Apple Imac 2.8Ghz or Vaio VGC-LT2S

[Chucky666UK]

Hi,
I know this is the best place for advice! I am tired of my itsy bitsy windows vista pc with WIRES everywhere and the mess it creates so i am after an all in one desktop solution.

Intially I was interested in the Vaio VGC-LT2S available at PC World for 1200 quid. After visiting pc world i played around with the new Macs and I was pretty impressed with the slick screen/looks and operating system. In a dilemma now, want to know which to go for!!! I mainly use office software, browse net, download big files (Video), little video/photo editing and generally just play (Not games). I have an iphone and maybe the Mac will be great with it but then i would be missing out on the tv tuner and Bluray Drive offered by the Vaio (although much slower CPU).

Please help guys. Gonna make a purchase within the next few days. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[EndlessWaves]

The screen on the iMac is highly reflective, while it's usable under artificial lighting like in PC world it can be very tricky to use in daylight. On the other hand, it is a high quality IPS panel in the screen with excellent viewing angles (almost as good as a CRT).

Personally, I'd be tempted to go for the sony but that could just be becuase I've tried the iMac but not the sony and the grass looks greener on the other side.

 

[eternaldark]

I'd say go for the Imac, you've got the ease of use for the operating system and it looks the mutts nuts. And if you do need windows you can alway install via bootcamp and have the best of both worlds

 

[EndlessWaves]

Personally, I'd be tempted to go for the sony but that could just be becuase I've tried the iMac but not the sony and the grass looks greener on the other side.

Let me clarify a bit. I've used the 24" iMac and I found that it has several problems like the glossy screen mentioned above and I generally felt that it hadn't been thought out very well.

Some of those problems are going to be common to all built in systems like having to use USB devices for any extra functionality you want and others were just stupid decisions made for styling reasons (like locating all the ports around the back where you can't see to plug anything in).

Then there were things like the lack of adjustability of the screen (just tilt, why?), the lack of ports on the back (there is plenty of space for more), the nonstandard DVI output (eh?) and the awful, awful mighty mouse scroll wheel that seem like either cost cutting or just plain bad design.

Like I said, I've not tried the sony or any other all-in-one but if I was looking for one then the only thing that would stop the iMac getting thrown off my initial shortlist entirely is it's high quality screen (Assuming you do mean the 24" one, the 20" apparently has a much cheaper screen).

 

[Chucky666UK]

Thanks for the replies guys!

Just been on the phone with apple and it turns out that I get a 6% discount because i am a teacher. The guy sent me a quote for a upgraded Imac as follows:

2.8 Ghz C2D
500 Gb Drive
2GB Ram (2x1.0G)
24" Screen
Nvidia 8800GS w 512MB (apparantely very good)
Wireless K/B and Mouse

approx £1200 in Vat (with the discount)

The Sony Vaio VGC-LT2S

2.1 Ghz C2D (T8100)
500 Gb Drive
2GB (2x1.0Gb)
Blu-Ray Drive
22" Screen
Nvidia 8400 GT
Wireless Mouse+Keyboard

£1199 at Pc World.

Which shall I go for..... can't wait any longer!!!

 

[StealthHD]

iMac

 

[badbob]

Sony laptops are overpriced so if you're not fussed with brand name you can get a higher specced laptop for a cheaper price.

 

[Lucas44]

others were just stupid decisions made for styling reasons (like locating all the ports around the back where you can't see to plug anything in).

Then there were things like the lack of adjustability of the screen (just tilt, why?)

and the awful, awful mighty mouse scroll wheel that seem like either cost cutting or just plain bad design.

just a couple of points

the sony isn't much better with its location of ports. granted some are on the side but many are round the back hidden beneath a plastic cover.

the imac is much more adjustable than the sony, it is easy to rotate due to its small footprint, the sony tilts less than the imac and is a bugger to swivel.

i agree about the mighty mouse, looks good but the scroll wheel packed up on mine after 3 months. replaces with a logitech mx revolution - fantastic!

 

[EndlessWaves]

the sony isn't much better with its location of ports. granted some are on the side but many are round the back hidden beneath a plastic cover.

the imac is much more adjustable than the sony, it is easy to rotate due to its small footprint, the sony tilts less than the imac and is a bugger to swivel.

Yes, I wasn't recommending the sony, I was just pointing out that I felt the iMac hadn't been thought out that well.

The iMac is easy to rotate if you've got a smooth surface (like a wooden desktop) and keep the base free of clutter but there is no height adjustment or pivot.

The 8800GS is a good gaming card, if you're not gaming I'm not sure what it offers except more heat (although as the iMac is quite cool to begin with it shouldn't cause any problems)

Looking at the sony a bit more and I see it has vesa mounting, the blu-ray drive is a reader instead of just a writer and ships with a software bundle I'd actually want (adobe photoshop elements, premiere elements and acrobat). Although it still has it's faults like a card reader that won't read SD cards and the ports lucas mentioned.

Both specs are fine for what you want, the only concern I had was whether the sony could handle full HD playback but as the graphics is the 8400M rather than the desktop 8400 it should be fine.

I would go to PC world again and compare the screens, do you find the 24" screen of the iMac better than the 22" screen of the sony? what about the mouse and keyboard of each? For me those would be the big deciding factors. From the specs I'd lean towards the sony (it's technically slower, but more rounded) but with an all-in-one the usability is going to be the biggest issue since you're stuck with some of it.

 

[badbob]

£1200 can get you this..

http://www.acerdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_8920G-834G32Bn_Gemstone_Blue_LX.AP50X.183/version.asp

 

[Chucky666UK]

Thanks Very Much guys, you have all been great help..
Just one last question really....

I already a own a dekstop C2D system with E6600 Processor..

From what I have read... the Imac and Vaio both have Mobile processors (T-something).. if this is true then does this mean that the 2.8GHz Imac will actually Encode/Unrar/Process files and media much slower than my existing system???

Thanks in advance guys.. waiting for replies... cheers... in the meantime off to PC World to play with the machines again..

 

[badbob]

Bottlenecks in laptops are the hard drives, not the CPU. So doing HD intensive stuff is unbearably slow. I use a 2.5" HD for the HTPC it's ok under normal use though.

 

[EndlessWaves]

Bottlenecks in laptops are the hard drives, not the CPU. So doing HD intensive stuff is unbearably slow. I use a 2.5" HD for the HTPC it's ok under normal use though.

Both have 7200rpm hard drives. The iMac's must be 3.5" since they offer options of more than 500GB, I couldn't find any information whether the sony uses a laptop or desktop drive.