Sony Vaio VGN-FE41S
Time to clean up the basement and digging out some good old comps. I got this Sony a few years back due to its screen sharpness and elegant profile.
The sleek and stylish 15.4" x-black display provides a perfect viewing area. With a strong GPU at the time in GO7600 it was a perfect choice for business and some gaming machine.
Pricing at 1.500Euro-ish, this machine was not competitive in price comparing to others. But its packed specifications and performance can easily justify the difference. The sleek design, the simple beauty and the solid hardware live up to the reputation of Sony performance and quality.
Specifications:
Operating Systems:
. Windows Vista Home Premium - Upgraded to Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bits.
Architecture:
. Intel® Core 2 DUO technology
. Intel 945PM chipset
CPU Section:
. Intel® Core 2 Duo Processor T5500
. 1.66GHz, 2MB L2 Cache
. 667MHz FSB
Memory:
. 2GBMemory Speed (MHz): 667
. DDR2 SDRAM (2x1GB)
. Max. Supported Memory: 4GB
Drives:
. 160GB S-ATA 5400rpm
Display:
. Sony X-Black Technology
. 15.4"
. 1280 x 800 (16:10)
Graphics:
. NVidia GeForce Go7600
. 128MB dedicated
Interfaces:
. 1 x docking / port replicator,
. 3 x Hi-Speed USB – 4 PIN USB Type A,
. 1 x network – Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX – RJ-45,
. 1 x modem – phone line – RJ-11,
. 1 x display / video – VGA – 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15),
. 1 x display / video – S-video output – 4 PIN mini-DIN,
. 1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire) – 4 PIN FireWire,
. 1 x microphone – input – mini-phone 3.5mm and
. 1 x headphones – output – mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm.
The expansion slots include:
- 1 ( 1 ) x ExpressCard/34,
- 2 ( 0 ) x memory,
- 1 ( 1 ) x PC Card – type I/II,
- 1 ( 1 ) x ExpressCard/34,
- 2 ( 0 ) x memory and
- 1 ( 1 ) x CardBus – type I/II.
Connectivity:
. Wireless LAN 802.11b/g. Integrated Bluetooth (Version) 2.1 +
EDR, 10m Range
. Ethernet network 100 BASE-TX/10 BASE-T
Multimedia:
. Intel® High Definition Audio compatible (24-bit stereo)
. Built-in Stereo Speakers
. Windows® Sound System Compatible
Built-In Camera:
. Built-in Digital Camera
. Frames per Second: max. 30
Keyboard:
. Touch Pad
. 86-keys (windows key)
Features:
. Power button, FN Wireless/bluetooth switch
. Auto Resolution: Plug and Display
. Built-in Microphone
. Kensigton Lock
Softwares:
. Adobe Acrobat Standard,
. Microsoft Office 2003 Student and Teacher Edition (Trial),
. Skype,
. VAIO Edit Components 6.0,
. VAIO Recovery Utility 2.6,
. Microsoft Works 8.5,
. Google Software Pack,
- Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0,
. Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0,
. Adobe Reader 8.0,
. Norton Internet Security 2007 (90 days subscription),
. Roxio Easy Media Creator 9,
. Sony Click to DVD 2.6,
. Sony DVgate Plus 2.3,
. Sony SonicStage CP 4.2,
. Sony SonicStage Mastering Studio 2.3 and
. WinDVD for VAIO 8.0.
Supplied Accessories:
. AC Adapter (19.5V 4.7A)
. Battery Lithium-Ion battery
. Battery Life : 2.8 hrs
. Power Cord
Dimensions:
. Depth Main Unit: 10.8"
. Height Main Unit: 1"
. Width Main Unit: 14.4"
. Weight with Supplied Battery: 6.2lbs
What's in the Box:
. Notebook
. AC Adapter
. Power Cord
. Manual, quick setup
. Software and driver CDs
Looks & Design
True to Sony Style the FE41S sports a metal look with a slick and attractive design - black finish with silver top. For a 6lbs notebook it seems that it is quite mobile with a solid feel.
Carrying it is just like holding a thin (1" thick) working folder, especially into meetings.
The keyboard layout is pleasing to use. This is one keyboard style that I really enjoy typing on. The keys are not soft nor hard, the touch is just right to let one know that a key has been pressed and acted upon, and the right size for even large fingers makes this notebook a must have for many.
Screen:
As with other Sony business notebooks the 15.4" 16:10 screen offers bright and clear viewing. The X-Black technology adds pleasure to the eyes when working and during media experiences. It sure beats many of the current LED screens that I come across.
