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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!

good job man. i too would choose my inspiron 700m over my sony s460. my 700m has the 8 cell battery and it works for over 3 hrs straight after fully charged. Love the 700m badboy. S460 does feel a bit on the cheapy side, but looks are mroe sleek in design. I wonder how long the battery life is on a s360 fully charged. Anyone know the answer to that one? I believe the s460 comes with an 80 gb hd though. Other than that, great review on this subject man. really helpful

I'm getting 4hour (+-15) on my s360p with screen dim down one step and dynamic throttling. this includes sufing the web, playing 2D games aim/trillion email, watchingmovies off my HDD and so on nothing to intensive

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.

yikes!! 4 hrs on the s360 model fully charged battery awesome. I did not test out how long it takes for the battery on the s460 will last. We will find out soon enough. I can say that the customer service at sony is outstanding. I called in wondering how i can locate the second ram slot so i know wen i decide to upgrade the rams. The suppot was wonderful and i understood everything that the person said. Unlike dell technical service, they have middle eastern people answering the phone calls and i can barely make out what they are trying to tell me. Dunno is this is a pro for the sony n con for dell. Also the FSB for the sony s460 is 533mhz compared to 400mhz.

I guess its a matter of opinion, but I thought that the 700m felt cheaply built and not as asthetically pleasing to look at. Typical of dell, the 700m has too much plastic and that awful white stripe look has to go. The 700m looked like somthing that walmart or kmart might sell.

By the way, I sold my 700m and used the proceeds to purchase the s360.

I own 700m and wish it had a slightly larger 13.3" screen liks Sony S. Other than that it's a solid one. I went to local Best Buy/CompUSA stores to look at Sony S couple times, I feel Sony S screen and 700m are very similar. But for a Sony, it's not as bright as others in its current line-up. It's understandable considering the small form factor.

Sony S are with plastic base. 700m has a Magnesium Alloy chasis like Inspiron 9200/9300/XPS2. It's rock solid. Not sure about LCD lid. I guess it's also Magnesium Alloy. The white trim growing one me over time but not the best. Love Sony's gun metal color.

Love Sony design overall, but hate all the plastic covers on connection ports. Also Sony S USB ports are located in right-hand side that may interfer external mouse usage. Feel cheap about wi-fi on-off switch and touch pad click bottons are way too small. Good size keyboard. Speaker are good compare to 700m's. Good battery life with basic battery compare to 700m's basic battery. Wish sony make it's laptop more user upgradable (easiler access to hard drive etc..). For Dell, I can buy with bare minimum component and do aftermarket upgrade because ALL computer companies charges excessive $$$ for component upgrade.

If Sony had it's machine more upgradable and more affordable $$$ (I am not expecting Dell's pricing at Sony's though), I will be another one jump on the deal. I opted for Dell 700m due to price and more upgradable without tear apart entire machine. It's been good for me since. Besides, I have a 9200 as Desktop Replacement. So I really do not need a top of the line protable laptop. Got my 700m for $795 from Dell outlet with coupons.

things that feel low quality on the 700m is the speakers, mouse buttons, and the overall casing of the computer. The speakers rattle wen u have it on high volume. the mouse buttons has that clunky feel wen being used, and also the casing does not really look that appealing at first. As time pass, i think the casing looks are not so bad, but the sony looks way better. Sony vaio computers all have a premium price tag no matter what. The gun metal on the case of the s460 is really nice looking but i can see all the finger print marks all over the case from everyday normal use.

do you play wow? I'm to see if the s460 plays it well in native resolution

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.

I have WoW, i just got my s460 recently and have not had the chance to install the game. I am still trying to uninstall the bundled sftware that comes stock in the s460. About half the stuff i don't even need. I am still trying to install some of the stuff that i usually use like nero and ms office. I can tell u that s460 plays warcraft III n Everquest 1 pretty well on the s460 model. As for the 700m, not sure what i can install.... but i do know that Starcraft runs flawlessly on it, n i play that frequently =)

let me know how wow plays. If I can play in NATIVE resolution with at least the gfx setting half way up and still keep above 20fps I would consider getting this notebook. Only because I would want the dvd burner.

PoYZ,

Great job on your reviews. I was wondering about your comments on the Sony screen. You mentioned that it looks like somebody took their fingers and went up and down the screen. I was looking at a S460 screen and noticed that the black (especially when booting) does not appear solid, but kind of cloudy. I thought it was a bad unit, but maybe that is the way all of the screens on the S460's are...

Is that the same issue that you were describing?

joseph88, on my s460, the screen has that same issue. it does look very cloudy wen it boots up or when it needs to produce the pure black color. You can see the light that lights up the screen. As for the results in terms of gaming for the s460, i ran 3d mark 01, n the score is 9011 stock.

Poyz- hurry up and install wow. I NEED to know how well it plays.
btw, I see your burner is 8x? I thought sony's burner is like 2x or maybe 4x?