VGN-AR

This page is WIP

Overview

The Sony VAIO VGN-AR Series, released in 2006, was designed to tackle the desktop replacement segment. It replaced the Sony VAIO VGN-AX series. As usual for these Laptops from Sony, the VGN-AR was equipped with powerfull hardware and many multimedia features, which makes it a high-end Laptop.

At launch the Full-Spec VGN-AR was even offered with a BlueRay RW optical drive. The desktop replacement was offered with a 17" 16:10 screen, which could be had in either 1440x900 or 1920x1200 resolutions. The former being WXGA+ and the latter being WUXGA. This made for a stunning experience watching movies and videos. Something that Sony complemented with an optional ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner, making for an excelent multimedia device.

With a range of Core 2 Duos, Core Duos and a Pentium Dual Core to choose from, as well as the choice between NVIDIAs GeForce 7400 Go, 8400m GT and 8600m GT, the VGN-AR had a lot to offer in therms of performance, making image and video editing, as well as gaming no problem for the Sony. Sadly performance was hindered by only 2GB of memory on most models. This performance comes at a cost. With its size of ... and weight in between 3,8 and 4,1 kg, the VGN-AR is quite heavy. Another negative is the small battery life between 1.5 and 3 hours. This is fine for a desktop replacement, but considered low for a laptop. The speakers, for such an expensive laptop, costing 3499€ for the most expensive variant, are also quite bad.

What the VGN-AR lacks in battery life, it surely makes up in connectivity. Featuring a PCMCIA TypeII, ExpressCard/54, SD Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick Duo, MagicGate, i.LINK 4-pin, HDMI, VGA, S-VIdeo out, Modem and Ethernet and 3x 2.0 USB connectors. Besides the BlueRay-RW drive, the VGN-AR was also offered with a BlueRay-R and a DVD+-R/DVD+-RW/DVD-RAM Drive on the lower spec models. A webcam was also included on all models.

In addition to the choice between Windows XP Professional and several Windows Vista versions, the VGN-AR came with a plethora of multimedia software, such as Adobe Fotoshop, Adobe Reader, Adobe Standart, Microsoft Works and Microsoft Office 2007.

The VGN-AR was superceded by the Sony VAIO VGN-AW series.

Detailed Specs

Processor: Intel Pentium D T2370 / Intel Core (2) Duo T2500, T2500, T5450, T7100, T7200, T7250, T7300, T7700, T8100, T8300, T9300

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8400m GT, 8600m GT, GeForce Go 7600

Display: 17.1" 16:10 1440 x 900 WXGA+ / 1920 x 1200 WUXGA

RAM: 2x SO-DIMM DD2 (upgradable to 4GB)

Storage: 2,5" Serial-ATA HDD

OS: Windows XP Professional / Windows Vista Home Premium / Business / Ultimate

Weight: 3,8kg - 4,1kg

2006 MSRP: 900€ - 2300€

Downloads

Follow our guides to download and install drivers.