What is so great about a 700m? - Page 3

with your reasoning for not needing a 2.0 ghz on the 700m... then what's the point of having a larger screen and/or a better video card if you don't play games at all?

Different people have different needs, and clearly there are pro's and con's to every laptop, including the 700m, sony s series and every other model out there in the same "category" so to speak...

the main reason for getting the 700m was the price and the fact that it got me more "bang for my buck" as it had better specs than the sony s series. (notwithstanding the video card, which i don't care about and don't even know what the differences between them are).

but i have to admit, the look, style, design, and brand power of the SONY S series was appealing to me when i was still on the market for a laptop..but thought better of it when i realized that I personally could have saved some money with a 700m for what i needed it for...

recently.. a lot of my video editing is done on my 700m .. just because most of the time that i do it, i'm out with a client..

on my desktop i'm running dual 17" monitors with 1280 x 1040 on each, but it doesnt make taht big of a difference when i go to my 700m. on the desktop, it's mostly wasted real estate anway. and everything seems to play just fine on an integrated card.. and jsut because you cancelled your order doesnt mean that you didnt think it was worth it.. like you said in the post, .. that you are gonna wait for the 14"

and lets go back to the original question...

What is so great about a 700m?

size and price..

is that good enough for you? you wouldn't pay for soemthing that you could get cheaper. now i understand that the video card is worth it to you, but for many of us who own 700m's. it doesnt make a difference

Yeah, this has gotten a bit off-topic.

For those that say that the 700m has certain advantages over the Sony S360, may I ask what they are? The only advantage I can see is price. Their sizes are pretty much the same:

Sony Vaio VGN-S360
Dimensions: 12.3" x 8.9" x 1.4"
Weight: ~4.2lbs

Dell Inspiron 700m
Dimensions: 11.7" x 8.5" x 1.5"
Weight: ~4.1lbs

Yet the S360 packs a 13.3 WXGA LCD versus a 12.1" WXGA LCD on the 700m, and the S360 also packs an ATI 9700 64mb dedicated video card, which is clearly superior to the Intel Integrated video card in the 700m. As such, I urge all of you to consider the Sony Vaio VGN-S360 if you're planning on buying the Dell Inspiron 700m without using any Dell coupons (why would you not in the first place? lol). I believe you can buy a new Sony Vaio VGN-360 for $1599 after a rebate or two, although the S360's are a bit hard to find nowadays since they've been succeeded by the S380/S460 (which IMHO, as well as a bunch of other members on this forum, feel are actually inferior to the "older" S360/S270....less battery-life, worse video card, runs hotter, etc.).

The way I see it, at Dell's current prices and built-in/instant promotions (20%off), you can buy a 700m with a similar configuration to the S360 (1.6GHz, 512mb RAM 1dimm, 80GB HDD, 24x CDRW/DVD combo drive, 802.11b/g wireless, 1yr warranty, 4cell standard battery) for $1262. Or most people here would probably spend $1102 and opt for just 1x256mb RAM, but buy another 256mb stick of RAM for ~$30. So it'll end up costing your $1132-$1262 for a new Dell 700m with similar specs to the S360 at "regular price". So whether or not the extra $337-$467 is worth it to upgrade to a S360 with a bigger LCD (13.3" versus 12.1") and a significantly better video card (ATI 9700 64mb dedicated versus Intel Integrated which shares RAM with your system RAM) is up to you. Also, some say the S360 has bettery build-quality than the 700m, but thats kind of subjective, and I haven't seen a 700m in person, so I cannot say.

If you don't play any games, and get in on one of Dell's seemingly regular $750 off $1499+ purchase coupon promotion, then getting a Dell 700m for ~$750 is a no-brainer (the last coupon could have bought you a 1.6GHz, 256mb RAM 1dimm, 40GB HDD, 8x DVD burner, 802.11b/g wireless, 2yr warranty 700m for $750!!!! 2yr warranty and a DVD burner, WOW!

So no doubt about it, the Dell 700m is a MUCH better value, if you happen to catch a $750 off $1499+ coupon, and don't plan on playing any games. However, if you plan on getting a 700m at "regular price", or need/want to play games, you may want to consider the Sony Vaio VGN-S360.

There's my quick summary of my thoughts/opinions lol, sorry if it got so long. Most people claim to have no problems video editing on the Intel integrated video card on the 700m, so its a matter of if you want to game or not that'll decide if you need a S360 or not. I personally think that the Sony Vaio VGN-S360 is perfect for me, since I tried both "desktop replacement" (Gateway M6805 and Dell 6000d) and "thin-and-light" (IBM T40 and Dell 600m) laptops, as well as those in between the two categories lol (Compal CL56...6.25lbs). The "desktop replacements" were quite powerful, and satisfied all my gaming needs, but were just a bit too heavy at 7+lbs to be very feasible to carry around 5hrs+ daily. The "thin-and-lights" were fine for portability, but their video cards weren't nearly as powerful as I would have liked (ATI 9000). To find a laptop that is even lighter/smaller than the "thin-and-lights" that I have used, yet still packs a reasonably powerful video card (ATI 9700)? That's perfect for me! I can't wait to get my S360 on Friday! I was going to pull the trigger on the 700m for $750, and just deal with not being able to play many games, but then i heard about the sony S360.

In the end, you have to thoroughly analyze what your needs are as well as your budget. You'll be hard-pressed to find a Sony Vaio VGN-S360 for less than $1599 new (unless you try your luck on eBay) or otherwise, a used one on eBay/forums can be had for $1100-$1400. In contrast, a new 700m can be had for $750-$1262 with similar specs to the S360 (sans the video card of course). So decide if you want to play games or not, and go from there . Good luck!

try a 2.0 ghz processor, 8x DVD burner, and 1gb of RAM (purchased separately) and an additional 4 cell battery to go along with the 8 cell battery all for around $1100, including 2 concession coupons after purchase which got me a free kengington ultra saddlebag and other goodies for a value of about $100.

the s360 does have a larger screen and better graphics, but the cost difference is dramatic between the two and its not as if the s360 is a true gaming machine along the lines of an xps2 or something...

the s360 would have cost me around $1900 plus tax out the door (around $2000) and then i would have had to wait about 2-3 months for about $250 worth of rebates...

Of course, if money was not an important factor in my decision, i would be typing on a sony s360 right now just because of the "cool" factor...

I personally think the 12" WXGA is the perfect size screen for a thin/light/ultraportable. I could also play WoW on my 1.1ghz P7010, at low-res however. On the S260 I could play WoW also, but it was chugging like crazy. Most people don't need a 3D graphics card in such a smal laptop.

So Sony has in fact done a good job in finding a niche for its product. The 13" screen is large enough for games and they have the 3D card. Sony also appeals to a certain group of people.

Everyone else however, must see the value in the 700m.

I believe the 700m to be better value, but the addition of the MR9700 64Mb in the Sony would make it a better choice for people who want to play a few games.