Amazon.com Product Description

Especially well suited to multimedia mavens, the Sony Vaio PCV-RX741 desktop is a versatile system that's ready to handle virtually all the latest crop of internal and external PC applications and devices. Whether you're watching a Hollywood blockbuster, uploading and editing a home movie, recording a CD, or filling a spreadsheet, the Vaio PCV-RX741 will help keep things humming along smoothly.

The unit offers a pleasant tradeoff between power and affordability. Rather than fitting the Vaio PCV-RX741 with a state-of-the-art processor that, in reality, may deliver more power than most users require, Sony has installed acost-effective yet powerful 1.53 GHz AMD Athlon XP 1800+ with 128 KB of Level 1 cache and 256 KB of Level 2 cache. This capable chip is paired with a generous 512 MB of RAM and an integrated 32 MB SiS740 graphics processor. Although it won't set new speed benchmarks or efficiently handle the most demanding 3-D games, the Vaio PCV-RX741 desktop will easily carve its way through most of today's popular entertainment and professional programs.

More than just an affordable workhorse, the unit is also exceedingly flexible. You'll find plenty of room to store your programs and files on its spacious 60 GB hard disk. You'll record and play audio CDs and back up your data on its integrated 40x/24x/10x CD-RW drive, load and move smaller files on its 3.5-inch floppy disk drive, and play DVD movies on its 16x DVD-ROM drive. And if you're looking for fast video data transfer solutions, the Vaio PCV-RX741 desktop is ready to oblige with two IEEE 1395 ports: one on the rear and another placed conveniently on the front of the case.

The unit features a variety of additional connections, including four USB ports for plug-and-play peripherals, a parallel "printer" port and serial port, two PS/2 ports for keyboards and mice, and line-in and line-out audio jacks. An integrated V.90 data/fax modem delivers low-speed Internet connectivity, and a 10 Base-T/100Base-TX Fast Ethernet card affords high-speed e-mail access and surfing. A PS/2 wheel mouse, Vaio Smart keyboard, and a pair of full-range desktop speakers round out the system's hardware amenities. Sony has not included a monitor with the package, allowing you to select your favorite display from the many currently available or perhaps use one already on hand.

The Vaio PCV-RX741 desktop is loaded with a variety of practical and entertainment software, including pre-installed copies of Microsoft's Windows XP Home Edition operating system, Corel WordPerfect Office 2002, Intuit Quicken 2002, and an assortment of Sony DVD, home movie, photo, and audio tools and utilities. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Top Of the line.
I have been using this system for a while now, I must say it is very fast! I did some comperasment to Penium4 1.8 Nothwood.
The Athlon 1800+ smoked Penium4 in almost evry aspect.
Without a doubt AThlon XP is much faster from Peniums (same clock) Athlon have diffrent architecture from Penium4, they meke more operation per second thats why the are faster.
Athlon XP + Windows XP = Extreeme Perfomace

Yesterday's news
Give me a break! The Athlon 1800+ (which only runs at 1.50GHZ - don't be fooled) is a dinosaur. It is more than 1GHZ behind the top of the line. Why spend over a grand for this when you can get a 2GHz + machine for the same money?

And the graphics on this thing are even worse - ancient technology from a tiny chipset company. Did you know that the embeded graphics (not a card) doesn't even have it's own memory? It steals it from your main memory.

Stay away from this thing - it's too little for too much.

Not bad but there are better options
First off if you are a serious gamer and don't plan on upgrading the video card, look elsewhere. Sony does a good job at outfitting their desktops with good features and software for home users, however the graphics sub-system on their low to mid priced desktops (Sis Real256) is not for playing the latest games at high quality settings. Their high-end systems (RX780-790) have entry level gaming cards that will play the latest games for another 6-12 months at high quality settings (a Geforce 4MX, which a cleverly renamed GeForce2).

