INTELCOREI7-740QM/1.73GHZ/2.93GHZ/6G((4GX1)+(2GX1))/640G(5400)/16.4LCD/NVIDIA Ge

by Sony

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.4 x 3.7 inches ; 10 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 10 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B003SQF3QE
• Item model number: VPCF127FX/B
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,472 in Computers & Accessories (See Top 100 in Computers & Accessories)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 2, 2004

Product Description

Enjoy maximum performance and amazing HD entertainment on a top-notch 16.4" widescreen laptop with a backlit keyboard and integrated number pad. And with a quad core Intel Core i7 processor, dedicated NVIDIA GeForce graphics, and a Blu-ray Disc drive, you will experience the ultimate in smart performance and a razor-sharp picture with amazing depth and clarity. Rediscover your favorite music, photos and more with Media Gallery. Developed with design in mind, Media Gallery includes a stunning UI with easy-to-use features and technology that takes the work out of enjoying your media. In one-step you can easily simplify your massive music library into unique playlists. SensMe Technology suggests photos and music based on your unique viewing and listening habits, reminding you of forgotten favorites. Plus, with integrated GraceNote and YouTube support, you can get the full scoop on your favorite artist or uncover music videos and interviews you didn't know existed. You'll have everything you need in one sleek package. 16.4 Widescreen Full HD Display (1920 x 1080) Built-in MOTION EYE camera and Microphone with face-tracking technology NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M GPU with 1GB of dedicated video RAM Intel High Definition Audio with Dolby Home Theater Blu-ray Reader & DVD+-R/RW with Double Layer Combo Drive Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n WLAN 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN Bluetooth Stereo A2DP (2.1 + EDR) Multimedia Card Reader - MS PRO (Standard/Duo) media slot with MagicGate(TM) functionality, ExpressCard / 34 media slot, SD media slot Pointing device - Electro-static Touch Pad (Multi-Finger) Ports - 3 x USB 2.0 (one shared with eSATA), IEEE 1394, Headphone Output, Microphone Input, VGA, HDMI, RJ-45 Ethernet Dimensions - 15.3 (W) x 1.22-1.62 (H) x 10.4 (D) inches Weight - 6.4 pounds (with standard battery)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fast and complete, July 1, 2010

By 

martiin - See all my reviews

This review is from: INTELCOREI7-740QM/1.73GHZ/2.93GHZ/6G((4GX1)+(2GX1))/640G(5400)/16.4LCD/NVIDIA Ge (Personal Computers)

My HP Touchsmart tx2z died and I needed a replacement quickly... I spent some time looking for a better performing laptop, and settled on "Something with an Intel Core i7" - the Nehalem architecture and the Quick Path Interconnect is what I wanted. I've found that for video processing all that really matters is the memory bus bandwidth - and the spec here is "up to 21 GB/s". There are a number of choices available - and I narrowed it down to the HP Envy, The Asus G73JH series ("Republic of Gaming") and the Sony F - series. The HP Envy was out because I've had it with the poor quality of HP equipment (the poor solder of the graphics processors is a well known issue - yet they won't fix it if you're out of warranty), the Asus may be a better value (larger screen, two HDD's), but I don't like they keyboard, and quality may be an issue as well...

I've had better luck with Sony than most I suppose, my Transmeta based Sony Picture Book (PCG-C1VN) is still working great, so is my DV video camera, and various other gadgets. I have seen that others have had issues, but since it was in stock locally I headed down to buy this one.

The Sony F12 series is an upgrade of the F11 series - some design issues of the F11 have been addressed, and it uses the Core i7 processors. This particular one comes with the 740QM processor - I doubt that you'd find any difference in the performance by upgrading the processor - the QPI speed is what matters... The 6GB of RAM is more than enough at least for me... The 640GB HDD at 5400RPM is a bit of a disappointment - I'd prefer 7200RPM maybe the new Seagate Momentus/XT with Flash Cache... The HD (1920x1080) display is really sweet - and the HDMI connects to my desktop DVI with a DVI to HDMI cable just fine... The nVidia GT330M is fast enough to handle the HD display and an additional 1600x1200 monitor with no issues...

I've spent a couple of days moving my applications and data from the old HP drive to the new Sony - and had no issues. I was a bit disappointed in how long it took to start Visual Studio 2008 that I use for applications development - and Virtual PC (yes you can install it on W7 Home Premium) wasn't doing that great either.

Once I had moved everything from the HP drive I decided to replace the HDD in the Sony with the SSD (Vertex 250GB) from the HP... That done - and I'm very, very happy with the performance - Visual Studio loads in 5 seconds, Virtual PC starts a saved XP session (256MB) in 10. The Disk Data Transfer score went from 5.9 to 7.2 (overall score is now 6.4 - limited by the graphics performance).

What I really like:

Core i7 performance - and it doesn't get as hot as my HP...
Screen - great color, great performance.
Keyboard - I especially like the back-light on the keys.
Physical size - 16 inches is more manageable than 17 or 18 that is certain.


What could be better:

Screen - less reflection on a matte screen?
HDD - replaced with SSD so no longer an issue - save some money by configuring a smaller drive.
Manual - a hard copy of the basics - more than the quick start - would be good!

Battery life - 2 hours - could be better, but I'm usually not far from AC power.