Need some info about Sony Vaio's...

PuddingShorts · 05-03-2002, 03:24 PM

I'm thinking of getting a new Vaio to replace my horrendous Compaq Presario 5050 and, aside from the strange choice of a 1.8Ghz Pentium IV processor over a 2.0 or 2.4, the current Vaio's look like pretty good deals. I was thinking of getting a RX660 or RX670 but am planning on upgrading some components and could use some early notice about what I can and can't do.

The base requirements for the ones I'm looking at is a 1.8Ghz P4 processor, 512MB or RAM, 80GB hard drive, and either a DVD-ROM and CDRW, or a DVD-ROM and DVD-RW. So if you have a similar setup on a Vaio, you might be able to help me out, assuming different Vaio models are more or less set up the same aside from obvious component differences.

Here's some things that have I am concerned about:

1.) Do the DVD-RW and CD-RW drives have some kind of buffer underrun protection, such as Burnproof? I already have a Samsung burner and am NEVER going to torture myself with a drive that doesn't have underrun protection again! I heard the DVD-RW is actually one of those decent Pioneer models, so I'm assuming Pioneer would definitely have buffer underrun protection when considering the size of a DVD movie file size. I'm not sure about wether the CDRW would have underrun failsafes.

2.) Most Vaio's have the ability to upgrade to a gig of RAM. Anyone know how to go about this? Do you need two 512MB's wafers or is it possible to just pop in one 512? I think the memory is PC2100 DDR but I don't know enough about RAM types to know what ones need parity. Basically, am I going to have to buy two 512's and end up with two spare 256's to hang onto?

3.) How easy is the task of popping in another hard drive in the spare 3.5" bay? I'm just wondering if there is an extra spot for an additional IDE device without having to get rid of a DVD or CDRW drive.

4.) I'm salivating about getting a new GeForce4 Ti4600 to replace the TNT2 but saw that Vaio's have rather small cases. The GeForce4 is a rather large video card and am hoping it will fit easily. It would be easy if I could find a decent Vaio review site that has pictures of inside the case.

5.) About the processor, will those motherboards accomodate a Pentium 4 2.0 or 2.4? I'm not sure which board a 2.4 uses (socket 478 I think?) and just need to know if I can put in a 2.0 or 2.4 and be all set. I think the 1.8 uses a socket 478 and figured a processor up to 2.4 still uses the same motherboard type.

And a few minor questions...

6.) Is there any room for an additional cooling fan? A GeForce4 and an additional hard drive could probably use some extra cooling in there.

7.) Is the hard drive partitioned on those newer Vaio's? I heard it is in a 16GB segment with Windows XP and additional stuff, and a 64GB completely empty.

If anyone can help with any or all of my questions I'd appreciate it. This is going to be a big purchase for me and I would like to know what options I have for upgrading down the road.

Keep in mind, I'm only mildly informed about PC hardware. So if I sound like a total newbie, please be gentle with the insults.

PuddingShorts · 05-04-2002, 05:16 PM

UPDATE:

Ok, I've got one question down. Apparently the RAM is set up in two slots, one with a 512 and one empty one. So all I'd need is a single 512MB purchase. So now that alone will cost me $180 instead of $360. Whew!

thekemp · 05-04-2002, 05:23 PM

the best thing you could do is get a dealer to build you a machine to your exact need as you will have what you wnat and you wont have to pay the premium of a sony computer.
say to your dealer i want this and that and they will sort you out, and if you go for an athlon based machine you will save some more money and have better performance, i am a pentium 4 owner but i do belive that the athlon is faster in its cheaper models.
sony would probably spike you on any extras you wanted and make you pay a premium price?
you could get your 2.4 cpu or a athlon xp 2100 2 hard drives a dvd-r g/f 4 and a big case with space for fans that will keep it all cool. there are very few manfactuers case that allow alot of upgrading.

just a thought good luck!

poopeyhed2 · 05-04-2002, 05:25 PM

Instead of purchasing a Vaio, you should build it yourself. P4's run better when accomodated with Rambus. All your questions would be answered like additional cooling if you built it. For instance, your case can accomodate everything to your likings. Most likely the P4 in the Vaio would be Socket 478 ready for an upgrade to a 2.0 or 2.4. When purchasing a 2 GHz chip, make sure you get the Northwood, since it has a smaller die size, and has a larger cache, it will perform slightly better than the Wilamete.

thekemp · 05-04-2002, 05:27 PM

by poopyhead

Quote:

P4's run better when accomodated with Rambus

my ddr2700 @166x2 kills pc800 rambus altough it wasnt cheaper than it

poopeyhed2 · 05-04-2002, 05:30 PM

A new style of Rambus will be coming out soon, so maybe the Rambus will perform better than the DDR 2700.The P4 will soon have a new FSB, 533 MHz, 133 quad pumped. If you can wait, that maybe worth the purchase.

PuddingShorts · 05-05-2002, 04:54 AM

The reason I'm asking these questions is because I can get this computer real cheap, which is why I can afford the upgrades. Building my own would cost more in the end. I can also get a monitor included, Windows XP nowhere near the rediculous retail price, and some rebates. Both a monitor of the same quality and Windows XP would jack the price up even more if I built my own. And there'd probably be no rebates either.

PuddingShorts · 05-05-2002, 04:57 AM

I checked and it's a RX670 if that helps. I'd be buying it off a relative who never used it (and thankfully still with the rebates) and all I remebered was that it was a RX6-something. Anyways, it's a 670.

PuddingShorts · 05-08-2002, 06:40 PM

Honestly, I've been scrounging around the internet for information and I've officially become a supporter of building your own PC.

I'll just get an ASUS P4T-E motherboard since it can accomodate a 2.4Ghz P4 Northwood and has RAM expansion up to 2GB (although it is RAMBUS parity-style RAM). I can also get a nice Antec case (the SX840) that has an enourmous amount of space and 4 80mm fan mounts (they even give you two fans included and a 400Watt power supply). I'd end up spending at LEAST $3000 to build a EXTREMELY nice computer, and I can get a Pioneer DVD-RW and another pair of 512's to max out the RAM later. I've been seriously studying websites and PDF installation guides for various components and I'm convinced that as limited as my computer knowledge is, I can definitely do this. It would take probably 7 months or more to save up and build it little by little, but it would definitely be the most rewarding side project I ever took on.

A RX670 VAIO costs around $1600 brand new without accounting for rebates, a monitor costs around $400 for a matching Sony 19", the hard drive is only 5200RPM, you get only a 1.8Ghz processor, the case is typically cramped like all store bought PC's, and cooling would options would present a lot of headaches, the keyboard is also pretty scrappy along with the mouse and cheap speakers. After I'd add the $400 GeForce4, and spend more to get the RAM up to 1GB and a replacement speaker, monitor, and mouse, I would end up spending damn near $3000 anyway.

I'd rather spend the same ammount as I probably would have on the Vaio and get a specific motherboard with more free PCI slots, a much higher starting RAM amount, faster hard drive, etc., etc., etc. I decided to search for PC parts and check out prices. After adding up a list I made, the prices were surprisingly low and it was clear the prices of a particular Vaio is more for the Sony brand name than the stuff inside. I'm more into heavy duty gaming and making PC driven MP3 stereos. So I guess building my own PC is the logical thing for a tech junkie to do.