VGN-C

VGN-C
	Type C
Series	Notebook
Release	2006
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo T5500 (1.7GHz), 667MHz bus
Graphics	Intel 945/950 Graphics Media Accelerator/ NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400
Chipset
Memory	1x 512MB/2x 512 (1GB) DDR2 SDRAM (2 slots, max. 2GB)
Display	13,3" 16:10 1280x800 WXGA X-BLACK LCD
Storage	100GB/120GB 2.5" SATA HDD
Audio
Networking
OS	Windows XP Home Edition/Media Center Edition, Windows Vista Home Basic/Home Premium
Battery
Weight	2,3 - 3 kg
Dimensions
MSRP

Overview

The Sony VAIO VGN-C Series (aka. Type C) is a mid-range thin-and-light notebook computer released by Sony in 2006, replacing the VGN-FJ. Its market segment very slightly overlaps with the more expensive VGN-SZ due to its similar size and hardware on offer, although the VGN-C differentiates itself with a cheaper plastic case and less powerful internal components.

While using a plastic case, the VGN-C still manages to feel like a quality device. Compared to Sony's other offerings of the time, the VAIO VGN-C carries on the legacy of the VGN-FJ that came before it by sporting a commendable selection of colorful cases (silver, black, green, orange, blue and perhaps most strikingly, "Free Spirit Pink" which gives the laptop an almost completely bright pink finish. The black bottom and keyboard/touchpad (silver bottom/ touchpad and white keyboard in some finishes) form a nice contrast to the colorful palmrest and display assembly that makes the laptop quite pleasant to look at, even when one picks the more conventional grayscale finishes if they happen to not find the colorful options to their liking.

Compared to the VGN-SZ, the VGN-C focuses more on casual use instead of business/professional use, hence the lack of features such as a webcam and WWAN. Still, the VGN-C offered more than enough ports for its rather compact form factor. The laptop measures at around 32.96cm x 23.5cm x 3.7cm and weighs anywhere from 2.3 to 3kg based on the equipped optional hardware.

Featuring the Intel Core 2 Duo T5500 and DDR2 memory of up to 2GB, the VAIO VGN-C is tailored for a decent media and office experience. 3D gaming was nigh-impossible on devices equipped with only the Intel GMA iGPU but the VGN-C could also be had with NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 GPU, which would be capable of cromulent 3D gaming performance in its time. The HDD bay is notable for its forward-mounted drawer-style caddy that blends itself with the rest of the casing, allowing one to effortlessly swap hard disks when/if need be.

When new, the VGN-C was capable of decent battery life thanks to its swappable included 5200mAh battery, pulling 2 hours under maximum load and about 4 hours with casual usage (Internet browsing, watching movies, listening to music and other such use cases). This all makes for a perfectly okay on-the-go experience. Further helping its portability is its rather low case temperature, being between 32.5°C and 41.2°C in thermal tests. The noise emissions are also average with 35.2dB when idling and around 41dB when under full load.

The multitude of designes offered with the VGN-C

Daily Usage Today

Like many other Windows Vista/late-XP era laptops, the VAIO VGN-C is still deemed usable to a tolerable extent today (especially when equipped with an SSD, extra RAM, a Core 2 Duo T7600). While modern 3D gaming (even on the GeForce Go 7400 models) is obviously not an option, web browsing and office work are still very much possible. That said, the upper RAM limit of a mere 2GB hinder the overall smoothness of operation by quite a bit when running modern applications and loading bigger websites (although there have been cases where upwards of 4GB RAM were successfully supported depending on OS and other internals, but not without some quirks).

In addition to the above, one must take special care to not put the GeForce Go 7400 units under great load too often for too long at a time. While reportedly not as prone to the infamous “bumpgate” issue as the 8000 series GPUs it is still considered under a serious enough threat of suffering that fate to where hardware preservation precautions are in order during operation. Should the worse come to pass a guide is linked further below on attempting to reflow the defective component back to function, even if only temporarily.