Thinking about a new lappy - sony?

[makken]

Hey guys,

It's about time to replace my currently laptop, a dell inspiron 5100. I'm looking for a widescreen, but still being able to remain portable (can easily carry around to an engineering lab and back), and the Sony S-series seems to fit my book exactly.

Firstly, are there any specific things i should know about this laptop, this would be my first sony computer. Most of the reviews I've read are positive (but we all know what reviews are worth =\ ).

Secondly, are the Sony's easily upgradable? The price for these are somewhat high, and I would like to purchase a refurbished system, but all of the ones I've looked at are missing one or two components that I really want (bigger hard drive, different videocard, etc). The one thing i really liked about my dell was that it was almost as easy to upgrade as a PC--just open up the laptop, take out old components and put in new ones. Are the sony's this user friendly?

Also, feel free throw around suggestions to other lappys i should look at. I really want a widescreen that I can still carry around easily (I move around my apartment a lot and bring it on trips every weekend). mmm the ability to play HL2 at a steady 60fps would also be nice, but not really necessary

Thanks
-Ken

 

[Wuzup101]

From my experiences Sony laptops are relatively high quality with a high price tag to match. I personally would opt for an IBM over a Sony any day (they are also expensive but build quality is better). However, the sony's do look much nicer than the IBMs. As for upgradeability, ram is definitely upgradeable. On a laptop that size I would assume the HDD wasn't upgradable easily (IE: bottom compartment) but I wasn't able to find a picture of the bottom of the machine to see for sure. Video is defnitely not upgradable... so IMHO buy on video first if that's important to you. Then buy on HDD as this can be upgraded in almost all cases with some work (video is impossible to upgrade in a lappy currently on most models). Buy based on ram last... as you can usually easily upgrade it.

 

[makken]

Originally posted by: Wuzup101
From my experiences Sony laptops are relatively high quality with a high price tag to match. I personally would opt for an IBM over a Sony any day (they are also expensive but build quality is better). However, the sony's do look much nicer than the IBMs. As for upgradeability, ram is definitely upgradeable. On a laptop that size I would assume the HDD wasn't upgradable easily (IE: bottom compartment) but I wasn't able to find a picture of the bottom of the machine to see for sure. Video is defnitely not upgradable... so IMHO buy on video first if that's important to you. Then buy on HDD as this can be upgraded in almost all cases with some work (video is impossible to upgrade in a lappy currently on most models). Buy based on ram last... as you can usually easily upgrade it.

yeah; i'm not even looking at the ram specs for these laptops.

That really sucks about the video though; it is probably the single most upgraded component ever =\. I remember on the dell laptops, you could order a different video card for your laptop series, then just replace your existing video card with the new one and it'll work fine (same goes for CPU and most other components).

Video is not *THE* most important issue for me, but soon or later I know i would eventually want an upgrade on the video card.

HDD space itself is not that big of an issue as I have an external closure, but I would perfer at least a 5200 rpm over the 4200 most laptops come with.

I do have a soft spot for the thinkpads, but none of them come with a widescreen; and that is the most important feature to me right now. I would perfer a smaller 13.3 or 15.4 over the 17" ones, but the wide is a definate must. Firstly for movies , but secondly, I do a lot of side by side compare or "port information over" type work (ie. two websites open comparing data, excel and matlab open side by side porting data from one to the other, photoshop and my webpage open making sure the colors match.. etc) and a widescreen would def be ideal.

My current set up includes my LCD display plus an external 19" CRT monitor, but that gets messy at times as well as confusing.

Finally, I'm not really desperate for a new laptop right now, I can wait several months, I'm just seeing whats out right now, and seeing if theres anything in this market i should wait for before i make a purchase.

Thanks
-Ken

 

[CombatChuk]

Beware that the Sony S-Series uses proprietery, RAM. They're physically smaller and you can only get it through Sony (i.e. expensive).

