VGN-CS

Overview

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

All the colors of the VGN-CS

Detailed Specs

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T3400 2.16 GHz, T6400 2.0GHz, P8600 2.40GHz, P8700 2.53GHz, T9550 2.66GHz

Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD, NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS (optional and rarely available)

Display: 14,1“ 1280x800 XBRITE-ECO

Memory: DDR2-SDRAM (2 slots, not soldered)

Storage: 2.5" SATA

Weight: 2.6 kg

Original OS: Windows Vista

Daily Usage Today

VGN-CS Series laptops can still be used today, as they are equipped with 2008/2009 top of the range CPUs.

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.

Games from 00s years can be played, but it may not handle modern videogames, still playable with cloud gaming apps.