Replacing SZ with FZ. Need your opinion.

I am thinking of selling my sony SZ and buying FZ 4000 CTO, mainly because I need the built in Blu-Ray drive and larger screen. My Sony SZ381P with GeForce Go 7400 just doesn't cut it when playing Blu-Ray movies. Even with its 2.33GHz C2D. While most of the Blu-Ray movies I rent play fine, there are a couple of them that just doesn't cut it. The CPU Utilization hits 100% and the movies play very jerky. I tested the same movies with FZ at Frys and its CPU utilization is below 50%. So, clearly the faster video card in FZ plays a big role. And I need bigger screen too.

But I still need opinion from FZ owners. What do you like or don't like about this machine and whether you would recommend me to buy one.
Especially, I need to know the following:
1. Does the palmrest get too warm overtime?
2. What is the quality of the built in 1.3 Megapixel camera? Is it good enough for video conferencing?
3. Is the fan too noisy?
4. Any other things that you would like to comment?

Any input is highly appreciated. Thanks

 

Hmm, your SZ had Blu-Ray? That's news to me.
Anyway, I upgraded a SZ460N to FZ4000 with Blu-Ray ROM so I can probably help.

Answers:

1. Warm yes as all notebooks go. However, it is cooler than SZ due to larger casing and Penryn 45nm chip. Cooler and less fan work is the #1 reason I bought it.
2. Haven't used it much but I think its about the same as the SZ. So it's decent for video chat/conferencing. Just make sure you are in the light for best use.
3. My fan is way quieter on the FZ than my SZ. SZ fan was always struggling to keep up or revved up for no reason. FZ fan is on more appropriately and it's quieter. A good tip though is to never run Vista sidebar. It does weird things to fans on both this FZ and on my SZ.
4. I'm very happy with the "upgrade." If you don't mind having a 6lb notebook with crummy battery life it's a great unit. If you will miss the light weight and decent battery life, you may be disappointed. Otherwise, I can highly recommend the FZ4 and I couldn't say that about the SZ4.

Blu-Ray update from my review: Blu-Ray plays great on FZ display or external HDMI display.

You can get my full review here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=222555
Good luck!

PS here's my specs:
T8300 2.4GHz
3GB RAM (self installed 2GB)
160GB 5400rpm HDD
XBrite HiColor
Blu-Ray ROM

 

Interesting thread. I would watch this thread to get some knowledge on Blu ray

 

My SZ doesn't originally come with Blu-Ray. I added it later with an external drive. Thanks for your response.