Sony VAIO GRX700

Sony PCG-GRX7003 Portable

The VAIO GRX700 series of products was discontinued in June 2003, resulting in significant price reductions as the company cleared out its GRX, GRV and GRZ lines to make way for the new GRT line announced at that time. Revamping its product line by blowing out current models may be bad for Sony -- the company reported a 98 percent drop in revenues in its financials in mid-2003 -- but it's great news for consumers. The VAIO PCG-GRX7003 is, at this writing, one of the least expensive DVD-burning notebooks on the market. In this review, we'll look at the pros and cons of a machine that, at this writing, can be picked up from  TigerDirect.ca and other clearance outlets for about C$2200 (after a US$200 rebate).

For your money, you not only get a portable with one of the most flexible DVD writers on the market, but you get one with a truly stunning screen: a massive 16-inch display, with 1600x1200-pixel resolution! Here are some of the unit's key features.
            
Notable Features of the GRX7003

• 1.8MHz Intel Pentium 4-M with SpeedStep technology.
• 30GB hard drive
• 256MB DDR SDRAM (one slot open)
• 16.1" UXGA TFT screen
• iLink (FireWire), parallel and USB ports
• DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW compatible DVD writer, which also supports CD-R, CD-RW and the usual read formats.
• ATI Radeon 7500C Mobility w/32MB
• PC card slots and Memory Stick slot
• VGA and TV* output
• Two-button touch pad
• Windows XP Home
• Magnesium case
• 10/100 Ethernet
• Built-in 56K modem
• Huge software bundle (detailed below)

* optional TV-out video cable required.
        
The Software supplied with the GRX7003 includes Windows XP Home Edition (already updated with Service Pack 1), which begins with a wizard-driven setup that guides you through the required setup steps. When the Windows desktop appears, you'll find a number of icons for the extra software programs included with the unit.

There is a strong focus on the included software bundle on the video, audio and input/output features that give VAIO its name. We're increasingly convinced that Sony and Apple are the industry leaders in delivering products ideally suited for those seeking a more user-friendly computing experience.

Video/Audio
As with other Sony VAIO models, this unit includes the easy-to-use MovieShaker software for turning a collection of video clips into a movie complete with your choice of soundtrack, slick transitions and, if desired, other special effects. For those who prefer a less gimmicky video editing experience, there's also Adobe Premiere LE and DVGate, a useful tool for capturing digital video from a DV or MicroMV camera. You'll also find Sonic Foundry's Acid Deluxe and Sound Forge, a pair of truly great tools suitable for creating and editing soundtracks for your video projects, before burning them onto DVD or CD, or uploading them to the Internet. Acid is almost identical (and even file compatible!) with the SoundTrack program Apple ships with its US$995 video editor, Final Cut Pro.

The tool called Click to DVD makes the process of turning video footage into a DVD practically a one-click experience. You simply insert a blank DVD disc, connect your iLink-enabled video camera (e.g., almost any FireWire-equipped Digital 8 or DV camera), name your DVD disc, choose a theme, then click the Create DVD button. It's that simple or, if you prefer, you can edit your project or import files previously assembled with MovieShaker or other tools for more professional results. The Click to DVD software automatically creates Chapter markers and creates Motion Menu thumbnails of the chapters. Although there are more powerful DVD authoring programs on the market, there aren't any that make the process as simple as this.

The package includes a few tools aimed at owners of other Sony products. A tool called SonicStage, for example, saves files in the format required by Sony Minidisc players. And, of course, the unit's Memory Stick slot is squarely aimed at owners of Sony digital cameras (which, by the way, are among the very few units on the market to fully support USB 2.0).

Microsoft Works 7.0 and a copy of the game Everquest are also included, along with several manuals, as shown below. (Click the image to enlarge.)

