How's The Vaio FW Durability?

How does it last with you?

Any hardware problems?

 

Mine was custom-configured and delivered in January of 2008. Spec'd with the highest processor at that time: a T9600 Core2Duo 2.8Ghz with a full HD 1080 screen & Blu-ray burner. It was subsequently upgraded to a max 8Gb ram, Win7 Ultimate x64, and a 500gig 7200rpm drive.

3 years, two months later in writing this post, the machine's been running as flawlessly as possible. No hardware sourced lockups, no dead pixels, no chicklet keys falling off, and in my case, no issues with the barrel hinges. My machine sees a daily regimen of CAD modeling, high-definition video editing, and an occasional run of DVD/Blu-ray burning. Back when I had time, it also saw some gaming duty through QuakeLive.

Is mine a permanent desk queen? Absolutely not. It gets hauled around EVERY SINGLE DAY since it's been put into service. 90% of the time it's among THREE different locations -- repeated sequence: Shut down, protective sheet between screen & keyboard, into the VGP-AMC7 slipcover, into a lightly padded compartment of a SwissGear Maxxum backpack... rinse, lather, repeat.. nearly 3 times a day for 3 years.

The protective mat for the screen is just to keep the rubber bumpers on the lid bezel from leaving a mark on the palmrest. When a residue mark builds up to a noticeable level, a swipe of rubbing alcohol cleans it.

The silkscreened letters on the keys are all intact. The only sign of wear is a shiny right half of the spacebar from essentially being "polished smooth" by my right thumb after these 38 months.

All the repeated charging required a new battery at around the 2 year mark. I made sure to pay for a Sony OEM battery. I've played with aftermarket batteries on my previous notebooks and it's just not worth it.

In addition to the in-town duty, my FW has also seen at least a dozen cross-continent and international flights.

The "secrets" to my notebook longevity?

Keep it padded & protected. Is it a pain to use a protective screen/keyboard sheet and a neoprene slipcase? I decided early on with my priciest notebook so far that I favor longevity over the convenience of being more reckless. IMO, the condition of my notebook today vindicates the extra 20 seconds I've been spending in my ritual.

Keep it dust-free Occasionally blowing out dust/lint/debris from the heat vents, keyboard, and ports will hopefully minimize a buildup that would trap heat and lessen the life of components.

Don't touch it This is the one folks need to heed most. Think about how you've pawed at notebooks every day. Capture that mental snippet and then multiply it by 365 times. Banging on the keyboard, sanding your dry finger across the touchpad, repeatedly jamming the RF mouse dongle and printer into the USB ports. Trip on a wired mouse or headphone cables and you could damage the USB port or worse, drag the entire notebook down. A lot of this can be avoided. The FW features internal bluetooth. I simultaneously use a bluetooth mouse and headphones on it. My printers sit on the network itself; printjobs sent via WiFi. No USB cables to repeatedly erode the ports. That eliminates all the hardwires except my power connection. I've considered keeping a bluetooth keyboard at my locations, but the FW's keyboard has held up despite my daily abuse, so it's the exception to my rule.

Granted my VGN-FW290 has never been dropped, at its age, it's held up the best out of all my previous notebooks (mostly Toshibas) given the same daily abuse they've all seen.

If Sony made an identical FW with just a i7 Sandy Bridge bump, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately given their direction with the upcoming F 3D series, I'm holding tight to my FW for as long as it'll last.