Sony VAIO CW Review

The Sony VAIO CW is a 14” screen laptop with a starting price of just over $800. The VAIO CW offers excellent performance in a stylish package and lots of ability to configure the laptop to your needs. The VAIO CW could quite possibly be one of the best price to feature portable laptops on the market today.

Currently on SonyStyle.com the VAIO CW can be configured with up to a 2.53GHz Core i5 processor, the i5 is a new dual core processor from Intel that outperforms the previous Core 2 Duo family. The graphics card included with the configure-to-order VAIO CW290X is an Nivida 310m. You can purchase a more powerful version of the VAIO CW, such as the CW27FX from BestBuy that has a Core i5 2.93GHz processor, Nvidia 330m graphics and a high-resolution 1600 x 900 screen. Purchasing a low-end $800 VAIO CW gets you decent power while purchasing a higher end $1,000+ configuration VAIO CW can get you quite a supped up 14-inch portable laptop capable of demanding tasks.

Configuration and Performance

The VAIO CW under review here is the Sony VAIO VPC-W21FX/B purchased from Amazon.com. This configuration has the following specs:

• Processor: Intel Core i3-330M 2.13GHz processor
• Memory: 4GB (2 x 2GB DDR3-SDRAM)
• Storage: 500GB 5400RPM
• Screen: 14-inch 1366×768 glossy screen
• OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 310m with 256MB of dedicated memory
• Optical Drive: 8x multi-format DVD burner
• Wireless: 802.11 a/b/g/n Atheros wireless card, Bluetooth 2.1
• Card readers: SD card reader, Memory Stick Pro, ExpressCard 34mm slot
• Ports: HDMI output, Ethernet, FireWire, 3 USB 2.0 ports, Microphone, Headphone
• Web Cam: Built-in MotionEye webcam and microphone
• Dimensions: 13.44 x 9.18 x 1.52 inches (Width x Depth x Height)
• Weight: 5.3lbs
• Battery Life (quoted by Sony): Up to 4 hours

Below is a screenshot taken from PCWizard for more details on the laptops components:

The biggest unknown for me in purchasing this laptop was the Core i3 processor and what to expect in terms of performance. Intel recently introduced the Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 processor families. The order of performance for these is good, better, best. However, even though the Core i3 is only “good” relative to the Core i7, it is superior to many processors from the previous Core 2 Duo family. Compared to Core 2 Duo processor powered laptops I’ve used in the past the Core i3 in the VAIO CW felt faster, and this is played out with the benchmark scored below:

The system performance of the VAIO CW is given a nice boost from the NVIDIA 310m graphics, although the 310m is an entry level graphics card it is a nice step above integrated graphics, giving 3 – 4 times the performance of Intel integrated graphics, and it will run 3D games on low detail settings.

HD Video playback using online sites such as Hulu.com or YouTube.com is smooth and flawless thanks to the processing power. While the Core i3 isn’t close to being the most powerful new Intel processor, I think it offers plenty enough power for mainstream users. The expensive and high-end Core i7 is only rational to purchase if you’re going to be doing serious amounts of intense multi-tasking.

In terms of perceived performance in everyday tasks and operations with the Core i3 powered VAIO CW, I never ran into any slowdowns and programs opened immediately. Bootup takes around 45 seconds while shutdown is a very fast 20 seconds or less. This was after uninstalling a few of the bloatware applications that Sony had installed by default. As a note, Sony does offer what’s called a “Fresh Start” option when configuring a VAIO CW that allows you to opt out of any extra software installations outside of what comes with the Windows 7 OS, I’d highly recommend opting for this as it helps performance and you can still get the software on disk.

PCMark Vantage	PC Wizard
3DMark06	Windows Experience Index

Sony VAIO CW Design and Build Quality

The VAIO CW is available in multiple colors, you’re sure to find a color that suits you from the following selection:

• Jet Black
• Icy White
• Brilliant Pink
• Crystal Rain White
• Aqua Blue
• Fiery Red
• Royal Indigo

The Jet Black on the VAIO CW I have is classy yet understated. The only problem I have with the black color is that it picks up fingerprints and shows them off like you wouldn’t believe. You’ll need to invest in a micro fiber cloth if your an owner of a VAIO CW as all of the finishes have glossy lids.

