Sony Vaio - Opinions please...

Dutchy · 20-11-2010 12:05PM #1

Hi folks,

I think I'm going to buy this laptop as a Christmas present for the girlfriend:

http://www.sony.ie/product/vn-e-series/vpcee3e0e-wi

Generally speaking, I know that Sony laptops are expensive for what you get. Not really looking for a value laptop (otherwise I would've bought an acer). I think she'll like the sleek design of the laptop so that's a plus.

I know that the processor isn't the best (AMD Athlon II Dual-Core Processor P34) but is it powerful enough to run most software packages? She isn't into gaming at all - so it will be for running photo shop and similar design packages (she's a designer). Other than that, it'll be used for surfing, movies, etc...

Any other opinions welcome before I take the plunge!

p.s. she has an old MAC at present (8 years old) but now she wants the windows OS so a MAC is out the equation.

Cheers,

Dutchy

Recon · 20-11-2010 12:10PM

I think something like that would be fine for her, as you already mentioned , it will be more expensive than other brands for the spec you're getting but if you think she'd prefer the style of that who am I to disagree!?

What kind of price are you looking at for it?

Dutchy · 20-11-2010 12:14PM

Recon wrote: »

I think something like that would be fine for her, as you already mentioned , it will be more expensive than other brands for the spec you're getting but if you think she'd prefer the style of that who am I to disagree!?

What kind of price are you looking at for it?

Thanks Recon - I can get it for just over €500 delivered. Reasonable enough?

Recon · 20-11-2010 12:20PM

Sounds very reasonable, especially for a Vaio! Go for that, I'd be very surprised if you found a better deal.

FastFullBack · 20-11-2010 10:58PM

Dutchy wrote: »

Thanks Recon - I can get it for just over €500 delivered. Reasonable enough?

Where are you getting this for €500? Thats a great price. I'm looking for a white Vaio and €500 would be by far the best price available.

21-11-2010 04:48AM

Dutchy wrote: »

p.s. she has an old MAC at present (8 years old) but now she wants the windows OS so a MAC is out the equation.

Its very easy to put Windows on to a Mac.

If she wants design then get her a Macbook Air or Pro as they are quite sleek. They both come with Bootcamp which can be used to partition the hard drive which in turn can be used to install Windows XP, Vista or 7.

So basically she can have the luxury of both OS's.

GarRo247 · 21-11-2010 04:59AM

Photoshop can be very slow on windows computers, that viao doesnt have any dedicated graphics memory, so a fair ammout or time will be spent rendering images. I think its a very good laptop for the price but it will be very slow running photoshop. Some of my staff were trying to run photoshop on a Windows 7 desktop with a lot more power than that and they siad it was slow compared to their iMacs. If she could still use her old Mac for design and new pc for other things it woule be a great idea.

GarRo247 · 21-11-2010 05:31AM

Dutchy wrote: »

Generally speaking, I know that Sony laptops are expensive for what you get. Not really looking for a value laptop (otherwise I would've bought an acer). I think she'll like the sleek design of the laptop so that's a plus.

I've been in I.T. repair for just over a year now and I have always found Sony to be overpriced but Sony have a very high set of quality standards and for reliability, durability and the time the laptop will last so it balances out really.

For example you could buy a Sony and an Acer with the exact same spec, the Acer would cost €350 and the Sony €550, but with the Acer after maybe 2 to 3 years the motherboard or the graphics chip will go and then you might aswell get a new one, but the Sony will last maybe 8 to 10 years, by then it would be really outdated but it would still work fine. If you have the extra money to spend Sony is a very good long term investment

The Pontiac · 21-11-2010 10:38AM

FastFullBack wrote: »

Where are you getting this for €500? Thats a great price. I'm looking for a white Vaio and €500 would be by far the best price available.

You can get it on amazon for £424.99 (€496) + shipping (think it's £7).

Here is the link.

MunsterCycling · 21-11-2010 03:52PM

Poor quality, crap design. Sony should stick to making TVs their PCs & Laptops stink!

