PoYZ's Sony S460

Hi everyone,

Ok so heres the deal, fairly new to these sites, and have never written a review before, but I have been researching notbooks for a about a month now, and so has my brother. He actually bought an S460 from CompUSA, he knew a buddy there and...well he got it for pretty cheap with mail in rebates. I'm not super technical, but I know a little about computers, I'm just going to try and give an honest unbiased opinion on the sony since there really are no reviews for it. This will be kind of a comparitive review because while my brother bought this S460 I had bought a Dell 700m. I sent the Dell back for an XPS2 (yes quite a difference).

So here it goes.

Sony Specs:

Intel Pentium M 1.73GHz 533mhz bus speed (sonoma processor)
128mg Nvidia Geforce 6200
Integrated Soundcard (dont know specs)
512mb Ram
70GB HD (possibly 5400rpm, but could be 4200)
13.3in XBrite (shiny, reflective screen)
DVD-R / +- RW (8x)
6cell Battery (I think)
Windows XP Home

think thats pretty much all the important stuff...It has some usb ports, and all the normal goodies.

Price Normally is around $1800 I believe

Dell 700m Specs:

Intel Pentium M 1.8GHz 400mhz (Dothan)
Integrated Video 32mb
Inegrated Sound
12.1in TrueLife (Shiny, Reflective)
1gig ram
60gb HD (5400rpm)
Windows XP Home
4 cell Battery
DVD-R / +- RW (8x)

Initial Thoughts on Sony:

It's a nice looking computer, I think it weighs around 4.5 pounds, so it is pretty light, has a nice big Chrome "Viao" on the lid...ok basically it looks lide a sony laptop, or an s360...dark and light grey mixes. The keyboard feel's pretty solid, the backside of the screen feel's ok too, not really flimsy, the Processor pretty much rocks, I havnt exactly tested any video games yet so i'm not sure about the video card, it's probably just fine for not too graphically intensive games, I dont think Doom3 or HL 2 will play all that well on it honestly. The comp initially loaded up pretty quickly, which is nice, and the computer doesnt seem slow at all.

Pro's:

Fairly Fast
Nice Looking
Mouse Pad works good
Solid Keyboard
Doesnt get too warm


Con's:

Monitor
Feel's fairly cheap
Crap Software
Loose Battery that wiggles around
Loud and Flimsy CD drive
Crappy speakers (normal though)


Monitor:

Ok I know what everyone is going to say! What not a sony!, Sorry but, it's really not that great. Dont get me wrong the screen is nice, but it looks like someone took some fingers and went from top to bottom, the bottom of the monitor has light leakage (its noticible when loading), no dead pixels though, and it has a clear picture, the viewing angles are not a problem, but it's just not up to Sony spec in my opinion.

Cheapness:

Overall the computer doesnt feel cheap, but they really put some bonehead pieces on. On the right side, they cover thier 1344 ports and some other ones with a plastic lid with plastic holders (for sure this piece is going to break off), and the DVD/CD drive is pretty flimsy, it really just kinda doesnt feel solid at all, the monitor doesnt have a latch when closed, the little hinges that hold the monitor dont feel like the are going to last, and a couple other little minor things, really it just doesnt feel like a quality product unless its closed up.

Conclusion:

This computer is just kinda, not exciting, doesnt feel like an expensive product really, just really ...eh.


Dell 700m:

I wont go into as much detail but it didnt load as fast as the sony initially, comes with a bunch of crap software, price isnt as steep, I like the monitor much better though there is some bleeding, just not like the sony, the speakers suck, it didnt seem slow at all, processor wise, but dont plan on ...any 3d games worth mentioning. The build quality is much better then the Sony's thats for sure, if I was just rating it on initially observastions, the white and silver are very nice, the keyboard is easy to use, though a bit smaller then a normal one, the mousepad and buttons are my biggest complaint, they are clunky and make noise. But the thing feels solid thats for sure, it doesnt feel cheap at all, the drive is much quieter then the sony's, doesnt feel near as flimsy, niether does the monitor and its hinges. Overall I think the Dell feel's like a more solid machine, it may not be as fast, but really it just feels better. I think it does way a little more then the sony, but it's not really an issue it's under 5 pounds, and I can attest that the batter might make it through a dvd...might!...it doesnt get very good battery life.

Pro's:

Monitor
Feels Solid
Keyboard
Portable
Fast for Portable
Cheaper then the Sony


Con's:

Mouse pad and Buttons
Thick (1.5in)
Battery life sucks
slower processor then the Sony


IMHO!!!!!:

I would pick the Dell, the sony just feels kinda cheap, and the dell doesnt, no doubt the Sony will probably outperform the Dell, but its monitor isnt as good and it just doesnt feel like it will last. Also, granted I sent the Dell back, but it was because I wanted a faster and badder machine, it had nothing to do with quality or performance, just personal preference. I will attempt to put up some Super Pi scores in a couple of days, to give you guys some specs on the the S460. Hopefully this helped out, and please if you have any questions I will try to answer them in a timely fashionl. Cheers!

Your probably right, an 80gb hard drive is standard, I will do a battery drain on the thing tonight, see how it lasts, and yes the sony does look more stream lined.

I have wow but have not installed it on the Sony, dont think it would play really on the 700m, With the sony and its geforce 6200, it would play most definetly just nothing special, probably low settings too.

In response to the 700m being cheaper then the Sony, Sorry But I totally have to dissagree, the Sony may look better, and the 700 may have it's quirks, but it is definetly sturdier, and has less cheaply made parts on it, especially parts that are easily breakable, like the Sony, for the Price I expected more out of the product.