Dad wants to buy a VAIO

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kami333

Diamond Member
Dec 12, 2001
5,110
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76
Originally posted by: The Green Bean
Originally posted by: crabbyman
My exgirlfriend had a VAIO and it was a POS. Everything about it was craptacular. When she told me how much they spent for low tier parts I gasped.

A couple of freinds of mine have vaios and theyre running like new 3 years strong.

I'm on my third VAIO in 8 years. I like my R505, it's getting outdated but it gets the job done.
 

crabbyman

Senior member
Jul 24, 2002
529
1
76
Maybe their quality has changed since I dealt with them.. I dunno. I am still personally weary of them.
 

pdqcarrera

Member
Aug 9, 2000
173
0
0
For the record -- I've owned a lot of lapwarmers in my time and I'm very pleased with my Sony VAIO VGN-FS600W. It's only a few months old ... but ... the screen is indeed awesome, the wireless & wired networking has been flawless and the DVD recorded is great. The biggest problem I have is the poor battery life and high cost of peripherals. I've ordered the higher output battery and hope for far better life, although I usually have AC and didn't buy this notebook for airplane travel.

Oh and one more thing, which I perceive as a bit of a negative ... I think Sony changes models and available configurations too fast. I know it's a fast paced business but geeesh. I no sooner bought mine and it's already 2 models old!
 

kami333

Diamond Member
Dec 12, 2001
5,110
2
76
Originally posted by: crabbyman
Maybe their quality has changed since I dealt with them.. I dunno. I am still personally weary of them.

What model did she have? And what problems?
 

pukemon

Senior member
Jun 16, 2000
850
0
76
I have a Sony FR130 which was the oddball Vaio made a few years back. It uses a mobile Athlon XP-m and has a VIA KT266A chipset with a Geforce4go 420. Battery life is around 3 hours and it still works so I can't complain.
 

crabbyman

Senior member
Jul 24, 2002
529
1
76
I don't remember the model. It was a desktop though. The hard drive failed...the CD drive failed..the ports failed... I think thats it.
 

imported_goku

Diamond Member
Mar 28, 2004
7,613
3
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Originally posted by: crabbyman
Sonys are some of the worst made..IMHO...computers. I second what shellguy said...overpriced and overrated.

I've got 4 sony vaio laptops, 4 desktops to back that up! :p I doubt the OP's dad or what ever knows the difference between a 15.4 and a 15"...
 

imported_goku

Diamond Member
Mar 28, 2004
7,613
3
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Originally posted by: kami333
Originally posted by: The Green Bean
Originally posted by: crabbyman
My exgirlfriend had a VAIO and it was a POS. Everything about it was craptacular. When she told me how much they spent for low tier parts I gasped.

A couple of freinds of mine have vaios and theyre running like new 3 years strong.

I'm on my third VAIO in 8 years. I like my R505, it's getting outdated but it gets the job done.

You mean you've HAD your vaio for 8 years... I remember when the R505 was released (8 years ago) it was a cool machine.
 

crabbyman

Senior member
Jul 24, 2002
529
1
76
Originally posted by: goku
Originally posted by: crabbyman
Sonys are some of the worst made..IMHO...computers. I second what shellguy said...overpriced and overrated.

I've got 4 sony vaio laptops, 4 desktops to back that up! :p I doubt the OP's dad or what ever knows the difference between a 15.4 and a 15"...

Understood..just going from personal experience! :thumbsup:
 

Wuzup101

Platinum Member
Feb 20, 2002
2,334
37
91
Get a powerbook... accept no substitutes... :) Seriously though you would probably be better off buying a powerbook, thinkpad, or dell than paying the premium price for sony.
 

The Green Bean

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2003
6,506
7
81
Originally posted by: Wuzup101
Get a powerbook... accept no substitutes... :) Seriously though you would probably be better off buying a powerbook, thinkpad, or dell than paying the premium price for sony.

He likes the powerbook but he wants to work on Visual basic and fox pro.

I think he may be getting a 14" vaio.
 

Mrvile

Lifer
Oct 16, 2004
14,066
1
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My dad loves VAIOs...his last two laptops were VAIOs, which he's been using for almost 4 years, and they both still run strong. Sony's got quality in their laptops.
 

chollyred

Junior Member
Dec 19, 2005
13
0
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One of the guys that works for me bought a Sony for his daughter in college. In less than 18 months, it blew out the LCD and the motherboard. It was only a coupld of months old when the LCD had problems. Sony refused to cover it under warranty. Without even looking at it, they claimed user abuse and denied the service. He found a LCD on Ebay and had a local repairman replace it. Now, about 18 months (and out of warranty), the motherboard goes out. He took it to an authorised Sony repair center for diagnosis and possible repair. Sony will not even sell a motherboard to their authorized repair person?! They insist that the unit be shipped back to the factory for repair.

What lind of corporation treats their authorized repair center that way?

If your dad insists on the Sony, make sure he spends the extra bucks on the 3 year extended warranty. Not sure they'd honor it, but.....

This is why I'll never own a Sony product.
 

pkme2

Diamond Member
Sep 30, 2005
3,896
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My pal and I tried working on a Vaio laptop, even with the repair manual and its not easy. We decided that one must have very small hands and magnifying glasses to get the job done.
We'll stick to the other laptops like Dell, IBM, Toshiba and HP. They're easier to work on. I like Sony but their laptops aren't the best. I pass...
 

aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
Super Moderator
Sep 28, 2005
21,044
3,524
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Originally posted by: Mrvile
My dad loves VAIOs...his last two laptops were VAIOs, which he's been using for almost 4 years, and they both still run strong. Sony's got quality in their laptops.

hehe... let me tell u about my little vaios experience. Ive had 3. Sony makes nice looking laptops but the build/quality is really ******. anyhow the 3 i had was the

XG-29 -> was a fairly decient laptop
Z505 -> broke this when it was in my bag and i accidently dropped it like 2 feet.
X505 -> mom accidentally sat on it and snaped it half.
*before u say ur mom must be fat, she only weighs about 125lbs. and it wasnt a full sit down.

Now i have a thinkpad. If ur really his son, id suggest you tell him to get a thinkpad. There built like tanks, and there not that bad looking either. And yes ive even accidentally sat on my thinkpad and nothing happened and im almost 2x the weight of my mom.
 

SergeC

Senior member
May 7, 2005
484
0
71
My gf has one of the VAIO s-series, it's about 2 years old now (S170). Holy crap the thing is great. It's easily the best small-sized laptop I've ever seen, much less used. That said, I've never tried out one of their larger models, so I suppose I'm fairly useless here.