Having last second thoughts, I need help!

Apart from the obvious needing help mentally, I need help deciding what notebook to buy. I was all set and ready to order the Asus G1S-A1 this week but I woke this morning and now I don't know what I want. I guess I realized I was about to spend almost $2000 on a computer and that was a serious wake up call. I figured I'm going to go through researching one last time before I bougth. So I went through all of the manufactures from the forums, and initially went opened up Apple, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo/IBM, and Sony.

Apple: Took out because Macbook is too small at 13.3''. Macbook Pro is too expensive after Applecare is selected.

Asus: The only 15.4'' model I want/like is the G1S.

Dell: No thank you! Shipping problems, horrible customer service, bulky looking 1520.

HP: Like the design of the dv6500t series but feels cheap and like shoddy construction. I liked the 8510p but it's not out yet. Are there any other business type models that I should look at?

Lenovo/IBM: Like the hardware and specs. Hate the design.

Sony: I took a long hard look at the FZ series. I like! 15.4'' screen, solid build, decent specs, looks nice, except for the black keyboard.

So after all that, I'm still left with two options. The Asus G1S and Sony FZ series. I'm asking in this forum because it's really down to what I want, what I need, and what's right for me but I don't realize it.

I like the Sony because it looks really nice, although the black on silver looks weird to me. Does anyone have any up-close pictures of the white keyboard? My sister told me that while I'm at college I will have absolutely no time to do some of the things I planned on doing because of my major (pre-med biology). I don't want to believe her when she says this. These included music and video editing, movie watching, and the occasional gaming. The one I care most about is music editing and movie watching.

Is the Sony FZ or any other Sony capable of meeting these needs while still looking like a beautiful machine that you would be proud of owning (I'm sick of my friends touting their Macbooks!) I've never been a full-fledged gamer (occasional Madden or GTA), so I don't need the best and greatest. I don't want integrated graphics just on the off chance I find a game I really like. Any notebook will be more than enough for my college needs, it's the extracurricular activities that I want this thing to handle. I'm really concerned about the screen because the G1S offers WSXGA while the FZ offers only WXGA, but the FZ does have an HDMI port, correct? Would I be able to hook up a 24'' WUXGA or 22'' WSXGA monitor to the FZ and have it display at those resolutions or would it revert back to WXGA?

Finally, to all those FZ owners, how do you like it? How's the build quality, functionality, ease of use, Sony's customer service/warranty? Are you happy with it?

Thanks for reading my very long post and I'll appreciate any advice you have to give me.

 

Go for the FZ!! Lol, you probably expected that since you've posted this in the Sony forum....but really....I'd advise you to get the FZ, not because I'm getting one aswell but because it can do nearly everything you've listed.

For gaming, an 8400 GT will be perfect for you. As you've said, your not a total gamer, in which thee 8400 GS could have sufficed - and the 8400 GT will give you good performance. (Its as powerful as an 8600 GS)
I personally think the black keyboard looks very nice. I went to see it at my local shop and it looks beutiful. The actual keys are very nice to type on aswell.
The FZ has a HDMI port so you can hook it up to a normal TV or HD TV to get superior picture.
I'm assuming you live in the US, you can customize the FZ to your requirements on the sonystyle website.
From my own experience seeing the FZ and owners I've heard on these forums, the build quality is good, you'd probably expect that from sony anyway.

 

Good to know.....but how is Sony at handling customer relations? If something goes wrong, how quickly and efficient are they?

I would still like more opinions please.

 

Okay, I just read over the resellerratings for Sony and it's really bad. Is this something I should be worried about? I've read quite a few posts about the Vaio screen's and other major malfunctions occurring after 12 months. I like Sony, but reading about terrible customer service and support and cheaply made laptops is making me worried. I thought Sony's are supposed to be better built since you do pay more for them?

