Law Student looking for Ultrabook/Thin and Light. Narrowed down, need help choosing!

[Calvin2376]

It seems to me that you and I have the exact same criteria, with just one exception: I want my main machines to be desktops with huge giant monitors and I want each of my laptop to be under $400. Anyway, notice in my signature that I don't own any Thinkpads. I used to be a huge fan and, between 2002 and 2010, I owned 45 Thinkpads. The main reason I abandoned the brand in early 2010 was that I couldn't stand how ugly all the post-T60 Thinkpads were. I haven't seen the X230 in person but one of my colleagues has an X220 and I absolutely hate its looks. Not only that, but the keyboard became shiny very quickly and the home key ridges were completely worn off after less than half a year of use. I noticed that many of the Thinkpads I used to own also started to have shiny keys faster than my HP or Dell laptops. It's a problem with Thinkpad keyboards that somehow doesn't get mentioned often.

Anyway, I wonder if you have considered buying a cheap laptop for mobile use and a desktop that serves as your primary computer. Find an $800 desktop (e.g. the HP 8300 Elite with i7-3770) that outperforms a $1,700 Samsung Series 9, and hook it up to a 24" 1920x1200 IPS monitor (e.g. the $299 U2412M). Then get a cheap and used ultraportable laptop. With the laptop serving as your secondary computer, you probably would be more tolerant of imperfects. Except for its ugly appearance and TN screen, the X200s with 12.1" 1440x900 is a great ultraportable that has become quite affordable on eBay.

Personally I can't be tied down anywhere with a desktop unfortunately. I'll be needing my computer in class, in different libraries, in multiple rooms of the apartment, etc. I'm never really planted in one place enough to make a desktop work. So I'll take a higher price and lower specs on a laptop vs. a desktop in exchange for the mobility.

I just looked at the s9 in person and I must say the screen was fine. I think the reviewers were being a little picky. However, it was out of my budget.

Anyways, I pulled the trigger on the x230. The price was too amazing for me to pass up, even if I never saw it in person before. Best of luck with your search!

Definitely let me know how you end up liking the X230. Since I can't see it in person, I'll have to rely on reviews from owners. I think I'd really like the Thinkpad keyboard, but I think I'd prefer the styling and design of the X1C over the X230 (albeit at a higher price of course). I'm anxious to see what the X1C looks like in terms of price, specs, and reviews.

[Calvin2376]

Looks like I'm down to the Vaio Z and the X1 Carbon, which was just announced and looks awesome. I tried out another Vaio Z at the Sony store and the keyboard was excellent, far better than the obviously defective one I tried at Micro Center. Right now I'm just down to debating which I want, as they're very different - one key will be when the X1C is actually available.

For anyone who can help answer the following questions about the new Vaio Z (2012), I'd greatly appreciate it:

1) Are there places / times at which I can get any kind of deal on the Vaio Z? Obviously it's an expensive computer, and many of Sony's deals exclude it. But I'm wondering if the Z ever goes on sale, perhaps during August for back to school or anything, or if there are any discounts available for students, etc. I'd be willing to hold off on my purchase for a few weeks if there's a possibility Sony would run sales/promotions on the Z anytime soon.

2) I'd like to have this computer covered by warranty for the full 3 years of law school, but 3 year warranties through Sony are quite expensive at $250 without ADH and $400 with ADH. Are there any other options or solutions out there? Squaretrade looks unfortunately to only be about $50 cheaper - for that small difference I'd just go with Sony.

3) Is there much of a difference in speed/performance between the 128 GB and 256 GB SSD options on the Z? For example on the Series 9, the Sandisk U100 128 GB SSD is an extremely slow performer, and the 256 GB LITEON drive is much better. Just wondering if there'd be any reason beyond just storage space to move up from the 128 GB SSD. I haven't found many reviews for the 2012 Vaio Z so I haven't been able to see many benchmarks on this.