What's In The Box

• Sony VAIO Notebook
• Removable Optical Drive
• Space Saver [to take place of the optical drive for light travel weight]
• A/C Adapter
• Recovery CDs
• Manuals
• Battery
• Windows XP Home Edition
• DVgate
• Movie Shaker
• Network Smart Capture
• PictureGear Studio
• SonicStage
• Sound Forge
• Acid Deluxe
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0
• Adobe Premiere 6.0 LE
• Microsoft Encarta
• Microsoft Money 2003
• Quicken
• Click to DVD
• Video, audio and input/output application launcher icons on the desktop

The package also includes both Application Restore discs, which allow you to reinstall apps or drivers, should they become corrupted, and a complete set of System Restore discs, which will return your system to its factory-fresh state. (Note, however, that a system restore operation will also remove any data you might have saved to the unit's hard disk, so be sure to back your data up before exercising this option!)

Performance of the unit's 1.8GHz MHz Pentium 4-M processor is aided by 512K of onboard cache memory and 256MB of double data rate (DDR) memory. With the price of additional RAM so low these days, we'd recommend picking up an additional 256MB of memory (about $50) if you plan on using the machine for demanding multimedia applications.

Weight
Weighing in at more than 8 pounds, this isn't the most svelte of portables, but the extra weight will be welcomed by those who appreciate the additional strength and resiliency the unit's magnesium shell brings. To minimize the weight when traveling, Sony provides a "weightsaver" plastic insert that fits in the optical drive bay. Alternatively, a second battery (not supplied) can be fitted in this bay.

Storage
The unit's 30GB drive is one of its weaker aspects. Although 30GB will seem massive to anyone who's been buying computer products for more than a few years, thirty gigs doesn't go far when you are authoring or *cough* copying DVDs (which, incidentally, requires additional software, such as the excellent DVDxcopy from 321 Studios). The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that Sony partitions the drive by default. Fortunately, it is a trivial matter to add an external hard drive to the unit, with the help of the onboard 400Mbps iLink (FireWire) port.

The optical drive is one of the GRX7003's strongest attributes. The drive supports both DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW standards, allowing you to choose whichever one best suit your needs. The pros and cons of each of these two popular standards are discussed in an article elsewhere on this site, but briefly, the "+" formats are more popular in the PC world, and provide better packet-writing capabilities, while the "-" format benefits from lower media costs and compatibility with drives commonly used in the Apple Macintosh environment.

The drive mechanism is the DW-U50A. It supports DAO/SAO, RAW DAO + 96 and DVD DAO writing methods, and uses PowerBurn as its buffer-underrun protection technology. It burns DVD+R media at 2x speeds.

The unit does not include a floppy drive, although such devices are available as USB add-ons, should you feel the need.

Ports and Jacks
The USB ports conform to the older USB 1.1 standard, which is unfortunate, considering the higher performance of the new USB 2.0 standard. This shouldn't present a problem, as all USB 2.0 devices are backwards-compatible with USB 1.1 devices. If you need the higher performance, there are third-party USB 2.0 cards that can be added to one of the VAIO's two Cardbus-compatible PC Card slots.

On the bottom of the unit is a connector for an optional C$299 port replicator that allows you to connect the machine on your home or office desk to a ready-to-work array of external peripherals such as a printer, network card, monitor keyboard or mouse. Note, however, that you'll either have to use the AC adapter supplied with the VAIO, or shell out for a second one.

The A/V output jack requires an optional cable (Sony charges $35), if you want to connect the unit to a VCR or TV.

Networking
The GRX7003 lacks built-in wireless networking capabilities but, frankly, with the prices of PCMCIA cards as low as they are (prices in the range of $20-35 are common), who cares? Most recent notebooks with built-in "Wi-Fi" (802.11b) capabilities have a switch that you need to remember to turn on and, considering the wide range in quality and capabilities of wireless LAN cards, you might prefer not to have Wi-Fi built in. We tested the unit with an inexpensive SMC Wi-Fi card, with no problems.

The iLink port can also be used for networking, delivering TCP/IP transfer rates considerably than that attainable via the unit's 10/100Mbit Ethernet port. Based on an Intel Ethernet chipset, we would expect the Ethernet to be well supported by alternative operating systems (Linux, etc.), should you elect to go down that road in the future.

The v.90 modem is fairly dubious -- it's based on the cheapo Conexant Winmodem chipset. Fortunately, modems are right down there with floppy disks in our "What's really important" checklist. Once again, the unit's PC Card slots (or even the USB ports) can support a modem, should this present a problem for you.

