Customer Reviews

Sony VAIO PCG GRX580 Laptop (1.7 GHz Pentium 4-M, 512 MB RAM, 40 GB hard drive)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This full-featured notebook is excellent. I have now had the machine for four months, and love every bit of it. My last computers were Dells, and as IT manager, I used to spec Dells for our offices, but when I decided to give up my desktop for something a little more portable, SONY fit the bill. The GRX580 has a fast 1.7 P4 processor, the RAM is maxed out for you at 512, fast enough to keep several of the most demanding programs open simultaneously. Sony has this cooling system down to a science, the bottom of the machine is slightly warm to the touch, and I've had the notebook on for 24 hours straight with no overheating issues (unlike the IBM Thinkpad). CD burner is awesome and fast for a notebook, DVD is neat though I never have time to use it, and this screen - WOW! get a load of this 1200x1600 resolution 16.1 inch screen (it's comparable to the 17" CRT monitors).

On the downside, this thing weighs a ton! I know that the performance and the large screen requires additional weight, and this is unavoidable. One thing I really wish Sony provided here was at least one USB 2.0 port, we get three USB 1.1 ports, but with all these new peripherals, 2.0 is norm.

I bough two sony laptops (Sony VAIO PCG-NV190, PCG-NV170). One had the memory slot problem (mentioned in another review below) within two years. For the second one, the CDROM/DVD ROM stopped working within one year. Recently, one hard disk died. I would not recommend any sony laptop.

I have a VAIO GRX and have had nothing but trouble with it. It has a problem with the memory slots, the hard drive died and now the LCD screen is malfunctioning which will require another trip to the shop. Sony tech support was a joke, so I was searching the net to try to find possible solutions in an attempt to try to avoid another trip to the shop when I found this site. I will never purchase another Sony computer again.

am using a GRX580 and had the motherboard replaced when the laptop was under warranty and it has since broken again (will not boot if there is a memory chip in slot #2), but now is out of warranty. I have switched the memory chips around and it still will not boot, but when I leave slot 2 empty it will boot with either of the chips installed. I use a notebook fan/cooler religiously and take excellent care of my notebook.

I had to remove the second memory from my slot #2 and now it will boot up and work just fine, except it is SLOW due to loss of 256MB of auxiliary memory. I went the to following link and read about it in detail and found a shop that will solder the offending pin and return it to you for $150. I also read about a proposed class action lawsuit and a virtual petition to sign about making SONY aware of the problem.

http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/5449/

What can I do now??? I have researched the problem and have found it to be real and am upset that SONY hasn't recalled or fixed the problem. I queried the parts page on SONY and found that the motherboard to replace this one is not even carried and at another site it is $650.

WHAT DO I DO NOW???(...) WILL SONY STAND BY ITS PRODUCT AND HELP ME????(...)

I'm a magazine and book writer in the computer field and I needed a lap top to take with me on business trips and to do demonstrations of Virtual Human technology. I did my research and this looked like the baby I wanted. I was wrong! The performance is astoundingly slow for it's CPU and memory. The hard drive is rediculously loud and worst of all is that, shockingly, Sony has the worst attitude towards customer service of any company I've delt with in years. To top it off they never sent the [money] coupon refund that I qualified for. They also won't give you that 1 year waranty unless you read the fine print and register within 30 days!!! Try a Toshiba instead.

My Sony laptop suddently stopped working. One of its fans was died. It will cost me from 69 bucks to 300 bucks to remove it. Don't buy Sony laptops.

My Sony GRX died one month after the warranty ended. It boots up, then dies as soon as it warms up (about 30s after bootup).

It turns out that the vias on the motherboard have a known problem that Sony nothing about. I will never by another Sony product!!!

I HAD A SONY VAIO GRX580, ONEDAY SUDDENLY IT STOPPED WORKING,
TECHNICHANS TOLD ME THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE MOTHERBOARD.
I AM SEARCHING 4 THE MOTHERBOARD, BUT CANT FIND IT.

I bought one of the first Sony VAIO computers put on the market several years ago and am very impressed with the amazing progress that Sony has made in its PC and Laptop products. This Laptop lives up to all expectations and with Windows XP has proven to be an intuitive and very first-time-user friendly computer. The brilliant 16" inch screen was a big draw because this laptop will be traveling all over the country to make presentations and staying in touch with home base. Very minor downsides to this unit are that it is a tad heavier and larger because of the big screen than other laptops and the other issue (common with many laptops) is getting used to the laptop keyboard which is set far back on the base and, with the VAIO, the touch sensative mousepad takes a bit of getting used to. Based on my experience with Dell, Toshiba, Compaq, Gateway and several others this Sony Laptop is the best product out there and the best deal for the money.

I bought Sony VAIO Laptop in 1999. Without any physical accident this computer died in the middle of word processing. So this product only lasted 1 year and 3 month. ...