SZ Customizing

Just wanted to see what you guys would make with $2000 or less budget to customize your own SZ series laptop.

I went with:

SZ240

LCD Display:
13.3" WXGA Display

Camera:
No Camera

Security:
Integrated Biometric Fingerprint Sensor

Wireless Lan:
Wireless LAN (802.11 a\b\g)

Processor:
Intel Core Duo Processor T2500 / ICD 2 GHz

Memory:
1 GB DDR-SDRAM (DDR2-533, 512MBx2)

Hard Drive:
80 GB Hard Disk Drive

Movie Pack:
No Movie Pack

Optical Drive:
DVD+-R Double Layer DVD+-RW Drive

Keyboard:
Silver Keyboard

Operating System:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional

Battery:
Large Capacity Lithium-ion Battery (BPL2C)

Service:
No VAIO Overseas Service

Pre-Installed Office Software:
Microsoft Works 8.5

Photo Software:
Photo Standard

Music Software:
Music Standard

Video Software:
Video Standard

Engraving:
Engraving

$2079.00 [slightly over $2000 accident]
Please give me advise on what to include and exclude!

 

1X 1 Gig stick instead of 512 X 2

 

Depending on what you use your laptop for, think about going with a 7200RPM HD. Hard drives are often a major bottleneck.

Like many other users on this forum, i use a 7K100 Travelstar 100GB.

 

A balance between easy d-i-y upgrading and power would mean:

+camera +fingerprint +2ghz cpu +100gb hdd + DVD drive = $1910 and then byo RAM - can get 2gb for around 160. IF you take away the caerma cost (50) that levels out to exactly 2000.

 

Weshy - thanks! good tip, to balance the pricing. So it's really not worth getting the extended life battery for only $100?

archie88 - I would go with a 7200 rpm hard drive. But under the customization it's not an option and not only that 7200 rpm hard drives I heard get real hot, especially in a machine as small as the SZ series3

Kyoshiro - good tip, I think I will change that to 1gb if I can maintain my price

 

I have a 7200 RPM drive in my SZ, it does not get noticeably hot unless I utilize the HD heavily or play games, in which case the entire computer gets moderately hot.

A factor also in this is the ambient temperature, cause it definetly gets warmer/hot during the day then nights.

If I just use it for web browsing and office type apps, it stays nice and cool.

Temperature wise, the HD usually is around 32-34 celsius with typical use.

Oh side note, my SZ will get little more hot then others because it has the T2600, which most SZ do not have.

 

@collegeboy: you can get 7200RPM drives from Portable One ( http://www.portableone.com)

 

I believe archie88 means you can get an SZ with a 7200 RPM drive installed, instead of the normal 5400 RPM drive. (Just for clarification.)

 

Nice, I might buy it from that website. Only thing is you can't engrave it!!!


Questions:
-Is it really worth going 1 stick GB or should i go duel channel 2x512?
-Is it possible to customize a premium SZ laptop?
Thank in advance for answering my dumb questions

 

Going for one stick of ram is good if you forsee yourself upgrading your ram in the future and then you won't need to throw out old memory. But I think it depends on how much they are charging for 1 stick of 1 gig ram vs 2x 512. Cause keep in mind a 1 gig module will only run you around $70-130 US depending where you look and what brand you want.

Customize premium, are you referring to Sonystyle site or somewhere else?

Generally the premium series come preconfigured, the only customization available I believe is from the Portable One site that is for the faster hard drive, ram and software. (And still give you warranty) Otherwise its pretty typical of what you would find elsewhere.

edit: checked ram prices

 

Is 7200rpm worth just for web browsing and office type apps?

 

If you just use the SZ for normal stuff, ie web browsing, office apps, email, and the like. I do not think you would need a 7200 RPM drive, sure its nice but you won't notice it as much as compared to someone who games on it and has to wait for loading times. (You will still notice difference in like boot-up times and in loading some applications)

This isn't to say you should or should not get it, just depends on what you do and more importantly are you willing to spend money for the change.

