DELL Studio XPS 16 vs Sony VAIO VGN-FW490


DELL Studio XPS 16   

30 members have voted

  1. 1. Please read the specs below and consider the price before voting

    • DELL Studio XPS 16 ($1,645.60)
      19
    • Sony VAIO VGN-FW490 ($1,153.04)
      9
    • DELL Studio XPS 16 (refurb) (~$1,400.00)
      2


Recommended Posts

The features are listed in descending importance to me

I love high screen resolutions and I'm trying to find 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 in the smallest size possible that still has decent performance and is preferably around $1300.

DELL Studio XPS 16

Edge-to-Edge FullHD Widescreen 16.0 inch RGBLED LCD (1920x1080)

ATI Mobility RADEON™ HD 4670 – 1GB

Intel? Core™ 2 Duo P8700 (3MB cache/2.53GHz/1066Mhz FSB)

500GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive

2Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis

4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1067MHz (2 Dimms)

6-cell Battery

Intel 5300 Ultimate-N (3x3) & Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module (2.1+EDR)

Obsidian Black with Leather Accent

8X DVD+/- RW(DVD/CD read/write) Slot Load Drive

Windows Vista™ Premium x64

$1,645.60 (including taxes & shipping)

The good things about this one is the fact that it reportedly has the best notebook screen on the market (any actual reports from you guys will be appreciated), the machine itself looks very nice (aesthetically), it has a backlit keyboard and the awesome DELL warranty.

The bad thing is the price.

Sony VAIO VGN-FW490

16.4" widescreen with XBRITE-FullHD™ LCD technology (1920x1080)

ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD4650 graphics card with 1GB vRAM

Intel? Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53GHz)

320GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [7200 rpm]

1 Year Sony Warranty

4GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 2GBx2)

Standard Capacity Battery

WLAN (802.11a/b/g/n) with integrated Bluetooth? technology

Black

CD/DVD playback/burning

Microsoft? Windows Vista? Home Premium 64-bit

$1,153.04 (including taxes & shipping)

The good thing about this one is the price and the interior aesthetics are very nice.

The bad thing about the Sony is the warranty which is shorter and AFAIK does not cover incidents outside the US, also I think the DELL looks a bit better in the exterior (maybe higher quality). Also, I'm not sure if this Sony has a backlit keyboard (if anyone knows let me know).

DELL Studio XPS 16 from the Outlet

Edge-to-Edge FullHD Widescreen 16.0 inch RGBLED LCD (1920x1080)

ATI Mobility RADEON™ HD 3670 – 512MB

Intel? Core™ 2 Duo P8700 (3MB cache/2.53GHz/1066Mhz FSB)

320GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [7200 rpm]

2Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis

4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1067MHz (2 Dimms)

6-cell Battery

Intel 5100 Ultimate-N (1x2) & Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module (2.1+EDR)

Obsidian Black with Leather Accent

8X DVD+/- RW(DVD/CD read/write) Slot Load Drive

Windows Vista™ Premium x64

~$1,400.00 (including taxes & shipping)

The good things about this one is the fact that it reportedly has the best notebook screen on the market (just like the other XPS 16), the machine itself looks very nice (aesthetically), it has a backlit keyboard and the awesome DELL warranty.

The "bad" thing is the 3670 graphics card and maybe the fact that it's a refurb.

Now, if you know of any other notebooks in this price range and with decent specs feel free to let me know.

Also, where do you think the Mobility 4650 and Mobility 4670 would fit on this table: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon...ics,2296-6.html ? Would the Mobility 4650 on the Sony VAIO be closer to the 4650 DDR2 or the 4650 DDR3?

Which would be faster, a 500GB 5400RPM drive or a 320GB 7200RPM drive? Would it be noticeable?

I appreciate your:)elp :)

Edited by Argote

Personally I will stay as far away as I can from a Dell because of the quality control that is lacking in their products..

But maybe its just Asia Pacific that faces this quality issue... if you are lucky enough, you get a system that will last you for a very long time, if not, you'll be running into problem after problem and calling tech support and get ****ed in the end, just my humble opinion, does not apply for everyone.

