Perfect Weapon for the Mobile Warrior
Written: Mar 24 '01
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Pros: Light, built-in modem & firewire
Cons: Small keyboard, limited resolution, only 64MB
The Bottom Line: Although it's not perfect for every situation, the Vaio's size and flexibility make it perfect for someone who needs to be able to occasionally work on the road.
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| ryanitv's Full Review: Sony VAIO SR5K PC Notebook |
Let me start off by saying I've always liked the Vaio notebook line - I've had a 505, a FX-180 and jumped on the SR5K as soon as it was released.
The biggest downside to the SR5K is the lack of any bundled hardware. Even the 3.5" FD is extra, but I went full-boat and ordered that and the DVD player as well. The price tag for everything came to just over $2500; slightly more than a comparably equipped "full size" laptop, but after lugging the FX-180 around for a year, I was willing to pay the premium to avoid shoulder pains from carrying equipment around.
Performance with Windows 2000 out of the box is adequate... I'd strongly urge anyone looking at the SR5K to grab an additional 64MB of memory. The system seemed to choke on DVDs with only 64MB, but performed flawlessly once I upgraded to 128MB. Also, it succumbs to the same problem I had with my 505 - only one PC card slot. Having to swap the NIC for the DVD card becomes a hassle when installing an application from CD or trying to watch a movie while on the network. A built in NIC would have made the machine perfect. For the mobile DVD nut, invest in a decent pair of headphones - the built in speakers (as on the 505) are woefully inadequate for anything more than OS sounds.
The SR5K inherits the 505's "wow" factor... anytime you pull the laptop out you're bound to get questioned about it. The SR5K just plain looks good; fellow technophiles always seem more than willing to share their admiration.
If you're a business app user (MS Office, Internet, etc), the Vaio is perfect for you and may even satisfy your computing needs with its base 64MB. If you plan on doing presentations or working with any sort of graphics apps, seriously consider either bumping the memory or going with the Vaio SR7K.
The lightweight Vaio (505/SR) series could never pass for "desktop replacements" - if you're looking for something along those lines, you may be better off with a Vaio SuperSlim Pro (slightly larger). If you're like me, and only occasionally need the convenience of a laptop, whether it be on the road or just handling correspondence on the couch, the SR5K is perfect.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 2200
Operating System: Windows
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Epinions.com ID:
ryanitv
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Location: Lewes, DE
Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
A home theater geek, web monkey, game playing, driving fanatic; yeah, that's me.
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