HP or Sony

CuppaCocoa

Don't like Dell. Like both of these. Don't do any gaming so don't need any bells or whistles. The Sony is from Laptops Direct and I'm a bit wary of using them having read the comments posted here. However, the price is good and delivery is supposed to be within 48 hours. The HP is from PC World. Both have 1 year guarantee. The HP is 1,250 and the Sony is 981. Both have similar specs. Am leaning towards the Sony as I like the style and it is much cheaper. The HP has a 14" screen and a case like the iPod Nano e.g. glossy black so a bit worried about scratching. Any comments as to specs?

HP DV2045EA - SAVE €100!
€1249.99

Processor Type Intel Core Duo T2300E
Processor speed 1660 mhz
Memory Size 1024 mb
Memory Type DDR2
Hard Drive Capacity 100 GB
Optical Drives Super Multi DVD Writer
Screen Size/Type 14.1" WXGA
Graphics Card Type Intel Graphics Media Acceler
Graphics Memory 128 Shared MB
Sound Type 3D Soundblaster Pro
Modem Type 56k
Wireless Enabled Yes
No. of USB Connections 3
No. of Firewire Connections 1
Other Interfaces VGA
Battery Type Li-ion
Battery life (up to) 3.5 hours
Software Titles Included Microsoft Works 8.0
Operating system Win XP Home
Weight 3.40 kg
Height 38 mm
Width 390 mm
Depth 280 mm

Sony Vaio FS515H Laptop - VGN-FS515H
• €866.14
• Intel Pentium-M 740 Processor 1.73 GHz
• 512MB DDRII-533MHz SDRAM – (for an extra 512MB add €90)
• 80 GB Hard Drive
• DVDRW- Dual Layer Drive - To read DVDs and CDs and write CDs, DVD+, DVD- and large Dual Layer DVD
• 15.4" WXGA Widescreen TFT Screen x-Black Technology
• Intel GMA 900 DVMT 3.0 128 MB shared graphics
• Integrated wireless 802.11b/g LAN -
• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Pre Loaded
• 1 year warranty - upgradeable to 3 years
• + €25 for 48 hour delivery charge
• TOTAL PRICE INCLUDING DELIVERY + EXTRA MEMORY = €981.14

majiktripp

My two cents worth...deep breath...Dont buy HP/Compaq,there crap built,over heating behemoths that never do the job right and have GOD awful support, I challange anyone to try and find if their warranty is still valid on the HP website....just try!!....avoid avoid HP....I dont like HP.....etc

TempestSabre

The HP is a better spec but I'm a fan of the Sony's, and used one for years. That said I've just bought a Dell from the outlet as it was about 40% the cost of a similar sony model. Otherwise I'd have bought another Sony.

CuppaCocoa

Thanks. I'm leaning towards the Sony. Did take a look at Dell but for similar specs (but with an extra 40gig) it worked out about 900 so only a saving of 100. Besides - the Sony looks nicer!

TempestSabre

Well I went for a 640m and a 9 cell battery to get a long battery life. I'd need to get a much more expensive Sony to beat that. Plus as I'll be lugging it about its more likely to get damaged and or lost.

CuppaCocoa

The 640 doesn't seem to have a wireless card and it's a 60 gb compared to the 80 gb Sony.

TempestSabre

That would depend how you configure it. The one I ordered had Intel Core Duo T2400 @ 1.83GHz, WiFi, 1GB RAM, DVDRW, 80GB (5,400), WXGA Display (1440 x 900) and a 9 Cell battery. For approx €700 incl VAT, and 1yr warranty. I actually wanted the slower 1.6 to save on battery, but this was a better deal at the time. I got a 120GB in a Celeron M Inspiron 1300 of a similar spec for approx €560 recently too.

The Sony is hands down a much nicer laptop with a better screen, and keyboard. For me, unless you are gaming, the spec isn't all that important. Weight screen, keyboard and portability are the primary factors.

Maybe I'll hate the Dell. Who knows.

CuppaCocoa

Thanks for the advice. Went ahead and ordered the Sony from Laptops Direct. Hope everything goes smoothly. One thought though - will I have to pay vat? Isn't there a difference in vat rates between the U.K. and Ireland? :eek:

sdanseo

Seems I'm 7 minutes too late, but you missed out on this

Much cheaper depending on how you configure, HP are better made than sony and considerably more reliable...oh well enjoy the sony anyway:D

VAT in the UK is 17.5% and here it's 21% so the difference is only 3.5% - on E866 that's only E30 either way...

TempestSabre

sdonn_1 wrote:

...HP are better made than sony and considerably more reliable......

Any links to back that up?

