sz premium vs. normal

I've been looking into the SZ, and I'm pretty much in love with it, but I was wondering what the difference between premium and normal versions is.

Is it only the carbon fiber casing, fingerprint reader, and wireless wan? Is that really worth $300+? I don't need the fingerprint reader or the wireless WAN, so does the carbon fiber really make a big difference?

For example, i was looking at this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834117431

AND

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834117452

Is the second one premium? I know it's carbon fiber...

Well, thanks in advance...

 

Having owned both, I'll say that I'm much happier with the premium SZ. The screen is much brighter and crisper than the non-premium version, and just looks and feels better (material-wise, I mean). The lighter weight is also a nice thing.

I also had an issue with an odd buzz eminating from the LCD display of the non-premium SZ I had, and I've also heard a few other people report that they've experienced the same thing. My SZ340 also had a very not-nice keyboard (very flexy). I'm not saying that ALL non-premium SZs aren't up to snuff ----- but, in my experience, I am tons happier with the SZ360 I currently own.

Of course, it also helps that I didn't have to pay extra for the premium version. But yeah, you're right ----- if you throw down for the premium version, you're essentially paying for the nicer screen and carbon fiber casing.

 

To me, the weight difference itself was worth the price delta. The screen also is much brighter, though I have not spent a lot of time on a non premium, so I may have gotten used to the non premium with more time. Finally, my SZ370P has taken two pretty dramatic glancing blows to its LCD casing with no damage done save my pulse. I FIRMLY believe that without the carbon fiber casing the LCD was dead. All I did was scrape paint of of the carbon fiber, knock on wood and get back to the task at hand after removing the offending file cabinet from the scene.

 

For about $200 more, you have people envy about your Carbon Casing laptop, that's priceless. BLING BLING

 

Sounds worth it I guess....man...just have to wait for the SZ4's to get a price cut!!!

 

Good luck, I think SONY SZ price is quite steady, I barely see it fluctuates more than $100. I was debating for almost 1 year when they were still SZ3 and I got one finally when the SZ4/Vista just came out. I got mine from AMAZON, with rebate, free shipping, no tax, is one of the cheapest out there.

I think SonyStyle has it for quite cheap and no interest for 12 months now. Check it out.

 

how much did your 460N/C come out to? wait...that's not premium is it? Just the carbon?

 

I bought mine at $2350-$150 rebate (rebate check cashed already btw), $0 shipping, so $2200

Someone correct me if I m wrong, I think all Carbon Casing SZ are premium series, at least my Sony VAIO box said PREMIUM series on it and according to Japan Sony site, all carbon models are Premium models, not just the SZ491.

 

You are close but not full. I blame Sony.

There are three types of LCD lid covers. One is thick rough magnisium cover lid, second one is carbon fiber with plain black cheap plastic like cover and the last one is the premium one with the fancy woven lid cover hardened with clear resin.

So for the premium cover you can actually see the crossed woven fibers reflected through clear resin. It also has more clear coated like quality than the ordinary carbon lid.

SZ 491 has "premium" carbon fiber lid.


Two from the left are the carbon lids. One in the middle is the Premium lid.
http://www.learningcenter.sony.us/images/article/Notebooks/SZSeries/vaioFiber.jpg

 

*edit* um...nevermind then...geez this is so confusing. So only the 4XX N/X is the full premium?

 

I knew SZ491 comes with a screen cover which has weaves on it, but in terms of premium, I think all carbon casing classified as premium according to Sony, otherwise, why do they marked the SZ460 box as Premium and it is the same as in Japan.

 

PRICEGRABBER or NEXTAG

 

I would also want to add, since Santa Rosa SZ is around the corner, mind as well wait for a bit longer, I bet you the price is about the same as before. Or if you want, buy mine and I move up to the SZ5 (j/k)

 

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/wbr...tegoryName=cpu_VAIONotebookComputers_SZSeries

If you click the link "explore the SZ series" right under the the orange colored sentence that says Save $100 instantly. (Regular Price $2,849.99). You will see that Sony only mention Premium on the carbon lid in the middle but not the carbon lid on the left.

