Laptops: HP v Sony

[Steve Mehs]

Well, I’ve been waiting forever and the wait is almost over, but now I can’t decide on which laptop to buy, the machine I’ve waited for so long, the powerhouse HP DV7T or a ‘premium luxury’ machine from Sony or HP. Any thoughts?

Ideally I’d like a backlit keyboard and 1080p display, I do have to say I love the idea of the ambient light sensor for the backlit keyboard on the Sony, and the Sony is supposed to have one hell of a display and it can do simulated 3D with a touch of a button. The HP on the other hand is less money for about an equal machine, 16” or 17” screen doesn’t matter to me, but I can’t get over it only have a 5400 RPM hard drive. The slot loaded BD player on the HP Envy is really slick, but I’d rather have a burner if possible, but its not on that series. Both 3D laptops come with one pair of 3D glasses. And I have to say I really applaud Sony on their 'Fresh Start' option, I wish all maunfactures did that.

Here's a little chart I made up:

 

[DodgerKing]

The Sony is a much better laptop, not only by specs, but Sony is also a much better brand than HP.

The Envy only has a 5400 rpm Hard Drive? Although the Graphic card in the HP Envy and Pavilian is much better than the one in the Sony

I would lean towards the Pavilian if it was not made by HP or the Sony if they put a better graphics card

 

[diogen]

I'd buy the first - the 3D gimmick ain't worth $500+ - and upgrade the hard drive to SSD.
The money you save will buy you a nice desktop.

Diogen.

 

[DodgerKing]

I'd buy the first - the 3D gimmick ain't worth $500+ - and upgrade the hard drive to SSD.
The money you save will buy you a nice desktop.

Diogen.

The harddrive in the first one is not an issue, unless he really needs 1TB. The second one has the slow harddrive. Speed is more important than storage space for me (I only fill up a 500gb Harddrive to 20%)

 

[diogen]

I'm not sure there are 2.5" 1TB 7200rpm drives with fall sensors.
HP uses only those in their higher end...

I thought when talking about "premium luxury" SSD is a must.
And I'd drop the BD burner if possible.

Diogen.

 

[DodgerKing]

I'm not sure there are 1TB 7200rpm drives with fall sensors.
HP uses only those in their higher end...

Diogen.

Which is why I would go with the smaller faster over the larger slower. How many people actually store 1TB worth of data on their Harddrive? If storage is an issue he can always get an external drive.

 

[Steve Mehs]

I'd buy the first - the 3D gimmick ain't worth $500+ - and upgrade the hard drive to SSD.
The money you save will buy you a nice desktop.

Diogen.

1) 3D is in no way a gimmick, I love my Sony 3DTV and would really love a 3D laptop. 3D is the best thing ever. Not only do I want a 3D laptop, I’m very interested in the upcoming HTC Evo 3D smartphone.

2) A nice desktop for $500??? Yeah right. This desktop I’m using right now cost about $3000 back in June of 2008 and I’m not in the market for a desktop computer, in fact I doubt I’ll ever buy one again.

3) In the Pavilion a 160GB SSD is a $370 upgrade, in the Envy it’s a $580 upgrade and you have to get a 640GB hard drive with it. I have no desire for 800 GB of storage and for the Sony it’s a $750 upgrade to get a 256 GB solid state drive. My limit is $3K and the more I think about it, the more I’m starting to shy away from the Pavilion DV7T.

 

[Steve Mehs]

The Sony is a much better laptop, not only by specs, but Sony is also a much better brand than HP.

The Envy only has a 5400 rpm Hard Drive? Although the Graphic card in the HP Envy and Pavilian is much better than the one in the Sony

I would lean towards the Pavilian if it was not made by HP or the Sony if they put a better graphics card

I’m a diehard Sony fanboy and a diehard HP fanboy so it’s up in the air for me. I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. And yep the Envy doesn’t offer a 7200 RPM hard drive unless you get it in conjunction with a SSD which for what they charge, it’s not worth it for me. I’m slightly leaning toward the Sony for a few reasons but looking at the pictures of the new Vaio F, I’m not sure I like the form factor. While price is not much of a factor, I know with HP, price fluctuates week by week and if you call up they will work wih you, Sonys prices are pretty much set in stone.

 

[diogen]

So you end up having a laptop that can stay away from the wall plug for 5 hours max but shows 3D and burns BDs.
When you run one of the newer games it might last half as long on the battery. And you call that a dream PC.

We have definitely different dreams...

Diogen.

 

[DodgerKing]

2) A nice desktop for $500??? Yeah right. This desktop I’m using right now cost about $3000 back in June of 2008 and I’m not in the market for a desktop computer, in fact I doubt I’ll ever buy one again.

