Sony VAIO FW - user review | NotebookReview

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The VAIO FW series notebook is the latest multimedia notebook from the Sony stable. Slim, powerful, HDMI output for full HD content. It comes in two shades, titanium grey and powder white. It comes in multiple configurations, including a premium and a standard model. The premium model plays Blu-ray Disc™ high-definition content like movies in full 1080 HD resolution when connected to a compatible HDTV. It can also record, store and play back personal content on high-capacity BD media. It features the world’s first 16.4-inch display, which combines the benefits of a slightly larger17-inch widescreen with the smaller “footprint” of a 15.4-inch model.

REASONS FOR BUYING

I needed a computer for college work, mostly involving web surfing, ebooks, some photo editing, web page designing, music & entertainment and casual gaming.
Initially I looked into the Sager 2092 and Dell XPS 1530. After the learning about the Nvidia card problems and the occasional blue screens from Dell, I came across this model. Just released then, wonderful balance, centrino 2 and the inviting price tag was enough. I wanted the Radeon 3650, but this came with a 3470. Not a big deal for me. Bought one from newegg.

SPECIFICATIONS

Processor – Intel core 2 duo P8400, 2.26 GHz, 3 MB L2 cache, 25W TDP
Memory – 3GB DDR2 800 [4 GB max ]
Hard drive – 250 GB 5400rpm SATA II
Graphics – ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 with dedicated 256MB DDR3 Video Memory, (1535 MB with Hypermemory )
Screen – 16.4” widescreen with 1600x900 resolution.
DVD Super Multi Drive ( Optiarc )
Dolby Sound Room Audio internal speakers (ATI HDMI audio by Realtek)
1.3 MP Motion Eye webcam

Connectivity:
Integrated V.92/V.90 Modem (RJ-11)
Ethernet - 10/100/1000Mbps LAN (Marvell Yukon 88E8055)
WLAN - Atheros AR928X 802.11b/g/n Wireless Network Connection
Integrated Stereo A2DP Bluetooth Technology

3x USB 2.0 , 1 x ExpressCard /34 slot, 1x IEEE 1394
1 x VGA, 1 x HDMI
1 x Microphone jack; 1 x Headphone jack
One Memory Stick Duo media slot with MagicGate functionality
One Secure Digital (SD memory card) media slot
Dimension - 15.1" x 10.3" x 1.14-1.46"
Weight - 6.4lbs with standard battery.
Energy Star 4.0 compliant.

IN THE BOX

The package came with the battery, power brick and a manual. No carry bag or any accessories.
The notebook is beautiful, sleek and subtle and worked right out of the box.

RECOVERY

There is VAIO recovery centre. This is used to burn a recovery discs for yourself. The recovery partition lies at the beginning part of the hard drive space, unlike in others, where it lies at the rear part. This partition is followed by the C drive which takes the rest of the space. The recovery partition does not mount automatically, so while normal running, you won’t see it as a drive or partition in “My Computer”.
I opened the VAIO recovery centre, and it takes 1 DVD-DL or 2 normal DVD’s to make a complete system recovery disc. Only during burning these disks, I noticed the recovery partition mount, but it had no drive letter. Sony says that after making recovery discs, you can delete the recovery partition. The recovery disk(s) offer different kinds of system recovery. You can revert back to the original factory condition including the recovery partition, you can also choose to make the recovery partition, and also have the option to decide the size of the C drive, or just restore the C drive without creating the recovery partition at all.

BUILT AND DESIGN

The chassis boasts a magnesium alloy casing. You can pick it up holding at any edge, and there is no flexing or creaking. The bottom region of the optical drive is really weak,and shows considerable flex. The notebook is surprisingly thin, but heavier than what it appears on first look. The back of the screen is metal. The screen hinges are strong with very less wobbling. There are no latches. The first centimeter of screen opening movement provides a spring like resistance.
The inner surface is smooth aluminum like plastic. The region around the screen is rather thin. There are some rubber studs, still the top ridge scratches with the palmrest area. This has led to some scratches on both these surfaces. There is some gap between the screen and the border. This is leading to some dust accumulation in the gap. You would need a vacuum to clean that.
The palmrest area is slightly elevated than the keyboard zone. The touchpad is located slightly to the left. On top of the keyboard, there is a metal perforated panel hosing the speakers. It stands at the same level as the palmrest. The lower left region has the media control buttons.

