If you are basing your selection criteria simply on vinyl versus aluminum, I would look for an extruded aluminum (both frame and sash) with an AAMA 2605 finish. However, there are many other features that will come into play besides this question but it is an important one. I would look at the brands that are mentioned prominently like Andersen, Marvin and Jeld Wen among others and choose one that fits your criteria (quality, rating, budget etc.. Good luck!

We are putting Simonton 6500 vinyl windows. They seem to be a better window than most I'vew looked at and we are on a very tight budget. I found them going through Home Depot-they don't sell the Simonton in the store a salesman came to the house-they are special made. Oh yeah, these are replacement windows but I'm sure they have new construction windows also.

Guess it pays to read the fine print. I thought for sure that Jeld-Wen was extruded aluminum, the mullens are - but the sashes are rolled. People keep saying there are better choices, but can someone explain why one would be a better choice? Millworkman, I read so many saying go with Andersen 400, WHY would it be your last choice and what are your favorite brands? Eastbay, what and why are other brands appealing to you vs. Jen-Weld? How is Pella? Is aluminum BETTER than vinyl clad (and particularly in Florida)?

We're in upstate SC as well. We looked at Windsor too - in our opinion Sun was a much better window overall. I don't have any photos - the top sash just slides down on some of the windows when unlocked. Here's a video from their website showing "sash droop" as he calls it, and how to adjust it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1t0zmrdlsk And speaking of videos, one of the reasons we chose Sun (not a major reason, but I still appreciate stuff like this) were the videos they posted on their website showing stuff like that above. Here's more. We just moved in the house in July, and it's so hot here - as you know - that the last thing we want to do is open a window. So we really haven't made a big deal out of it with our dealer yet. We had them come out once to adjust a few windows that had the top sash sag, but we've noticed more doing it since then, and not all of the ones I've adjusted myself will stay up like they should even after adjustment. I'll be getting in contact with our dealer in the next week or so to get those top sashes fixed as we'll be heading into open-window season soon. I have confidence they'll fix it - Sun was very good about fixing the minor issues we had right after installation. It was primarily minor finish/paint issues (we had them paint the interior at the factory) and out of 35 windows they replaced about 6 sashes. Two of them were because the dealer didn't spec tempered glass in the stairwell - they replaced those sashes with the right kind of glass for free. Good service.