Sony Vaio Vgn-fw560f/t 16.4 Notebook

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Specifications: The Sony VAIO VGN-FW510F/B is one of Sony’s latest laptop model in the market. It is a full-sized, full-featured laptop that is designed to handle a potpourri of moderate/heavy tasks effortlessly. This model comes with a 500GB (5400RPM) hard drive, 2.2Ghz dual-core processor and 4GB of RAM (max 8GB). The 16.4-inch screen has a 1500 x 900 solution and is a 16:9 HD display. For graphics, this laptop comes with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 graphics card. Other features include an 8X DVD drive, Bluetooth 2.1 and 802.11a/b/g/n wi-fi connectivity. It has a potpourri of connectors and ports that include 3 USB ports and a HDMI output.

Design: The Sony VAIO VGN-FW510F comes in black, gray and brown but I am most taken with the black colored model. It has a very streamlined design, finish with Sony’s signature green power on/off button at the side hinges. This model measures in at 15.1 x 10.3 x 1.46 inches and weighs 6.9 pounds

Features & Performance: Sony laptops are a tad more highpriced than normal but you may be assured of getting the best from their laptop models. They are well designed, practical, dependable and durable. In our tests, the Sony VAIO VGN-FW510F/B did well in handling heavy computing tasks. We were competent to run heavy apps (like Photoshop) flawlessly. The 4GB of RAM likewise permitted for a breezy multitasking performance. The 16.4-inch display was great for watching movies and videos, particularly when coupled with it is built-in virtual surround sound stereo speakers. At the moment, the Sony VAIO VGN-FW510F/B is price at around $804 per unit.

Sony Vaio Vgn Fw560f T 16 4 Notebook

Sony VAIO VGN-FW510F/B Notebook Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 (2.20GHz) Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 500 GB HDD 4 GB of RAM

Most helpful customer reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful.
Great other than sub-par LCD
By D. Wong
Pros:
Good specs for a mid-grade notebook
Comforable & quiet keyboard
Upward facing speakers
HDMI output
Aesthetically pleasing

Cons:
LCD is dark even at full brightness
Fan comes on intermitently every 4-5 mins
Heavy (6.9 pounds)
Low battery life (~2.5hrs on light usage)

Review:
I bought this at Bestbuy the weekend of Black Friday ($649.99). It’s rare to find a mid-grade notebook that has dedicated graphics, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, GigE & 802.11n connectivity, and a 1600×900 display. Even at MSRP, the specs are pretty good for the price. The keyboard is very quiet and comfortable to type on. The touchpad is a decent size but the 2 buttons are hard to click (I generally use the touchpad tap gestures). The max volume on the speakers are pretty good and they actually face up. Many lower end notebooks have them facing down going away from your ear and also gets muffled if you put it on your bed. The HDMI is great for connecting to an external display. Unfortunately, the integrated glossy 1600×900 xbrite-eco display looks pretty bad. Even on max brightness, the LCD is not very bright. The viewing angles are bad. Normal sized text is hard to read unless you’re looking at the LCD straight-on. This is my first experience with extended usage on a Sony xbrite-eco display and I’m a bit disappointed. I haven’t used a TN-panel in 3 years, so I am a bit spoiled on monitors. I’m also very conscious of computer noise. The fan comes on and off frequently and cannot be controlled by 3rd party software (This is true of all Sony Vaios). I checked this out using HWMonitor. The PC idles around 50C. When the CPU gets stressed to 59C, the fan starts spinning and cooling the CPU down until 51C, then stops. This is a regular pattern that occurs maybe every 4-5 mins, but on the other hand, many notebook cooling systems are the same way. The good thing is this never becomes one of those lap-scorchers. This thing is quite heavy at 6.9 pounds. The big LCD and dedicated graphics add weight and also trim down the 4400mAH battery’s life. I get 2.5hrs on light usage. I think this could have used a bigger battery, but I think Sony didn’t want to have to market a 7 pound+ computer. There is still pre-installed garbage software that you’ll want to uninstall but it’s not as bad as it used to be. This is currently my main computer and I usually have it “docked” to my external S-IPS Dell monitor, external keyboard/mouse, and constantly charged, so I don’t feel the effect of the dull LCD, weight, or battery life.

Overall, I still really like the computer. To get similar specs elsewhere, you’d have to spend $1000+. It looks very sleek and has the Sony “Vaio” branding if you’re into that. With a 16″+ laptop, weight and lowered battery life are a given. The hardware is very good other than the LCD and the cooling sytem is a little bit below average in my opinion. I’d say if this looks good on paper to you, head down to a brick and mortar to check out the LCD brightness, viewing angles, and weight before making your decision.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
solid built, great value for the money
By F. Isa
I recently bought the FW 501F and it is a great laptop for home and study projects, solidly built and with superb performance and capacity for gaming and browsing. If you do not mind the lack of BD player, this laptop is a winner, but amazon’s prices for the same product are way above than Best Buy ($200+ difference). I already own a sony laptop FW 270J and they are excellent products. I would recommend this sony to anyone, over almost any other brands.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Ok Laptop – TERRIBLE Service
By D. Noyd
I have never dealt with such poor service in my entire life as I dealt with for my Sony Vaio VGN-FW. Less than six months after purchasing the computer the network connection stopped working. After two hours of dealing with Sony tech support they finally sent a technician, who replaced the network card but still didn’t solve the problem. The next step was to send the computer to the Sony fix-it center where it was to be “assessed” and “processed”. Then, I got the news – according to Sony the switch to the wireless card was broken in the off position, it was somehow “my fault”, and it would cost $700 to replace. This was a complete and utterly false and shameful assertion on their point, especially since the only time that the wireless switch had ever been used was when the Sony tech had toggled it in her diagnostics. After two days and considerable agony dealing with the customer service center I was finally able to get Sony to agree to replace the network card with no cost. All told the experience cost me two full days of my life and a month without my computer – all to get what I should’ve had all along . . . a working laptop. I bought a Sony due to their reputation as a top-notch brand, but I will never make that mistake again – they were deceitful in how they approached the issue and they made every attempt to screw me along the way.