PCG-VX: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 21:49, 30 January 2023

PCG-VX in Japanese Presentation PDF

Overview

The Sony VAIO PCG-VX Series is a range of mid to high-end laptops released by Sony in 2002. It's one of the evolutions of the PCG-XR, released the previous year.

While the XR was offered in many different variants, one of the weak points of the VX was that it wasn't offered with different setups, and the optionals were just limited to the RAM, dual battery, and software.

Very acclaimed for its modern and thin design, its specs were considered the weak point of this series.

PCG-VX

In fact, while the competitors (e.g. IBM and Compaq) offered in their laptops one of the best GPUs in the market, the ATI Mobility Radeon Series, the VX had as only available GPU the Intel 815EM IGP, low-end for 2002, making it "lose" the competition between the high-end laptops in the graphics segment.

Analogously, this series was offered just with one CPU, the Intel Pentium, not powerful but very well developed in terms of energy management, making the VX Series one of the best in terms of battery life.

On the other hand, it was very appreciated that it was equipped with many ports (for example: FireWire, USB, Memory Stick) and an external CD/DVD drive was included in the price. It supported Wi-Fi but didn't have Bluetooth, not even as an optional. It was already equipped with productivity software (Microsoft Office) and also for video, photo, and audio editing (e.g. Photoshop, SonicStage).

For all those reasons, it can be considered a well-made but mid to high-end laptop.

Detailed Specs

Processor: Mobile Intel Pentium III Processor 850MHz-M

Graphics: Intel 815EM

Display: 14.1-inch, XGA (1024×768) TFT color LCD

Memory: SDRAM micro-DIMM (PC100)

Storage: Ultra ATA/100

Weight: 2 kg

Original OS: Windows XP Professional (models with "P" suffix), Windows XP Home Edition

Daily Usage Today

The PCG-VX Series cannot handle modern programs, especially resource-intensive ones. However, because they were equipped with Windows XP, some basic web browsing may still be feasible thanks to some modern browsers still supporting XP.

Also, thanks to the big community related to Windows XP, many modern programs still have a "light" version supporting XP.

Preinstalled programs can still be used today for text writing and basic photo, video, or audio editing.

Resources

Sony JP VAIO PCG-VX Series Presentation Page

Sony JP VAIO PCG-VX Series Presentation PDF

Sony VAIO PCG-VX Series User's Guide

Sony VAIO PCG-VX Series User's Guide (Alt)

Sony VAIO PCG-VX Series Warranty Information

Sony VAIO PCG-VX71P Specifications Sheet

Disassembly Guide

Sony VAIO PCG-VX Disassembly Guide - (alternative guide)

If a link is broken, please input the URL in the Wayback Machine.

Downloads

Follow our guides to download and install drivers.

Recovery discs are not available for this series. We are currently trying our best to find them. If you have some recovery discs available, please archive them and send them to us!