4) Most of the other computers I'm considering have ULV processors. Can someone tell me how performance will differ in everyday usage (word processing, spreadsheets, web browsing) between for example the full voltage i5-3210M in the Z and the i5-3427U and i7-3517U in many ultrabooks? How would those rank in speed/performance observable to an everyday user?

[Kuroi-Tsubasa]

1) An NBR just posted this on the Post Your Last Purchase thread a few hours ago: "Just paid about 750$ for a 1080p Sony Z with 256gb SSD, 6gb RAM and i7-620m." Could probably PM him and ask about it. Otherwise, not sure if Sony has sales on the Z.

2) OEM and SquareTrade are really the only two places to look for warranties.

3) Depends on the SSDs being used. I'd imagine that Sony uses Samsung drives for their laptops, and if so than there won't be a subjective difference between sizes. The U100 is just a slow drive, period.

4) For basic usage, you won't feel a subjective difference between full- and low-voltage. I'm comparing my i7-2720QM with an i5-3317U in an Ideapad U310 I tested. Your difference performance differences will be in the SSD and GPU (though the Z doesn't have an internal, dedicated GPU and Ultrabooks don't have anything decent to speak of compared to full-sized laptops).

[pianowizard]

Looks like I'm down to the Vaio Z and the X1 Carbon, which was just announced and looks awesome.

"Look" at the X1 Carbon more closely. The screen is downright awful. See: Lenovo X1 Carbon Review | Ubergizmo

The screen also looks terrible in CNET's video: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon - Laptops - CNET Reviews

The Thinkpad is going to be more robust than the Sony Z, but as long as you treat the Sony Z well, I say it's the better choice given the information available now. On the other hand, if Lenovo offers an IPS upgrade option for the Carbon, then the Carbon is better. I say just wait until Aug 21st to see whether that's the case.

[Calvin2376]

"Look" at the X1 Carbon more closely. The screen is downright awful. See: Lenovo X1 Carbon Review | Ubergizmo

The screen also looks terrible in CNET's video: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon - Laptops - CNET Reviews

The Thinkpad is going to be more robust than the Sony Z, but as long as you treat the Sony Z well, I say it's the better choice given the information available now. On the other hand, if Lenovo offers an IPS upgrade option for the Carbon, then the Carbon is better. I say just wait until Aug 21st to see whether that's the case.

Are you basing your distaste for the screen purely on the fact that it's not IPS, or on other aspects of the screen? Because isn't the Vaio Z's screen not IPS either? And I've pretty much only heard positives about the screen in reviews, including about wide viewing angles despite it not being IPS.

[pianowizard]

Are you basing your distaste for the screen purely on the fact that it's not IPS

Absolutely not. In fact, I personally prefer high-end TN over IPS, e.g. the Sony Z has high-end TN. Like I said, just look at the CNET video, which shows very bad colors and poor contrast, and the rapid color reversal that can be seen when the guy is closing the lid suggests narrow viewing angles. Also, read the review I linked to, which says the following:

"When dealing with text, icons and rather ordinary “Windows” stuff, the display could be better. I’m not sure that most people would notice this, but I can see the sub-pixel pattern on the screen when looking at it from a bit less than a couple of feet. This means that when I’m looking at a color that should a “flat grey” for example, I’m seeing a bit of the structure that make up each pixel. That’s pretty unusual, and I was hoping for something better here. This reminds me of the pentile pattern that we sometime see on smartphones....However, I wish that it had a slightly better screen and a smaller power brick with cable management. This is the only crack in the X1 Carbon armor in my opinion, and I hope that Lenovo will take this into account. Both are things that people use every single day, and they should be improved upon."

Such a screen is simply unacceptable for a laptop that costs $1,400. There is rumor that this Carbon might have an IPS option, and if that turns out to be true on Aug 21st, then you must opt for the upgrade.

And I've pretty much only heard positives about the screen in reviews, including about wide viewing angles despite it not being IPS.

