Input? Ready to buy the Z.

College student, 1.5-2 yrs left, considering a masters after that. Want it to last through school, not someone who replaces a laptop frequently - so I sort of dreamed of getting something really new and fresh to begin with, rather than "ok" and feeling like it sucks so much in two years. Was limited by budget, but it grew to $3k and so the Z I kinda drooled over could be mine. LOL. I am in a computer related field, and yeah - I have a thing for new, gorgeous, fast, etc. electronics.

Will be buying this month. Budget got bumped up, and I don't want to miss my opportunity. I think I'm officially sick of waiting for the Dell e4300, esp. considering the extra wait for people to have it in hands and start with issues/reviews...but I admit I'm hesitating just a bit because I am nervous about the what if's... if it'll be much better and cheaper or something.

Portability and overall size is very important, whether you think that's silly or not, it's *very* important to me. Yet I also wanted kinda stylish, don't want SSD (too $ for the size still), need a cd/dvd drive (so...no Voodoo, no Lenovo), want a really good processor, will max out memory (even if I do that myself), pref. a good sized hdd (at least 200gb).

Currently [strongly] considering - to the point of having one in my sony cart .....
Low end CTO Sony Z (I think I'd prefer the resolution, but not getting to see it in person first makes me nervous - I love the resolution/size of 13.3"ers so I'm hoping the 1" less in height won't feel tiny in terms of screen size all of a sudden....)
P9500 2.53Ghz processor (hopefully a bit bit better performance and battery life with it - I'm a hard core multi-tasker on my poor computers)
4gb ram (for the price, I figure it'd just be worth going for it rather than waiting/buying elsewhere, this ram still seems kinda expensive...and I'd want the 4gb so I don't have to worry about using Virtual PC and stuff)
HDD ... torn! Any advice? I am considering 200gb/7200rpm vs 320gb/5400rpm. If anyone knows which two they are specifically and which would be better, please let me know? I'm worried about speed, noise, battery impact. I know the different models can make the difference more than just the rpm.
4 year warranty, w/ maybe the large battery and leather cover or sleeve (or...I can't decide right now, but I'll figure it out easily ... I kinda like the leather 'cover' to keep on it and then the big battery, and later I can get one of their uber-protective sleeves or a sleeve elsewhere for good protection.)

Any last input for me? Sorry for being so indecisive, but big purchases make me research and second guess a lot, LOL. It is a huge purchase for me (the top of my budget, which is OK but makes you want to be *sure*). Naturally I'd like to have some more input wherever possible. Also because, come on ... I kinda jumped on the M1330 but then it was such a lemon, I'd hate to go through that again. Though I admit I kinda knew it had some problems and jumped on it anyway, so my fault totally. (The excitement, then the total disappointment, the return process, the the total re-researching, more time...I could use this laptop *now*, and buying this month makes it possible to have it before going on a long vacation.)

 

Don't know if this is interesting for you, but it's a very good deal:
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-VGN-Z550...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1220805377&sr=8-2

If you're goin CTO I recommend taking the 200GB/7200rpm over the 320GB/5400rpm. The latter is a mediocre performing and a bit noisy Toshiba drive.

 

i don't think that's atypical! i went through the same thing recently...

anyhow, i actually just jumped on the z550 deal on amazon right now. roughly $1,780 shipped, which was about the same price as the sr i was considering. i was actually a day away from ordering the sr when the z deal came up.

anyhow, it's just a budget-conscious option that seems to fit most of your needs. plus it takes the stress out of choosing a configuration since you don't have any choices!

[EDIT: phil beat me to it!]

 

Thank you so much for that, exactly what I was hoping to find out about the HDDs. I know I can replace it with my 320/7200, but I've seen warning that if you remove the screws Sony might check and void the warranty...I wouldn't want to take that risk. 200 ... not optimal, but not bad. Esp. for a laptop, I'll just keep music/pics on an external 2.5".

