Comparing 2 laptops

[Marked 197]

Hi guys,

 

So as it turns out, I'm not much of a computer person, and therefore I'm not sure which of these 2 laptops I should chose (in fact its for a friend):

http://www.sony.co.nz/product/sve15117fg

http://www.mytoshiba.co.nz/products/computers/satellite/l850d/pskeca-003002/specifications#details

 

When I look at this, all I understand is CPU speed (I take it the minimum shown is the out of the box speed), the harddrive size, and the memory.

 

What else do you really look for in a laptop?

 

I suppose it depends on what you're using it for, in this case just general usage (its a female so 99% facebook) and uni (so need a good battery).

[kellessdee 48]

Hmmm laptops are tough to compare, a lot of components to picking the right laptop, IMO (especially for the not-so-nerdy/techy types) has to do with the look and feel of the physical laptop. Also, the specs say nothing of whether the laptop was well constructed.

If you know anyone who has experience with these models/brands, you should ask for some personal experience perhaps (though this can be mixed too)

 

Anyways, objectively from a specs/pricetag standpoint, it seems the VAIO comes with a little more bang for your buck.

 

CPU:

VAIO definitely has the better CPU; quad core vs. dual core--4 cores running at a 2.5 GHz clock cycle is probably going to outperform 2 cores running at 2.7 GHz in multi-tasking any day. Arguably, multi-tasking is more important in this day and age (although, the processor is never the be-all end-all source of an individual applications performance)

 

Memory:

Memory is pretty much equal. There's not much to go on other than the basic specs, VAIO is only upgrade-able to 8GB memory, whereas the Satellite gets you up to 16GB

 

Harddisk:

Satellite wins here, with an extra 110 GB, but I would be willing to argue 640GB is more than enough (especially in your friend's case). You can get cheap external hard drives nowadays any how.

 

Video:

This is hard to say, I'm not that savvy on Graphics Card specs, and tbh I'm not sure how the dual-graphics card compares to a single graphics card. If it's anything like CPUs, parallel is better, and thus the Satellite would win here.

I'm assuming your friend doesn't really play Graphics-intensive games, so either way I'd say the graphics is good enough.

 

Audio:

I think the VAIO sounds better-the satellite doesn't give much info about the audio.

 

The rest of the specs are mostly the same or comparable, but I will point out this: the vaio looks to be heavier than the satellite. But, the satellite page doesn't say if the weight includes the battery, where the Vaio's weight does include the battery.

 

IMO, the weight of a laptop can be VERY important.

 

Battery Life

Satellite gives no information on the battery life, but I find battery life mostly meaningless. Unless you take extra care of the battery, the actual lifespan dwindles quite quickly. (Don't let it die completely, don't let it dip below 50%, don't overcharge, don't charge while using it...)

 

However, under the assumption that your friend probably isn't going to be doing too much computer-intensive work, she would probably do fine with either model (and maybe should pick the prettier of the two?) Just based from the specs and my personal opinion, it looks like the VAIO is a better buy (better price as well).

 

To throw some more fun into the mix, does the choice HAVE to be between these laptops?

http://www.dell.com/...&p=1&sort=price

Dell has some great options, you can mostly customize your parts/package and the pricing is fair. I have the Dell XPS15, and have had NO troubles with it.

In fact, I've spilled juice in it, dropped it upside down (screen down) onto concrete and had a small table flip over on top of the laptop. Still purring like a kitten.

 

Plus, the newer dell laptops are apple-pc look-alike wannabes, so if one is looking for pretty that might be a good place to start.

 

Just a suggestion.

 

EDIT: I'm going to add in a couple notes:

 

1. Try to get her to choose Windows 7 64bit. It probably won't make much of a difference for her, but I support 64bit computing, and she should be taking advantage of the fact that she will have a 64bit processor. Plus, if she wants to upgrade her RAM, 32bit Windows can't see more than 4GB i believe.

 

2. Unfortunately, Windows has this thing, where for "power saving" reasons it likes to park 2 of the 4 cpus in quad core processors, so some "hacking" is required to get all 4 cores running, and eats battery life faster.

 

3. Raw specs are deceiving, what works in theory doesn't always (in fact, rarely) works the same way in practice

[Polraudio 122]

The VIAO is almost better in every way.

 

CPU is great

 

GPU is perfect for a mobile gamer.

 

RAM is perfect. I dont think she will ever use up all 4gb.

 

HDD Space is more than enough.

