Very Fast, Inexpensive, Loaded with Software!
Written: Dec 29 '03 (Updated Jan 27 '07)
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Pros: Incredible graphics or gaming machine right out of the box.
Cons: Horrible tech. support, very unhelpful.
The Bottom Line: Absolutely no problems setting up, upgrading, or using this machine. A child could set this machine up, everything is color coded! =)
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| theproductguy's Full Review: Sony Vaio PCV-RS320 P4-2.6GHz/512/120/DVD-RW/CD-RW... |
The Sony Vaio PCV-RS320 comes packed with more then enough features and software than the adverage person could ever need! Its a complete multimedia and gaming package all rolled into one incredible desktop computer.
Computer specifics:
This computer comes equipped with a powerful Pentium 4 2.6GHz processor w/Hyper Threading Technology and an ASUS Motherboard. It also includes 512 MB of DDR SDRAM which is faster then conventional RAM; the PC 2700 memory chips included in this computer run at approximately 330 MHZ which is powerful enough to run any of the leading games or graphics applications.
This computer comes packed with more ports, slots, and areas to plug things in then any three people could ever use together. (No kidding, I could practically plug every item for all of my other computers together into this one desktop! [digital camera, printer, flatbed and handheld scanners, game pad controller, broadband modem, standard modem, and many other things]) It has USB ports on the front and back for easy access.
This computer comes with a 120 GB Seagate Barricuda 7200 ATA/100 harddrive which is more then any adverage user could ever need. You can fit hours of video, music, or just a whole (large) assortment of games and applications.
If the 120 GB harddrive isn't enough for you, this computer also includes a DVD-RW and a seperate CD-RW drive. Which you can use to backup 4.7 GB DVD's or 700 Meg CD-R's till your fingers bleed. This computer takes approximately 18 minutes (from the factory with no upgrades) to burn a 4.7GB DVD. It actually takes less then 15 minutes after I upgraded to the maximum SDRAM memory of 2GB. Please note, these rates we're achieved by not using any other software at the time of burning. I allowed the computer to use all of its resources for the DVD imaging process. So if you want to play solitare, it might take a little longer. =)
Was any software included?
Yes! A whole bunch. Included with this PC is Windows XP Home Edition, it runs very smoothly on this machine, and takes less then 15 seconds to completely boot into windows (with maximixed 2GB SDRAM / approximately 30 seconds with the factory installed 512 MB of SDRAM). Also included was a very cool game by Microsoft called Age of Empires II (I enjoyed the included game so much that I went out and purchased the newest version of the game called "Age of Mythology"). It also includes many other bells and whistles that the adverage person wouldn't need unless they wanted to start a movie studio right out of the box (Sorry, no camera was included).
Graphics specifics:
This computer comes with an awesome 64 MB Intel graphics card which was able to produce anything I needed. From 3D rendering games (Blizzard's WarCraft), to playing my favorite movies. It has unsurpased color and its extremely vibrant on my ViewSonic UltraBrite A90f+ flat screen monitor.
Sound specifics:
This is one of the most important features that I liked about this Sony Vaio. It comes right out of the box with a great sound card, and a nice pair of Sony speakers. The speakers and sound card combined produce full crisp sound. And, I found absolutely no reason to upgrade or addon a subwoofer.
Exterior design:
This Sony Vaio comes with a very cool "Vaio" light that brightly shines from the front of the case in this nice shade of blue. The case is a smoke grey color, and it has an imprinted "Vaio" accross both sides. Its a very nice looking computer in my opinion. Its not simple and boring, it actually has a cool designer look about it.
Also, the two USB and one S400 ports on the front of the computer are hidden behind a small door that is flush with the front of the computer.
The DVD-R and CD-R drives have a cool drop-down door that drop's down when you press a button on the front of the computer, and then the CD or DVD tray slides out from behind. A cool looking feature as it hides the drives, making the front of the case look uniform. I can't say the same for the 3.5" floppy disk, its very visable on the front.
Input devices included with this computer:
The keyboard is very comfortable, its kind of a "slim" design, very sleek. But its just a standard keyboard.
The mouse included is the "scroll wheel" variety, and it's not optical. I upgraded to an optical mouse as the factory variety has a lot of moving parts that can break, and I really like the cool red light shining from under my optical mouse.
Any problems encountered when Upgrading?
None, installations and upgrades are a breeze. Theres three screws that need to be removed from the back of the case, the case will then simply lift right off. You have easy access (I can fit my big hands in every area of the cases inside) to all slots, chips, the processor, additional drive space, and anything else you could possible need to change (the motherboards battery, etc).
And I noticed a few extra 12 Volt jumpers in case you need to add a harddrive cooler, or extra fans.
One thing that I was a little disappointed about, this computer came from the factory with two 256 MB PC 2700 DDR SDRAM chips when they could have installed one 512 MB PC 2700 chip. If they had installed one larger chip, instead of two smaller chips, I would have saved money when I upgraded this computers memory to the maximum of 2 GB. The reason I lost money was because I had to simply toss out two 256 MB chips to make room for my four newly purchased 512 MB chips (I would have had to purchase one less if Sony included the memory in one large chip!)
All in all, the memory upgrade takes less then 10 minutes for the experienced user. You simply remove the case, carefully remove and replace the exisiting SDRAM chips, close the case up, and reboot.
Harddrive upgrade: I added in a second Seagate Barricuda 7200 RPM 200GB 8MB Cache 100/ATA harddrive. Included with the harddrive was a one time installation cd, and the new harddrive worked immediately.
Very impressed with the ease of upgrades and installation on this Sony Vaio PC. And I was also impressed with the way the wires came wrapped and tied down inside the case, right from the store. I had to move absolutely no wires to install the new harddrive, the ide cable was already right where it needed to be, and the power cable was too! Very clean and nice.
Networking with the Sony Vaio PCV-RS320:
Included with this computer is one 10/100 Mps ethernet card. I used this card to control and talk to my broadband modem. I then added a second 10/100 Mps ethernet card to this computer to control and talk to my network hub. This computer works excellent as my network's host computer. It has more then enough power to handle the load of other users reading my files as I use many powerful applications (Photoshop, Paintshop Pro, Macromedia products).
Final notes:
I purchased this desktop after purchasing my Sony Vaio PCG-FRV27 notebook. I am very satisified with all of my many Sony products. And I have been a large fan for years of their sterios, and decided to try out their computers. I am by far impressed; but their techinical support is horrible.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 999.99
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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theproductguy
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Location: New Jersey, USA
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