SZ vs FE

So the SZ sports a motion eye camera, smaller screen (13 vs 15.4), hybrid graphics (combo of geforce 7400 and integrated while FE can upgrade to geforce 7600)...all for a couple hundred more bucks.

...Why? What makes SZ that much better? Better build quality? Better looks?

 

The big kicker here is the portability the SZ offers. I've an SZ and my neighbor owns an FE. I like both laptops enough to recommend them to anyone. The FE has a better build and feels (is) more durable...but as a result, it's heavier. Ask yourself this, "do you want a portable, high-end gaming laptop or do you want a desktop replacement/high-end gaming laptop?" Regardless of your decision to go comfortably portable or not either of these two laptops will bring myriads of joy to you!

 

I also find myself stuck between these two laptops. The one thing that worries me about the SZ is durability, but I also want the portability of the SZ. I need a notebook that will last me the next 5 years through school, and I find it a very hard decision.

 

5 years is a pretty long time. Whatever you buy today will be ancient in five years and accidents/hardware failures do happen. Make sure to buy an extended warranty, plan to use is it for 3-4 years, and you can always buy a cheap $400 laptop to replace it in a couple of years if something goes wrong.

EDIT: One more consideration is that in 2-3 years, both notebooks will be a little old and past their prime. At that point (half-way through their use cycle) do you want a slightly faster slow big notebook or a slightly slower slow small notebook. The SZ will still be very portable, but the FE won't be as big of a gaming powerhouse.

 

I agree with the above posters, in that the SZ will offer you a 4lb portable notebook, with lots of screen real estate, while the FE will give you 6.2lbs of a nice X-Bright Hi-Color 15.4" screen.

All in all it depends on how you plan to use it, and how portable you require it to be.

A 15.4" isn't bad if you are just doing light traveling, but that 2lb difference can be huge when you are adding in more stuff to your bag.

 

My last laptop was a 6.5 pound 15.4 incher and it felt significantly heavier than the SZ i recently purchased. I knew there would be a big difference, but the SZ is extremely light.

I think the FE is aimed more at the gaming crowd (Go 7900)while the SZ is more aimed at the business crowd (Go 7400). I have the carbon fibre SZ and it seems quite sturdy, though i worry about the optical drive and the keyboard.

 

Oh...duh, I forgot to even look at the weight/portability of the SZ haha. Thanks for pointing that out.

And to archie88: the FE has a 7600, not 7900 (that'd be pretty crazy if it had a 7900...)

 

As to the durability of the SZ... I dropped my 270 today. Fell right out of my backpack from 5 feet up. It landed on the left hand upper corner (oppo side of the antenna). Once I was done blubbering, I wiped the tears from my eyes and picked it up, brought it inside and braced for the worst...

The plastic was crunched. A piece of the hinge cover busted off, and the silver end cap was slightly concaved inward. But... she opens and closes just fine. The hard drive survived with no ill effects. No screen cracks or keyboard issues. All the ports are good to go... other than the outer plastic probs, she survived just fine.

Ive had my fair share of lappys that would have died from a fall like that. The SZ survived wonderfully.

 

Holly c#%&p! I thought my one foot drop was bad. Got any pics?

 

whoops, sorry about that. Yes it's the 7600 (which is still far above the 7400 in terms of gaming). I was thinking of Sager when i mentioned the 7900.

 

omg, i would have fainted. on the positive note, it survived! haha. now you probably feel like walking up to a sony person and giving em a hug

 

LOL no joke. It fell in slow motion. I actually had the where-with-all to try to get my foot underneith it, between it and the ground, but it got caught up on a leg of a table.

I'll try to get some pics up. Really, considering the severity of the fall, the damage is minimal. If I didn't point it out, you'd probably miss it entirely. I realize it fell in probably the best way possible, but still I have no doubt some other machines I've owned would have crumpled under that kind of strain.