Thanks for the deal info, but I think it's not right for me. Not the specs I am hoping for, and while I could settle ... I have to keep in mind that I absolutely am wanting a 4 year warranty. But I hugely appreciate the info., I hadn't noticed that link before around here. I'll go back to the site and look up the warranty price on its own added to the

I kind of took a break from the forum when I thought I should put off my purchase, but now I regret not having kept up better on the Z buzz!!! I was just sure it was going to be out of reach. Doh!

Oh, and thanks for understanding my decision issue. It's not exactly like... buying a new monitor. Buying a $3k laptop (well, with the warranty and accessories) ... kinda deserves some serious scrutiny.

 

this other amazon deal is good too....and more to your specs with the p9500.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CNT4UQ/sr=8-2/qid=1220805377/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1220805377&sr=8-2


also i believe that either the intel / nvidia chipsets, and/or the Vista 32 bit can only address 2.8 gb of ram anyhow, so need for the 4gb.

there is also some data that the 320gb drive is actually faster than the smaller 7200rpm drive due to things i dont fully understand such as bus speed and cache.

i demo'd this unit (z570) in this standard config, and was very impressed. the vista performance scores were all 4.5 plus.

for $2,043 shipped, an excellent deal. unfortunately amazon charges tax now in ny for me. sonystyle price of $2349 plus tax, which makes it $2600, fully 30% more..and a totally not-so-great feeling. newegg did start charging tax too, but only for a week...their price now is 2150 plus 20 ship. still decent. was gonna see if they would match amazon.

 

3.12 to 3.2 as far as I know.

But having 4GB adds the benefit of having dual channel and the 'leftover' RAM can be used for the integrated graphics.

This would be true if the 320GB/5400 rpm was a WD, but it's a Toshiba. In this case it's not as fast as the 200GB/7200rpm drives.

 

Vista SP1 made it recognize more memory, no? And no telling what will happen. Do I NEED the four ... no, maybe not ... but if I do a CTO will I go for dual channel at equal sizes 4gb? Yes.

Did you read that specifically about the two hard drive models being offering inside the Z? (The 200 vs 320) I'm going to have to research the specific models, because I think the comparison between the two vs. general 7200/5400 type comparisons will be more helpful. I am behind in poking into all the existing topics, some of them just take eons to read!

Sucks about the tax. Thankfully not a part of my equation, no tax here. And I do understand they're good deals, and definitely appreciate any link being brought to my attention that could equate to savings... However, I'm just not actually interested in those offers. I like buying from the manufacturer directly for a purchase like this, in this case for Sony's return policy and service plan especially. I can get the 4 year plan w/ ADH, but you can't get ADH unless you buy the plan at the time of purchase direct from Sony. I don't think I can give that up. A full coverage policy is important to me in a notebook, especially a costly one. If this were a cheap $800 laptop I'd be happy to give up the nice return policy and full warranty in lieu of more savings, but in this case I am not. Most items I wouldn't care about, but something about buying a configure to order notebook that makes me really only want to buy from the manufacturer. I wish Sony were open to negotiations, like Dell, then I'd be thrilled to knock some $ off. But then that's part of the trade off ... and I am not waiting for another few months just in hopes of a price drop. Sometimes you can reason out waiting for *ever* before buying a laptop - you could go years without a purchase it seems. LOL.

 

Ahh, you wealth of knowledge you ... +1, you saved me big time searching - clearly you're discussing the specific drives being offered in this model for my comparison and I thank you for the info

 

In fact the 200GB/7200rpm is Hitachi...I also believe the 200GB will be better performer, but I'm curious, how it'll affect the battery life and heat/fun noise. We need good review of both...and that's exactly what we're waiting for here...

 

Power consumption:
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/.../compare,692.html?prod[1917]=on&prod[1872]=on

 

That is not quite so as you can buy the warranty separately for cheaper as well.
http://www.provantage.com/sony-vgp4sylpad~7SOVA08W.htm
http://www.provantage.com/sony-pcga-4sylpa~7SOVA03X.htm
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=265479&highlight=provantage
I understand though if you want to buy from Sony if you feel more comfortable about their retun policy.

