Is Dell E6410 worth it over Sony Z?

[deahamlet]

Okay, with the specs I lay out at the bottom, the prices are similar if the Dell is on sale (they often have sales so it's not that crazy).

Important factors: weight, screen quality, durability and discrete GPU.

1. The Dell is 4.26lbs, the Sony is 3lbs.
2. The Dell sounds a ton more durable than the Sony Z (at least it claims to have some features for durability and to protect your computer).
3. They both have discrete GPUs, I'm sure the one in the Sony Z is more powerful, but I just need an average GPU to improve video experience, not really for gaming.
4. The Dell is 14" at 1440x900, while the Sony Z is 13" at 1600x900. More screen with the Dell, wider resolution with the Sony Z. A wash, I guess?
5. I've had great experiences with Dell support before, while I've heard many bad things about Sony support. Unless hardware fails, I tend to never deal with tech support and warranties. I think I've dealt with warranties twice in 10 years of laptops: once with Dell and once with Fujitsu. I can replace parts myself in laptops when they're out of warranty.

Here is the big question: how much worse is the Dell E6410 screen compared to the Sony Z?

Is the hit in screen quality worth it in exchange for the durability and good support of the Dell Latitude series?
Note: I have no interest in changing the HDDs at a later time so the fact that Sony uses proprietary SSD designs doesn't bother me.

Here are the specs: (both at 2500CAD, the Dell on sale)

Dell E6410:
i7-620M
Win 7 64bit Pro w/ recovery media
14.1" 1440x900
4gb DDR3 ram
256gb SSD
NVIDIA NVS 3100 512MB gDDR3
comes with 3 year next day on site service

Sony Z:
i7-620M
Win 7 64bit Pro
13.1" 1600x900
6GB DDR3 ram
256gb SSD (RAID0: 128gbx2)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 1GB w/ Intel Graphics HD

If anyone wants more detail as in the form filled, it's here.

Thank you.

PS: Already considered other options, not interested (HP 8440w/p, Envy 14, Thinkpads, etc)

[sammykismail]

I've weighed about 7 different e6410 with regular hard drives (not ssd), optical drive and the 6 cell battery and all of them are 5lbs on my home scale.
I've tried both 1280x800 and 1440x900 screens, with and without webcam and all of them weigh 5lbs. Unfortunately Dell's track record of advertised weight is severely lacking from the e6400 days. In the case of the e6410 the 4.26 lbs weight probably comes from ssd, 4 cell battery (not available on any configuration page) and without the optical drive. Hope knowing this in advance will save you some buyer remorse.

Having said that i really like the e6410 and the 1440x900 is really nice. It's much easier to type on the e6410 as well as I personally found the sony Z cramped when i tried it out in the store however that might be cuz of my large hands

[MattB85]

Do you need the additional durability? If so, buy the Dell.

[deahamlet]

Originally Posted by sammykismail

I've weighed about 7 different e6410 with regular hard drives (not ssd), optical drive and the 6 cell battery and all of them are 5lbs on my home scale.
I've tried both 1280x800 and 1440x900 screens, with and without webcam and all of them weigh 5lbs. Unfortunately Dell's track record of advertised weight is severely lacking from the e6400 days. In the case of the e6410 the 4.26 lbs weight probably comes from ssd, 4 cell battery (not available on any configuration page) and without the optical drive. Hope knowing this in advance will save you some buyer remorse.

Having said that i really like the e6410 and the 1440x900 is really nice. It's much easier to type on the e6410 as well as I personally found the sony Z cramped when i tried it out in the store however that might be cuz of my large hands

Oh man, that kind of changes things a lot. HP does the same thing too, their 8440p is actually 5.2lbs not the 4.4lbs they quote as "starting at". I have yet to find a configuration that is actually 4.4lbs, geesh!

But that puts it at 2lbs difference... what a bummer! It's hard to get high resolution 13-14" screen and light form factor in this day and age!

I'm used to various sizes of keyboards, I have tiny hands, so I never fret over the keyboard. I don't even mind the canadian keyboard layouts that everyone absolutely hates! I'm weird that way.

[Bronsky]

I don't know how many issues you've had dell deal with within the past couple of years, but my company changed its "Dell Only" policy after 10 years because the support and service had declined so much. The only Dell left in our office is the receptionist's desktop XPS.

IMHO, the Latitude is really an uninspired design. It is large and heavy. The Sony packs the same CPU power, a better display and a better graphics card in a 13.3" unit that weighs 3 lbs.

Since I estimate the cost to be similar, I don't see the advantages of the latitude over the Sony. It wouldn't even be a close decision for me.

Bronsky

[deahamlet]

Thanx Bronsky. The more I read from owners of E6410 and reviews, the more I think my original decision for the Z stands.

(I'm a secret Sony hater, I just have to come to terms with the fact that I will be owning a Sony product. no alternative makes sense considering my priorities. drats, Sony has finally caught me in their web)