 

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/%3E%3Cwbr%3EINTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=VGNSZ460N%2fC&Dept=computers&CategoryName=cpu_VAIONotebookComputers_SZSeries
it's weird! The above link described the 460N/C as Premium Series, Don't get me wrong, I know they used to call SZ491 as Premium, but technically all Carbon Lid models are PREMIUM models indeed, that's from SONY Japan.

 

Another difference is the battery life. Because the premium model uses LED backlit which consumes less power, the battery lasts a bit longer on premium model. According Sony, the premium lasts about 6.5 hours while non-premium lasts around 5.5 hours.

 

Yeah --- I was under the impression that you couldn't even get the woven carbon fiber in the states, but I might be wrong about that.

In my mind, the main differences between the premium and non-premium versions are:
- LED backlit screen vs. standard LCD screens ---- the LED backlit screens are brighter, thinner, and just look nicer.
- Weight (something like 3.7 lbs vs. 4.1 lbs, if I remember right)
- carbon fiber vs magnesium chasis

The extra-super-premium version, the one with the woven pattern visable all over the laptop, only looks a little nicer than its regular premium brethren. The 460 IS a premium SZ model.

 

Although Sony advertised the Premium models come with a LED backlite screen which should have 1 hour longer battery life, I can only get around 2.5 - 3 hours of usage time between each charge (Stamina, wirelss on, BT off, brightness at 3 notches, emailing, browsing, IM, MSN, Skype, Vista Aero on, etc)

I haven't compare it with a non-premium model, but I don't think this battery life is anywhere close to outstanding!

Now, the weight, the LCD screen casing is thin, but, I doubt the weight is 3.7 lbs as advertised. I have not weight it yet, but it feels more like 4 to 4.1 lbs. I bought this vaio to replace my 700m and it feels about the same in weight, may be the size of the 700m is slightly smaller, I actually feel the 700m is slightly lighter which Dell claims the 700m is ~4.1 lbs.

But who cares! You get one of the best laptop on the market, that's the key!

 

As long as you get 450 and above, its all good

 

If someone would have explained the difference between the LED backlit screen and the regular I would have gone for the Premium hands down.

I had a chance to look closer at the screen between the premium and regular X-brites and the LED backlit screen is so much easier to look at, brighter, etc. I initially thought, well if it's brighter then it might use more power right? Wrong, it's supposed to have better battery life due to more power efficient LEDs (or about the same according to some people's actual experience). but the funny thing is, I KNEW about LED backlighting coming to notebooks, but didn't expect or know that any current models had the technology yet!

Once a Santa Rosa SZ drops, I'll probably go for one w/ the LED backlit screen this time and sell my 430SZ.

 

Yeah --- I have found it curious that this info wasn't/isn't highlighted more on Sony's website. I lucked into one of the premium screens.. and definitely found it to be several steps above the non-premium SZ screen.

So it goes!

 

I on the other hand am not a backlit LED fan, I prefer the traditional LEDs if that was X-Bright. I noticed that the LED display around the edges are a tad brighter then the rest of the screen making it look color disorientated.

 

Is it possible to change "normal" display to premium? (i.e. if my cureent display breaks)

 

You mean the LCD yes? I would think it would be the same process as replacing any other laptop screen, and I see no reason why you shouldn't be able to.

 

I doubt the thicker casing would fit the thinner LED backlite unit nicely, unless you change the LCD casing too, which i think will be too costly and mind as well, sell yours and get a premium model brand new

 

Well, i meant only LCD.. Thought that if the panel from premium uses LED backlight, that there is some issues with electricity plugging or need of some different part..

Fastorange: I bought mine for about $1600 and the same (a bit worse) config from premium series cost more than $3100 in my country.. :/

 

Premium will get you laid at Starbucks.

 

True, and if the first digit in the product name is a big one, it will get you a twosome. Seeing that I'm a "4" and you're just a "1", looks like I'm taking home Mindy and Cindy tonight.

