In a world where laptops are made in their millions and are often simply rebadged versions of the same anonymous chassis, owning an original and eye-catching model is a rarity, unless of course you pay a premium and splash out on a Sony Vaio.

The VGN-C1Z/B has all the usual Vaio trademarks – well-rounded edges, X-Black screen and a lick of colour under the lid – but doesn’t hit the same performance heights as others here.

Under the bonnet is Intel’s T5500 processor, clocking in at 1.66GHz, and 1GB of DDR2-533 Ram, which can be expanded up to 2GB. Scores of 208 in Sysmark and 3,607 in PCmark05 may rank it below the Evesham, MSI and Asus in terms of raw power, but higher than the Rock, which boasts a faster T5600 processor.

Like several of the notebooks here, the Sony is the proud owner of a ‘Vista Capable’ sticker, which will please anyone looking to upgrade the operating system in the next year or so.

The 120GB Sata hard disk is one of the biggest here, which is especially good considering the notebook’s physical size. The integrated multiformat DVD writer records to most disc formats and there’s a memory card reader for Sony’s Memory Stick.

Disappointing scores of 1,821 in 3Dmark05 and a 41fps frame rate in Far Cry don’t do the Sony any favours. We realise this laptop isn’t a dedicated gaming machine but we expected more from the 256MB Nvidia Geforce Go 7400, which uses Nvidia’s Turbocache technology to improve performance.

Even if a high graphics score were achieved, things wouldn’t look too impressive on the 13.3in display anyway, which is the Sony’s biggest drawback when pitched against the other entrants here. The X-Black screen keeps things looking crisp and viewable in most lighting conditions but the compact size might deter some buyers.

With such a small screen, we didn’t expect the VGN-C1Z/B to be quite so bulky. Measuring 4cm high means it won’t just slip into a bag and the 2.75kg weight is heavier than anticipated.

However, the Sony’s attractiveneness improves with its decent battery life. Running for more than three hours in our Productivity suite and more than two when watching a DVD puts the majority of other laptops here to shame.

With such a chubby chassis to work with, you’d think that Sony could fit in an impressive collection of ports and sockets. However, just two USB ports are present and there’s no DVI output either. There are VGA and S-video outputs, Express Card, iLink and 802.11g wireless networking.

Using the VGN-C1Z/B is comfortable, although the retro-keyboard styling is one of those love it or hate it things. It doesn’t get too hot either, which will please lap-working business folk.

The Sony may not be the most powerful notebook here but it comes with an impressive software bundle. Along with photo and video-editing packages, courtesy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 4 and DV Gate Plus 2.2, there’s Roxio Digital Media SE 7, Microsoft Works 8.5 and a copy of Norton Internet Security 2006 with 90 days worth of updates.

This laptop scores lower on value for money than others here and the screen is significantly smaller too. However, for those who just can’t do without a Vaio logo, the VGN-C1Z/B should be a consideration.

This article is part of a group test of budget Core 2 Duo notebooks
See also:
Evesham Voyager C530
Hi-grade Notino D7000-5500
HP Compaq NX7400 (RH393ET)
MSI Megabook M662
Rock Pegasus 665-T56
Asus F3Jv

Graphs and tables of features can be read via our pdf downloads above.