FW or SR

Probably seems like the most unlikely of comparisons...

Anyways, to cut the story short, I'm switching high schools and will be going boarding next year, and a Desktop is less than convenient (no typed notes in class, no studying in library, etc.), so I need a new laptop. I personally like the sony brand as well as my dad, since his Z1 has served him well for a long time. So, I am considering two of the new laptops that came out, the FW, and the SR. Probably buying from newegg.com, since it's free shipping, no tax, and they both are on sale (for today at least, they have daily deals).

I like the FW because it has a high resolution 16 inch screen, which I guess is pretty nice. However, i dunno if I'll be needing such said screen, since I won't be watching many movies or playing any games at school (i guess I could at summer?). Anyhow, I guess it's pretty light for a 16 inch laptop (acceptable for school use, I don't need it to be that light).

I like the SR because it's basically just as fast as the FW (same proccessor options, memory, gpu, etc.) but it's lighter and smaller. It should be a lot easier to carry around, but then again, that's not too important I don't think. The SR is 200 dollars more expensive on newegg, and has a 2gb instead of 3gb of memory (I always thought you should have 2 of the same capacity sticks of memory for dual channel, not 2gb+1gb in the 3gb combo though...)

So, any opinions on that would be greatly appreciated. a quick glance around the forum indicates that the FW seems to be a bit more popular (there is a 21 page thread on it ).

Also,can anyone explain to me the difference between the SR and the SZ besides updated technology and different looks? They are the same screen size, have a very similar base price, are about the same weight, etc. Is the SZ going to be replaced by the SR (or is it to be replaced by the Z?)?

Thanks in Advance.

 

well if the size and weight of FW isnt a bother. then i would get the FW over the SR and use the money to get the performance necessary.

SR has a better graphics card, better battery life, montevina chips and an updated screen compared to the SZ i believe.

 

SR. In class notes? SR. 15.4 was pushing it for me..16 inches? no. You might have small deskspace as well. SR.

As a college student, I def. say SR.

 

Oh... yeah, forgot about small desk space (dorms are REALLY small iin high school). Anyhow, I don't know what I could do with the extra 200 dollars. I'm going to buy from newegg (god damn the tax here from just about every authorized sony reseller, including sonystyle itself), so the other model is another hundred dollars, isn't free shipping, and only has a very little upgrade over the cheaper version.

I'm leaning towards the SR now.

 

Yep, I was just thinking about desk space. I personally like the FW, but it sounds like you might be better served with the SR.

 

eh i'll be using FW in college. Personally i think 15 inches of space in classes/lectures to put my FW on wont be too bad, though i wont have a problem in the dorm.

 

FZ is still worth considering too IMO. There's a surprisingly big size difference between FZ and FW.

Both, I imagine.

EDIT: Hmmm it seems like they're phasing out the FZ after all... I'm a little surprised. There are no more customizable FZs on sonystyle.com. Too bad... I kind of prefer the size of the FZ over the FW. The FW does look nicer though.

 

the size difference is just over an inch 15.1' as apposed to 14". thats not too big in my book.

 

Eh? It's 16.4" for the FW and 15.4" for the FZ. But they also changed the proportions, so the width difference is more than those numbers would normally imply. Anyway, I've seen them in person, and the FW looks much bigger to me... if I hadn't read about the FW I would've just thought it was a 17".

EDIT: Oh I get it you were talking about the width of the laptops, eh? So I guess they added 1.1" then. I don't know, it looked like a big difference to me, what can I say?

 

i dont know, i looked at some of these comments and shrugged the FW is only 6 pounds thats extremely light for a notebook this big i dont see it being a bother at all i have a vaio AR and this thing is pretty Big to lug around but its about 8 pounds i believe and i always say its fine its just a little to heavy

 

I would say to get an SR with an external monitor and/or dock to leave at the dorm. You can never go smaller, but you can always go bigger. The only problem might be the small price increase.

 

Couldn't have said it better. Always can go bigger via external screen and keyboard.

There you have it, unless money is an issue, just get the SR and couple it with your existing external monitor and keyboard when at the dorm and unplug it when you go to school. Best of both worlds.

