Can I stay connected on the go?
The Vaio FW480J/T comes with a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7350, a good mainstream processor that's an upgrade over the previous FW model's T6400. In benchmark tests against our other two similarly priced multimedia laptops, the Vaio outperformed both the HP Pavilion dv7-2185DX and the Asus G71GX-RX05 in CNET's multimedia multitasking and iTunes/Photoshop tests. As a game machine, however, this Vaio isn't as impressive. The included ATI Radeon 4650, while having 512 MB of dedicated memory and being a far better graphics option than the last FW series Vaio, played games only adequately compared with the dv7 and G71GX. Far Cry 2 had a slow framerate in our anecdotal play session, even on medium settings, but it's still perfectly fine for casual mainstream gamers, especially if you keep the resolution dialed down.
 Juice box |
|||
| Sony Vaio FW480J/T | Average watts per hour | ||
| Off (60 percent) | 0.59 | ||
| Sleep (10 percent) | 1.33 | ||
| Idle (15 percent) | 18.75 | ||
| Load (15 percent) | 61.76 | ||
| Raw kWh | 110.06 | ||
| Annual energy cost | $12.49 | ||
The Sony Vaio FW480J/T's battery ran for 3 hours and 31 minutes on our video playback battery drain test, using the included 12-cell battery. That's better than average for this category of laptop, and despite a beefy battery, the system isn't that heavy. That number outperforms HP and Asus' configurations by at least a half hour. In our power consumption tests, the FW480J/T also came out on top, costing only an estimated $12.49 a year to run. While it's only a few dollars of yearly savings, Sony's Vaio is the more power-efficient machine.
Sony includes an industry-standard one-year parts-and-labor warranty with the system. While retail shops are happy to sell you an in-store extended warranty, they are often expensive and hard to use, so we don't recommend them. Vaio support is accessible through a 24-7 phone line (but it's not a free call), and a well-laid-out Web site, with an online knowledge base and driver downloads.
Note: while this machine comes with Windows Vista, many retailers, including Best Buy, and some hardware manufacturers are offering a free upgrade to Windows 7 for systems purchased after the end of June.
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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1,280x800, 0X AA, 8X AF* | |
1,440x900, 4X AA, 8X AF |
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Find out more about how we test laptops.
System configurations:
Asus G71GX-RX05
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8700;
6,144MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 1GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 260M; 500GB Seagate 7,200rpm.
HP Pavilion dv7-2185DX
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q9000;
6,144MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650; 500GB Seagate 7,200rpm.
Sony Vaio FW480J/T
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7350;
6,144MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650; 400GB Toshiba 5,400rpm.
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