Sony VAIO VGN AR730E/B 17" Digital Studio Laptop Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 Processor, 3 GB RAM, 320 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium

Editorial Review
The VAIO(R) AR730 notebook is a Blu-ray Disc-enabled gaming PC with NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M graphics card and a spacious 17" widescreen display featuring XBRITE-ECO technology. This beautifully designed notebook boasts embedded A/V controls for one-touch access to your entertainment and a built-in 1.3 megapixel camera and microphone so you can video chat with friends, family and co-workers. Backed by the next-generation hafnium-based Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 processor with 3MB L2 Cache provides unparalleled performance, superior efficiency and enhanced multimedia power to facilitate longer battery life and maximum performance for your computing and entertainment endeavors. Roomy 320GB hard drive with advanced RAID technology and 4GB RAM provides the speed and stamina for ultimate gaming. Enjoy the convenience of a CD/DVD burner and the spectacular new look, instant search and automated security features of the Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium operating system. 17 WXGA+ (1440 x 900) XBRITE-ECO Display Built-in Webcamera and Microphone NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT with 256MB Dedicated Video Memory with up to 1535MB shared Blu-Ray Disc BD-ROM/DVD+-R/RW Drive with Double Layer Intel PRO/Wireless 4965 802.11A/B/G/N 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet Built-in Memory Stick/Memory Stick Duo with MagicGate(TM) Card Reader Built-in Secure Digital (SD) media slot ExpressCard 54 Slot PCMCIA Slot 3 USB 2.0, Headphone out; Microphone-in, S/PDIF, VGA, S-Video, HDMI, IEEE 1394, RJ-11 (Modem), RJ-45 Approximate Unit Dimensions - 16.4 (W) x 11.8 (D) x 1.32(H) Approximate Unit Weight - 8.3lbs
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Customer Reviews

Display problmes and no software

2008-03-21
This was my first Sony laptop purchase after buying from Toshiba and Dell in the past. My first impression was very positive but shortly after I noticed flickering in the display. After a couple of days the display got worse, with the flickering increasing in frequency. I then spent the better part of a day trying to work out the problems with Sony tech support. After trying everything they suggested I now have to send it for repairs.

This is also the first time I've purchased a computer and didn't receive software re-install CD/DVD's.

A Great Machine

2008-07-05
I have had a preference for Sony computers for a long time. They are generally a little more expensive, but you seem to get more. The all-in-one configuration eliminates wires and cords running in all directions. Sony support is above average. All-in-all a purchase worth the extra money!

Interesting laptop packed with features

2008-05-14
I really bought this machine for the blu-ray device and it's ability to use it with an HDCP compliant TV. Well it turns out that this machine has major issues with doing just that seemingly simple task. I have spent 3-4 hours a day for five days with Sony to resolve the matter only to lose WinDVD entirely. Just as an FYI the backup and recovery software from Sony does not contain the original WinDVD install. So please beware if any Sony tech person asks to uninstall it because there is no way to re-install it. They had to move mountains to get me the install back on my laptop again. And all I called about was to get it working on the TV...which is also a Sony 760p TV. So it never worked. Other than that this machine is fantastic. It does run pretty hot though so watch out and it's size and weight makes it a bit impractical for travel.

Very Fast Very Large laptop

2008-04-24
[Review of "Sony VAIO VGN-AR750E/B 17" Digital Studio Laptop (Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 320 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium)"]

This is my 6th laptop and my 2nd Sony VAIO. I've had zero problems with it other than learning VISTA's unique characteristics. It is capable of running graphics-intense PC games as well as a desktop (examples include City of Heroes and Neverwinter Nights 2) with most graphics features turned on, though a high-end desktop will probably be cheaper and have a larger screen than this. 320 MB is a ton of disk space (two 160 MB drives in a RAID array), and I've only managed to use up a third of that so far.

The LCD screen is large, high-quality and bright, and lacks that washed-out appearance that is common in others. Both Blu-Ray and normal DVDs look great, and of course the same applies to the games.

It's also more than capable of handling work-related tasks, including a full Visual Studio .NET development environment, and has more than enough memory to load and unload applications quickly. Yes, only 3 MB of the 4 MB of RAM is available to the 32-bit OS, but the other 1 MB is available to the NVidia video card - 512 MB on the card itself, with 1279 MB available system memory, for a total of 1791 MB.

Overall, I was looking for a notebook with a large, bright screen, plenty of horsepower and memory, that would be both a portable multimedia box and have the power of a desktop. This product fits those expectations.

As for flaws, there are but a few, and those flaws are perhaps better regarded as trade-offs than as flaws, per se. The primary trade-off is that this is a big, heavy machine, and runs moderately hot. A lighter machine that runs cooler would have a 13-14" screen and be significantly slower. You'll think twice before packing it to travel by air (doable, but most business travelers would choose a smaller, lighter, slower PC than this). Another trade-off is that if you're still on Windows XP, Windows VISTA will feel very different, and since VISTA is newer, there are more bugs to iron out. Personally, I've run into very few VISTA issues, mainly dealing with having to "Run as Administrator" to get things done. Finally, given the large amount of space available, the keyboard is of a normal, small laptop size - it would have been nice to have a larger keyboard, or perhaps a keypad given the extra space.

I'd recommend this machine to anyone else. I've owned it since 2/26/2008, and I'm using it to write this review.

[Note that Amazon groups reviews for products such as these. This review is for the model I specify at the beginning. Other reviews may be for slightly different models/configurations.]

A Dissappointment from Sony

2008-04-14
This is my third Sony and probably my 10th laptop. It is by far my biggest dissappointment in a Laptop and a Sony (especially for the price).If I didnt have to suffer a 15% restocking fee it would be on it way back and I would be buying the comparable HP model Circuit City put on sale this weeek for $434 less, even accounting for no tax and free shipping. The only difference on this model is faster processor speed. Here are my issues! First the computer has problems with all the drop down menus. It wont scroll properly; the only way you can get it to accept a selection is by holding down the control key and hitting enter. This includes opening up the screensaver menu and the sound menu. The screensaver menu will keep defaulting to Windows Logo and the sound menu keeps defaulting to a volume of 0.Speaking of speakers excuse the pun, compared to my Toshiba which this unit is supposed to be replacing the sound level is extremely low and very hard to hear.External speakers are going to have to be a must, even with headphones it is hard to hear movie playback. Although this computer is setup with 4MB of Ram it only reads 3MB because it is configured for 32-bit operation instead of 64, a waste of 1MB of installed memory.These are the issues I have found after 4 days of use. I'm afraid to see what else is in store. If it gets any worse I may decide to return it in any case and absorb the $$270.00 loss. I mainly purchased this unit for the Blue-Ray player which works fine and for the 17" display which works fine unlike the results encountered by another reviewer. Stay from this unit, you can find comparable features at a cheaper price from other manufacturers such as HP. I have never owned an HP but I would certainly consider it after this experience.

Just what I hoped for

2008-03-29
After seeing no reviews for this laptop when I bought it, I promised myself to leave one of my own. I am happy to say that this laptop was everything that I expected. The screen is crisp and clear, it's fast, the screen is big, and its very quiet. The mouse pad and keyboard are slightly different and may take some time to get used to, but it is worth it for a laptop this good at this price.