 

Yep. Most of them around this size are 8, 9 even 10 lbs.

Still, if I were bringing it to school/work every day, I'd prefer the SR.

 

Yep. everyone has a different idea of big. yea, screen size is measured diagonally so its best to compare the actual dimensions of the product. the length and depth are pretty much the same. the FW only has an increase in the width and is .3 lbs heavier.

The SR is bit small for me. I know we can get external monitors and docks. But seriously why would I spend over 1800-2000 on an SR for similiar specs to the FW, still not get bluray and then spend another 500-600 for a dock and a monitor with quality similiar to the FW's HiColor screen? Or maybe I'm just being cheap.....

Enjoy whichever one you decide to get. let us know and then tell us how you like it when you get it.

 

Good logic. And for me, in my situation, that makes perfect sense -- but I'm not too mobile with my laptop.

For the OP, he's gotta consider the extra size and weight, since he'll be bringing it to/from school every day.

 

Well, it's boarding school, 5 minute walk at most. It ain't like I'm walking home from 13 blocks away or something.

And the FW on newegg has basically the same specs as the SR, it has an extra gig of memory, and 128mb more video memory, other than that the same (besides the screen and stuff of course).

 

trust me when i say size and weight matter with school laptops. get the SR.

for size and weight of other manly concerns, then I would suggest otherwise

 

For students that carry laptops to school, better weight and battery duration is always suggested.
Think of situations like taking notes in class, group meetings ...etc.
Do you have enough room on the desk to layout your laptop, textbooks, handouts, folders ...etc while the hot girl next to you wont feel .... separated
I wouldnt suggest anything bigger than 15.4".

 

Well, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna order tonight, and either one should come by monday. I'm heavily leaning towards the SR, since it's only 200 bucks more (from newegg) and has almost the same specs. Of course it's also more than 2 pounds lighter and is a lot smaller, which I guess is a plus for me. Any final appeals for either laptop?

 

Go to the store. Look at a 17 inch laptop, better yet, even a 15.4 inch. Then check out the VAIO SZ series, which is very similar to the SR in size/weight.

It's up to you which size you prefer. See it in person, then make a choice.

In my perspective, if you're putting over 1,000 for ANY product. Make sure you will be satisfied with it as much as possible. If you plan to keep it for a while, it would be wise to shell out the couple extra bucks now than be unhappy with your cheaper alternative only months later.

I bought my FZ and I loved it. Everything was great. BUT, even for being really thin/light for a 15.4 notebook, it was totally unconveient to use it in class. It was too big for the tiny lecture hall desks and would wobble on the sides. If I put too much weight on one side, it would lean over as if it could flip and fall. No way.

I passed my FZ down to my dad who is less mobile but needed a new laptop. I bought the SR for a change in size/weight and I'm hoping it will be great to use.

 

Well, I've been to the store (sonystyle and others) and seen the SZ. In general I like the laptop, its pretty light (seems light enough for me) and the screen is nice. I didn't check out the FZ or AR or any other large ones closely. However, my computer monitor is a 17" LCD, and although it isn't widescreen (and I'm looking at it as I type), I'm sure as hell that I wouldn't want something that big as a laptop screen. I'm just imagining that a 16" widescreen would be a tad wider and a lot shorter than my monitor, but later I can go get a ruler and measure it and compare to the FW's dimensions.

 

You're already having doubts. Get the SR.

 

Well, i'm basically decided on the SR. I'll update y'all on the status of the newegg order (which some of you are doubtful about) and the SR itself on monday probably.

 

To the original poster:

I've had an older refurbished vgn-a290 for over two years now - it's a 17 inch multimedia behemoth. With the ac adapter, it's a total of 10 lbs. So while it is in fact portable, I never take it anywhere: it's my all in one, do everything computer and it is STILL an absolutely fantastic machine.

Now, according to my experiences and sensibilities, I want my laptop to be able to handle pretty much anything, including watching high-end media on a really nice screen, in addition to being able to handle anything I can throw at it.

Last week, I went to the Sonystyle store here in SF and they had 3 of the new models on display, including the FW and the SR. While the SR they had on display was silver and pink, I wasn't actually too impressed with it. Sure it's a nice size and weight, but it's missing something for me - it looks and feels cheap. I think if I saw it in black I would find it slightly more appealing.

