Laptops Arena

If you have a Sony laptop which has a damaged keyboard, in this article we are going to explain how to remove keyboard from Sony laptop without having to spend a small fortune by taking the laptop to a specialized store and paying a specialized tech to perform some easy steps that you could do by yourself at home. In general, the process of removing and replacing a keyboard should not take more than 15 to 20 minutes. Follow the instruction below and you should be able to remove keyboard from Sony laptop is a matter of minutes.

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The process of removing the keyboard will depend on the Sony VAIO laptop model that you have. Since we cannot explain the process for the all the VAIO laptop models, we shall do it for the Sony VAIO PCG-FXA63 laptop. First of all, make sure there is not electricity running though the unit. For that, you have to disconnect the power cord from the laptop and also to remove the battery from inside the unit. After you have completed this step, look on the left side of the laptop and very close to where the display meets the rest of the unit, you will see one screw which has to be removed as that screw secures the speakers and the hinges cover. After you have removed the screw, you will notice that the cover will slide to the right.

After it has slide all the way, you have to carefully flip it over and place it upside down somewhere because this panel is still secured to the motherboard using a small ribbon cable. You can remove the keyboard without having to disconnect that panel from the motherboard so just put it somewhere close and leave it like this for now. Right above the F7 and F8 keys you will notice a flat ribbon cable which is the one holding the keyboard connected to the motherboard. You have to very very careful in unlocking this connector because this is one part that you cannot replace: you have to replace the entire motherboard if you break it. You can use your fingernail to pull that top side of the connector up about 2 mm. it is now safe to pull the cable from the connector. Above the F6 key, you will notice one screw which keeps the keyboard into place and which needs to be removed.



Once you have removed the keyboard, you have now gained access to a lot of other important laptop components: the hard drive, the optical drive and the fan. All these components can also be replaced and upgraded. This could be a god time to clean you Sony VAIO laptop fan while we are here. You can just insert a new keyboard and the do this steps again from end to beginning. Make sure you carefully connect the keyboard to the motherboard using that flat ribbon cable and that you put back the keyboard screw into its place, as well as the one securing the speakers cover.

In our days, a laptop has become a very practical accessory. If you are a business man or you simply want to have access to technology every time, you certainly have to be the proud owner of a notebook. For those people who want to buy a very powerful and high-quality laptop, we have gathered the top 10 notebook computers which are currently available on the market at the present time. These models belong to the most popular manufacturers, like Apple, Alienware, Dell, Sony, HP, Toshiba and Lenovo.

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The first laptop that we have to mention in this top 10 notebook computers is the HP Pavilion dv5t. This notebook is designated for those multimedia fans which have a low or medium budget. The Dv5t model comes with an Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB of DDR2 RAM memory, nVidia GeForce Go and Windows Vista Home Premium.

It has a 15.4 inch WSXGA+ display with a native resolution of 1680 x 1050 pixels and HD (720p) support. Also, it comes with a 320 GB (SATA 5400 RPM) hard drive, a Blu-Ray and supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0.

Another fantastic notebook which is worth mentioning in this top is the Alienware Area-51 m15x. This notebook is designated for gamers and was launched, at a price of $3600. It has a 15.4 inch WUXGA display with HD support and a native resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels.

Being a gaming notebook, it comes with an Intel Core 2 Extreme X9000 2.8 GHz processor and 2 GB of DDR2 RAM memory. To keep up with the most demanding games, it has an nVidia GeForce 8800M GTX 512 MB graphics card, Windows Vista Home Premium and a 200 GB (Serial ATA 7200 RPM) hard drive.  Besides all these, the Alienware Area-51 m15x comes with a DVD-Burner, card reader, HDMI port and Bluetooth 2.0.

The Sony Vaio FZ is also one of the best notebooks on the market. It is quite a very powerful device at an affordable price. It has a 15.4 inch WXGA display with a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels and HD (720p) support.

For running multi-tasks without any lag, it comes equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 2.1 GHz and 4 GB of DDR2 RAM memory. In standard configuration it comes with an nVidia GeForce 8400M GT graphics card, preinstalled  Windows  Vista Ultimate, a 300 GB (Serial ATA 4200 RPM) hard drive, Blu-Ray and 2-in-1 card reader. For connectivity it has 3 USB ports, a FireWire port, an Ethernet port, a HDMI port, a VGA port, an S-video port and headphones and microphones jacks.

From the Dell manufacturer, we have chosen the Dell XPS M1530. Because the notebook’s prices are in a continuous decrease, the Dell XPS M1530 comes with a price of only $1900. For this price you will get a powerful device with a 15.4 inch WUXGA display with a native resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels, an Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 2.5 GHz processor and 3 GB of DDR2 RAM memory.

Equipped with an nVidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics card and a 320 GB (SATA 5400 RPM) hard drive, you will be capable to play a lot of games without malfunctions. Other included features are DVD Writer, Card Reader, Bluetooth 2.0, Mobile BroadBand, a HDMI port, a VGA out port and USB 2.0.

