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Sony Vaio VGN-FW51MF

Specifications

Sony Vaio VGN-FW51MF
Sony Vaio VGN-FW51MF (Vaio VGN-FW Series)
Graphics adapter
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 - 1024 MB VRAM, up to 1790 MByte shared Memory
Memory
6 GB 
, DDR 2-800, 4 GByte + 2 GByte
Display
16.40 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel, X-Black, 100% color authenticity, glossy: yes
Mainboard
Intel PM45
Storage
Seagate Momentus 5400.6 ST9500325AS, 500 GB 
, 5400 rpm, SATA II
Soundcard
Realtek ALC262 HD Audio
Connections
1 Express Card 34mm, 3 USB 2.0, 1 Firewire, 1 VGA, 1 HDMI, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm headphone-out, microphone-in, Card Reader: Memory Stick HG Pro Duo, SD-Card
Networking
Marvell Yukon 88E8055 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (10/100/1000MBit/s), Intel Wireless WiFi Link 5100 AGN (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/)
Optical drive
Matshita BD-CMB UJ140AS
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 40 x 382 x 260 ( = 1.57 x 15.04 x 10.24 in)
Battery
50 Wh Lithium-Ion
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: Motion Eye 0,3 Megapixel
Additional features
Vaio Gate, Win DVD BD, Sony Media Gallery, Vaio Control Center, ArcSoft Webcam Companion 3, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Premiere Elements, 24 Months Warranty
Weight
2.89 kg ( = 101.94 oz / 6.37 pounds), Power Supply: 400 g ( = 14.11 oz / 0.88 pounds)
Price
1189 Euro

 

Pricecompare

Average Score: 77.67% - good
Average of 3 scores (from 2 reviews)
price: 60%, performance: 85%, features: 82%, display: 75% mobility: 72%, workmanship: 85%, ergonomy: 84%, emissions: 85%

Reviews for the Sony Vaio VGN-FW51MF

83% Review Sony Vaio VGN-FW51MF Notebook | Notebookcheck
Rich in Minerals. Magnesium isn't only healthy as a trace element and helps against aching muscles but is also a good building material for notebooks - as a metal. That's what Sony thought and made the FW range's chassis out of the light material. You can read if the 16.4 inch bolide can convince in multimedia routine in this comprehensive review of the Sony Vaio FW51MF.
67% Sony VAIO VGN-FW51MF/H
Source: PC Pro English Archive.org version
Sony’s Blu-ray might have won the war of the high-definition formats, slaying HD-DVD in the process, but the jury is still out as to whether Blu-ray and laptops are a match made in heaven, or just a luxury for the gadget-obsessed. Sony’s VAIO VGN-FW51MF/H wants to convince you that it’s not the latter of the two. Sony’s Blu-ray-touting VAIO brings in the New Year with Windows 7 and a glorious high-definition display
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 12/29/2009
Rating: Total score: 67% price: 60% performance: 80% features: 80%

Foreign Reviews

83% Test Sony Vaio VGN-FW51MF Notebook
Source: Notebookcheck German DE→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 12/09/2009
Rating: Total score: 83% performance: 87% display: 75% mobility: 72% workmanship: 84% ergonomy: 84% emissions: 85%

Comment

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650: The Mobility HD 4650 is based on the Desktop 4650 architecture, but features a lower clock rate of memory and core. Depending on the core clock (450-550MHz possible) and the used memory (DDR2, DDR3, GDDR3 with 600-800 MHz possible) the mobile 4650 can show a different performance. The current consumption of the chip alone ranges from 15-25W. Features Avivo HD video features.

Non demanding games should be playable with these graphics cards.

» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.


Intel Core 2 Duo: This is the Core Duo and Core Solo successor with a longer pipeline and 5-20% more speed without more power consumption. As an addition to the Core Duo design there exists a fourth decoder, an amplified SSE-unit and an additional arithmetical logical unit (ALU).

The Core 2 Duo for laptops is identical to the desktop Core 2 Duo processors but the notebook-processors work with lower voltages (0.95 to 1188 Volt) and a lower Frontside bus clock (1066 vs 667 MHz). The performance of equally clocked notebooks is 20-25% lower than Desktop PCs because of the lower Frontside bus clock and the slower hard disks.


P8700:

Mid-range dual core processor with 3 MB level 3 cache and a TDP of 25 Watt.

» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.


16.40":

This range for display formats was and is a rarity. It is larger than the general standard of 15 inches, but not yet in the range of large workstations. One usually has higher screen resolutions available, but portability suffers from that.

» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.


2.89 kg:

With this weight, a laptop is rather heavier than average. Devices in this range shine more with screen size and performance than with mobility.


