Miscellaneous laptop discussions forum: HP vs. Sony

I dont know much about Vista but its not a huge issue, unless vista is really worth the extra effort.

I am a laptop engineer and having 3 years exprience with different laptop brands.Sony is designed product with all audio video and graphics to the BEST.Not a single make can compete with it. Having lots of software / utilites provided by sony NOT by microsoft which we cant expect from other brands.HP is just a plane notebook nothing great with it.Before deside to buy any laptop just have a look with sony i am sure u will change ur view/decision.In short there is no comparison between hp and sony yes in terms of prise also......

what is a ROOTKIT? and what happened with them?

is this OS change something i should be worried about?

and i think i'll most likely just get the pro preinstalled since i've heard it's a little more reliable.

... to the Dell Inspiron 6400 / E1505. I have it and I really love it. Good quality, impeccable after-sale service. It has the same GPU than the HP but on the ATi side : ATi Mobility Radeon X1400. But it has a 9 cell battery but I can get arround 6:30 of battery life when I type on Word. It's sure that if you play games, the battery life will drop.

Also, take a look to the Apple MacBook Pro if your budget accepts it. Powerful GPU and it can run both MAC OSX and Windows XP with BOOTCAMP.

THe HP dv5000t is also a nice choice. Configure it with the T2300, 1 GB and the nVIDIA GeForce Go 7400, this can be an affordable gaming machine ... but don't play big and heavy games on it ... you will be disapointed.

In order of gaming :

1. MacBook Pro for heavy games.
2. Both Dell Inspiron 6400/E1505 and HP dv5000t for normal games.

Sony's good for A/V stuff, but the overall quality of the machine & its components also seems to be higher. But then again, I don't own an HP...

I used to work at Sony in the support area as a Senior Advisor. I would NEVER buy a Sony laptop, especially the FS model or any other Foxcom model. JUNK. Their very high end systems are ok but the cheaper models they have and if you cap at 1500, then you get the cheap model. JUNK. I could buy anything I want and I use a Toshiba notebook...
One thing the Sony lower techs are good at is formatting your system. and it usually, it works fine after the format. DUH... their video editing software works but do not add any software to assist the editing or the techs will format you first,,, they do not care about your data, just another call...

I have a Mac and AppleCare is wonderful although I rarely need to use it. I have an HP and I am happy with their service, especially their e-mail support. I also bought a Sony. "Customer Service" and "Sony" should never be used in the same paragraph. Sony's customer service by phone is abysmal but it is even worse by e-mail. Usually,I receive the second e-mail saying that it would be better calling on the phone. These are all desktops NOT laptops but the level of service is probably the same.

I've had 2 Sony desktops and one Sony laptop with a replicator I'm currently using and swear by Sony. The first two are still being used by family members that needed computers. I've never had trouble with their service, but of course rarely needed it due to the quality of the computer and most things I can take care of myself. I'd buy another one without question.

All the computers had TV cards that worked great but never have gotten into gaming so can't say how well they'd be but I'd imagine with the graphics it'd be great.

I have 2 sisters that use Mac's due to work and they love them, so I can't diss a Mac.

Your answer is simple.... If it's a SONY, forget it.....
Ok they may make a decient product occasionally, but every time I've broken in and bought one, it works for a while.
Once you need customer support, forget it. Sony takes the attitude it is YOU that should be grateful Sony allowed you to buy their product.
It's Sony that flooded unaware PC users that played Sony CD's, a 'root kit' secretly installed on their PC's that allowed hackers to gain access.
It's Sony that sells 'protection' software for games that refuses to allow you to play games you legally purchased, if it detects software Sony deems unwanted (even if you bought that software legally)

And you want to buy any thing from Sony?

was that you have never had to contact Sony Service. My Sony came bundled with Corel Office 12. It had a glitch. Sony telephone support couldn't handle it. Neither could Sony E-mail support. "it is too complicated for e-mail support, try phone support. I finally sent an e-mail to Sony.jp. I got a hot call from supposedly the President's Office at Sony.USA. It is Corel's problem. It is my problem. But, it is not Sony's problem. Period. He was a spin doctor who should have worked in the Beltway.

Call Sony support with a fake problem and see what help you get.

I personally have a sony that I bought maybe about 6 months ago, i got the cheapest laptop model from them that would suit my needs. Now i realize how stupid i was for getting a laptop that has pretty bad specs for a $1400 model. I got sony because sonys name translates to high quality (which is true when u pay the $$$ to sony).

HP has some great models that are based towards entertainment that have the working power too. You would definatly want 1GB of RAM and get a duo core intel. if you are a gamer, get the 256MB graphics card, but if you are just a casual gamer, get the 128MB card. MAKE SURE that the graphics card has its own GPU and doesnt eat off of the CPU (i made that mistake). I have a 60GB drive and have hundreds of documents, pictures, at least 2000 songs, several games, and programs and have it at about half full. If i were buying a laptop today i would be satisfied with the 80GB. even though it is still slightly expensive, you should get a DVD-R,RW drive, its worth the extra maybe $50 and it keeps you away from the dying CD-R,RW technology (it seems like i just stopped using floppy discs).

I think Im leaning toward the Sony SZ. It seems to have more things that appeal to me, such as the finger print scanner which is something that I would like to have since living in the dorms there is a lack of privacy. the only thing I would like that it doesnt come with is the media center edition OS, but I guess I cant have everything.

But my question is, is the GE Force 7400 a good graphics card? I cant tell if it has dedicated memory or not. Are there any major problems with that series? Ive read the user reviews and it seems like a solid computer (or it does from my none tech savvy view). And with the specs Ive chosen (Intel Core Duo Processor T2400 / ICD 1.83 GHz, 1 GB DDR-SDRAM (DDR2-533, 512MBx2, 100 GB Hard Disk Drive, DVD+-R Double Layer DVD+-RW Drive) do you see any problems? Or have any suggestions?

The SZ28 series is pretty cool, but unless your rich don't go for the premium carbon fiber casing.

"Hybrid Graphic System lets you set your graphics performance. A simple hardware switch enables you to toggle between an internal graphics chip for optimal power consumption with excellent performance and an external graphics chip for even more robust performance, for unmatched control of your time and output.

NVIDIA GeForce Go with
TurboCache Technology
NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 graphics processing units (GPU) delivers best-in-class 3D graphics and high-definition video to thin and light notebooks. "

Its other video card is the GMA 950 which should really only be used when doing things that aren't graphic intensive and to only save battery life.