 

[Wuzup101]

I thought that was the really little sony's that use that special ram (the ones with 10" screans). Anyway, you're right about the video cards, there are some that are upgradable; however, these are few and far between. We should be seeing them more in the future though, which is good news to most of us who like to play the occasional game on out laptops.

You could always stop by your local Apple Store and check out a powerbook...

 

[imported_Lucifer]

Originally posted by: Wuzup101
You could always stop by your local Apple Store and check out a powerbook...

:thumbsup:

 

[makken]

Originally posted by: Wuzup101
I thought that was the really little sony's that use that special ram (the ones with 10" screans). Anyway, you're right about the video cards, there are some that are upgradable; however, these are few and far between. We should be seeing them more in the future though, which is good news to most of us who like to play the occasional game on out laptops.

You could always stop by your local Apple Store and check out a powerbook...

ouch. does that mean i have to order RAM directly from sony, or does it mean that I can't upgrade the RAM at all (ie. they wont' sell me ram at all)

I've never been too fond of apples. They do look good on paper, but I'm just too used to PCs now (have used apples extensively before). I never liked the look of OSX, although i will admit windows XP does look like someone went wild with emboss on photoshop, plus i use a lot of custom software [ie designed for a specific compnay, like the parts database for BMW cars, chemistry lab instrument software etc.] so Macs are a big no no in that department.

 

[imported_Lucifer]

Have you considered Toshiba? Go to the Toshiba Website and see what they have. They did get an award for the quality of their laptops I believe.

Good Luck!!

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: CombatChuk
Beware that the Sony S-Series uses proprietery, RAM. They're physically smaller and you can only get it through Sony (i.e. expensive).

Verification on this? I am also interested in the Sony S-series. It is the only notebook of its weight that allows for the 9700 mobility - very important to me as I would like to game on the go, but not break my shoulder carrying the laptop.

If I were to spec one out, I would typically drop the HDD to lowest, drop the ram to lowest while keeping the video high and processor high. I can buy the ram and HDD elsewhere, but I want to make sure it really doesnt use the proprietary stuff.

 

[makken]

i have looked at the toshibas briefly, I like their higher end satellites, but nothing they offer seems to be in the same market as the S-series (unless i overlooked something). The thing is that i feel that my dell is too big (15") to travel with, yet i still want a widescreen, which puts the S-series right up my ally with its 13.3 screen. If it wasn't for the widescreen requirement, i would be looking at the more portable solutions (like the dell 600m).

You know what feature I really want to see on a laptop... A detactable, recharge-able, optical, wireless mouse. Instead of a touchpad, you can pull a mini-mouse out from the side of your laptop and use that. I think we're at the point in mouse techology as well as packaging where we can actually do something like this. (it would make people like me, whom abhor touchpads very happy)

 

[frazzled]

Just a general "look out" .... the Sonys are delightful machines as long as they don't need service. We used to have a number of the Vaios at work and several ended up as paperweights due to the absolutely abysmal Sony service. :disgust:

The guys that still have theirs love them, but everyone else has gone to IBM.

Good luck with your search,

JT

 

[Wuzup101]

I did a few google searches and checked around and I still can't find anything besides the speed of the ram (and amount) used. I haven't been able to find out if they use the micro chips or not. It is very possible that they do, as the T series (sony's smallest) definitely uses not only a 1.8" HDD but it also uses these micro dimms...

 

[Hikari]

The memory you can buy for the S270 isn't really 'Sony-only'. You just need to buy MicroDIMMs. For example: http://www.newegg.com/app/view...=20-155-121&depa=0

 

[makken]

I was at best buys today, and noticed they actually had an S-series on display (most places i've been to only had A and K series). It looks great in person, although it was frozen when i tried playing with it =[. the Xbrite screen looks amazing (although it seems to be really reflective). My two grips with it are the location of the USB ports, and the lack of an S-video out.

