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"Compters great but beware of sony" on by Pride54
Pros: Stylish, light, beautiful screen, fast processing
Cons: bloatware, and sony in general
Summary: The good news is, this computer is awesome. I bought the FZ190 (2.0Ghz processor, 2 gigs of ram, hi-color screen, nvidia Geforce 8400m GT, 80 gig hard drive, white keyboard) hoping that it will last me 4 years in college, and serve as an entertainment PC, allowing me to watch movies and play a few games. Well so far its doing what I want it to flawlessly. Counter Strike Source runs excelently, multitasts very well, and it stays very quiet. It does tend to get a little hot on the bottom but heats expected.
Now for the bad. Sony in general has really disapointed me. For starters i cutomized this product at a nearby sony style store, and was told it would be at my house within 5-7 business days. When i called sony, i found out the estimated ship date was on the 19th. After that i was told all kinds of stories, from, the computer was done being built on the 13th and just waiting for a carrier to, they are waiting to approve my credit to, they didn't even start building the computer until the 24th. They told me the delay was because of the engraving, because of bad parts and every other story in the book. Fact was, nobody in customer care knew where my computer was, what was going on with it, and they kept repeating the same line, "I can't help you sir."
When i finally got my computer on the 3rd of July, it was packed with bloatware. After installing AIM, Steam, Counter Strike, and 2 gigs of music, my 80 gig hard drive was down to 35 gigs! ive tried turning system restore off and back on which brings me up to 38, and after deleting a few programs im still only up to 39. I know there is plenty more to delete I'm just afraid of unistalling the wrong things.
I tried creating a recovery disk and unfortunately I can't. Sony never informed me that Vista does not allow you to creat erecovery disks on CDs like XP could, and I chose not to get a DVD burner seeing that I never used my old one. A simple "please note that you must have a DVD burner..." would have prompt me to pay the extra 30 bucks.
Finally my last issue is that since my Hard Drive capacity is already heading south, I thought maybe I will just upgrade. Well if I want to send it off, I have to send it off to california, the same place that took over a month to get my computer to me in the first place. Not to mention I live in florida. And, if i upgrade my hard drive, I would want to go all out and get a 7200rpm, which is not offered by sony. I WOULD just go out and by a seperate HD and install it myself, but then there goes my pretty 3 year waranty.
To sum it up... computer = good, sony = bad. -
"Unbelievable Value" on by Bob Eicholz
Pros: Brilliant Screen, Size, Weight, 200GB storage, No-boot DVD player
Cons: Battery Life, Touchpad, Boot Time
Summary: OK, I bought the FZ160, not the FZ180. But they are the same, except the FZ160 has no Blu-ray HD, and costs $600 less. Who needs Blu-ray HD for $600 on a PC that can't display HD anyway? I don't get it.
Now, about the FZ160 computer: It rocks! And for $1,350, it's flat-out unbelievable.
First, and most importantly, the screen is magnificent. The resolution, at 1280 seems low, but looks perfect on a 15.4 inch screen. The picture is bright, clear, and pleasing to the eye. And the ratio of screen size to overall case size is very high, meaning the case is VERY small for such a large screen.
Among many other things, I love the feature that allows you to turn on selected applications like the DVD without booting up Windows. This is especially useful, since the boot time is long, due to the huge (200GB), but slow (4,200rpm) SATA drive.
The weight, at less than 6lbs is also amazing. Make no mistake: There's not another laptop on the market around $1,350 with this combination of performance, drive capacity, low weight, and beautiful screen.
The only problems are the battery and the Touchpad buttons. The battery goes about 2 hours during normal use, and an extra regular battery will set you back $200, while a high-capacity battery (which doesn't completely fit in the bay) costs $300. I guess that's where Sony makes its money. In addition, the click buttons under the touchpad are so small and lacking in tactile feedback that they are easy to miss.
Carry an extra battery with you if you travel a lot and a notebook mouse if the Touchpad buttons bother you. Believe me, these are two very small sacrifices for such a powerful, but reasonably priced laptop. -
"Great Blu-ray PC1 for School!!" on by ESUNintel
Pros: Blu-ray drive (Blu-ray rules!!), HDMI output, really bright screen, built in cam, amazing tech support ...alot more Pros plus its a Sony
Cons: None really, just that it is a little heavy and packed with tons of cr*p
Summary: This is my second Vaio notebook, my first was a Sony SZ, Sony makes great laptops. Having had the SZ for a while, this one feels a bit heavy, yet the screen size is worth it. I got this PC for school, and it has everything I might ever need, if not more. It has the right processor and screen size to run multiple programs, 200GB to store everything, a slot for a Verizon Wireless card to get work done, ability to read memory cards from any camera a friend might throw at you, a Blu-ray drive to back stuff up at the end of the quarter on a 50GB disk rather than using multiple DVDs or CDs, a VGA and S-Video output to plug it into the classroom projector, an HDMI output to plug it into an HD TV for Blu-ray viewing ...plus a lot more, what else could a college student want?? It also does a great job handling games since it has a DX10 8400 video card, just in case I get bored in class (or I could watch Blu-rays or listen to music with out turning on the PC too).