Okay, if you are still interested in a Sony then this isn't a bad choice. However as a "budget" oriented computer the pricing is on this system out of line with the rest of their lower end value line (RV74* series). I suggested instead:

For ... less you can get the RX740 with the same basic features (same CPU, graphics sub-system, software, etc) just half the memory (256M). Since you can by 256M of PC-2100 DDR for ... and stick it in two minutes, this makes more sense to me.

If you want a fairly powerful desktop for home video, music, and moderate gaming, then spend ... more and get one of the 750 series like this:

RX755 - 2 GHZ P4, 512M DDR-Ram, all the features of the above system and a few more.

Frankly I think that right now the P4 is a better investment in the long term. The Athlon CPU line doesn't support SSE2 (special instructions that speed up software), has a much slower memory sub-system (about 1/2 the bandwidth), and less on-die cache than a P4 (again about 1/2). The Athlon used to be a better value for your money, but with 1.5GHz Athlons (aka "Model 1800") selling for just ...less than a 2.0 GHz P4 it seems crazy not to spend the few extra bucks and get an extra year of life out of your computer. Plus whereas Athlons are designed to last for about 5 years, P4s are designed to last over 10, something to think about if you want to pass this system on to a relative or kid in a few years.

Very good system.
This is the first time I have given 5 stars to a Sony PC. In the past, I have found most of them to be overpriced, but this time they have hit the price-point on a very capable machine. This unit has as its heart the AMD Athalon 1800 chip, which effectively gives it a speed of 1.5 gigahertz. This is enough for any task you'll need to run. Its RAM is a very fast (DDR) 512 megabytes, while its video card is a respectable 32 megs (this may be the Achilles Heel here, but a new card for serious gamers or folks running CAD pgms isn't hard to buy or install). There is a good CD burner, an ample 60 gig hard drive and some nice speakers as well. A monitor needs to be added, and for a PC like this, the now much cheaper 17" flat panels (look at the Envision for a good bargain) would make for a great match. Kudos to Sony for making an affordable machine (that's nice to look at too) that 99% of PC users will be happy with as shipped. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The Compaq Presario 6430NX is a bargain desktop that doesn't skimp on performance or power. It features a 2.13 GHz Athlon XP processor, an ample 120 GB hard drive, 512 MB of RAM, and a combo DVD/CD-RW drive. With all these features, you'll have everything you need for home, office, and entertainment applications.

The Basics

• Hard Drive: The large 120 GB hard drive has more than enough room to store all your files, including digital audio, video, and photos.
• Processor: The fast 2.13 GHz AMD Athlon XP processor has a 256 KB L2 cache, and can run multiple applications at the same time.
• Memory: It has 512 MB DDR SDRAM, and is upgradable to 1 GB.
• CD/DVD Drive: The combo DVD/CD-RW drive reads CD-ROMs at 48x, writes at 48x, and rewrites at 12x, and it can read DVDs at 16x speeds.
• Floppy Drive: The included 3.5 inch 1.44 MB floppy drive lets you access older files and save and backup to reliable floppy disk media.
• Keyboard & Mouse: It comes with a Presario Internet keyboard and 2-button scrolling mouse.

Sound and Graphics
It features AC '97 audio for true Plug and Play audio so you can connect speakers or headphones and start listening to music right out of the box

Connectivity and Expansion Slots
The Compaq Presario 6430NX features a built-in 56 Kbps built-in modem and integrated 10/100 Mbps ethernet so you can get online quickly and easily, whether you are using dial up or are connecting the notebook to an existing network. It also features 2 free internal PCI slots and the following external ports:

• 6 USB 2.0 ports for connecting to a wide range of peripherals, from digital cameras to MP3 players
• 1 parallel port for connecting to printers or cameras based on older technologies
• 1 serial port for connecting to older electronics like modems or mice
• 1 game port to connect joystick or other game controllers
• 1 VGA video out port to connect to an external monitor

Preloaded System and Software
The Presario 6430NX desktop is powered by Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition. Windows XP Home Edition is packed with multimedia features to help you get your creative juices flowing. Windows Media Player lets you burn and play CDs, in addition to playing and organizing digital audio files. Windows MovieMaker is a basic video editing tool that helps you capture and edit digital video to save your memories and share them with others.

