Sony Vaio

[moncton golden flames]

Hey CP,

I searched for a thread like this, and didn't see one. I purchased a Dell Inspiron 1720 last January and have had a hard drive failure, an OS failure and a screen go blank on me. To say the least, I'm tired of dealing with Dell. I have heard decent things from the Sony Vaio line of notebooks. Does anybody have any advice or stories about Sony notebooks? Any help is appreciated.

[photon]

I've interacted with a few Vaios.. most are very nice laptops, but typically they've been quite overpriced for what you get.. I'd rather just get a Macbook Pro.

[llama64]

Originally Posted by photon

I've interacted with a few Vaios.. most are very nice laptops, but typically they've been quite overpriced for what you get.. I'd rather just get a Macbook Pro.

Basically what I've heard. For the price of a Vaio you might as well get a nice Macbook Pro.

Great little laptops from a company that certainly doesn't specialize in computers, but that Sony brand tacks on an extra 30-50% in cost.

[Rathji]

I agree totally. My sister in law wanted one of these and I convinced her against it. She got the nearly identical (feature wise) Dell 1525 for 400 bucks less.

[Boo Radley]

Bump...

Hello CP,

A little help with a laptop purchase.

I am looking at buying a Sony Vaio VGN-FW490
This is mostly for work. I like to have quite a few tasks running simultaneously. Everyday programs and some other stuff like modeling programs etc.
I am not a serious gamer. The most I play is an old version of Civilization.

The major specs on it are:
Intel Core 2 Duo P8800 / 2.66 GHz
4GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 2GBx2)
320GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [7200 rpm]
Intel GMA 4500MHD Dynamic Video Memory Technology 5.0

It is priced at $1050US

Alternatively, for the same price I could swap out the integrated video card for the dedicated ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD4650 graphics card with 512MB
but this unit has the Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53GHz)

Questions:
1: Given the choice should I take the higher processor or the dedicated video card?
2: Aside from the PC/Mac debate are there other systems that you might recommend? Or am I getting a good deal?

Thanks for any and all help,

Radley

[Vulcan]

I just bought a basic laptop (around $500) but I was looking at all the options and checking out the video cards offered. The 4500MHD has a 3DMark 06 average score of 797 but is still able to play HD video whereas the HD4650 has an average score of 6340 which is pretty good for a laptop and I think you would be able to play almost any games. I believe the dedicated graphic card will take more power so your battery may not last as long. I settled for the 4500HD as I won't need it for gaming.

[Boo Radley]

Thanks for the info Vulcan,

I was not aware of the 3DMark06 scoring. I guess Google could have been my friend. TBQH I have only a cursory knowledge of most of these details.
Though now thanks to you I have started looking around a little more

Thanks again,
Radley

[sa226]

I just bought a Sony laptop. Its the NW series. Futureshop for 900 buckaroos.

15.5 inch widescreen
320 HD
Core 2 Duo 6500
ATI HD 4750
4G RAM

I'm still playing around with it but the specs for the price I thought were pretty good considering its a VAIO.

I'm not 100% sure but I think the Video card I have has an internal HD 3200 that it defaults to with less demanding work. And then the 4570 kicks in when more graphic intensive work is required. So that may help with the power consumption issues of a stand alone video card.

Anyways I like it, good price for specs and its pretty portable too for a mid range laptop.

No I didn't get one of those stupid "Product Service Plan" scams

[sa226]

heh....now that I read your posts a bit more carfully it seems you have narrowed it down between the two.

Personally I would sacrifice a little speed on the processor for a dedicated video card. Especially if there is no price difference. To the average user the difference in processor speeds is not noticable. Where as depending on what you are doing the difference between dedicated and integrated graphics can be very noticable.

Personal opinion on battery life, which some....heck many people may not agree with me on, is that its overrated. Most people are using laptops as a desktop replacement, as well 90% of the time when doing computer stuff you are around some sort of power source where you can plug in....even in the car you get a power inverter for 20 dollars and you can plug in on the road. So why obsess over battery life when you will be able to plug it in anyways. Of course it all depends on what you want it for.....