Sony VAIO R505EL Laptop (1.13-GHz-M, Pentium III , 256MB RAM, 30GB hard drive)

by Sony

Product Details

Product Manual [1.02mb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 10.6 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000067NOD
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,608 in Computers & Accessories (See Top 100 in Computers & Accessories)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 16, 2002

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Small and easily transported yet fully capable of running most typical business and entertainment applications, the Sony Vaio R505EL notebook proves that a powerful portable doesn't have to be big and clunky.

Featuring many of the same components found in substantially larger systems, the R505EL is nevertheless just 1.2 by 11 by 9.4 inches in diameter and a mere 4.3 pounds with its standard battery. The unit is driven by a snappy 1.13 GHz Intel Pentium III processor with 512 KB of Level 2 cache and 256 MB of RAM to enhance data transfer and calculation speed during complex computing situations. Sony has matched this impressive engine with a capable 32 MB Intel 830MG video chip to ensure you'll have enough graphics processing power for all but the most complex three-dimensional games.

And if you ever need a break from your interactive business apps and games, the R505EL is ready to accommodate. Simply attach the enclosed SlimDock docking station and you're set to watch DVD movies or record and listen to audio CDs via the system's combination CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive. Sony has fashioned the unit with a surprisingly large 12.1-inch XGA TFT display and stereo speakers to make sure you get the most from your entertainment software.

With the R505EL, data storage and movement will never be a problem. You'll store your files and data on the unit's sizable 30 GB hard drive, and archive and transfer them via the detachable 3.5-inch floppy disk drive and SlimDock CD writer. To help move your files electronically and link with other devices, Sony has incorporated a low-speed V.90 modem, a high-speed RJ-45 Ethernet card, a super-fast i.Link IEEE 1394 interface, and a MagicGate Memory Stick media slot. Additional ports and connections include a VGA output for external monitors, headphone-in and microphone-in jacks, a pair of USB ports for plug-and-play peripherals, and parallel and serial ports.

The R505EL control panel features amenities such as a standard keyboard, convenient center Jog Dial control with back button, and electrostatic touch pad. Sony has loaded the unit with software, including Microsoft's Windows XP Home Edition operating system, Quicken 2002 New User Edition, Microsoft Word 2002, and a bevy of movie, music, and photo tools and utilities.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

83 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Notebook & Features; Few Problems, July 3, 2002

By 

R. Owens (Arlington, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony VAIO R505EL Laptop (1.13-GHz-M, Pentium III , 256MB RAM, 30GB hard drive) (Personal Computers)

I recently purchased a Sony VAIO R505EL and I must say, I really enjoy it. Although it is my first notebook, I have used several other notebooks so I'm pretty familiar with what a notebook should and shouldn't have.

When I first decided on purchasing the notebook, I was thinking it was going to be larger than what it is. In fact, the notebook is much smaller than you would imagine. While Sony claims that the notebook is 1" thin, it actually varies. The slight oval shape of the notebook makes it vary from 1-1.2" in thickness. Add the docking station and it's about 1.3-1.5".

For the screen to be 12.1", it's actually not that bad. In fact, it's almost like looking into a 15" CRT monitor (slightly smaller). It's very comfortable and easy to read from. Sony incorporated their famous pixel-squeezing technology into this screen (similar to the Sony Clie PDAs) so the screen is crisp and sharp. Although not specified, I believe sony also included their WEGA style Anamorphic technology into the screen as well (about 2/3 of my wide-screen DVDs play full screen on the notebook).

The keyboard layout is nice. It's just big enough to touch-type on without problems. Most of the keys are in their standard position so you won't have to get used to too many differences.

On paper, the notebook is supposed to be 4.3lbs. If so, it sure doesn't seem like it. The notebook is very light and easy to cary. The docking station doesn't seem to add 2lbs either.

On the notebook itself, there are a few ports. A USB port is on both sides of the notebook. There is a PCMCIA Type II slot on the left side and a Memory Stick slot right next to it. On the right side are the headphone and microphone jacks, an i.Link (IEEE 1394) port, and a DC-OUT port. A modem and Ethernet jack lie on the right side as well. The docking station features a DVD/CD-RW drive on the right and a 1.44MB floppy on the left. Legend ports are found on the back.

Battery life on the notebook is pretty good. Sony advertises it at up to 4.5 hours of battery life. Here are my results (note I did modify the power profiles and brought the processor down a little more - and yes, this can be done because this is a feature of the Mobile processors):

Without Docking Station: 3.5 - 4 Hours
With Docking Station: 3 - 3.5 Hours

Watching DVD: 2.5 - 3 Hours (Level 9 LCD Setting)
Burning CDs: 2 - 2.5 Hours

The graphics on the notebook are not bad. Their not great, but their not bad. I don't have any 3DMark scores yet, but I do know that it played my FS2002 at 60fps.