Sony: Sony Corporation is one of the largest Japanese electronics companies. The company was founded in 1946 under a different name and initially produced rice stoves. The company launched the first transistor radio. In 1958, the company was renamed Sony. Sony is a combination of the Latin word sonus (sound) and the English word sonny (little boy). Today, its core business is consumer electronics. The company is engaged in the development, design, manufacture and sale of electronic equipment, instruments, devices, game consoles and software. Sony operates in the following segments: Gaming and Network Services, Music, Images, Home Entertainment and Sound, Imaging Products and Solutions, Mobile Communications, Semiconductors, Financial Services and Others.


77.67%: This rating is not earth-shattering. This rating must actually be seen as average, since there are about as many devices with worse ratings as better ones. A purchase recommendation can only be seen with a lot of goodwill, unless it is about websites that generally rate strictly.


» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.

 

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Devices from a different Manufacturer and/or with a different CPU

Sony Vaio VGN-FW56SR/H
Mobility Radeon HD 4650, Core 2 Duo P7450
Sony Vaio VGN-FW51ZF/H
Mobility Radeon HD 4650, Core 2 Duo T9600

Devices with the same GPU

Packard Bell EasyNote LJ71
Mobility Radeon HD 4650, Athlon II M320, 17.30", 3.3 kg
Toshiba Satellite L555-10R
Mobility Radeon HD 4650, Core 2 Duo P7450, 17.30", 3.2 kg
Toshiba Satellite L555-10N
Mobility Radeon HD 4650, Core 2 Duo P8700, 17.30", 3.1 kg
Toshiba Satellite L350-24U
Mobility Radeon HD 4650, Pentium Dual Core T4300, 17.00", 3.2 kg
HP Pavilion dv7-2273cl
Mobility Radeon HD 4650, Core 2 Duo T6600, 17.30", 3.5 kg
HP Pavilion dv7-2270us
Mobility Radeon HD 4650, Core 2 Quad Q9000, 17.30", 3.6 kg
HP Pavilion dv7-2160ef
Mobility Radeon HD 4650, Core 2 Duo P7550, 17.30", 3.6 kg
HP Pavilion dv7-2142eg
Mobility Radeon HD 4650, Core 2 Duo T6500, 17.30", 3.6 kg
Toshiba Satellite P505-S8945
Mobility Radeon HD 4650, Core 2 Duo P7350, 18.40", 4.5 kg
HP Pavilion dv7-2180us
Mobility Radeon HD 4650, Core 2 Extreme X9000, 17.30", 3.6 kg
HP Pavilion dv7-2173cl
Mobility Radeon HD 4650, Core 2 Duo P7350, 17.30", 3.5 kg
HP Pavilion dv7-2170us
Mobility Radeon HD 4650, Core 2 Duo P7450, 17.30", 3.6 kg
HP Pavilion dv7-2185DX
Mobility Radeon HD 4650, Core 2 Quad Q9000, 17.30", 3.4 kg

Devices with Same Screen Size and/or Weight

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Sony Vaio SVE1713Y1EB
Radeon HD 7650M, Core i7 3632QM, 17.30", 3.2 kg
Sony Vaio SVE1713E1E
Radeon HD 7650M, Core i3 3120M, 17.30", 2.9 kg
Sony Vaio Tap 20-SVJ2022M1E
HD Graphics 4000, Core i3 3227U, 20.00", 8 kg
Sony Vaio SV-E1713Z1EB
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Sony Vaio SV-E1712ACXB
Radeon HD 7650M, Core i7 3632QM, 17.30", 3.2 kg
Sony Vaio SVE1711Z1R
Radeon HD 7650M, Core i7 3612QM, 17.30", 3.2 kg
Sony Vaio SV-E171290X
Radeon HD 7550M, Core i7 3632QM, 17.30", 3.2 kg
Sony Vaio SV-E1711Z1EB
Radeon HD 7650M, Core i7 3612QM, 17.30", 3.2 kg
Sony Vaio SV-E1711P1EW
HD Graphics 3000, Core i5 2450M, 17.30", 2.9 kg
Sony Vaio VPC-EJ3K1E
HD Graphics 3000, Core i3 2350M, 17.30", 3.1 kg
Sony Vaio VPC-EJ3D1E/W
GeForce 410M, Core i5 2450M, 17.30", 3.1 kg
Sony Vaio VPC-EJ28FX/B
HD Graphics 3000, Core i5 2430M, 17.30", 3.1 kg
Sony Vaio VPC-EJ15FG/B
GeForce 410M, Core i5 2410M, 17.30", 3.1 kg
Current Prices
Stefan Hinum, 2009-12-25 (Update: 2012-05-26)