We are at the middle of our top 10 notebook computers with a star in this ranking, the Apple MacBook Pro, available at a price of $2100 – $2500, depending on what configuration you choose. In standard configuration, this notebook comes equipped with a 15.4 inch WXGA display with a native resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels and HD support.

The processor is  Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 2.4 GHz, 2 GB of DDR2 RAM memory, an nVidia GeForce 8600 GT graphics card, a 200 GB hard drive and preinstalled Mac OS x.  Other features are the DVD Writer, an Express Card slot, two USB ports, a FireWire port and a DVI-out port.

The Toshiba Qosmio F55, even if it is considered a low-end laptop, it is definitely worth mentioning in our top. The most attractive feature at this laptop is that it has a 15.4 inch display and a GPS sensor. It comes equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, an integrated nVidia GeForce 9700M GTS graphics card, and 2 GB of RAM memory. On the specification list, it has a preinstalled Windows Vista Home Premium operating system, eSATA ports and HDMI-CEC ports.

Another “fresh” notebook is the Dell Studio 15, available at a price of $1600. This device is equipped with a 15.4 inch WUXGA display with a native resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels, an Intel Core 2 Duo T930 2.6 GHz processor and 3 GB of RAM memory.

The integrated graphics card is an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 and the hard drive has a capacity of 320 GB of free space. In addition, the Studio 15 has a Blu-Ray optical drive, a card reader, HDMI support, a VGA port, a FireWire port, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

With a price of only $1000, the Toshiba Satellite A305 promises to be another phenomenal notebook made by Toshiba. It comes with a classic 15.4 inch WXGA display with HD support and a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, an Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 2.0 GHz processor, 4 GB of RAM memory, a 320 GB hard drive and an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 graphics card.  For connectivity, it comes with a card reader, USB, FireWire, S-Video, VGA, Wi-Fi and HDMI-CEC.

In January 2008, the Lenovo Company has launched the IdeaPad Y510 model, a laptop which impresses people by being one of the most powerful Lenovo notebooks. Available at a price of $1000, it comes equipped with a 15.4 inch WXGA display with a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, an Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 1.83 GHz processor and 4 GB of RAM memory. It also comes with an integrated nVidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics card and a 250 GB hard drive.

For the end of our top 10 notebook computers, we choose an older notebook model, the Sony Vaio NR. Even if this notebook was launched in November 2007, it has proven to be the perfect unit at that time.

Anyway, available at a price of $1050, it is equipped with a 15.4 inch WXGA display with a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, an Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 1.83 processor, 2 GB of RAM memory, a 250 GB hard drive and an integrated Intel GMA X3100 graphics card. Whether you choose an ideal laptop for gamers or the most powerful "multimedia monster" any laptop from this top would be a road companion. With prices between $1000 and $2000+, these models are affordable for most customers.

When you hear about an AW Sony laptop you should know that it refers to the Sony VAIO AW series of multimedia notebooks. One specific model of AW Sony laptop is the VAIO VGN-AW180Y/Q, a  18.4 inch desktop replacement with a price composed of 4 digits. The unit reviewed came with a 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 processor and 4 GB of included RAM. The hard drive is huge as it can store 628 GB of total files.

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The graphics card is none other than the nVidia GeForce 9600 M GT with 512 MB of video memory. Back in 2208 when this unit was reviewed, the price of this laptop has a bit less than $4000. The first thing that came to my mind when I looked thought the specs was “this one is some serious competition for the HP Pavilion HDX Dragon”. The most important thing about a Sony VAIO is the multimedia performance.



After all, Sony insisted on being the “entertainment” manufacturer. The laptop has some really cool features like an integrated Blu-ray optical drive and a built in TV tuner. One of the most pleasant surprises of this laptop was definitely the selection of ports and connections. The unit comes with 3 USB ports, one HDMI port, one VGA out, an SD card reader, an Express Card slot, an S/PDIF out, a FireWire port, an Ethernet jack, a modem port, a 4-in-1 memory card reader and the headphones plus microphone jacks.  Other goodies that come with this unit are the fingerprint reader and the 1.3 megapixel webcam.

It’s not often that we get a multimedia laptop which is good at gaming. With the nVidia GeForce graphics card and the 512 MB of video memory, you will be able to play some mainstream to premium games at acceptable speed and good frame rates. The laptop can manage World of Warcraft at medium settings but it cannot offer the same performance for F.E.A.R. which is one of the most demanding and high detail games on the market at the moment.

Due to the powerful components inside the unit, you cannot expect to get a blast out of the battery life. At medium settings and mainstream tasking, the battery will only manage an output of 1 hour and 45 minutes. It was quite predictable that an 18.4 inch laptop which is suitable as a desktop replacement would not have great performance when it comes to battery life. The truth is, you can get this laptop for less than $2000 if you drop some of the RAM and hard disk memory. The unit reviewed stretched the extra features to the maximum potential until the total price was raised to $4000.