The case for the VAIO CW is made of plastic, this is why it does not cost as much as the desirable Sony VAIO Z series that’s made of a highly durable carbon fiber body. Nonetheless, the plastic used in the casing for the VAIO CW is strong and does not flex. The weight of 5.3lbs is a bit on the heavy side for a 14-inch sized notebook, but since the design is durable this fact can be forgiven – Sony could have used a thinner plastic case and kept the weight down, but that would not have been a good design move.

The VAIO CW is not particularly thin for a 14-inch notebook, at its slimmest it measures 1.09 inches at the front but at the back it gets to 1.52 inches thick. Again, Sony was keeping costs down and also needed to fit the right cooling system in and thus the need for more thickness and space inside the laptop. It’s still thin and light enough to easily get into a backpack with a couple of books. I would recommend a sleeve for the VAIO CW to prevent scratching on the glossy surface and just to add some extra protection from the books it will inevitably get smashed against.

In terms of looks, the VAIO CW is definitely an eye catcher. The chiclet style keyboard is appealing and the curvy and car like appearance also helps to make the VAIO CW look muscular (if you don’t choose the pink color option that is). The touchpad also has a very cool mesh like finish. The lights and buttons on the VAIO CW are all well polished in terms of design and look. The package as a whole just looks great, and while the glossy finish is a magnet for fingerprints, there’s no denying it’s an eye catcher to onlookers.

Sony VAIO CW Screen

The Sony VAIO CW has a 14-inch screen with a 1366×768 wide screen resolution. This is a standard resolution for laptops these days, it will enable for comfortable reading of text when web browsing, but it won’t allow you to fit a bunch of windows on the screen at the same time for viewing. One window at a time is really the most realistic approach given the resolution. As mentioned before, you can purchase a VAIO CW with a high-resolution 1600 x 900 screen from BestBuy if you’re a high-res screen junky and can afford the extra cost.

Regardless of the resolution you get the screen will have a glossy finish and feature LED backlighting, Sony calls this their XBRITE-ECO display. The screen brightness is excellent, the top brightness level is in fact a little too bright, especially if you’re in a dark room. You can adjust the brightness along eight-setting levels.

Viewing angles of the screen are pretty typical of many other laptops, the horizontal viewing angles are good – meaning color does not invert until you get to an angle of over 35-degrees off to the side. However, vertical viewing angles as is typical on laptops is not so good, colors quickly invert or distort as you move away from a perpendicular viewing angle. The only screens that prevent this are IPS screens as seen in the Apple iPad. Most people look at a laptop screen head-on so it’s really not much of an issue. Overall the screen is great with deep blacks and vibrant colors. The higher-resolution 1600 x 900 screen is an even better treat to see, stop in at a local Best Buy to check that out in person.

Sony VAIO CW Port Selection

The VAIO CW port selection is excellent for a 14-inch notebook. Sony made sure to include an HDMI port to allow for high-definition video output to a high-def TV. Also included is a FireWire port for fast data transfer to something like an external portable storage device. There are three USB 2.0 ports, an SD card reader, Memory Stick card reader, ExpressCard 34mm reader, VGA monitor out port, headphone jack, microphone jack and finally an Ethernet LAN port. To see where each of these ports are located let’s take a tour around the sides of the VAIO CW:

Left side: VGA monitor out port, HDMI video/audio out port, FireWire port, two USB 2.0 ports

Right side: ExpressCard 34mm slot, optical drive, headphone port, microphone port, USB 2.0 port

Front side: MemoryStick slot, SD card reader slot, status lights, Wireless on/off switch

Back side: Power jack, Ethernet port

The port selection for the VAIO CW is excellent for a 14-inch multimedia notebook. There’s simply nothing lacking and the arrangement of ports is good.  Having the headphone port closer to the front may have been nice, but that’s the only complaint I can find.