There were a few problems I noted with the notebook. The first is that the HD comes partitioned (to some this isn't a problem... to me it is.). For those who don't like partitions will have to reformat the HD with your desired partition and reload the OS from the recovery CDs.

Another problem I found is that the keyboard doesn't 100% respond to light key taps. For those who are use to the quiet soft-type keyboards, you will have to press a little harder sometimes.

The sound quality on the notebook is OK (stretching that one a bit). However, the sound quality on through the headphone port is excellent (if using quality headphones). The volume is not that loud. For noisy situations, you might need some noise cancelling headphones.

The notebook DOES NOT turn on when you open the lid. This feature (unless I've completely missed it somewhere) does not exist on the notebook. So for those who want the notebook to turn on when you lift the lid, it isn't going to happen.

The preset power profiles WILL need adjusting. By default, disconnecting the AC adapter drops the notebook into max battery mode. The processor drops down to about 850MHz (this is a unique feature of Mobile processors) and the LCD drops down to level 1 (at this level, the LCD is very dark). On my system, I set the max battery profile to leave the LCD at Level 9, but drop the processor to 733MHz (Processor: More Battery Life).

The modem on the notebook is 56K, however it seems to be software driven. Sound from the modem comes through the speakers and is very blocky (making a phone call from the notebook is very unclear). My fastest connection on the modem as been 33.6K (I get 56K connections from my PC on the same line).

Although the screen is pretty readable, if you need to change the resolution... you are out of luck. The LCD is preset for 1024 x 768. No other resolutions are programmed into the LCD's flash so changing the resolution will NOT fill up the screen. The notebook DOES have a max resolution of 1400 x 1050 on the Intel Graphics card, but the larger resolutions will require a VGA monitor to use.

All and all, for what the notebook is worth, it's not bad. I would recommend the notebook to anyone who is looking for a thin & light notebook with a lot of good features. ...

Just another issue I ran into ... The docking station is i.Link driven. Because of this, most CD-Burning software WILL NOT work with this notebook. I guess that's why Sony didn't include any. Roxio Standard and Platinum will not work with this notebook due to the fact that it doesn't read i.Link based drives. The only software I got to work was Ahead Nero 5.5.9.0. Older versions didn't work.

Reg

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great quality, August 8, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Sony VAIO R505EL Laptop (1.13-GHz-M, Pentium III , 256MB RAM, 30GB hard drive) (Personal Computers)

All I can say is that I have dropped mine twice from my wheelchair to the floor and banged it several times (I have ALS) and the only thing I broke was a add-on PC card that was sticking out. This thing is built solid.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an excellent laptop for frequent commuters!!, July 2, 2002

By 

Mike - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sony VAIO R505EL Laptop (1.13-GHz-M, Pentium III , 256MB RAM, 30GB hard drive) (Personal Computers)

I have owned this noteook for about 1 week...and I love it so much that I am starting to ditch my P2-400 desktop (with a 19" Trinitron Monitor, which is a lot bigger than this 12.1 TFT). This laptop is by no means a destop-replacement, because it is not overpowering like a P4-2GHz-mobile. However, this notebook gives user almost every device that a power-user needs. It has a DVD/Burner combo (16x/10x/24x/8xDVD), large HD (30gb, 4200RPM), floppy and a MEMORY Stick slot, which is perfect for those who owns a Sony digital camera/camcorder. The screen is excellent and it possibly has the best color saturation I have seen (its proven in one of the computer meagazine reviews). Also, the DVD videos play very well and no skip. And yes, the Jog Dial functions just like the scroll button on your mouse, except one can do so much more with it than the mouse scroll button. The detachability of the dock really helps skimming the weight of the notebook, which is an absolute plus (considering I am a communting university student, this is great as I have to carry a few books).

**FYI, the optical drive is made by Matsushita, UJDA730, in Japan and has burn-proof technology!! According to Nero Info, this drive is capable of reading all CD formats, plus DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM!!!! Geez, I don't think I will have compatibility problem with this optical drive!! The entire notebook, i.e. including the dock, has 4 USBs, 2 i.Links, 2 VGA outs, 1 Serial, 1 Parallel, 2 RJ45s, 1 RJ11 and 1 PCMCIA. I thought this is helpful because most vendors are not very clear about those ports.

There are only two draw backs about this notebook:

1. The speakers are lousy! But its really unimportant because most users will use the headphones anyway and the Line Out does provide quality sounds--that's something commuting users can't really complaint.

2. The HD runs a bit warm, which I believe is underneath the right wrist. This perhaps annoyed me for the first couple of days, but its really nothing now since one's wrist may get warm anyway after typing for a little while :).

This is just another excellent product from Sony!!!