 

Yeah I think im going for the T2400 instead of the T2500, that way its more comprable to the 5200rpm hard drive i will have

 

before you decide, check out the Asus W3J it roughly has the same specs. minus camera and biometric scanner. but it does have a 2.0 core duo, 1 GB RAM, 14 inch screen, 100 GB hard drive 5400 rpm, ATI Mobility Radeon X1600, standard at around $1800. I almost went with a Sony SZ until I stumbled on the Asus W3J. go to the Asus forum or www.proportable.com for more info.

 

yeah definitely look at the W3J. I was also planning on going with the W3J, but opted for the SZ because of the screen.

 

I actually had a W3v (same exact chassis the W3j will have) for several months before the SZ I have now. The Asus is most certainly a sexy machine, but in my most humble opinion, the SZ wins hands down. Here is why I feel that way:

-the SZ feels considerably smaller. The .7 inch you give up in screen size with the SZ is well worth it in terms of a smaller feeling more compact travel notebook

-the side buttons on the Asus drove me nuts. I tend to grab my laptop from the sides numerous times throughout the day as I move around my home or office. Without fail, when I'd do this with the Asus, I'd hit one of those buttons and launch some damned app...

-the click of the touchpad is considerably firmer. In other words, it takes a whole lot more force to press those buttons that it does on the SZ. That was really a bummer point for me, as I like a light touch click.

-this one is hard to describe... there is groove in the plastic that borders the keyboard and palm rest. This grove is on the very outside of the palm rest and essentially runs the length of the border. It looks great, but it ends up digging into your wrist and/or palm after a while of typing. The SZ's smooth rounded edge is considerably more comfortable.

-no dual vid card. A very nice feature if you plan to use the battery of your travel notebook often.

-the stacked USB ports on the Asus made it really tough to use two USB memory sticks at once. The spacing made it such that you had to bend the one currently installed up (or down if its in the lower slot) to make room for the incoming one.

-the painted top cover scratched easily, even in my bag with just normal use it looked like it was a few months old within the first month.

-the location of the battery is within the hinge. This means that when you close the notebook and are carrying around like a book, your holding the laptop by the battery. And it doesn't fit in there very securely so you get the feeling its wobbling in your grasp. Not a biggie, but it cant be good for the battery connection over the long haul.

-the blue LEDs are REALLY bright... if you plan to use this in a dark room often, you're not gonna like them as they can literally light up the room in a blue glow

-the placement of the power jack on the right side was problematic for me, as again I tend to use my laptops in my lap. I inevitably would hit the plugged in jack with my leg and tweak it or the weight of the laptop would end up resting on it... I couldn't imagine it lasting a couple of years.

I know some of these issues might seem picky. But, if your like me and literally spend 8-12 hours a day on your laptop, these seemingly minor issues become real problems after a very short period of time.

Best of luck in your choice and please let me know if I can give any more details!

 

Hi guys. Where do you go to customize the SZ? Can you do it through the sonystyle.ca website?

 

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INT...-A&catname=cpu_VAIONotebookComputers_SZSeries

BTW

Thank you CoolVanilla you helped me decide to stick with the SZ Series, I was actually thinking about the ASUS for the cost and how much more you can get.

 

hi collegeboy... thanks for the link. unfortunately, that is the USA site. It looks like Canadian customers can't customize. Can anyone confirm this?

 

I think Canadians may unfortunately have much less options and have to accept the steeper pricing policy. SonyStyle.ca presents only two SZ models: sz260pc(premium) and sz220p(non preminum), both are not customizing.

 

Canadian customers can't customize on SonyStyle.ca, which is unfortunate. I went with Portableone and was happy with my purchase. Instead of paying the 15% or so in tax by buying it in Canada, you'll pay 15% in duty (tax) when buying it from the US. Ends up being the same thing in terms of price.

Ivan at P1 is extremely helpful. I recently purchased a customized SZ150 from them.

 

Sorry bro, I thought you were US to.

I honestly don't know what to tell you. But try Portableone.com