I got this laptop as a birthday present for myself. Before getting this, I browsed different computers and considered Dell XPS 16, Mac Pro 15 inch and Lenovo Y650 as well. After all the comparisons that I made according to the design & features of all the laptops, Vaio FW won over a lot of mile.
Price: The price is very reasonable having jam-packed features. If you customized all the features that Vaio FW has to the other aformentioned units, i bet it will cost a lot lot more. See below prices comparison according to specs that Vaio FW465 offers with certain differences:
a.) Sony FW From the main Sony site it is Less than 1,200 (including the mail-in-rebate) plus free 100 music downloads while from amazon.com it will be 1,029 (including rebate)
b.) Mac Pro 15 Around 2k! The difference in specs with the Vaio FW are the following: backlit keyboard and battery life are the pros for Apple as I can see it. Apple have Mac OS but Sony offers free Windows 7 upgrade, sooo I still stick to that. The graphic card of Mac is Nvidia 9400m while Vaio have the astonishing HD4650. Vaio have bigger and brighter screen not to mention the Dolby sounds and Blu-ray capability Mac Pro? .... NOT!
Disclaimer:Mac fan boys might read this and may say that I am just poor or anything (like they always do to people who didn't choose Mac) ---you're wrong. I can afford Mac but the features they offer doesn't meet my standards. So chill and understand that people have different options in choosing computers.. peace!
c.) Dell XPS 16 From its site Around 1,650 having the same specs as the Vaio FW. I am also alright with this, but I have been reading so much negative reviews about the heat and the death blue screen for Dell lately. Soooo, that actually makes me a little bit cautious about recent Dell products.
d.) Lenovo Y650 Around USD1,300 without the blu-ray capability, only 5400 rpm HD, having NVIDIA GeForce G 105M 256MB Graphic card and Screen LED 1366x76. This is still ok, knowing that Lenovo's are really durable.
Main Features: I like how they customized it to have 2.53ghz of processor speed with 320gb of memory having 7200rpm. That feature itself is already a plus compared to any other laptops out there. The blu-ray capability makes your HD experience of watching movies really great combined with High Definition Audio with Dolby Digital Live and the brightness of the screen. Nobody else (as of now) does great Blu-ray experience the same way Sony does it, for me. The graphic card was also upgraded to Ati Radeon HD4650 with 1gb dedicate dvideo RAM making your gaming experience really great. I also like the classy look of Vaio FW with the hinge and just seeing the Vaio logo makes people WOW already. Also, almost all my gadgets (PSP, my cellphone, camera and music player) are sony, so I find this convenient having the magic gate card slot. The motion eye camera, the pebble black key panels and the multimedia dedicated buttons are awesome as well. One more thing, if you guys are concerned about the heat being produced by this laptop don't worry because it has a great cooling system and dock design. The heat is common to all laptops but this one is a lot cooler than others (compared to my old gateway, dell, macbook and my dad's toshiba).
I just wish it has a backlit keyboard to make it a complete package already (though the screen is too bright that you can see the keyboard panel as well, during night). Also, the bloatwares should be lessen -I don't find this an issue but I know it's a hassle for some. You can delete them anyway but you have to allot some of your time in doing so. One more thing, you have to do a lot of things to maximize the performance of the laptop during the setup.
I don't need to make this really long. Overall, the unit is very nice and it has totally awesome features with it. This is a great buy and you can never go wrong with Vaio FW. I bet you can make use of this laptop for many years without being out-dated. I am a meticulous person when choosing my gadgets --and this unit meets my expectation!
I ordered the Vaio FW neoprene together with this unit and it fits quite well.
Some perspective here;
I've been using an exceptionally-well equipped Dell Latitude D620 for the past 3 years. This computer was just an all around workhorse. Very reliable, consistent performer and pretty decent speed for it's generation.
But you know, that love fest could not last forever. The screen is now politely giving me hints that it's about to kick the bucket. So, anyways, that's where I'm coming from. Need a new laptop, up to the task.
And this is when the Sony VAIO FW came into my life. Love it ! I'm a sucker for the hinge-mounted power button and charger plug. Absolute convenience. The flashing light is pretty cool too.
