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    Sony Vaio VGN-FW93XS One Month Review

    Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by BurakUeda, Sep 23, 2009.

  1. BurakUeda

    BurakUeda Newbie

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    The good, the bad and the ugly...

    The good:
    • 3.06 Dual Core CPU (Probably best for a notebook PC, performs better than quads IMO)
    • 1GB GPU (Mobile Radeon HD 4650) /Almost impossible to get a 1GB GPU on other brands with this price. I have a problem with the GPU (see "the bad" below) but other than that, can play 3D intensive games like Crysis/Crysis Warhead in "Gamer 4xAA" settings without any problem (well until the PC crashes...).
    • High resolution screen (1920*1080 on a 16.4" / 134 PPI) Again, a no-brainer for that price.
    • Price: Paid 134K JPY (approx $1400). Similar configuration costs over $2K in Dell, and has 512MB GPU. HP Japan can compete with the price, but screen quality and keyboard design is crap.
    • Sleek design: It looks really good.
    • Nicely designed keyboard layout: Not crowded, easy to type. Right shift could be a bit larger, but can be ignored.

    The bad:
    • GPU: The problem I have posted earlier still continues: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=416569. It looks like overheating, but I saw notebook GPU's going well over 70~75 C without a problem. Currently waiting for response from Sony customer support. I hope this is an isolated incident and they can fix it ASAP.
    • Touch pad: One thing I really miss from my previous HP notebook is, Turn on/off switch of touch pad. Vaio doesn't have one.

    The ugly:
    There is nothing ugly, yet. I might update this part after I get response from their support ;)

    Overall, I am satisfied. GPU problem is a drawback, but it seems that it's not a common issue in FW series. So I guess it is only my machine and hopefully will be fixed/replaced.
     
    BurakUeda, Sep 23, 2009
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  2. knyghtryda

    knyghtryda Newbie

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    I can add something to the ugly... the keyboard sucks and sometimes can't record more than two simultaneous presses. For example... down+right+z fails (racing game, turning and braking plus downshift), as does W+A+space (fps, forward and left and jump).
     
    knyghtryda, Sep 24, 2009
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  3. BurakUeda

    BurakUeda Newbie

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    Are you sure that isn't the game's fault?
    I am using Illustrator CS4 with pretty awkward 3-4 combination shortcut keys (Like Alt+Shift+Ctrl+L), and had no problem so far.
     
    BurakUeda, Sep 24, 2009
    #3