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    Some questions for FE Series owners from a potential buyer

    Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by EscapePlan, May 2, 2006.

  1. EscapePlan

    EscapePlan Newbie

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    Hi, I'll be on the market for a new laptop after my 5+ year old Sony VAIO finally dies on me (should be pretty soon, it sounds like hell). And I've been on this forum researching and reading since this will be my first informed computer purchase. I've learned a lot but there are some questions about the FE series that I couldn't find answers to anywhere, not even on Sony's official site. In particular I was wondering:

    1. What kind of performance can I get out of the Nvidia Go7400? I plan on playing World of Warcraft and not much else. I know the 7400 is a mid-range video card but I was wondering if it'd be able to handle WoW on max settings with no slowdown.

    2. I'm planning on getting a custom configuration from the sonystyle website but the memory prices are insane. I'm going to get the lowest available option for RAM (256 x2) but it says on the site that this RAM is DDR3-533? I didn't know DDR3 even existed but I have been out of the loop for quite a while. I planned on getting two of these 1 gig sticks (and chucking the stock 256 x2):

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145048

    How well does this memory perform compared to the other brands? And will it even work since it's DDR2?

    I've also never replaced any sort of hardware on any computer, so how easy is this upgrade with the FE? It's just unscrewing the RAM panel and switching them right? Hopefully I don't have to do anything with the BIOS (I have no idea how to do anything with the BIOS) and it's just switch and go.

    3. What kind of harddrive does the FE have? I know it's 5400 rpm but is it a Hitachi? Seagate? Which brand is it?

    4. Does anyone have the neoprene notebook and ac adapter case? It looks really slick and I don't really need a full-fledged bag to carry around the laptop since it won't be traveling much, but I do want something for those rare instances. For the people who ordered this $23 option: Was it worth it? Is it too loose or too snug? Hopefully it's a perfect fit.

    5. I'm planning on getting the bluetooth option just for a wireless mouse without all the messy cables. I'm currently eyeing this one:

    http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/US/EN,CRID=2135,CONTENTID=10916

    Are there any better mice out there that you bluetooth mice users recommend? How's the responsiveness on bluetooth mice? I have never owned bluetooth-anything.

    Sorry about the laundry list of questions but this time I want to make sure that I get the perfect laptop (the VAIO I have now was great and all but lacked some features that I really wanted). Thanks everybody!