Rating:  Summary: An exceptional cutting edge multi-media machine Review: The MXS10 is a great all around machine that truly shines if you are interested in TV/Video and audio/music functions. Not only can you watch TV on your monitor with the built-in tuner you can also record video directly to the hard drive using the integrated Personal Video Recorder (similar to Tivo). The MX also has S-Video out and Optical out to watch that same video on your home entertainment system.Have a digital camcorder? Import and edit your video using the built-in firewire port, Even better once you are done editing burn your results to DVD. The DVD-RW that comes standard will record a DVD-R disc that is playable on most (read sold in the last 12-18 months) consumer home DVD players. (...). Like Music? Not only does the MXS10 include CD-RW capability, a PC card slot and a memory stick slot it also includes a Mini-Disc Audio drive. Copy and create you own MD discs. MD is a high quality portable music technology pioneered by Sony. The MX also has an integrated FM receiver for listening to the radio. All this and a great looking package that includes shelf size speakers. This thing is just too cool…..
Rating:  Summary: Good, except one major flaw- Review: Everything I need In One Sony PC!! It is a sleek slim-line PC. The only problem is that the case is pretty cramped and not much room for expansion.
Rating:  Summary: Forget the PC features - let's talk bells'n'whistles here! Review: Let's skip all the standard PC junk (the processor, RAM, disk space, etc.). After all, this beauty is marketed as a "state-of-the-art multimedia computer with a powerful, entertainment package" - in case you happen to believe manuals. The PC features of VAIO PCV-MXS10 are impressive, so is the fifteen hundred dollars markup as compared with a similarly equipped COMPAQ or an HP. Would you like to know where the money went (I did)? Lets break it down. Audio: 1. The two 20W large speakers look good. The sound quality and power, however, could have been better. Any hundred bucks boombox beats them hands down. 2. Remote control - looks intimidating for a week or two, especially when you pull the lower lid down to open up the A/V recording buttons (concealed). Then you begin to wonder why on earth no other PC maker had thought of this before! 3. This is very annoying - if you happen to adjust volume (on the reflective front panel or the remote) while the computer is executing even a basic task, it will appear not doing anything for a few seconds, then will hit you with a loud volume increase which was running in the OS background. Graphics/games: 4. Game card - not bad for an entry level multimedia computer, less than adequate for the "state-of-the art" machine. Don't get me wrong - all my games worked perfect - for now. But what happens in a year or two with all those Internet enabled graphic card power-hungry games that are coming out? Video: 5. DVD - no composite output, but S-VHS jack for an outside TV. No S-VHS cable, plenty of RCA and coaxial cables. The playback tolerance (DVD body scratches) is impressive - beats home DVD players for sure! 6. The multimedia software - Giga Pocket Personal Video Recorder, DVgate, Media Bar, Movie Shaker, PictureGear, Smart Capture, VisualFlow, SonicStage Premium - all worth the stretch price-wise. Customer Support - excellent, to say the least! Had a problem on the very first day - resolved within a few minutes with 3 (three!) levels of escalation. Outstanding! Summary: Don't consider Sony VAIO PCV-MXS10 a desktop with a good multimedia package, because it is not. You will be better off with a fifteen hundred dollars shy COMPAQ or HP. Spend the difference on additional software and hardware upgrades - makes perfect sense. Do consider this wonderful machine (has its drawbacks - yes!) if you want to get a PC-centered all-in-one multimedia center connected to an outside high end audio and digital video (satellite, HDTV, DVD(-R(W)) player, etc.) components. Only then then this overpriced under-developed mis-marketed Sony PC becomes what it really is - a multimedia dream machine that is worth every penny! Would I buy it again - given another choice? Definitely!
Rating:  Summary: Processor Review: General comment: I have had a loaded Pentium 4 and have had nothing but problems with it as does everyone who is a heavy user! I've doubled the PC800 (Best Ram for it), added DSL and gone to Win XP and still it bogs down! I still use it as my primary PC, but I recently got a new complete system based on the Athlon XP 2000+ processor with 512 DDR Ram and it is at least twice as fast maybe 3 times!! And they're cheaper! Reminds me of AOL being rammed onto poor new users, I tried it (Version 7) for a month after 5 years online. It has a horrible email system and you don't see the real internet, plus you get spammed constantly through both the email and messenger! They were very impolite when I cancelled also!
Rating:  Summary: reliability and warranty problems Review: A word to the wise on Sony's Vaio line: I purchased one of the Sony slimline computers a year ago and had a hard disk failure within the first 9 months. This was covered by the warranty, so Sony replaced the drive at their expense. The replacement drive failed in about 6 months (when it and the system were off warranty). When I replaced *that* drive I discovered that Sony had given me a used disk when it did the warranty work.
Rating:  Summary: Its a beautiful piece of junk Review: First off I have to say Sony make beautiful looking computers that just dont cut it. They look nice but hey its whats inside that counts. Fist off this system has too many gimicks such as a Mini-Disc recorder once again, they hop you buy one of the players that supports the failing mini-disc format. The system comes with 512 mb's of SDRAM not RDRAM for 512 md of SDRAM it costs about 50-60 dollars and thats for the good stuff. Some people dont opt for a fully loaded system and just say "I'll upgrade it when it becomes cheaper" well thats great for a open system but sorry sony is a closed box system and 512 mb of sluggish [Compared to RDRAM] is all you'll ever be able to put into the machine. Another disappointment from SONY comes on its video card, 32mb's of SDRAM? thats pathetic and their not even using DDR ram. To wrap it up I have always felt that the VAIO systems were overpriced and overrated, having owned one before I can honestly say that SONY makes pathetic computers, but Hey if you buy one just think, you'll have the best looking paperweight in two years.
Rating:  Summary: How much? Review: I played with this slick looking machine at the local outlet of a national electronics chain and I must say I was taken by the cool, futuristic design. However, looking over its specs, it is really a fairly run-of-the-mill P4 with just a built in TV recorder (not a tuner, just a VCR-like feature that uses your TV's tuner) and a DVD-R to brag about. On the short end, it is hardly expandable at all and the price is positively gargantuan considering today's going rate for even a top of the line Dell.
Rating:  Summary: Don't forget the Mini-Disc recorder Review: First off all Dell or Gateway could not build this computer, Try to price one with all this has, A miniDisc recorder, Tv recorder, Enhanced sound system, Firewire ports, Optical outputs, Dobly Digital, Tv tuner, FM tuner, and on and on, If they could get the stuff this machine has I bet it would cost even more, For the person who wants a complete Audio,TV, DVD, Minidisc recorder, complete home system, No one else even comes close to offer such a machine.
Rating:  Summary: The Best You Can Buy ....(If you have the money) Review: Ok, bottom line, let me say that this is one super computer. The software alone is great ... (Record/Edit/Transfer DVD movies, Listen to your favorite FM stations, Record TV and transfer them to DVD, and of course old stuff like copy CDs) (...). I have just 3 words for you people thinking of buying this fine machine ..... BUY THIS COMPUTER !!!
Rating:  Summary: Where is the Rambus memory ? Review: A machine geared for broadband and graphic capabilities like this should definitely be configured with top of the line memory-Rambus RDRAM or at least DDR, not old technology SDRAM. This will cause a bottleneck in performance and the decision to use SDRAM is very disappointing.
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