Can you provide links? Is it really "reviews" or just "a review"?

UPDATE: I bet this is the one you saw, which mentions a wide-viewing-angle IPS screen: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon notebook -- hands-on photos | ZDNet . The photos shown in this review definitely look much nicer, which is why I suspect this model will have both crappy and IPS options. We will see.

[Kuroi-Tsubasa]

I've heard that the X1 Carbon actually has an IPS display in it. At any rate, watching the Cnet video I saw no issue with the display. Not exactly Sun-bright, but it looks similar to the 900p display in the W530 (220 nit). We'll have to wait for the spec sheet to come out to confirm.

[Calvin2376]

Can you provide links? Is it really "reviews" or just "a review"?

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Review | Ultrabook Reviews

"Viewing angles were excellent; colors didn't wash out at all, even at 90 degrees to the left or right."

ThinkPad X1 Carbon -- Able MacBook Air competitor (review) | ZDNet

"A few things set this laptop apart from the crowd, not the least of which is the 14-inch IPS matte display which is viewable from wide angles."

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon - Laptops - CNET Reviews

"The display is excellent, with a matte finish on the 14-inch, 1,600x900-pixel-resolution screen. I've seen more high-end laptops lately add a full HD 1,920x1,080 screen. On a 15-inch system, it works, but on a 13-inch it's too much, making text and icons too small. On a 14-inch, you could go either way, but I'd lean toward 1,600x900, as seen here, as the sweet spot. The screen is bright and colorful, despite the lack of a glossy coating."

UPDATE: I bet this is the one you saw, which mentions a wide-viewing-angle IPS screen: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon notebook -- hands-on photos | ZDNet . The photos shown in this review definitely look much nicer, which is why I suspect this model will have both crappy and IPS options. We will see.

I did see that review, but it's been generally agreed in the X1C thread that this reviewer is mistaken about IPS, as no other reviewers have mentioned IPS - in fact, several have mentioned it has TN. Furthermore, this reviewer mentions he's trying out the $1,849 configuration, which Lenovo has stated has the upgraded i7 and 256 GB SSDs - but nothing about an upgraded screen. I think if Lenovo was sending out review units with different screens, they'd want to make that clear.

I'm certainly with you - I hope the X1C has an IPS screen option which I'd of course take advantage of. I suspect that Lenovo will release several pre-configured models on August 21st but won't allow customization until later on, and only at that point might you be able to select an upgraded screen (if at all).

[pianowizard]

1) Are there places / times at which I can get any kind of deal on the Vaio Z?

The Sony Outlet is doing it again, 30% off all customized laptops: Sony Outlet: 30% off customized Sony VAIO laptops and PCs + free shipping

The cheapest Z2 is now $1,063.96, an excellent deal, though it includes only one year of warranty.

[Calvin2376]

I ended up purchasing a new Sony Vaio Z (model SVZ1311AFXX) and am very excited about it. The first thing I plan to do, as I do with all computers I purchase, is a clean install of Windows 7.

I've done this many times in the past, and the process was simple: create restore DVDs, download key drivers (network, BIOS, etc) to a flash drive, then boot from the disc, reformat, install Windows, then install drivers. What's different for me for this first time with this computer is 1) no optical drive with which to create restore discs, and 2) SSD with recovery partition I want to get rid of.

Can anyone help me with this process? I have a few questions:

1) Ideally I'd like to create a restore image of Windows 7 to a flash drive instead of DVDs, but I've never done this before and I can't find a great guide to this online (most I've seen involve DVDs at some point, which I'm trying to avoid). I would like to then boot from this USB flash drive to reinstall Windows. Is this possible?

Does Vaio Care or any other Sony utility offer the ability to create a USB flash drive restore image, or just DVDs?

2) What are the next steps / any watch-outs for this process? Do I have to do anything special to enable booting from USB? Once I have a bootable flash drive, do I just need to download the drivers from Sony's website to a different flash drive and install them?