It also comes bundled with AOL, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Norton AntiVirus, InterVideo WinDVD, ColoReal, HP RecordNow, Microsoft Money 2002, Quicken Financial Center, Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Deluxe Online, Microsoft Works 7.0, RealOne Player, Quicken 2003 New Users Edition, Yahoo! Essentials, and WildTangent GameChannel.

Dimensions and Weight
The desktop tower weighs 23.81 pounds and measures 6.9 x 16.5 x 14.5 inches (W x D x H).

What's in the Box
Presario 6430NX desktop, Internet keyboard, mouse, power cable, user's manual, and warranty information. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Whether you're looking for a notebook for business, as a desktop replacement, or for entertainment purposes, the Vaio PCG-FXA36 has a lot of appealing features. These features include a 1 GHz AMD Athlon CPU, 256 MB of RAM (expandable to 512 MB), 15-inch, 1,024 x 768 resolution active-matrix screen, and combination CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive. Additionally, the system has a 20 GB hard disk, 56K modem, and 10/100 Mbps Ethernet NIC. Loaded with Windows XP Home Edition, this notebook weighs 7.2 pounds. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

great machine
sony has done a good job designing this machine. it has a really good cooling system for a powerfull machine, it does not crash at all, at least in my case, and is a relatively cheap but excellent machine compared to other brands. i will not bore you with the pros because you can get these all over but be aware that there are some things that sony could improve to make this computer even better.

1. this computer is powered by the new amd palomino core (a.k.a. athlon4/athlon xp) so that means it can support pc133 sdram and ddr-sdram which are higher bandwidth memory modules. the fxa currently the fxa series only support pc100 sdram so there is a relatively low bandwidth so you won't get to experience the true power of the athlon4. let's hopethat the next fxa machines have these memory
2. you cannot upgrade your operating system. a stupid thing from sony. so if you want another operating system you would have to do a clean installation but you won't be able to use the bundled software.
3. ati rage is an old video card with only 8mb sdram at a slow 2x agp so this computer actually [is bad] for games. i would recommend at least a newer video card with 16mb ddr-sdram at 4x agp because fxa machines are supposed to be powerfull. another stupid thing from sony.
4. amd processors eat up a lot of battery power so don't expect your battery to last long, even if powernow technology and the .18 micron process are big features of the athlon4. also remember that fxa are powerfull machines. the more power the more energy. amd is finally moving up to the .13 micron process and it is about time to catch up with intel.
5. their customer support simply [is bad] if your vaio happens to fail, but that will LEAST likely happen.

so this is still a great machine if you compare it with other brands. you can get all this stuff for a relatively low price. even the gr series which are also powerfull are at least $300 cheaper than dell inspirons. so buy this machine if you are lookingfor something powerfull for a low price.

Pure dependability in a sleek, professional body
If you are looking for a super-fast laptop that's so hard to crash, and is cool enough to actually run on your laps, your search may be over.

Until I used this laptop, I was beginning to think that all the later laptops are slow, heat-emitting, energy-hogging machines with poor display, that crash every few months.
This Sony PCG-FXA36 totally made an exception in my perspective towards today's laptops.

It comes with a new generation of AMD's Athlon MPU with Powernow! technology that runs 75% more efficiently, and does more work at the same # of clock cycles than other processors with a similar speed rating. This means longer battery life, cooler computer, and faster performance. The 1GHz Athlon 4 (laptop ver. of Athlon XP) performs equally to a regular Athlon or Pentium III 1.2GHz. I thought it was just talk until I opened the new Microsoft Media Player 7, the heavy one, in just two seconds.

It also comes with a CDRW/DVD combo drive that can burn entire audio CDs in just about eight minutes, when using its really user friendly audio player/recorder. As user friendly as putting a blank CD and hitting the on-screen record button, after putting songs on its playlist.

