Why I Will Probably Never Own a Desktop Again
Written: Jun 02 '03
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Pros: Works just like a desktop, nice looking, easy to use
Cons: Heavy, low output of sound
The Bottom Line: This computer is one of the biggest reasons that I fell in love with Sony products.
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| lilbooboo's Full Review: Sony VAIO GRX550 PC Notebook |
Before I begin I would just like to state that I am not a computer genius. I don’t know a lot of technical descriptions for things that happen inside of my computer, but I do use my computer quite a bit. So this review is for those people who, like me, don’t know the first thing about what a LAN card is or what things like “PCMIA” stand for.
Next, I have not listed many specs in this review. Why? Because, you can hit the “view details” button above to see all that kind of information. With that said, lets move on to the review.
What came in the box with the computer?: I bought this computer in May 2002 so my memory is a little foggy when I try to think about this. However, I think I have come up with the main items:
1. Computer - I would have been pretty disappointed if this wasn’t in there.
2. AC adaptor - The great thing about this, is that you can plug it in to any outlet in the world without having to use a converter (this has been especially helpful to me in China). Over the year of seeing other peoples AC adaptors, I have realized that mine is quite a bit bigger than everyone else’s.
3. Cd’s - There is a bunch of these all in a nice little pack. You will find all the necessary system restore Cd’s and software backup Cd’s in there.
4. Papers - These include manuals, registration forms, and warranty documents.
5. Cardboard filling - I haven’t figured how to plug this in to the computer yet.
Did the laptop work perfectly out of the box?: Yes. I mean as far as I could tell. I plugged it in, pushed the power button, and WHAMO, I was working on the computer.
How upgradeable is the laptop?: I think the only thing that can be done to this computer is an addition of RAM. There is a panel on the bottom that I can supposedly unscrew and pop in a new or additional stick of RAM. However, this is one point that goes out of my range of knowledge so I can’t say anything about this for sure.
Speed: At 1.6 Ghz, I could say that the computer is fast, but speed is a relative measure. The computer was really fast when I bought it, but now it seems kind of normal. Has the computer slowed down? Maybe, but I’ve probably just grown accustomed to the speed; if I were to buy a new computer today, I would probably think that this one is pretty slow
Weaknesses:
Hardware: As far as hardware is concerned, I have had a few things go wrong over the past year. As of right now the headphone jack does not work (I am waiting to get it fixed until I get back to the States). Also, the AV out jack on the back of the computer tends to be a little quirky. With the speakers I am currently using, if I want both speakers to have sound coming out of them I have to pull the plug out half way (of course this could be because I bought the speakers in China). The DVD/CDRW drive has also given me a little headache because the front cover has come loose and kind of gingerly hangs on when I eject a CD. On inspecting the drive it seems that the cover was only attached by a thin piece of plastic.
Also, the computer does not come with a floppy drive. If you want a floppy drive then Sony offers one for this computer at a price of about $80. It is an external drive which makes it a bit of a hassle to pull it out, plug it in and vice versa when you just need to quickly copy something to a disk. Apparently, Sony figures that you can use the CDRW to save files instead of the floppy, but I am still not sold on this idea.
Weight: This is probably one of the biggest downsides to the computer as it weighs close to 9 lbs. Once you have it its bag with all the accessories, you are bound to have a sore shoulder after walking around for a bit.
Sound: The computer does not have a high output of sound. On my flight from L.A. to Beijing I was all prepared to watch movies on the laptop to pass the time. However, after I plugged in my headphones and started the movie I realized that I could not hear anything over the normal noise of the airplane. At first I thought that this was probably normal for everyone, but as I looked around I saw many other people doing the same thing I wanted to do; but they could hear just fine.
Software: Windows XP has messed up a little, but I don’t think this is really a fault of the Sony computer. Also, I believe that the computer only came with Microsoft Word and I had to go out and purchase the remaining parts of Microsoft Office.
Strengths: In my opinion the strengths far out weigh the weaknesses for this machine. It has done a great job for my wife and I this year and it doesn’t look like it is going out of date anytime soon (granted, I speak relative to technology time when I say “soon”). Below are a few of the strengths that I have seen over the past year:
Software: Other than the missing Office parts, this computer came with all the software that I will probably ever need. I really have enjoyed SonicStage, which is Sony’s MP3 software. I have read people’s complaints about how Sony makes it complicated by having to change all songs over to the ATTRAC format but for me, I never had any MP3’s before this so it is working great. I am especially enjoying this since my purchase of the Sony NW-MS11MP3 player.
Reliability: Over the past year, there has not been one time that the computer has not turned on when I pressed the power button. The programs all have worked fine and nothing has crashed.
Convenience: The strength that makes this computer worth the money I paid for it is how it has made my life easier. Before purchasing this computer, I was the proud owner of a Gateway desktop, but now I will probably never go back to desktops. For me, there is nothing that I could do on a desktop that I can’t do on this laptop. I love being able to take this with me wherever I go and know that I will be able to connect to the internet or do whatever I want.
Memory Stick drive: This is amazing if you use any other Sony product. I have been using a Sony digital camera and the installed drive on the laptop makes downloading the pictures to the hard drive a matter of seconds. It also speeds up the transfer time of moving songs from my hard drive to my Sony MP3 player.
Split Hard Drives: The computer comes with two big hard drives. The C drive has a capacity of 11.1 GB while the D drive has 16.7 GB. This has been nice since all of my multimedia can be stored on the D drive and will not clog up my C drive’s speed.
Battery Power: The computer has the ability to run on two batteries at the same time. If you set the computer to the “Ultimate Battery Profile” then you can do work on it for about seven hours before needing to plug it in again. However, movies drain the battery faster so you could probably only squeeze in 4 ½ hours of movie watching.
Overall: Well, that’s about it. It wasn’t technical but hopefully it gave you a view of the computer in layman’s terms. I have been greatly pleased with the laptop and would recommend it to anyone.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 2,000
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 15 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 21-30
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Epinions.com ID:
lilbooboo
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Location: Birmingham, AL
Reviews written: 22
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
An American doing work in other countries. Currently I live near Beijing, China.
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