[Michael]

With many colleges and universities requiring freshmen to own a PC, Sony is offering parents two new affordable options for all-in-one notebook computing: VAIO PC models PCG-NVR23 and PCG-FXA63.

The VAIO NVR23 and FXA63 notebook PCs are powered by the AMD Athlon™ XP 1800+ and Athlon XP 1600+ processors, running at 1.53 GHz and 1.4 GHz respectively, providing more than ample performance to effectively run educational applications. They also make the most of the limited space in student housing by offering an effective alternative to the tower, display and speakers of a desktop PC. Students will appreciate the VAIO NVR23 notebook PC's high-end nVidia® graphics chip that enhances the gaming experience once the schoolwork is finished.

"For students, it's all about making the most out of what you have," said Mark Hanson, vice president and general manager of VAIO PC marketing for Sony Electronics. "Of course a PC should be able to do email, spreadsheets and word processing but with VAIO notebooks students get so much more. Whether they want to jazz up a report with pictures or video, watch DVDs, play hardcore graphics-intensive games or listen to music, VAIO notebooks pack it all into a portable package."

Boom Box, DVD Player and Performance PC in One Compact Package

The VAIO NVR23 notebook PC offers a hot-swappable multi-purpose bay that accepts an included rumbling subwoofer to punctuate music or enhance a DVD movie played on the on-board CD-RW/DVD combo drive. The bay also accepts the included 10-key touch pad that provides an ergonomic full-size feel to the keyboard and an included standard 3.5-inch floppy drive. The notebook features a 15-inch XGA LCD display, 30GB hard drive and 256MB of RAM.

Affordable Performance, All-in-One Versatility

The latest addition to Sony's popular FXA series, the VAIO FXA63 notebook, provides affordable yet powerful performance on a high quality, 14-inch screen, a full 256MB of RAM, a 20GB hard drive, a 3.5-inch floppy drive, an integrated CD-RW/DVD combo drive and dual battery capability.

Value-Packed Software and Connectivity Options

In addition to the usual productivity applications, the NVR23 and FXA63 notebooks also come equipped with the latest Sony software, including DVgate™, MovieShaker™ and SonicStage™ applications, that allows users to design and create personalized music CDs, manage and manipulate digital photos, and edit digital video on-the-fly to share with family and friends. Standard on each notebook is Everquest®, Sony's popular multiplayer online game, allowing students to blow off steam between classes.

The NVR23 and FXA63 notebooks also offer extensive connectivity options, including USB ports and an i.LINK® (IEEE1394) port for the high-bandwidth transfer of digital content. The Memory Stick® media slot on the NVR23 PC gives the students the ability to connect to today's universe of Memory Stick products, including camcorders, digital still cameras, handhelds, printers, voice recorders and more.

Pricing and Availability

The Sony VAIO NVR23 and FXA63 notebooks will both be available in stores and through www.sonystyle.com in September, just in time for the fall semester. The VAIO NVR23 notebook will be priced at about $1,500 and the FXA model will be about $1,400.

[HWattys]

Just got the NVR23. Best laptop I have used and maybe the best computer. 3DMark scores in the mid-4000s, and the subwoofer is great. Keyboard has a nice feel. My only complaint is the size and weight but that is liveable.

[Michael]

sweet. I am getting this lap top on loan from sony my self so I can provide a review. Maybe youd like to do a review on yours untill were able to get one.

[burntbit]

I bought the PCG-FXA63 and it's awesome! It's the best multimedia system I've ever put my hands on. The software it comes with is amazing too. Some nice audio editing and mixing software, video editing software, and it works well with my digital cameras.

It came with a 20G hard drive partioned like 10G and 8.*G and I've installed Linux Red Hat 8.0 on the 8.*G of it. Linux installed fine, everything works. Right now it seems to get a bit hot when I run Linux, but I think I've found some patches to make the system fan run and keep it alive. I've had it running in Linux for about 5 hours and it didn't die so that's a good sign.

It's fast, it does everything I would want a computer to do. I've done video editing on it. I've remastered audio to music videos with it. Watched DVDs burn CDs. And I use the thing for all my programming work now. I don't think I could of purchased a more capable system! Faster yes, but I've already got more than enough speed to do anything I'll ever want to.

I highly recommend this as a buy!

[Michael]

thanks for the review burntbit
and welcome to the board

[cisco kid]

I love my NVR23 I wish I could find more users out there to swap talk with about tweaks and tips for this notebook!!

Cisco KId

[BxBoy]

The Vaios have among the worst battery lives I've seen.

[Michael]

those interested in reading the review on this lappy
http://www.hardwaregeeks.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Articles&file=vaio

[cisco kid]

Originally posted by BxBoy
The Vaios have among the worst battery lives I've seen.

I could care less about the battery as long as I am able to watch a 2 hr DVD on it then the battery is done basically but thats all I need, and it can do that as I have already tested it out. This lappy has everything I need and it was a very good price, plus it can game quite well, now I have a killa desktop this is for the road and my job, yeah it is a bit big but damn it is sexy and it offers great multimedia features. Now I just have to get me a mini DV cam, that will be very soon.

I am using the Det 43.00 vid drivers and they offer some good powermizer features

Cisco KId