Sony is on the right track
Written: Nov 10 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lightweight, blazing fast, great pre-installed software,your friends will envy you
Cons: Graphics card not supported for some 3-D accelerated games, no P/S2 port , need your A drive attached to connect to a local printer, putting in expanded memory a bit tricky
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| larat's Full Review: Sony VAIO XG29 PC Notebook |
When I first saw an advertisement for the new line of Sony Vaio computers, my heart skipped a beat. Not since Apple has a computer company been able to make a computer feel fun! And fun the XG29 is! The XG29 delivers desktop performance in a small, tidy, sexy package. Lift the screen to open her up and the intercooler flap automatically raises to provide enhanced heat dissipation and an ergonomic tilt to the keyboard....ok, that last part I copied off the Sony site, how about this, it's just really cool looking! The next thing you'll notice is the screen....tap, tap....yep, that's real glass protecting the 14" screen, nice touch. Every computer needs an opening signature, the Vaio has that too, simple, plain, but effective.
Performance:
This computer screams, and I mean screams when it comes to processor speed. The standard 128 RAM is good, but I recommend adding the full 256 RAM to get the most out of this scream queen. The 18G hard drive is ok, but this is easily upgradeable in a nice way (more on this later).
Usability:
What I mean by usability is how the computer performs when you use it on a day to day basis. I bring the machine in to work as a secondary computer to supplement my desktop. I've run 10 telnet sessions, an MP3 music player, mail program, Visio, Word, Excel and Adobe Photoshop at the same time without a problem. Games run great on it too, but........and this is one gripe I have. Sony advertises this machine as multi-media machine. It comes preinstalled with Adobe Photoshop and Premiere, as well as a lot of other fun goodies. The problem is games.....the video card is made by NeoMagic and I've quickly discovered that many game developers do NOT design games for this card. You can find games that work, some pretty good ones, but I would recommend buying software from a store which allows for a full refund if for some reason the game doesn't work. If you are into creating and editing home movies, this is a machine you may want to consider. Premiere runs great, the video resolution on the 14" screen is great and the processing time for video rendering is very fast.
Knick Knacks:
Some other great little feature of this computer
1) i-Link (aka FireWire), the best way to put video and pictures from your digital camera/vidcam to your computer. Also, I mentioned earlier that the 18 Gig harddrive may not be enough, well, you're going to start seeing a lot of peripheral gear which use FireWire technology, including external harddrives. I've heard the data transfer speed is not quite as fast as a scuzzy drive, but it's pretty darn close.
2) Infrared communication, link up with your buddies Vaio (or PDA) for quick filesharing connection
Cons:
Yes, there are a couple of cons associated with this computer aside from the point I made about games
1) Where's the P/S2 port? C'mon Sony, it's dying but not dead yet
2)For some reason, Sony couldn't fit a printer port, so in order to connect to a local printer you must first connect the external A drive and then plug the printer into a port on the A drive. Not entirely convenient....creative, but not convenient.
3) Finally, if you plan on expanding to 256 RAM be careful. The instructions enclosed how to do this are slightly confusing and bring your x-tra small screwdriver, because you need to remove a screw under the machine, take off a couple of keys off the keyboard, unhitch 4 tabs (2 at the top of the keyboard and 2 at the bottom under the keys you removed) and then carefully slide the keyboard off to get to the memory slot. Whew!
Conclusion:
All in all, this is a very reliable and robust machine. I guarantee you will not be disappointed! At least until the new Vaio 850Mhz machines come out. Oh, wait, they already are.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
larat
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Member: Tim Lara
Location: San Francisco, CA
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
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