VPCEC25FX/BI Info

Anyone have any additional information or (links to) reviews on the VPCEC25FX/BI that's now available at BestBuy.com (but not in any local stores) for $799.99? Is the Best Buy version different at all from the VPCEC25FX/BI that's available from Tiger Direct/J&R/etc? I know that sometimes the Best Buy version of some companies laptops are lacking some features.

I like what I've read so far, but I'm a bit hesitant about spending $800 on a laptop sight unseen...

 

I don't see any differences, no. I am going to pick up this one from JnR - $50 cheaper, no sales tax and no shipping:

Sony VAIO VPCEC22FX/WI E Series 17.3" Notebook PC - Matte White in PC Notebook Computers at JR.com


They have it in black too, but I LOVE me some white..

 

Nice, but I don't mind paying ~$100 more to get the BluRay drive, slightly larger HDD (500 vs 320), the ease of return/exchange if necessary, and most of all Best Buy's 18-months same as cash, since I have credit there but my regular credit cards are all maxed out.

I guess I'll have to rely on Best Buy's very generous return policy if I don't like it. Should have gotten that Gateway they had last cycle, but I waited too long for it to drop a few more dollars and they sold out. Oh well, that's life!

 

Go and try it out first. If it's anything like the VPCEB it will have a horrible dimpled touchpad, and if I could I would go back in time just to not have bought mine.

 

Since you have a credit there, I see it as a solid buy.. I don't need the BR or larger drive since I'll be swapping it out for SSD.


Would this be your first Sony?

 

There's the rub - this machine is only available online, it's not carried in the stores AFAIK. I always use a mouse, so the touchpad thing is pretty much a non-issue here. This is a desktop replacement for me; well, almost, as the laptop I have now replaced my desktop 4 or 5 years ago.

Not a store credit, a store credit card with an available balance. I could pay cash somewhere else, but I'm kinda hoarding my cash right now.

This would be my first Sony computer - I've had a myriad of Sony products before and have had pretty good luck with them in general

 

Ah, fair enough. Other than the touchpad issues it's fine (but I've only had it just over a week)

 

If the only thing holding you back is seeing it in person, I can attest to the slightly higher build quality than HP or Dell, etc. I have owned two Sony's before - I'd pay the difference between a similarly spec'd HP to own the Sony - and in no way am I a "fanboy" - even if my username is "Vaio". I have favoritism towards quality, not any specific brand..

 

Hi there.
So I just posted this in the general forum too but I thought I'd ask you guys since it sounds like some of you bought this laptop!

I ordered this laptop VPCEC25FX/WI from tigerdirect thursday and received it yesterday. I've generally been liking it overall, although I haven't really done anything strenuous on it yet (like have photoshop, dreamweaver, picasa and such all open and working at the same time, but I'm not worried).

My problem though is this:
I can see weird movement in a couple of the dark gray colors on the screen. Like the movement or "noise" look when your on a tv channel that doesn't come in, but thats usually white, this is like behind the color!?
Weird too, but where I noticed it is on the website I do for my husband and I's business.

But don't really see the problem other places, but now I find myself constantly looking at the screen to see if I can see the movement thing. Is there something wrong with my screen or graphics card?? I'm dying to know if any of your screens do that, or if you can see that on my webpage. Can I insert the link?

Thanks,
M

 

For the record, my experience with this Vaio is all 72 hours old, so if there's something yet to come I'm unaware of it. ;-)

Needed a laptop to use when I travel on business. As a dad with 3 kids, who travels a lot for work, I needed one to support games online as that's how we play when I'm not home.
* Needed to have memory expansion 4 GB at purchase, 8 GB supported, 16 GB on the horizon.
* Graphics had to be solid. I'm not a fan of the shared video memory, but the chip is nVidia as compared to the Intels I've seen on other models. Basically, it needed to run with more than 'skeletons' or bad tracings for the images.
* Screen size. Important, though not key. A 17"+ at this price was a plus.
* Performance needed to be solid and while it's a little arbitrary the windows system rating was a 5.0 which met or exceeded all the games I needed it to run.
* Discounted things like size and weight, the blu ray (though the video is great), and all the standards - e-net, wi-fi, touchpad, and so on.

Went to the local Bestbuy and purchased it there myself (added a wireless mouse otherwise a base system) and have been working it out since.

No issues with install, no errors, runs all the games at the level I hoped or better, the video/display combo is striking. It's a very nice package for the price point.

 

Wish I could find one at a local Best Buy, as I'm not wild about spending $800 for a laptop sight-unseen. Where did you get yours?