Sony VGN-SZ430N

This may not be the right place to post this, but I figured you guys would probably know the most about Sony's. I found an ad in my paper selling a Sony VGN-SZ430N for $500.00. Here's what the owner emailed to me:

Quick Specifications
Processor - Intel Core2Duo T7200 2.0GHz
Memory - 2GB
Hard Drive - 160GB
Optical Drive - DVD±RW DL
Display - 13.3'' WXGA 1280x800
Video - NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 & Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
WiFi - Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection (802.11a/b/g)
Modem - 56K
Other - Camera, Headphone, Mic, Memory card reader, VGA out, USB(2)
Operating System - Windows Vista Business

Is this a good deal, or would I be better off just getting a new laptop on my own? I'm just a student, not looking for anything more than typing papers, surfing the internet, and listening to music. I'm mostly worried about only 160GB hard drive, and also that I probably won't have a an extended warranty. Any advice is helpful. Thanks!

 

For the right person, $500 is a good price if the SZ is in good condition and complete with all the original software, etc. I would be tempted to check it out. The general build quality will be better than a $500 budget notebook. The HDD upgrade can be done - the instructions are somewhere.

How much do you value the portability that the SZ will give you? And, if you do want the portability then you need to check how much life is left in the battery. I would estimate that this SZ could be around 15 months old so the battery might be down to half the original capacity. New Sony batteries are expensive.

John

 

Thanks a lot for the advice. The portability was actually a big selling point to me. I probably won't have internet in my apartment, so I'll be moving my laptop around a lot to coffee shops, classrooms, etc to access the internet and take notes.