Sony's PCGGRV7P incorporates a dual-format DVD burner, which makes it an appealing choice if you need DVD burning capabilities in a notebook form factor. Check out our Australian review.
There can be no doubt in anyone's mind that the Sony Vaio GRV7P is intended as a desktop replacement; if you tried to lug this 3.6Kg monster around for any length of time your arms would drop off. To add to the weight woes, it's also extremely bulky; at 35.5x44.4x29.2cm it's larger than most full function PC keyboards. It's still a lightweight compared to Acer's recently announced Acer Inspire 1700, but nothing you'd want to move with on a constant basis.
A large form factor allows for a large screen, and the PCGGRV7P doesn't disappoint, with a 16.1in 1600x1200 TFT display that gives off a crisp and clear image. At the same time that it has a large screen it almost feels as though opportunities have been missed in the keyboard design; there's a lot of empty plastic surrounding the regular sized keyboard, and a single large rectangular speaker that gives off a passable, but not noteworthy sound at the top of the keyboard. The available ports are all covered with plastic latches that feel particularly flimsy in use, although we suspect as a desktop replacement many users will flick them open once and then never touch them again.
Like many desktop replacement notebooks, the emphasis hasn't really been on battery life; if it's always plugged in, why worry? Consequently, the PCGGRV7P uses a desktop Pentium 4 2.6GHz processor on the Intel 845MP chipset, with 512MB of DDR-SDRAM and a 64MB ATI Mobility Radeon graphics solution. That's a reasonably tidy package right there, but what the PCGGRV7P will undoubtedly sell on its the integrated dual-format DVD burner that writes to both plus and minus DVD writeable formats. Sony's had a lot of success with its dual-format EIDE drive, and we suspect it'll have the same luck with an internal notebook model. It's worth noting that the system lacks any kind of integrated wireless solution, so you'd need to sacrifice one of the two PC card slots in order to run the unit wirelessly.
We were expecting at least reasonable benchmarking results from the Vaio, but were met with one tiny problem; our test unit absolutely refused our standard MobileMark 2002 benchmark, crashing each and every time. It is, however, a notebook that our colleagues at CNET Asia have looked at previously, and their benchmark results indicate that you can expect essentially middle of the road performance from the Vaio, and some terribly ordinary battery life. That's pretty much to be expected from a notebook with a desktop processor; in their testing the PCGGRV7P managed just 106 minutes on battery before conking out.
The DVD+/- drive on the PCGGRV7P lags behind the current generation of DVD burners in only offering single speed writing in either plus or minus writing modes; by comparison Sony's own DRU500AX EIDE manages a swift 4x burn in either format. It's capable of speedier reading; 2x in either DVD format and 24x for CD/CD-R discs.
In our testing this read speed translated into an average of 2.25MB/sec from a DVD containing 912MB of files, which took 6:44 to move from the drive. In burning tests the drive took 28:53 to burn a collection of files totalling 4.26GB of data onto a DVD+RW disc. Similar results were seen with DVD-R media, so there's no particular 'best' media to use in the drive.
The other way that Sony pitches the PCGGRV7P is in the supposed ease of use that the integrated "Click to DVD" burning software offers. This simplifies common DVD burning tasks--writing data discs, backing up drives and creating video DVD packages into a group of three buttons for easy access. In its default mode these three options appear as floating buttons on the Windows desktop, and while they're relatively easy to use, you're not exactly flooded with options for the creation of your discs either. One thing that Click To DVD does have in its favour is a minimalist interface; you can even close the dialog box that tells you how far along the burning process you are. If you just want to set stuff up to burn and not have to think about it it's a fairly solid package. For users seeking more options, we'd suggest investing in a more fully-featured package such as Ahead Nero.
The PCGGRV7P is a solid notebook, both in fundamental specifications and physical size. As with most notebooks offering an integrated DVD burning solution at the moment there is a premium price to pay, but in the PCGGRV7P's definite favour is the dual format burner included. As long as you won't need exceptional battery life and don't expect to be moving the unit to any great extent it's a solid buy.
Sony Vaio PCGGRV7P
Company: Sony Australia
Price: AU$5,999
Distributor: Selected resellers
Phone: 1 300 720 071
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