Sony VAIO VGN-FW41E/H

Not everyone needs a laptop to lug around all day — some people just want something smaller than a desktop PC that they can move around at home. This is the realm of the desktop replacement PC and if you’re happy to spend a few quid, you can pick up a portable that packs all of the power of a mid-range desktop — and the Sony VAIO VGN-FW41E/H is a prime example.

Like all desktop replacements, the Sony VAIO VGN-FW41E/H is big, but it’s also much better looking than many of the mega-screen monsters that qualify for this laptop category. The 16.4in screen doesn’t make much difference to the overall size — the VAIO VGN-FW41E/H still measures 384mm across — but at 37mm, it’s pretty slim for a laptop this size and Sony has done a great job with the design. This isn’t the lightest of laptops, but the 3.3kg shouldn’t prove too much of a problem if you’re just looking for a laptop to lug from room to room.

Read the rest of the review after the cut.

Although it’s all-plastic, the Sony VAIO VGN-FW41E/H’s silver and black feels solid, and its clean, understated appearance also helps make it look less imposing than other models of a similar size. There are a few flourishes — the hinge-ends are the usual circular VAIO shape and house the green-glowing power button and mains input socket.

Lift the lid and the benefits of a buying a desktop replacement become apparent — that big screen and a full-size keyboard. The screen has a glossy finish and while this leads to inevitable reflections with dark images, this is less of an issue for a laptop like this and the resulting improved contrast is worth it. The 1600 x 900 resolution isn’t quite high enough for full 1080p HD video playback, but it’s obviously sufficient for enjoying 720p playback from the internal Blu-ray drive. Although they’re fine for applications and YouTube videos, the stereo speakers that sit at the back of the keyboard aren’t quite up to blasting out movie soundtracks, though.

The keyboard has the now-standard Sony low-profile ‘Scrabble tile’ design and, as long as you like these kind of keys, it works pretty well. Top row of function keys aside, the keys are all full-size, but there’s no separate numeric keypad — not a problem for many people, but still a little unusual for a laptop this size. The trackpad is reasonably large and works well, too — its matte finish doesn’t have the same sticky-finger problems as some other laptops we’ve reviewed recently…

Performance isn’t main reason for buying a desktop replacement laptop, but it’s worth considering if you want to run the same broad range of software that most mid-range desktop set-ups can cope with. You certainly shouldn’t have any problems running any applications you choose with the Sony VAIO VGN-FW41E/H’s 2GHz Core 2 Duo T6400 processor and 4Gb of RAM, and the 500Gb hard disk provides plenty of space for programs, too.

Gaming is often a trickier proposition for any laptop and the ATI Mobility Radeon HD4650 chipset inside the Sony VAIO VGN-FW41E/H doesn’t have enough power to play the latest 3D titles at the screen’s native resolution — or at least not if you want more than a few frames per second. Drop the resolution and detail settings and you should be able to get playable performance from most titles, but this does make the VAIO VGN-FW41E/H more suited to casual gamers than hard-core players.

Battery life is seldom worth worrying about for a laptop this size, not least because you’d be foolish to take something so large out for use on the road. Some life away from the mains can be useful, though — like when you want to catch up on email in the garden without running an extension lead through the back door. In fact the VAIO VGN-FW41E/H doesn’t fare too badly in this regard and if its heavy and light use battery scores are anything to go by, you should be able to get about two and a half hours of unplugged use.