Vaio EA 14" Series - Input?

So I popped over to the owners lounge and was surprised to see only one thread on the entire E series, and I found virtually nothing in that thread on the EA model. Evening taking a spin around the internet leaves me with extremely scattered opinions.

I am interested in a 14" notebook with low to mid range graphics capabilities for under $1,000 USD. This leaves very few notebooks around, and right now at the top of that list is the EA.

Has anyone actually bought this notebook? What were your thoughts? What kind of real life battery life do you get out of it? Do you have the 5470 or 5650 graphics card? How is performance in gaming? How are temperatures and the noise level? Your opinion on build quality?

Specifically I would be looking at getting a Core i3 or i5 model. I would want to upgrade the card to at least the 5470, most likely the 5650 if temperatures are decent. I was disappointed to read that there is no hybrid graphics if a graphics card is installed. The rest of the configuration is standard, 4gb of ram, save HD for a SSD later on.

 

Here is a recent review.
Sony VAIO EA Series (VPCEA636FM/V) - A Review of the Sony VAIO EA Series (VPCEA636FM/V)

 

I don't own an E-series, but I do know that if you intend on gaming, the 5650 is MUCH advised. The 5470 is decent if you're just going to be watching HD content or very casual low resolution gaming, but for anything serious it's not that great. The 5650 is a card that can run Crysis at native 1366x768 and 1600x900 at very decent framerates. The 5650 is on the level with the Nvidia GeForce GTS250... or the GT335 or GT425. It's quite capable of gaming. Though battery life with ANY dedicated card will suffer.

 

Just bought one for my daughter - she's upacking and setting it up now (literally the first few days).
She seems pleased with it - College laptop, her other one started having troubles. Did the I3, 7200 RPM drive, 4 GB RAM, the 5470 card and clean start. So far she's happy with it. She not a gamer (Sims at most) and this is a study/college papers laptop. For her is was a nice fit.
Hopefully will have some updates for you later after she has used it a bit

 

I really appreciate the replies!

Thank you for linking that review, it was one of the three I had come across. Sadly that model did not come with a graphics card, and I am quite concerned about temperature. They said the underside got up to 92 degrees, add in a graphics card and I wonder what it would get to.

I do intend on gaming, but I don't care if I don't have all the shinies turned on. All I want is playable framerates at low/midrange settings. I have a gaming desktop for that. But I appreciate the feedback and have seen that the 5650 is a strong card.

I would very much like to know how your daughter likes it. I am fearful about the temperature with a graphics card. I am also wondering if getting the extended battery is worth it, that is quite the upcharge($100).

 

Temperature wise, if any notebook is reaching 90c+, something isn't being done right. Gaming with a decent video card necessitates proper cooling, and cooling pads are recommended. Normal operating temps while not gaming shouldn't break high the 40c's depending on ambient room temperatures.