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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
Versatile functionality, RAM upgradable to 16GB, excellent large screen laptop!!
By Gene Cloner
The Sony VAIO E 17" laptop is a highly versatile, very functional laptop. As expected, it is heavy (but still portable) and the large display makes the battery life quiet short (less than 2 hours).Look and feel: The laptop came nicely packed with a battery, power adapter and brief quick start instructions. A smooth, soft black surface and the silver Vaio symbol make it look very pretty and a nice feel to carry around (slightly on the heavier side though - 7 lb). Installing the battery is a snap (literally) and you can start using it right away. The screen is also very pretty (1920 x 1080); The lighted keyboard and the trackpad make are fairly smooth and comfortable to use.Getting started: The initial setup did take a while for me (7-8 minutes) and getting used to Windows 8 is taking its time. You have to move your mouse pointer to the different corners to get different bars (bottom left for start, bottom right for set-up, and top left for running tasks). In some instances, right click works. For example, it took a while for me to figure how to get the menu bar with all applications (like a conventional start menu). You have to go to the start menu, right click and select show all apps - a bit tedious as of now. Given that I am reviewing the laptop and not Windows 8, I guess I wont ding the stars.Connecting to the network was fairly easy due to the WPS set-up. If you have an older router and need the mac-id of the laptop, there is no easy way to get it. You have to use the command prompt (ipconfig -all method; If you dont know what this is please google).The laptop comes with 30 day trial of Kaspersky internet security. Initial updates for the virus signatures and windows updates took a while, but after that everything was smooth. Internet explorer seems to work fine, but if you are not a fan, firefox and chrome work very well as well.Overall, it took me ~30-40 minutes to get all these done and start doing something meaningful.Ports and I/O: The key board is a full size keyboard (meaning it has dedicated num keypad). The keyboard has back light - very useful when working in a low lit environment. The trackpad is of good size and works smoothly. However, finger gestures work well only in some menus - for example the two finger swipe to scroll works well in the app menu, but not so smooth in program windows (e.g. explorer or notepad).In the front, there is an SD card port and a PRODuo card (Sony's) port plus indicate lights for wifi, power, battery and hdd. On the left side, there are power, ethernet, VGA, HDMI, USB 3.0 (Yes!) and audio ports. On the right side, you have the DVD-RW drive and three USB ports.Specific keys for Sony Assist (customer support), Web (starts default browser) and Vaio (Vaio control center), power button and the regular num, caps and scrlock lights are situated above the keyboard.Functionality: The laptop has a i7 2.2GHz processor and came with 4GB DDR3 PC3-12800 RAM (installed in one of two RAM slots). So, you can upgrade right away by filling the other slot if you want. The laptop can take up to 16G RAM. Given that 2x8G RAM costs only around $100, this is a really good upgrade to get. [Note: Sony recommends 8G max, but the board manufacturer and RAM test tools from Crucial suggest 16G and it works].Browsing, regular word processing, viewing videos etc everything works very smoothly. I did not have any problems with these applications at all. There is no dedicated video memeory (Intel HD Graphics 4000), but videos are displayed smoothly - tried both a DVD and a netflix HD movie. The audio is also really good.The webcam is so so, especially under low light conditions. It has a 0.9mp 16:9 camera. You can use it for chat, but not so great video quality.Unique features: This laptop also has some unique features. The VAOI gesture control uses the webcam - when it is on, you wave your hand in front of the computer to navigate pictures in a slideshow, play the next song, pasue etc. (left = go back, right=go forward, down=pause; works well and very useful) or move back and forth while browsing (works, but least useful since you are sitting at the keyboard while browsing anyways). Anyway, you can choose which software you want to use gesture controls with. They also mention the ability to control volume with this feature (twist your palm instead of moving it left or right) - however, this didnt work very well for me compared to the forward, back and pause controls.The USB3.0 port can be set-up to charge your phone etc even if the laptop is not on.Overall, a really versatile and functional laptop useful for number of daily applications; RAM upgradablity is a really good feature.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
Mostly Good Computer With Some Serious Setbacks
By Kevin L. Nenstiel
