Customer Reviews

Sony VAIO PCG-K37 15.4" Laptop (Intel Pentium 4 Processor 538, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, DVD+/-RW Double Layer Drive)

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

 

 

After searching among the large amount of choices on the market, I found the Sony K37 to have right mix of performance, features, and price. I was sold on two things in this laptop First it has the best picture/screen among other brands on the shelf, and the 1 Gig of Ram. Add to that the Pentium 3.2 HT processor with 533 front side bus, large 80 Meg hard drive, very fast wireless B/G adaptor even though my router is an old Linksys 11 Meg B standard, and the dual layer 8X +/- DVD writer, the rest of the specs are large 15.4 brilliant screen, full size keyboard, 56K Modem, 1 Fire wire 1394, 3 USB 2, Ethernet adaptor, 1 A/V out, Microphone in, Audio out, and a lot of multimedia and authoring software.

Set up is a breeze, the laptop is unpacked, hooked, and run in 5 minutes, you better have things to do right away. Performance is more than adequate when I run Macromedia's Dreamweaver and Fireworks applications, Microsoft Excel, Word, few browser windows, and Outlook email at the same time.

Here are few complains; AC adaptor is bulky, tiny printed user guide with all instructions and help files online, no recovery or software disks included, but instead the recovery files is saved on a special partition on the hard drive and you need to create the recovery media yourself using the provided utility, one blank DVD and one blank CD-R, battery life under 2 hours, hard drive speed is only 4200 RPM, the 2100 DDR-Ram speed is only 266 Mhz, and finally the video memory is shared with the default being 64 Meg(user configurable to 32,64, or 128 Meg through the BOIS), but with 1 Gig of Ram, sharing won't disappoint.

A word about Hyper Threading or HT processor, while it is a promising technology for tomorrow's fast memory and HT aware software, for today's user there is a little gain. First, HT was developed with the faster Rambus memory in mind - currently at 1066 speed, but for the slower DDR-RAM system the speed-up will be modest. Second, it will be a long time before software written or rewritten to take advantage of the HT. For now, most benchmark has showed little or no improvements over the non HT processor.

That been said, in the end of the day this is a handsome, quite, and fulfilling notebook for under $1,600.

After less than 3 months of use, the battery of my Vaio PCG-K37 died. I contacted Sony and they told me that the warranty on the battery was only 30 days and that I should buy a new battery. New battery cost me $200.

Very powerful and versatile machine with immense capacity and effortless operation. It was out of the box and working witin five minutes. All Sony-installed software works fine. You don't really need a whole gigabyte of RAM and an 80 gigabyte hard drive on a laptop-but you don't really need a Mercedes, either!

Highly recommended!

I got this notebook today and man it is LOUD! I'm talking borderline annoying. If you walk by my office it sounds like I have a floor fan running in there. That's my biggest complaint. I could hardly beleive it. I sure hope I can get used to it. If it weren't for the loudness I would have given this notebook a 4 or maybe 5. Maybe something is wrong with mine and I just don't know it.

Also the adaptor is HUGE, but I live with that.

Otherwise a decent notebook. The screen is the best part. Eye candy - very clear and crisp. I'm sure it will work out to be a good notebook for me. But SONY should throw a pair of earplugs for those who would rather not hear the whiz of the cooling fan all day.

This computer is amazing. I first got it when my ancient Compaq finally crashed. I got it at Best Buy, and let me tell you, comparing the screen to the computers next to it is like comparing a Ford to a Porshe. I finally decided to get it since Sony has never failed me, and I love it! Even now I have trouble going from the laptop to the desktop, my eyes still expecting the amazing screen quality...only to see a normal flat screen monitor... Along with the screen, everything works great. A hobby of mine is to make some movies with my friends, and it can handle the editing process like a charm. The only problem I have ever had with it was figuring out that there is a switch on the front to turn on the wireless LAN. Trust me, waiting in line for 30 minutes to find out all I had to do was flip a switch wasn't a great experience. (And I'm one of those guys who dosn't ever read the manual). This computer is wonderful, probably the best Sony laptop they sell. I highly suggest that anyone looking for a computer get this awesome product.

A flawless machine. As I sit here at Starbucks putting it through its paces I notice that playing Everquest 2 online is a very fulfilling experience. No hang-ups whatsoever. The graphics are gorgeous. The head-turning factor is also quite high. I have answered about 4 inquiries about this beautiful beast in the last 2 hours already. The Vaio is, indeed, the Cadillac of PC notebooks...and the rest of the world appears to nod as they walk by.

Solid pc. I love it execpt that the battery doesn't last long. I keep it plugged in which is fine, it doesn't get too hot. It has a great restore system and doesn't need any disks. All of the software is kept on a hard drive partition. Very Handy. It is very stable with no hardware issues. It has a Double layer DVD RW Drive. Nice screen, Easy to use keyboard. I think Sony did a great job.

I bought a Sony VAIO PCG laptop for £1,350 in 2003 having chosen the machine mainly for its large, high-resolution screen (16inch, 1600 x 1200) and in the belief that Sony laptops were some of the most reliable on the market. However, when the computer was just over 14 months old (not quite three months out of warranty), the keyboard failed completely, and I had to purchase an external USB keyboard to be able to continue using it. I wrote to Sony, arguing that such a major fault was unacceptable, and asked them to repair the product at their own expense. Their response was to offer me a derisory 10% discount on the cost of repairs.

Then, about a month later, the screen flickered briefly and died completely! I was left with an expensive laptop that was effectively reduced to a desktop machine that could only be used with an external keyboard and an external monitor.

So, here was a laptop that had been used carefully for about five hours a day, in a benign environment, had never suffered any kind of physical damage, and had only been taken out of the house on a handful of occasions, and yet had developed two major faults in the space of just sixteen months! Sony's response to my complaints was simply to argue that their machines "are some of the most reliable available on the market".

Not one, but two major faults in just over a year. Reliable? Judge for yourself. My advice: think very carefully before purchasing a Sony VAIO laptop - unless, that is, you intend using it as a desktop machine.

The good:
-Best screen ever. I watch movies on it.
-Runs both my home recording studio, Photoshop CS, ITunes, and everything else I loaded it with(a buttload of artwork, music, movies, etc....).
The Bad:
-Battery life sucks(25 mins maybe 30. Nah, make that 20)
-Power pin broke, but still works
-Heavy. Very, especially if you're scrambling around in an airport with other carry on bags. Clumsy to use in the airport longue-it's big for a laptop.
-Customer service stinks(what company doesn't?). Luckily I was able to figure out my own issues with this thing.
The Ugly:
-The letters wore off the keyboard within a month after using it! Trying to teach my boss how to use a computer and type on this is impossible.

Sony has all the good features with this model with high processor speed in its class and the 1 gb RAM with which you can do lot of high volume processing with applications. The Screen clarity is very good. Power backup is at the max 60 mins with the min resolution setting. Not recommended for the people on move, then you may need additional power backup and weight you need to carry back(8 lbs).

The only disadvantage is it does not have infrared sensor and s-video pin and quite bulky for 8 lbs.

The audio quality is improved in this model with good dolby sound though near the screen. Bit confusing for new users where to find the standby, hibernate, shutdown switches, its all to be configured inside control panel.

Enjoy Sony..............