1 reviews

Sony VAIO AR series

$1,800.00 Released May, 2006

The Pros:Excellent display, the high gamut display is one of the best on the market (2007 standards). A true desktop replacement, the AR is packed with media features such as TV tuner, BR burner and multiple harddrives. Offers power efficient 45nm Penryn Core 2 Duo processors.

The Cons:8600GT/8400GT dedicated graphics, the 17" system is more than capable of housing more powerful graphics cards, also, these two GPUs are known to have reliability issues. Larger than it needs to be, oversized screen bezels, does not make use of the extra space either, no number pad. Non-existent batter life, with the standard battery this notebook has a rated battery life of 1-2hrs.

The Sony VAIO AR series are 17" widescreen notebooks which come standard with a range of powerful media features such as Blu-ray Disc, NVIDIA GeForce 8600GM GT graphics card with 256MB dedicated video RAM, HDMI video output and more.

Where to Buy

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Sony VAIO AR890U 17" Notebook - Core 2 Duo T9300 2.50 GHz by PriceGrabber.com

Other basic features include motion eye camera and microphone, Wireless LAN, dedicated AV buttons as well as a selection of available software. Weight of the AR series is 8.3 pounds with standard battery which is understandable considering the amount of hardware.

Models

Sony VAIO VGN-AR870 - 2GB RAM, 240GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive, T8100 2.1GHz Processor
Sony VAIO VGN-AR830E - 3GB RAM, 400GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive, T8300 2.4GHz Processor
Sony VAIO VGN-AR890U - 4GB RAM, 500GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive with Raid technology , T9300 2.5GHz Processor, Bluetooth, TV Tuner, Blu-ray Disc burner(instead of just the ROM)

Features

NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT GPU with Total Available Graphics Memory of 1535MB (max.)
256MB dedicated video RAM
HDMI, S-Video and VGA out with Smart Display Sensor
Blu-ray Disc Support : (Read Only) (BD-ROM/ DVD+RW/+R DL/RAM Drive)
Fast Ethernet (RJ-45)
Integrated V.92/V.90 Modem (RJ-11)
Wireless LAN : Intel PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection (802.11a/b/g/n)
i.LINK Connection : 1 (4pin) i.LINK connector (IEEE 1394)
Built-in 1.3 megapixel MOTION EYE camera and microphone
S/PDIF Output
Estimated Battery Life : 1.0-2.5 hours Standard Capacity Battery 2.0-4.0 hours Large Capacity Battery
Multimedia Card Reader
Memory Stick Duo media slot with MagicGate functionality
ExpressCard /54 slot
Secure Digital (SD memory card) media slot
PCMCIA - Type II/Type I card slot with CardBus support

User Reviews (1)

Add Pros & Cons

ProScore

Pros

1

Excellent display, the high gamut display is one of the best on the market (2007 standards)
1

A true desktop replacement, the AR is packed with media features such as TV tuner, BR burner and multiple harddrives
1

Offers power efficient 45nm Penryn Core 2 Duo processors
1

Good build quality, its massive chassis is constructed from strong plastics with minimal flex

Cons

1

8600GT/8400GT dedicated graphics, the 17" system is more than capable of housing more powerful graphics cards, also, these two GPUs are known to have reliability issues
1

Larger than it needs to be, oversized screen bezels, does not make use of the extra space either, no number pad
1

Non-existent batter life, with the standard battery this notebook has a rated battery life of 1-2hrs.