Sony VAIO GRX560 PC Notebook

Pros: Very large 16.1" screen, all the bells and whistles
Cons: Floppy not included; no calendar software

I finally did it. After years of yearning, I broke down and bought a laptop. As usual, however, those years did not go to waste - I knew what I needed, versus what I wanted, versus what was available As for price, I had "window-shopped" enough to know...

Pros: beautiful display, jog dial
Cons: keyboard is clacky, no microphone, no infrared

VAIO

Love the bright display when plugged in. The display allows for better angle of views than any other laptop I've owned. But Sony, let me choose to show off my beautiful display at the expense of battery life.

The batteries...

Pros: Big 16.1" Display at 1600x1200
Cons: Memory sockets failed after 2.5 years' of careful use.

This Laptop Computer was great while it lasted. For 2-1/2 years, it worked reliably. The graphics could not be beat. The firewire port turned this laptop into a portable digital video editing workstation that served me well on the road. I have used it as ...

Pros: Large screen 16", high resolution (1600x1200)
Cons: Slow, noisy HDD, max 512MB memory, expensive

Overall, a good quality as you would expect from Sony, and for this money...The best TFT screen I've seen so far, large and with high resolution you can fit anything on the screen. The font's details are great and the graphic is awesome.

The...

Pros: Excellent video with large screen size
Cons: Marginal quality keyboard.

I specifically purchased the GRX560 to replace my desktop while I was posted overseas. Although I won't discount others who have experienced problems with this particular model, my machine has been very reliable with extremely heavy usage and rough handling on the road. The most attractive aspect of this model is the excellent video and large screen size which makes it suitable as a desktop replacement. On the minus side, I was surprised to find that a floppy drive was not included and the keyboard is of marginal quality.

UPDATE: Almost 3 years after purchase, the LCD monitor failed and needed replacement. Fortunate for me, I had purchased the 3 year extended warranty.

Pros: beautiful display, fast, worked well when not broken
Cons: display broken, memory problems, extremely poor support, defective manufacture not repaired.

My Sony Vaio pcg-grx560 has had both of the problems described above. First about a year after I got it the memory problem won't boot (it's the same problem). Best Buy wanted $1000 and Sony wanted at least $700 and I ended up finding a guy in New York who fixed it for me for $150.00 plus shipping it up there and back. All of the horror stories about Sony tech support are true based upon my experience with them. Today (sigh) I booted it up and the monitor flickered for a few seconds, enough to prove to me the computer was booting and then went black. It was pretty, it worked well when it worked, but overall I have to believe it was poorly made, and now it is dead. $1000/year seems like a lot for a laptop, I think my next one will not be nearly so pricey, and definitely will not say Sony on it.

Pros: Nice while it lasted
Cons: Won't boot after 14 months or so. $700+ to fix.

This model has a severe problem: poor soldering on the memory slots means that this computer will start failing to boot up about 14 months after purchase, i.e., after the warrantee has expired. Sony will not repair the computer for less than $700, and their customer support disavows all knowledge of this defect, despite its being widely known on the internet and reported in a UK computing magazine.

DO NOT BUY THIS COMPUTER. It is poorly made and Sony's customer service thinks nothing of lying to its consumers.

See http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/5449/ for more information. A class action suit is being contemplated against Sony for this defect.

Pros: It worked fine for a couple of months
Cons: after 8 months bad mother board and display

It worked fine for a couple of months then the hard drive made noises, then 8 months in the mother board needs replacement, I noticed the memory was reading at 256 when i had 512 upgrade factory direct. Then the later the display had problems, the backlight and the inverter went out all in less than a year. Bottom line never will I pay for sony products again. $2900 and no good warranty for 3months.

With a 16.1" screen, I haven't been able to get a carrying case for the laptop - especially one that fits properly with wheels.