Cannot, for the life of me, decide (Z or SR)

I currently have an SZ, which I've had for about 3 years now. I love it, but I've beaten it to death and it needs to be replaced.

I am a graduate student at the moment, so I do a lot of carrying my laptop to and from class, the library, home, etc...
I do some photoshopping, a little bit of music editing, watching movies, i.e., all the typical things students do. I don't have much time for gaming, but when I do, it's usually nothing too intensive (Diablo II, some real-time strategy games), but I do like to have the capability to do something more intensive should I want to.

My buying philosophy is that I use and rely on my laptop heavily, and therefore see no problem with spending a fair amount of money on it. I'm looking in the $2,000 range.

Preliminarily, I am wondering what the difference between the Z and the SR (with the ATI)'s graphics are. Which is better?

My considerations thus far have been:
1) I'm used to 13.3", and my eyesight is pretty bad so I'm concerned with having problems reading the 13.1", even though it doesn't seem like that big of a difference.
2) I have no need for a BR-drive, as I have a PS3, and the SS HDs offered do not give me the storage space I need.
3) It's really annoying that the SR doesn't also have an HDMI output. But I suppose without the BR drive it isn't that big of a difference.
4) The Z, customized to my liking, with a warranty, would be somewhere between $2,100-$2,500. The SR would be around exactly $2,000.

I've been reading through all the threads here, and have stopped into a Sony Store to play with both, but I was wondering if anyone had any useful input or insights, or other aspects that I should consider.

tyia.

 

The Z is lighter and carbon fibre, the SR is magnesium alloy.

Just wondering - I was using a Medion laptop heavily, harddrive failed twice (replaced under warranty)...
Else, after 3 years it works fine, I even short circuted something by acident...

How did you beat your SZ to death?

About gaming - everybody has different opinions about that... I think the consensus is that the ATI is a bit more powerful though.

Now I very strongly dislike the design on the new lines (love my SZ7 though) so I can't quite see their appeal.
You may want to consider though that the SR is 16:10 and the Z 16:9

I think the Z could be the better chocie, but it needen't be. Now that's from a person who writes with a Montblanc rather than a cheap (well working) pen.
I'd say Z but it may not be the optimum choice. Wait for some more replies.

 

Not sure if you factored this into your prices, but there's a $200 coupon right now for the SR. That could make the difference bigger. Check NBR's current deal posting for the code.

I've been reading these forums pretty closely for a month now, just made my decision over the weekend. Honestly, it seems like both the SR and the Z are great computers, and you won't be disappointed whatever choice you make. Having said that, nothing you said makes it look like the Z would be a better performer for you, the noticeable differences would be superficial (weight, case material, etc).

Whichever one you decide on though, how many upgrades are you throwing in? Because for your needs, which are similar to mine, the only real upgrade you need is RAM. Processor isn't noticeable in most of what you'll do, and you'd be better off getting an external hard drive rather than upgrading the internal one.

Here's a thought: get the SR, and use the money you saved on a dock and external monitor. That way, you have a really nice laptop, plus a good workstation setup for at home.

Either way though, don't second guess yourself. The differences are really minor in the end, and you'll be happy no matter what.

 

where is this 200.00 coupon ?, thx

 

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4597, scroll to bottom.

I think they do one of those posts every Friday.

 

Well, I'm a pretty heavy/rugged user, and put my laptops through a lot of use and abuse. My major thing is that the screen is broken in a couple places - not enough to preclude usability, but definitely enough to be annoying. I was using it on an airplane tray table and the moron in front of me decided to recline full speed ahead, and the lid got caught under the plastic thingy where the tray fits into the seat. Boy was I pissed.

Other than that, the keyboard acts up, probably because a whole bunch of crap has fallen between the keys. The fans struggle and make the noise of a departing blackhawk chopper.

It's still usable, so I am going to give it to my little brother to use (he's just getting into high school). Plus, I like to get a new machine every few years, it keeps me happy

 

Also, DetlevCM,

Do you still think the Z might be a better choice when factoring in that I will want neither the Blu-ray nor the SSD? The lack of blu-ray will also render the HDMI out somewhat unnecessary.

