Help choosing my next Sony Vaio

Hello,

I would like to purchase a Sony Vaio laptop that :
- can run the game Oblivion (one of the only recent game I love)
- has a high autonomy ( > 7 hours, when not playing)

I like the Y serie for its great autonomy, but I doubt the Intel GMA 4500MHD will handle a game like Oblivion.

So I have the feeling I want two features that cannot exist in a laptop at the same time...

What would your advise be ?

 

If your budget allows, consider a VAIO Z series notebook. Good luck.

 

I don't think there is a Sony that will really fit your needs sorry. You would be better off with the Alienware M11x or one of the Asus with Nvidia 310 and low power CPU's.

 

Thanks for your answers

I had a look on thoses interesting machines, but they have some drawbacks (either in autonomy or in performance). Still, they are interesting.

I would also like to stick to the Vaio brand because I think they have one of the best keyboard (together with MacBook).

So I guess I will have to make a choice.
As typing comfort really matters for me (I type more than I play), I think I'll go for autonomy instead of gaming performance.

 

You can customize a Sony Vaio E notebook with i5-520, 4gb ram, 500gb 7200x, and gpu 512mb, and even add windows 7 pro with no bloatware for $999 at sonystyle..

that's what i'm looking at but since the E series is still quite new I'm waiting on the buy, i have only seen one in depth review on it so far, plus i'm afraid of the hard drive noise that's being reported as well as the battery sapping..

but if you're willing to jump to a buy, the E series configured to your taste at sonystyle is def the way to go, and it will play oblivion with no problem at all.

 

Of course it will play Oblivion like a breeze, but 3.5 hours autonomy for this E serie is way too short for me...

 

Unfortunately the Z series is probably your only option.

Discrete graphics plus 7 hours battery life is really hard to do, even with an extended battery. Other manufacturers notebooks you could consider looking at would be the Asus UL series and the Lenovo T410. The UL series might be a bit restricted by its CPU that is really orientated towards maximizing battery life. The T410 will come with the really well regarded Lenovo keyboard, the Sony/Apple style it is not, but is still very much admired.

The S series Sony Vaio may be able to get up to 4/5 hours or so with an extended battery, you would be best to ask in the S series owners thread. I have to admit dissapoint with the S series, there is really no reason why it should not have switchable graphics.

 

The Lenovo T410s probably wouldn't be a bad choice either. They just recently started offering it with switchable nVidia graphics which makes it an interesting option. It's slimmer and lighter than the standard T410 and can be pretty powerful as well.

 

you could wait for the new acer timeline x series. The build quality is pretty awesome. 8 hours of battery life. check it out here

 

Sorry forgot about 's' version, even better if you can afford it. It uses a quadro card though which is not as good for gaming.

 

Thanks all for your replies

I now think that a laptop with switchable graphic cards would be the best choice for me, because it gathers autonomy and gaming possibilities in a single machine.

The Lenovo T410s looks really great, as the Sony Z serie, but sadly it is too expensive for me.

Perhaps the "older" Asus UL30VT would be good enough for my purposes, which are typing for long hours and playing Oblivion from times to times.
I don't want to play the latest games, just Oblivion and I read the GeForce 210M would do it.

Regarding the Vaio S serie, its autonomy is 5 hours which is not that bad but not enough for me.

And regarding Acer, they do interesting laptops but I really don't like their keyboard...

 

I don't know what you make of the Dell M11X?
If you haven't looked at that may be it is worth your while taking a look at this model.

Also, the 4500 can play Oblivion it seems on meduim settings V.Sync off but you would be better of with a more powerful card. The processor is clocked at 1.3 but has headroom to reach a little higher but still might not powerful enough and it might make a difference playing Oblivion when coupled with the intel GMA 4500.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jJRFb5Z_-Q

 

I had a closer look on this Dell M11X and yes it could suit my needs finally.
Nice little machine. It would be great to test the keyboard before though.

Running Oblivion with a 4500 is indeed possible. That's why I still hesitate before abandoning the Vaio Y serie... which has the best keyboard I have ever tested (compared to other brands).
I wish Sony creates such a laptop with switchable graphics at an "affordable" price (more affordable than the Z serie).