Sony Vaio VGN-CR320E.. Good Deal???

Hello, I was looking around Office Depot the other day and they had a

Sony Vaio VGN-CR320E for $799

A few specs are

Vista Premium
Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 Processor 2.0 ghz
2 gigs of ram
250gb HD 7200 rpm
Intel Wireless 4965AGN Wi-Fi chip

Good deal? What do you guys think?

Also is the Ram upgradable on Sony Vaios?

 

bad deal. don't get a sony they're overpriced

 

Well it's for my sister, she's 13. She wanted something that looks good, you know how little girls are. It was pink too..

She doesn't need anything too fancy, just something where she can watch movies, web browse, word processing, aim, etc..

 

sony is certainly overpriced, but its a decent deal for a sony. lol maybe u can find a coupon somewhere to lower the price a bit more.

ram is most certainly upgradable, and it'll do all she needs it to do with its current configuration. you really do not need to add more ram into it.

by the way...did you get the specs off of a tag? the hard drive is not 7200 rpm...its a standard 5400 rpm. not that that really matters, but im just wondering where you pulled your information from.

 

I'd stay away from the Sony CR series since the build quality is less than desirable (ie, large amount of flex throughout the keyboard and chassis). But in terms of hardware, it's an average deal (also depends on the warranty). The ram is upgradable to 3gb and if you install a 64 bit OS, you can upgrade it to 4gb. But for doing basic basic office apps, playing DVDs and surfing online, 2gb would suffice. Go with 3gb if you really want to, but certainly don't bother with 4gb.

 

^ dont bother with 64 bit...compatibility issues will plague you - just as if you were to install windows XP on the CR series. Vista 64bit compatibility is not even listed with sony for the CR series.

I do have 4gb in mine, and it works fine with recognition of about 3.5gb.

Large amount of flex? Really? Granted its not as solid as say a MBP but its not very flexible - especially when compared with a lot of other mainstream brands/models out in the market for the home users.

 

Thanks for the info. Yeah I think your right.. it was 5400 rpm not 7200.

Anyways like I said its for my little sister so.. it doesn't have to be amazing. She won't need 64 bit and I think 2 gb should be fine. I was just wondering if it was upgradable.

Thanks again.

 

Yes, the keyboard especially exhibits large amount of flex. Applying a moderate pressure on one key makes a large region of the keyboard to depress. Even comparing with other mainstream systems such as the Dell inspiron 15xx models (though I'm not recommending the Dell... the screen wobble is hideous) the inspiron seems to have a stronger keyboard and chassis. Check them out at your local best buy if you have the chance.

 

I just bought the exact same computer (not pink though) yesterday from Office Depot. I got it there for $510 USD. I wasn't in the market for a laptop, but I thought it was a steal. Check into it if you have a store near you. And maybe you could return the other one- save a few hundred bucks.

I guess they are on sale because there are no longer going to carry them. On top of that, there is an additional sale going on with all computers. Good luck and I hope your sister likes it!

 

haha im with you on the screen wobble...once it starts it just doesnt stop - i have had two dells before...haha

I actually just quit Circuit City so i actually am pretty well exposed to notebooks. I do see the flex you're talking about but i have to press pretty hard to get it to flex noticeably...who the hell types that hard? haha
anyways i acknowledge what you're saying and somewhat agree with you.

I think the WORST flex i've experienced is on the toshiba 13.3 inch notebooks - the generation prior to the current black glossy ones. Jeezus...i even showed the toshiba rep that came in and all he said was "crap"...haha

 

was it brand new or open box? thats way too low for any new vaio regardless if it's discontinued or not.

 

That is what I thought as well and the reason I bought it. I'm not sure about the open box thing, but I know the computer had never been turned on. Maybe it was previously bought and returned without booting it up?? I had never seen these go that low either. I think I got the last one at this particular store, because the cashier asked me not to return it if I didn't want it, but rather ask for him and he would buy it from me. ( I suspect for a small profit)

 

Yeah I doubt I can find one at that price.. they only had one left and $799 was it. It was already marked down 5 times and was on clearance.