Personally I will stay as far away as I can from a Dell because of the quality control that is lacking in their products..

But maybe its just Asia Pacific that faces this quality issue... if you are lucky enough, you get a system that will last you for a very long time, if not, you'll be running into problem after problem and calling tech support and get ****ed in the end, just my humble opinion, does not apply for everyone.

I currently have a DELL Inspiron 640m which has served me well for about 26ish months now. I got the charger replaced once because cable stress broke the isolation on the wires and they became exposed.

I recommend buying the refurbished Dell Studio XPS 16. It's pretty much identical to the other Dell Studio XPS 16. The only difference is the video card and hard drive. Keep in mind that the Mobility Radeon HD 3670 outperforms the GeForce 8600M GT which used to be the prominent video card for the Dell XPS M1330/M1530. As for the hard drive, you'll definitely notice the speed especially if you're accustomed to desktop hard drives which usually operate at 7200 RPM.

Like I said, maybe its just Asia Pacific having this Q.C. problem :p

Sony really doesn't cover outside of the U.S.? That sucks..

I guess Dell would be the better choice here, in regards to warranty, I believe they would have a service center in Mexico as well, so it would be much easier for the techs to come and replace parts if there was any faulty hardware.

The price like you said is much more expensive, most likely because of the 2 year limited warranty included, could be, just guessing. But XPS warranties allow you to call in any time, and it's 24/7, and you do get more "special attention" if it's an XPS system.

Personally I will stay as far away as I can from a Dell because of the quality control that is lacking in their products..

Yeah, stay away, please. Dell's laptops are good quality products. I've got an Inspiron 1720, had it for about 6 months, and the build quality is good, and I've had no problems with it at all so far. The maker to avoid is HP. My parents bought one of their laptops, and it looks alright, but it uses a Synaptics touchpad, which is the cheapest touchpad you can use, and it shows, because it stops working half the time, and I've reinstalled the drivers countless times to try and fix it. It also comes bundled with a hell of a lot more crapware than Dell's laptops. It wasn't too hard for me to get rid of the Dell crapware; PC Decrapifier took care of most of it. HP on the other hand, has a lot of it, and it took a good couple of hours to sort it all out.

Personally I will stay as far away as I can from a Dell because of the quality control that is lacking in their products..

But maybe its just Asia Pacific that faces this quality issue... if you are lucky enough, you get a system that will last you for a very long time, if not, you'll be running into problem after problem and calling tech support and get ****ed in the end, just my humble opinion, does not apply for everyone.

Running a Dell Dimension 9100 which is 5 years old which has only had a RAM stick die. Otherwise no failures throughout our family (5+ computers across the family).

I'd say definately the XPS 16 (Non Refurb) is the best option.

I don't see the point in paying an additional $245 for the non-refurbished model. Aside from the video card and hard drive, both the non-refurbished and refurbished models are identical.

I don't see the point in paying an additional $245 for the non-refurbished model. Aside from the video card and hard drive, both the non-refurbished and refurbished models are identical.

Isn't the 4670 like way more powerful than the 3670?

You're also paying extra for the fact that it's refurbished, and not new.

i.e. it might have marks/blemishes, etc.

True, but it isn't definite. It could very well be a brand new laptop.

A quick note -- I heard the Studio XPS laptops in general suffers from relatively poor battery life to comparable laptops. You might want to consider that. Otherwise, it's an excellent laptop but don't expect it to be a mobile warrior of ANY sort :p

  • 2 weeks later...
No. And it certainly doesn't warrant an extra $245.

According to this it certainly is a BIG improvement in performance.

So I'm down to choosing between the XPS 16 and the FW 490. Both are backordered on dell.com and sonystyle.com respectively till the final days on the month though

Go with the Dell. Their support team is fabulous.

