Sony Vaio E Series E15116FXS review

With four USB ports (one USB 3.0), HDMI and VGA outputs, and both SD card and Memory Stick slots, there's not too much more you can expect in this price range. The extra slot, for the Memory Stick, is one of those only on Sony add-ons, and won't do you much good unless you have a Sony device that uses that format.

Until now, we've only seen high-end quad-core Core i7 versions of Intel's third-generation Core i-series CPUs, otherwise known as Ivy Bridge. The Sony Vaio E (along with the Vaio T) is one of the first with the more mainstream dual-core Core i5 version of Ivy Bridge.

As we've discussed previously, the actual benchmark performance gains over comparable second-gen Core i5 CPUs is modest, and you likely won't notice any difference in day to day use. (The previous Vaio E we reviewed had a Core i3 CPU, and this is indeed much faster than that.) For everyday websurfing, email, social networking, or even HD video playback, the new Intel Core i5-3210M is more than fast enough, and doesn't in any way feel like you're using a budget-minded laptop.

The real advantage from Intel's Ivy Bridge update comes from the new HD 4000 graphics system. A big improvement over the previous generation HD 3000 graphics, you can now get a decent playable experience on a laptop with integrated graphics, at least as long as you keep your expectations modest. Running Street Fighter IV, for example, at the native 1,366x768-pixel resolution, we got 31.4 frames per second. Lower the detail settings, and many other more recent games will be playable as well -- although this is still not a machine for a serious gamer by any stretch.

Juice box
Sony Vaio E	Average watts per hour
Off (60 percent)	0.36
Sleep (10 percent)	0.97
Idle (25 percent)	23.67
Load (5 percent)	38.95
Raw kWh	71.64
Annual energy cost	$8.13

While Intel's Core i-series chips are known for excellent efficiency, and have really changed people's expectations of laptop battery life, the newest third-gen chips don't add much to what was already there. The Sony Vaio E ran for three hours and 34 minutes on our video playback battery drain test, which is acceptable for a midsize laptop, but not all that impressive. Fortunately, the Vaio E is too big and bulky to carry around on a regular basis, so you'll usually be near an outlet.

Sony includes a standard one-year warranty, which can be upgraded at the time of purchase. The new Vaio E isn't live on Sony's website at the time this review was writtern, but for the previous version of the Vaio E, those upgrades are $159 for an extended three-year service plan, or $249 for three years plus accidental damage protection.

Finding a less-expensive midsize laptop that doesn't look like a doorbuster special can be tough at times, but Sony deserves some credit for taking its entry level mainstream line and juicing up the components, design, and features.

Benchmark testing by Julie Rivera.

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