I wrote this about a month ago originally. I have since replaced the machine in question TWICE. First was with a lemon from ibuypower.com, and then a sweet little Sony notebook, the VGN-SZ370P. Anyway, read on, and try to keep that timeline in mind throughout...
I killed my laptop a few days ago, then brought it back from the dead. Oddly enough, I think this was the same process that killed my old laptop (Sony PCG-FR130, man I wish I still had that one), but I had no idea at the time.
My current notebook/laptop is a POS. It's a Sony VAIO PCG-K33. Here's a rundown of the specs, the claim, my initial reaction, and then the reality of the situation:
3.06GHz Pentium 4
Initial: Holy crap, a 3GHz P4 for $1200? NO WAY!
Reality: Dynamically downshifts as the machine heats up or starts multitasking, seldom runs above 1.8GHz, and more often runs at roughly 200MHz.
ATI IGP 345M Video with up to 128MB shared memory
Initial: ATI? Ok, worth a shot. I had a Nvidia Geforce 420 Go 16MB before, so with this much memory, it should smoke!
Reality: Integrated video = crap for multimedia/gaming. Shared memory sucks even more than integrated video, in my opinion. The overall performance was abysmal over time, and the heat buildup would cause the machine to hang periodically.
512MB Infineon RAM
Initial: Ooo, Infineon. They must be good if their name is plastered on the outside of the machine.
Reality: Is Infineon good? I couldn't tell, and sharing it dynamically with the video card means the VRAM doesn't have the pep that dedicated VRAM has.
CD-RW/DVD-ROM
Initial: Good enough for now. I don't need a DVD-RW yet.
Reality: Works for the most part. Sometimes had trouble reading discs. Probably heat-related like everything else.
60GB Hard Drive
Initial: Seems like plenty of room for my games and music.
Reality: At 4200RPM (not published), you could go make lunch while you wait for programs to load.
Article comments
1 - Bliffle
I've been using nothing but Thinkpads for several years. I like the keyboard feel, most laptops are too mushy. Pretty easy to work with, installing bigger Travelstar 2.5" drives, RAM, etc. Using a T40 right now and I look forward to getting one with a little bigger screen and bigger keyboard for my errant fingertips.
Service is pretty good: one time IBM even sent a technician to my home to install a new board, but last time (when my vacuum sucked a couple of keycaps right off the KB and there was no way to replace them) they just sent out a new KB and instructions for me to install it. Free. Luckily, I have practice since I'd changed KBs on an old 570.
Only failures I've had are the DCDC (battery charger) board on an old TP600, and occasionally the brick connector.
I have 8 year old TPs sitting around that I just use for dubbing DVDs and rendering SVCDs for the family. Work good.
But since TP is now Lenova I'm open to a new vendor. Dell would have been a good choice, but their reputation has suffered the last few years. Sony KBs are too mushy. Oh well.
2 - Howard Dratch
Sometimes I wonder why I stuck to my plan to make my first computer a Mac while being oldish and living on the jungle-edge of Mexico where there are only Windows/PCs.
Then I read an amusing and engrossing story like yours and thank the computer gods I bought my trusty iBook G3 (2003) 900mhz, 40 GB, originally with 256mb which even Mr. Thumbs easily changed to 640mb. So far only the internal modem died (probably a Mexican power surge) and I restored the OS a couple of times.
Consider biting into a Macintosh.
3 - Mark Buckingham
I looked into IBMs and Macs, and several of my friends are getting on the Mac bandwagon now that they can more easily support Windows apps, but my biggest problem has been gaming support on the Mac and business notebooks like the Lenovo. I NEED a good video card, not just for my entertainment, but for what I do for a living. It's hard to do reliable tech support for a game company if I can't even run their games. :
4 - STM
Bugger ... I didn't look closely enough at the title. I thought it was about the resurrection of the lapDANCE. Silly me. None of you will understand how positively disappointed I am.
5 - Tina
Hi, I read your article and I would like to know how to open a Vaio Notebook PCG-K33 so I can clean the danged dust that causes this notebook to heat up and freeze. I took out all the screws on the bottom that have arrows ponting to them, but still can't open it. Desktops were so much easier! Wish I'd never bought a Vaio, I should have gone with an Apple, HP or Dell. My pc has been in the shop at Best Buy numerous times for freezing and shutting down,(lousy maint. agmt, NEVER BUY FROM THE STORE, BUY YOUR MAINT. AGREEMENT FROM THE MANUFACTURER OF YOUR PC BECAUSE THEY REPLACE THE PARTS WITH GENERIC PARTS. I LEARNED THIS TOO LATE.)
6 - Mark Buckingham
Hi Tina...
Opening up a laptop can be tricky business. It's true, they aren't nearly as accessible as desktop machines. Opening up mine boiled down mostly to just taking out all the screws I could find and hoping I didn't put them back in the wrong order or have something shift inside the case that I'd never be able to realign, leaving me with a dead machine.
That said, my VAIO VGN-SZ370P that replaced my old machine has worked flawlessly, had no overheating problems, is incredibly light (less than 3 pounds) and ridiculously powerful and versatile. I'm not about to swear off VAIOs just because I bought one with crappy video hardware and a heat issue. If I'd have waited and done more research on it before I bought, I probably would have chosen a different model for my old one.
I've had 3 VAIO laptops in my life so far, and 2 of them have been solid performers.
If you want to clean out the dust and whatnot, the most I'd recommend doing is getting a can of compressed air and blowing it thru the vents on the machine to get the sediments loose. Beyond that, skip the big chain stores and look for a local PC repair guy, a solo operation, and see if he'll take a peek inside. The little guys tend to do a more thorough job and don't use "we have to format the hard drive" as their catch-all fix for everything.
If all that doesn't help and you still have system performance and/or heat problems, look into a laptop cooling pad, a device that plugs into a USB port for power and sits under the laptop, blowing cool air against it constantly to manage heat better. These help a lot of people keep their machines running well despite the tight form factor's inability to manage heat dissipation effectively.
7 - bliffle
I switched my T40 from Windows XP to Ubuntu 7.04 a couple months ago and I'm REALLY glad I did. The T40 runs faster, cooler and more reliably. In fact, now I feel no need to upgrade the laptop. And I've discarded plans I had to switch to a Mac: this setup has most of the advantages of Mac without the disadvantages. The only problem I haven't solved is getting an HDTV-USB stick running right. Since the T40 is such a common computer all the hardware devices worked immediately.
8 - Tina
Thanks so much Mark for responding to my question. When you said get the can of air and blow out the vents you meant not to open it right? I also wrote you thru your MySpace url. I will request you be added as a friend on MySpace.
Tina
9 - Mark Buckingham
Removing a few of the basic case panels may help the dust find other exits, but you shouldn't need to go too crazy taking it apart to get results. The fans mostly try to blow the hot air out of the machine and when those get clogged with dust, it heats up, and you start having problems. Aim to keep the fans and vents are clean and clear and things should be at least a little better.
Also, don't set the laptop on shag carpet, plush furniture, fuzzy blankets, etc., as those will block the vents completely. I started using a 30-cent plastic cut-board from Ikea as a mat for my laptop to prevent vent blockages. Then I can set it anywhere.
With my old VAIO, when it was sitting on my desk I helped it ventilate by just putting two bottlecaps under the far end and pointing a fan under it. Cheap and effective solution, and it'll keep you cool at the same time. ;)