Documentation & Review Sony Vaio PCG-C1F (1999)
Just a small fun review
System Specifications:
Processor: Intel mobile Pentium MMX @ 263 mhz 32bit
GPU: NeoMagic MagicGraph256AV 2mb
RAM: 130mb
Screen: 1024x480
Chipset: Intel i430TX
HDD : 35,2 GB
Original OS: Windows 98 (Se)
Present OS: Windows 2000 Sp4 DX 8.0a
Cam: Sony Motion eye 320x200 & 640x480
PCMCIA: WLAN
PCMCIA: Floppy & CD
Weight:
Dimensions:
USB: 1.0
Firewire: Ilink 1394
VGA: out
Infrared
Audio IN & OUT
Loud speakers
Main Programs:
1. Office 2003 sp3
2. Doom 95
3. PCMark2002
4. K melon
One year ago I bought this tiny device on ebay for around 50 Euros and its only now I'm beginning to realize how magnificent it is. After doing some research on the web I noticed how rare and undocumented the PCG C1F is, therefore it was my duty to make this information available for everyone so you can enjoy this amazing technical feat. I think it may have been the first of its kind, being such a small compact device with the special hardware features which weren't even supported by windows 98se properly.
The Sony Vaio PCG-C1F came on the market sometime in 1999. The earliest drivers available are for windows 98 & 98se. 98se was released 5. Mai 1999 . Unfortunately the only complete driver and software set available is for windows 98se. So I gave 98 a try, but realized very quickly that its completely incompatible with today standards. USB 1.0 wasn't supported properly. It was necessary to install the USB stick driver from a floppy disk. It was a complicated task because I had to find a modern USB stick with legacy driver support. PCMCIA wireless also wasn't supported properly because the new network standards (802.11b/g/n) aren't available on 98se PCMCIA Wireless adapters. Most of the ancient available software is horrible because nothing really works except for MS Office 97 and Minesweeper. Oh and I forgot to mention its almost impossible these days to find old software on the web.
The best Site (IMO) for old Software: http://www.oldapps.com/
I finally decided to move to Windows 2000 even though there was no complete driver and software set, but for the first time this magical device began to work properly. The first step was to install windows 2000 from CD. I had too build a DOS formated bootable Floppy disk with integrated CDrom driver to activate REALMODE over PCMCIA. Twenty hours later windows 2000 SP4 was up and running with all the drivers, Directx 8.0a, USB Plug&Play and Wireless. I spent around 4 hours creating the floppy disk and a typical Service pack update took around 3 hours.
The good news is after all of this work the system is fast and snappy. Its very usable as long as one avoids surfing the modern web. The MMX Pentium is a little weak but plays Doom 95 with no lag and hesitation. Hey! You want to write something in MS Office 2003? No Problemo! Oh! And for all of you who like benchmarks, I did one using PCMark2002 and did a comparison with an Atom Netbook (Acer aspire One (Turd)).
Web Browsing: Loading www.Anandtech.com is like dropping a nuke on it
Gaming: Sh** Zombie trooper!
PCMark2002 Benchmark:
Sony Vaio PCG-C1F
CPU score: 445
Memory score: 375
HDD score: 438
Acer aspire One
CPU score: 2152
Memory score: 5272
HDD score: 882
Verdict:
If you are lucky enough to own this subnotebook I can assure you that you won't be playing Crysis and you won't be browsing the web. But if you are somewhere on an island with no internet it's the perfect tool for word processing. You could write a book without any distraction and for the time in-between play some doom or some mamba. Unfortunately I prefer my dual monitor i7 GTX 980 desktop super computer, therefore I will be selling it to someone who is worthy of possessing it.
I hope You enjoyed this time machine and in the next few days i will do some spellchecking so please don't bash me
Just a small fun review
System Specifications:
Processor: Intel mobile Pentium MMX @ 263 mhz 32bit
GPU: NeoMagic MagicGraph256AV 2mb
RAM: 130mb
Screen: 1024x480
Chipset: Intel i430TX
HDD : 35,2 GB
Original OS: Windows 98 (Se)
Present OS: Windows 2000 Sp4 DX 8.0a
Cam: Sony Motion eye 320x200 & 640x480
PCMCIA: WLAN
PCMCIA: Floppy & CD
Weight:
Dimensions:
USB: 1.0
Firewire: Ilink 1394
VGA: out
Infrared
Audio IN & OUT
Loud speakers
Main Programs:
1. Office 2003 sp3
2. Doom 95
3. PCMark2002
4. K melon
One year ago I bought this tiny device on ebay for around 50 Euros and its only now I'm beginning to realize how magnificent it is. After doing some research on the web I noticed how rare and undocumented the PCG C1F is, therefore it was my duty to make this information available for everyone so you can enjoy this amazing technical feat. I think it may have been the first of its kind, being such a small compact device with the special hardware features which weren't even supported by windows 98se properly.
The Sony Vaio PCG-C1F came on the market sometime in 1999. The earliest drivers available are for windows 98 & 98se. 98se was released 5. Mai 1999 . Unfortunately the only complete driver and software set available is for windows 98se. So I gave 98 a try, but realized very quickly that its completely incompatible with today standards. USB 1.0 wasn't supported properly. It was necessary to install the USB stick driver from a floppy disk. It was a complicated task because I had to find a modern USB stick with legacy driver support. PCMCIA wireless also wasn't supported properly because the new network standards (802.11b/g/n) aren't available on 98se PCMCIA Wireless adapters. Most of the ancient available software is horrible because nothing really works except for MS Office 97 and Minesweeper. Oh and I forgot to mention its almost impossible these days to find old software on the web.
The best Site (IMO) for old Software: http://www.oldapps.com/
I finally decided to move to Windows 2000 even though there was no complete driver and software set, but for the first time this magical device began to work properly. The first step was to install windows 2000 from CD. I had too build a DOS formated bootable Floppy disk with integrated CDrom driver to activate REALMODE over PCMCIA. Twenty hours later windows 2000 SP4 was up and running with all the drivers, Directx 8.0a, USB Plug&Play and Wireless. I spent around 4 hours creating the floppy disk and a typical Service pack update took around 3 hours.
The good news is after all of this work the system is fast and snappy. Its very usable as long as one avoids surfing the modern web. The MMX Pentium is a little weak but plays Doom 95 with no lag and hesitation. Hey! You want to write something in MS Office 2003? No Problemo! Oh! And for all of you who like benchmarks, I did one using PCMark2002 and did a comparison with an Atom Netbook (Acer aspire One (Turd)).
Web Browsing: Loading www.Anandtech.com is like dropping a nuke on it
Gaming: Sh** Zombie trooper!
PCMark2002 Benchmark:
Sony Vaio PCG-C1F
CPU score: 445
Memory score: 375
HDD score: 438
Acer aspire One
CPU score: 2152
Memory score: 5272
HDD score: 882
Verdict:
If you are lucky enough to own this subnotebook I can assure you that you won't be playing Crysis and you won't be browsing the web. But if you are somewhere on an island with no internet it's the perfect tool for word processing. You could write a book without any distraction and for the time in-between play some doom or some mamba. Unfortunately I prefer my dual monitor i7 GTX 980 desktop super computer, therefore I will be selling it to someone who is worthy of possessing it.
I hope You enjoyed this time machine and in the next few days i will do some spellchecking so please don't bash me
Last edited:
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