Customer Reviews

Sony VAIO PCG-K35 15.4" Laptop (Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor 532, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, DVD+/-RW Drive)

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

 

 

Last Friday I went ahead and purchased a Vaio PCG-K35 from BestBuy. The screen is really great, and they had 24 months no interest plan to pay the $1350 after rebates. That all sounded like a good deal back then...

The Vaio K35 froze on me the first day after sending the notebook to hibernation. Needless to say I started testing how it did with hibernation/standby. The freeze didn't happen always, but it happened close to half the times it came from hibernation, never from standby it seems. I made sure the BIOS was not doing any power management, just Windows. Even the VAIO Power Management was disabled inside windows power management control panel. Also, I had the lattest drivers from Vaio Update. Still, it was freezing some times after hibernation.

Installed Windows XP Pro + Service Pack 2 + All the Vaio Drivers and Updates, and still the same thing. It didn't happen always, but yesterday night it froze again coming back from hibernation. Enough for me.

This morning I took the notebook to Bestbuy in the frozen state actually, so they could see it. The technician's verdict: "There's no mechanical problem, this is Microsoft's fault, the laptop is within Sony specifications." There was no appeal to this incompetent verdict despite my several attempts. I've used IBM notebooks for a long time at work, with no hibernation problem. And my brother has a Vaio S260 that so far doesn't have that problem. Microsoft had no problem with hibernation, at least not with other laptops. *This* laptop had the problem. In fact, later on I received an email from Sony indicating "According to the information you have provided, it appears that your Vaio will require service". But this I got after returning it to BestBuy. According to this "geek squad" technician, this wasn't a hardware failure. So far I'm being charged the restocking fee, but I'm planning to litigate that through BBB (Better Business Bureau).

These Vaios have a nice screen, but basicaly that's it. Battery doesn't last too long, just one hour watching a DVD. Fan is a bit noisy, and the laptop freezes whenever it feels like after hibernation. Definitely not recommended.

this laptop computer has faced many harsh reviews but I am not one such critic. The screen is unbelievable and people must remember that this laptop is meant to be a desktop replacement, not a super-portable laptop. It is super fast and has great versatility. The 3.067 ghz processor allows maximum speed and connectivity. This is an overall great machine and offers all the best inputs and accessories that are big on the market today, standard. 80 gb hard drive as well as more than half a gig of ram. Sony Vaio pcg-k35 is a great machine for all around home and student use in college!!!

I bought this laptop recently and i had enough problems .. My laptop recently crashed for a silly reason.. it went into recovery mode never to come back.. I had no recovery dsk (The recovery disk prepation failed... never y got thru. Called sony support waited for 25 mins.. talked to the person.. who was more interested in taking down my laptop model number,bill etcc. never bothered abt my problem... They asked me to buy a Recovery Disk for $25.. or send it to sony for service.. which would take more than 15 days.. I lost all my data and I had nowhere to go..
I repaired the laptop myself.. All i had to do was to erase the sony partition.. everything worked fine..
My DVD writer is not working.. it says "power calibration error" . I learned it is a known problem with the DVD writer that came with this model.. not usable
The batttery life is awful.. it only stands for 15 mins... no use for a laptop ...
The "weight".. Too heavey to carry around.. Loose your shoulder.
The "HEAT".. The laptops are supposed to "LAP" friendly.. i cannot use this laptop sitting on my couch.. it boils my thighs ..
The "NOISE" the laptop creates enough noice for u to get distrubed.. i usually do some logic progrmming at nights very calm... now with this laptop;s noise i cannot do it anymore..

I putting this on ebay for sale..
NEVER BUY THIS MODEL

Fan noise is killing me on this laptop. Its amazing. It can be heard upto several feet away even when there is surrounding noise. Not to mention other issues like weight, _very_ low battery life (its much lower than they advertise). The only thing that stands out in this laptop is its screen. I also have intermittent problems with the touchpad. Overall, I wouldnt recommend this laptop at all. I want to reach out to Sony and get it exchanged if possible, even if I have to pay some money. The fan noise is very erratic also - goes up and down like nobody's business. I am also not happy with the performance of this laptop - not sure its windows or the hardware tho. Looks to me, its hardware since windows has less latency issues on my other desktop.

To respond to the review stating that the VAIO K35 locked up after hibernation when every it felt like it, is untrue. I just bought my K35 and the only time it locks up is when it is running on the battery, but this only occurs when the battery is less than 10% charged. Spoke with Sony and they stated that this was due to the VAIO not having enough power to do anything else. When the battery is better charged or when plugged in it never locks up after hibernation.
To respond to the review about the loud fan, well the fan does produce noise, but come on it needs to cool down. And really the sound of the fan is not that loud, I guess it would be if you were in a completely quiet room. I have found that normally I don't even notice the fan running.
I personally like the VAIO K35 and would recommend it. Though I wish it was lighter and thinner, but I knew these specifications before I bought it.

I have been very disappointed with this computer. It is supposed to be portable but the battery life is so poor that you have to be near mains power. I find that I get just over half an hour from the battery before it needs recharging. I cannot watch a DVD film on it using battery power. The power requirement is so high that I cannot find an Air/Car 12v adapter powerful enough to charge the battery. This machine is a step backwards not a step forwards.
I contacted Sony and I didnt find their advice useful. They could only suggest the things I had already tried through "Help" etc. From this experience I would not buy a Sony again.

The Pentium 4 CPU requires that the fan run all the time at a very fast speed which means that it is VERY noisy. I looked at this very model in several stores and NEVER heard the fan run. I was told by Sony that the fan was not on in the store because it wss bssically being used as a "TV" not a computer. I feel that this is false advertising. I did extensive research on this unit before purchasing. Now I am facing up to a $400.00 penalty when I return this unit to have the seller take it back (if they will). This is bad business and bad retail policy on the part of Amazon. Buyer beware!

I bought this for my wife, and she loves it. Many of the complaints listed are valid, like the short battery life and noisy fan. The noisy fan keeps the laptop cool, I have had no issues with it burning my lap. We did have to send it in to get the DVD drive replaced, but that was fairly painless. It goes into hibernation all the time, and we have never had an issue with it locking up. It actually returns to normal operation much faster than I am used to with desktops. Display is incredible. My 3 biggest issues with this laptop are: (1) noisy fan, (2) no good port replicator/docking station & (3) no auto/air adapter. Number 3 is by far my biggest gripe due to the lacking battery life. Other than these 3, I really think it was a great deal. Next time I know to check for docking station and auto/air adapter compatibility before I buy.

Although it does have some good points, like a very nice display, and USB ports EZ access, there are some serious faults with this machine. As everyone has pointed out, the battery life is practically nil, the fan is noisy, and to top it off, in the last year and 1/2, I've had to replace the battery and the hard disc. Thanks to the Best Buy extended warranty, this hasn't been a financial burden. The warranty has paid for itself. But, it is extremely burdensome and I am wondering what's going to fail next. It is not your best option to buy this machine, even though it is an adequate desktop replacement.

When I bought my K35 I was intentionally looking for a desktop replacement meaning that it would be easy on my eyes and large enough for me to work with. It has never locked up on me in the year that I have had it. Everytime I turn it on I am as happy as the day I bought it because it still runs like a dream. Yes it is heavy but I knew that when I bought it because for some oddity of my own it makes me feel more secure that I will not crush it. This is a great computer for college students like myself and I would recommend it to anyone looking to replace their desktop.