Ready to buy a Vaio Y - questions

For current Y owners:

1. Do you find the Y screen display good enough for watching movies. (I take long overseas flights)

2. Is the 4 lb qualitatively acceptable?

I'd love to have a Z, but I cannot rationalize about a $1,000 difference in price.

I will use the Y laptop for general light business use, word processing and the aforementioned movie watching on long flights. Lightweight is important.

In review, it seems that the Vaio Y gets good writeups, but I am asking for owners' opinions too, please.

many thanks

 

The screen, at least to my eyes, is perfectly suited for watching movies and other tasks. The weight of the laptop is also perfect, the lightest I have ever used. Maybe not saying too much, my other laptop was an HP.

The thing is also built pretty solidly, and doesn't feel too cheap.
Anything else?

 

Oops, does it have an optical drive? I forgot to look.

The Sonys looks so great - hard to resist. I think I will get the discrete ATI graphics card. I am glad you feel the Display/screen is good for movie watching.

 

No, the Y does not come with an integrated optical drive. You will need an external one. I opted for the integrated card, that suited me best (Think it gives better battery as well, not sure) and the i3.

 

ANy thoughts on SONY customer service? I have been hearing some bad things.

 

Never had to deal with them, but apparently they are pretty bad. They say the same thing about Sprint (Cellular Provider), and I have never had an issue with them either. Your mileage may vary.

 

I was looking at the Y but opted for the Toshiba R700 instead. Mainly because the R700 does have an optical drive and is lighter (same weight as my Z in fact).

 

It's a lot of money. I got the Y for 800 with shipping and taxes. Used a student discount.

 

Oscar - how do you find the Toshiba screen (watching DVD movies)?

Re SONY service, I have been hearing a number of bad stories. The weight and price of the Toshiba are attractive, price too. Sell me on the screen quality and any thoughts on Toshiba service/support? Many thanks

 

Hi again Oscar - I gave the Toshiba Portege 700 another look. It doesnt have a backlit keyboard. I'm not sure how much I will use it, but I guess I am more afraid of possible buyer's remorse if I don't get the Vaio Z - best screen, weight, dvd drive, etc. It has all the features, albeit for a price.

I am still undecided, but if I get the SONY Z, I will look into getting it from a reseller like Newegg or something where it may be a bit cheaper. I will also get an extended warranty also - just cant risk this releatively big investment.

Your thoughts and experience with your Z?

 

The Z is my main computer and it is very nice. The display is better than the toshiba, it has a higher resolution, a backlit keyboard, and the nvidia gt330 video graphics. I would say that Z is clearly the better machine, but you definitely pay for that, it's not so cheap: $1800-$5000 (avg maybe $2500) vs $700-1500 (avg maybe $1000) So that's not really a fair straight across comparison.
But they are both about the same weight, both have dvd, magnesium vs aluminum chassis (very comparable), and the toshiba looks really sharp (I think it looks better than the Z, appearance wise). Both have core i processors (i5/i7 in the Z, i3/i5/i7 in the Toshiba).

If the Toshiba had been around when I bought the Z, I'm not completely sure I would have bought the Z.

But the original question I was responding to was about the Y. I was originally looking at the Y myself, when I stumbled upon the R700. Best Buy has the R705 version for $800. You definitely can't go wrong with a Y, but consider taking a peek at the R700 or R705 as well.

The Y screen looks good to me, but so does the Toshiba. However, I may not be as discerning as you. I suggest you go to Best Buy, you can probably compare both units there side by side (they have both at my BB)

 

Great - yes, there are lots of retail places around NY area to see the units in person. I really appreciate your replies. In the end, I may go with the Z because it has everything.

(also, have you had any need to contact SONY customer service re your Z? opinion of them?)

Again, I don't want to regret that a few features were compromised for something I should be able to use for 3-5 years. I will go to a Best Buy later today or maybe Monday, before the holiday rush. I will report back - thanks.

 

The screen quality is about the same on the Y and R700. I'd rate them both as average. The screen on the Z is WAY better.

The keyboard on the R700 is a bit weird. In the horizontal dimension, the keys are normal size and have normal spacing. In the vertical dimension, they are undersized and closer than normal. It's like they had to squash the keyboard vertically to fit. I found it a bit awkward to type on, though if it were my only computer I'd probably get used to it.

The other points in favor of the Y are better battery life and less heat (with i3 and integrated graphics anyway). Some have complained that the R700 gets hot when using it on your lap.

One downside of the Y is that you give up a lot of processing power. For your intended usage, I don't think you'll notice a difference. But for CPU intensive tasks like transcoding video, there is a huge difference. Opting for the i5 processor in the Y splits the difference between the low voltage i3 and full voltage i3, but costs battery life.

A few others have complained that the fan on the Y is noisy, but I haven't really noticed this. Also, the battery fits a little loose and may rattle. I put some tape on the battery to take up the slack.

You mentioned getting the ATI graphics option but not playing games. If you're not going to play games, get the integrated graphics. The Y doesn't have switchable graphics, so you'll lose battery life with the ATI option.

 

DMK2 - thanks for these comments.

I am gravitating more and more towards the Z (outside chance for a Vaio Y)
The Z just has so many more excellent and desireable features which makes it versatile in all kinds of situations and applications, including travel (lightweight), great screen quality, backlit keyboard. I think screen quality is critical since it is obviously how we primarily interact with the pc - (understatement of the month, I know.) I believe just a tolerable viewing experience would degrade the enjoyment an otherwise good machine more than any other reasonable factor.

I also have been hearing stories and reading reviews about a very HOT running Toshiba 700.

I may wait a few weeks to see about pricing trends for the VAIO Z. I am coming to the conclusion that I will keep the Z for at least 3 years, which effectively amortizes the extra expense and reduces overal cost to a relatively insignificant amount.

Really appreciate the insight and help.

 

Hey reg767 - I've been looking for a similar laptop for a few weeks and considered the Toshiba 700. I went to Best Buy about a week ago to try it out and found two things that were deal breakers to me. First, the keyboard, as others mention, is unpleasant to type on. There is so little vertical travel that even after 5 minutes of typing, I found my fingers/hands cramping. I could only manage 60 words per minute typing on it whereas I can manage 80wpm on my Samsung NC10 netbook. Second, it gets HOT. I don't mean hot as in it causes some palm sweating, I mean hot as in the rear left exhaust vent got so hot it started to cause pain on my leg!

I can't justify the price tag on a Z so I've been seriously considering the Vaio Y and the Lenovo X201. Not sure what I'll get at this point. Good luck with your decision!

 

Be aware, that if you don't like the exhaust port on the R700, you are probably not going to like it on the Z either. It's pretty much the same in that regard.

 

The z itself doesn't get hot, the air blowing out the exhaust vent can, though. But that's only if you are working the laptop hard.

When it's in your lap, mine has never felt hot, ever.

 

Yes, I know. I'm just pointing out that the R700 is the same as the Z in this regard.

I got to tell y'all, heat-wise they are both using pretty much the same cpus, the same cooling technology, they both blow the air out by the ESC key, and they both achieve about the same results.

If it was getting so hot that the hot air 'blast' was causing "pain in his leg", as Gigantopithicus puts it, chances are he must have had some intake vent blocked or something, because that's hardly normal.

 

One big difference is that the R700 uses an intake fan, and the intake for the fan is covered up by your left leg when using it on your lap. The Z uses an exhaust fan with multiple intakes, only one of which is covered by your leg when on your lap.