 

Its a good idea to let your battery get to 20% or lower(not dead) once a month and let it fully charge to 100%(let it charge. dont stop it from charging during that time) to keep the battery healthy. Thats called a full cycle charge. As long as you do that your battery will stay healthy for years.

 

Note: You will notice a difference in speed between 32bit and a 64bit os. I think theres a 11% boost in performance on the cpu with a 64bit os.

 

Final Thoughts: The VAIO is made more for gaming. If all they do is facebook and browsing around you might be able to find one for cheaper to fit her needs. Then again it will be great so she dont have to upgrade in a while.

 

2. Unfortunately, Windows has this thing, where for "power saving" reasons it likes to park 2 of the 4 cpus in quad core processors, so some "hacking" is required to get all 4 cores running, and eats battery life faster.

 

All you have to do is change it from power saving to balanced or high performance. Takes all of 2sec. By default most laptops are already in balanced. So no hacking needed at all.

[CrimsonInferno 35]

I agree with Lucas; The VAIO is better.

 

I'm just learning about this kind of stuff, but from what I've learned, its better because it has a better performance spec, according to what is listed.

 

For the VAIO, the Intel® Core™ i5-2450M Processor 2.50 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.10 GHz" is very good because "i5" is the newest version (second gen, and that's good!), while the other is a AMD A6-4400M dual core. I've been told dual cores are bad in most cases, especially for gamers and graphic users. The VAIO also has DDR3, which is the newest line of video memory. Tomshardware even says the graphics card (AMD Radeon™ HD 7650M) is simply amazing, and I would trust that site--they are very good and helpful.

 

The only thing the VAIO lacks that the Satellite has is the amazing about of harddrive space and RAM capabilities. 750 is an impressive amount, but to be honest, its not worth buying this one over the VAIO for that reason. I have three books with 965 GB space and I have only ever taken up 200-300 on all of them, and my household saves LOTS of stuff; graphics, notes, ebooks and we even install games and programs on them.

 

I would say the VAIO in all. It has amazing specs.

 

Note: You will notice a difference in speed between 32bit and a 64bit os. I think theres a 11% boost in performance on the cpu with a 64bit os.

 

Wow, really? I didn't know there was a speed difference between them! Very cool. I only noticed that 32bit systems seem to run smoother than 64s.

[Marked 197]

Thanks for your input guys I'm pretty sure she went with the vaio and she read these posts.

 

Also while we're sorta on the subject, do you guys know any tips about keeping you battery good?

Its a good idea to let your battery get to 20% or lower(not dead) once a month and let it fully charge to 100%(let it charge. dont stop it from charging during that time) to keep the battery healthy. Thats called a full cycle charge. As long as you do that your battery will stay healthy for years.

I'm not too sure what you mean there Pol. Assuming your battery DOESNT dip below 20% each month, then make sure it does so, then charge it back up to 100% uninterrupted? Mine is always dipping under. I really want to keep my battery good coz my laptop just turned 1 year old and thanks to my uni's amazing scheduling foresight, I have 4-6 hours of lectures in a row.

 

Also what are the effects of putting it to sleep overnight or for long periods? And what is the difference between sleep and hibernate?

 

Thanks!

[Polraudio 122]

I'm not too sure what you mean there Pol. Assuming your battery DOESNT dip below 20% each month, then make sure it does so, then charge it back up to 100% uninterrupted? Mine is always dipping under. I really want to keep my battery good coz my laptop just turned 1 year old and thanks to my uni's amazing scheduling foresight, I have 4-6 hours of lectures in a row.

 

Thats exactly what i mean. Just never let your battery go dead. You will hurt your battery and lower its life by lots. I let my 1st laptops battery go dead many times and now its got a 15min battery life.

 

Using the method above on my new laptop for the past 3 years and my laptops battery is about as healthy as the day i got it.

 

Also what are the effects of putting it to sleep overnight or for long periods? And what is the difference between sleep and hibernate?

 

Thanks!

 

Never really used sleep much cause it never worked for me(black screen always when woken up and no way out).

Sleep still uses battery but not as much as it would on. I would recommend sleep for more than a few hours if your trying to save every little bit of battery you have.

 

If your in a class that's an hour long then use sleep. any longer use hibernation(read below).

 

 

Hibernation takes whats in RAM and saves it to the disk then does a shutdown. It saves the RAM on the disk so you can continue with your work or whatever you had open as if the computer was never shutdown. Once you turn on your computer it will be as it was before the hibernation.

 

Very useful for if your working on a project and need a long break without battery getting used up since it uses as much battery as it would completely off.