VAIO T Series SVT14122CXS 14-Inch Ultrabook is a design object. It has a very clean silver exterior, with the top cover in brushed aluminum. There is a chrome strip running on the back of it when closed and with VAIO written on with big chrome lettering. On the inside we see a contrast between the black raised tiles keyboard and the surrounding plastic casing, with the toutchpad right in the middle. Unfortunately there is no numeric keypad on this device, making it more difficult to use for people working with a lot of numbers. You can activate a pseudo-numeric keypad using the function keys, and the right side of the keyboard behaves as a numeric keypad. This can be a solution but I’m not sure it will prove to be useful if you have to switch between typing numbers and letters all the time.
Also on the top deck we have the power button on the top right corner, the 3 status LEDs, 3 function buttons(Assis, Web, Vaio) followed by the 2 built-in speakers.
The display on the Sony VAIO T Series SVT14122CXS Ultrabook is a 14-inch LED backlight with a resolution of 1366 x 768px. It also has an anti-reflective coating to ensure better color intensity without any glare.
For an extra 80 dollars Sony also provides a Touchscreen version of this device, making Windows 8 a more usable experience. The configuration is the same with this model. If you are interested in this version you can click the link below.
Connectivity
Surprising for an Ultrabook the Sony VAIO T Series SVT14122CXS comes with an Optical-drive.
It might not be as thin as other Ultrabooks, but I thing that getting a full sized VGA-out, and a DVD-RW on it are well worth the extra height. Other than these 2 thing it gets the usual external connectivity options like: HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, 2 Memory Card readers (in front, Memory Stick Duo and Secure Digital memory cards), Headphones out, 1 USB 2.0 and 1 USB 3.0 ports. The lack of another USB 3.0 port just like on other models might be a problem for users connecting a lot of accessories to it. You can fix this problem by connecting them all through a USB-Hub with multiple USB ports.
The unseen connectivity options include Wireless-N Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 + HS, capable of wireless stereo music streaming to other Bluetooth devices.
It’s good to see a device sporting all available connectivity standards when most other devices seem to lack one or the other.
Performance
In the performance department is where the low price for an Ultrabook is justified. The Sony VAIO T Series SVT14122CXS comes with a 3rd generation Intel Core i3-3227U, running at 1.9 GHz. It is the most powerful Core i3 ULV Mobile processor Intel makes at the moment. This means it is more than capable to cope with almost anything available at the moment. It’s also a very new processor design, it was launched in Quarter 1 of 2013. Sony providing the customer with the best that’s available at the moment. Because it is an ULV Processor(Ultra Low Voltage) the battery life should be good on this model. This processor also comes with the true and tested Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics card, an overall very good package. The gaming ability of this graphics card has been tested repeatedly in recent years and it has always offered good results. Gaming will therefor be possible on this Sony but only on minimal to medium settings.
The only downside performance wise for this Ultrabook is that it only has 4GB DDR3 RAM preinstalled. This is a good amount for everyday usage but for those wanting a little more power and doing a lot of multitasking it will pose a problem. It can be upgraded to a maximum of 8GB DDR3 RAM if needed. From what I can find this device only has one RAM slot available so you would need to replace the 4GB module with an 8GB one.
The Sony VAIO T Series SVT14122CXS is an Ultrabook and as such it comes with hybrid storage, composed of a 500GB HDD and a 24GB SSD. The hybrid storage has become the norm on Ultrabooks for people needing more storage space than a more expensive SSD can offer. The 24GB SSD is used to boost the speed of the 500GB HDD by caching the most used files and having them ready for use in an instant. This also means that this device benefits from Intel’s Rapid Start Technology, making this device capable of starting and being ready to use in seconds.
The batterylife of this Sony VAIO is declared at 4.25 hours, which doesn’t seem that much. If you also take a look at the battery itself, with just 3760 mAh, then the 4 hours seem very reasonable. Considering this device is not as thin as it’s competitors I would have expected it to have a bigger battery inside. I guess the ULV Intel Core i3 make up for the smaller battery pack.