Sony VAIO PCG-K45 15.4" Laptop (Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor 538, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive)

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Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 14.1 x 10.9 x 2.2 inches ; 8.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00079F43M
• Item model number: PCG-K45
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,254 in Computers & PC Hardware (See Bestsellers in Computers & PC Hardware)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 23, 2005

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description
Sleekly styled and comfortably ergonomic, Sony's K Series notebooks offer affordable, all-purpose portability for home computing, home office needs, and students. The PCG-K45 balances your productivity and entertainment needs, with an integrated 54G wireless LAN to keep you connected inside and outside your home and a suite of preloaded Sony multimedia applications for managing your digital audio and photo collections. Other features include a 15.4-inch XBRITE screen, 80 GB hard drive, 512 MB of installed RAM, a combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive, and a Memory Stick slot.

The Basics

• Hard Drive: The 80 GB hard drive is larger than the average notebook's, enabling road warriors more than enough capacity for storing documents, digital media files, and productivity software.
• Processor: The 3.2 GHz Mobile Intel Pentium 4 is a powerful processor that was designed to be used with notebooks used as a desktop replacement PC. It includes Intel's Enhanced SpeedStep technology, which helps cut the power used by the chip and conserves battery power. It has a front-side bus (FSB) of 533 MHz and a 1 MB L2 cache. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance.)
• Memory: The 512 MB of installed RAM (2 x 256 MB, PC2100, 266 MHz DDR SDRAM) has become standard with notebooks, and it's a good start. But you'll want to take advantage of the 1 GB expandability to get the most out of this computer.
• CD/DVD Drive: The combo CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive can read CDs at 24x, write at 24x, and rewrite at 24x speeds. It can read DVDs at 8x.
• Keyboard & Mouse: This notebook has a standard 86-key keyboard with electrostatic touchpad.

Screen, Graphics and Sound
The included ATI Radeon IGP 345M video/graphics card provides competent, but not overpowering, 3D graphics. It features 64 MB of shared video memory. This is taken from the main system memory, so you'll want to increase your RAM from the installed 512 MB if you plan on doing much gaming or video work. The enhanced widescreen format function (1280 x 800 pixels) lets you watch DVDs in full cinema mode as well as easily view spreadsheets and Web browsers side-by-side. It also offers an integrated audio card, built-in speakers, A/V connection out, and the ability to drive an external monitor.

Connectivity and Expansion Slots
This PCG-K45 model has an integrated 802.11g wireless LAN (which is compatible with the more widespread 802.11b and offers faster data transmission rates). You get a standard offering of connectivity options, including both high-speed USB 2.0 and FireWire:

• 3 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
• 1 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) port for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals
• 1 VGA monitor port
• 1 PCMCIA (or PC Card) slot (Type I/II)
• 1 headphone jack and 1 microphone jack
• 1 Memory Stick slot (Memory Stick Pro compatible)

It also has an integrated 56K modem (V.90) and an RJ-45 LAN network port (for a 10/100 Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems).

Preloaded System and Software
This system comes with the Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 operating system with Advanced Security Technologies, which helps to reduce unwanted downloads and pop-ups while surfing the Web. It also comes loaded with a bevy of Sony multimedia software: Vaio Zone with WinDVD (for watching DVD movies), PictureGear Studio (digital photo), SonicStage (digital music), Vaio Media (network file sharing), and DVgate Plus (digital video). Other preloaded software includes Quicken 2005 New User Edition, Microsoft Works 8.0 (with word processing, spreadsheet, and calendar), Norton Internet Security (with 90-day subscription), and SpySubtract.

Dimensions and Weight
Measuring 1.6-2.2 x 14.1 x 10.9 inches (H x W x D) and weighing 8.2 pounds, the PCG-K45 is bit larger than other notebooks in its range. It's best used as a desktop replacement while offering portability when you need it.

Power
The included rechargeable lithium-ion battery (PCGA-BP2NY) offers an average battery life range of 1.5 hours (depending on usage).

What's in the Box
This package contains the Sony Vaio PCG-K45 notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions. It's backed by a 1-year warranty for parts and labor, and 1 year of toll-free phone support.

Product Description
Includes: lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, power cord, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2, Quicken 2005 New User Edition, Works 8.0, WinDVD, Norton Internet Security, & more. Sony PCG-K45 VAIO(R) Notebook PC - This eye-catching notebook computer is packed with powerful features that will make your mobile computing experience more productive, and more entertaining. Increase productivity with the powerful Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor 538 (3.2GHz) and 512MB of PC2100 DDR SDRAM. Combined, they give you the speed to handle nearly any task and application. When work is done, you can sit back and enjoy a DVD movie on the impressive 15.4" LCD. Its widescreen format is perfect for DVD viewing. LCD Native Resolution - 1280 x 800 80GB HDD ATI Radeon IGP 345M graphics with 64MB of shared video memory (memory is taken from the main system) DVD-ROM/CD-RW Drive - up to 8x DVD-ROM, 24x CD-R, 24x CD-RW, & 24x CD-ROM 56k v.90 Fax Modem Windows Sound System with 2 built-in speakers Memory Stick Media Slot - supports Memory Stick(R) & Memory Stick(R) PRO 1 Type I/II PC Card Slot with CardBus support Ports - 10/100 Ethernet, VGA Monitor Out, Monaural Mini Microphone, Headphone, 1 FireWire, 3 USB 2.0, & 1 Parallel

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars best value around, February 27, 2005

By	Juan C. Ganzon (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If the video quality won't blow you away, maybe the onboard goodies will. I bought mine out the door for $1399.00. Memory Stick slot is a plus since I have Sony PDA and digital camera. One downside though: battery life only lasts 1.5 hours approx. Only if it came with Intel Centrino which only uses a fraction of power that Pentium 4 uses. Overall, it's the best value around.

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Notebook, March 15, 2005

By	ocatarinetabelachucchux (Sydney, AU) - See all my reviews

Reinstall original configuration, I don't know why it does not work well the first time, next erase all garbage software and you have and excellent, fast and incredible notebook.

I'm and developer and my wife is architect and we love it.

Cons:
-You need to burn the recovery Cds.
-A little noisy.
-Could be a nightmare if you try to change the OS.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too loud for quiet home use, February 27, 2005

By	Myung J. Choi "MC" (Hudson County, NJ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I initially purchased the K45 to replace my home desktop. It was purchased for its brand, style and performance. However, I noticed the fan noise was too intrusive. Noise level was loud enough to make other people notice. The bulky design was also disappointing.

The store had no problem exchanging K45 because it had a defective pixel in the screen as well.

K45 was exchanged for FS550 which I am very happy with.