But at this price tag, that is obviously not near enough to cut the cheese. I need a powerhouse multimedia Dell-D620-killer to make the switch. Also I needed something well rounded enough to justify spending an additional $100-200 more than a comparably well equipped dell/HP and at the same time be good enough to talk me out of buying a mac. Enter the Vaio FW-465J.
I bought the Vaio FW-351J first from the Sonystyle website, but was not impressed at all. But between the 351j/h and the 465j, there is a big leap in configuration specs. I already knew I liked the 351j/h looks and styling, but was really just disappointed with it's performance. Having windows Vista didn;t help much either. I'm running Windows 7 on my Dell, and have never had to deal with Windows Vista before. What a terrible OS. I can't wait until I get the official Windows 7 release version. Needless to say, the first thing I did when I got my new VAIO, was install Windows 7 right away. Total bliss ...
Alright, so now down to what you need to know ...
Sony VAIO VGN-FW465J/H
Pros:
-Blazing processor. Yes, the Pentium P processor (versus T processor) and the upped 3MB L2 cache do make for significant differences. Quieter, faster and less heating up = smiley face.
-7200 RPM hard drive. When I upgraded my dell hard drive to 7,200 RPM (Toshiba), from 5,400 RPM (Seagate), there was a noticeable increase in cooling needs and heating up without noticing much difference in the speed and performance. It may have been that the old processor was not up to par, but I felt like it was a bad upgrade. I have not found this to be the case with the Sony-installed hard drive (whoever makes it). It does the job of a 7,200 RPM but acts like a 5,400 RPM (less heating, less power consumption = longer battery life).
-The 16.4 widescreen is p-e-r-f-e-c-t. Sony found it's niche. It's not good, it's not better, it's just perfect. The 16:9 ratio (reflected in the 1600x900 resolution) is just what widescreen movies beg to be played on. Add bluray playback capabilities, and you've got a home run. Seamless Sony bluray playback makes for an even better experience. I'm loving the dedicated A/V controls too.
-1GB dedicated video RAM coupled with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650. Says it all.
-HDMI outlet for hooking up movies to HD tv's for a full 1080p experience (I don't know who uses firewire -not mebut it's there also if you need it).
-4 GB ram is nothing to brag about anymore. It's actually become quite mainstream, but they're all at your disposal with the 64-bit processor.
-Bluetooth connectivity big plus !
-Although resolution could be improved, webcam and mic do a pretty decent job for great skyping.
Cons:
-I miss the white keys on the FW351J. The black keys are alright, but the white ones were more easy on the eyes for me. They look more Sony than the black ones.
-Most (if not all) shortcut keys do not work with the Windows 7, but I am confident that will be resolved with the updated Sony 7 drivers included in the upgrade kit. No biggie.
-Spaced out pebbled keys on keyboard take some time to get use to, but are oddly comfortable.
-I would like bigger mouse clickers. I think these are a tad too narrow for my taste. It's probably just a matter of getting used to them.
-Not exactly a nimble, light and portable laptop. That's the price you pay for a 16.4 screen. If you're always on the go, or have to move your PC around a lot for work or school, this may not be for you. If you move around only occasionally, and would like a portable multimedia powerhouse of a desktop replacement, then look no further.
-Even with the "better" LCD on this configuration, it is still not a true 1080p resolution you would get on a flat screen TV. I can't tell much of difference between 720p and 1080p on a 16.4 screen, but if I am burning to see a movie in 1080p, I'll just output it to my TV via HDMI cable. If you're on a train, and you just ABSOLUTELY NEED to watch Narnia bluray in 1080p HD resolution, then you may be disappointed (brat!).
-No fingerprint recognition
-Keyboard not backlit
-Speakers are just OK. Nothing sensational. Would expect a bit more for this price range, and a "multimedia minded" laptop. Laptop mounted BOSE speakers ... that's what I'm talking about !
-1.3MP webcam, opposed to 2.0MP.
Overall:
Would I buy this Vaio all over again ? 8/10
Would I recommend it ? 9/10
Am I satisfied with my purchase ? 8/10 (I feel I'm paying $100 more just because it's a Sony, which I'm fine with, but not 10/10).
*** 3 year update: Works great! Have not had a single incident where this thing has let me down. The battery has been pretty lousy lately, but come on ... 3 years isn't a bad run at all.
