<p>So, I'm trying to decide between the two aforementioned laptops. And, I'm just wondering what you guys think.</p>
<p>Specs:</p>
<p>Sony Vaio Z (purchased with aftermarket upgrades):
- 13.1" screen; LED backlighting; 16:9 aspect ratio; 1600 x 900 resolution
- Materials: Brushed Carbon Fiber and Aluminum
- Weighs approximately 3.4 lbs
- Averages 5-6 hrs battery life on 50% brightness
- Integrated Intel chipset + Nvidia 9300M 256 MB discrete card (switchable graphics)
- 4 GB DDR3 1066 MHz
- P9600 2.80 GHz Core 2 Duo with 1066 MHz FSB and 6 MB L2 cache at 25 W
- 500 GB Seagate 5400 RPM at 66 MB/s
- Price: $1799 (final)</p>
<p>A similarly configured T400, with a 14.1" screen at a lower 1280 x 800 resolution, weighs more at 5.3 lbs (6 cell battery), has a larger overall footprint, and a smaller 320 GB hard drive. It gets about the same battery life. This laptop will cost about the same ($1800) if bought direct from Lenovo. I suppose that is an advantage, since the Vaio I'm looking at would be purchased from a 3rd party (albeit a reliable company). I went to check out the Vaio Z in the store today and it looks absolutely gorgeous and sleek. By comparison, the ThinkPad (my Dad uses one right now) is downright bland and rather outdated in appearance. The ThinkPad is made using carbon fiber (and fiberglass), so the build quality is actually very similar to that of the Vaio Z. I know a lot of people on this forum advocate ThinkPads, so I'm looking for someone to convince me that the T400 would be worth it despite its shortcomings versus the Vaio Z. By the way, I'm going to be a computer science major if that's relevant in any way.</p>
<p><a href=“http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/usstudents/StdAffinityPortal/en_US/StdAffinity:Home?affinity=usstudents[/url]”>http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/usstudents/StdAffinityPortal/en_US/StdAffinity:Home?affinity=usstudents</a></p>
<p>Scroll down
Go to Ecoupons
select “Spring savings sale on laptops for work”
Configure again.
Note. 2.53 vs 2.8 Ghz is a minimal difference. You won’t be able to notice it.</p>
<p>Edit: Select the 2 GB RAM (1 slot, not 2x1gb) and buy and install the other 2 GB youself from newegg. You can save ~50 dollars.</p>
<p>Also, high resolution on a 13.1 screen…will make the text rather small…I hope you have good eyesight.</p>
<p>Alright, assuming the 2GB DDR3 RAM stick from newegg is ~$35 and downgrading the processor to 2.53 GHz, the new total is around $1350. Cool, now I have to either justify spending an extra $450 on the Z or go with the T400 :). Thanks! Still looking for opinions though, if anyone wants to share.</p>
<p>Can your Z do this? [YouTube</a> - Thinkpad vs Water & Weight](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeTiNndRAmM]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeTiNndRAmM)
=) The 2GB DDR3 RAM is ~28 dollars.</p>
<p>Also, you might want to go all the way through to the last page to see if there is tax at where you live.</p>
<p>I forgot to add, you can easily change the hard drive on the thinkpad. Just need to take one screw out. You can also switch the optical drive for HDD or battery. The equipment is ~50 for the HDD and the battery is ~120.</p>
<p>I don’t know about water, but the Z can be dropped from 72 cm while on or 90 cm while off onto a hard surface and still live. [Sony</a> - VAIO](<a href=“Sony Singapore | Latest Technology News | Electronics | Entertainment”>VAIO Z | Toughness) I thought that was pretty impressive, though the urinating T400 admittedly does kind of beat that :p. I don’t anticipate too many accidents though…my current laptop has endured all sorts of falls and minor spills and it’s just a cheap Toshiba.</p>
<p>I read about the swapping out the optical drive concept and it said you could switch it for a 3-cell battery. So you could get to 7 total cells while still having only the 4 cell battery (and thus reducing the T400’s footprint, since the 6 cell battery sticks out). And, yeah I’m fully aware of the fact that I can switch out RAM and HDD, I just consider that a last resort b/c it’s annoying. I always check to make sure there are significant savings involved before I go through the trouble. If it’s less than $30, I usually don’t bother. Plus, I plan to go for an external drive anyway (one of the slim, portable ones), once the internal starts to fill up.</p>
<p>Thinkpad is noted for it’s durability. Granted this is the x301 but the build quality should be simliar…[YouTube</a> - ThinkPad Test - Freefall (System on)](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCwwDacNk1U&eurl=http%3A%2F%2F..but]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCwwDacNk1U&eurl=http%3A%2F%2F..but) seriously how often does it fall flat?</p>
<p>Installing RAM/HDD on thinkpads takes ~10 secs.</p>
<p>It’s truly a shame that they have to look, feel, and weigh like the tanks that they are…that’s the only thing holding them back imo.</p>
<p>Someone commented on that first one: “during a car accident, I was killed, but luckily, my lenovo survived… -.-” </p>
<p>LMAO</p>
<p>i am actually in a similar situation…
i’ve looked over the z and am really interested in this laptop…
any suggestions??</p>
<p>I just ordered a Z yesterday…from everything I read about it, it’s worth the money you have to shell out for it. SonyStyle has some decent deals on the Z right now too (e.g. 2.66 GHz processor with 6 MB L2 cache for $100 extra instead of the regular $450 and a free upgrade to the carbon fiber casing instead of the regular $50 extra). The deal on the processor pushed it over the edge for me…the standard dual cores have a meager 3 MB L2 cache. If anyone is possibly considering a Macbook instead, bear in mind that Windows 7 is out in Beta and expected to release early next year and is essentially an optimized version of Vista (for anyone too lazy to do it themselves)…For those willing to take the time (and this applies to all new laptops), you should look up how to undervolt as well as how to cut down on default processes…this will add battery life and increase speed and it’s all very intuitive if you just follow directions properly.</p>