While i was there, I also noticed a gateway laptop, I'm not quite sure about the model number, I believe it was an M210? It had a 14.1inch widescreen. It didn't look as crisp and "colorful" as the sony's, more like a regular XGA display. Anyone have more opinions / experiences about this lappy?

 

[jvarszegi]

In my experience, Sony laptops break easily and then you're screwed. The frozen laptop you saw should have you scared of them already. I've also never understood the strange claims that Sony laptops are beautiful or stylish, but that's another matter.

 

[makken]

break easily as in the hardware components just randomly fail, or that it doesn't take much abuse?

 

[mxzrider]

every experence that i have with sony computers is bad. three of my friends have had vaios they are slow as dirt. a 2.4 p4 should be faster than my old gateway 700athlon desktop. but i would rather have the latter.

 

[jvarszegi]

Originally posted by: makken
break easily as in the hardware components just randomly fail, or that it doesn't take much abuse?

Probably mostly the former, but I can't say. You have a point, because these sorts of laptops are often given to salespeople and such.

A friend's wife's laptop had the screen go out, which I think was probably not due to abuse; she was a housewife going through law school, and mostly used it around the house. The screen went black toward the end of the two-year warranty, and she had such trouble getting service for it that the warranty expired. Even though she'd lodged the initial call over two weeks before expiration, she never had any luck getting it fixed.

At a previous job, they also had some Sonys, and the IT guy who had to maintain them was always griping about how often they'd break. I never saw a broken hinge or anything, but I remember screen, drive, and firmware problems being the order of the day. They eventually went with HP, which was almost from the frying pan into the fire support-wise, but the machines didn't break nearly as often.

I'm sure that if you buy a Sony laptop, you're not automatically going to have trouble. I've done a fair bit of poking around, and many companies out there seem to have crappy support now, especially Dell, HP/Compaq, and Sony. It's getting to the point where your best bet may be to buy a machine from a reputable reseller that also provides support.

IBM has great support, but their machines are pricey, too pricey for many people to even consider, and whether the edge in support and their famed build quality are worth it is anyone's guess. (IBM's raving fans remind me a bit of Audi owners. I'm typing this on a Thinkpad, and it is nice, but I wouldn't have bought it for myself.)

It's my opinion that people buy Sony laptops for two reasons: because they like Sony style and believe that the brand confers status, or they don't know much about laptops and believe that Sony makes quality electronics, period. You're probably not foolish enough to fall into the first trap, and all I'm saying is that their laptops are not famed for being stable or durable. There are plenty of people out there with bad stories about Sony laptops, too many for comfort.

 

[hopejr]

Another reason ppl get sony's is because they may have a sony camera of some sort and want to use the memory card slot on the sony vaio's. I know a someone who was going to do that.

 

[makken]

Originally posted by: jvarszegi

Originally posted by: makken
break easily as in the hardware components just randomly fail, or that it doesn't take much abuse?

Probably mostly the former, but I can't say. You have a point, because these sorts of laptops are often given to salespeople and such.

A friend's wife's laptop had the screen go out, which I think was probably not due to abuse; she was a housewife going through law school, and mostly used it around the house. The screen went black toward the end of the two-year warranty, and she had such trouble getting service for it that the warranty expired. Even though she'd lodged the initial call over two weeks before expiration, she never had any luck getting it fixed.

I don't mind a laptops inability to take massive amounts of abuse; it's just the random hardware failures i'm worried about. I doubt any laptop i own will see a lot of physical abused relative to the general public, but i do stress hardware components a lot. I will probably leave my laptop on 24 / 7, copy around ~1GB uncompressed AVI files, play Half Life 2 while rendering one of those 1GB AVI files in primere

I'm sure that if you buy a Sony laptop, you're not automatically going to have trouble. I've done a fair bit of poking around, and many companies out there seem to have crappy support now, especially Dell, HP/Compaq, and Sony. It's getting to the point where your best bet may be to buy a machine from a reputable reseller that also provides support.