Even if you don't have Complete Care warranty, the technicians will throw in all kinds of plastics for free, even though you never request them. For example when I did a LCD replacement on my Latitude D620 (no Complete Care), they threw in a new lid, bezel, and rubber bumps for free.

According to this it certainly is a BIG improvement in performance.

So I'm down to choosing between the XPS 16 and the FW 490. Both are backordered on dell.com and sonystyle.com respectively till the final days on the month though

I just noticed I did NOT post the link the 1st time around, my bad.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphi...List.844.0.html

I've only heard good things about the Dell Studio XPS (but plenty of bad things in my experience with the XPS M1330 lineup).

But if you want good sound quality to external speakers, make sure you check where the audio ports and power adapter ports are located. My friend has a Sony laptop, and when external AC power is connected, you get massive audio interference.. bad design on Sony's part. Not sure what model of laptop it is, but it's rather recent.. I'd say less than 6 months old

Hey guys, first of all thanks for your help and insights. I have placed an order for the following:

Sony VAIO VGN-FW490

16.4" widescreen with XBRITE-FullHD? LCD technology (1920x1080)

ATI Mobility Radeon? HD4650 graphics card with 1GB vRAM

Intel? Core? 2 Duo Processor P8800 (2.66GHz)

320GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [7200 rpm]

1 Year Sony Warranty

4GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 2GBx2)

Standard Capacity Battery

WLAN (802.11a/b/g/n) with integrated Bluetooth? technology

Chocolate Brown

CD/DVD playback/burning

Microsoft? Windows Vista? Home Premium 64-bit

I decided after all that the XPS16 and the warranty was not worth the extra ~$400, I saw an FW490 @ a Best Buy and it's a really beautiful machine in brown so that's what I ordered (not from Best Buy though).

The bad part is it'll take about 2 weeks to get it. I'll feel you in on how it is when I get it.

  • 1 month later...

I have had my Studio XPS16 for 4 months now.. I just got off the phone with dell support.. they are sending out a new system board, hard drive and optical drive!.... after only 4 months... I am not too happy about that...

However, with the XPS line, you get AMERICAN support which is so much easier due to no language barrier... I have nothing against anyone in any other countries, but it is much harder to communicate with someone in which English (or american english) is not their primary language.. Also I bought the next business day support.. I only hope they send out the current system board with the radeon 4670 video, as I have the early StudioXPS16 which has only the 512mb radeon 3670....

