Deciding between a Z and SR... words of wisdom?

Buying one of the two within the next 24 hours. Assuming that I can swing the price of either, is it better to get a Z610Y (or other Z600/Z700-series notebook) for the weight and slightly better battery life, or does it make more sense to pick up an SR400-series notebook with ATi graphics, still have a relatively light weight (~4.1 lbs instead of 3.3 lbs), and spend the several hundred saved on a dock/port replicator and external monitor for home use?

The notebook will be used primarily for med school goings-on -- lots of OneNote and other note-related usage, reading, and that sort of thing, but it will be carried frequently, I imagine.

TIA.

 

You know, there's a bundle rebate going on that allows you to get a Z docking station, a VAIO bluetooth mouse, and a travel AC adapter for free. I've got them, I use the mouse and the docking station with my Z all the time when I'm working on my desk.

As for the SR vs. Z, do you need the faster graphics card? That's the only reason I can think of for people to go for the SR instead of the Z other than the price. The Z also has a better screen with higher res and higher color reproduction. The build and feel of the machine are better on the Z as well.

 

Just to add in. The rebate bundle applies to the SR as well. Both the SR & Z are good in their individual ways. It really depends on which one you like. Good luck.

 

Either of those are fine for med school. Heck, I think I could have even gotten by with a netbook at my school...

 

Subjective opinions here... they're both great laptops. I haven't read any problems with the SR lineup. I had three Zs before jumping over to the SR - so my experience may be a bit muddied. I wasn't impressed with the build quality on the Z (uneven backlighting, sticky keys, uneven lid hinges, diagonal buzzing lines on two Z610Y/Bs that I bought from Best Buy. The SR is made out of plastic, so it's not as exotic as the Z, but my SR doesn't creak, the hinges line up, and the screen seems beautiful and not washed out at all. I like the slightly more vertical viewing area on the SR (compared to the low-res Z screen) and the fact that my palms fit entirely on the palmrest instead of half on/off since the Z is very small.

There also seem to be some heating issues developing on some of the Z models equipped with 25W processors. There's another thread that should be close to the top - it's an interesting read.

The abovementioned rebate is also good on the SR series, unless it expired.

 

The SR is ok and the 4.1 is mangeable. However, for some students the battery life is just too short. To get battery life over 4hrs with wifi on and 40% brightness you need to buy an extended battery. The Z can get over 5hrs with the standard battery. Add 45 mins to that with wifi of just taking notes.

 

Get the Z if you can afford it. Unless you REALLY need the better graphics card, in which case you probably shouldn't be buying either one IMO.

 

Thank you for the advice, all. Last used a Z690 CTO and Z540 and have an SR arriving this week; it'll be an interesting comparison.

 

Where do you get the rebate for those accessories? Must buy from sonystyle or able to purchase from jr.com?

 

Rebate can be found here http://b2b.sony.com/Solutions/lpage.do?page=/vaio_smb/index.html&name=VAIO SMB
It's at the very bottom.

 

That blows, Jr.com is not part the "resellers".

Added: The bundles are only for "businesses"? In the form it says "End User's Business Name :" so I assume consumers aren't eligible for it?

Add again: NM, you don't have to enter anything in the business part.

 

Pretty sure "consumers" can get it also.

Where is this reseller list / does Amazon count?

 

In the link damaph provided, only "CDW, Insight, PC Connection, PC Mall, PC Nation, Zones" are listed, but the rebate terms and conditions says "any authorized reseller" or something to that point. Also in the rebate form where you enter the dealer name, you enter "other" then name of reseller. This is definitely confusing.

 

Authorised business partners.
http://direct.where2getit.com/cwc/apps/w2gi.php?template=search&client=sony_b2b

Consumer
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...ogId=10551&langId=-1&cmsId=authorized_dealers

 

Blah just called 2 rebate centers (one for the bundle, one for $100 rebate) and both say they require the original UPC label (even though the $100 just says "copy"), so it's either $100 (for some stores) or the bundle. Thought I had my purchase decision (SR vs Toshi U500) sorted out but nope.

