| The Sony VAIO sony vgp-bps8 FW139E/H is a 16.4" | | | | the very good things about Sony's engineering. When |
| semi-desktop replacement notebook configured with | | | | not reading a disc, this laptop is silent as if not even |
| an Intel Core 2 Duo P8400, which runs at 2.26GHz | | | | on. When it reads a disc, however, it gets very loud |
| with a Front Side Bus speed of 1066MHz, 3GB of | | | | for a brief 3 to 5 seconds. The fans are fairly silent |
| DDR2-800 RAM, an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 | | | | when gaming, too. Heat and noise wise, it is a very |
| dedicated graphics card, and a 250GB HDD. This | | | | well engineered machine. |
| model is one of the first VAIO FW models to come | | | | Keyboard and Touchpad |
| out and is meant to be sold at retail stores. | | | | The spaced keys on the Sony VAIO FW are fairly |
| Reasons for Buying | | | | comfortable to type with. The keys are built well and |
| This notebook was primarily purchased as a PC to | | | | they do not stick or have any flaws to them. For the |
| take to college. Now when you think college, you | | | | serious gamer, I would not recommend using the |
| probably are thinking of portability. Being an Engineer | | | | keyboard, however. After playing first-person |
| major, portability comes second to power. This | | | | shooters on a real desktop keyboard, playing on the |
| notebook was meant to provide up to four years of | | | | VAIO FW's keyboards (or possibly any laptop |
| casual and heavy computing. The GPU was the | | | | keyboards in general) are hard to get used to. But |
| important decision maker; I needed something | | | | any serious gamer wouldn't be playing on a laptop, |
| dedicated, and the market was flooded with possibly | | | | anyway. |
| defective nVidia GPUs. I narrowed my choices down | | | | The touchpad is average; it feels a lot smoother than |
| to the VAIO FW and HP dv5t. I ended up going with | | | | other touchpads, but that's about it. I can't say much |
| the VAIO FW because of the larger screen and | | | | about it as almost all laptops now feature similar |
| faster processor at my price range. | | | | touchpad technology. The user is able to change |
| Where and How Purchased | | | | basic properties of the touchpad, from button |
| The VAIO FW139E/H was purchased at for about | | | | selection to double click speed. |
| $995. This was the best deal I could find, because | | | | Input and Output Ports |
| the retail model shipped with 3GB of RAM and the | | | | I/O wise, this laptop has one ExpressCard slot, three |
| Radeon GPU already included in the price and it was | | | | USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire (dubbed i-Link by Sony), |
| available sooner. I believe it was a fair deal because a | | | | one VGA output, one HDMI output, one headphone |
| similar Centrino 2 model would have been almost | | | | jack, and one microphone jack. It also features a Pro |
| $200 more at the time. | | | | MagicGate memory card reader. The I/O ports are |
| Build and Design | | | | pretty standard among all the new laptops; one thing |
| I'm impressed with the overall build of the VAIOFW. | | | | to note is that an HDMI output is also technically a |
| It's cased in Magnesium alloy, which makes it look | | | | DVI output, as well. A mere HDMI to DVI cable can |
| semi-metal and semi-plastic at the same time. It is a | | | | allow output to a DVI monitor if you don't like using |
| very sturdy looking laptop; the screen hinge is | | | | VGA. |
| perfect and stands strong, rubber feet under the | | | | Wireless |
| laptop keep it from moving, and I have not yet been | | | | The VAIO FW comes with an Atheros wireless card |
| able to make a scratch on it. Design wise, it is | | | | that can access b, g, and n type wireless networks. |
| fashionably sound. It carries the traditional VAIO look; | | | | It also comes with Bluetooth wireless for connectivity |
| the model I reviewed is the Titanium Grey model | | | | to peripherals. Wireless can be turned on and off by |
| with black colored keys. It has a very professional | | | | the simple use of a switch located on the bottom |
| look. | | | | left of the laptop. |
| The power button is located on the right side of the | | | | Battery |
| hinge, and it glows green when turned on and orange | | | | The batterylife is fair; I keep the laptop on full |
| when in hibernation. The media buttons are located | | | | brightness while not charging, and it usually lasts |
| on the right side, right above the keyboard. The | | | | about 2 hours. The laptop downclocks the processor |
| speakers are on top of the keyboard, as well. The | | | | when there is no external power source to conserve |
| keys make the laptop stand out, as well. The black | | | | power. The P8400 processor should be saving about |
| spaced-out keys make the laptop vgp-bps8a look | | | | 10 Watts thanks to Intel's Core 2 Duo P**** models, |
| very sharp to the eye. The "Motion Eye" camera is | | | | which run using 25W instead of 35W. |
| located right above the screen. | | | | Operating System and Software laptop battery |
| Screen | | | | The VAIO FW came with Windows Vista Home |
| The screen on this model of the VAIO FW is an | | | | Premium 32-bit (Sony OEM). It did come with quite an |
