What's the smartest way to get a 2010 Z with an i7-620m or 640m?

I want to do some fairly computationally-intense stuff, and was hoping to be able to snag a secondhand (or refurbed) 2010 Vaio Z now that the '11 version has been announced. The only upgrade over the base config that I'm super-interested in getting is an i7-620m or an i7-640m. I was thinking initially that I might do well to buy a base-level system and then a replacement motherboard with an i7 on it (since I'm assuming you can't replace just the processor on a machine this small), and then sell off the i5-520m that comes with the system I buy.

But, I'm having trouble finding info on the price of such a board and I'm starting to think it might be prohibitively expensive to do. So now I'm thinking I should just try to get a Z with an i7 already in it. The problem is that the config I'm after (base with no upgrades aside from i7) doesn't seem super-common -- most of them seem to be packing Blu-ray, 1080p, the 512 SSD, Carbon Fiber, or some combination thereof, along with a huge price tag. I've seen a couple systems with the config I'm after, but they're not popular.

How would you guys do this? Is there some kind of elite dealer of working secondhand Z components (aside from Sony Parts) that sells i7 boards for a good price? Or do I need to just suck it up and wait for a machine with the config I want to come along?

 

Excuse my ignorance, but are the CPUs soldered?

I find Sony to be expensive compared to other brands, and the same goes for Apple. They are expensive even second hand. By the time you buy a laptop, and a board with an i7 you'd have spent more than what you'd spend buying a new laptop.

I see from your sig that you have a MacBook. Are you considering Sony because they offer a similar design to Apple?

There is a a few other alternatives with 13" screens and a descent GPU. The HP Pavilion DV3 (i7-720QM (quad core) and ATI HD5470) is one of them.
There are more choices with 14" screens, like the dell vostro 3450. It comes with a 2nd generation core i3, i5 and i7 and a ATI HD6630 GPU, or the HP ENVY 14 series, i5 2nd generation or i7 quad first generation, and ATI graphics.

 

Just a word of warning, if you want a 2010 Z with an i7 and intend to thrash it, the fan noise will drive you nuts. Perhaps look at something else that deals with heat dispensation a little more quietly?

 

I think you stumbled into the wrong forum. None of those models you mention are even remotely comparable to a Z.

 

I'd only be pushing it at my desk, so I'm not super worried about the fan noise. I'm interested in the best CPU so that I'll have more grunt to pair with beefy graphics cards for a DIY eGPU. After spending some time on Notebookcheck, it looks like the i7-620m isn't ludicrously better than the i5-520m -- but the i7-640m is a real beast.

Thanks for the terrible post. I always buy machines secondhand, and I'll buy a million one-year-old MacBooks and Vaio Z's before any of the rest of that crap. I'm especially not looking for an internal discrete GPU; just putting up with the one on the 2010 Z because you can't get it without one.

I mean, really. If you're going to push HP and Dell in a Z thread, at least have the decency to peddle EliteBooks and Latitudes.

 

It all depends on the type of comparison your doing
If your main criteria is price and weight then yes you're right, the laptops I've listed are on a different category than the Z series. But if the criteria is graphics and processing power, the laptops I've listed are as powerful if not more powerful than the Z series.

Since the OP emphasizes on CPU upgrade, I understood that his or her main focus was in processing power. Because they referred to the first generation of core i, and asked about the smartest (as in the cheapest way I believe) to do the CPU upgrade this made me believe that they are on a tight budget, hence the reason for proposing alternative laptops.

Anyways, for the Z series configuration, there are plenty of alternatives with more horse power for a fraction of the price; at least this is my personal opinion

 

It should be self-evident that someone looking at a Z isn't going to be happy with HP's trashy consumer line. Refurb Z's were $999 two weeks ago -- how much do you think I'm paying?

Back on topic, could anyone with an i7-640m in their Z13 tell me the part number of that motherboard? Failing that, is there a way I can figure it out for myself? Haven't been able to get too far with Sony's website.

 

I have the 640M but there's really no way to check the part number (software doesn't help), I guess you'll have to find one Z with the 640M built in instead of replacing it yourself.

 

duuuude. less obnoxiousness. he was trying to help as you were complaining about the price of a seond hand laptop. yet you type like you have a butler to go shopping for you, so understandably he read you wrong.

 

I don't know how much you're paying as we don't share the same bank account

If a refurbished one is $999 I would say that your budget for the laptop is about $700 to $800 for the laptop with a core i5 and $200 $300 for the motherboard replacement. If I'm not wrong you're hopping to recuperate the $200 from selling the old (core i5) motherboard, right?

If no one tells you the motherboard part number then either you find it through google, or email/call Sony and ask them for it. I doubt that you'll find something in google as there is only a few suppliers for Sony parts outside Sony themselves. If Sony is like Dell and Acer I have the feeling that instead of telling you the part number they will tell you to send the laptop (which you haven't yet bought) so their engineer can inspect it before sending you a quote for the repair.

P.S. If you find consumer laptops trushy, how about business laptops? Lenovo ThinkPad X220 is a very good laptop. A basic configuration with a core i5-2410m, 2GB, 320GB cost less than $800 with the ecoupon, and almost $1100 with ecoupon for the i7-2620M, 4GB RAM and the 320GB.

 

Not really sure what your angle is here. You don't just spin a wheel and land on a fringe premium laptop with an original $2K MSRP. There is literally nothing else on the market that has the same combination of features as the 2010 Z. The X220 is missing a backlit keyboard, doesn't offer a display res higher than 768p (an affront to humanity and an absolute dealbreaker), and only has one drive slot. The ThinkPad X1 was another potentially-appealing model, but also has a low res screen and a glossy coating. Trying to find 900p and 1080p screens on 13-inch laptops is tantamount to trying to find a unicorn, and the fact that Sony bothered to deliver it on the Z and with bonuses like great colors and viewing angles makes one extremely inclined to cope with a slightly off-kilter dollars-per-performance ratio.

The short version of what I'm saying is that this is a thread that attempts to figure out the upgrade costs for a specific component of an out-of-production laptop. This is not a thread seeking a bunch of ill-advised recommendations for inexpensive systems fraught with compromise.

 

I should have kept my replies short and said: Sorry mate. It is almost impossible for you to buy the Sony laptop you want and do the swap for a less than it market price (either new or second hand). Sony has a tendency to sell its products at a premium price and it keep a tight leash on its replacement parts. Sony parts are hard to come by in the second hand market and when they do they come at a premium price too.

The idea behind upgrading a computer (a laptop or a desktop) is to end up with a good/great system for less than an of the shelves system with the same specs. In my opinion, buying a computer and upgrade it should cost no more than 2/3 the price of a ready made system. The remaining 1/3 is a compensation for the time spent sourcing the parts, ordering them, and performing the upgrade.

The bottom line is either to pay the full price and get what you want or make some compromises and save some of your hard earned cash. Either ways, best of luck.