Vaio S Series CTO

Finally pulled the trigger on a Vaio S Series CTO from SonyStyle Japan. I had a limited budget ($1500), and with the really poor dollar/yen exchange rate right now, couldn't load it up like I wanted. Still, looking forward to the expected delivery date of late March. Here's what I got for $1,630:

- Core i5-540M (2.53GHz)
- SSD 128GB
- Windows 7 Ultimate (Need this to switch the Japanese OS to English)
- 2GB RAM (DDR3 1066) (Skimped here to keep the initial price down. Will probably add more later.)
- Intel Integrated Graphics (Don't do any gaming)
- DVD Super Multi-Drive (Optical Read/Write DVD Drive)
- 3-yr. Basic Warranty

The rest of the build is all standard S Series. It seems like a pretty decent machine with lots of good connectivity, and hoping it will be pretty fast with the i5-540M and the SSD. I do a lot with Photoshop and Premiere Pro (video editing). There was one thing I wasn't very impressed with when checking it out at the local store, and that was the screen. It's LED backlit, plenty bright, and I like the 16:9 ratio, but the contrast and blacks didn't seem as good as the older SR screen. Definitely not as nice as the Z screen sitting next to it in the store. Oh well, I think I'll still be happy with it. Will post a review when it gets delivered.

Cheers! - nojiri

 

1st of all, congrats on your purchase.

I assume that you're based in the U.S (because you mentioned the dollar/yen exchange rate). If that's the case & you're getting the Intel integrated graphics, why not just get the Best Buy exclusive VAIO S model?

 

Thanks, SPEEDwithJJ.

Actually, I'm based in Tokyo, but my salary is in USD from the U.S. I was considering buying from the U.S. and bringing it over, but I run into a different set of challenges. Some of the software I use is Japanese, and will only work with Japanese Windows, so with my present machine I've had to partition the HD and install a second Windows Japanese OS, then reboot whenever I access them. Then with the warranty, an international warranty transfer is only good for one year. Windows 7 Ultimate (Japanese) looks like it will solve some of those issues. Also, looking at the Best Buy builds, I don't recall seeing them with the i5-540M or with SSD, and those are two components I am hoping will speed up task intensive programs like Premiere Pro and Photoshop, or just plain running multiple tasks simultaneously.

Cheers! - nojiri

 

Oh, my bad. I thought you're based in the U.S. I sincerely apologize for my wrong assumption.