VGN-CR: Difference between revisions

From VAIO Library
Line 2: Line 2:
[[File:VGN-CR.jpg|alt=VGN-CR|thumb|VGN-CR]]
[[File:VGN-CR.jpg|alt=VGN-CR|thumb|VGN-CR]]
[[File:Sony VGN-CR.jpg|alt=Sony VGN-CR|thumb|Sony VGN-CR]]
[[File:Sony VGN-CR.jpg|alt=Sony VGN-CR|thumb|Sony VGN-CR]]
The Sony VAIO VGN-CR was a low-mid end notebook released by Sony in 2007. Its aim was to be a stylish and colourful laptop. Reviewers at the time praised it with its attractive design but criticised its higher price than similarly specced machines, which probably had something to do with the fact that the laptop was stylish, thus commanding a higher price.
The Sony VAIO VGN-CR was a low-mid end notebook released by Sony in 2007. Its aim was to be a stylish and colourful laptop. Reviewers at the time praised it with its attractive design but criticised its higher price than similarly specced machines, which probably had something to do with the fact that the laptop was a VAIO, thus commanding a higher price.
 
The unique factor about this device lies in the lightbar located on the front, which would glow to indicate the laptop's status, as well as the media keys and the addition of an "AV MODE", which when pressed while the CR was off, would boot it into a minimal media player interface which booted much faster than Windows, and allowed for playback of movies, music and viewing photos. The CR came in a wide variety of colours, such as black, pink, red and white. There was also a "Owner-Made" edition which featured a crocodile skin pattern on the lid, which could only be purchased directly from Sony, this meant that this configuration is quite rare to see today.


== Detailed Specs ==
== Detailed Specs ==
'''Processor:''' Intel Core 2 Duo, Celeron
'''Processor:''' Intel Core 2 Duo (Merom/Penryn), Celeron


'''Graphics:''' Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) X3100 or ATI Mobility Radeon X2300
'''Graphics:''' Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) X3100 or ATI Mobility Radeon X2300


'''Chipset:''' Intel GM965 Express (533MHz)
'''Chipset:''' Intel GM/PM965 Express (533MHz)


'''Memory:''' DDR2 SDRAM PC2-5300 SODIMM (533MHz), Standard capacity: 1GB, Maximum capacity: 4GB
'''Memory:''' DDR2 SDRAM PC2-5300 SODIMM (533MHz), Standard capacity: 1GB, Maximum capacity: 8GB


'''Display:''' 14.1" Wide TFT WXGA (1280x800)
'''Display:''' 14.1" Wide TFT WXGA (1280x800)
Line 22: Line 24:


== Daily Usage Today ==
== Daily Usage Today ==
The CR deals with office tasks and basic web browsing okay-ish. It can run your favourite office programs such as Microsoft PowerPoint and LibreOffice fairly well, including a selection of web pages, however it struggles with video playback and even normal webpages. It is highly recommended to run an old OS such as Windows XP or a lightweight Linux distribution such as AntiX (Debian) or Lubuntu (Ubuntu).
The CR deals with office tasks and basic web browsing okay-ish. It can run your favourite office programs such as Microsoft PowerPoint and LibreOffice fairly well, including a selection of web pages, however it struggles with video playback and even normal webpages, although you are able to upgrade the CPU to a T9300 which boosts usability by a lot. It is highly recommended to run an old OS such as Windows XP or a lightweight Linux distribution such as AntiX (Debian) or Lubuntu (Ubuntu). Retro gaming is possible on this laptop if you go for the ATI model, but it's not a very powerful graphics card so don't expect games to run at the highest settings.
 
These laptops are very cheap (As of September 2023) and can be had on eBay for under £30 easily. They would make a good beginner/kids laptop.


== Resources ==
== Resources ==

Revision as of 22:37, 31 December 2024

Overview

VGN-CR
VGN-CR
Sony VGN-CR
Sony VGN-CR

The Sony VAIO VGN-CR was a low-mid end notebook released by Sony in 2007. Its aim was to be a stylish and colourful laptop. Reviewers at the time praised it with its attractive design but criticised its higher price than similarly specced machines, which probably had something to do with the fact that the laptop was a VAIO, thus commanding a higher price.

The unique factor about this device lies in the lightbar located on the front, which would glow to indicate the laptop's status, as well as the media keys and the addition of an "AV MODE", which when pressed while the CR was off, would boot it into a minimal media player interface which booted much faster than Windows, and allowed for playback of movies, music and viewing photos. The CR came in a wide variety of colours, such as black, pink, red and white. There was also a "Owner-Made" edition which featured a crocodile skin pattern on the lid, which could only be purchased directly from Sony, this meant that this configuration is quite rare to see today.

Detailed Specs

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo (Merom/Penryn), Celeron

Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) X3100 or ATI Mobility Radeon X2300

Chipset: Intel GM/PM965 Express (533MHz)

Memory: DDR2 SDRAM PC2-5300 SODIMM (533MHz), Standard capacity: 1GB, Maximum capacity: 8GB

Display: 14.1" Wide TFT WXGA (1280x800)

Storage: 120GB SATA HDD, 5400rpm

Weight: 2.5kg

MSRP: £800 - £1000

Daily Usage Today

The CR deals with office tasks and basic web browsing okay-ish. It can run your favourite office programs such as Microsoft PowerPoint and LibreOffice fairly well, including a selection of web pages, however it struggles with video playback and even normal webpages, although you are able to upgrade the CPU to a T9300 which boosts usability by a lot. It is highly recommended to run an old OS such as Windows XP or a lightweight Linux distribution such as AntiX (Debian) or Lubuntu (Ubuntu). Retro gaming is possible on this laptop if you go for the ATI model, but it's not a very powerful graphics card so don't expect games to run at the highest settings.

Resources

VGN-CR Disassembly guide

VGN-CR13G Recovery Disks

VGN-CR220E Recovery Disks

You can bypass the model checks of these discs by using SVRP.

Follow our guides to download and install drivers.

Credits

Inversenet Notebookcheck Trusted Reviews