OT: Any recommendations for Sony Vaio notebooks?

ken c wrote on 10/28/2008, 8:46 AM

Hi -

I've been using compaq presarios for years, but I see a lot of other seminar presenters using Sony Vaios...

Any recommendations for a Vaio model with a 15.4"+ screen that would be good for traveling and doing seminars with?

I've been to the sonystyle.com and newegg.com etc sites, not sure which model would be good for travel, sturdy but not too heavy, good for presentations ... any recommendations?

thx,

ken

Comments

Cheno wrote on 10/28/2008, 10:15 AM

Personally I think the quality of the Vaios is some of the worst out there - they're just not build as well as they use to be. I think you'd have better luck in the long run going with HP if you're going off the shelf.

My opinion only though.

ken c wrote on 10/28/2008, 10:23 AM

Hi Cheno, thanks - that's good to know.. I also saw some negative reviews on amazon for vaios, so I suppose I'll try something different after all... HP sounds good,
I also like Dell and Compaq, tough to decide since so many different choices.

Well I'll look at amazon and newegg reviews, that seems to work pretty well.. thanks!

-ken

Cheno wrote on 10/28/2008, 10:28 AM

I can't speak for the latest Vaio models but I used some on a training tour 2 years ago. Absolutely disappointed with the build of the machines. Very shoddy. I owned one of the first Vaio laptops in the late 90's to come out and was very happy with it. Seems to have gone downhill though.

I've had great success with HP and Sager. Currently using a MacBook Pro to run XP / Vegas. Love it.

rs170a wrote on 10/28/2008, 10:54 AM

Ken, look at the thread titled "Killer HP notebook at Costco: $1,249.00", just a few below this one.

Mike

ken c wrote on 10/28/2008, 10:57 AM

Hi Mike, thanks - will do...

I've been researching HP Pavilion notebooks since the latest post, these two look like good ones; I'll also check out the other one, thanks..

HP dv9930us
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834147748

and
HP dv1170us
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834147793

let me know if any feedback on either of those, I'll likely buy one today or tomorrow.. thanks!

the 1170 looks a bit better since it has blu-ray and the other one does'nt'; though the other one has a tv tuner, not as important I think ...

Ok I've just ordered the 1170 w/2 year ADH service plan... thanks for the comments, guys... it helped me decide!

-ken

p.s. I'm looking forward to this, I've been using a cool-but-way-outdated Compaq presario (512 k memory, 4+ years old) for years now, w/15.4" screen, this one'll be a lot better. hopefully I can do a clean winXP oem install without headaches in it, though I'll need to reinstall device drivers and do all the windows download upgrades etc, probably a lot better than using vista... (?)

Laurence wrote on 10/28/2008, 12:15 PM

That HP dv1170us deal looks great! It is essentially the same as the dv7-1023cl http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?MessageID=620713&Replies=2(That I was bragging about in another thread)[/link] except with a different identical speed processor, and about $250 cheaper!

My processor is slightly better theoretically (http://processorfinder.intel.com/DetailsPrinterFriendly.aspx?sSpec=SLB53P7350[/link] vs http://technology-muse.blogspot.com/2008/10/intel-t5800-processor.htmlT5800[/link]) but my experience tells me that the subtle differences like the difference in cache size (2MB vs 3MB) will not even be noticable. If I'd have seen the New Egg deal I would have gone for that and saved the $250.

Mine came with a 2 year instead of 1 year warranty as well but again, I'd rather have the money.

As far as the computer goes, it's fantastic. the 1440x900 resolution is perfect for working with HDV and the PureVideo acceleration on the nVidea card means that it will play back HD mpeg2 files smoothly with minimal CPU usage.

Once memory comes down in price, you can go up to 8GB which should be usable by 64bit Vegas 8.1.

The eSata port lets you use external eSata drives which are way faster than USB, Firewire 400, Firewire 800, etc.

You will be thrilled with this laptop if you get it I'm sure.

