[Mattd76]

I'm looking to buy a laptop for college and I found a nice looking Sony Vaio in best buy. It has 6gb RAM, 400gb hard drive, a good graphics card, and Core 2 duo processor so it meets all my requirements. heres the link to the computer, I'm pretty sure this is the same one.
Sony - VAIO Laptop with Intel® Centrino® 2 Processor Technology - Chocolate Brown - VGN-FW480J/T

Just wondering what some of the more computer knowledgeable think of sony computers because I have never owned. I am also open to other suggestions beside macs and it has to have similar specs to this one.

[Lefty]

Vaio's are nice. But I'm also a big fan/supporter of HP. I won't usually buy any computer except for an HP. But like I said. The Vaio's are a nice piece of equipment and w/ 6 gigs of RAM and a 400hd w/ dual core processor you'll be very happy with it.

[ModularSteed]

let me start by saying that is a pretty good computer. However, the processor speed could be better than 2Ghz. the front side bus is 1066mhz thats excellent. the downside to this pc is that the vista Os is 64bit and the screen resolution is slightly uncommon which could pose a problem with background stretching and gaming. this might become a hassle since not all programs are compatible with it. for example: if you get microsoft office you have to purchase 64bit edition. alot of programs dont have a 64bit edition. It is the same way with virus protection. what are you planning to do with this computer?

[Lefty]

True...if it's not for hardcore gaming it'll be a very nice piece of equipment

[Mattd76]

I'm a mechanical engineering major and will be using it to run design programs along with all other basic college work. I talked to my professor when I went to my school for orientation and he said that our laptops should have minimum 4gb ram and 300gb hard drive but if we got more it would be better. They also need a pretty good graphics card. That is why I like the specs on this computer.

[ModularSteed]

I prefer to get dell just because you can customize it the way you want. try customizing a cheaper one so that by the time its $1000 it will be the way you want it
for design i would get a better screen resolution. i currently have 1920x1200 which is the best you can get. it makes everything more clear and smaller so you can have more on your screen at a time.

look at the xps studio 16 for 1299. it has a 2 yr warranty and a light up keyboard that might come in handy
Dell Studio XPS 16 Laptop Details

[Dennis]

yea you could get the same or better specs out of a hp or dell for less money. fuck a bunch of sony. you pay out the ass just for the name.

[Mattd76]

That dell looks pretty good. Would having 2gb less ram make a noticeable difference in performance.

[ModularSteed]

probably not but you can always upgrade the ram. click the customize tool under the one you want

[Mattd76]

Yea I know Its just a lot of money to upgrade the dell to 6gb ram so I would probably leave it at 4gb.

[ModularSteed]

you can always buy more ram later

[2006GTARPD3]

Dont settle for less with a computer is my thought.

Technology especially with computers changes almost every 6 months. The pc you get today will be outdated in prob a year or so. Go big now so you don't have to later.

[Mattd76]

I know I should get the best now so I don't have to worry about it later. I just have to convince my parents to pay for the best.

[ModularSteed]

well dell has 12 months same as cash

[crashnebula]

getting the best now means you wont have to replace in 2 months...now it will be 4 )))

[mustangkid87]

Originally Posted by 97stang4.6l let me start by saying that is a pretty good computer. However, the processor speed could be better than 2Ghz. the front side bus is 1066mhz thats excellent. the downside to this pc is that the vista Os is 64bit and the screen resolution is slightly uncommon which could pose a problem with background stretching and gaming. this might become a hassle since not all programs are compatible with it. for example: if you get microsoft office you have to purchase 64bit edition. alot of programs dont have a 64bit edition. It is the same way with virus protection. what are you planning to do with this computer?

Definitely wrong.

If you buy a 32 bit OS and a 64 bit program they won't work. But 64 bit OS's are backwards compatible with almost all software (you might have some problems with 8 bit and 16 bit. but why the hell are you running that shit anyway).

You'll most likely be fine with a 64 bit OS. I've been running ONLY 64 bit OS's for about 3-4 years now, and I've never had any issues with programs not installing.

As for the screen size. 1600x900 is supported by most newer games. I wouldn't worry about that either.

[sikedsyko]

Try this ASUS on for size.
Newegg.com - ASUS N51 Series N51VN-A1 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T9600(2.80GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory 320GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 240M - Laptops / Notebooks
It's 50$ more but, it has a much better processor and graphics card. It's only got 4gigs of ram, but that should run CAD applications just fine