In addition to the colorful new Windows XP OS from Microsoft, it comes with an alternative file manager exclusively from Sony that is sooo neat, where the icons float around, you just have try it yourself to appreciate it.

For the external display output, it has an RCA jack in addition to the standard 15-pin header. This feature allows users to use their home TV sets or projectors with RCA signal input jacks alternatively to the built-in LCD display. This lets its users watch DVDs or do presentations on a bigger screen, a feature I really like.

The LCD display that it has is as good as a Macintosh iBook's LCD display. Sharp, accurate colors, and has a very good viewing angle.

This little Sony laptop reminds me of a portable mono Sony cassette recorder that I owned when I was about four years old. I treated it rather roughly and played with it frequently, yet it did not break down on me even once. It was still in good condition when I turned twelve years old.

This Sony PCG-FXA36 is nothing but a product of pure quality craftsmanship!

Do not buy this machine. Spend the money and buy a GR.
The FXA series suffers many problems that almost require a website to build some solidarity amongst users it has been burdened with. You may wonder how I know the things below. Well having had two models of the FXA series you can find the problems pretty quickly.

1. For starters this machine has trouble regulating its internal temperature causing it to seize. This problem comes and goes.

2. The docking mechanism for those who don't have one has a flaw in it. Sony didn't do a blanket recall. They want you to call them to get it fixed. It involves putting a new capacitor to regulate the video signal.

3. Sony will try and not fix it until your warranty runs out. We excecised our retailer warranty and upgraded to get rid of our FXA49 which had been in Four times.

4. The laptop has software compatibility issues for the power user. Virus scanners will almost certainly halt the machine. Including the one provided by Sony.

Excellent laptop
I am using this laptop almost one year. Since this time I have naver had any problems with this computer. I am Professor of chemical physics and I use this computer for the theoretical modelling of the magnetic properties of molecules and solids. This computer just fits my needs in the complicated computational procedures and in the preparation of the the scientific papers. Computer is very fast, it seems to me -much more fast that the computers with the new advanced characteristics. This is surprisingly, but , beleive me, this is true. I am extensively using this computer also for the preparation and deonstration of my lectures for students and I am convinced that the possibilites of this Sony for these purposes are incredible. Finally, the computer is very friendly, time by time , I get imagination that "he is alive".In my opinion this laptop deserves the highest rate.
Professor Boris Tsukerblat,
Department of Chemistry,
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev,
Beer-Sheva, P.O.Box 653
84105 Israel

Big Trouble With Sony and FXA36
This is the second Sony Laptop I have owned. The first was fantastic. Lots of pirks - fast - pleasure to use.

I decided to spend more money and buy a higher end laptop. The FXA36 would not dial up straight out of the box. Yes, you read right - a computer had a modem that would not work. The interesting thing was you had to go on the internet to get a "fix".

I own two desktop computers - one is a 2ghz. Both operate perfectly on the phone line. The sony hangs up, has trouble connecting, produces loud static, and rarely connects over 24kps.

...P>BEWARE - there still isn't a fix for the problem and my laptop is still under warranty. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

If you're looking for PC power, but you're on a budget, the HP Pavilion 725n offers a bount of features at a price that's nice. A great choice for cost-conscious home office users or as a family PC with multimedia capabilities, the 725n features 2.00 GHz Athlon XP 2400+ processor and comes loaded with a robust NVIDIA GeForce4 graphics card, 512 MB RAM, an 80 GB hard drive, and DVD-ROM and CD-R/W drives.

