Advice on buying a VAIO AW31M/H please

Hi

I'm a newbie in the UK and on the verge of buying a VAIO VGN-AW31M/H. Before I do I've a few questions to ask!

The obvious one is, is this A decent machine? I want to use it mainly for surfing and working from home via the net. Also I'd like to do some audio editing, which is why the 18.4" screen has attracted me to this machine, and not rely working on sounds on my HP XW Workstation in my home-office.

I'm stretching my budget for this machine - I was looking at spending around £700 - £800 max, but this is coming in at £900, reduced from £1,200 at many stores. Putting it into dollars, that's me buying it for $1,465, reduced from $1,953.

Also what do the M/H and S/B codes mean in the model numbers - I can't see a difference in spec, apart from a big price hike.

Finally, is the AW21M/H the model that the AW31M/H replaced?

Thanks for all your help and advice in advance!
Philip

 

First of all, the AW is a great machine. I don't live in the UK, but I have the older AW11S/B (upgraded) and it fits my needs perfectly. I used to have a vaio SZ (13") with docking station and external monitor + keyboard. But now I just use the AW and I can take my workstation everywhere.

http://www.sony.co.uk/product/vn-aw-series/vgn-aw31m-h
http://www.sony.co.uk/product/vn-aw-series/vgn-aw31s-b

According to these two links the M/H has a 1680 x 945 screen, while the S/B has a 1920 x 1080 one (Full HD). I would highly recommend the 1920 x 1080 screen. It's simply 'brilliant' as you guys would say. Much better than the smaller one.

Also, the M/H has a Blu-ray reader, while the S/B has a Blu-ray writer. This might come in handy when Blu-rays get more affordable.

 

Wonderful, thank you Cheek!

I've placed an order for two of the M/H versions - my budget was tight any way and I also got one for my sister.

The spec is amazing for the price! I now await delivery!

 

The AW is brilliant for video editing, it is basically what it is designed to do. The only real disadvantages to the AW is the size which makes it unportable and that for a laptop of its size it is not a true gaming machine (doesn't have a 256 bit GPU)

 

why have you ordered same mosels ???
why u didn't order one M/H and another for example S/B ?

 

Hi Evoss X

The M/H was freely available - abit down to a handful of models I could trackdown as they were selling out fast in the week I was thinking about it and watching other vendors - but the S/B was £400 (~$650) more.

Even Sony Centre shops in the UK, I tried 5 different branches, said they didn't have the M/H and for the rest of the AW31 models, they said they were on to the AW51 models now. However the AW51 were out of stock until Windows 7 ships on Thursday. I asked about the price and they were the same price as a AW31 S/B - again out of my price rangs.

I had an original budget of £600-£700 and I pushed the boat out by getting one for £900 in the end, brand new. I'm claiming it back on company expenses. Because it was such a good price deal for a fab laptop, I ordered one for my sister. her aging IBM x30 is on it's very last legs.

I'm so glad to get into a Vaio - I thought I'd never beable to afford one. I had my eye on an HP Dv7 - but the 17" screen put me off, and it was £50 less than the AW31 M/H. I nearly got an Acer 8000 series, but I didn't like the 'flashy' design of the media player controls on the keyboard.

Quick question - is it true that Acer make the Vaios under licence for Sony?

 

hmg1k
Quick question - is it true that Acer make the Vaios under licence for Sony?
I don't think so where did u get thaat ???
Vaios and all laptops making china people all ...

 

Heard it some where / read it perhaps ages and ages ago. Perhaps the panels were Acer?

Anyway, I was clearly wrong and now I know!

By the way, where is the best place to source genuine VAIO laptop bags for the AW series? Looking online there's every model apart from the AW 18" series for sale.

Thanks