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Back-to-school 2009 retail laptop roundup: Sony's Vaio FW480 is our favorite high-end model

In our current roundup of retail-specific laptops, we've divided our 30-plus systems into four different price categories, from sub-$500 entry level models to high-end ones that cost more than $1,000.

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Dan Ackerman Editorial Director / Computers and Gaming
Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of computers and gaming hardware. A New York native and former radio DJ, he's also a regular TV talking head and the author of "The Tetris Effect" (Hachette/PublicAffairs), a non-fiction gaming and business history book that has earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Fortune, LA Review of Books, and many other publications. "Upends the standard Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg technology-creation myth... the story shines." -- The New York Times
Expertise I've been testing and reviewing computer and gaming hardware for over 20 years, covering every console launch since the Dreamcast and every MacBook...ever. Credentials
  • Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
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Dan Ackerman
2 min read

In our current roundup of retail-specific laptops, we've divided our 30-plus systems into four different price categories, from sub-$500 entry level models to high-end ones that cost more than $1,000.

In that high-end category, we looked at three laptops from Sony, HP, and Asus. While they were largely similar, Sony's Vaio FW480J/T won us over by including a Blu-ray drive and having the best battery life (although the Asus G71GX-RX05 should be your choice for gaming).

Check out details of each system below:

Sony Vaio FW480J/T *BEST*
The good: Sleek design, seamless Blu-ray functionality, plenty of RAM, good battery life.

The bad: Midlevel discrete graphics, no 1080p screen resolution, no touch-sensitive media controls.

The bottom line: As an above-average Blu-ray-playing laptop with impressive looks and good under-the-hood power, Sony's Vaio FW480J/T is a solid portable multimedia machine.

Read the full review here.

Asus G71GX-RX05
The good: Good components for the price; secondary instant-on Linux OS; separate number pad.

The bad: Big, heavy, and power hungry; mixed performance; lights can't be completely shut off; no dedicated media controls.

The bottom line: The Asus G71GX-RX05 is a solid gaming-oriented desktop replacement, but with a few shortcomings that could make or break a purchasing decision.

Read the full review here.

HP Pavilion dv7-2185DX
The good: Plenty of RAM and a big hard drive; slick, attractive design; discrete graphics; quad-core CPU.

The bad: Screen resolution is low for the price; no Blu-ray drive.

The bottom line: HP makes excellent, slick multimedia machines, such as the Pavilion dv7-2185DX, but we'd still trade its quad-core CPU for a full HD 1080p display and Blu-ray.

Read the full review here.

Check out the rest of the 2009 Back-to-School retail laptop and desktop roundup here.