 

I've used a Z before and I am currently using a SR. Here is my opinion.

Build Quality
On paper, the Z offers a better build quality w/ a mixture of carbon fibre and a one piece aluminum keyboard/palmrest/touchpad.

On the other hand, the SR offers a mixture of magnesium chassis and plastic palmrests and aluminium keyboard(not sure about this but I read it somewhere).

In my general opinion, the SR offers a much more rigid feeling compared to the Z; especially while holding the laptop via the palmrest while the laptop is open.

Battery Life
However, the Z does have its benefits. The battery life is significantly better than the SR; however I was actually able to hit 4hrs and 14 minutes w/ my SR (specs on sig) w/ 40% brightness, wifi on, bluetooth off, brightness @ 40% and undervolted. The Z I had before was able to last approximately 6 hours.

One important note I want everyone to remember is how much battery life you really need before you pick. For me personally, 6 hours of battery life is not required for my needs and being able to crank 4 hours is good enough for me. This is important if you are comparing a Z or SR because it may have you save some cash.

Performance
CPU performance between the SR and Z are quite the same. SR can have a faster CPU at a cost of a 35W CPU w/ the T9800 but it really depends on your needs once again. A P8700/8800 realisticly will suit the average consumer's needs unless you do major cpu programs.

VGA card performance between the SR and Z are on different fields. The 9300M GS on the Z is good for low-demanding video programs such as basic games and HD materials etc. The SR's new ATI 4570 (in my opinion) beat the heck out of the 9300m GS and also is just a great video card for its price and specs (13W only!!!).

Also, I like to point out in terms of VGA card heat; my Z reached up to 95* C underload and idles around 62-67* C under high performance mode (default sony drivers do not have powermizer grrr..). My SR, underload, reached up to 69* C and idles around 42* C.

Noise
Who loves noise coming from their laptop? Crazy people... hahaha.. Anyway, as a ex-owner of the Z and current owner of the SR, I would say that the SR indeed makes less fan noise than the Z (but the fan still runs). Even underload, the SR's fan noise is not too high and is still able to exhause out the heat to cool the laptop adequately. However, Z's underload fan noise is quite loud (IMO).

Summary
Vaio SR
-Better GPU performance and possibly CPU.
-Better heat management and less fan noise.
-More rigid FEEL (in my opinion)

Vaio Z
-Very lightweight (I miss this feature)
-Better materials used (I personally love the aluminum)
-A better LCD due to anti-glare and the color saturation.

A final note, the speakers on the Z and SR... SUCKS.

Hope this help you decide.

 

Wow, great post!

 

Both speakers are bad but the Z speakers are a lot better than the SR speakers. The SR speakers are some of the worst I have ever heard. For the size I think that the Z speakers are average.

 

My new SR is my 2nd laptop I've owned (Vaio VGN-CR515 was previous) so I don't have much experience with laptops but I must say I was impressed at how loud the SR can be. It is much louder than the 14inch laptop I had.

 

I suggest a slightly different view on this. If Z gives you 6 hours battery life with certain settings and you need 4 hours max then you can crank up your settings and get same 4 hours as SR but with better performance or more functionality (Bluetooth turned on, for instance). Just an idea.

 

Typing this on an SR430J.

It's a well-built machine, to be sure. Not sure I'd say that it's better put together than the Z, but I can see why someone would say that.

Quite like the keyboard, like on the Z.

The only glaring issue I've noticed in the couple of hours of usage I've put in thus far is that the screen seems... off. The colors somehow seem like they're not quite right, and I can't seem to adjust them properly. It's pretty annoying, but I'm having a hard time "fixing" it.

No meaningful battery life comments to make since mine is at 57% and charging.