Spipov

well. i had a pcg-sr1k. horrible little thing that would keep getting into trouble. and the mouse touchpad got shot. never ever was able to get that repaired.sony wanted to charge me just to talk to me about it. disgusting.

i got an hp nc4000 now. getting to a year old. not a single bother with it. nada. most reliable little thing ever.

ive been looking over for an nc4200 as my next upgrade next year or whichever hp ultraportable there is. havnt had a problem with them! support is really great, u can chat with customer service online and they usually find solutions to problems in a minute (had a compaq 1223 and 1241 that had driver issues. sorted within minutes.)

Cheers!

TempestSabre

So Sony's are bad because because you had no warranty, and HP are great because you do? Great logic. :rolleyes:

sdanseo

TempestSabre wrote:

Any links to back that up?

A mate of mine recently bought a Sony that's way under specced for its price, they're more expensive than HP's, as theyre seen as higher quality (me ar*e)...whereas I've had 2 HP's in the past year, laptop and desktop, and apart from a small part that failed which was quickly replaced I couldnt be much happier with them. Their customer service is excellent etc etc. We also run 36 HPs in schoool (P3's) - still running as they were made to 6 years on...

They have a much longer histor in IT and know what they are doing...Sony should stick to HiFi's and MP3 players

Oh and before anyone says it, the mate wouldnt listen to me when i told him this - his loss:rolleyes:

TempestSabre

So thats a no to the links then.

On one project we installed/delivered about 1000 laptops. About 30 of them were DOA. Does that mean Dell are bad laptops? I don't think so. I dunno what a desktop relability has got to do with a laptop either. They are completely different both in build and how they are used. Regardless a large percentage of desktops/laptops from different brands are built with the same components, the main difference is usually the chassis and occasionally the motherboard.

On another project we decomissioned about 1500 old PC's of various types, probably about 3 or 4 different brands of OEM machine. Stripping out ram, hd, CD's etc. The components were mostly the same across all brands. They seemed so change depending on age more than brand. The changes are most likely due to which ever component is cheapest at the time of assembly. So Seagate drive might be popular for a few months then a Western Digital etc. Ram might be Samsing for a while, then some other brand etc.

Spipov

TempestSabre wrote:

So Sony's are bad because because you had no warranty, and HP are great because you do? Great logic. :rolleyes:

i dont think thats what i meant. i didnt talk about warranty at all. none of them had warranty. but hp customer service did help (and talking about 1200 presario's, do u think theyd still have warranty?) and sony werent good about it.

might have not phrased it when i said the hp is getting a year old. i have had for a year, but bought it second hand. (so no warranty then)

TempestSabre

So basically you are recommending them based on free lifetime technical support. I didn't realise they offered this.

Cryos

majiktripp wrote:

My two cents worth...deep breath...Dont buy HP/Compaq,there crap built,over heating behemoths that never do the job right and have GOD awful support, I challange anyone to try and find if their warranty is still valid on the HP website....just try!!....avoid avoid HP....I dont like HP.....etc

http://h40059.www4.hp.com/warranty/ - two seconds to google.

I see your comments day in day out slating HP, yet you never provide any sustinance to what your putting out. I am both a HP Employee and HP Customer and have Mutiple HP products from before the time i started with HP including Pavilion zv5x series notebooks i have never had a problem with it from day one.

Likewise i have friends who have baught hp laptops for college / gaming and have never had problems, these are Ex Dell people who were fed up sending their laptop back to Dell to get their Hard Drives and motherboards replaced.

If you pass me any case refrance ID's i will be be more than happy to look them up to verify your accusations.

tempestsabre wrote:

So Sony's are bad because because you had no warranty, and HP are great because you do? Great logic.

Pull apart a HP and a Sony and you will acctually find that most of the main components are the same, the sony is a beautifull unit and i know a few people with them aswell and they are really happy I cant fault either HP or Sony it just depends what name you want on your laptop is the only way i can differenciate...

slightly lost

I have a hp. NX7010. I have a Sony. Brand new Sony ZS spec.

meh to the arguments of which is better. To cut a long story short prior to my 1 year warranty ending with my NX7010 I told HP it was very sluggish and had issues with "offline" files and they took a look at it. Very surprised when it came back with a new mobo and GFX.

It came back with the bluetooth button stuck in (but not effecting its on/off'ness) So I mentioned it to the HP helpdesk and they said send it back. I was a bit busy so I didn't get around to it for a few months. What made me get up off my ass was I broke the battery and it wouldn't recharge. So I rang hp and it turned out I had missed my 90 day window of fixing a repair...eh..repair (I was lying to them and said it ws like that after the repair... I was out of warranty at this stage) The nice people at hp after a bit of my blather agreed to take a look. They fixed it at no charge but it was another mobo. They have good support here in ireland.

