Clueless: Vaio laptop buying advice

My FJ170/B Sony Vaio is being retired, and I'm looking at getting a new Vaio laptop. I know next to nothing about hardware/how computers actually run, so advice on what to get is appreciated!

Points to consider:

1) I'm constantly using Firefox, Microsoft Office, iTunes, and Adobe Photoshop-- often at the same time. I need something that can handle running all these programs at once without freaking out.

2) The longer the battery life, the better

3) Gaming isn't a factor; I may try something like City of Heroes, but that's it.


What I'm looking at currently:

1) Sony Vaio VPCSB190X (configure to order)
--Intel Core i5-2550 M (2.5 GHz)
--Windows 7 home edition
--8 GB DDR3-SDRAM-1333
--500GB (7200 rpm)

2) Sony Vaio VPCSA2CFX/SI
--Intel Core i7-2620 M (2.7 GHz)
--Windows 7 home edition
--4 GB DDR3-SDRAM-1333
--500 GB (7200 rpm)


What I have now:
VGN-FJ170/B
--Intel Pentium M processor 740 (1.73 GHz)
--Windows XP home edition
--504 MB of RAM
--100 GB (5400 rpm)


I guess the question is: for what I'm doing, would I be better off getting a more advanced processor, or getting more RAM? Of course, comparing the stats of these new notebooks to what I have now... It might not matter either way.

Anyway, advice? Thanks very much in advance!! <3

 

If gaming and screen resolution isn't a factor, go with the SONY SB. I wouldn't buy 8GB of ram as it is a huge ripoff, but rather install an extra 4GB later (if you even really need it).

Regarding the ram
http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...-sd-series-owners-thread-288.html#post7637616

If resolution is important, go for the SA. I have one and I love it.

As for the CPU upgrades, I went ahead and spent an extra $50 and bought the 2.5GHz i5 instead of the 2.3GHz i5. The 2.7GHz i7 is still just a dual core CPU and only offers a marginal performance boost (5-7%) over the 2.5GHz i5 for much more money than the performance boost given by the 2.5 over the 2.3 (again, about 5-7%). It all depends on what you are going to be using the laptop for. Hope that helps!

Stradevarius

 

Thank you Stradevarius!!

Another question.. I notice your SA has 500 GB 7200 rpm HDD. Is this better than the 700 GB 5400 rpm because the rpm is greater so it runs faster?

 

Glad I was of help! Good question. It actually turns out I have a 750GB Western Digital HDD @ 5400 rpm that I originally installed in my old HP Mini 311.

While ordering my SA the option came up to increase the stock 500GB 5400 RPM HDD to 7200 RPM for 20 bucks, so I did it. On my old 5400 drive I was having frequent freezing and stuttering problems when playing music and videos, so I chose speed over space.

To answer your question, yes, faster RPM is better (so 7200>5400) but it often comes at the sacrifice of space. If you want faster boot times, video playback, etc, I would go with the 7200 RPM drive.

Stradevarius

 

a faster spinning drive also impacts battery life. If you know what you're doing, you can always just upgrade to an SSD

7200 RPM drive will be a tad bit faster, and decrease battery life by a tad bit.

 

To answer the last question Processor>RAM. RAM you can always upgrade yourself for ~$35 rather than the ludicrous $200 or so Sony asks.