Amazon also though have excellent customer service and i have returned stuff i bought to them without any bother.
I would happily buy a laptop from Amazon if it was the right price as i know if there was anything wrong with it when i got it that they would probably allow me to change it or get my money back without any hassle. I have also heard of people buying expensive items and getting them replaced with brand new items within a year if the product was no longer being sold that they bought.

 

Not trying to sway you either way, but just so you know you CAN get the Sony warranty with ADH coverage if you order your notebook from a different Vender. You need to call them as it isn't listed on the website, but the prices are as follows:

2 years with ADH coverage = $349.99
3 years with ADH coverage = $449.99

I didn't ask about 4 years as I wasn't really interested at the time. If I remember correctly, these prices are about $100 more than you would pay if you ordered it with a SonyStyle CTO. Also, remember that when you buy from a different vender, most of the time you are getting one of the preconfig models which is assembled in Japan versus US, and a lot of people on these forums seem to think this is of some importance. Finally, most of the vendors I've dealt with have similar return policies to Sony (and even better than Sony's CTO return policy)

I just wanted you to be aware of this before you ruled out some of your other choices (like you originally did with the Z Itself!). My thoughts were very similar to yours in the beginning, and in fact I originally had a CTO order out until I discovered these better "fits" from other vendors.

 

Hey rachuk, I'm super interested in these provantage warranties as they are multiple hundreds of dollars cheaper than the price Sony quoted me. Are these Sony warranties, or warranties with another company? Do you have more information about them (a thread/link) or other experience with them? Please let me know because I was about to order 2, 3 year ADH's from Sony for almost $900 tonight whereas this deal would be close to $500 for 4 years for both!!

EDIT: Sorry, just read the third link you posted (sorry, was so excited about the cost savings, didn't make it that far!) Man, if this is the real deal, I'm going to be sooo excited,

 

Well, I certainly appreciate all the help and info with this stuff. I'm really glad it is helping others, too!

For me, I still don't feel it's the right 'deal' for me. Considering what I was wanting is a Sony Z with the highest offered CPU, 4gb RAM, and 200gb/7200rpm hdd (after seeing the comparison) ... the 4 year ADH warranty ... and two accessories, right now I'll say the large battery + leather cover. Given that, I have done some numbers for me.

For the preconfigured model, I'm sacrificing the memory and hard drive that I'd choose on my own. It would be $228.51 cheaper through Amazon and Provantage than all through Sony. Nice, sure! Though not quite what I want in specs.

For what I had hoped for, $258.51 more to get the 4gb and 200/7200. And I must keep in mind I wouldn't probably change the HDD myself, given issues with voiding the warranty. And when it comes to the RAM, I really do want 2x2, so to upgrade the preconfig model I'd have to buy a 2gb stick ddr3 shipped here, which takes more out of the price difference...then I think I'd be looking at about $150 in savings, and choosing if the 320 vs 200 matters to me. And this is something I will absolutely consider, but you see it's not like I'm just ignoring some $500 discount when all is said and done for me.

And if anyone is curious, when I compare the CTO I want w/ the warranty + accessories ... it is $78.21 cheaper than doing the Provantage warranty given the campus deal. (Using the Provantage 4 yr ADH warranty linked for $278.27.)

I'm not trying to argue with the savings or the info on getting items elsewhere. It is good info that I hadn't realized. I just still don't think it's a great deal for me. It becomes a trade off, and my choice is likely to stick with Sony to get what I want for a little more cost. (Unless more poking around convinces me I need the 320, but the comparison sure makes the 200 seem superior. And if I were to want the 320, then I might further consider buying that 2gb ram stick and doing the Amazon/Provantage/Sony for accessories/Memory elsewhere.)

Of course, I'm still wavering a tiny bit on buying ... I've decided to wait the week for the Dell e4300 to release so I can compare them feature for feature given the total cost, just in case it ends up being more appealing to me. And, yeah ... I was sort of hoping for that review/compare info from the link to another post that was brought to my attention. *edge of my seat*