 

The SR is getting returned. Cannot stand that display.

The "Z vs. SR" thread here on NBR nails it -- the SR's saturation makes white appear, well, not white. Gives me a damn headache.

 

Err... "Unfortunately," the default (non-calibrated) Vaio Z screens do not have pure whites too. It is more "reddish" white (by default) than pure white.

 

Well, I guess I'm comparing the SR to the Z690 / Z540 as I remember using them. The SR's display just bugs the hell out of me and has such screwy coloring to it, commonly-used pages (like my UserCP here at NBR) just don't look right. Pretty sure the Z's display far outclasses that of the SR's.

Given that I'll be staring at this display quite a bit and will be doing a lot of notetaking for med school, I may as well do it right the first time, eh?

Now to get an external monitor...

 

SR screens look, well, strange! I've seen SR/Z/FW side by side, and FW and Z are more or less 'in line' when it comes to colours (Z seems more natural while FW seems more blue-ish). But SR looks bad, sort of dirty. It's not the screen, it's the colour settings (and with ATI card on board you should be able to adjust it really well).

It's not a big problem since it can be corrected, but when I looked at SRs versus others, it just did bother me quite a bit.

 

It's been noted in the SR owners thread that some users got SR's with lesser quality displays, although there has been no way to find out a screens exact manufacturer. Maybe you got one of the lower quality screens. My SR colors and lighting is spot on.

 

Me too!

I guess, but I couldn't fix mine -- tried adjusting a variety of things to get things more to my liking, but to no avail. In any case, hopefully my Z720 will go out the door this evening.

 

I've been looking at getting either the Z or SR, so I went out the sony style store and wanted to check them out in person. Went to best buy also with one SR model.

Neat little computers they are however, the Z display is far superior to the SR (High resolution on the Z probably helps though as well). Also, personally, I liked the feel (build) of the SR compared to the Z... for some reason, it felt more solid. I'm now not really interested in either to be honest... the Z is just too expensive for what it is in my honest opinion, could be perfect other buyers. The SR's screen really deterred me and I never thought that would be a reason to look else where. My opinion, take it for what its worth, I'm picky.

Plus, the guy working in the notebook section wouldn't even begin to help me with issues I had with it, his response everytime, "I think most notebooks are like that."

 

If that's the case, maybe you may want to check out the latest Apple 13" MacBook Pro. Those do look good IMO.

 

Congrats on your purchase.

 

Ha funny you said that, I was going to add but this is a sony specific thread. I think you have posted in one or 2 of my threads I've made to help me decide whats best for me (Z, SR, Macbook pro, asus U80v).

I went to the apple store today to finally see the MBP in person and wow, that thing is the perfect size. Only complaint is I wish it had a higher resolution, but not many 13" have anything better. Now I just need to figure out all the pros and cons with running windows on it. I've read a bunch of stuff so far, but only really scratched the surface... time to get reading. Also, before I buy something, I'm really ready to see the 13" U80V when it comes out, I saw a 14" U80A? (i think) model at best buy and I'm impressed.

Again, I really think sony is going in the right direction with the Z and SR, but just me personally, I can't avoid the small quirks.

 

u80v is 14" as well

 

You are correct, my mistake... its getting late for me, haha. Thanks for the correction.

Plus I've had the model number in my head for so long and forgot since I'm looking at all 13s. Hmm.... actually I looked at the U81A... which is probably almost identical aesthetically.... maybe a tad big for me.

 

Seems like the SR's build is a common thing with us Vaio fans. The Z is theoretically, arguably better, but the SR just feels better.

I know the Z690 has a gorgeous albeit high-res-for-13" screen, and my Z540 had a great screen also (could use a little more pop, but matte finish and all that), but that SR display...

Seconded. I had a 13" MBP for a short while; decided I didn't want to do the Mac thing and returned it, but hardware-wise, it's a fantastic notebook.

Thanks!