After that quick glance, my eye immediately went to the FW. It is an extremely good looking machine. I fiddled with it, pick it up, etc, and it's a really beautiful thing meant for people who want and need to be able to do all variety of tasks. It's size and weight falls in between my a290 and a "normal" laptop. It has a larger profile but the 6.5 lbs is really not that bad.

I ordered a customized one from sony yesterday. I'm drooling obsessively while I wait.

Point being, if you're just looking to take notes and do school work, by all means get the SR. If however you want to take notes, do schoolwork AND listen to music, watch movies and play games, I would really suggest you consider the FW.

HOWEVER

I consider the following mandatory:

Radeon GPU a must
upgraded HiCOLOR monitor a must;
you can totally get by with a 250gb harddrive; consider getting the 320GB. DO NOT get the 400gb, crappy 4200rpm drive

I would also suggest kicking up the cpu to at least the 2.4ghz option.

ALSO IMPORTANT

If you order from sony BY PHONE, ask about promotions and rebates - I got $100 off purchase.

total cost for mine:

4gb ram
2.4 ghz cpu
hi color screen
radeon gpu
320gb HD
TITANIUM GRAY (who in their right mind would buy a white computer is beyond me)

with tax and free shipping:

$1,525-

Consider your options wisely. you will have your computer for a while

Good Luck

 

1. It probably feels cheap because it's light. If you're used to heavy duty laptops, any light laptop will feel "cheap." I thought the SZ and TZ felt cheap at first, but that was before I knew anything about high quality, light metals, which the SR uses. I'm pretty sure it's not cheaply built.

I do have to agree on the color though. The silver and pink didn't impress me at all. Especially with the white keys. The Night black looks slick, however.

2. The SR can play music. Hook it up to your existing 17 inch monitor when you want to play games and watch movies. No big deal. What would be a big deal is taking a 16.4 inch laptop on an airplane or on a 10 inch wide desk at school.

 

LOL

well....the 16.4 inch SCREEN doesn't quite translate into 16 inch wide!

and hell, are 10 inch desks made for Hobbit children?



the SR felt like plastic to me: not like the carbon fiber SZ or the magnesium allow of the FZ....hell, the FW felt plastic too, but not like a delicate tinker toy kind!

 

None the less, a 16.4 inch laptop will be significantly larger than a 13.3 inch one. 15.1 inch wide vs 12.4 inch wide. Also, The SR never claimed to have carbon fibre. It's not a premium model. It uses magnesium for the casing though.

Hobit desks? It's college. There's no space for color pencils, glue sticks and crayons anymore dude.

And yes, Sony would definitely put higher quality plastic in a 1,000 dollar laptop as opposed to a 1,400 one because that makes perfect marketing sense. /sarcasm

 

This is what it comes down to...

FW
15.1 x 10.3 x 1.3 - 1.46
6.47 lbs.
-----------------------------------
SR
12.4 x 9.2 x 1.3
4.18878 lb

Which do you prefer?

 

Basically, lol.

 

LOL

My FW is just gonna kick SR butt!

 

oh god! aren't we all on the VAIO side? jeesh. like the civil war or something. let the damn kid choose his laptop, lol.

 

who cares if we are. My FW will look sexier than your SR playing some high def awesomeness. lol.

anyway. Enjoy your SR. Let us know if it feels like plastic.

 

You guys are asking for it. :laugh:

To each his own man.. to each his own.

 

So, AmbitiousEd... what did you get ??

 

yea, which side of camp did you join?

 

I got an SR, I guess the side of portability won over having a nice big screen to watch a movie on.

 

you should have gone for the FW what were you thinking?


jk

 

I think you made the right choice. Congrats!

 

All the girls will go ooh and ahh in the cafe when I whip out...


My FW!

they'll think they're looking at a Lambourghini and want to hang out with me...

for suresies!

 

That doesn't sound sketchy at all

Anyways, the SR already came (came an hour ago) I ordered late afternoon/early evening, and omgwtf 3day shipping turned into overnight .

