what do you you all think about Sony Vaio Computers [Archive]

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John brine

April 19th 05, 04:02 AM

Looking to buy a PC with some coolness factor. Looking at either Sony
vaio or something from Memory Express

JB

Kimba W. Lion

April 19th 05, 02:32 PM

On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 03:02:17 GMT, John brine > wrote:

>Looking to buy a PC with some coolness factor. Looking at either Sony
>vaio or something from Memory Express

Sony products are high-priced and low quality. I avoid them like the
plague. The only thing with the Sony name on it I would recommend is their
video editing software, and that only came about because they bought it
from someone else.

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Dale Farmer

April 20th 05, 05:50 AM

John brine wrote:

> Looking to buy a PC with some coolness factor. Looking at either Sony
> vaio or something from Memory Express
>
> JB

The only reason you need a PC with some coolness factor in it, is if
you
are planning on overclocking it for some reason. . . usually bad. As
for
Sony Vaios, I'm on a Sony Viao laptop that I've been using for 3+ years,
and the only thing that has failed on it was the built in modem, which
died
when I was on the road after a lightning bolt hit nearby when I was
online.
This, of course, happened shortly after the service plan had expired, and

buying a PCMCIA modem was cheaper that buying a replacement internal
modem from Sony.
Treat the thing with care, and it will last longer than it's
obsolescence
time. Of course, I still occasionally get out my old 286 laptop to do
some
work with it, so I recognize that I'm unusual in taking better care of my

gear than most people seem to be of theirs.

--Dale

Todd H.

April 20th 05, 07:10 AM

John brine > writes:

> Looking to buy a PC with some coolness factor. Looking at either Sony
> vaio or something from Memory Express

A personal computer (in the general sense), coolness factor, audio
newsgroup... honestly the answer to this question is:
http://www.apple.com/powermac/

PC's all depend on what ya do with em. As stated, the question above
can't be answered. Alienware PC's though are pretty slick lookin. As
are XPC's from shuttle. They're all nifty for different reasons and
different application workloads.

The coolest PC's though are ones you build yerself. Check out some of
the crap in these PC Modder special issues of computer power user
magazine:

http://www.computerpoweruser.com/editorial/mTOC.asp?guid=73FC5591B20A446DBCC381C3C3C2F2E7&Itypeid=12&Itype=CPU%20Special%20Issue&vol=9&iss=1

Best Regards,
--
/"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign | Todd H
\ / | http://www.toddh.net/
X Promoting good netiquette | http://triplethreatband.com/
/ \ http://www.toddh.net/netiquette/ | "4 lines suffice."

Dimitrios Tzortzakakis

April 20th 05, 02:10 PM

I think that it sucks, as most PCs with a brand.I don't think that any
single company in this world can make a PC.The PC should be balanced, not
too expensive, not too cheap.e.g. don't go for a onboard VGA, don't go for a
3.2 GHz Prescott or a 400 GB hard drive.I am much satisfied with mine:
celeron 2.4
QDI p4 848
geforce 4 mx 440
hitachi 80 gb 7200 rpm
miro 17" crt
braintrust case
56 k V92 modem (stone age of internet in Greece)
maxball keyboard and mouse (microsoft sucks)
lexmark z605 inkjet
teac speakers and burner
floppy (yes!floppy)
lg cd rom
512 MB DDR
this computer can run doom 3 @ 1024X768 @high resolution and japanese editor
--
Tzortzakakis Dimitrios
major in electrical engineering, freelance electrician
FH von Iraklion-Kreta, freiberuflicher Elektriker
dimtzort AT otenet DOT gr
Ï "John brine" > Ýãñáøå óôï ìÞíõìá
...
> Looking to buy a PC with some coolness factor. Looking at either Sony
> vaio or something from Memory Express
>
> JB

Arny Krueger

April 21st 05, 04:46 AM

Dimitrios Tzortzakakis wrote:
> I think that it sucks, as most PCs with a brand.I don't think that
any
> single company in this world can make a PC.