Sony VAIO CW Battery Life

Sony quotes the VAIO CW as having up to 4 hours of battery life under normal work usage. I actually found this to be quite accurate and was able to achieve a greater length of battery life with the Core i3 configuration. With the brightness set to level 3 of 8 and wireless on and doing some light web browsing I was able to achieve 4 hours and 25 minutes of battery life before the VAIO CW went into hibernate mode due to battery life shortage. Under more normal work conditions with the brightness at level 5 and running an image editing program, heavy web surfing, chat and typing using an HTML editor I got just under four hours of battery life. This isn’t bad at all and impressive that Sony was quite accurate in their statement on battery life, often manufacturers over state this number. Be warned though, if you get a higher end VAIO CW configuration that includes a faster Core i5 processor, Nvidia 330m card and higher resolution display your battery life could be a lot shorter than my experience.

Sony VAIO CW Keyboard and Touchpad

The chiclet style keyboard for the Sony VAIO CW looks and feels a lot like the Apple MacBook keyboard. It’s not quite as firm and stiff as a MacBook Pro, the keyboard suffers from a bit of flex on the right hand side, when you hit the enter key there is a visible amount of sag. The keyboard is by no means mushy or hard to type on due to this, it’s just not as firm as some other keyboards I have used.

The spacing between the keys is very good, you’ll have no problem hitting the right key. There are no dedicated PgUp, PgDn, Home or End keys which is unfortunate but not atypical for a laptop of this size.

The VAIO CW touchpad is a good size and easy to use. Your finger can easily glide over the surface, yet it is not slippery, it’s very responsive to the touch and feels great. To be honest it’s one of the better touchpads I’ve used in a while. So many other manufacturers are experimenting with touchpads that have glossy surfaces and look nice, but in practice they’re horrible to use. The VAIO CW touchpad makes it easy to scroll vertically using the far right side of the touchpad, you can scroll horizontally using the bottom of the touchpad. For those that care to know, the VAIO CW touchpad is a Synaptics TouchPad using driver version 7.2.

Sony VAIO CW Speakers

The speakers for the VAIO CW are located at the top of the keyboard on the left and right side. The speakers point forward and offer a nice loud volume, I like listening to NPR radio online and there’s nothing more annoying than quiet speakers that make talk radio hard to hear, but volume was great with the VAIO CW so it’s simply a non-issue. The bass is lacking on the VAIO CW speakers so music doesn’t sound quite as good if it has a lot of bass. Of course, a headphone jack is available and you can plug in a decent set of headphones to offer a better music listening experience.

Sony VAIO CW Heat and Noise

A lot of people often wonder how hot and loud a laptop is. The VAIO CW does have powerful components inside, but at least with my configuration that has not caused any excessive heat or noise. In fact, the VAIO CW stays amazingly cool to the touch. There are no spots on the VAIO CW that get hot to the touch when in use, even while running 3D benchmarks such as 3DMark06. The fan only kicked in when the system was being used for demanding tasks, and it was definitely not very loud. A big thumbs up on the low heat and low noise for the VAIO CW.

Conclusion

The Sony VAIO CW is a fantastic laptop, especially given the price.  It’s stylish, powerful and portable. There are few compromises made. I’d certainly love it if the laptop were thinner and lighter, but then you wouldn’t get an optical drive built in and it would be harder for Sony to put those powerful components inside. For a student looking for a portable laptop that will not be outdated in 2-years and that offers all the power you need to get your school work done and also enjoy some entertainment in the form of multimedia and some light gaming, the VAIO CW fits the bill. Highly recommended!

Sony VAIO CW Pricing and Availability

The Sony VAIO CW is available configured to order SonyStyle.com and pre-configured versions are available at various online and bricks and mortar retailers.  If you’re a student, don’t forget about the Sony Student Discount that can be used to get 10% off of a purchase!