Sony Z vs. X301 or T400s

What are your guys' thoughts on the Sony Z series vs. the Lenovo X301 or the T400s? I know the Sony has a very nice screen. What about the other aspects?

 

The Sony is far inferior in terms of build quality, being a consumer level notebook; however, you are correct, the screen is pretty good - probably better than those two Lenovo models.

 

I would go with T400s. The price is unbeatable, mere $1250 (esp after applying 25% coupon, even you could remove the OS and save another $175 if you already have a retail copy). Build quality, Thinkpad Keyboard, you have an SSD option. I think X301 is over priced in my opinion. But others might disagree same goes with Z series.
If graphics, Screen and overall design is more appealing then Sony Vaio Z is the way to go.

 

I was least impressed by the Sony Z. I found the build quality to be lower, and I thought the resolution was a bit more than necessary for the size (also, 16:9). Granted, I'm also not a huge fan of Sony in general, so take with a grain of salt. For the T400s vs X301, I recommend this article:
http://www.thinkpads.com/2009/08/14/thinkpad-comparison-t400s-vs-x301

 

Where is the 25% coupon for the T400s?

In terms of price, a comparably configured T400s with SSD always comes up about $2000 after tax. While a similarly configured Z590 is about $1600 after tax.

 

There you go. "CAP72HOURSALE" without quote. If you play with CPU and OS configuration you can remove OS option (not sure if it is just technical problem)
It is for Canada by the way. I have ordered one for $1379 with HDD with 128 GB SSD it will go up by 200 (mine is with Visa Bus 64).

 

What you mentioned doesn't work on the US portal.

 

Yes It is only for Canada (I guess). See the Attached Screen shot. Couldn't believe the price with 128 GB SSD . But Lenovo Canada doen't even mention that this Coupon is applicable for T400s. Infact the coupon I used wasn't even on their site.

 

Thanks for the coupon. Unfortunately I am in the U.S. It would be super sweet if that coupon worked for the U.S. site.

I have been configuring either a T400s or the X301 like crazy these last couple of weeks. Everytime, a T400s with a 128GB SSD costs like $2000 after tax, while an X301 with a 128GB SSD costs like $2200 after tax. Those are the cheapest prices I can find.

I just stumbled upon a Sony Z590 with a 128GB SSD, switchable graphics, P9500 core 2 duo, for $1600 after tax. I am really tempted.

 

Can people on the U.S. side order from the Canadian site? Will Lenovo Canadian ship to the U.S.?

 

What do you plan on using your notebook for? Will you keep it for 3+ years? Do you travel a lot? For the long term, Lenovo would be a better bet due to better build quality. It's even worth paying the extra.

edit: I don't think Canadians can order from US or vice versa.

 

I don't think they ship to US. If you you wait for a week or two you might get similar coupons (Back to school) besides, you will have very low tax as well.

 

If there is going to be a better coupon for the T400s in the next week or two, then I can wait. But I seriously doubt Lenovo will drop the price of the T400s with the 128GB SSD to $1500 level.

Something funky is going on with my T60p's USB ports (I use a Benchmark USB external DAC for audio, the USB audio stream just cuts out randomly for no apparent reason, it's not a DAC problem, I have used the same DAC on other laptops without any hiccups, it's definitely the T60p). I think it might be a motherboard problem, or the GPU is breaking down. I will have to send it in for repairs. That's why I am looking for a lighter ultraportable replacement.

I will mainly be using my computer to surf the web, doing word processing, powerpoint, watch a couple of movies, nothing major.

In terms of build quality, the Z is Sony's top of the line model, the whole chasis is encased in magnesium.

 

You sure about that? The past few weeks had a coupon (just expired, though there's probably a new one soon) that I think was 15% on the X301. I know it had 10% off the T400s. They're also running a sale (been going on for several weeks) with a free upgrade from the 64G to 128G SSD on the X301, so the base configuration X301 ($1980, before coupons/tax), could have that 128G. You know to buy RAM from somewhere else, right? Lenovo charges $150 to go from 1G to 4G, but you could buy 2x2 for $60-$70 yourself.

Hope that helps a little.

 

Nice DAC .

 

i think the build quality on the sony z-series is not too inferior compared to lenovo thinkpads. though, if one was comparing ibm thinkpads with sony's lower series laptops, then yes, thinkpad is better.

 

I very much dislike the keyboards that sony employs, however :\.

 

Thanks! But not being able to (properly) use this DAC with the T60p has been a constant nightmare ever since UPS delivered the Benchmark. That's why I am desperately looking for a (smaller and lighter) T60p alternative.

 

The ThinkPad is a lot more rugged than the Z series, despite it being Sony's premium line. Business laptops are usually better than consumer ones, and this case is no exception.

 

A guy I study with also has a USB soundcard for when he's making music. Sometimes it also stutters, but as a whole he's not complaining. So I'm not sure it's because of defective hardware. It could be a combination of Vista and some funky USB settings.

 

Thanks for the info.

There is something seriously wrong with the USB audio stream on my T60P. Initially when I first got my USB DAC, the stuttering/high pitched noise only happened when I surfed the web. Lately this happens everytime I open up another application, or just scroll up and down within a long playlist within the music player. This is driving me insane. Basically now when I listen to music, I have to leave my computer completely alone. I don't know what's going on here.

 

I'd suggest trying a reinstall before concluding the T60P is defective.

It's a fine DAC, so it's very unfortunate that it doesn't work perfectly. Hope you find a solution.

 

Thanks.

But the thing is, the Benchmark USB DAC uses Windows built in generic USB audio driver. How do I uninstall and then reinstall this USB audio driver? I went into the device manager, under USB drivers, I couldn't identify anything that is audio related, just gave me a whole bunch of generic USB drivers.

The Benchmark USB DAC is a great DAC. Anyone thinking about computer based audio should seriously take a look at the Benchmark.

 

Oh, I got my Sony. Long story short, the screen is too high res for me, hurts my eyes after extended use. I think I am going to return the Sony and pick up a T400s instead.

 

I'd try a Windows reinstall, some weird USB setting might be changed somewhere in the Windows registry. If you have another drive, you could change temporarily to that while installing and testing the fresh Windows installation.