Edit: I just found http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081011034108AA5E9uWthis comparison[/link] between the P7350 and T5800 processors.

musicvid10 wrote on 10/28/2008, 2:04 PM

For screen quality and performance / $, I think you'd be hard pressed to beat the VAIO (I infer you'll be doing some NLE on your new laptop). I'm quite happy with my budget model Sony (it beats the crap out of my old desktop computer), and I seriously suggest you take a look at the side-by-side tests on CNET before you take the plunge. Also run some HD or even SD video and compare the picture quality between models, I've never seen an HP, Gateway, or Lenovo that I liked better. As for ruggedness, ask some college students which they prefer . . .

Laurence wrote on 10/28/2008, 4:52 PM

One thing that I like about HP laptops is that they almost always have numeric keypad whereas most laptops do not. This is especially important to me because I use a music program called Reason 4 rewired into Acid and this program (Reason) makes extensive use of numeric keypad shortcuts.

Konrad wrote on 10/28/2008, 10:21 PM

Go to HP.com and search on refurbished. Like brand new and some real bargains.

blink3times wrote on 10/28/2008, 10:31 PM

I've had Sony, IBM, and HP.

HP is far better. It's built stronger, has lasted the longest, and I love how they have sectioned off the bottom of the machine. In order to clean out the fans, you don't have to take the entire bottom off, just the section where the fans are. Four screws and the entire fan and heatsink assembly is visible for cleaning. and And to change out the hard drive... one screw to remove the cover and a gentle pull on the release strap. It's so easy that you could even consider running multiple drives.

bsuratt wrote on 10/28/2008, 11:56 PM

Ken,

Costco has a 17" AR series Vaio loaded/w 200gb x2, blu-ray burner, tv tuner, Ultimate for $999. I got one, added a Gig of RAM, and it works great editing M2t HDV files.

Couldn't believe the price! (Online only)

Serena wrote on 10/29/2008, 1:25 AM

I recently purchased an ASUS M51V -- numeric keypad, separate graphics card and RAM. Advice from friend in the computer business is that Sony laptop quality is now poor and he recommended only Toshiba and ASUS (the latter being a component manufacturer). That's the limit of my "expertise"!

ken c wrote on 10/29/2008, 3:47 AM

thanks all... great comments...

Serena - Asus makes great stuff, I've been building my own pcs for years using newegg components and I *always* only get Asus mobos.... they rock. I've been using the P5WDG2 asus motherboard for years now, it's in my main pc and I have a spare I bought, too... they're terrific, so I'd assume most of their hardware/laptops would be solid as well.

Well I'll report back re the HP; I had it 2-day shipped so it'll be here to play around with over the weekend. I really like my compaq presario x1000, but it's a slow cpu and only 512k memory (I'll u/g it once I figure out what stick to buy)... but it's time to upgrade, especially with new seminars coming up. Thanks again Cheno for the HP reco, they look popular, and have great reviews out there.

Hey anyone use that att.com/laptopconnect or similar (verizon) "wireless anywhere" service? Any recommendations?

thanks,

-Ken

Laurence wrote on 10/31/2008, 8:34 AM

Costco has a 17" AR series Vaio loaded/w 200gb x2, blu-ray burner, tv tuner, Ultimate for $999. I got one, added a Gig of RAM, and it works great editing M2t HDV files.

Is http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11314078&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|84&N=4024830&Mo=1&No=0&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=75280&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=this[/link] the Vaio you are talking about? It only has a Blu-ray reader, not a writer.

deusx wrote on 10/31/2008, 9:10 AM

Not quite black and white like that.

I have one excellent ASUS ( G1 ), but they make a variety of stuff ranging from bad to excellent. Same with Sony ( or whoever makes thes for the, I'm sure some of them are ASUS with Vaio logos on them )

Sony Vaio SZ series is probably the best 13 inch laptop one can buy. Excellent build quality and you can pack them with fast components.

Vaio AR series is supposed to be good too ( but $3000 ones ).

For video editing though, unless you need a battery that will last more than an hour, I'd go with at least 17" screen, 1920 x 1200 res. and 7200 rpm drives. Sager 57xx series probably the best in that category.

ASUS I mention above ( typing this on that one ) , excellent 15.4" 1650 x 1080 res. Models that replaced this one are supposed to be god too, but they have an ugly red/black case.