The Blu-ray drive is excellent for watching HD movies and it should be a feature present in all respectable multimedia units. The TV tuner means you get a laptop and an extra TV so it’s 2 birds killed with one shot. I am not fond of Sony VAIO laptop but this one really managed to deliver performance even if the price with the full options is a bit spicy.

All Sony VAIO laptop reviews generally speak about the amazing multimedia performances of this series of notebooks. In a more personal opinion I believe there are better multimedia notebooks, like the HP Pavilion HDX Dragon for instance, with greater performance levels than a Sony VAIO.

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While reading Sony VAIO laptop reviews we came across the Sony VAIO NR series, the VGN-NR160E to be more exact. With a starting price of $799, this is one of the most affordable Sony VAIO laptop models available on the market. It uses a 1.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 processor and 1 GB of RAM which can be extended to a maximum of 4 GB.

The hard drive can store 160 GB of total files and the graphics card is the integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 which uses up to 251 MB of shared video memory. The VGN-NR160E has a total of 4 USB ports, an Express Card slot, a VGA port, a FireWire port, an SD card reader, an Ethernet port, a modem port, a MemoryStick Pro reader and the headphones plus microphone jacks.

The 15.4 inch display has a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels and it has 8 levels of brightness and quite attractive colors with good image quality. The horizontal viewing angles are good which means that movie watching is now possible even if you have some friends coming to visit. The keyboard is nice. There is nothing particularly special about it but there is nothing wrong with it either.

The keys appear to be flatter than they really are but typing is pleasant and the keys have excellent travel and offer positive feedback. By looking at the keyboard I find it to be small, maybe because the keyboard bezel seems so huge. The touchpad has a responsive surface so you can use it without having to worry about the urgent need of an external mouse.

Above the keyboard you will notice the external speakers and this is excellent location as the sound is projected straight up, rendering a much better sound quality. The speakers are not the best you can find on a 15.4 inch laptop and that’s too bad, because they should be. Sound and video are supposed to be the most important aspect of a multimedia laptop in order to provide great experiences while listening to music or watching movies and clips. If you surf the internet via a wireless connection and set the display’s brightness to medium level, you will get about 3 hours of battery life. Not the best performance, but not the worst either.

Overall, there is nothing particularly attractive about this laptop and I am still sticking to the idea that there are better multimedia laptops out there, not necessarily Sony VAIOs. The screen is quite ok and so are the specs. A more powerful processor would have been nice and maybe at least 2 GB of RAM as well. the keyboard is also good. too bad the unit comes with a lot of useless preinstalled software.

10 inch notebook computers are frequently referred to as „netbook” because they have 2 main characteristics. The first one is that they are really small and because of their small size they do not have powerful components inside. The second characteristic is that since the components found inside them are pretty weak, they can only be used for the basic computing needs which basically cover surfing the internet and doing some word processing.

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10 inch notebook computers are generally way cheaper than usual laptops but the advantage is the size which makes them highly portable. They generally offer better battery performance than regular and bigger laptops. An example of a good 10 inch notebook is the Sony VAIO VPCW211AX/L which can be bought for a starting price of $450. This mini laptop is one of the most elegant and powerful netbook that you can find on the market right now. It has a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N450 processor and 1 GB of RAM which can be upgraded to a maximum 2 GB.

The 10.1 inch display has a native resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels and the graphics card is the integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150. The storage capacity of the hard drive is an amazing 250 GB, a lot more than you could ever find on mini laptops belonging to the same category. The unit comes with 2 USB ports, one Ethernet port, one VGA out and the regular headphones and microphone jacks. Sony VAIO has always struggled to make high quality apparel and gizmos so the Sony VAIO mini series of portable laptop makes no exception as it certainly provides some of the best models on the market.

Another fine example of a good and affordable mini laptop is the Gateway LT2118u, which has a starting price of $350. This unit comes with the same 1.66 GHZ Intel Atom N450 processor and 1 GB of RAM (there are no references about the possibility to upgrade). The storage capacity of the hard drive is 250 GB which is more than enough even if you plan to use this netbook as your primary computer (although netbook will not always be able to cover your computing needs). The graphics card is the same integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150.



Other features of this laptop are the 3 USB ports, a built in webcam which also has an integrated microphone, a multi format digital media card reader, a touchpad which supports multi gestures and a promise of more than 10 hours of battery life. Beware as generally manufacturers tend to exaggerate with the performance of the battery. The total weight of the unit is 1.25 kg or 2.76 lbs. you get some trial version of different programs preinstalled on your mini Gateway, like a trial version of the Norton Internet Security suite.The list of good 10.1 inch laptops could continue as we have great models like the Acer Aspire One, The Dell Mini 10 and the Asus Eee PC but we will leave that info for another article.