 

stuff happens. people get unhappy, people complain. i may be one of those people one day, but for now i'm happy with my 2 month old sony. i was also pleased with the service i got from dell over the many years i had a dell--even though i didn't buy another one. many people have different experiences. buy what you want, get a nice extended warranty with accidental damage protection and keep your fingers crossed. believe it or not, most of the time things don't go wrong. most of the time when things do go wrong, they get fixed right. we hear of the unusual and the emotional. people come here, vent and complain in the midst of perceived crisis with no broader outlook or rational thought. just my two cents (and it's overpriced at that--if i say so myself!)

 

If you spend a little time around this site, you'll learn to sift through the legitimate rants and the not-so-legitimate rants and make an informed decision.

 

Just remember that MOST such ratings are highly skewed toward the bad side. The folks who have problems report those sort of things, the folks who do not have any issues rarely do report that fact.

RE: Sony support, yeah they are not that great, but who's is??? I've dealt with Dell, IBM, Gateway etc. All are pretty much the same, especially in this day of outsourced support. I have found in my dealings with Sony over the years, from an Z505SX, an XG39 though my current FZ190 that you have to be firm but kind! And don't be afraid to insist that a problem be escalated if all you get is some "robot" reading from a script... "Sir, have you restored the system from the provided restore partiton"...

You have to remember the first tier folks are ALWAYS relative "newbies", most having no firsthand experience with the machines. They have a script of questions and canned answers. And I have a trick in getting them to escalate, I am nice to them. I make it clear that I am an IT professional with over thirty years of experience in hardware and software, but I don't intimidate them. I'll say something like, "Look, this is obviously much more technical than the info in front of you is going to help us resolve my problem. Why don't you escalate me to the next support level to see if they have more technical data available." Do that and be NICE and jovial about it (but FIRM) and just about every time they will GLADLY bump you to the next level. Only once have I had to get pissy with some wet behind the ears kid who thought he knew everything and I yelled at him and told him I wanted to talk to his supervisor IMMEDIATELY. When he insisted that the supervisor was not available, I equally insisted that I knew damn well that SOME supervisor was and I would not accept a "call back from the supervisor", I'd wait on the phone to talk to the supervisor. I asked him to get his supervisor's supervisor on the line right now. I also reminded him that the SONY customer relationship management system was tied to the phone system recording the length of this call and it would also note if HE hung up before I did. Magically his supervisor was suddenly available. (BTW the supervisor after hearing my credentials and how I had been treated was VERY apologetic.)

Now when you reach tier two it's an entirely different story. I've had really GOOD results from those folks. Again you have to remember these folks respond to honey a lot more than they do vinegar. They are so happy to deal with someone who is pleasant to them, as apposed to the majority of the calls they get, that they will go out of their way to help. Case in point: before I bought the FZ190, I wanted to know if I could start off with the Intel graphics and then LATER upgrade to the NVIDIA one. The first person I talked to had NO clue. I got them to transfer me to a tech (not the next support level). I got on with the tech who was very helpful, even to the point of becoming curious himself about the answer (again I used a bit of honey and no vinegar). He became so engaged as to go pull the technical drawings to see if it was possible. (It was NOT.)

So bottom line, I'd take those "ratings" with a real grain of salt, as most are in no way any sort of scientific survey... they are only a repository for rants.

Gary

 

they do have a white keyboard one.
i ordered one with a white keyboard, it should be arriving soon.

 

I would say:

Pros:
Build quality is very nice. All the right things in all the right places.
You need to see the black keyboard in real life to judge - it looks good (much better than i expected from pictures), better than white.
No gripes with the screen.
Incredibly quiet.

Cons:
You need an afternoon to get rid of all the **** sony preinstall and vista defaults.
I can imagine their customer service isnt amazing but at the end of the day if your owed something youll get it - although maybe expectations here in the UK are slightly lower in that area..

The FZ feels really well balanced in a way that laptops from high performance brands usually dont. I read your whole post (**** knows why, with all respect I should have something more interesting to do ) and (although I cant really be bothered to explain all the reasons) I think unless Asus are giving a lot more bang for your buck I would go for the FZ.