Graphics
The unit's massive 16.1-inch screen is very bright (considerably brighter, in fact, than the screen on the Toshiba Satellite 5200, which works at the same resolution) and beautifully sharp, operating at a default resolution of 1600x1200. The graphics are powered by ATI's Radeon 7500C Mobility. As a DirectX 8 accelerator, the Radeon 7500's performance in 3-D games is respectable (hard-core gamers will probably find it lacking, though), and its 2-D performance when playing DVD or video clips is superb. Text display is astonishingly crisp and, in case you are worried that the 1600x1200 resolution will prove too much for your eyes, don't overlook the Advanced settings option in the Display control panel, where you can set any custom pixels-per-inch setting you desire.

Sound
The GRX7003's built-in speakers are not the greatest (for comparison, check out the awesome sound of the Toshiba 5200 or 5205), and there is no volume control, other than up/down function keys and the on-screen volume slider in Windows. However, the unit's Yamaha sound chip produces decent sound when connected to an external amp and speakers, such as those offered by Sony or any number of third parties.

How It Compares
The GRX7003 doesn't have a lot of competition in its price range, but a few models may be considered competitors.

Toshiba's 5200-703 "luxury" laptop costs at least $1000 more than the GRX7003, but it, too offers a 1600x1200 screen and a DVD burner. However, the Toshiba's screen is smaller and the DVD burner lacks support for the DVD+R/RW standards. Although the VAIO's keyboard is okay, it's no match for the feel of the Toshiba's keyboard.

Apple's 867MHz 12-inch PowerBook is comparably priced (actually, it's a few hundred dollars more), and it comes in at about half the weight of the VAIO. But its 12" screen, with a maximum resolution of only 1024x768, feels cramped by comparison. The GRX7003's screen, with a a total of 1,920,000 pixels on the screen, delivers approximately 2.44 times as many pixels as the PowerBook's 1024x768 display. The PowerBook's "SuperDrive" is even more limited than the Toshiba's. The 12" unit, report users, doesn't even support DVD-rewritable  media (at least until an unsupported patch is applied!), and it's slower, too. And, if you want to feel really good about the Sony's screen (and price!), take a look at the 17" PowerBook, which delivers a mere 1,296,000 pixels on its 1440x900 display.

Fujitsu's C2220 and Dell's Latitude 8500 can be configured with a DVD writer at prices that come close to Sony's offering, but both sport smaller screens. The Fujitsu is a relatively stylish machine for about $2500. For about the same price as the GRX7003, a Dell Inspiron 5100 can be configured with a DVD burner, 32MB Radeon 7500 and a 15" screen with SXGA+ (1400 x 1050) resolution, but the Latitude, configured with a 1.76-Mpixel display will cost you hundreds of dollars more -- and its keyboard is far flimsier feeling than the VAIO's!

Sony, of course, also offers newer machines that are roughly comparable to the GRX7003 in features. As is the case with most newer notebooks, CPU clock speeds tend to be a little higher than that of the GRX7003, but so do the prices. New notebooks may be faster, but they also tend to have a few issues that are yet to be resolved. At this point in its life cycle, the GRX7003 has already benefited from the inevitable software patches and driver upgrades (available at the vaio-link.com website, and discussed at length on the numerous VAIO forums on the Web) and, of course, that heavily discounted price.

Conclusion
Pros: Versatile and relatively speedy DVD writer, gorgeous, ultra high-res screen, good graphics chip with stable drivers. Consumer-friendly video-capture, video editing and DVD authoring software included is exclusive to Sony.

Cons: Big and heavy. USB 1.1, slightly slower CPU and smaller hard drive than that found in some comparably priced notebooks. Sony's claim of a 3.5-hour battery life is a generous estimate. The keyboard is a bit noisy.

The GRX7003 is a heck of a deal at current prices. Those in the market for a notebook with a DVD writer will find it a versatile "desktop replacement" portable, with a truly gorgeous screen. Recommended.

For further reading:

• Sony Unofficial Vaio Village Forum