Sony Vaio PCV Series
DeveloperSony Corporation
ManufacturerSony Corporation
TypeDesktop Computer
Release date1996; 27 years ago (1996)
Discontinued2005; 18 years ago (2005)
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
CPUAMD Athlon, Intel Celeron, Intel Pentium, Intel Pentium II, Intel Pentium III, Intel Pentium 4
GraphicsATI Rage series, NVIDIA GeForce, RIVA TNT
SuccessorSony Vaio VGC Series
RelatedSony Vaio SVL Series, Sony Vaio VGC Series, Sony Vaio VGX Series

Sony Vaio PCV Series is the first line of products of desktop computers introduced by Sony under their VAIO brand in 1996.[1] The series would be introduced to the Japanese market the following year, with the introduction of the mini-tower computer, PCV-T700MR on July 15, 1997.[2]

History

After a long hiatus from building consumer PCs, Sony announced the re-entering into computer manufacturing market with the introduction the VAIO brand in 1996 while in Japan the following year. Sony's first lineup of VAIO desktop computers, the PCV-70 and PCV-90 would be introduced at the 1996 PC Expo Trade Show in New York.[1][3] While in Japan, Sony introduced PCV-T700MR mini-tower computer, and two notebook computers for the Japanese market.

PCV Lineup

The PCV series are broken into various sub-series variants, each focusing on specific consumers that fits their needs. Despite the variants introduced, the PCV series introduced 10 numbered models before adding a suffix to differentiate its future lineup. The letter(s)/suffix that starts before or after the model number indicates which sub-series it belongs to. The list below describes each suffix.

Sub-series Lineup

The sub-series consists of 18 variants:

Model Number Processor Memory Graphics Optical Drive Floppy Drive Storage Drive Operating System Release Date
PCV-70[4] Intel Pentium (166 MHz, 256 KB Pipeline Burst SRAM ) 32 MB EDO RAM (standard), expandable to 128 MB ATI RAGE 3D (2 MB EDO RAM) 8X CD-ROM 3.5-inch Micro Floppy Disk Drive (1.44 MB) 2.1 GB HD Microsoft Windows 95 1996
PCV-90[5] Intel Pentium (200 MHz, 256 KB Pipeline Burst SRAM) 32 MB EDO RAM (standard), expandable to 128 MB ATI RAGE 3D (2 MB EDO RAM) 8X CD-ROM 3.5-inch Micro Floppy Disk Drive (1.44 MB) 2.5 GB HD Microsoft Windows 95 1996
PCV-100[6] Intel Pentium MMX (166 MHz, 256 KB Pipeline Burst SRAM) 32 MB EDO RAM (standard), expandable to 128 MB ATI Rage II (2 MB EDO RAM) 16X CD-ROM 3.5-inch Micro Floppy Disk Drive (1.44 MB) 2.5 GB HD Microsoft Windows 95 1997
PCV-120[7] Intel Pentium MMX (200 MHz, 256 KB Pipeline Burst SRAM) 32 MB EDO RAM (standard), expandable to 128 MB ATI Rage II (2 MB EDO RAM) 16X CD-ROM 3.5-inch Micro Floppy Disk Drive (1.44 MB) 3.8 GB HD Microsoft Windows 95 1997
PCV-130[8] Intel Pentium MMX (200 MHz, 512 KB Pipeline Burst SRAM) 32 MB SDRAM (standard), Expandable to 256 MB ATi Rage II+ (4 MB EBO RAM) 24X CD-ROM 3.5-inch drive (1.44 MB) 4.3 GB HD Microsoft Windows 95 July 1997
PCV-150[9] Intel Pentium MMX (233MHz, 512 KB Pipeline Burst SRAM) 32 MB SDRAM (standard), Expandable to 256 MB ATi Rage II+ (4 MB EBO RAM) 24X CD-ROM 3.5-inch drive (1.44 MB) 4.3 GB HD Microsoft Windows 95 July 1997
PCV-210[10] Intel Pentium II MMX (266 MHz, 512 KB Pipeline Burst SRAM) 32 MB SDRAM (standard), Expandable to 384 MB ATi 3D Rage Pro (4 MB SGRAM) 24X CD-ROM 3.5-inch drive (1.44 MB) 4.3 GB HD Microsoft Windows 98 1998
PCV-230[11] Intel Pentium II MMX (300 MHz, 512 KB Pipeline Burst SRAM) 64 MB SDRAM (standard), Expandable to 384 MB ATi 3D Rage Pro (4 MB SGRAM) 24X CD-ROM 3.5-inch drive (1.44 MB) 6.4 GB HD Microsoft Windows 98 1998

References

  1. ^ a b "A Look Back at the Golden Age of Sony VAIO PCs". PCMAG.
  2. ^ "Sony Global - Press Release - Sony Introduces VAIO Series PCs Leading-edge multimedia desktop and notebook PCs for the home". www.sony.net.
  3. ^ Warren, Tom (February 6, 2014). "Sony VAIO: a visual history". The Verge.
  4. ^ "Sony Computing Products: PCV-70". May 3, 1997. Archived from the original on 1997-05-03.
  5. ^ "Sony Computing Products: PCV-90". May 3, 1997. Archived from the original on 1997-05-03.
  6. ^ "Sony Computing Products: PCV-100". July 4, 1997. Archived from the original on 1997-07-04.
  7. ^ "Sony Computing Products: PCV-120". July 4, 1997. Archived from the original on 1997-07-04.
  8. ^ "Sony Computing Products: PCV-130". July 4, 1997. Archived from the original on 1997-07-04.
  9. ^ "Sony Computing Products: PCV-150". July 4, 1997. Archived from the original on 1997-07-04.
  10. ^ "Sony Computing Products: PCV-210". June 26, 1998. Archived from the original on 1998-06-26.
  11. ^ "Sony Computing Products: PCV-230". June 26, 1998. Archived from the original on 1998-06-26.
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