The Basics A superb portable computer for businessmen on the move, the Sony VAIO PCG-K37 will crunch numbers and data faster than the vast majority of desktops yet won't break your back when you cart it from place to place. Its 3D graphics speed is not exceptional, nor is it recommended for anyone who requires extremely long battery life. Yet at this price point and with this level of raw speed, the VAIO PCG-K37 is a solid buy for the power user.
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The PCG-K37 features a 15.4-inch WXGA widescreen display that is perfectly tailored to the aspect ratio favored by DVD movies. | Processor
At the heart of any computer lies the CPU (or processor), a massive collection of miniature transistors that governs the speed and power of the entire unit. Some notebooks are equipped with high-end CPU's on par with those found in top-of-the-line desktop PCs, while others are quick enough only for basic duties such as word processing, email and the like. The VAIO PCG-K37 is on the top end of the scale, equipped with a blazing 3.2 GHz Intel Pentium 4 538 processor. It's important to note that the overall performance of any computer is also influenced by the speed and quantity of its memory and the quality of it graphics card. And as you'll see, Sony has effectively dealt with the former but somewhat neglected the latter. |
Memory
Computers typically store information on their hard drive, but they keep frequently and recently accessed data in Random Access Memory (RAM) for faster retrieval. More RAM means more efficient computing, superior multitasking and less strain on your hard drive. The VAIO VAIO PCG-K37 incorporates a startling one GB of RAM. This is a massive allotment for any notebook and substantially more than that of most desktops as well. Thusly, users can expect superb multitasking and virtually no slowdowns even during ultra-complex tasks. | 
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| Sony VAIO PCG-K37
3.20 GHz Pentium 4
1 GB RAM
80 GB HD | Sony VAIO PCG-K35
3.067 GHz Pentium 4
512 MB RAM
80 GB HD | Sony VAIO PCG-K33
3.20 GHz Pentium 4
512 MB RAM
60 GB HD |
Video
CPU's are usually so busy doing basic calculations that they need help translating visual output to the viewing screen. This is the duty of the graphics card (or graphics controller), which in this case is an ATI Radeon IGP 345M with 64 MB of "shared" video memory. Dedicated video memory is preferable to "shared" video memory (where the graphics controller appropriates a portion of the main system memory), because it takes much more of the load from the processor and thus frees it to handle other tasks. Nevertheless, this system's processor is so powerful that the lack of a high-end video controller isn't as essential as it otherwise might be. Demanding 3D games and 3D animation may cause the graphics to bog down somewhat, but most everything else should look quite smooth.
Display
The VAIO PCG-K37's 15.4-inch WXGA display may be smaller than the 17-inch monsters found in today's top-of-the-line models, yet it's larger than that of most notebooks and even some desktops. Furthermore, its widescreen format is perfectly tailored to the aspect ratio favored by DVD movies. It's highly sophisticated too -- sporting Sony's new XBRITE Technology for better contrast and a brighter picture, and a crisp 1280 by 800 maximum resolution.
Hard Disk
At a spacious 80 GB, the enclosed hard drive is a welcome perk for those who need to operate a broad range of applications and also keep a large library of space-gobbling music and/or multimedia files.
Optical Drive
An optical drive is essential in today's computing environment. A "CD-ROM" drive allows you to install CD-based applications and play music CDs. A "CD-RW" drive adds CD "burning", so you can also backup your important files to long-lasting discs and create personalized music CDs. With a DVD-ROM drive you can watch DVD movies. And with a DVD-RW drive, you can "write" home movies to durable discs and archive files to DVD (DVDs boast more than seven times the storage capacity of a CD). Some drives allow you to do a combination of all of these tasks. This system features a DVD+R Double Layer/DVD±RW Drive, through which you can do all of the above. The drive also supports today's hot new double layer DVD format that utilizes discs with double the capacity of traditional DVDs.
Audio
The unit is equipped with high-grade speakers and a powerful audio amplifier.
Keyboard and Controls
You'll control your notebook via an 82-key keyboard and a standard electro-static touch pad.
| Connectivity and Expansion
The VAIO PCG-K37 features a bevy of connectivity facilities, including a 56K modem for low-speed dial-up Internet and email access, a 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX Ethernet port for high-speed wired network and Internet, and an integrated wireless connection for cord-free e-communication at home, at the office or on the road via a local public hotspot. Other key amenities include high-speed USB 2.0 ports for plug and play devices such as external drives and digital cameras, an IEEE 1394 FireWire port (commonly used for quick data uploads from digital camcorders), and Sony's usual high-end array of audio and video ins and outs. Operating System and Software
Sony has fitted the system with Microsoft's Windows XP Home Edition operating system, a variety of productivity and business applications, and a broad range of digital photo, audio and video utilities. | 
The PCG-K37 features a full suite of software applications, including SonicStage, which enables you to listen to, manage, and transfer your music library.
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Dimensions and Weight
Many of today's most powerful notebooks are also the largest, weighing ten or twelve lbs or more and definitely too big and cumbersome for extensive, continuous traveling. These are often referred to as "desktop replacements". On the other extreme are "thin and lights" or "ultra-portables", super-miniaturized units that are typically less powerful than their larger brethren but weigh as little as two lbs and will often fit comfortably inside a large purse. Despite its impressive power, the VAIO PCG-K37 tips the scales at just 8 pounds. It is, however, rather hefty at 14.1 by 2.2 by 10.9 inches.