Anyways, so far it's awesome, unfortunately, can't get the wireless set up yet (hence, still typing this on my desktop). Anyhow, the keyboard is great, the screen is just amazing, and the size is nice. As the other SR guy said, there is a tiny bit of battery wiggle, but if he didn't mention it, I wouldn't have checked, and most likely would never have known in my time using it. It looks sexy in black too.

My only concern is that the thin screen is a bit... flexible, which kinda freaks me out a bit (only a little bit though).

I can post more impressions later...

 

So, are you happy so far? Any regrets? Is the FW calling your name??

 

Cool!

This period of waiting always ends up being slightly excruciating...I hope Sony surprises me and ships my FW early...

That would be great!
(crosses fingers and touches wood(

 

The screen is a bit flexible? I've been looking at the SR myself, since it's smaller. (With newegg, I have to pay tax though, but I can afford the tax with how much I have saved up. >.>)

Does the screen wobble if you bump it on a surface though? This other 12" laptop I was looking at seems to have a bit of a wiggle when budged on a surface.

 

Just ordered a vaio sr from newegg. Couldn't wait any longer. With the coupon code from the other thread, it was $1269.99 which I find really cheap, especially for a Sony, and a NEW CUTTING EDGE one at that! Okay, maybe not that cutting edge, but still. The free 3 day shipping turned into "estimated 2 day shipping". Maybe there's a warehouse near me or something. Thank god for free shipping. The cheapest one is around $40 regular price.


Now the pressure is on! SR SR SR SR!

Pair it with a nice Dell or Samsung 24" monitor. Or I can just make due with sticking it into my expensive 32" Apple cinema disp... I mean cheapo yet good 32" Sceptre LCD-TV.

I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and actually get some videos onto youtube when it arrives. I've also got an Asus v6va so I'll see if I can get some comparison shots of the screen.

These may all be false promises however...

 

Wobble? I don't quite get what you mean by wobble....

Anyhow, I "budged" my screen against my desk, nothing that could be described as similar to wobbling occurred for me, but I'm still not sure what you mean by it.

ANd yes, the screen itself is flexible since it's so thin. Meaning if I hold the top two corners, and apply gentle pressure in opposite directions, the screen "flexes".

Anyways, I just got the wireless working on my laptop, so more to come. So far, it's really quiet though, and not hot at all, I'll try running graphics benchies or just run a game to see how it handles the graphics and the heat.

Although a note, don't get your hopes up too far with the graphics card. If you go and put the settings in the ATI CCC (catalyst thingy) up all the way (4x temporal AA, Super Sampling AA, 16xAF, etc.) you can't even run the "Windows Energy" Screensaver anyhwere near smooth (gets like 1-3 fps approximately), so it won't be amazing at gaming.

So far, this is turning out to be a very solid notebook my is the flexible screen.

 

Hmm, interesting to hear. Maybe I won't get this then. I was curious about the gaming aspect... That's pretty weird that it's not doing well at the Windows Energy screensaver... At least I could actually game on the 12" I was looking at (Someone played Quake 3 [I think] decently on the 9300M G card at 256 MB GDDR2, so I dunno.)

I just meant that does the lid part of the laptop wobble when it's moved or nudged while on a table or something? Or does it just stay in place?

 

Can you please benchmark it? I really want to know the score

 

Um, I guess if I nudge it a bit it wobbles a bit if I put a lot of sudden motion on it (like i hit it forward with my hand with decent force), but if your just sliding it accross a desk, i don't think you'll have any "wobble".

Anyways, what benchies do you guys want? I'm downloading 3dmark06 (which includes pcmark06, right?) since I used to do that to bench my desktop.

EDIT: Nvm, I'm downloading PCmark05 as well.

 

I see. Well, thank you for answering it. It seems like it might be sturdier than the 12" I was looking at, though I would think so anyway because of the size.

I can't wait to see the benchmarks... I'm not sure if 3dmark06 comes with pcmark06, might be a separate thing. I'm kind of more concerned about that 3dmark score more than pcmark, most notebooks do alright in pcmark.

 

I dunno, PCmark05 was separate and there was no separate PCmark06 download (onlly PCmark Vantage).