Customer Reviews

Sony VAIO PCV-RS520 Digital Studio Desktop PC (Pentium 4 3E GHz (Hyper-Threading), 512 MB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, DVD+RW/CD-RW Combo Drive)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I purchased this computer one week ago. It works well so far. I have the following supplemental comments to previous reviews:
1. There is indeed NO recovery CD coming with the computer. However, SONY allocates a diagnostic partition on the hard drive for the backup. You can easily use the included recovery software to reinstall the whole system or create you own recovery disks (9 CDs or 1 DVDs+1 CDs). I am quite happy with this feature since it is more convenient and gives you more options.
2. There is NO DVD decoder in the pre-installed system. So you have to buy one.
3. Most pre-installed softwares are trash.
4. It is FAST and QUIET.

I ordered this exact system and I've had it about 3 weeks. No problems, easy setup, and man it screams. All the things I wanted to add to my old system are on this one. With Hyper-threading I can suft the web while I burn cds. No matter what system you buy, make certain it has hyper-threading!!!

I just bought the Sony PCV-RS 520, and I love it, it's fast and does everything I want it to do, before that I mainly bought HP computers, they were a good value for the money, but the last one I bought had one too many problems,let me just say that after two weeks it needed a new hard drive, and it only got worse from there, my advice is get the Sony, it cost's a little more, but the quality is well worth it.

I bought this computer 10 days ago, and here are what I like and don't like:

What I like
===========
1. Fast, very fast - It speeds up everything on my computer, especially my graphics editing program.

2. Quiet - Unlike my previous HP, this computer is very quiet. The sound is also quite soothing.

What I don't like
=================
1. The modem has only one port. This is hard to believe because every modem on the market has two ports. Why two? Because I need the other one for auto-dialing my phone. I had to buy a new modem. Fortunately, it's quite inexpensive these days. I paid just $15 for a name brand.

2. The default hard drive partitions are C and D. Sony is dumb enough to put just 10 GB on C drive. Why?????? So I have to reformat the whole thing. Fortunately, the computer allows you to set partition easily. I gave 80 GB to each drive.

3. Unlike my previous HP and my Dell laptop, this computer does not let you play any movie. I got an error from the preinstalled DVD playback program. So I used the Intervideo program provided by Dell, and it worked. If you don't have the program, you would need to buy one.

If I could wait, I would have bought a Dell. But I couldn't. :(

I bought this computer in November, 2004. I have had no problems with it. Easiest computer to add a hard drive that I've ever had. I didn't care too much for the small C drive partition that it came with, but that was an easy fix. I made the 1 DVD + 1 CD recovery disks with no problems. I have used them a couple times due to virus problems.

I have owned this computer for about 4 years now and it has operated flawlessly. I have had some issues with Sony products (not computers)in the past but I believe this was a well built product. I have had no component failures just an OS failure. However, the rebuild from the image contained on the D drive was a breeze. Anyone who stores data on a computer should know to back everything up; twice if it's important. Because I have issues with the installed OS, somewhat stable but extremely snail pace, I use UBUNTU Linux for most of my computing needs. It is at least 4 times faster than the installed OS and easy to use. I had to change the partitioning from Sony's small C partition to around 50 gigs, then 60 gigs for the D drive and the remaining partition for Linux. All these changes went without a hitch. I also vacuum the case outside and inside to remove the dust. Keeps your system alive much longer.

Pros: Durable
Good basic package except as noted in the cons.
Quiet
Dependable

Cons: Low 512 meg memory
Small C partition
Of course these cons are easily fixed and at relatively low expense.

Purchased this computer about 3 years ago. GREAT machine the only thing I added was another gig of memory. The only negitive thing about this computer is Sony made C:/ drive aprox. 15 gig and left D:/ drive with the remainder. C:/ filled up real fast and defrag would not run "not enough room to operate a defrag" The only answer was to delete and loss alot of stuff or to purchase Norton Partention Magic...which I did. NOTE: I deleted all of my daughters pictures and music and placed them on D:/
I still have not had the courage to run Norton yet. Other than that issue
this is a great Computer.

I've been using this machine for over a year and consider it to be the best machine I have ever used. I am a professional programmer and spend a great deal of time on the computer. Simply no complaints. The machine is quiet, fast, and has yet to cause me any problems. The components are quality; this is not an emachines computer where all the parts burn out within the first eleven months. My model shipped with a Seagate hard drive and a 128 MB Radeon graphics card. Great job Sony.

I just have one thing to say: thank you Sony for putting a decent video card in this system. Nobody, not even Apple puts good video cards in retail computers (even high-end systems). They think the retail market is price driven so they cut every corner they can. The 128MB 9200 is a very good card. I hope other companies follow through. Otherwise companies like Dell are going to drive them all out of business.

It seemed like a good deal at at first. 4 months in the motherboard fried. I took it to a Sony repair shop and at first they said the motherboards were back ordered for 6-8 weeks. I told them that was unreasonable and eventually they scrounged one up from someplace.

The big problems came when I tried to install a better video card. The 9200 isn't much good for games. I found out the power supply isn't beefy enough for any decent video card. Worse, it has a proprietary form factor so it can't be upgraded without replacing the case.

Before I upgraded I decided to backup the system. When I tried to run the VAIO Recovery Wizard it told me it wouldn't start because it wasn't running on a VAIO computer. Sony tech support kept telling me to try different things, but none of them helped. Their support folks have no knowledge about their products. They seem to be searching the knowledge base for words mentioned in a call or e-mail and send you to a web page.

After 4 days of that they eventually told me it was impossible to create a recovery disk for my PC and I'd have to buy one for $30. I told them that was unreasonable and they said tough. The software isn't warranteed past 30 days.

So now I have a Sony motherboard with the original hard drive and DVD drives mounted in a standard ATX case with a standard ATX power supply and a GeForce 6600GT AGP video card. If Windows craps out I'll have to buy a recovery disk or another copy of Windows. I would have been better off building my own PC from the start.

I will never buy a PC from Sony again.