I went for a sony this time due to weight and power + GFX. It is a high end piece of kit and weighs 1.6 kg with battery + in built dvd drive. I'd just like to say at this point...Boo..Hiss to dick head lap top people who give false weight ratings, like alienware. "Battery not included in weight" Spanners!! Like you are not going to travel with the bloody battery?

Warranty is the key to a note book. You can have a bash at fixing a PC bar a mobo being fried but note books are a bit more delicate and parts way more expensive.

Regardless of what one you choose I'd suggest always getting the best warranty you can. I got the 3 year NBD with my sony.

OP as you bought the Sony.... the screen is second to none for visual pleasure

majiktripp

Blitz wrote:

http://h40059.www4.hp.com/warranty/ - two seconds to google.

Firstly I shouldn't have to google anything to find where it is on the wesbite , it should be there plain and easy to find once I goto HP.com to find out...I have had numerous people compaining to me about the lack of transparency on the HP website regarding easy access to information about their laptop warranty and support.

Blitz wrote:

If you pass me any case refrance ID's i will be be more than happy to look them up to verify your accusations

Secondly you might work for HP and think they're the best baddest boys in town but I have to fix the ****e they produce day in day out and in the percentage of laptops I personally see/fix/deal with in my business they are the biggest bulkiest piles of crap I have the pleasure of touching....take that whatever way you want.

DocO

Hey guys, hopefully this aint too much off topic - but can i please get advice on which laptop to purchase myself??

i will be buying it in 1 month or so and am ignorant to what i should be looking for.

I do intend to use it for Poker, and would like the memory and speed to be efficient, also i would like to pay around the 1,000 mark (obv willing to go higher if obvious jump in class, but would be happy to save as much money as possible)

I would like to have it for numerous years (2-3 atleast)

And finally should i try and get it online to save money, or an outlet store, if so were??

Sorry for all the questions, hopefully some1 has the info, and patience to reply for me (with exact name, model and how i would get it, as unfortunately i am clueless)

Really would appreciate any responses, preferably tru PM so i can save the advice.

Thanks in Advance!!

TempestSabre

Blitz wrote:

http://h40059.www4.hp.com/warranty/ - two seconds to google....

Whats a UK warranty site got to do with it?

Blitz wrote:

Pull apart a HP and a Sony and you will acctually find that most of the main components are the same, the sony is a beautifull unit and i know a few people with them aswell and they are really happy I cant fault either HP or Sony it just depends what name you want on your laptop is the only way i can differenciate...

I know I made that point earlier that the components are the same.

For me the Sony design is obviously different. I'm surprised you can't tell them apart otherwise.

sdanseo

DocO wrote:

Hey guys, hopefully this aint too much off topic - but can i please get advice on which laptop to purchase myself??

i will be buying it in 1 month or so and am ignorant to what i should be looking for.

I do intend to use it for Poker, and would like the memory and speed to be efficient, also i would like to pay around the 1,000 mark (obv willing to go higher if obvious jump in class, but would be happy to save as much money as possible)

I would like to have it for numerous years (2-3 atleast)

And finally should i try and get it online to save money, or an outlet store, if so were??

Sorry for all the questions, hopefully some1 has the info, and patience to reply for me (with exact name, model and how i would get it, as unfortunately i am clueless)

Really would appreciate any responses, preferably tru PM so i can save the advice.

Thanks in Advance!!

Start a new thread mate, you'll get more replies.:D

CuppaCocoa

:mad: Back to the drawing board I'm afraid. Have cancelled my order with Laptops Direct . When I rang to track the order I was told that my contact number was incorrect and they couldn't process my order without it. Turns out they had an incorrect digit (nothing to do with country code as they then rang me back to confirm). They never asked me for my e-mail address which could have avoided all this. This put the order back by a day. I was told yesterday that I would have it on Monday. Today I ring just to confirm and was told it wasn't in stock yet and was only coming in to them on Monday and it would be Wednesday before I would receive it. Why didn't they tell me this yesterday? I get the feeling that if I rang on Monday I'd get some other excuse. Luckily they hadn't processed my payment yet so I was able to cancel. Looks like I'll have to take a trip to PC World tomorrow as I really need to get one a.s.a.p. I'm really miffed at their customer service or lack of. They could have rung me now that they have the correct number or maybe that was an excuse also!

TempestSabre

I've bought a couple of Dells off the outlet lately, only took about a week, two at most to arrive. Basic machines, but a good deal at the price.

Cryos

TempestSabre wrote:

Whats a UK warranty site got to do with it?



I know I made that point earlier that the components are the same.

