Budget 41-50k SONY VAIO Owners feedback - Considering the E Series

mach9

mach9

Das Layzeemeister
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Hey guys, kind of urgently need feedback on the Sony ownership experience. I've almost finalised on finally taking the plunge and picking up a VAIO E Series laptop - specifically the SVE15128CN model for my wife who's going to be the major user.

http://www.sony.co.in/product/sve15128cn

It's important i know what I'm in for because there's nothing significant that I've ever bought from Sony .. ever.. and this would be my 1st initiation to the brand - it's quality, reliability and service - all which go in to the ownership experience.

Since this is my first laptop purchase for personal use ever (yup.. have been on a desktop from the start).. I just wanted some quick feedback on the Sony ownership experience.

I've heard the common "overpriced" and "snobby" attitude of Sony's support and repair experiences so I just wanted to be sure before I put my money down on a VAIO. Especially on the warranty/repair aspects. I'm making a pretty big leap here since my intended ownership timeframe is 3-4 years at least and I need to be sure I'm not gonna be sucked into a wormhole as far as warranty/repair support goes since we all know you can't do much with a laptop if it starts to give up on you part by part.

My alternate choice was the Lenovo Z580 in the core i5 config.. the only drawback being the weight and lack of backlit keys.


Since I know we have quite a few Sony fans and owners here.. any tips, suggestions and feedback would be sincerely appreciated for helping me make the best choice!

Thanks
 
I have a Sony Vaio E series laptop for almost 3 years now, its my daily use laptop and it servers me more than 12 hours a day. Things I noticed.

1. Get yourself the extended 2 years warranty. You will need it. Costs I think just 2.5k extra or so.
2. Get yourself a laptop cooling pad if you are going to use it for extended times.
3. The build quality is pretty good for Sony laptops and service is just fine ( at least here in Kolkata )
4. The fan's used in the Sony are not so good, so sometimes extended usage without AC and no cooling solution will result is laptop getting heated, fan making lot of noise n all.
5. Keep the laptop clean and away from dust. Investing in the Sony Keyboard Skin is a very nice idea, Costs about 1k through ebay.com
6. Once a year, you need to open the laptop, clear up the dust, redo the paste of the processor and heatsinks ( You can do it yourself, otherwise get the vaio service center to do it for you, I prefer to do it myself.)

If you keep these things in mind, owning a Sony Vaio Laptop has been great for me and it looks nice as well. Best of luck :)

PS: I would choose a model with dedicated graphics card and HD resolution screen, then switch out the hdd with a SSD myself. But that's just me.

Cheers!
 
mutant said:
I have a Sony Vaio E series laptop for almost 3 years now, its my daily use laptop and it servers me more than 12 hours a day. Things I noticed.

1. Get yourself the extended 2 years warranty. You will need it. Costs I think just 2.5k extra or so.
2. Get yourself a laptop cooling pad if you are going to use it for extended times.
3. The build quality is pretty good for Sony laptops and service is just fine ( at least here in Kolkata )
4. The fan's used in the Sony are not so good, so sometimes extended usage without AC and no cooling solution will result is laptop getting heated, fan making lot of noise n all.
5. Keep the laptop clean and away from dust. Investing in the Sony Keyboard Skin is a very nice idea, Costs about 1k through ebay.com
6. Once a year, you need to open the laptop, clear up the dust, redo the paste of the processor and heatsinks ( You can do it yourself, otherwise get the vaio service center to do it for you, I prefer to do it myself.)

If you keep these things in mind, owning a Sony Vaio Laptop has been great for me and it looks nice as well. Best of luck :)

PS: I would choose a model with dedicated graphics card and HD resolution screen, then switch out the hdd with a SSD myself. But that's just me.

Cheers!
Click to expand...


Excellent. Thank you. The extended warranty is comprehensive and includes Accidental damage? Lenovo is currently offering an additional year warranty with ADP. Coupled with the cashback offer with HDFC, my friend picked up the Z580 for just 39.5k odd. So that was my alternate.

Coming back to the Sony. Right now I'm a bit constrained by my budget and I intend to keep it below 45k as far as possible. The 15128 does have a dedicated graphics card as per the site specs.

Is the cooling a major issue? I guess there will be a significant difference between your model and the one that is now on sale considering the gap of 3 years? As well as maybe battery life?
 
Would suggest to skip Sony laptops and opt for Lenovo. Disgruntled customer here. And opt for a good laptop from Lenovo like the one @Gannu bought. And add a mSATA SSD.

Sony has ADP on certain products. I believe its not there on the E series - though please check it up.
 
Turned out my first encounter with Sony didn't go too well so went ahead n bought a Lenovo Z580 from Croma. After factoring in the cashback from HDFC the final price comes up to 38k. Good enough for me!

The Phoenix Mills Sony outlet salesperson just had the wrong attitude which even pissed off my bro in law.


Anyways, thanks all for the feedback! much appreciated. Sony desperately needs to fix their attitude and judging by their so called "premium" product positioning I doubt it helps their sales in any way.
 
My three roommates have VAIO E-series laptops including one of the same model. I use VAIO C which has served me faithfully over 2 years. However, the build quality of the E series is not upto the mark. You'll rather find VAIO Fit 15E a better option - It looks much better at the same cost, has a very good build quality & even has NFC.

http://www.sony.co.in/product/svf14218sn
 
What are the specs of the Z580 like? I think there are many models to choose from just like the other Lenovo laptops?
 
Core i5 3230M / 4GB DDR3 - Samsung chips / 500GB Seagate Momentus / nVidia GT635M 1GB / 1366x768 HDLED / 1MP 720p webcam - all for 38k + 1yr ADP +2k gift coupons
 
Yeah the newer variants have USB 3.0 ports but the controller wouldn't match the ones onboard desktop motherboards and their speeds reduce considerably during transfers. I have a USB 3 pen drive and have noticed this during file transfers.
 
Gannu said:
Yeah the newer variants have USB 3.0 ports but the controller wouldn't match the ones onboard desktop motherboards and their speeds reduce considerably during transfers. I have a USB 3 pen drive and have noticed this during file transfers.
Click to expand...

I noticed a drop a bit from brief transfers with my WD Passport USB 3.0 but they weren't too bad at all.. still have to spend time on using it some more to see if they are much slower. Overall they're not too bad
 
Absolutely. They are faster than the regular USB 2 ports. But I ever since I got my Lenovo, I noticed this part. Nothing major really.
 
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