IBM has great support, but their machines are pricey, too pricey for many people to even consider, and whether the edge in support and their famed build quality are worth it is anyone's guess. (IBM's raving fans remind me a bit of Audi owners. I'm typing this on a Thinkpad, and it is nice, but I wouldn't have bought it for myself.)

Yeah, i've heard really good things about IBM laptops. problem is that they really don't offer one that fits what i'm looking for in a computer, otherwise i would be all over that.
PS. the new audi A8 is awesome, would much rather have that than an S class now =]

It's my opinion that people buy Sony laptops for two reasons: because they like Sony style and believe that the brand confers status, or they don't know much about laptops and believe that Sony makes quality electronics, period. You're probably not foolish enough to fall into the first trap, and all I'm saying is that their laptops are not famed for being stable or durable. There are plenty of people out there with bad stories about Sony laptops, too many for comfort.

I first saw the sony S series on display in Hong Kong while i was visiting family there, and it was pretty much love at first sight when i saw the specs. Centrino 1.7Ghz, DVD-CDRW, Radeon 9700, 80GB Hard Drive, XBRITE widescreen. (they put a loaded model out on display). It never occured to me at that time that you could get all those in a package that small; and that's what really attracted me to it. It was the best of all worlds. (not to mention the XBRITE screen was amazing, didn't believe it was just an XGA at first)

For all of their other laptops, I would probably look elsewhere, but the S series seems an unique offering from Sony.

 

[fbrdphreak]

If you really want Sony, get the S-series from BBY (They can customize it there also) and get their damned warranty. Its better than any Sony warranty and at least you've got someone to yell at in store when it breaks.
Otherwise, if you're looking for bells & whistles that IBM's don't have, check out the HP dv1000 series. BBY has it on display also. You can get a P-M 1.6GHz, 512MB RAM, CDRW, Wifi, Ultra-Bright Screen, 60GB, for around $1100. So add up from there with your options. IIRC, the only downside is Intel Extreme Graphics :Q As far as system with a better video card.......T42 14.1"? You can get it with a Radeon 9600 64MB, 14.1" SXGA+ 1400x1050, 60GB 7200RPM, DVDRW, and 6+ hours of batt life w/9-cell (supposedly ).
Also look into other companies like Sager, Fujitsu, Acer, etc

 

[uOpt]

Count me in an another person who's seen several Sony notebooks fail out of the blue. I wouldn't consider getting a Sony.

Another problem is that Sony is at the forefront of the interlectual property battle, and in practical terms that means with a Sony DVD drive you will have the most problems to make it region-free.

 

[XyKo]

I've been using Sony computer for the past 4 years. Every one of them seems to break as soon as the warranty die out. ANd boy, it cost alot in repairs. I went for a N505VE, C1MZ, SRX77, and now my lastest one which I'm about to sell is z1va. The z1va, I would say is the best build of all the laptop I've use. Always gets attentions and comments on how thin and sleek it is.

But, now I'm just tired of it, because the features/video card can not handle stuff that I want. Going to go IBM T42, as soon as I get a buying for this.

 

[Koing]

I have had my Sony laptop for 4yrs now. It weights 1.67kg and it is great. It still feels fast and snappy. Just don't clog the sytsem up with 'rubbish'.

The S series is a great series.

The ram is readily available from anywhere.

It is the only laptop in it's class that has the 9700 Pro. It runs games fine.

You can upgrade the:

RAM,
HD

easily.

The Video card you won't BUT many laptops you still can't upgradethe video card. Not much of a market for peopel to.

Koing

 

[ckFoxTrot]

Hey, Im new here and am looking into getting a sony s360p and came across this thread.

I guess what I'd like to know is if there is a very big difference between a 64mb ati 9700 and a 128mb version. That, and if a 4200rpm HDD will bother me at all.