For me the Sony design is obviously different. I'm surprised you can't tell them apart otherwise.

yeh, the sony is a beautifull machine and they seem fairly robust aswell! I like the look of the new HP stuff comming down the line (new zd9x series i think) on the US site with raided 100gb hard drives.

Someone asked for a warrenty link ? All HP units in ireland come from the uk. (unless its printers which are mainly germany)

sambora

I have a VAIO and I dont think I'd ever use a different make. Except for maybe Apple

sambora

Oh yeah.....and I think DELL are a waste of space and money

CuppaCocoa

Happy ending! Took a trip to 'The Laptop Shop' today to see what they had. I found the same Sony but dearer. Asked the sales guy if he could match Laptop Direct's price of 981. He did some checking and gave it to me for an extra 50 making it 1,030. I agreed. I still got a good deal and at least have a bricks and mortar shop to return it to in Dublin if anything goes wrong though I believe Sony do a collect and repair service. I'd recommend 'The Laptop Shop'. They were doing great business today and I got the extra ram fitted while I waited. It's a beautiful machine!

CuppaCocoa

Aaagh...Laptops Direct have just charged me even though I cancelled the order yesterday. The girl I was talking to at 5 p.m. told me that my payment had not gone through yet so she would be able to cancel my order. Today when I check my account - there it is! I rang Bank of Ireland and they told me there was nothing they could do as the payment had already been made to them and that I should contact them directly to get the payment reversed. Bastards :mad:

TempestSabre

Blitz wrote:

....
Someone asked for a warrenty link ? All HP units in ireland come from the uk. (unless its printers which are mainly germany)

I didn't look that closely. I thought (perhaps wrongly) that there was no Irish info? My bad.

DarthWraak

lilybarlean wrote:

Aaagh...Laptops Direct have just charged me even though I cancelled the order yesterday. The girl I was talking to at 5 p.m. told me that my payment had not gone through yet so she would be able to cancel my order. Today when I check my account - there it is! I rang Bank of Ireland and they told me there was nothing they could do as the payment had already been made to them and that I should contact them directly to get the payment reversed. Bastards :mad:

I think what we should learn from all of this is that buying over the counter is the quickest, and most reliable way of getting your laptop. The deal I got in Harvey Norman today was awesome, free laptop bag and surge protector FTW

TempestSabre

DarthWraak wrote:

I think what we should learn from all of this is that buying over the counter is the quickest, and most reliable way of getting your laptop. The deal I got in Harvey Norman today was awesome, free laptop bag and surge protector FTW

Sorry but thats rubbish. People have as much trouble with lemons from high street stores. Theres other threads on this board about Irish Retailers and the problems they've had with them.

LuciferGary

HP has problem with heat, but Sony VGN-FS series have problem with DVD-rom.

i tried some of them in dixons,pcworld and Sony center, you have to left the laptop litttle bit to close the dvd-rom.

that's why i got FEseries, but battry is not good at all.

DarthWraak

TempestSabre wrote:

Sorry but thats rubbish. People have as much trouble with lemons from high street stores. Theres other threads on this board about Irish Retailers and the problems they've had with them.

Yeh I can admit that, maybe I just got lucky. Never bought anything on line before, so you can prolly see why I don't trust the on line biz. Main reason I don't like it is the delivery time, when I can just drive up to Dublin, or where ever and go home smiling

dseabridge

I presume you recieved the full refund from Laptops Direct. If there are any issues please let me know your SO number so I can contact you to resolve.
Thanks
David
Ops Director - Laptops Direct

axer

lilybarlean wrote:

Aaagh...Laptops Direct have just charged me even though I cancelled the order yesterday. The girl I was talking to at 5 p.m. told me that my payment had not gone through yet so she would be able to cancel my order. Today when I check my account - there it is! I rang Bank of Ireland and they told me there was nothing they could do as the payment had already been made to them and that I should contact them directly to get the payment reversed. Bastards :mad:

Just wondering, did you pay by credit card or laser card?

CuppaCocoa

Credit card. I got the refund the following week so very relieved. As regards the Vaio, I'm thrilled with it. It's a lovely machine!

peepingtom

DarthWraak wrote:

I think what we should learn from all of this is that buying over the counter is the quickest, and most reliable way of getting your laptop. The deal I got in Harvey Norman today was awesome, free laptop bag and surge protector FTW

I wouldnt touch harvey norman with someone elses! .... complete rip off prices, i recently bought an infocus projector. 3000 euros in harveys ... anyay i shopped around and paid 2400 at digisound http://shop.digisound.ie/digisound/product_info.php?products_id=419 (they gave me a little discount on top of there €2519 rrp)

bottom line ... shop around