Great purchase, solid quality build and a fantastic product so far.
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Buy Sony VAIO VGN-FW465J/B 16.4-Inch Laptop - Black Now
I just got this laptop on Saturday. Upgraded to Windows 7 RC the same day. This computer is phenomenal. Great, and I mean great for watching blue ray movies. I dont know how time will influence my opinion of this computer but my first impressions are it is a power house of fun. Performance is great in all areas tested so far, have yet to do any gaming though. Oh by the way yes the AW series is designed for "Photographers" but this is a perfectly capable computer, the 18" screen on the AW series is a bit to big to lug around in any photographers gear bag, this computer is superior performance wise then athe VGN-AW310J (which is priced higher) it just has a 2 inch smaller screen, which to some may find important. I am happy with better performance than a bigger screen since I have a 22" samsung anyway.
Read Best Reviews of Sony VAIO VGN-FW465J/B 16.4-Inch Laptop - Black Here
Gorgeous wide screen notebook that is ideal for graphics editing. It lacks useful features found in less expensive notebooks of comparable size (e.g. 16" HP notebooks), such as fingerprint security and hard drive auto-lock, but the faster hard drive (7200 rpm vs 5400 rpm), faster CPU and front-side bus, and additional RAM, make this Sony much more ideal for Photoshop and Lightroom use. The keyboard and touchpad are excellent. On the minus side, it is a little pricey, it gets warmer than I would like, and its battery loses power much more quickly than I would like. All things considered, however, it is a high quality notebook and is great-looking in chocolate brown.
Want Sony VAIO VGN-FW465J/B 16.4-Inch Laptop - Black Discount?
I have owned several Sonys before and they have always been good computers. I don't think this one is any different. Problem is computers have operating systems and tons of other programs that the computer manufacturer doesn't make. Well whether you pay $500 or $1500 for your computer you can still get OS and software issues. This computer came with a CORRUPTED OS FROM THE FACTORY. Normally you would think customer service would help you figure it out and fix it no problem. Well that's where Sony has proven to be light years behind everyone else. I have never had a worse experience with a customer service department EVER, computers or other products. I have already talked to 4 people who all keep handing me off to the next person who then claims to read the transcript yet then asks me the exact same questions and attempts the same repair procedures as the previous agent. Personally I hate the way the computer manufactures don't send out physical OS/Driver back up discs. Sony installs a "secret" backup partition on your hard drive instead that eats up 10gb of precious space. In my case we tried to create the discs but just like the OS that feature was also corrupt and could not be performed. You would think they would immediately say okay lets just send you some discs. No, after it failed the tech said he was sending me to a tier 2 support. The "tier 2" agent claimed to read the transcript but then asked all the same questions and same recovery procedures. I was literally pleading with him "wait stop we already did this I need discs" and yet they completely ignored me and kept reading their scripted responses as if I didn't exist. Finally the 4TH AGENT, after of course asking all the same questions, told me that tech support cannot order recovery discs and that I needed to contact a department called "Customer's Information Service Center" whom I will need to BUY a recovery disc from, not to mention that number isn't even a 1-800 number. So basically I have to pay to call a department to pay to get a disc to a computer I just bought that came messed up out of the box? Well needless to say I seriously hope you never have a problem with you Sony because if you do you're basically screwed. I would recommend saving the extra money you would pay for a Sony and buy a Dell. I have one at work and they have great customer service, not to mention they give you with your computer actual backup discs. Maybe this is a good computer, I wouldn't know, but based on their customer service, which is supposed to be the justification for Sony's premium price, I would STAY FAR AWAY FROM VAIOS and probably any Sony products since they probably all use the same support system. I hope this helps save some of you a lot of time and hassle. Good luck.
I bought this laptop for my wife's Christmas present on the day after Black Friday from Fry's online. The price was $299.00 and the laptop is built solidly. It seems plenty quick to me and when I offered to upgrade to 8GB ram from the 3GB it came with, my wife said not to bother (even though it is less than $30.00 for the ram.) We have not noticed any delay in using the mouse cursor as reported in another review here. We are extremely happy with this laptop although it is still very new and hasn't stood the test of time yet.
