Opinions Please

Hi all,

Just found the Vaio FW21E for only £719 while searching for a new laptop and I was wondering if this is a good deal?

A link to the spec sheet and pricing is here: http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Sony_VAIO_FW21E_VGNFW21E.CEK/version.asp?PID=1038

The other option I have is the Vaio FW21L for £579 from: https://www.sonystyle.co.uk/SonySty...commendations&forward=showcua&bc_search=rhome

Does the E offer a significant enough upgrade to justify the extra cost?

Why don't Sony stock the E on the style website?

Thanks in advance.

 

the E looks pretty nice - GPU is a bit underpowered, so gaming won't be a strong point of the machine, but the rest of the specs looks pretty good.

as for the second machine, can you post the exact config? your link doesn't work (or rather, it brings me to the sony country selection site).

 

Yeah sure, sorry about the link hehe.

The specs are:

Intel® Centrino® 2 Processor Technology with Intel® Core™2 Duo processor T5800 (2 GHz and 800 MHz FSB) and Intel® PRO/Wireless 802.11a/b/g/n

Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (English version)

250 GB Serial ATA 5400 rpm hard disk drive

3 GB DDR2-800 SDRAM (1*1024 MB, 1*2048 MB - No free slot available), maximum 4 GB DDR2-800 SDRAM - a portion of the system memory over 3 GB might not be available to the operating system

16.4" WXGA++ (1600 x 900) Widescreen X-black LCD screen

ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3470 graphics processing unit with Total Available Graphics Memory of approx. 1400 MB and dedicated GDDR3 Video Memory of 256 MB

Blu-ray Disc™ combo drive: plays Blu-ray Disc™ (BD-R/-RE/-ROM/ DVD±RW/±R DL/RAM)

Built-in 'Motion Eye' Digital Camera (max. 30 frames per second, 1.3 Mega Pixels) with Motion Picture Function (max. resolution (pixels) SXGA/1280*1024)

Wireless LAN IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n; Bluetooth® technology

3 Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports

UK QWERTY keyboard

Exclusive VAIO software: VAIO Music Box, VAIO Movie Story, VAIO Media Plus, Click to Disc/Editor, Picture Motion Browser

For £579 which is quite a bit cheaper although i realise that the CPU is pretty far off the more expensive model.

I have a maximum of £750 to spend and definately want a VAIO, do you have any recomendations on the best way to spend my cash?

Cheers.

 

Now the real dillema begins because I've just found the Sony VGN-FW11M for £700 at : http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/671910

The specs on this are seemingly identical to the Vaio FW21E barring the larger HD on the E and im guessing the model number being FW 21E instead of FW 11M means that the former is the most recent model leaving me 100% confused.

Help!

 

I ordered the FW21E from laptopsdirect yesterday, it's arriving tomorrow. If you can wait until then I'd be happy to give you my impressions of it

 

Cheers mate, that would be great. Having a hard time deciding between that and the Samsung R610 (the one with full 1080p screen) or one of the other two Vaio's listed. The E you have gone for definately seems the best specced in terms of hardware though.

 

Agree with the above post.

 

Hey,

Just to let you know that my FW21E arrived today and I'm thrilled with it. Runs nice and fast and I love the ECO screen, even if some people would disagree. Good price from laptops direct, but don't expect the best service

Feel free to ask if you have any questions.

 

Hi,
Im currently in the same dillema with the FW21L/R610 and also the Acer 6920G gemstone and the HPDV7t.

The sony one is very tempting though im looking for opinions on the Ati HD 3450 GFX. Im not a massive gamer, but will prob want to play the odd basic RPG .

its the same card in most FW series laptops so i assume its good quality.. opinions?

Marc

 

The ATI HD3650 in the newer FW systems is better. If you can find one in your price range that is better for the occasional RPG/RTS game. I have desktop 3470 and while it is better than the Intel onboard stuff, you will need to ratchet down the graphics settings.

Cheers,