MunsterCycling · 21-11-2010 03:53PM

GarRo247 wrote: »

I've been in I.T. repair for just over a year now and I have always found Sony to be overpriced but Sony have a very high set of quality standards and for reliability, durability and the time the laptop will last so it balances out really.

For example you could buy a Sony and an Acer with the exact same spec, the Acer would cost €350 and the Sony €550, but with the Acer after maybe 2 to 3 years the motherboard or the graphics chip will go and then you might aswell get a new one, but the Sony will last maybe 8 to 10 years, by then it would be really outdated but it would still work fine. If you have the extra money to spend Sony is a very good long term investment

You'd want to be in the business a bit longer to comment, Sony have a dreadful standard.

muboop1 · 21-11-2010 04:03PM

Dutchy wrote: »

Hi folks,

I think I'm going to buy this laptop as a Christmas present for the girlfriend:

http://www.sony.ie/product/vn-e-series/vpcee3e0e-wi

Generally speaking, I know that Sony laptops are expensive for what you get. Not really looking for a value laptop (otherwise I would've bought an acer). I think she'll like the sleek design of the laptop so that's a plus.

I know that the processor isn't the best (AMD Athlon II Dual-Core Processor P34) but is it powerful enough to run most software packages? She isn't into gaming at all - so it will be for running photo shop and similar design packages (she's a designer). Other than that, it'll be used for surfing, movies, etc...

Any other opinions welcome before I take the plunge!

p.s. she has an old MAC at present (8 years old) but now she wants the windows OS so a MAC is out the equation.

Cheers,

Dutchy

One thing I will always defend Sony on, is their after sales service. My laptop stopped working within the warranty, and I called them to see what they would do about it (repairs etc).

They picked it up the next day, sent it to the UK repaired it and had it back two days later with some complementary stuff.

It was pretty good service!
Dat said, they are a tad expensive...

MunsterCycling · 21-11-2010 04:17PM

Well thats where I'd agree with you. CS is their strong point but their computers leave a lot to be desired.

seithon · 21-11-2010 04:21PM

Having worked for the aftersales side of Sony I agree with the above statements on you getting what you pay for in terms of aftercare and quality in the build.

My only personal advice would be to pick up an extended warranty, so even if the thing breaks down 3 years later it'll still get fixed for free

The Pontiac · 21-11-2010 06:48PM

MunsterCycling wrote: »

Poor quality, crap design. Sony should stick to making TVs their PCs & Laptops stink!

MunsterCycling wrote: »

You'd want to be in the business a bit longer to comment, Sony have a dreadful standard.

I'm very surprised to hear this. From all the various forums I've read, Sony and Toshiba come tops for reliability. I hear lots of complaints about Acer and HP. I actually have a HP and it's on it's last legs after only two years.

If there's one thing I'd absolutely disagree with on it's the design of Sony laptops. They're gorgeous with a very sleek and modern design, and many say Apple have copied a lot from it.

This survey was done in 2009 and actually holds up to the various feedback from forums on the net. People always praise their Asus' for absolute satisfaction of ownership...

Boy, do we have a nice slab of data for you to sink your teeth into today. The 3-year service history of more than 30,000 laptops has been pored over, analyzed, and reduced to gorgeous comparative charts, which you know you're dying to know more about. We should note, however, that the service was provided by SquareTrade, whose primary business is selling extended warranties, but that shouldn't completely prejudice us against reaching conclusions on the basis of the presented facts. Firstly, netbooks have shown themselves to be on average 20 percent less reliable than entry-level laptops, which in turn are 10 percent more likely to break down than premium machines. In other words, you get what you pay for -- shocking, right? The big talking point, though, will inevitably be the manufacturer comparison chart above: here ASUS and Toshiba (rather appropriately) share the winners' spoils, while HP languishes in the ignominious last place, with more than a quarter of all laptops expected to suffer a hardware fault of some kind within three years. So, does your experience corroborate / refute this info? Keep it gentlemanly, okay?

Link here

Sony Vaio - Opinions please...

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