Sources

CNET, Sony

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-THIS PAGE IS CURRENTLY WIP
+[[File:PCG-VX.png|thumb|PCG-VX in Japanese Presentation PDF]]
 ==Overview==
-[[File:VGN-CS LEDs.jpg|thumb|Black VGN-CS with its LEDs]]The Sony VAIO VGN-CS Series is a range of mid and high-end laptops released by Sony between September 2008 and April 2009. It's the evolution of the VGN-C, released the previous year, and it included some Hardware improvements (a newer model of Intel Core 2 Duo) and a newer NVIDIA GPU (as optional). It is a cheaper version of the VGN-CR (the other evolution of the VGN-C) as it utilises cheaper materials, such as plastic, as well as less powerful hardware to archive a cheaper price point in comparison to the more upscale VGN-CR. While it is cheaper, the VGN-CS can still be seen as a high-end device, thanks to its CPU and GPU, that still were ones of the best of the market.
+The Sony VAIO PCG-VX Series is a range of mid to high-end laptops released by Sony in 2002. It's one of the evolutions of the PCG-XR, released the previous year.
-It introduced a new display imaging technology, called "XBRITE-ECO Technology", that it allowed this computer to show better images but consuming less electricity and battery.
+While the XR was offered in many different variants, one of the weak points of the VX was that it wasn't offered with different setups, and the optionals were just limited to the RAM, dual battery, and software.
-Indeed, Sony focused a lot on the battery duration of this laptop, in order to make it more versatile, thanks to a 5 hours battery life.
+Very acclaimed for its modern and thin design, its specs were considered the weak point of this series.
+[[File:PCG-VX2.jpg|thumb|PCG-VX]]
+In fact, while the competitors (e.g. IBM and Compaq) offered in their laptops one of the best GPUs in the market, the ATI Mobility Radeon Series, the VX had as only available GPU the Intel 815EM IGP, low-end for 2002, making it "lose" the competition between the high-end laptops in the graphics segment.
-This series of laptops was very controversial, in fact it was appreciated for its specs and features, especially the quality of the display and the bright colors of the shell that this PC was available with, but it was strongly criticized because of its poor-quality materials (like plastic) related to its relatively high price (over 1000 euros) and the difficulty in finding the versions with the NVIDIA GPU.
+Analogously, this series was offered just with one CPU, the Intel Pentium, not powerful but very well developed in terms of energy management, making the VX Series one of the best in terms of battery life.
-For those reasons, many people preferred to buy the VGN-CR from the previous year that had not only better materials, but also better internal parts easily available.
+On the other hand, it was very appreciated that it was equipped with many ports (for example: FireWire, USB, Memory Stick) and an external CD/DVD drive was included in the price. It supported Wi-Fi but didn't have Bluetooth, not even as an optional. It was already equipped with productivity software (Microsoft Office) and also for video, photo, and audio editing (e.g. Photoshop, SonicStage).
-The VGN-CS was offered in red, black, pink, white, and beige, and it had two dynamic LEDs in the lower part of the front of the laptop (below the keyboard) that allowed it to enlighten the place where the computer is resting to the rhythm of music playing in the PC.[[File:VGN-CS Colours.jpg|thumb|All the colors of the VGN-CS]]
+For all those reasons, it can be considered a well-made but mid to high-end laptop.
 ==Detailed Specs==
-'''Processor:''' Intel Core 2 Duo T3400 2.16 GHz, T6400 2.0GHz, P8600 2.40GHz, P8700 2.53GHz, T9550 2.66GHz
+'''Processor:''' Mobile Intel Pentium III Processor 850MHz-M
-'''Graphics:''' Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD, NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS (optional and rarely available)
+'''Graphics:''' Intel 815EM
-'''Display:''' 14,1“ 1280x800 XBRITE-ECO
+'''Display:''' 14.1-inch, XGA (1024×768) TFT color LCD
-'''Memory:''' DDR2-SDRAM (2 slots, not soldered)
+'''Memory:''' SDRAM micro-DIMM (PC100)
-'''Storage:''' 2.5" SATA
+'''Storage:''' Ultra ATA/100
-'''Weight:''' 2.6 kg
+'''Weight:''' 2 kg
-'''Original OS:''' Windows Vista
+'''Original OS:''' Windows XP Professional (models with "P" suffix), Windows XP Home Edition
 ==Daily Usage Today==
-VGN-CS Series laptops can still be used today, as they are equipped with 2008/2009 top of the range CPUs.
+The PCG-VX Series cannot handle modern programs, especially resource-intensive ones. However, because they were equipped with Windows XP, some basic web browsing may still be feasible thanks to some modern browsers still supporting XP.
-It can be used for web browsing and simple programs like text writing and creative apps from around 2010, with better performance in the models with the NVIDIA GPU.
+Also, thanks to the big community related to Windows XP, many modern programs still have a "light" version supporting XP.
-Games from 00s years can be played, but it may not handle modern videogames, still playable with cloud gaming apps.
+Preinstalled programs can still be used today for text writing and basic photo, video, or audio editing.
 ==Resources==
-[http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/Products/CS1/ Sony JP VAIO VGN-CS (2008) Series Presentation Page]
+[https://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/PCOM/PCG-VX9/ Sony JP VAIO PCG-VX Series Presentation Page]
-[https://download.vaiolibrary.com/manuals/vgn-cs/vgn-csseries_startupguide.pdf Sony VAIO VGN-CS Series Startup Guide]
+[https://download.vaiolibrary.com/manuals/pcg-vx/pcg-vx_presentation.pdf Sony JP VAIO PCG-VX Series Presentation PDF]
-[https://download.vaiolibrary.com/manuals/vgn-cs/vgn-csseries_usersguide.pdf Sony VAIO VGN-CS Series User Guide]
+[https://download.vaiolibrary.com/manuals/pcg-vx/pcg-vx_usersguide.pdf Sony VAIO PCG-VX Series User's Guide]
-[https://download.vaiolibrary.com/manuals/vgn-cs/vgn-cs_operationguide.pdf Sony VAIO VGN-CS Series Operation Guide]
+[https://download.vaiolibrary.com/manuals/pcg-vx/pcg-vx_usersguide2.pdf Sony VAIO PCG-VX Series User's Guide (Alt)]
-[https://download.vaiolibrary.com/manuals/vgn-cs/vgn-cs_warranty.pdf Sony VAIO VGN-CS Series Warranty Summary]
+[https://download.vaiolibrary.com/manuals/pcg-vx/pcg-vx_warranty.pdf Sony VAIO PCG-VX Series Warranty Information]
-[https://download.vaiolibrary.com/manuals/vgn-cs/vgn-cs_safetyinformation.pdf Sony VAIO VGN-CS Series Safety Information]
+[https://download.vaiolibrary.com/manuals/pcg-vx/pcg-vx_specs.pdf Sony VAIO PCG-VX71P Specifications Sheet]
-[https://download.vaiolibrary.com/manuals/vgn-cs/vgn-cs_opticaldiskdriverreplacement.pdf Sony VAIO VGN-CS Series Optical Disk Replacement Guide]
+===== Disassembly Guide =====
+[https://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/eurusd/diary/200903060000/ Sony VAIO PCG-VX Disassembly Guide] - [https://www.fs-co.com/vaiopcg-vx.html (alternative guide)]
+If a link is broken, please input the URL in the [http://web.archive.org Wayback Machine].
-[https://download.vaiolibrary.com/manuals/vgn-cs/vgn-cs_harddiskreplacement.pdf Sony VAIO VGN-CS Series Hard Drive Replacement Guide]
 ==Downloads==
 Follow our [[Drivers Downloading Guides|guides]] to download and install drivers.
+Recovery discs are not available for this series. We are currently trying our best to find them. If you have some recovery discs available, please archive them and send them to us!
 ==Sources==
-[https://www.notebookcheck.net/Sony-Vaio-VGN-CS-Series.12409.0.html NotebookCheck], [https://sony.com/ Sony]
+[https://www.cnet.com/reviews/sony-vaio-vx-series-review/ CNET], [https://sony.com/ Sony]