Sony VAIO GRX520 Laptop (1.6 GHz-M Pentium 4, 256 MB RAM, 30 GB hard drive)

by Sony

Product Details

Product Manual [1.44mb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 14 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000067NNZ
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 3, 2002

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

If you're in the market for a new notebook or thinking about updating that clunky old PC, Sony may have the solution. Big and powerful and packed with features, its Vaio GRX series of notebooks sports a level of performance not normally found in portable computers. Although heavier (8 pounds) and slightly more cumbersome (14 by 11.5 by 1.8 inches) than some of Sony's less capable notebooks, the GRX series is just as at home on a desktop as in an airplane or hotel room.

From its speedy 1.6 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor with enhanced SpeedStep technology to its generous 512 KB of Level 2 cache and massive 256 MB DDR of RAM, the GRX520 will burn through anything you can throw its way. But blazing-fast data processing is just part of the story. Graphically, the unit is built to please. Featuring a potent 32 MB integrated ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 graphics card and a 15-inch, high-resolution 1,600 x 1,200 UXGA TFT display, the GRX520 provides a wonderful visual environment in which to conduct business activities and play 3-D games. You may even want to watch a few movies or archive data and burn music CDs via the unit's internal removable CD-RW/DVD combination drive (24x read/10x write, 8x DVD).

Whatever you do, be assured the GRX520's removable 30 GB hard drive is ready to handle all your applications and files. The system also includes a Memory Stick media slot for Memory Stick or MagicGate media, an optional 3.5-inch floppy disk drive, and space for two Type I or Type II PC Card slots. Connectivity is offered in the form of a bevy of ports, including an i.Link IEEE 1394 jack for fast data uploads from devices such as digital camcorders, three USB ports for plug-and-play peripherals, a TV-out and external monitor-out, a parallel port, microphone-in, and headphone jack.

Pre-installed software includes Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Quicken 2002 New User Edition, Microsoft Word 2002, Adobe Photoshop Elements, and a broad range of audio, video, and still-image tools and utilities.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars better than grx550, October 5, 2002

By 

Roster Brown (NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony VAIO GRX520 Laptop (1.6 GHz-M Pentium 4, 256 MB RAM, 30 GB hard drive) (Personal Computers)

I can tell you this machine (GRX520) is a joy to work with for web and desktop apps. first i bought GRX550, but i returned that and went for GRX520. although both are same but i feel performance wise this is better. i cross my fingures. i got 256 RAM extra free of cost, so it is 512 now.
Watching DVDs is great, for the best in sound quality though be sure and get a SONY SRS-T77 speaker set to plug into the notebook, this little set of 4 watt speakers will rock the room and are small enough to fit into your bag and port along.
As for validating other comments I've read I'd suggest:
Size, yes the dimensions are a bit larger and I too bought a new bag - happily. I think this size of unit is best suited for a backpack versus an over-the-shoulder bag Batteries, seem to last me about 2 hours, I'm ordering an extra one Hard drive noise, havent really been bothered by it Screen quality - stunning. I've used Toshiba, IBM, and Dell's - The screen quality is really outstanding with the GRX Size of the charger unit. Yes, it is larger and bulkier than any others I have used recently. SONY should be able to do better than this.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great at first, but doesn't hold up., August 1, 2005

By 

N. M. Wallace (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony VAIO GRX520 Laptop (1.6 GHz-M Pentium 4, 256 MB RAM, 30 GB hard drive) (Personal Computers)

I bought my GRX520 in 2002 as a replacement for a Dell Inspiron 4000. For the first year, it ran great, and I had no problems with it, except that it seemed to run very hot. I did have a slight issue with one of the USB ports starting to be loose, but that was easily fixed.

After about a year, I started to notice that the machine shut down randomly and unexpectedly. A few weeks after this began, it started to fail to boot at all. I sent it in and had the motherboard replaced. Since that time, the machine has run increasingly slowly, and experienced periodic problems shutting down.

Recently the machine has randomly failed to recognize the sound card and the AC adapter, continuing to run off battery power even though the adapter is plugged in. I tried replacing the adapter, but that didn't help. Checking online, I learned that the Vaio GRX models apparently have ongoing issues with running so hot that the motherboard actually warps.

Yesterday, I ordered a Dell to replace the Vaio. I'm very disappointed that in less than three years, the Vaio has fallen apart.

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a laptop... a "portable desktop.", January 22, 2004

By 

B. Lawrence (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony VAIO GRX520 Laptop (1.6 GHz-M Pentium 4, 256 MB RAM, 30 GB hard drive) (Personal Computers)

You could call this a 'longevity test' review. I've owned the Vaio GRX 520 since Summer of 2001 and I've been extremely pleased with its performance. Don't let the stats fool you... 1.6 Pentium 4, 256 MB Ram and 30 GB Hard Drive are plenty of "go" for most of us. Being in Graphics Design, I have many heavy hitting software programs loaded and still maintain almost 2/3 of my hard drive space empty. And let's face it, any processor over 1.6-1.8 is so fast that you won't notice the difference... waste of money to go higher. I originally purchased the Vaio because of its great 15" screen that's impressive, especially with the complimenting graphics chip. There's never been any problem with the computer hardware or accompanying software. The different port options accept many external devices i.e. memory sticks and 10/100 Ethernet connection. Let's hear it for USB's! Dependable, quality product, and does it all. One drawback... the weight, but didn't I tell you? It's a "portable desktop."