Current Sony Vaio Y series, would you be happy with this spec in MBA?

[Adidas Addict]

Now the Vaio Y is admittedly heavier and thicker than a MBA, but the specs seem pretty good to me. What do you think? Operating system aside

$1439.99 (US)

Intel® Core™ i5-430UM processor (1.20GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 1.73GHz

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit

256GB (256GBx1) Solid State Drive with RAID 0 Technology

4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-800 (6GB+$150/8GB+$300)

ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 4550 GPU (512MB VRAM)

Magnesium Construction

6HR Battery

3.9lbs

HDMi

3x USB 2.0

Express Card Slot

 

[lucifiel]

If it wasn't so heavy, then yes, the specs seem rather nice.

 

[bloodycape]

Wow I didn't know the Y got that expensive these days. At that price I'd rather spend the extra $200 on the Vaio Z, which is lighter, smaller(13.3 vs 13.1 on the Z), and faster, not to mention the better quality screen. However, the base price on the Y is solid.

 

[Adidas Addict]

Wow I didn't know the Y got that expensive these days. At that price I'd rather spend the extra $200 on the Vaio Z, which is lighter, smaller(13.3 vs 13.1 on the Z), and faster, not to mention the better quality screen. However, the base price on the Y is solid.

Yeah its the raid SSD's that make it expensive, HDD models are much better value.

 

[entatlrg]

The asus in my signature is a far better buy, better specs too.

 

[bloodycape]

Yeah its the raid SSD's that make it expensive, HDD models are much better value.

Yeah I realized that after I made the post that it was with the SSD. Still the Z comes in at around $200 more with the SSD standard. If HDD was standard like it is in Japan we could have gotten the Z at a around $1400 base, something that would have made me for sure go for it. But, like the rest here I am kind of waiting to see what the and if the next gen MBA is going to offer us; hopefully they bring out a 11-12in model as I always thought that is the perfect size, hence why I got the iBook in the first place and now have a Vaio TT.

As for U35JC vs the Y that is partial a subjective thing. Not sure how the 4550 compares to the GT310m, but I would think the difference wouldn't be that much. Plus, the U35 is a bit thick for a notebook with an optical drive slot, and the screen quality could be a little better.

 

[chrono1081]

The asus in my signature is a far better buy, better specs too.

+1

Asus makes very good computers, Sony does not and has not for a long time. Don't believe me? Buy one. It will be fast out of the gate and then fall apart in about a year.

I've owned two Sonys and repaired countless Sonys. Asus by far is a much better computer and will last much much longer.

 

[damnyooneek]

the acer 1830t is half the price with the same specs but lighter, 3.2lbs. http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptop/acer-aspire-timeline-1830t-3721.aspx

 

[Adidas Addict]

the acer 1830t is half the price with the same specs but lighter, 3.2lbs. http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptop/acer-aspire-timeline-1830t-3721.aspx

Erm 11.6" screen & 5400rpm HDD vs 256BG SSD Raid 0, no graphics card, same specs?

 

[Giuly]

I'd rather like to see a i7-660UM (1.33/2.4 GHz), 320M and a 240GB SSD (indicating being SandForce-based) in there.

I wonder how they put one drive in RAID0, though.

When you buy select EA, EB, EC, F, Y or Z Series laptops from Sony Style, you get an extra perk: The Adobe Bundle. Organize and edit your photos with Photoshop® Elements 8.0. Make incredible movies with Premiere® Elements 8. And prepare and protect PDF documents with Acrobat Standard 9.0. It's all built right in. A $448 value.

Hey, they read MacRumors and ****'d up my calculation…

But hey Apple: They got some colors

 

[bloodycape]

+1

Asus makes very good computers, Sony does not and has not for a long time. Don't believe me? Buy one. It will be fast out of the gate and then fall apart in about a year.

I've owned two Sonys and repaired countless Sonys. Asus by far is a much better computer and will last much much longer.

I have had my Vaio TT for over a year and yet to have it fall apart, neither has the other people who I know with Vaio's. But, all manufactures have a computer that isn't up to snuff. Like the Asus UL80, which I keep reading has a weak build quality in their keyboard, but the UL30 didn't have that issue really.

 

[Adidas Addict]

I have had my Vaio TT for over a year and yet to have it fall apart, neither has the other people who I know with Vaio's. But, all manufactures have a computer that isn't up to snuff. Like the Asus UL80, which I keep reading has a weak build quality in their keyboard, but the UL30 didn't have that issue really.

You're forgetting, people like to slag vaio's almost as much as they like to slag Apple.

 

[NightGeometry]

256GB (256GBx1) Solid State Drive with RAID 0 Technology

One drive, so not RAID 0 out of the box. Presumably you can add another drive to get RAID. Is there room in the chassis for another drive, and how much does adding one cost - does anyone know?

 

[damnyooneek]

Erm 11.6" screen & 5400rpm HDD vs 256BG SSD Raid 0, no graphics card, same specs?

13.3", dvd drive, notebook i3 processor, and only 3.2lbs. all for less than $900.
http://laptops.toshiba.com/laptops/portege/R700/R705-P25

 

[halledise]

Now the Vaio Y is admittedly heavier and thicker than a MBA, but the specs seem pretty good to me. What do you think? Operating system aside

$1439.99 (US)

Intel® Core™ i5-430UM processor (1.20GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 1.73GHz
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
256GB (256GBx1) Solid State Drive with RAID 0 Technology
4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-800 (6GB+$150/8GB+$300)
ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 4550 GPU (512MB VRAM)
Magnesium Construction
6HR Battery
3.9lbs
HDMi
3x USB 2.0
Express Card Slot

what people forget in these comparisons is that apart from the Mac OS being a far superior OS to Win7 'Home' (with probably no discs supplied) - a Mac comes with a significant $ value of software that puts any Windows-based machine quite a few hundred $ dearer than advertised, by the time you purchase the equivalent software.

and with all due respect, an i5 running at 1.2 ghz and memory speed of 800mhz is a bit of a crock when compared to 2.13 C2Duo and 1067mhz memory with 6mb of L2 cache + Snow Leopard.

give it time boys and girls - the new Air will be well worth the wait

 

[coldmack]

what people forget in these comparisons is that apart from the Mac OS being a far superior OS to Win7 'Home' (with probably no discs supplied) - a Mac comes with a significant $ value of software that puts any Windows-based machine quite a few hundred $ dearer than advertised, by the time you purchase the equivalent software.

Apparently not, as I have read some Sony computers come bundled with their Vegas Movie editor, and from what I saw on their site you can either choose the clean install, or get the Adobe bundle which include Adobe Elements package, which includes Premier Elements and PS Elements. I can't say much about Premier Elements vs iMovie, but I do like PS Elements better than iPhoto as it has a few nice features over iMovie.


On the CPU point you maybe right, but the point of this Y is a computer that gets solid battery life at something around 6-8 hours depending on usage, and have a gpu that is better than what is in the MBA, and 13in MBP. Plus if you really wanted to you could take the time and effort to swap out the UM for the LV i core equiv model(the M is it?).