Good luck with your sony, post back here and let people know how you like it

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Google begins rolling out its post-Epic Play Store billing model next week by Karthik Mudaliar Google has confirmed that its redesigned Play Store billing and fee structure will take effect on June 30, 2026, in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Economic Area. The changes will let eligible developers offer their own payment systems or send users to an external website for purchases, while separating Google’s platform service fee from the cost of using Google Play Billing. The rollout puts concrete dates and detailed rate cards behind the broader Android policy overhaul Google announced in March. That announcement followed a proposed settlement with Epic Games intended to resolve their long-running disputes over app distribution and payments, although the U.S. portion of the agreement still requires court approval. Under the new billing choice program, developers selling digital content or services can display an alternative payment option alongside Google Play Billing. They may also direct users to their own websites to complete a purchase. Developers can use Google’s standard payment-choice screen or design one that complies with the company’s user-interface rules. Choosing another payment processor does not eliminate Google’s cut altogether. The company will continue charging a service fee for transactions associated with apps distributed through Google Play, regardless of whether payment is handled by Google, an alternative provider, or a developer’s website. Google argues that this fee covers the value and infrastructure provided by Android and the Play Store. For developers earning up to $1 million annually, the service fee will generally be 10 percent. That rate also applies to auto-renewing subscriptions. When Google Play Billing is used in the U.S., U.K., or EEA, Google will add a separate 5 percent billing fee, and developers processing payments elsewhere will not pay that additional charge. This means Google’s familiar flat 30 percent commission is disappearing, but developers will not necessarily see a dramatic reduction on every transaction. An in-app purchase from an existing user processed through Google Play Billing can still reach a combined 30 percent. The biggest savings are likely to come from subscriptions, smaller developers covered by the $1 million tier, and companies able to move customers to their own payment infrastructure. Google is also offering lower rates through its Apps Experience and revamped Games Level Up programs. Apps and games that satisfy the company’s requirements can qualify for 15 percent service fees on new-install transactions and 20 percent on existing-install transactions. The criteria include performance and reliability standards, support for additional Android device categories, and selected platform features. Those program rates are scheduled to become available in the initial markets and Australia on September 30. For consumers, the immediate effect will depend on whether developers adopt alternative payments and pass any savings on through lower prices. For developers, however, June 30 begins a more flexible but considerably more complicated Play Store economy in which distribution, billing, install dates, revenue thresholds, and program participation can each affect Google’s final cut. Google is also separately developing a Registered App Stores program designed to simplify the installation of qualifying third-party stores. That initiative is expected to arrive with a major Android release later in 2026 and will launch outside the U.S. first. Google says the rest of the world will receive the changes by September 30, 2027, although billing rates for markets outside the US, UK, and EEA have not yet been announced.
    • 38% off a super insane price is still an INSANE price.
    • 1TB Samsung T9 and Samsung 9100 PRO SSDs are now selling at great prices by Fiza Ali Amazon is now offering the 1TB variant of Samsung T9 and Samsung 9100 PRO SSD at great prices with limited-time 38% and 39% discounts, respectively, so you may want to check them out if you have been looking to upgrade your storage solution. The Samsung T9 connects via a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20Gbps) interface and delivers sequential read speeds of up to 2,000MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 1,950MB/s, making it suitable for transferring large files, backing up data, and handling high-resolution media content. When it comes to the security features, the SSD includes AES 256-bit hardware encryption to help protect sensitive data. Designed for portability, the drive is reportedly resistant to drops from heights of up to 3 metres. Furthermore, it operates within a temperature range of 0°C to 60°C and can be stored at temperatures between -40°C and 85°C. Samsung Magician Software is included for drive management, firmware updates, performance optimisation, and health monitoring. Finally, the T9 is certified to multiple international standards, including CE, FCC, UL, UKCA, and RoHS 2 compliance, and is backed by a five-year limited warranty as well. 1TB Samsung T9 SSD: $179.99 (Amazon US) - 38% off The Samsung 9100 PRO uses the M.2 2280 form factor and connects through a PCIe 5.0 x4 interface with NVMe 2.0 support. Built with Samsung V-NAND TLC flash memory, an in-house controller, and 1GB of low-power DDR4X cache memory, the 9100 PRO is engineered for high-performance computing and gaming workloads. Furthermore, the SSD delivers sequential read speeds of up to 14,700MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 13,300MB/s. Random performance is rated at up to 1,850,000 IOPS for reads and up to 2,600,000 IOPS for writes, depending on system hardware and configuration. The drive supports TRIM, S.M.A.R.T monitoring, automatic garbage collection, and device sleep mode to help maintain performance and efficiency over time. In terms of security features, it includes AES 256-bit encryption, TCG Opal support, and IEEE 1667 compliance. The 9100 PRO operates within a temperature range of 0°C to 70°C, is rated for 1.5 million hours MTBF, and can reportedly withstand shocks of up to 1,500G for 0.5 milliseconds. Finally, Samsung Magician Software is also included for firmware updates, performance monitoring, drive management, and optimisation. 1TB Samsung 9100 PRO SSD: $206.99 (Amazon US) - 39% off Alternatively, you can also check out other SSD deals here. Good to know This Amazon deal is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • This is about the already discredited 2025 announcement. Not the current one, which I've heard nothing negative about in the academic literature.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Dedicated
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • First Post
      Tom Schmidt earned a badge
      First Post
    • One Month Later
      D0nn13 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Rookie
      +ChiefOfNeo went up a rank
      Rookie
    • One Year In
      Tom Schmidt earned a badge
      One Year In
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      464
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      177
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      124
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      81
    5. 5
      Xenon
      76
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!