> The PC should be balanced,

Agreed.

> not too expensive, not too cheap.e.g. don't go for a onboard VGA,

What is there about onboard VGA that makes it poisonous, particularly
for audio?

> don't go for a 3.2 GHz Prescott

Depends. If you are doing heavy duty audio editing and coding...

> or a 400 GB hard drive.

Depends. If you are building a large online music library...

Dimitrios Tzortzakakis

April 22nd 05, 02:36 PM

Arny Krueger

April 22nd 05, 04:22 PM

Dimitrios Tzortzakakis wrote:
>> Dimitrios Tzortzakakis wrote:
>>> I think that it sucks, as most PCs with a brand.I don't think that
>> any
>>> single company in this world can make a PC.
>>
>>
>>> The PC should be balanced,
>>
>> Agreed.
>>
>>> not too expensive, not too cheap.e.g. don't go for a onboard VGA,
>>
>> What is there about onboard VGA that makes it poisonous,
particularly
>> for audio?

> VGA for audio? Isn't that an oxymoron?

I guess you not understanding what I meant. You said that onboard VGA
should be avoided. My question is what problems you expect from
onboard VGA on an audio computer.

> Anyway, all modern mobos come
> with onboard audio, that's not a problem with today's processors.

The biggest problem all along is that onboard audio has historically
been based on very cheap chips with mediocre or worse converters.
That's improved quite a bit lately, but there are some difinate losers
out there, such as the SoundMax fiasco.

> It was with 66 MHz FSB celerons.The problem with the onboard VGA,
is
> that the north bridge chip besides it's task of the processor
> communicating with everything else the computer consists of, must
> also do graphic rendering.

Normally audio work does not involve complex graphics.

>And also these cheapo computers don't have
> (of course) separate VGA memory;they share the system RAM.

Agreed, but in practice it doesn't seem to be a problem for audio
applications. Games are a different situation.

>>> don't go for a 3.2 GHz Prescott

>> Depends. If you are doing heavy duty audio editing and coding...

> I am doing heavy duty audio editing with my 2.4 celeron.

Having any problems due to that choice?

>In fact, I was
> transferring a tape to cd (not burning, just recording to the hard
> drive) while surfing to the internet.No sound ticks and pops, no
> internet slow down.It depends on how you tweak and fine tune your
> computer.

Yes, that helps.

>>> or a 400 GB hard drive.
>>
>> Depends. If you are building a large online music library...

> Then you don't need a PC, but a server.

400GB drives are going to be the standard hard drive on bottom-buck
computers in just a few more years. I figure 120 GB and 160 GB driver
are pretty much middle-of-the road today. At least that's what I'm
building for most of my customers.

As far as heavier professional audio workstations go, I just proposed
a 1 terrabyte upgrade for one of my customers.

>I find that even 80 GB is too
> much for me, even if I type all the type and draw every day on
> autocad I can't fill it until my computer dies...

Try a little heavier duty audio - I record a half hour of 20 tracks at
least once a week. Tends to fill those 120 GB drives up pretty
quickly.

