Looking to buy a new SZ Vaio

Hello,

New to forums here. I need to get a new notebook and I have been looking at numerous brands and even went to a few stores in area to check out size. The SZ Vaio's have really caught my eye and I like there size. I think the 13.3 " screen is perfect and very powerful for a small machine.
I have seen the bigger laptops of other brands and I am not to impressed. Anyway I am trying to get some feedback from other's with them. I know vista just came out, and was trying to wait so I can get a full install with it on, instead of upgrading later.

best place to buy one? reviews and help would be great

 

Amazon has the SZ-450 for 2099 after rebate. Just got one and I love it. I shopped for 3-4 months and there really is not a laptop that compares directly to the SZ for features, weight, performance. You pay an extra 4-500 for it, but it is worth it.

 

Yea I ordered the SZ-450 through amazon too and received it yesterday. I was very impress with the machine and its worth every penny for me. Most of the features I wanted is in it. The only thing is I was hoping it could come with Vista Home Premium not business but other than that I'm very happy with the laptop. Its not too big and not too small either. It has a lot of power under the hood.

 

What about build quality of SZ450? Any ỉmpovement compared to the previous series, SZ3xx?

 

I am thinking of the SZ as a desktop replacement. I am not into graphics. Just reading and coding. So basically text.

Does anyone think that the 13.3 screen in the SZ is too small?

TIA

 

Is that the lowet price you can get? Also does California resident pay tax on Amazon?

 

For me the screen is perfect not too small and not too big. I bought the sz450 as a desktop replacement also. The big plus is the weight I can easily carry it around the house or even on the go. It has a lot of power under the hood, so in case n the future you need to do some graphics you'll be able to with this laptop.

That's the lowest I could find and plus the rebate of $150. Yes California is tax free so I saved close to $207 on tax. Their overnight shipping is only $32.

 

Thanks. Once I purchase the Vaio, does the Recovery CDs come with it? If not, how do I get them?

I remember IBM had a policy of giving free? recovery CDs only if you request within two weeks of puchase of the PC.

 

I'm not too sure with the latest ones that come with Vista pre-installed. If it is the same with the XP like my SZ370, then you can make the recovery disc when you boot up your OS. It can be found in one of the menu options in under the "Start" button.

 

It does not come with recovery cd's but you can create one. When your logged on windows just go to the VAIO recovery center and you can choose to create a recovery disc.

 

I would get SZ3xx because it runs Window XP.

Window XP is running fine and it DOESN'T have any problem.

Just look at the forums, everyone is having problems with drivers and application errors.

 

Yeah I absolutely agree with Ch28Kid because Vista is new and it is not at its best yet. So, if you want to get the new SZ series with Vista I strongly recommend you to wait a bit before buying it. I just got a SZ270P/C and I am not planning on upgrading Vista on it because I think XP Professional is better than Vista. Personally I don't like Mac computers due to their interface and Vista is similar to that interface. So it is up to you.

 

But don't you guys think that since the Vista is preinstalled by Sony, they ought to work (inclluding the drivers) well before they ship out the new SZ? I haven't heard any reviews about the SZ preinstalled with Vista so I don't know how well all the drivers and the applications would work, but I doubt Sony will ship out the Vista preinstalled product while having problems with drivers errors. In fact, this is one of the major reason for me wanting to go with the preinstalled Vista because so many members are having problems with installing Vista by themselves. But I'm sure I might have to go with Vista someday anwayway.. What do you think folks?

 

Personally, I will go for SZ450 because of the better DVD drive. If Vista doesn't serve me well I'll buy second hand Win XP licence and install WinXP instead.
And, once Vista gets polished, I'll install Vista again.

 

I wouldn't worry about it. Go with Vista. Even if there are a few hiccups as the OS gets optimized, it WILL get optimized. I definitely agree with you about not wanting to worry about all the frustrations involved with upgrading from XP -> Vista.

 

I would go with the SZ450N/C because it is newer. In fact, the price is even a bit lower at amazon.com than if you buy a SZ360P/C from some other store. Another thing to take note is that the SZ450 also comes with a larger HDD (160GB).