Customer Reviews

Sony VAIO PCV-MXS10 Desktop (1.7-GHz Pentium 4, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB hard drive)

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

 

 

The MXS10 is a great all around machine that truly shines if you are interested in TV/Video and audio/music functions. Not only can you watch TV on your monitor with the built-in tuner you can also record video directly to the hard drive using the integrated Personal Video Recorder (similar to Tivo). The MX also has S-Video out and Optical out to watch that same video on your home entertainment system.

Have a digital camcorder? Import and edit your video using the built-in firewire port, Even better once you are done editing burn your results to DVD. The DVD-RW that comes standard will record a DVD-R disc that is playable on most (read sold in the last 12-18 months) consumer home DVD players. (...).

Like Music? Not only does the MXS10 include CD-RW capability, a PC card slot and a memory stick slot it also includes a Mini-Disc Audio drive. Copy and create you own MD discs. MD is a high quality portable music technology pioneered by Sony. The MX also has an integrated FM receiver for listening to the radio.

All this and a great looking package that includes shelf size speakers.

This thing is just too cool…..

This is the first computer that I've ever seen which does it all. It's my super-fast high-flying computer, my fully digitized audio-stereo system, my dvd video center, and my television with built-in Tivo capability. This is the future of computers, and Sony is leading the way. I'm still trying to decide if I should keep it in my office or my living room!

I played with this slick looking machine at the local outlet of a national electronics chain and I must say I was taken by the cool, futuristic design. However, looking over its specs, it is really a fairly run-of-the-mill P4 with just a built in TV recorder (not a tuner, just a VCR-like feature that uses your TV's tuner) and a DVD-R to brag about. On the short end, it is hardly expandable at all and the price is positively gargantuan considering today's going rate for even a top of the line Dell.

Let's skip all the standard PC junk (the processor, RAM, disk space, etc.). After all, this beauty is marketed as a "state-of-the-art multimedia computer with a powerful, entertainment package" - in case you happen to believe manuals. The PC features of VAIO PCV-MXS10 are impressive, so is the fifteen hundred dollars markup as compared with a similarly equipped COMPAQ or an HP. Would you like to know where the money went (I did)?
Lets break it down.
Audio:
1. The two 20W large speakers look good. The sound quality and power, however, could have been better. Any hundred bucks boombox beats them hands down.
2. Remote control - looks intimidating for a week or two, especially when you pull the lower lid down to open up the A/V recording buttons (concealed). Then you begin to wonder why on earth no other PC maker had thought of this before!
3. This is very annoying - if you happen to adjust volume (on the reflective front panel or the remote) while the computer is executing even a basic task, it will appear not doing anything for a few seconds, then will hit you with a loud volume increase which was running in the OS background.
Graphics/games:
4. Game card - not bad for an entry level multimedia computer, less than adequate for the "state-of-the art" machine. Don't get me wrong - all my games worked perfect - for now. But what happens in a year or two with all those Internet enabled graphic card power-hungry games that are coming out?
Video:
5. DVD - no composite output, but S-VHS jack for an outside TV. No S-VHS cable, plenty of RCA and coaxial cables. The playback tolerance (DVD body scratches) is impressive - beats home DVD players for sure!
6. The multimedia software - Giga Pocket Personal Video Recorder, DVgate, Media Bar, Movie Shaker, PictureGear, Smart Capture, VisualFlow, SonicStage Premium - all worth the stretch price-wise.
Customer Support - excellent, to say the least! Had a problem on the very first day - resolved within a few minutes with 3 (three!) levels of escalation. Outstanding!
Summary: Don't consider Sony VAIO PCV-MXS10 a desktop with a good multimedia package, because it is not. You will be better off with a fifteen hundred dollars shy COMPAQ or HP. Spend the difference on additional software and hardware upgrades - makes perfect sense.
Do consider this wonderful machine (has its drawbacks - yes!) if you want to get a PC-centered all-in-one multimedia center connected to an outside high end audio and digital video (satellite, HDTV, DVD(-R(W)) player, etc.) components. Only then then this overpriced under-developed mis-marketed Sony PC becomes what it really is - a multimedia dream machine that is worth every penny!
Would I buy it again - given another choice? Definitely!

First off all Dell or Gateway could not build this computer, Try to price one with all this has, A miniDisc recorder, Tv recorder, Enhanced sound system, Firewire ports, Optical outputs, Dobly Digital, Tv tuner, FM tuner, and on and on, If they could get the stuff this machine has I bet it would cost even more, For the person who wants a complete Audio,TV, DVD, Minidisc recorder, complete home system, No one else even comes close to offer such a machine.

A machine geared for broadband and graphic capabilities like this should definitely be configured with top of the line memory-Rambus RDRAM or at least DDR, not old technology SDRAM. This will cause a bottleneck in performance and the decision to use SDRAM is very disappointing.

I saw this PC at the COMDEX Computor show. The coolest feature of this PC is the DVD recorder which lets you record your old VHS movies onto DVD. You can also store upto several gig of backup data from your PC on a DVD. If you dont think (or cant afford) this DVD feature, then a lower price Sony works just as fast, and you can always upgrade by adding a DVD recorder later for about [price].

Everything I need In One Sony PC!! It is a sleek slim-line PC. The only problem is that the case is pretty cramped and not much room for expansion.

I started in the computer industry (b4 PC's) in 1969. This is without a doubt the worst computer I have ever owned. The TV portion works OK. You cannot add any non Sony components (such as another hard drive), as they are incompatable and cause strange operating system problems. The mini-disc player/recorder can only be used as an eraser. Put in a disc full of tunes and attempt any kind of edit and you get a BLANK DISC.
It is a home networking joke. I have 4 or 5 machines connected to my home network at any one time. Never a network problem with any of them. The Sony is always trouble. Refuses to recognize or be recognized by other machine on the network. Sony's support staff is inept.
I have 2 Sony computers, 2 Sony TV's, 3 Sony stereo systems, 4 Sony mini disc machines, 4 Sony cell phones. To say the least I WAS Sony devotee.
I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER SONY PRODUCT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A word to the wise on Sony's Vaio line: I purchased one of the Sony slimline computers a year ago and had a hard disk failure within the first 9 months. This was covered by the warranty, so Sony replaced the drive at their expense. The replacement drive failed in about 6 months (when it and the system were off warranty). When I replaced *that* drive I discovered that Sony had given me a used disk when it did the warranty work.