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Sony Vaio VPC-SA4W9E/XI

Specifications

Sony Vaio VPC-SA4W9E/XI
Sony Vaio VPC-SA4W9E/XI (Vaio VPC-SA Series)
Processor
Intel Core i7-2640M 2 x 2.8 - 3.5 GHz (Intel Core i7)
Graphics adapter
Display
13.30 inch 16:9, 1366 x 768 pixel, glossy: yes
Weight
1.8 kg ( = 63.49 oz / 3.97 pounds) ( = 0 oz / 0 pounds)
Price
1400 Euro

 

Pricecompare

Average Score: 87% - good
Average of 1 scores (from 2 reviews)
price: - %, performance: 80%, features: 70%, display: 68% mobility: 75%, workmanship: 90%, ergonomy: 63%, emissions: 82%

Reviews for the Sony Vaio VPC-SA4W9E/XI

Sony Vaio VPC-SA4W9E/XI
Source: Notebookjournal German DE→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/22/2012
Rating: performance: 70% features: 70% display: 50% mobility: 70% workmanship: 90% ergonomy: 30%
87% Sony VAIO VPC-SA4W9E/XI
Source: Notebookinfo German DE→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 03/14/2012
Rating: Total score: 87% performance: 90% display: 85% mobility: 80% ergonomy: 95% emissions: 82%

Comment

Series:

Sony Vaio’s VPC-SA series, which was introduced in Q2 2011, is the second addition to Sony’s S range thin-and-light notebook and the brother to the more popular business all-rounders SB series. The SA series was positioned at the middle-high price sector, between the high end Z series and the more affordable SB series. The SA series’ built quality and spec is at a higher level than the SB Series, which justifies its price, even though looks, form factor and weight are almost the same. The SA series comes with two choices of color: black and silver, though so many SA laptops on display come with black that some people didn’t even know there’s also a silver version.

At the time of its introduction, it’s one of the best subnotebooks on the market, beaten only by Sony’s high end Z Series with its thin and light size, powerful Sandy Bridge i5 or i7 CPU and dedicate middle class ATI 6630M graphic card, 1600x900 screen as well as optional blu-ray optical disk and a battery life of up to 14 hours. Other strength of the SA series includes fast SSD, matte display, docking port, TPM chips. Touch typist and office users would also love this laptop for the full size back-lit keyboard with good typing feedback. Its weaknesses include iits high noise and heat during load due to smaller case, somewhat short battery life without the $150 optional battery-slice compare to newer Ultrabook and most important of all, a narrow color spectrum, contrasts and weak viewing angles separate the SA series from premium-class notebook such as the Z series.

Even though Intel introduced many Ultrabook in 2012 as a direct competitor to Macbook Air series with focus on weight and battery life, not many of them can beat the SA series in their own game.

AMD Radeon HD 6630M: Successor of the slow clocked (low power) versions of the Mobility Radeon HD 5650 with more cores, UVD3 processor and Eyefinity+.

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 i7: The Intel Core i7 for laptops is based on the LG1156 Core i5/i7 CPU for desktops. The base clock speed of the CPUs is relatively low, but because of a huge Turbo mode, the cores can dynamically overclock to up to 3.2 GHz (920XM). Therefore, the CPU can be as fast as high clocked dual-core CPUs (using single threaded applications) but still offer the advantage of 4 cores. Because of the large TDP of 45 W / 55 W, the CPU is only intended for large laptops.  


2640M: Very fast dual-core processor based on the Sandy Bridge architecture with an integrated graphics card and dual-channel DDR3 memory controller. » Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.


13.30":

There are hardly any tablets in this display size range anymore. For subnotebooks, on the other hand, it is the standard format.

The advantage of subnotebooks is that the entire laptop can be small and therefore easily portable. The smaller display also has the advantage of requiring less power, which further improves battery life and thus mobility. The disadvantage is that reading texts is more strenuous on the eyes. High resolutions are more likely to be found in standard laptops.

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


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.


87%: This is an above-average rating. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that about one fifth of all tested models receive a better rating.


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

 

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Devices with the same GPU

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Sony Vaio VPCSE1V9E
Radeon HD 6630M, Core i7 2640M, 15.50", 2 kg
Sony Vaio VPC-CB3S1E
Radeon HD 6630M, Core i5 2430M, 15.50", 2.8 kg
Sony Vaio VPC-SE27FX/S
Radeon HD 6630M, Core i7 2640M, 15.50", 2 kg
Sony Vaio VPC-SE2S1E/S
Radeon HD 6630M, Core i5 2450M, 15.50", 2 kg
Sony Vaio VPC-SE2V9E
Radeon HD 6630M, Core i7 2640M, 15.60", 2 kg
Sony Vaio VPC-CA4S1R/R
Radeon HD 6630M, Core i3 2350M, 14.40", 2.5 kg
Sony Vaio VPC-SE190X
Radeon HD 6630M, Core i7 2640M, 15.50", 2 kg
HP Envy 14-2090eo
Radeon HD 6630M, Core i7 2630QM, 14.50", 2.39 kg
Sony Vaio VPC-SE1V9R
Radeon HD 6630M, Core i7 2640M, 15.50", 2 kg
Sony Vaio VPC-SE16FX/S
Radeon HD 6630M, Core i5 2430M, 15.50", 2 kg
HP Envy 14-2160se
Radeon HD 6630M, Core i5 2430M, 14.50", 2.5 kg

Devices with Same Screen Size and/or Weight

Sony Vaio SV-F1521K1EB
GeForce GT 740M, Core i3 3227U, 15.60", 2.3 kg
Sony Vaio SV-F1521S2EB
GeForce GT 740M, Core i5 3337U, 15.60", 2.7 kg
Sony Vaio SV-F1521C6EW
GeForce GT 740M, Pentium 2117U, 15.60", 2.5 kg
Sony Vaio SV-F15A1M2ES
GeForce GT 735M, Core i5 3337U, 15.60", 2.6 kg
Sony Vaio SV-F1521V6EB
GeForce GT 740M, Core i7 3537U, 15.50", 2.5 kg
Sony Vaio SVE14A2V1E
Radeon HD 7670M, , 14.00", 2.3 kg
Sony Vaio SV-F1521F4EB
GeForce GT 740M, Core i5 3337U, 15.60", 2.7 kg
Sony Vaio SV-F15A1S9R
GeForce GT 735M, Core i5 3337U, 15.60", 2.6 kg
Sony Vaio SV-F15A1M2E
GeForce GT 735M, Core i5 3337U, 15.60", 2.3 kg
Sony Vaio SV-F1521H1EW
GeForce GT 740M, Core i3 3227U, 15.60", 2.5 kg
Sony Vaio SV-F1521Z1EB
GeForce GT 740M, Core i7 3537U, 15.50", 2.5 kg
Sony Vaio SV-F1421V1EW
GeForce GT 740M, Core i3 3227U, 14.00", 2.4 kg
Sony Vaio SV-F15A1Z2EB
GeForce GT 735M, Core i7 3537U, 15.60", 2.6 kg
Sony Vaio SV-E14A2M6EB
Radeon HD 7670M, Core i3 3110M, 14.00", 2.2 kg
Sony Vaio SVE1512Y1E
Radeon HD 7650M, Core i7 3632QM, 15.50", 2.7 kg
Sony Vaio SVE14A2V2RS
Radeon HD 7670M, Core i5 3210M, 14.00", 2.3 kg
Sony Vaio SV-S1513L1EW
GeForce GT 640M LE, Core i5 3320M, 15.60", 2 kg
Current Prices
Stefan Hinum, 2012-03-20 (Update: 2012-05-26)