Sony VAIO VGN-FW490JEB 16.4" Notebook (2.53GHz Core 2 Duo P8700 4GB RAM 320GB HDD Blu-ray Read/Writ

At 6.5 pounds, the FW isn't the lightest laptop on the market, but it is probably the best value out there. Sony allows you to select a pre-built model or customize one yourself. My machine is customized:

1080p LCD Screen

ATI 4650 1gb Graphics Card

2.53ghz Intel Core 2 Duo (3mb L2 Cache)

4gb DDR2 @ 800mhz

320gb Hard drive @ 7200rpm

Blu Ray Player (Read only)

Windows 7 64bit (came with Vista 64, but I upgraded when 7 came to campus)

This machine is great for everything. Gaming, image editing, word processing, you name it, it can do it. It does get a bit hot, so lap use should be limited to the length of battery life which is roughly 2 to 2.5 hours. The keyboard is chiclet style and is unfortunately not back-lit. The speakers could be better, but I am usually wearing my MDR-500 Sony headphones (which I also recommend for people who like pop/rock music).

The only complaints I have are centered around weight and placement of ports. Like I said, it is fairly heavy. I have a messenger bag that I used my first semester this year at Indiana University, and it got extremely heavy when dragging it around campus. I am going to find a backpack so that it is not as much of an issue. It is also worth noting that its 16.4 inch screen makes this thing fairly large so it take up a lot of real estate on your desk. VGA, HDMI, Ethernet, Firewire and Express Card slot are on the left side, and the tray loading Blu Ray drive and three USB ports are on the right. I would prefer if the USB ports and Blu Ray drive switched positions (drive moves forward and USB ports move backward), however, they work where they are.

Build quality is pretty good. I always seem to compare any laptop against the unibody Macbook Pro, and the FW holds its own. Even though it is entirely made of plastic, it looks great and is of solid build quality.

I chose the FW because it was the best deal on the market. I looked at every major brand and I could not find a cheaper computer with the same specs. In fact the only one that came close was, I believe, a Dell XPS. It was almost $200 more! The FW is a mulitmedia/gaming machine. It will play Crysis at 720p medium settings at 40 fps. All other games are playable at 1080p and high settings. It can also do some pretty hard core image editing. This a great all around computer.