| XBRITE-ECO LCD with a native resolution of 1600 x | | | | amount of bloatware, but I managed to uninstall |
| 900. Not only is this a unique sized screen at 16.4 | | | | what I did not need. Among some of the bloatware, |
| inches, but it has a unique aspect ratio of 16:9. This | | | | there were applications I found useful: Sony's backup |
| aspect ratio is the true widescreen aspect ratio that | | | | recovery software, Windows Live OneCare, a |
| HDTVs feature. This true widescreen size is perfect | | | | 60-day trial of Office, and VAIO Content Exporter. |
| for managing windows while multitasking. You can | | | | The backup software allowed me to make recovery |
| have about four or five average sized applications on | | | | disks easily, and the VAIO Content Exporter |
| screen comfortably in the native resolution. The | | | | converts video file formats. |
| screen is a bit on the glossy side, but there are no | | | | When I had initially gotten the VAIO, I planned to do |
| reflections when there the laptop is turned on. When | | | | a fresh install of Vista. However, I was unable to do |
| off, it doubles as a tinted mirror. | | | | so with what was supplied, and so I had to find a |
| Speakers | | | | different route than recovery disks. Using an Anytime |
| The built in speakers above the keyboard are of | | | | Upgrade Vista disk that is sold separately, I tried a |
| average quality. You can definitely tell the difference | | | | fresh install. Everything worked until it came time for |
| between the VAIO FW's speakers and the average | | | | the drivers; one of the drivers gave told me it can |
| external speakers. | | | | only install on Windows Vista. I was confused as I |
| Headphones are a must if you want to enjoy a | | | | was running Vista, and decided to call Sony ... |
| movie or play music. I wouldn't recommend portable | | | | Customer Support |
| speakers as a replacement; the sound quality would | | | | Unable to install the drivers properly, I contacted |
| be equal to that of the VAIOFW. I wasn't expecting | | | | Sony support. They informed me that the user is not |
| much from speakers, though. Speakers aren't the | | | | able to properly use the VAIO without OEM Vista, |
| highlights of laptops, anyway. | | | | because the driver only recognizes the OEM Vista |
| Processor and Performance | | | | version. Slightly disappointed, I had to reinstall again |
| Now for the fun part! The P8400 Core 2 Duo is | | | | using the recovery disks and once again manually |
| remarkable fast in Vista; I have yet to experience a | | | | uninstall the bloatware. |
| slowdown caused by the CPU. The bottlenecking | | | | Aside from the OS disappointment, Sony's Customer |
| component of this laptop is the hard drive, running at | | | | Support was the most knowledgeable I have talked |
| the average laptop HDD speed of 5400 RPM. The | | | | to; they knew exactly what I was talking about, it |
| transfer of a large file via a 100Mbps network was | | | | wasn't outsourced, and were quick to pinpoint the |
| fairly slow; this wasn't all the laptop HDD's fault, | | | | driver prerequisites. |
| though. The laptop is capable of 1000Mbps transfers, | | | | Conclusion |
| and the file contained a large amount of | | | | The Sony VAIO FW139E/H was a good purchase for |
| subdirectories and files and slow transfer down in | | | | me. The features, build, and price were right, and I |
| Windows. Bootup is fast, even when multiple startup | | | | am content with the purchase. It is more than |
| applications are present. | | | | enough for any engineering CAD applications I will be |
| Gaming wise, this laptop will be fine for last | | | | using for undergraduate studies, and is great for |
| generation games. It plays Halo: Combat Evolved at | | | | multitasking and mild gaming. |
| native resolution and everything turned on perfectly. | | | | The VAIO FW's CPU and FSB speed, 3GB of RAM, |
| It also plays | | | | and Radeon GPU are a wonderful combo for mobile |
| Half-Life 2 with almost all settings on High (AA | | | | power. The aspect ratio of the screen is perfect for |
| disabled) on the native resolution. | | | | entertainment. The build quality is fantastic; Sony |
| Benchmarks | | | | does not deliver anything but their best in hardware. |
| Super Pi @ 2M: 1m 11s (20 iterations, no AC adapter | | | | The downside is insignificant. For someone looking for |
| plugged in) | | | | the best battery life, being able to play the latest |
| Super Pi @ 2M: 0m 53s (20 iterations, AC adapter | | | | game on High settings, or good sound reproduction, |
| charging battery) | | | | this is not the laptop they should look into. |
| 3DMark06: 2,569 3DMarks (869 SM 2.0 / 1023 SM 3.0 | | | | This laptop is fine for the mild power user who still |
| 2021 CPU Score), AC adapter charging battery. No | | | | wants portability. Of course, my vision of portability |
| 3DMark06 benchmarks performed on battery power. | | | | probably differs from someone who finds 6.4lbs |
| Heat and Noise | | | | heavy. It is nothing like the large VAIO AR, however. |
| This laptopis built well to handle heat. After gaming | | | | The VAIO FW is an FZ in size, and half-way |
| for about 30 minutes, the laptop was still cool. It | | | | between an FZ and AR in power. |
| doesn't get very hot at all, and is probably one of | | | | |