Keyboard
The keys are of large size and easy to accommodate thick fat fingers. The layout is comparable to normal desktop keyboard. The large palm rest makes typing with ease. The feel of the keys pressed can make one believing that one knows how to type
Touchpad
Sony does not leave small details out in this touchpad. Simple, stylish with 2 nicely formed buttons at the bottom - fingers can just glide on it as ice skating.
The buttons have a soft action that provides sufficient physical feedback to confirm that something has been clicked on.
Multimedia Keys
Not much to mention here other than a simple strip of functional buttons for the notebook usage. Again simplicity in design.
Wireless Performance–
Good connectivity, with its ability to quickly find and connect to any networks. Bluetooth performance is great with mouse, handy (cell phone), keyboard connectivity.
Optical Drive
The Double Layer DVD burner is simple to use and reliable to many medium. I have yet experienced a bad burn during the 4+ years ownership of this notebook.
Sound
Most laptops offer mediocre sound performance, sounding dull and giving just an echo of sound from within the laptop itself. The FE41S sounds great. Surprisingly.
Heat and Noise
Except for some gaming, Sony FE41S is quiet that it can be leery sometimes when working. With just one output vent it keeps cool under stress. Another pleasant surprise about this notebook.
Gaming Performance
WoW, CoD2 and Age of Empires never gave me any issues when playing on this notebook. The GO7600-128MB coupled with NBF Mobile Force driver make a good combination in offering good gaming experiences.
System Performance
True to its business label this Sony VGN-FE41S has yet to let me down in CS2 and large office files. Media enjoyment is never being compromised. Video - disk and streaming - and music entertainment are smooth and clear. Of course the good sound does not hurt either. Multi tasking is a breeze.
Input and Output Ports
Front:
Right Side:
Left Side:
Rear:
Bottom:
Gaming Possibilities
Battery Life
2 hours plus is not one calls good performance, but one cannot
expect much from this notebook of 4+ years old
Pros:
. Nice and stylish
. Good screen performance
. Good system performance
. (Very) Quiet Operation
. Does not heat up easily
Cons:
. Battery life
Conclusion:
I always like Sony products. The FE41S notebook is no different. This model belongs to the few that I keep over the years as a reminder of good systems. Too bad that it is no longer available new, but judging other Sony models one can expect better ones in the future.
Time to clean up the basement and digging out some good old comps. I got this Sony a few years back due to its screen sharpness and elegant profile.
The sleek and stylish 15.4" x-black display provides a perfect viewing area. With a strong GPU at the time in GO7600 it was a perfect choice for business and some gaming machine.
Pricing at 1.500Euro-ish, this machine was not competitive in price comparing to others. But its packed specifications and performance can easily justify the difference. The sleek design, the simple beauty and the solid hardware live up to the reputation of Sony performance and quality.
Specifications:
Operating Systems:
. Windows Vista Home Premium - Upgraded to Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bits.
Architecture:
. Intel® Core 2 DUO technology
. Intel 945PM chipset
CPU Section:
. Intel® Core 2 Duo Processor T5500
. 1.66GHz, 2MB L2 Cache
. 667MHz FSB
Memory:
. 2GBMemory Speed (MHz): 667
. DDR2 SDRAM (2x1GB)
. Max. Supported Memory: 4GB
Drives:
. 160GB S-ATA 5400rpm
Display:
. Sony X-Black Technology
. 15.4"
. 1280 x 800 (16:10)
Graphics:
. NVidia GeForce Go7600
. 128MB dedicated
Interfaces:
. 1 x docking / port replicator,
. 3 x Hi-Speed USB – 4 PIN USB Type A,
. 1 x network – Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX – RJ-45,
. 1 x modem – phone line – RJ-11,
. 1 x display / video – VGA – 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15),
. 1 x display / video – S-video output – 4 PIN mini-DIN,
. 1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire) – 4 PIN FireWire,
. 1 x microphone – input – mini-phone 3.5mm and
. 1 x headphones – output – mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm.
The expansion slots include:
- 1 ( 1 ) x ExpressCard/34,
- 2 ( 0 ) x memory,
- 1 ( 1 ) x PC Card – type I/II,
- 1 ( 1 ) x ExpressCard/34,
- 2 ( 0 ) x memory and
- 1 ( 1 ) x CardBus – type I/II.
