Hey all! I am looking to invest between 1000 - 1500 pounds on a new laptop. I use my laptop a LOT from games (wow to bf bad company 2) to solidworks CAD modeling. I am looking into some portability so I excluded alienware from this comparison. I currently have a 17 inch acer aspire that is getting quite old. I am interested in the 15-16 inch market. I am basically looking for a mix of portability and power. My favorite models are currently MBP (mac book pro)and Sony Vaio. I would appreciate your opinions on the following systems.
Hdd space is not a priority for me. I am looking for a 7200 rpm one though
1.
Ok so the MBP - 1838 pounds ( 1530 after student discount )
# 2.66GHz Intel Core i7
# 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
# 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
# NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512 MB
# SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
# MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display
# None
# Backlit Keyboard (British) & User's Guide (English)
8h battery time
2.
Sony Vaio F series £ 1,329.01 16 inch
#
* Intel CoreTM i7-740QM, 1.73GHz
* Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
* Premium Black
* 320 GB Serial ATA (7200 rpm)
* 8 GB 1333MHz DDR3-SDRAM
* DVD disc drive
* 41.6 cm LCD, 1920x1080, webcam
* NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 330M 1GB
3-4 hours bat time
3. Sony Vaio E series £ 858.98 15 inch ( + a ram upgrade )
#
* Intel® CoreTM i5-520M, 2.40GHz
* Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
* White
* 320 GB Serial ATA (7200 rpm)
* 6 GB 1066MHz DDR3-SDRAM
* DVD disc drive
* 39.4 cm LCD, 1920x1080, webcam
* ATI MobilityRadeon HD5650 1GB
* Office 2010 Starter
* No protection
* No Adobe® Creation
* No Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom
# Also Included
* HDMI(TM) output
* English QWERTY keyboard
* Battery life up to 3 hours
* 1 AC Adapter
* Ports: 3 USB + 1 e-SATA/USB
* SD and MS card slot
* English documentation
* Wireless LAN + Bluetooth®
* English operating system
* Office 2010 Starter
* No protection
* No Adobe® Creation
* No Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom
# Also Included
* English QWERTY keyboard
* SD and MS card slot
* 1 AC Adapter
* Wireless LAN + Bluetooth
* HDMI(TM) output
* English documentation
* English operating system
* Battery life up to 3 hours
I have a few questions :
1. The E series looks like a good choice money wise. How would the different GPU and i5 processor affect the performance. ( I know it only comes with 6gb ram but I am planning on upgrading to 8 right away )
2. Although I would most likely use windows, my favorite design is the MBP. Its more sleek and looks more 'professional'. How is the MBP processor different from the Sony Vaio F series and how much would the 4gb ram affect the performance for nowadays requirements ? Is 8gb overkill ?
3. Although I really like the MBP ( just the look not the os ) its quite a bit more expensive. And my final question is: How much better are the specs on the Vaio F and E series ? Is apple just overpriced ?
4. My friend has the MBP 15 and the lcd quality is amazing. Even games such as wow look really great and I was wondering on the lcd quality of the vaio laptops. Do they also have vibrant colors? I would welcome and input on this matter.
I would really appreciate any advice ! Im stuck in between these models and I'm not sure which is of better component quality and longer life expectancy, and how the GPUs and processors differ !
Thank you
Regards
Hdd space is not a priority for me. I am looking for a 7200 rpm one though
1.
Ok so the MBP - 1838 pounds ( 1530 after student discount )
# 2.66GHz Intel Core i7
# 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
# 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
# NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512 MB
# SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
# MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display
# None
# Backlit Keyboard (British) & User's Guide (English)
8h battery time
2.
Sony Vaio F series £ 1,329.01 16 inch
#
* Intel CoreTM i7-740QM, 1.73GHz
* Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
* Premium Black
* 320 GB Serial ATA (7200 rpm)
* 8 GB 1333MHz DDR3-SDRAM
* DVD disc drive
* 41.6 cm LCD, 1920x1080, webcam
* NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 330M 1GB
3-4 hours bat time
3. Sony Vaio E series £ 858.98 15 inch ( + a ram upgrade )
#
* Intel® CoreTM i5-520M, 2.40GHz
* Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
* White
* 320 GB Serial ATA (7200 rpm)
* 6 GB 1066MHz DDR3-SDRAM
* DVD disc drive
* 39.4 cm LCD, 1920x1080, webcam
* ATI MobilityRadeon HD5650 1GB
* Office 2010 Starter
* No protection
* No Adobe® Creation
* No Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom
# Also Included
* HDMI(TM) output
* English QWERTY keyboard
* Battery life up to 3 hours
* 1 AC Adapter
* Ports: 3 USB + 1 e-SATA/USB
* SD and MS card slot
* English documentation
* Wireless LAN + Bluetooth®
* English operating system
* Office 2010 Starter
* No protection
* No Adobe® Creation
* No Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom
# Also Included
* English QWERTY keyboard
* SD and MS card slot
* 1 AC Adapter
* Wireless LAN + Bluetooth
* HDMI(TM) output
* English documentation
* English operating system
* Battery life up to 3 hours
I have a few questions :
1. The E series looks like a good choice money wise. How would the different GPU and i5 processor affect the performance. ( I know it only comes with 6gb ram but I am planning on upgrading to 8 right away )
2. Although I would most likely use windows, my favorite design is the MBP. Its more sleek and looks more 'professional'. How is the MBP processor different from the Sony Vaio F series and how much would the 4gb ram affect the performance for nowadays requirements ? Is 8gb overkill ?
3. Although I really like the MBP ( just the look not the os ) its quite a bit more expensive. And my final question is: How much better are the specs on the Vaio F and E series ? Is apple just overpriced ?
4. My friend has the MBP 15 and the lcd quality is amazing. Even games such as wow look really great and I was wondering on the lcd quality of the vaio laptops. Do they also have vibrant colors? I would welcome and input on this matter.
I would really appreciate any advice ! Im stuck in between these models and I'm not sure which is of better component quality and longer life expectancy, and how the GPUs and processors differ !
Thank you
Regards
