Sony Vaio F13M0E review

It will also automatically switch between the dedicated Nvidia card and the Core i7’s built-in graphics chip, depending on whether you need performance or power-saving, thanks to Nvidia’s Optimus technology. However, the battery life of just over three hours in our light-use test makes us question whether Optimus is as effective as AMD’s similar technology, which resulted in much longer battery life in the Radeon HD-equipped laptops.

The F13M0E’s design is typical Vaio: understated, functional and yet easy on the eye. It’s a dark, gun-metal grey all over, but different textures and materials add variety. Build quality is excellent, and attention to detail is immaculate. We particularly liked the clear labels on every expansion port.

The keyboard includes a four-column numberpad, and the width of the case means there are no surprises in the layout. The flat, Chiclet-style keys have a light, crisp action that provides ample feedback for touch-typists, and there’s a small but responsive touchpad. The two large mouse buttons are lightly sprung and are placed close enough to the edge of the case that your thumb can easily reach them.

There are only three USB ports, but two of these support the new USB3 standard, and one is shared with an eSATA port. There’s also a 34mm ExpressCard slot, a FireWire port and a headphone port that doubles as an optical S/PDIF output, so there’s a variety of options for attaching external devices including TVs and speaker systems.

With great performance, flexibility in its connections and superb build quality throughout, it’s just a shame that one of the most basic components – the display – has been so poorly implemented. With a brighter, Full HD display the F13M0E could fully justify its price, but as it stands it’s not great value. The Acer Aspire Ethos 8943G has a Full HD screen, a better graphics card and comparable performance, yet costs £200 less.