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The left hinge has the power input, the right hinge has the power button. When powered on, the right hinge glows green and it looks very cool. One more notable feature is that the indicators are placed very intelligently. The capslock, numlock and scroll lock LEDs are located in the edge from where the speaker zone rises. So no glare or reflection from these indicators is seen. This demonstrates excellent aesthetic sense of the designers.
The notebook is tapering with minimum chassis flex. The base has four studs, which keep the notebook a few millimeters off the ground. This allows good ventilation, and it works really well. The actual thickness lies between 1.1” to 1.3”. The studs account for the extra height.
The base is made of thick matte black plastic, the battery having a silvery shade. The vents are well placed. The RAM and hard drive compartments are easily accessible (only 1 screw). The only problem I find is a slightly loose battery.

PERFORMANCE

I waited for quite some time before submitting this review. This notebook is very fast and smooth. After the initial hiccups with Vista, I must admit that SP1 has made Vista a very smooth OS. No issues till now.
The transfer rates of the hard drive is high, copies fast, programs open in a jiffy.

I am doing a triple boot with Ubuntu 8.04. Everything works very well after the updates. The only problem I faced was the lack of volume. I plan to get it fixed quite soon.

HEAT MANAGEMENT

The bottom becomes warm after about 30 minutes of normal usage like typing and surfing. But it doesn’t become uncomfortable. During some gaming, it becomes quite hot, especially the part near the CPU vent.
The left side, above the CPU heat vent, becomes warm. Below the right palmrest area lies the hard drive. It becomes quite warm during heavy file copying, else the palmrest remains warm at around body temperature.
When the DVD drive runs, there is some vibration which creates some discomfort , but there is no noise.

SCREEN:

The screen is crisp and bright. The blacks are a bit grayish due to some light leakage. Both vertical and horizontal viewing angles are quite good compared to notebook standards. While viewing at 90 degrees, it looks beautiful. The screen is extra wide, two full size pages can be read side by side. This gives some good working space and gives the feel of working on a 17” screen.
The resolution is 1600 x 900 and it is not full HD as advertized. Full HD is available through the HDMI port.

KEYBOARD, TOUCHPAD & SPEAKERS:

The keyboard has discrete keys. Soft, gentle and gives excellent feedback. Keys show some flexing, but it is only noticeable if you attend each key individually. There is no overall flex and it makes very soft sounds during typing. It is ideal for long hours of work and good for fast typing.
There is a big concern regarding the keyboard. The keys are like square tablets with springs, and the lower part is exposed to dust. So prevention from dust will be a problem.
The touchpad is electrostatic type. It has a dotted look. The scroll zones are not marked. It is quite sensitive. The buttons are a bit tight. They give a strong click sound when pressed. It can be a bit annoying to a person sitting near you.
The speakers are quite good. Sound is crisp, with no bass as usual. It is good for listening to music while working, as well as watching movies. But you need to crank up the volume to max to get some good sound. Sound does not crack up at high volume levels. A friend of mine has a VAIO C series. It seriously lacks volume. This one is definitely better.
As this is a “Mobile entertainment powerhouse”, it would have been better if Sony would have provided a built-in subwoofer.
The volume control is awkward. The volume control gradient is non-linear. Decreasing the volume by 5 marks (out of 20) almost reduces the volume by half. The first 10 marks hardly add anything to the volume. This needs improvement.
After having worked on the notebook for a month, I must say that the keyboard is catching dust to some extent.

PORT PLACEMENT:

The front part of the notebook contains the audio ports,
The right side has all the 3 USB ports side by side, and the optical drive. One more USB port would have been better. But I don't need a 4th one, so I guess it evens it out.

The back side has no connections, just the hinge.
The left side has the CPU heat vent, Ethernet, dial-up modem connection, VGA port, HDMI, and firewire port followed by an expresscard card slot.
The front has a SD card reader and a thumb drive reader on the left portion. To the right are the headphone out and the microphone in.

BENCHMARKS:

wPrime 32M – The best shot came @ 34.942 sec, average was around 35.5.
3DMark06- 2564 ( Stock drivers )

OVERALL:

This is a great notebook, very comfortable for long hours of work. Excellent aesthetics design and built. It gives the ability to work as on a real desktop replacement size screen without sacrificing on portability.

Pros
# Streamlined looks, excellent built, magnesium alloy chassis.
# Very good keyboard.
# Crisp screen, extra wide.
# Good heat management.

Cons:
# Average battery life ~ 2hr 20 mins on power saver with standard battery.
# Slightly loose battery fitting.
# Speaker volume and its control need improvement.
# Inner regions prone to scratches, so be careful.