Choosing a laptop

[Kyux]

Hey there,

My friend is trying to chose a laptop and I told him I'd help. Basically, does anyone know the difference between the Sony Vaio models, and what would be a choice choice for a typical student laptop (work with a bit of gaming, and relatively cheap). I didn't know of the top of my head : (

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!

 

[Ghan]

Is there some reason it has to be a Sony Vaio? Some model of Asus would be my first choice if there weren't any good deals with another maker.

 

[MrBrooks]

There are 5 Vaio laptop series to choose from. Within each series there are different specifications of the series. There are two categories to choose from: configurable models and pre-configured models. With the configurable models you can choose your processor (i3, i5, i7), the type of RAM, screen type (1336x768 up to 1920x1080), graphics card (AMD 6000m series, etc.), other features available.

The difference between the series is that they have different base prices:
The basic E series starts at 408.98GBP.
The basic C series starts at 598.99GBP.
The basic T series starts at 629.00GBP.
The basic S series starts at 654.01GBP.
Finally, the basic and only Z series model starts at 1,184.00GBP.

From your post you want one which is affordable and can do work, a bit of gaming and other general stuff, so I will remove the T, S, and Z series.

For gaming an i3 processor is able but with games and other hardware accelerating at a fast pace, it's better to get the i5 processor so with the laptop configurations I'll select the i5 processor. The integrated graphics will go as well as they're rubbish and you can't play games on an Intel HD3000 series.

Sony Vaio E15 series spec:
Base model price: 408.98GBP
Base model spec:
Intel Pentium B970 (Dual Core) @ 2.3GHz
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
320GB SATAII 5400RPM HDD
4GB 1333MHz DDR3-SDRAM
Intel HD Graphics 3000 (Integrated)
+ various free trial software

Upgraded E15 price: 539.00GBP
Upgraded E15 spec:
Intel Core i5-2450M (Dual Core) @2.5GHz
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
500GB SATAII 5400RPM HDD
4GB 1333MHz DDR3-SDRAM
AMD Radeon HD7650M 1GB dedicated graphics
+ various free trial software

Alternatively you can go for the E17 series with the same spec but with a 1920x1080 resolution with built in webcam. The starting price is 40GBP dearer than the E15 start price. Please note that each part of the spec is upgradable.

Sony Vaio C15 series spec:
Base model price: 568.99GBP
Base model spec:
Intel Core i3-2350M (Dual Core) @ 2.3GHz
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
500GB SATAII 5400RPM HDD
4GB 1333MHz DDR3-SDRAM
AMD Radeon HD6630M 1GB dedicated graphics
15.5" 1336x768 resolution screen with 1.3Mp webcam as standard
+ various free trial software

Upgraded C15 price: 719.00GBP
Upgraded C15 spec:
Intel Core i5-2450M (Dual Core) @ 2.5GHz
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
500GB SATAII 7200RPM HDD
4GB 1333MHz DDR3-SDRAM
AMD Radeon HD6630M 1GB dedicated graphics
15.5" 1920x1080 resolution screen with 1.3Mp webcam

As you can tell prices for these specs are ridiculously high. You could buy a refurbished i5 laptop for half the price. Also Asus > Sony.

 

[Kyux]

Wow thank you Mr.Brooks, that was really helpful! That's really cleared it up. If Asus is better, what would be a good equivalent for my friend? What would you recommend? He said he looked at the site and couldn't find any pricing and stuff which is weird... I know it's weird asking on his behalf but he's kinda a techie noob, more so than I am, hence me making this thread : )
@Ghan, it doesn't have to be a Sony Vaio but that's what my friend was looking at initially.
Thanks both of you!

 

[MrBrooks]

No problem. Below I have listed 4 laptops. They're from a UK site but should be available in your region and the prices you can convert.*

Asus X53SC-SX041V (Link)
Guide Price: £588.00 (inc. VAT)
Processor: Intel Core i7-2630QM @ 2.0GHz (Quad Core)
Memory: 4GB 1333MHz DDR3
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 520MX 1GB
Hard Drive: 500GB SATAII
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
Display: 15.6" HD 1366x768 LED Backlit

Asus Ultra Slim U36SG-RX107X (Link)
Guide Price: £658.80 (inc. VAT)
Processor: Intel Core i5-2430M @ 2.4GHz (Dual Core)
Memory: 4GB 1066MHz DDR3
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 610M 1GB
Hard Drive: 500GB SATAII
OS: Windows 7 Professional
Display: 13.3" HD 1366x768 LED Backlit

Samsung Series 3 NP300E5A (Link)
Guide Price: £499.99 (inc. VAT)
Processor: Intel Core i5-2450M @ 2.5GHz (Dual Core)
Memory: 6GB 1333MHz DDR3
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT520MX Optimus
Hard Drive: 500GB SATAII
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
Display: 15.6" HD 1336x768 LED Backlight

HP Pavilion G6-1325EA (Link)
Guide Price: £329.99 - £549.99
Processor: AMD E2-3000M @ 1.8GHz (Dual Core)
Memory: 4GB 1333MHz DDR3
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD6380G
Hard Drive: 500GB SATAII
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
Display: 15.6" HD 1336x768 LED Backlit

*Prices subject to change and/or region.