The Basics

• Hard Drive: The 80 GB Ultra DMA hard drive offers a decent amount of storage for all your documents, digital photos, and MP3 collection, but it is smaller than what is offered with the latest PCs.
• Processor: The 2.00 GHz Athlon XP 2400+ processor is comparable to a 2.40 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor. It provides enough processing power for power users on a budget and is acceptable enough for editing both digital photos and video.
• Memory: The 725n comes with a 512 MB built-in memory (2 x 256 MB DDR SDRAM, 333 MHz)--a good start for power users--with a maximum memory expansion up to 1 GB. It also has an L2 cache of 256 KB.
• CD/DVD Drive: It is equipped with separate drives for DVD playback and CD writing. The DVD-ROM drive can read discs at 16x speed (the standard speed for DVD movie playback), while the CD-R/W drive offers a high-speed 48x (read)/24x (rewrite)/ 48x (write) capability.
• Keyboard & Mouse: The 725n comes with a one-touch Internet keyboard and a two-button optical scrolling mouse with PS/2 connection.

This computer does not include a monitor.

Connectivity and Expansion Slots
You get a wide range of connectivity options with the 725n (including a floppy disk drive), including three PCI expansion slots (two available), one AGP (accelerated graphics port) slot and the following external ports:

• 6 USB 2.0 ports (2 in front, 4 in rear) for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
• 2 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link; 1 in front and 1 in back) ports for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals
• 1 parallel port for connecting older printers and scanners
• 2 PS/2 ports for connecting keyboards and mice
• 1 serial port for older peripherals such as early PDAs
• 6-in-1 memory card reader (divided into two slots) that is compatible with CompactFlash, MicroDrive, Memory Stick, MultiMediaCard (MMC), Secure Digital (SD) and Smaredia cards.

It also has an integrated 56K modem (V.92) and an RJ-45 LAN network port (for a 10/100 Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems).

Preloaded System and Software
The 725n comes with the Windows XP Home Edition operating system, and it also features WordPerfect 10 (for working with word processing and spreadsheet documents). Other bundled software titles include Encyclopedia Britannica Premium Service (with 1-year free subscription), Quicken 2003, Norton AntiVirus (with 60 days of complimentary live updates), RecordNow (for creating your own music or data CDs), MusicMatch Jukebox (with 100 MP3 songs from EMusic.com), Arcsoft ShowBiz DVD (for editing digital video), and InterVideo WinDVD SE (for playing DVD movies).

Dimensions and Weight
It measures 15.5 x 8.25 x 15.25 (W x D x H) and weighs 35 pounds (packaged).

What's in the Box
This package includes the HP Pavilion 725n desktop PC, Internet keyboard, PS/2 scroller mouse, power cord, and operating instructions. It is backed by a one-year limited warranty. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Marketed principally as a digital imaging studio, the HP Pavilion a430n Desktop PC is an impressive yet affordable computing solution that's ready to effectively deal with a wide variety of situations and tasks. Featuring a massive hard drive, impressive connectivity, DVD burning capabilities and solid 3-D support, the system is a versatile performer that may be just the ticket for anyone who needs high-end computing but doesn't want to spring for absolute state-of-the-art gear.

Driven by AMD's top of the line 32-bit processor, the snappy 2.2 GHz AMD Athlon XP 3200+ CPU (judged in some independent tests to be significantly faster than similarly rated Intel Pentium 4 CPUs) and 512 MB of PC2700 DDR SDRAM memory, the Pavilion a430n sports enough raw muscle for all but the most demanding users. HP has enclosed an nVidia GeForce MX 440 AGP 8X graphics card with 64 MB dedicated (not shared) video memory, thus making the unit a good fit for all but the most demanding 3-D games and applications too. The system's 160 GB hard drive is one of the biggest in any PC, and its dual optical drives allow you to archive your files, play and record audio CDs, watch DVD videos, quickly copy the contents from one CD to another, and burn videos to long-lasting DVD discs.

Other key amenities include a 7-in-1 digital card reader for accessing memory cards from devices such as PDAs and digital cameras, five high-speed USB 2.0 ports (one of the front) for exchanging information with external devices such as scanners and external drives, two FireWire ports (one on the front) for fast interaction with digital camcorders, microphone and headphone ports, six-speaker surround sound audio support, and a TV-out jack for sending your signal to a television set. The package does not feature a speaker system or a monitor, thus allowing you to choose from the many alternatives currently available.