I'm of two minds about this computer. On the one hand, its gee-whiz new features, like a backlit keyboard and ultra-fast processor, make it really handy. It has the largest screen I've ever seen on a laptop, allowing me to view wide fields, which is really handy on features like Google Maps. The screen has a cinematic aspect ratio, which, when combined with a dual system graphics package and the best speakers I've ever heard on a laptop, makes it a good entertainment system.Despite initial doubts about the much-publicized Windows 8 start screen, I find I like having my programs laid out in a prioritized grid. It's possible to organize them as I want and, when I don't want, it's easy to switch over to a conventional desktop. This variable organization system, combined with higher processor speed that shrugs off cookies and spyware more easily, makes this system run more smoothly than prior Windows systems--maybe Redmond has worked out the kinks.I like much of the pre-loaded software. The designers obviously had media creation and management in mind, because it comes with onboard video and audio editing software which, while I'm still learning to use them, I expect to put to good use soon. Its high processor speed makes it good for YouTube, Netflix, streaming audio, and other long-package content. It's fast and big while remaining lightweight, sleek, and relatively inexpensive. I like plenty about this computer.Yet it has serious limitations. For instance, unless the power cord is connected, it drops the Internet at random intervals, for no discernable reason. This is a serious problem, because it doesn't include a pre-loaded office software suite, so I have to either pay a further nearly $100 a year for a Microsoft Office license, or use online office programs like SkyDrive or Google Drive. Since I can't spare the cost of the license, I need my Internet. Twenty-minute `Net lapses are no small issue.But when the power cord is connected, it only charges up to 80%, and then stops. I'm sure there's a reason why, but I haven't found it yet. Hit-or-miss `Net connectivity and diminished battery capacity make this computer not very useful for use away from home. Since I can fix these problems by just keeping the computer plugged in, I will make this my at-home computer, but I'll have to keep my older, smaller, less sleek laptop for travel and for writing in restaurants.On balance, I like this computer. Its new, whiz-bang capacities and shiny software do-funnies make it more useful than my prior systems, and I will keep it as my primary computer. But it has quirks, mainly in hardware, that keep me from adopting it as my sole computer. Like the super uber-genius it is, it can do more than I can, and probably gets bored waiting on me. But like a super uber-nerd, it gets awkward around people. I need to learn to live with its quirks.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Solid laptop!
By Lola Bunny
I consider myself to be a pretty basic PC user. I'm not a graphic designer or hardcore gamer but I do like to browse the web, do some gaming and photo editing, write documents, watch videos, and listen to music, among other things. Often times I like to engage in several of these activities simultaneously.For my needs the Sony Vaio SVE1713CCXB does not disappoint. With its 3rd Gen i7 processor and 4GB of RAM, I have yet to ask something of this machine that it can't deliver smoothly and seamlessly. The RAM is upgradeable to 16GB but at this time I personally see no need to upgrade as the 4GB supplied in this machine is proving to be more than sufficient for my needs. Start-up on this machine is lightning fast and I'm enjoying getting used to Windows 8 at my own pace with the ability to toggle between the app screen and a traditional desktop.The geek in me loves the backlit keyboard and the sleek design, and the 17.3" LED screen delivers a beautifully vibrant picture. This laptop produces surprisingly crisp audio as well. At 7 pounds this laptop has a bit of weight to it but that's to be expected for a laptop of this size. The unit doesn't feel bulky, it's just a sizeable machine.This laptop runs extremly quietly and stays cool. I like to use my laptop on my actual lap at times and this one doesn't get so warm that it becomes uncomfortable. It also vents to the side instead of underneath like my previous laptop did which is a feature I really appreciate.My only complaint is the 2 hour battery life which is a bit on the short side. The battery does charge relatively quickly though (and for what it's worth mine also charges to 100% without a problem) so this isn't a huge inconvenience, just something to consider. With a power cord that's over 8' long it's not bothersome to have the unit plugged in while I'm using it at home either.Overall I'm extremely pleased with this laptop. It's more than adequate for my needs and is a machine I know can grow with me should my needs ever change. Great product!
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