Question:
Broke old VAIO, need thin and light
So....I accidentally pushed my moms VAIO PCG FX240 off the couch, and it fell directly on the PC Card, so that broke completely and there is no wifi on it. I hooked up a USB wireless adapter, but she still isnt comfortable with that. To replace her VAIO, my mother repossesed my FJ, and I am stuck using her FX.
There isnt really a problem with her VAIO, it was a $2500 machine back in its day, but its day was gone 6 years ago. Its a tad slow, with its 800MHz P3 and 128MB RAM (took 2 mins to open FF), and its battery life borders on 15mins...which makes it utterly useless.
Safe to say, I will be getting myself a new laptop before the year is out. I have a few picks (at the end) but I'll go through the FAQ first:
1) What is your budget?
$1300, give or take a few
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
a. Ultraportable; 12" screen or less
b. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen (if under 6lbs)
Mainly, I want it portable. 6 lbs max for a 15.4, 5.5 for 14" or under
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Basic office tasks, Internet, University stuff, movies, music, gaming
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Carrying it to university daily
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Need for Speed Most Wanted and NFS Carbon, Racer
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Dell Inspirons, Compaq Presario, Toshibas are all not good, the first two because of subpar quality, Tosh because of that horrid keyboard layout
ThinkPads and Asus are best, I also like Apple, Sony, Dell and HP business lines, Fujitsu. And Ferraris.
7) How many hours of battery life do you need?
3 or more.
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
I have seen almost all, so it doesnt matter.
9) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in?
USA, Seattle, if it helps.
Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
They have their pros and cons. Doesnt matter all that much.
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
Standard
b. SXGA - 1400x1050 - Compromise resolution between XGA and UXGA.
Widescreen
d. WXGA or WXGA+ - 1280x768/800 or 1440x900; Wider viewing version of XGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
e. WSXGA+ - 1680x1050; Wider viewing version of SXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
Doesnt matter much, again, they both have pros and cons.
Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
I will check it out before I buy, but Im pretty open, just no Compal ugliness.
14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
This Holiday season, before New Years.
Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 160GB?
80GB
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
DVDRW
I am really liking the ThinkPad T60, especially with Lenovo's incentives and all. I configured a 14" SXGA+ with the T7200, X1400, 1GB ram, 80GB hdd, DVDRW, Fingerprint scanner, and Intel Wifi for $1234 (:D) plus tax, which I thought was an excellent deal.
The nc6320 (or something like that, the 14" widescreen with X1300) comes in at $1300 at Newegg, and I can get an nc8430 (15.4 widescreen with X1600 -- really bad with HP model names) with low specs for $1400 there as well.
D620 looks decent, but the graphics are pretty poor. XPS M1210 will run me $1400, but otherwise its pretty nice.
SZ and W7J are pretty expensive, $1600 adn $1500 respectively, with lower specs than the T60.
The Acer Ferrari 1000 is bloody expensive and subpar performance-wise, but I love Ferraris...
The last three can be ruled out for price reasons. Are there any other choices?
Answer:
Re: Broke old VAIO, need thin and light
I would of said x60s tablet, but with your gaming needs I would go with a t60.
Answer:
Re: Broke old VAIO, need thin and light
I don't know if you can get this in the U.S.A, but check this out. Nvidia's 7300 though.