Connectivity:
. Wireless LAN 802.11b/g. Integrated Bluetooth (Version) 2.1 +
EDR, 10m Range
. Ethernet network 100 BASE-TX/10 BASE-T
Multimedia:
. Intel® High Definition Audio compatible (24-bit stereo)
. Built-in Stereo Speakers
. Windows® Sound System Compatible
Built-In Camera:
. Built-in Digital Camera
. Frames per Second: max. 30
Keyboard:
. Touch Pad
. 86-keys (windows key)
Features:
. Power button, FN Wireless/bluetooth switch
. Auto Resolution: Plug and Display
. Built-in Microphone
. Kensigton Lock
Softwares:
. Adobe Acrobat Standard,
. Microsoft Office 2003 Student and Teacher Edition (Trial),
. Skype,
. VAIO Edit Components 6.0,
. VAIO Recovery Utility 2.6,
. Microsoft Works 8.5,
. Google Software Pack,
- Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0,
. Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0,
. Adobe Reader 8.0,
. Norton Internet Security 2007 (90 days subscription),
. Roxio Easy Media Creator 9,
. Sony Click to DVD 2.6,
. Sony DVgate Plus 2.3,
. Sony SonicStage CP 4.2,
. Sony SonicStage Mastering Studio 2.3 and
. WinDVD for VAIO 8.0.
Supplied Accessories:
. AC Adapter (19.5V 4.7A)
. Battery Lithium-Ion battery
. Battery Life : 2.8 hrs
. Power Cord
Dimensions:
. Depth Main Unit: 10.8"
. Height Main Unit: 1"
. Width Main Unit: 14.4"
. Weight with Supplied Battery: 6.2lbs
What's in the Box:
. Notebook
. AC Adapter
. Power Cord
. Manual, quick setup
. Software and driver CDs
Looks & Design
True to Sony Style the FE41S sports a metal look with a slick and attractive design - black finish with silver top. For a 6lbs notebook it seems that it is quite mobile with a solid feel.
Carrying it is just like holding a thin (1" thick) working folder, especially into meetings.
The keyboard layout is pleasing to use. This is one keyboard style that I really enjoy typing on. The keys are not soft nor hard, the touch is just right to let one know that a key has been pressed and acted upon, and the right size for even large fingers makes this notebook a must have for many.
Screen:
As with other Sony business notebooks the 15.4" 16:10 screen offers bright and clear viewing. The X-Black technology adds pleasure to the eyes when working and during media experiences. It sure beats many of the current LED screens that I come across.
Keyboard
The keys are of large size and easy to accommodate thick fat fingers. The layout is comparable to normal desktop keyboard. The large palm rest makes typing with ease. The feel of the keys pressed can make one believing that one knows how to type
Touchpad
Sony does not leave small details out in this touchpad. Simple, stylish with 2 nicely formed buttons at the bottom - fingers can just glide on it as ice skating.
The buttons have a soft action that provides sufficient physical feedback to confirm that something has been clicked on.
Multimedia Keys
Not much to mention here other than a simple strip of functional buttons for the notebook usage. Again simplicity in design.
Wireless Performance–
Good connectivity, with its ability to quickly find and connect to any networks. Bluetooth performance is great with mouse, handy (cell phone), keyboard connectivity.
Optical Drive
The Double Layer DVD burner is simple to use and reliable to many medium. I have yet experienced a bad burn during the 4+ years ownership of this notebook.
Sound
Most laptops offer mediocre sound performance, sounding dull and giving just an echo of sound from within the laptop itself. The FE41S sounds great. Surprisingly.
Heat and Noise
Except for some gaming, Sony FE41S is quiet that it can be leery sometimes when working. With just one output vent it keeps cool under stress. Another pleasant surprise about this notebook.
Gaming Performance
WoW, CoD2 and Age of Empires never gave me any issues when playing on this notebook. The GO7600-128MB coupled with NBF Mobile Force driver make a good combination in offering good gaming experiences.
System Performance
True to its business label this Sony VGN-FE41S has yet to let me down in CS2 and large office files. Media enjoyment is never being compromised. Video - disk and streaming - and music entertainment are smooth and clear. Of course the good sound does not hurt either. Multi tasking is a breeze.
Input and Output Ports
Front:
Right Side:
Left Side:
Rear:
Bottom:
Gaming Possibilities
Battery Life
2 hours plus is not one calls good performance, but one cannot
expect much from this notebook of 4+ years old
Pros:
. Nice and stylish
. Good screen performance
. Good system performance
. (Very) Quiet Operation
. Does not heat up easily
Cons:
. Battery life
Conclusion:
I always like Sony products. The FE41S notebook is no different. This model belongs to the few that I keep over the years as a reminder of good systems. Too bad that it is no longer available new, but judging other Sony models one can expect better ones in the future.
crazy kid.
Bummer really. Overall this is still a solid model from Sony. My next tweak - a higher resolution screen.
Maybe SSD next when the price is down a bit more, to justify for an old reliable machine.
