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- Return for replacement within: 30 days
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| Product Rating: |
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| Total Reviews: |
16 |
Solid Mid-Range Notebook
- Pros: The VGN-FW Series Notebook packs alot of solid mid-range hardware into an affordable package. Notably, the notebook scores high in the following:
1. Screen - The XBrite screen is very vibrant and crystal clear. Very easy to work with both with Office applications and gaming.
2. Keyboard - The keyboard's placement and key style makes sense for someone who can type with more than two fingers. It takes a bit of adjustment though, especially avoiding hitting CAPLOCK instead of A.
3. Temperature - Stays cool for a notebook with a better processor and dedicated graphics card. Only the left-rear vent gets noticeably warmer under heavy gaming.
- Cons: It's a broken record of complaints, unforunately:
1. Bloatware - There is a serious amount of unnecessary software pre-installed in this notebook. Be prepared to uninstall for about 30 minutes before making your recovery discs.
2. Wireless Connection - Does not work out of the box. It's fixable, if you have the patience to go to Intel's Website and download the updated drivers. Do not use Sony's drivers for the Wireless Adapter.
3. Battery Life - Battery life is horrendous, maybe 1.5 hours tops unless you have very conservative power settings. Research seems to indicate it may be a Vista problem, but the initial reports state that Windows 7 isn't much better on the power end.
4. No Blu-Ray Player - And it's a Sony too, surprisingly enough.
5. Windows 7 Upgrade - Sony could have taken the effort to really make getting the upgrade more user friendly. Fax'ing the upgrade forms kept timing out, and I received no confirmation for the e-mailed form. I'm not sure I am getting
- Other Thoughts: It's a very well put together notebook, that requires a bit of technical knowledge to properly get up and running. It's best to strip out the bloatware, those problematic Sony drivers, and prepare recovery discs once the system is setup and working as you want it.
Because of Sony's problems with their software, and their customer service, hope for the best when ordering the Windows 7 Upgrade but be prepared to pay for the Windows 7 Professional Edition (which would be a smarter investment for this notebook over Vista/Windows 7 Home)
Best Spec Machine for a price
- Pros: Fast CPU, great GPU (I play GOW and lost planet without any problem), fast HDD and nice screen (res 1600x1200 is perfect for 16" lappy)
- Cons: Keyboard and media control feels a little bit cheap. Only 3 usb ports also with bad layout. Cheapy sound. No S-Video out
- Other Thoughts: I bought it when the price was only $899.99. For this price, this machine was the best I could get at that time.
Wireless Made it worthless
- Pros: Fast machine, bright screen, screen frame build was strong and surprisingly made of metal. Delivery was quick, and everything worked out of the box (except buggy wireless)..
- Cons: Keyboard layout was awful, they reversed where the function key and ctrl key were which was very awkward. Also the home, and end keys were in bad spots. The wireless worked, but seemed to have constant issues with websites that had media (Facebook, HULU, twitter, you tube). Issues meaning the page would load in 4- 5 minutes. Screen gloss was way to much, and it was not completely flat (IE ripples / dimples in it )
Sony's drivers are rather annoying and they only seem to work well if they are installed via the restore disc. This restore disk is so kindly forced onto your hard drive space which you no choice but to eat (instead of DVD).
- Other Thoughts: I wanted a cheaper macbook pro and hoping for the quality, and I thought Sony would come through. I also did not want to debug the heck out of it as soon as I got it. However, I was wrong and disappointed.
Sony is almost there, but falls short on testing and verifying the parts they put in work correctly all the time! I really tried not to buy a macbook pro.. but oh well I learned the hard way. Horay for Windows 7 and Snow leopard on one machine!
BTW the wireless problem seems to be a common Sony laptop issue if you search around on Google.
| Model |
| Brand |
SONY |
| Series |
VAIO FW Series |
| Model |
VGN-FW463J/T |
| General |
| Color |
Chocolate Brown |
| Operating System |
Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit |
| CPU Type |
Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 2.53 |
| Screen |
16.4" |
| Memory Size |
4GB DDR2 |
| Hard Disk |
320GB |
| Optical Drive |
Dual Layer DVD Burner |
| Graphics Card |
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 |
| Video Memory |
1024MB |
| Communication |
Modem, Gigabit LAN and WLAN |
| Card slot |
1 x Express Card |
| Dimensions |
15.1" x 10.3" x 1.14" - 1.46" |
| Weight |
6.9 lbs. |
| CPU |
| CPU Type |
Intel Core 2 Duo |
| CPU Speed |
P8700(2.53GHz) |
| CPU FSB |
1066MHz |
| CPU L2 Cache |
3MB |
| Display |
| Screen Size |
16.4" |
| Wide Screen Support |
Yes |
| Resolution |
1600 x 900 |
| LCD Features |
XBRITE-ECO technology |
| Operating Systems |
| Operating System |
Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit |
| Graphics |
| GPU/VPU |
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 |
| Video Memory |
Dedicated 1024MB |
| Graphic Type |
Dedicated Card |
| Hard Drive |
| HDD |
320GB |
| HDD RPM |
7200rpm |
| HDD Interface |
SATA |
| Memory |
| Memory |
4GB |
| Memory Speed |
DDR2 800 |
| Memory Spec |
2GB x 2 |
| Memory Type |
200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM |
| Memory Slot (Total) |
2 |
| Memory Slot (Available) |
0 |
| Max Memory Supported |
8GB |
| Optical Drive |
| Optical Drive Type |
Dual layer DVD Burner |
| Optical Drive Interface |
Integrated |
| Communications |
| Modem |
56K |
| LAN |
10/100/1000Mbps |
| WLAN |
Intel Wi-Fi Link 5100AGN (802.11a/b/g/n) |
| Bluetooth |
Yes |
| Ports |
| Card Slot |
1 x ExpressCard /34 |
| USB |
3 |
| IEEE 1394 |
1 |
| Video Port |
1 x VGA, 1 x HDMI |
| Audio Ports |
1 x Microphone jack; 1 x Headphone jack |
| Audio |
| Audio |
Integrated Sound card |
| Speaker |
Internal Speakers |
| Input Device |
| Touchpad |
Electro-Static touch pad |
| Keyboard |
Standard |
| Supplemental Drive |
| Card Reader |
One Memory Stick PRO (Standard/Duo) media slot with MagicGate functionality
One Secure Digital (SD memory card) media slot |
| Webcam |
1.3 MP |
| Power |
| Battery |
Lithium Ion |
| Physical spec |
| Dimensions |
15.1" x 10.3" x 1.14" - 1.46" |
| Weight |
6.9 lbs. |
|
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Reviewed By: Just Some Guy... on 10/22/2009
Tech Level: somewhat high - Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
