SONY VAIO AR-Series

Yes, the 7600 GT will be available in the non-premium AR notebooks. However, Sony forces you to get the dual 80 GB (Total 160GB) hard drive before you can select the WUXGA screen and Geforce 7600GT which come together as a $250 upgrade.

Hi,

I'm thinking about getting the AR series, but gaming is a very important consideration. I know the ideal notebook for gaming is alienware or voodoo, or something like that, but does anyone know how well high-end games such as Half-Life 2 or World of Warcarft will run on a Sony Vaio AR series?

The AR laptop has a decent video card: Geforce Go 7600GT. It'll be able to handle most new games with decent framerates. However, if you're a serious gamer, i wouldn't suggest getting the AR. This is more of a multimedia laptop than a gaming laptop.

The AR can definitely handle HL2 and WOW without much trouble. However, if you really want a system that can play games, get a laptop with at least a Geforce Go 7900 GS (Alienware M9700, Dell E1705, Dell XPS M1710). Those are more gamer friendly and can be overclocked fairly easily. All three systems that i mentioned can be had for the same amount, if not cheaper, as the Sony AR.

Get the Sony if you're a casual gamer with more emphasis on multimedia, such as utilizing the HDMI output to connect to an HDTV with HDMI ports.

Heh, RE-Amemiya, yes I agree when it comes to high-end performance Alienware, Dell or Voodoo will rule the party, BUT LOOK AT THEM! What do you feel after looking at SONY VAIO AR? As for me I can't stand that unattractive if not to say harder, in my opinion, design ever created by Alienware and Dell. And turn back to AR - what do you see? You see a high quality sleek and stunning design notebook finished in magnesium alloy, combining normal weight, decent performance and incredibly amazing screen with a tonn of multimedia functions EVEN first ever for SONY optical S/PDIF out (I was missing it all the time, cause I usually connect my notebook to Hi-Fi A\V Reciever). Do you see a difference guys? You will be happy to communicate and entertain with such cool notebook pc. I think it's the first cool SONY's desktop replacement, and I think we can include it to the Gamer's Grade category as GeForce Go 7600GT shows the same results as last year leader GF Go 6800. Let it be entry level Gamer's notebook .

For me it was always a problem to choose between one class of notebooks and another. From one side I just LOVE high portability which not sacrificing the performance - say S series or now it's SZ, but from the other side I was always dreaming about High Performance Gaming machine not an ugly heavy brick but some powerful VAIO with super design. And now I think we have such powerful VAIO - AR. it's very difficult to make a choice between both - SZ and AR. And I think real SONY fans should have both

So, I think we should wait till the notebook comes to the shops all over the world to see it and to make the right choice and I hope it will be real Japanes made notebook like SZ or TX.

While we don't have real performance tests, I'll try to use some maths and my calculating capabilities to see theoretical pre-results of performance of upcoming GeForce Go 7600GT just to see what to expect for as I've already done with Go 7400 and VAIO SZ in theme called "GeForce Go 7400 - Mobile Graphics Revolution?" and I was right I'll publish the results as soon as I finish calculating!

NikJEHumme, i totally agree with you, which is why i cancelled my order for the Dell E1705 with the Geforce Go 7900GS in favor of the Sony VAIO AR. As a matter of fact, my AR should be coming in today! I'll be sure to post pictures of it once i get. Here are the specs i got:

AR170
Intel Core Duo T2500 2.0GHz
1920x1200 WUXGA with XBRITE™ HiColor™
Geforce Go 7600 GT
160GB Harddrive (80GB x2 RAID 0)
512 MB 533MHz RAM (I already have 2 sticks of 1GB 667MHz ready for it)
Large Capacity Lithium-ion Battery
DVD+R Double Layer DVD+-RW Drive
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center 2005 with NTSC TV Tuner
Wireless LAN (802.11a\b\g) and Bluetooth Technology

I'll try and run some benchmarks before and after the memory upgrade and post them up here so you have a better idea of the performance of this machine.

btw, i bought my wife the FJ series laptop as an anniversary present, so that should be coming in with my AR. I'll be sure to post pictures of both once they come in.

Sony AR

Hi,

Do you guys know if the Sony AR automatically comes with the sleek and shiny black exterior, or is that only with the $250 upgrade of "premium coating"?

I'm not sure what Sony means by "premium casing."

Hi - does anyone know what the expected battery life (on the larger capacity battery) is for the Sony AR 170 assuming web browsing and productivity sofware and emailing?

Thanks in advance,
Rayt

If anyone is interested in seeing more pictures of the AR:

http://www.notebookforums.com/thread159141.html