What's in the Box
This package contains the Sony Vaio PCG-K37 notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions. It's backed by a 1-year warranty for parts and labor, and 1 year of toll-free phone support.
1 Perfection in a silver box
A flawless machine. As I sit here at Starbucks putting it through its paces I notice that playing Everquest 2 online is a very fulfilling experience. No hang-ups whatsoever. The graphics are gorgeous. The head-turning factor is also quite high. I have answered about 4 inquiries about this beautiful beast in the last 2 hours already. The Vaio is, indeed, the Cadillac of PC notebooks...and the rest of the world appears to nod as they walk by.
2 What a machine!
Very powerful and versatile machine with immense capacity and effortless operation. It was out of the box and working witin five minutes. All Sony-installed software works fine. You don't really need a whole gigabyte of RAM and an 80 gigabyte hard drive on a laptop-but you don't really need a Mercedes, either!
Highly recommended!
3 It's got it's pluses and minuses
I got this notebook today and man it is LOUD! I'm talking borderline annoying. If you walk by my office it sounds like I have a floor fan running in there. That's my biggest complaint. I could hardly beleive it. I sure hope I can get used to it. If it weren't for the loudness I would have given this notebook a 4 or maybe 5. Maybe something is wrong with mine and I just don't know it.
Also the adaptor is HUGE, but I live with that.
Otherwise a decent notebook. The screen is the best part. Eye candy - very clear and crisp. I'm sure it will work out to be a good notebook for me. But SONY should throw a pair of earplugs for those who would rather not hear the whiz of the cooling fan all day.
4 Sony VAIO PCG-K37 15.4" Notebook PC
Hello..
Contact at david_elkan_london@yahoo.com
5 Highly Recommended
This computer is great when it comes to raw power. If you have going 8 downloads, 6 uploads, running Microsoft Office, a couple
number crunching programs going, and want to watch a DVD, this is really the computer for you. The 1GB is great, multitasking no problem. It is big by comparison with some Pentium M ultraportables for sure, but, no way can you ever get those chips to equal the power of a fast Pentium chip. The battery, typical laptop and the P4 does eat them up, just throw an extra one in your laptop case for use later if needed and no problem.
6 A nice laptop
After searching among the large amount of choices on the market, I found the Sony K37 to have right mix of performance, features, and price. I was sold on two things in this laptop First it has the best picture/screen among other brands on the shelf, and the 1 Gig of Ram. Add to that the Pentium 3.2 HT processor with 533 front side bus, large 80 Meg hard drive, very fast wireless B/G adaptor even though my router is an old Linksys 11 Meg B standard, and the dual layer 8X +/- DVD writer, the rest of the specs are large 15.4 brilliant screen, full size keyboard, 56K Modem, 1 Fire wire 1394, 3 USB 2, Ethernet adaptor, 1 A/V out, Microphone in, Audio out, and a lot of multimedia and authoring software.
Set up is a breeze, the laptop is unpacked, hooked, and run in 5 minutes, you better have things to do right away. Performance is more than adequate when I run Macromedia's Dreamweaver and Fireworks applications, Microsoft Excel, Word, few browser windows, and Outlook email at the same time.
Here are few complains; AC adaptor is bulky, tiny printed user guide with all instructions and help files online, no recovery or software disks included, but instead the recovery files is saved on a special partition on the hard drive and you need to create the recovery media yourself using the provided utility, one blank DVD and one blank CD-R, battery life under 2 hours, hard drive speed is only 4200 RPM, the 2100 DDR-Ram speed is only 266 Mhz, and finally the video memory is shared with the default being 64 Meg(user configurable to 32,64, or 128 Meg through the BOIS), but with 1 Gig of Ram, sharing won't disappoint.
A word about Hyper Threading or HT processor, while it is a promising technology for tomorrow's fast memory and HT aware software, for today's user there is a little gain. First, HT was developed with the faster Rambus memory in mind - currently at 1066 speed, but for the slower DDR-RAM system the speed-up will be modest. Second, it will be a long time before software written or rewritten to take advantage of the HT. For now, most benchmark has showed little or no improvements over the non HT processor.
That been said, in the end of the day this is a handsome, quite, and fulfilling notebook for under $1,600.
7 Product description is incorrect
The notebook does not support Hyper Threading (as given in many sites). I checked the Intel site for this processor and found that it does (or so I thought). Just to confirm, I downloaded Intel Processor Id utility and it reported that the processor does not support HT.
As is the case with most of the branded notebooks, the amount of tweaking that you can do on the system is highly limited. For example, you cannot even change any BIOS settings (except date time/parallel port info and set passwords). None of the advanced chipset features are available. And the BIOS is phoenix bios, which is not supported by most of the BIOS tweak tools that you can run from windows.
The cooling fan does make a lot of noise at times, but I have come to get used to that and unfortunately, you cannot control the fan speed through the power management tool (unlike the case in some other models).
The display is really good with high resolution. I am not into much gaming and all, so the 4X AGP does not make much difference to me.
A couple of things Sony could have improved upon was to put a 333 MHz memory instead of a 266 MHz one and provide a more versatile card reader (the card reader slot supports only Memory Stick Media. So if you want to connect your CF or SD card, you need an external reader.
But having said this much, I am happy with the system and it has not given me any problems so far.
