Please help: S170 or S270? Quality of "manufacturer refurbished notebook"?

Hi my friends,

I've used a couple of notebooks so far, and decided to go for a Sony. I work in design and architecture, and I love Sony design so much, especially this S.
Can you guys help me with a couple of questions:

1. Having heard lots of complain on S380 and S480, I think I would go for an S170 or S270 (at least their power bricks are much smaller and they're cheaper, aren't they?). Is there any difference between those two? Or what do you guys suggest?
What about the heat and fan noise? (Somebody living in the hot weather can tell me his/her experience?)

2. I'm quite on a budget, but still want a decent notebook that can last for years. I found some good deals on www.ubid.com. What do you think about this site and their "manufacturer refurbished notebook"? (On quality and outlook).

I'm eager to read your words. Thanks a lot!

 

In my opinion, i don't think you should go for the refurbished ones, specially not from ubid. getting a refurbished notebook is getting a notebook that someone has used and used for who knows how many years. you don't know how badly the previous owner treated the notebook, it could have been dropped. the previous owner could have went to the restroom and not wash his/her hands and then used the notebook. don't believe them when they tell you it's "refurbished to brandnew condition". besides, it's not that much cheaper either.

a new s460 is being sold for $1550 most places right now after rebate. i bet it will go down even more in a month.

you could get a NEW s270 that you mentioned for $1259 from newegg.com
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834117069

that's just my 2 cents

 

Thanks a lot s460z. But maybe it's late for me already.
I was waiting desperately for any advice yesterday and then couldn't resist this deal http://www.ubid.com/actn/opn/getpage.asp?AuctionId=10448998&. Actually for some reasons, I've gotta make up my mind right away back then.
I must have been so naive that I buy into what ubid said that they make very clear different types of "not brand new" notebook (say, refurbished, used, off-lease, etc). But is it that real bad those refurbished ones?
Maybe I should be praying now...
And again, thank you very much s460z!