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Sony Vaio VPC-SE290X

Specifications

Sony Vaio VPC-SE290X
Sony Vaio VPC-SE290X (Vaio VPC-SE Series)
Processor
Intel Core i5-2450M 2 x 2.5 - 3.1 GHz, Sandy Bridge
Graphics adapter
Display
15.50 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel, glossy: no
Weight
2 kg ( = 70.55 oz / 4.41 pounds) ( = 0 oz / 0 pounds)
Price
900 Euro

 

Pricecompare

Average Score: 80% - good
Average of 1 scores (from 2 reviews)

Reviews for the Sony Vaio VPC-SE290X

Sony VAIO SE: An IPS Laptop for Under a Grand
Source: AnandTech English Archive.org version
When all is said and done, there’s really one item that sets the VAIO SE apart from other laptops in its price range: the 1080p IPS display. You can find laptops with decent 1080p TN panels for about the same price (e.g. the Dell XPS 15z with 1080p upgrade), and you can certainly find a lot of faster laptops and notebooks, particularly if gaming is what you’re after.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/03/2012
80% Sony VAIO SE Review
Source: Laptop Mag English Archive.org version
There's a lot to like in the $999 Sony VAIO SE. This 15.6-inch notebook offers a full HD display, good performance and a compelling suite of multimedia software in a surprisingly lightweight frame. Users who are willing to deal with some added weight and cost can attach the sheet battery for over 10 hours of endurance. Some multimedia mavens may prefer the Dell XPS 15z, which for around the same price, offers better graphics and audio. Nevertheless, he Sony VAIO SE is a very good choice for those looking for a lightweight multimedia machine that can go the distance.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 03/07/2012
Rating: Total score: 80%

Comment

Series:

Sony Vaio luxury-business class VPC-SE series is Sony’s latest addition to its S range thin-and-light notebook was first introduced in Q4 2011. Thanks to its light weight, matt full HD IPS screen, fingerprint scanner, TPM chip, UMTS, battery slice and docking port, this notebook attract many business users who travel a lot. Average consumer should also love this laptop due to the dedicate mid-range graphic card, above-average brightness and contrast, high viewing angle Blu-ray reader and reasonable price; it’s also a very good choice for average consumers. Last not least, office users who have to work with spreadsheet a lot will also find this laptop suitable for their needs because of its big screen estate, full size keyboard plus numeric key and back-lit keyboard with good typing feedback.

However, every laptop out there always has some kind of weakness, and the Sony VPC-SE is not an exception. Its high noise, high waste heat during load due to bad position heat sink, short battery life without its optional battery slice and most important of all, inaccurate color reproduction due to the IPS screen from LG keeps it from earning a “very good” rating from Notebookcheck’s comprehensive review.

From business man who travels a lot to multimedia users who do occasional gaming or office users, this jack-of-all-trade solution from Sony should be a very attractive choice for them. If Sony can eliminate the VPC-SE series’s biggest weakness, namely the color reproduction and heat sink in the next refresh, the VPC-SE series should give other 15-inches laptop like the Macbook Pro a run for their money.

AMD Radeon HD 6470M: Entry to middle class graphics card based on the Seymore XT codename featuring the UVD3 video processor.

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.


2450M: Dual-core processor based on the Sandy Bridge architecture with an integrated graphics card and dual-channel DDR3 memory controller. The CPU is clocked at 2.5 GHz (Turbo Boost 2.8-3.1 GHz) and the GPU at 650 (1300 MHz Turbo).» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.


15.50":

15-inch display variants are the standard and are used for more than half of all laptops.

The reason for the popularity of mid-sized displays is that this size is reasonably easy on the eyes, often allows high resolutions and thus offers rich details on the screen, yet does not consume too much power and the devices can still be reasonably compact - simply the standard compromise.

» 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.


80%: 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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Current Prices
Stefan Hinum, 2012-03-18 (Update: 2012-05-26)