PCG-F

PCG-F590K from 2000, the top of the range

Overview

The Sony VAIO PCG-F are a series of high-range notebooks released by Sony between February 1999 and November 2000.

One of the best models of the 1999-2000 lineup, they have a 13", 14.1" (rarer), or a 15" 1024x768 display, with an active-matrix or passive-matrix display.

Made mostly of brushed aluminum, in grey and light blue, they were acclaimed upon their release because of their style and portability.

They had one of the most powerful CPUs and GPUs of the market, that made them true replacements to a desktop, a true evolution for those years. In fact, they were shipped with many audio and video editing programs, like Adobe Premiere and Sonic Foundry Sound Forge.

On the other hand, they were very difficult to buy outside the United States and Japan, increasing an already very high price.

The battery quality and duration were very good for those years, even if the notebooks' weight were more than 1kg less than the direct competitors.

They were made for two years, the main difference between those was that the 1999 ones had a Pentium II processor, while the 2000 versions had a Pentium III.

Sony made many variations of it, changing the CPUs' clock speed.

PCG-F180 from 1999

Detailed Specs

Processor: Pentium II 300 MHz, 333 MHz, 366 MHz (1999 version); Pentium III 500 MHz, 600 MHz, 650 MHz, 750 MHz (2000 version)

Graphics: NeoMagic MagicMedia 256AV with with 2.5 MB VRAM

RAM: 32 or 64 MB (expandable respectively to 160 MB and 192 MB, 1999 version); 128 MB SDRAM (expandable to 256 MB, 2000 version)

Display: 13" or 14.1" or 15" XGA 1024x768 with HPA or TFT LCD screen

Storage: 2.5" ATA

Battery: Lithium-Ion battery that supports dual battery operation when the floppy drive is removed

Weight: 3.3 kg / 116.4 oz / 7.3 pounds

Original OS: Windows 98; Windows 2000 (models with "K" suffix)

Data sheet of a PCG-F540K, shipped with Windows 2000

Daily Usage Today

These devices, due to their specs, cannot handle web browsing or running modern programs today.

They can be used, on the other hand, to write text (they were shipped with Microsoft Office), play old games, or to import, convert, and edit very old photo, video, or audio footages, maybe in order to convert them into a more modern format.

Resources

Sony JP VAIO PCG-F Series Presentation Page

Sony VAIO PCG-F Series Manuals and Specifications Directory

Downloads

PCG-F recovery discs are available on the Internet Archive.

PCG-F540 drivers are available on the Internet Archive.

Follow our guide to download and install drivers (as Sony removed Windows 7 drivers and older).

Sources

Sony and Wikipedia