Sony viao S series or something else?

[nos_6888]

So I was looking at a custom sony viao S series and wanted some other opinions before I committed to buying anything. It will cost me about $700 and the laptops specs are:
processor: i5-3210M@2.5ghz
Screen: 13.3" LED backlit display (1366 x 768)
Graphics: Intel HD 4000
HD: 500GB (7200rpm)
RAM: 4GB DDR3-1333Mhz.
Weight: Under 4lbs(I will be carrying it around a lot so I don't want a 6lb laptop.)


So what do you guys think? Could i get more bang for my buck or is this about as good as I could get? Below I've listed what I'm aiming to get. Any help/input/personal experience is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advanced.




1. What is your budget?
Right around $700

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
any size but i would like it to be under 5lbs since i have to carry it around a lot. although i'm flexible on this

3. What screen resolution do you want
Anything will do. All I want is for it to have a decent quality picture when watching movies


4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Will be used mostly for school so portable but still decent

5. How much battery life do you need?
The longer the better

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
Really flash games and maybe some older games on whatever settings. I also plan to watch a lot of movies on it. If at all possible 720p.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Movies (HD if possible), programming, flash games, and the other basics.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
More is always better but whatever is good

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
preferably as long as possible. If it breaks it breaks. No big deal since I can fix it but i want to avoid poor quality laptops.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
Any

13. What country do you live in?
US

 

[radiowars]

Sony is a notoriously expensive brand, but what you've selected is a fine laptop for your needs. The only other brand I can recommend is Samsung. The new Series 5 ultrabooks will be coming out soon. If all you need is a good CPU, then I'd recommend an ultrabook, not a regular laptop.
Here's a Sony Vaio T that will offer you similar performance, but with a much thinner and lighter profile (and most likely better battery life). There are plenty of ultrabooks coming out in the near future as well (like the Series 5 or Series 9). So, the Vaio S will probably do you fine, but it seems as if you would be better off with a slimmer laptop with a slight performance decrease.

 

[nos_6888]

Thanks, I've waited this long mainly because i knew more and more ultrabooks would start coming out. But it seems that the 13.3'' S series is just as light as the T series and other ultrabooks. Only difference is the specs on a S series seem to be better. Plus they would both run me about the same price.



One other thing. I've been hearing some people bashing sony's build quality. Would it be worth it to get a warranty in case something like the mobo goes?

 

[radiowars]

You're correct about the weight; I thought the T series was 1kg, not 1.5kg. Anyhow, I haven't heard much about Sony's durability, but but I've felt their laptops myself and they seemed reasonably tough. I don't think they'll last as long as a Thinkpad, but I doubt you'll need an extended warranty. How well do you treat your electronics?

 

[nos_6888]

I treat them very well since I hate to see them break due to negligence. Waste of money then if you ask me. I've just heard things about their laptops dying out of no where on people. Then again it happens with everything so it might just have been bad luck on their part. Thanks for your input though.

 

[radiowars]

I treat them very well since I hate to see them break due to negligence. Waste of money then if you ask me. I've just heard things about their laptops dying out of no where on people. Then again it happens with everything so it might just have been bad luck on their part. Thanks for your input though.

No problem. Personally, warranty's are a hit or miss thing. You'll either use it, or you won't. If you're really nervous, and have the cash, just take the warranty, but if you've had a good track record with electronics, you probably won't have an issues.
Good luck.