BJ

 

I didn't know that would be such a big difference in price in your country, I doubt your normal version SZ is a legit import if the premium version is $1500 more. Unless you didn't buy yours in your country.

 

It is, but bought directly from importer, and the price of premium is taken from an ordinary e-shop..

Found on e-bay yesterday, SZ Premium screen 13,3" for $630

 

Here is mine normal version SZ340P4, paid $970 last year with $600 trade-in deal. Can't beat the price.

Windows Vista Business <-- upgraded recently
Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 2.0G
13.3" WXGA
RAM: 2G DDR2 677 <-- upgraded recently
HD: 120GB 7200 rpm <-- upgraded recently
Dual Layer DVD Burner
Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 and Intel GMA950
Video Memory NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400(TurboCache up to 128MB) and GMA950(Shared up to 128MB)
Communication Modem, LAN and WLAN
Card slot 1 x Type I / II CardBus slot with CardBus support
1 x ExpressCard / 34 slot
Battery Life 3.5-6.0 hours
Dimensions 12.5" x 9.3" x 1.0-1.5"
Weight 4.07 lbs.
Biometric Fingerprint Sensor
Built-in camera and microphone

 

What is the difference between SZ430, 450, and 490?

 

Dear All, (i am writing this without reading earlier responses. So dont know if my answer is same as the others)

there are 3 options of SZ,

Magnesium Casing : the model no. ends with 'B' example VGN-SZ430N/B
Carbon Casing : The model no ends with 'C' example VGN-SZ450N/C
Premium Carbon Casing: The model no ends with 'X' example VGN-SZ491N/X

Second & third option are referred to as Premium (unlike first whcih is standard)

Standard option inside materal colour is silver ( where you rest your palms)
in case of Premium its premium finished deep grey

 

I have the SZ460N/C premium. Recently sold the SZ430N/B to pay for the premium.

Having seen both, my opinion is that the premium is nicer. Both seem to have the same specs.

For the premium, I didn't like the super slim LCD. It seems like you can almost flex it as you open it. But it is lighter than the other.

As for carbon fiber, I was hoping to see some weaving patterns in the case. But unfortunately, I believe it's carbon fiber composite.

For the 430N/B, the LCD is more sturdy and feels like it can take a beating.
The magnesium casing isn't too bad either. I like the two tone look of black LCD and silver keyboard frame/palmrest.

I would definitely pay more for the premium if you're concerned about weight issues. But I would just buy the non-premium if specs are pretty much the same. That is if you paying retail price or close to it!

I was lucky to make it to CompUSA before they closed down their store by me. Got the 460N/C for $1400 and the 430N/B for $1000!:wink:
Both were brand new in box. Actually had a few 430's but maxxed credit card.

Could of made a crap load of money but oh well.
At least my premium was pretty much free after profits!

 

Loud Fan?

I just bought a SZ 460N/C yesterday. It was a very hard decision, but I loved everything about it, so I finally put down the money.

However, as soon as I turned it on, I noticed the loud fan. 24 hours later, the fan is still on, and still annoying me. I have tried all of the different power settings, and it never seems to get below an annoying noise level. Is this commonplace?

For those of you who have the 460, will this fan always be so loud? And for those with the 430 or other models, is the fan any less annoying? I might have to return it if this doesn't stop.

 

There is a setting to reduce fan speed in the vaio power management options. Don't remember exactly where, but I did see it. If I recall, It was also pre-programmed to one the S1, S2 buttons by default.

You must work in total silence because I can hardly hear my 460 fan. I sometimes have to feel the back to make sure the thing is working! Or maybe it's just me!

 

Oy...

Your magical weight sensing abilities need some work. You should have "weight [sic] it" before posting.

With the standard battery and no PCMCIA cards onboard the Premium SZ does indeed weigh 3.721 lbs.

 

Is the 3.721 lbs. with or without the stickers? :wink:

 

3.695 lbs. without the stickers. Once I get my hands on a micrometer, I'll post the new thickness metrics too.

BJ