Dimitrios Tzortzakakis

April 23rd 05, 01:10 PM

--
Tzortzakakis Dimitrios
major in electrical engineering, freelance electrician
FH von Iraklion-Kreta, freiberuflicher Elektriker
dimtzort AT otenet DOT gr
Ï "Arny Krueger" > Ýãñáøå óôï ìÞíõìá
...
> Dimitrios Tzortzakakis wrote:
> >> Dimitrios Tzortzakakis wrote:
> >>> I think that it sucks, as most PCs with a brand.I don't think that
> >> any
> >>> single company in this world can make a PC.
> >>
> >>
> >>> The PC should be balanced,
> >>
> >> Agreed.
> >>
> >>> not too expensive, not too cheap.e.g. don't go for a onboard VGA,
> >>
> >> What is there about onboard VGA that makes it poisonous,
> particularly
> >> for audio?
>
> > VGA for audio? Isn't that an oxymoron?
>
> I guess you not understanding what I meant. You said that onboard VGA
> should be avoided. My question is what problems you expect from
> onboard VGA on an audio computer.
>
It's not a matter what you use the computer for, even some stores that need
them only to print receipts and invoices should get a reliable computer.
> > Anyway, all modern mobos come
> > with onboard audio, that's not a problem with today's processors.
>
> The biggest problem all along is that onboard audio has historically
> been based on very cheap chips with mediocre or worse converters.
> That's improved quite a bit lately, but there are some difinate losers
> out there, such as the SoundMax fiasco.
>
I agree, but it's a standard practice and almost no-one will buy a separate
audio card since his computer has an onboard audio.
> > It was with 66 MHz FSB celerons.The problem with the onboard VGA,
> is
> > that the north bridge chip besides it's task of the processor
> > communicating with everything else the computer consists of, must
> > also do graphic rendering.
>
> Normally audio work does not involve complex graphics.
Complex graphics is not a problem, the problem is squeezing even more
transistors to the north bridge chip.(Someone might want to play games,
though).
>
> >And also these cheapo computers don't have
> > (of course) separate VGA memory;they share the system RAM.
>
> Agreed, but in practice it doesn't seem to be a problem for audio
> applications. Games are a different situation.
>
Agree, but still it's not good that VGA memory is shared from the system
RAM.
> >>> don't go for a 3.2 GHz Prescott
>
> >> Depends. If you are doing heavy duty audio editing and coding...
>
> > I am doing heavy duty audio editing with my 2.4 celeron.
>
> Having any problems due to that choice?
>
Not at all.13 months operating 3-5 hours a day and not a single freeze,loss
of data or lock-up.
> >In fact, I was
> > transferring a tape to cd (not burning, just recording to the hard
> > drive) while surfing to the internet.No sound ticks and pops, no
> > internet slow down.It depends on how you tweak and fine tune your
> > computer.
>
> Yes, that helps.
>
> >>> or a 400 GB hard drive.
> >>
> >> Depends. If you are building a large online music library...
>
> > Then you don't need a PC, but a server.
>
> 400GB drives are going to be the standard hard drive on bottom-buck
> computers in just a few more years. I figure 120 GB and 160 GB driver
> are pretty much middle-of-the road today. At least that's what I'm
> building for most of my customers.
>
> As far as heavier professional audio workstations go, I just proposed
> a 1 terrabyte upgrade for one of my customers.
>
I agree.But I am 32, and I was used to 10 MB hard rives, an outrageous
luxury back in '85, so 80 GB seems too much for me.When I transferred from
tape to hard-drive, mine was almost full.
> >I find that even 80 GB is too
> > much for me, even if I type all the type and draw every day on
> > autocad I can't fill it until my computer dies...
>
> Try a little heavier duty audio - I record a half hour of 20 tracks at
> least once a week. Tends to fill those 120 GB drives up pretty
> quickly.
>
>
I agree.Specialized works needs special tools.

Arny Krueger

April 23rd 05, 03:15 PM

Dimitrios Tzortzakakis wrote:
>> Dimitrios Tzortzakakis wrote:
>>>> Dimitrios Tzortzakakis wrote:

>> You said that onboard VGA
>> should be avoided. My question is what problems you expect from
>> onboard VGA on an audio computer.

> It's not a matter what you use the computer for, even some stores
> that need them only to print receipts and invoices should get a
> reliable computer.

IME Onboard VGA if anything provides a reliability advantage. There's
been a long term problem with AGP cards slipping out their slots. If
the VGA is on the system board, there's none of that!

>>> Anyway, all modern mobos come
>>> with onboard audio, that's not a problem with today's processors.

>> The biggest problem all along is that onboard audio has
historically
>> been based on very cheap chips with mediocre or worse converters.
>> That's improved quite a bit lately, but there are some difinate
>> losers out there, such as the SoundMax fiasco.

> I agree, but it's a standard practice and almost no-one will buy a
> separate audio card since his computer has an onboard audio.

If the onboard audio gets the job done, then where's the beef?