Communication facilities include a 56K modem for low-speed dial-up surfing and a 10/100Base-T Ethernet interface for high-speed e-communications. An HP Internet keyboard with hotkeys and HP optical mouse (no moving parts to get dirty) complete the hardware picture.

The Pavilion a430n bundled software package features such essentials as the Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition operating system, Microsoft's Works 7.0 productivity suite, Quicken New User Edition 2004 financial center, and a variety of multimedia and security utilities. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Great computer!
I bought this computer about a week ago for $850. It came with a $50 rebate, which of course means the final price will be $800. That's a sweet deal considering the guts this rig has. The hard drive is huge, the processor is fast, it has tons of RAM (and room for more), and it has a dvd/cd burner combo drive, as well as a cd-rom drive. Plus the case looks cool, especially with the sliding door that reveals the floppy drive/card reader/front usb and firewire ports.

A friend of mine, who works in the IT industry, was quite impressed when he saw what I had purchased. He especially liked the 7-in-1 memory card reader, which immediately brought up the pics off the memory card out of his digital camera that he has.

This is simply a great product. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars (really would be 4.5 out of 5), if for nothing else than it takes a bit longer than I think it should to boot up, and the mouse that's included with it is kinda cheap (although the keyboard has a great feel to it).

The main thing is that this computer rocks, and really is a good deal for the money. I own other hp products and have never had any problems with them (all-in-one printer; cd-burner in my old computer). I sound like a commercial here but it's true. Hp is good.

Rocks!
I did a lot of research into benchmarks amd vs intel, and you just cannot find a faster system for the money! The blue stand by light can be turned off by opening the "display properties/screen saver tab" and messing with the power saving settings.

ROCCKSSS!!! Plenty of interior room. Installed a video capture card and ripped away! DVD burner is in one format +R/+RW, but played in my DVD player which is 4 years old.

Great budget computer that delivers the goods!

A really nice computer
I rarely give 5 stars, so the 4 isn't because the computer isn't great, but rather, you can always do better.

Take the computer out of the box and plug it in. Takes about 5 to 10 minutes to input a couple of things. Then the computer takes about 15 more to set itself up. That's about it. The computer is ready to run.

The chassis is pretty large. I had a Pavilion prior to this and that chassis was so crowded. Installing memory or a hard drive was very difficult. There was no room. This computer, take the side off and you can slip in memory with virtually no hassle at all. My computer came with a 512 MB chip and has one slot open, so that means you don't need to buy two chips to get to 1 GB, just one 512 MB chip. Also, I installed another hard drive with it. That process takes a few minutes. The directions are very detailed, though, and as long as you pay attention to what you're doing, it should be all set in 5 to 10 minutes. The hard drive, being older, did need to be set in the BIOS as a 32 bit reader.

Performance, it takes a bit to boot up. After that, its quick. Its an AMD processor so its "only" 2.2 GHz, however, it runs up there with the P4's easily. The AMD processor is more efficient which allows itself to have a "slower" speed. Installed Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Plays very smoothly. Graphics are nice. The video card is a lower grade, but certainly capable of running good games. In addition, a RCA yellow output AND an S-Video output are available to hook up to your television. And setting up your computer to view on your TV is a quick couple of steps.

The sound card is good. It can go up to 5.1 or 6.1 channel, however, you need three lines to do it. I suppose speaker sets can be purchased that will do that, but I hook my computer into my Home Theater System with a digital connection. This card doesn't do that.

I've only had the computer for about a week, but I like its performance. Its upgradable to 2 GB RAM and the combined DVD+RW and CD-RW is very nice to have. The computer also does have a CD-ROM as well. Finally, there is a neat blue light on the front, though it flashes in Standby Mode, so unless that can be taken off, it can get a little annoying.

I've had good luck with HP's, so I expect alot out of this computer. So far, it hasn't disappointed. ... Read more