Sony VAIO Laptop Debate???

[allenpg]

My Dell XPS 14z just died and I'm looking at a couple of Sony laptops as replacements. There are a couple of open box buys around me and wondered what experience anyone might have on making these into dual boot Win 8/ML machines. My desktop is already a Win 8/ML system, but would like a laptop to match. I've seen a good amount of info here for the SVE series, but not the SVF or SVT. Personally, I would love the SVE model for the bang-for-the-buck, but worried about the AMD graphics. Thanks for the help!

-Pete

Sony Vaio SVF14A16CXS ~$850
Intel Core i7 i7-3537U
8 GB RAM
750 GB - Serial ATA-300 - 5400 rpm
Intel HD Graphics 4000

Sony VAIO SVE14A27CXH ~$650
Intel Core i7- 3632QM
8 GB RAM
1 TB HD
AMD Radeon HD 7670M

 

[RehabMan]

My Dell XPS 14z just died and I'm looking at a couple of Sony laptops as replacements. There are a couple of open box buys around me and wondered what experience anyone might have on making these into dual boot Win 8/ML machines. My desktop is already a Win 8/ML system, but would like a laptop to match. I've seen a good amount of info here for the SVE series, but not the SVF or SVT. Personally, I would love the SVE model for the bang-for-the-buck, but worried about the AMD graphics. Thanks for the help!

-Pete

Sony Vaio SVF14A16CXS ~$850
Intel Core i7 i7-3537U
8 GB RAM
750 GB - Serial ATA-300 - 5400 rpm
Intel HD Graphics 4000

Sony VAIO SVE14A27CXH ~$650
Intel Core i7- 3632QM
8 GB RAM
1 TB HD
AMD Radeon HD 7670M

SVF sounds more like it is an ultrabook, where as the SVE sounds like a traditional laptop. The problem with Ultrabooks can be that it is difficult to replace components that might be soldered on or paired with other important devices. It makes replacing things like WiFi more difficult or impossible. So that's something to check into.

Of course, the AMD Radeon on the SVE is likely "switched" and will not work. You'll be using the onboard HD4000 while it sits idle.