>>> It was with 66 MHz FSB celerons.The problem with the onboard VGA,
is
>>> that the north bridge chip besides it's task of the processor
>>> communicating with everything else the computer consists of, must
>>> also do graphic rendering.

>> Normally audio work does not involve complex graphics.

> Complex graphics is not a problem, the problem is squeezing even
more
> transistors to the north bridge chip.(Someone might want to play
> games, though).

I just can't relate to this problem. Maybe its the vanishing number of
66 MHz FSB Celerons that I see in real life.

>>> And also these cheapo computers don't have
>>> (of course) separate VGA memory;they share the system RAM.
>>
>> Agreed, but in practice it doesn't seem to be a problem for audio
>> applications. Games are a different situation.

> Agree, but still it's not good that VGA memory is shared from the
> system RAM.

Agreed that shared video rams is not optimal from the standpoint of
heavy, compley graphics use. But, when only 2D graphics at moderate
resolutions and refresh rates are being used, shared VGA memory just
isn't a serious problem. This is pretty much the workload of a a DAW.

>>>>> don't go for a 3.2 GHz Prescott
>>
>>>> Depends. If you are doing heavy duty audio editing and coding...
>>
>>> I am doing heavy duty audio editing with my 2.4 celeron.
>>
>> Having any problems due to that choice?

> Not at all.13 months operating 3-5 hours a day and not a single
> freeze,loss of data or lock-up.

Enjoy!

>>> In fact, I was
>>> transferring a tape to cd (not burning, just recording to the hard
>>> drive) while surfing to the internet.No sound ticks and pops, no
>>> internet slow down.It depends on how you tweak and fine tune your
>>> computer.

>> Yes, that helps.
>>
>>>>> or a 400 GB hard drive.
>>>>
>>>> Depends. If you are building a large online music library...

>>> Then you don't need a PC, but a server.

>> 400GB drives are going to be the standard hard drive on bottom-buck
>> computers in just a few more years. I figure 120 GB and 160 GB
>> driver are pretty much middle-of-the road today. At least that's
>> what I'm building for most of my customers.

>> As far as heavier professional audio workstations go, I just
proposed
>> a 1 terrabyte upgrade for one of my customers.

> I agree. But I am 32, and I was used to 10 MB hard drives, an
outrageous
> luxury back in '85, so 80 GB seems too much for me.

Feed your head! ;-)

> When I transferred from tape to hard-drive, mine was almost full.

Tape, what's that? I use DVDs or disk-disk copying for backup and
large data transfer.

>>> I find that even 80 GB is too
>>> much for me, even if I type all the type and draw every day on
>>> autocad I can't fill it until my computer dies...

>> Try a little heavier duty audio - I record a half hour of 20 tracks
>> at least once a week. Tends to fill those 120 GB drives up pretty
>> quickly.

> I agree.Specialized works needs special tools.

This is after all an audio production forum. Therefore the
requirements for the special tools we discuss are dictated by that
fact.

JANA

April 26th 05, 02:32 PM

The only thing I would recommend in Sony are their professional broadcast
audio and video equipment, or high end consumer televisions, or high end
audio equipment.

I would strongly NOT recommend their consumer computer equipment. This is
not their specialty, and has been proven as such!

If you want something very good that is in a name brand, look at DELL, Acer,
Compaq, HP, and IBM, just to mention a few. They all have their problems,
but at least they are specialized in these products, and offer full support.

Your best bet is to have someone, or a computer shop who is very
experienced, to build you up a desktop computer from choice boards, and
choice components. This way, you can get the best choice of everything, to
the level that you are willing to pay for. It also comes out a lot cheaper
in the long run for what you get, and is easily upgradeable. Having a true
clone computer, means that you are not locked in to having to buy specific
parts from a specific supplier when you want to make changes, or expansions.

Unfortunately, building up a laptop is not feasible, or I would have done
it.

--

JANA
_____

"John brine" > wrote in message
...
Looking to buy a PC with some coolness factor. Looking at either Sony
vaio or something from Memory Express

JB