This great PC does have a few downs though. To begin with, Sony does pack it with tons of useless programs that slow it down, so make sure you get rid of these soon. The other downsides, at least for me, i the weight and size, cause I got used to my 3 pound SZ notebook.
None of the local stores had the VGN-FZ180U in stock, and i did not want to order it, the difference is that on the 180U you get Vista Ultimate. With thiss laptop you do get the option to upgrade to Ultimate for an extra $150, which is worth it. I upgraded to Ultimate and had a minor problem I'll discuss later. I also ordered a 2GB Patriot stick of RAM from newegg.com, so now will run at 3GB, which will make a huge difference. I really recommend getting RAM from newegg.com, as it costs less than Sony or other stores; 4GB (2 2GB sticks)will not run you over $400, Sony wants an extra $850 for 4GB on this laptop.
The problem I had when upgrading to Ultimate was the the Blu-ray drive would not play newer Blu-ray movies and would not play sounds. I usually figure these type of problems out, but couldn't this time. I did get the in-store warranty from MicroCenter, but I figured I rather call Sony than take it in. Sony tech support was amazing, they were very nice, did not treat me as if I had never used a PC, and knew what they were doing. I called in on a Sunday morning, and only had to hold for less than a minute to get someone. This was my second time calling Sony (I had to call them for my SZ a while ago), and both times tech support has been amazing (unlike Dell, I had to deal with them twice a while ago, they are the worst). I would recommend buying an in-store warranty, specially for students or those on the go plus getting accidental, but if you don't it is ok, Sony is great.
...This PC is simply amazing!!Updated
One other negative is the hard drive, Sony put in a 4200RPM rather than a 5400RPM or 7200RPM, there are times when you will notice programs saying (not Responding) on top, it takes a while to load stuff. It is not so bad though, just a few seconds slower than others. It works great with games, music and downloads though. -
"Overall Good Machine" on by rudekat
Pros: Blue Ray, great picture, HDMI
Cons: slow processor, Bloatware, No bluetooth
Summary: I've had this machine since Sept 2007 and have enjoyed it. I mainly use this machine to watch Blue Ray movies thru HDMI. I do enjoy the clarity of the 15.4" screen but the Blue Ray, HDMI, and 200gb HD were my big deciding factor.
Being that this laptop also has a Duo Core processor I thought it was going to be extremely fast but much to my surprise it is at times hesitant. I was going to use this laptop as for multitasking but couldn't due to it's slow response time. My desktop (Compaq sr1630sr) is more responsive than the laptop. This is my first taste of Duo Core and I am not liking it. Don't get me wrong this machine will surf the internet with no problem. It's wireless intenet feature is awesome.
I for sure don't like all the bloatware, I've already started uninstalling some of it.
I also wish it had Bluetooth but that's not a big deal.
Bottom line this is a good machine, and I still recommend it if you are interested in Blue Ray. -
"I am rather surprised." on by n4656bravo
Pros: The screen! If you are able to get the fz with Hi-Color screen you really won't be dissapointed. As well the 8400M GT will play games. BF2142 and the like work flawlessly on high settings.
Cons: A little thicker than the MacBook Pro, but Sony also put really small feet on the bottom to help dissipate heat under the laptop.
Summary: Over all I am quite pleased with the fz. Personally I enjoy having a Blu-Ray player, not only is the image quality better than DVDs, you can back huge files(i.e. 50GB on a single disk). As well it is one of the few computers that fully supports 1080 high def. I have been doing video editing with Adobe Primere and the fact that the whole process can be burned in high def really helps. That is the main reason I did not opt for the more expensive Mac Book Pro.
I will say, though, the screen should be higher resolution. It's only 1280/800! and unfortunately, while Blu-Ray still looks better it is not in full 1080. Full 1080 is 1920/1200. Luckily the fz has HDMI out and can support your big screen plasma.
As far a support, I haven't had a problem. As long as you have an extended warranty, which you should on a 2000+ dollar laptop, you will be fine.
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