 

I'm a happy SR owner who was at first considering the Z. But the Z and SSD were way out of my price range. If those features are not affordable for you, forget about the Z and save yourself some money. Yes, it still has some advantages like the material, graphics switch, and a little lighter, but at the end of the day you are essentially paying $500 more for those features and it just wasn't worth it for me. Make sure you get the black SR it looks the best, the silver looks cheap.

 

My vote is for the Z. I considered the SR too but in the long term I think you'll like the Z more. The HDMI while it's minor, it sure is convenient to plug into a external monitor.

Sony should of kept the 13.3" monitor in the Z line imo, but my eyesight isn't the greatest and the screen on the Z is fine. Just be sure and don't order with the 1600 x 900 resolution - the font is too small and resizing makes it a little blurry. I have the 570 and set it beside a Z with a 1600 x 900 screen the color quality every looks the same, except the font in my 570 is far better for my use.

The SR just lacks a few things that you'll appreciate having once you own it, such as cool design/handling/style, like a luxury car I think it drives better

 

I think the Z is a bit overpriced considering the price difference between the Z and SR CTO is now $700 (with the SR coupon.)


Have you checked them out in person? I have and to me, the Z looks like a smaller, more awkward version of the SR. On the Z, other than the brushed aluminum encompassing the keyboard (which looks awesome), I don't find it all that great looking.
I wish it looked more like a large TZ rather than a small SR.

However, the SR does feel very plasticky and it sounds like you're pretty rough with your laptop, so I don't know how well it will hold up. Also, negatives on the SR: It's got a very rough-textured plastic on the sides... feels awful to the touch. Also, the SR has a LOT of flex under the right palm rest.

Neither are perfect... both seem to suffer from battery drain issues... some find the Z a little noisy... so a $700 premium for an imperfect machine does not a good deal make.

 

Thanks for the input.

Is the palmrest flex any worse than is on the SZ line?

I keep going back and forth over whether the HDMI output is that big a deal. For plugging into an external monitor, I can use the VGA port on the SR. I have a PS3 as I mentioned, so normal circumstances would dictate I'm not watching movies on my laptop when I'm around a TV. I've watched movies on the road on my SZ and the 16:10 aspect ratio hasn't really bothered me yet.

I just priced out the CTO models as I would order for each, and the pricing (including 3 year warranty and tax) is:
SR: $1,950, made possible by 50% off upgrades and the $200 coupon
Z: $2,800

It's a big jump, and I just can't tell whether it's worth it, especially considering that I buy a new laptop every 2-3 years.

 

I've only handled the SZ a couple of times and I don't remember feeling any palm-rest flex on it (although I wasn't looking for it.) The overall build material and build quality of the SZ is much better than the SR.

I think you should actually consider the Lenovo U330. It's got pretty much everything you need: 13.3" LED screen, hdmi, switchable ATI graphics, about 4.2ish pounds.

Best of all, it's cheap, starting at $1000, for a pretty nice configuration.
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?threadid=921150

They have not shipped yet and keep getting delayed though. =|

 

The thing about the Z is carbon fibre.
I smashed (well banged) an aircraftseats belt buckle against my SZ's casing - took the metal of, not a scratch on the SZ.

I did manage to scratch it in one place though - visible under direct bright light only...

Magnesium may !!! (no personal experience) scratch more easily.

 

In my country, Z is made in japan while SR is made in china.
Z definitely!

 

The estimated ship date is 4+ weeks for the Lenovo right now.. don't know if the OP wanna wait that long

 

Nope, I do not.

Seeing as you own an SR, can I ask if it feels "cheap" to you?

I'm going to order today, and really can't tell if the nearly $1,000 premium is worth it for the carbon fibre and the HDMI port

 

the laptop doesnt feel cheap at all IMO, except the bottom of the laptop, which is made entirely out of plastic, but other than that the rest of the laptop has a magnesium coating.

Yeah, I don't think it's worth the 1000$ extra to get a laptop with almost the same specs..

 

Thanks, appreciate it.