Sony VAIO PCG-FXA63 Notebook (1.4 GHz Athlon XP 1600+, 256 MB SDRAM, 20 GB hard drive

Product Description

All-in-one convenience without all the weight. Bring the ultimate power, performance, CD-RW/DVD-ROM combination drive, and network connectivity of a VAIO into your day with Sony's new FXA series notebooks. The VAIO FXA notebooks provide everything you need in a notebook without any of those excess connections - which makes life easy and convenient whether you're on the road or at home. The amazingly fast AMD processors, large bright screens, generous RAM and hard drives, double battery capacity, and digital video editing capabilities add up to one great notebook. VAIO FXA notebooks give you high performance, plenty of power and true portability. VAIO FXA models include AMD PowerNow! technology which can extend system battery life by up to 30%. This means you can work and play for even longer! You have everything in one package with an integrated V.90 modem and simultaneous access to the hard drive, floppy drive and CD-RW/DVD combo drive. Or, remove the floppy drive and insert the optional second battery for double the battery life! The Sony VAIO FXA all-in-one notebooks are equipped with the i.LINK interface, your conduit to the emerging digital world. The i.LINK interface gives you the ability to connect to a Sony Digital Handycam camcorder. Once connected, the included Sony DVgate and MovieShaker software lets you capture, easily edit and create full motion digital movies complete with transitions, effects and music.

Amazon.com Product Description

If you're an aspiring filmmaker on a budget looking for a high-performance mobile computer that doubles as a portable digital video-editing system, the Sony Vaio FXA63 notebook PC will deliver the goods on location or in your home office.

The notebook PC's all-in-one design includes an i.Link interface that serves as a high-speed FireWire conduit for connecting with devices such as camcorders. The FXA63 includes software for creating full-motion digital movies complete with a full complement of visual effects and audio.

The FXA63's 1.4 GHz Mobile AMD Athlon XP 1600+ processor cranks out plentiful power for propelling multimedia and productivity software. Its ATI Rage Mobility M1 graphics card, combined with 8 MB of video RAM and a 14.1-inch XGA active-matrix TFT display, enable you to view sharp, clear images. A built-in DVD-ROM/CD-RW combination drive makes it easy and convenient to watch DVD movies, listen to and make CDs, and rapidly back up data.

A 30 GB hard drive offers abundant space for storing data and multimedia files, and the FXA63's 256 MB of SDRAM--expandable to 512 MB--lets you run multiple applications smoothly. An integrated 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN connector makes networking easy. The FXA63 supports two Type I PC Cards or one Type II or III card. It also includes a parallel and serial port, an NTSC-out interface, and two USB ports.

The 6.7-pound, 12.8-by-10.5-by-1.5-inch FXA63 includes a built-in V.90 modem, and its floppy drive can be swapped out for a second battery that doubles the system's estimated three-hour battery life.

Installed software includes Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Corel WordPerfect Office 2002, Quicken 2002, and Trend Micro PC-cillin. Also included are Sony DVgate and MovieShaker software for capturing and editing full-motion digital video footage and creating movies that use transitions and other effects.

Customer Reviews:

Best laptop yet.......2005-02-16

I don't know why everyone is complaining about this laptop. It is by far the best laptop I have owned yet out of Compaq, HP, and IBM. This is not a gaming laptop by any means, but you DON'T buy a laptop for gaming. This laptop is designed for work/college use and it hasn't done me wrong yet. Granted I replaced Windows XP with 2000, it has great performance. I have never had this laptop crash, I have never had noise issues. The only thing about it is that if you let it on your lap for 2 hours, it can get mighty toasty. So to the point - You don't buy a laptop for gaming! You buy a desktop with power for that. This laptop has great graphics and speed. I highly recommend any sony vaio!

One headache after another..........2004-02-03

I bought this computer one year ago and have lost an unacceptable amount of time trying to fix its many problems. First, VAIOs are known for having DVD sound problems. Mine was no exception. Second, this VAIO does not operate properly with many common programs, especially Adobe Photoshop(it shuts itself off in the middle of work). Third, the battery life is so low as to be an embarrassment. Fourth problem with the VAIO = NOT ENOUGH MEMORY - thinking I wouldn't need more than a 20 gig hardrive was a big mistake! Shop around for your next laptop and DON'T buy a Sony VAIO. You will be sorry.

Does more than the competition........2003-10-21

I read of peoples problems with other brands of computers all of the time. I personally love my PCG-FXA63 Vaio and would recommend it to anyone. The only problems I have had were from human error(mine). The only drawback of this system is hard drive space, but that can be replaced easily enough.

Buy one, you won't be sorry!

Not too shabby for the price.......2003-10-09

After many years ... well 2 years ... and much heartache, I 86-ed my Compaq Presario laptop, and bought the Vaio FXA63. Much to my surprise, this little box did everything I wanted. Game performance was fine, and I found the graphics to be quite acceptable. Love being able to put 2 batteries in it. Best of all: Solaris x86 runs on it like a dream. (Get the realtek driver and XFree86 drivers and away you go.) Snappy little box; envy of all my working friends (except those who upgraded to the FVR-28). Wish it had a bigger drive and DVD writer, but for a year ago it was awesome.

Its not a bad machine, but they do get better.......2003-07-30

I bought this expecting more, don't get me wrong it is a good notebook, but shop around. The hard drives are too small, the track pad is a pain in my ___, And I HATE Windows,(Microsoft in general) If this had 160GB drive(s) and RedHat Linux 9 I would love it....but..no!
Avoid Windows products at all costs, espically XP(nothing but 2000's bug fix's...if that!!) True computer nuts know what I mean. But if you are on a budget, and like Windows(ugggh) this is not a bad choice..like I said shop around and compare.

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