You can if your build your own. Closer to $1,000 for a descent one than $500, but nowhere near $3000

 

[Steve Mehs]

Battery life is not a concern of mine. The thing could last an hour, I don't really care. I'm not looking for portability, if I was I'd get a netbook but I have no interest in that. This is a desktop replacement machine I'm planning on using while in bed and to surf the net when I hang out at the cafe at Wegmans Supermarkets, which have plenty of power outlets. I don’t game so that’s out the window. Mobile internet access, computing on the go and high quality video are my main goals here. Basically something to keep me entertained when I take a weekend trip.

 

[diogen]

Nothing wrong with that.

I just thought getting the performance of a ~$800 desktop in a laptop form factor for $3K isn't exactly my cup of tea...

Diogen.

 

[charper1]

"I don’t game so that’s out the window" & "I'm not looking for portability"

Sorry but my HP laptop has nearly all those same specs; including 18" 1080P HD w/ Blu-ray; 1TB HDD, only 4GB RAM and the Radeon 5xxx series and only WIN 7 PRO 64-bit and it GAMES !!! AND for only $1200 shipped.. $2500 is a JOKE with a capital WTF!!

 

[Steve Mehs]

You can if your build your own. Closer to $1,000 for a descent one than $500, but nowhere near $3000

I'd never build my own PC, complete waste of time and there is almost zero advantage. I priced it out using Tiger and Newegg, if I would have built the computer I have now it wouldn't have been that much cheaper than buying it custom to order through HP and saving myself the labor and getting the 1 year warranty. The processor in the computer (Intel Core 2 Quad @ 2.83 GHz) cost I think $580 alone at the time of purchase, a Blu Ray Burner/HD DVD combo drive was about $400 at the time. That’s $1000 right there, not counting case, motherboard, fans, hard drive, audio card, video card, RAM, front A/V, USB and firewire ports, gigabit ethernet card, 15 in 1 card reader, secondary DVD drive, PSU, a copy of Vista Ultimate and whatever else. Just looked it up on HPs order history, not including the monitor I paid $2,588.24 for the computer I’m using right. By building one yourself, you’d probably only save the tax, which IMO is just not worth the effort.

 

[charper1]

Wrong; I can prove it with receipts and the fact that the warranty on anything really doesn't mean much, especially if you are USING said warranty all the time.. My home-builds last on avg of 5+ years running nearly non-stop (no warrant needed).. not counting monitor I put about $750 and under 2 hours into a 6 core, BEAST with Blu-ray and the works. Well worth it and much cheaper than retail.

 

[Steve Mehs]

"I don’t game so that’s out the window" & "I'm not looking for portability"

Sorry but my HP laptop has nearly all those same specs; including 18" 1080P HD w/ Blu-ray; 1TB HDD, only 4GB RAM and the Radeon 5xxx series and only WIN 7 PRO 64-bit and it GAMES !!! AND for only $1200 shipped.. $2500 is a JOKE with a capital WTF!!

I'm assuming the DV8T? That didn't come with a quad core processor, USB 3.0 wasn't around, there's no way the 1 TB drive is 7200 RPM and it's got to be a BD-ROM drive not a BD Burner. Sorry I would not pay $1200 for that. Upgrading to the fastest Sandy Bridge CPU is an automatic $350 increase alone.

 

[Steve Mehs]

Wrong; I can prove it with receipts and the fact that the warranty on anything really doesn't mean much, especially if you are USING said warranty all the time.. My home-builds last on avg of 5+ years running nearly non-stop (no warrant needed).. not counting monitor I put about $750 and under 2 hours into a 6 core, BEAST with Blu-ray and the works. Well worth it and much cheaper than retail.

Whatever. Building is a waste of time. 'Nuff said. Anyhow this has nothing to do with desktops, it's about notebooks. I have no use for desktop computers anymore and have no desire to own a new one again.

 

[DodgerKing]

Is there anyway you can get a Sony similar to the one you listed with a slightly better video card? If so, and it is not much more money, that is the direction I would go

 

[charper1]

I'm assuming the DV8T? That didn't come with a quad core processor, USB 3.0 wasn't around, there's no way the 1 TB drive is 7200 RPM and it's got to be a BD-ROM drive not a BD Burner. Sorry I would not pay $1200 for that. Upgrading to the fastest Sandy Bridge CPU is an automatic $350 increase alone.

I didnt say it had ANY of what you just listed here.. What I was saying, and you missed it ALL, you said you aren't gaming and you aren't worried about portability; so all that listed spec-babble; show off, "must have, latest and greatest, no need, hoo-haa AINT WORTH $2500 no matter how you slice it. ANY half / less spec'd laptop will do all you mentioned you were going to do AND ALSO game very well (top titles) for near HALF the money you plan on spending.

But again its your hard earned money and if you plan on being separated from it with little need for all the parts you listed (your own plans/word) then move right along and do it; why ask for input really. The value / worth will drop nearly 30% - 45% within 3mos of ownership.

 

[Steve Mehs]

Unfortunatley no. That is the only video card option for the Vaio F. And the F Series line is the only Sony with the Core i7 Sandy Bridge CPUs. Some other Sonys have the Radeon HD 6470M and Radeon HD 6630M as options