Hello all this is my first post here. So, I hope someone can help. I own a sony vaio pcv-rs520 and badly need a larger power supply. Is it even possible to switch it out for a bigger one? Please help because I am wanting to run the new ati radeon x800 xt or nvidia 6800 ultra but , i honestly doubt that the stock psu will run everything. Here is my set up

Intel P4 3.0E (Hyper threading with 800 FSB)
1536MB PC2700 DDR memory
160GB (7200RPM)HD
PCI 56K modem
DVD-ROM DRIVE
DVD-RW DRIVE
ATI RADEON 9200 AGP
and I beleive that there is only one case fan

Any help is appreciated.

Hello Mark, welcome to Hardware Analysis.

As far as I know, Sony uses normal power supplies (PSU) in their computers. Certain companies such as Dell use proprietary PSUs but I don’t believe that Sony follows this practice. If my reasoning is correct you should be able to purchase a PSU from just about any company you want.

I’d recommend you call Sony and ask if you can use a third-party PSU with your system. If the answer is yes then you’re good to go. If the answer is no let us know and I will look it up and make sure they aren’t BSing you.

Either way, it’s entirely possible to switch out PSUs and it’s actually quite simple.

Sony's service department is a joke. None of them seem to know anything. I am led to believe that they use a proprietary psu. Any help is appreciated.

Mark, Can you take a photo of the PSU and try to get a pic of the lable thats on it.

Also can you measure it. I think I got some but im not sure... its about £35.00 for the 500Watt one if its the 15cm ones
You will have to email or PM me with the url for this topic once you got that info,.

Hi I have a desktop RZ422P which Ive had just over a year. but it came with a FX5200 Nvidia card instead of the originally stated 5600 in the brochure..........so I went out and bought a FX5900Ultra and installed it. From that point on I had problems with power as these high end cards need added power. There was also a overheat problem!! We tried putting a bigger power unit in but there was no room so in the end for the sake of the PC, I had it all taken out and assembled in a bigger case with the 550W power unit. That solved all the overheat and allowed the graphics card to function to its full potential!!

I think i would have:

A. sent the PC back and had the correct graphics card installed.
B. gone to thier office and ramed it in their mouth.. then kicked them in the nut.. demanded my money back then walked about got all the bit i needed to built a PC and left with out paying.
C, Reported then for fraud and deception and false advertising.

I think i know the PSU you need, Its the small ass ones.

Mark the answer is pretty simple....Just take your case down to your friendly local tech shop and they can identfy your PSU type and suggest a good replacement for you. Installing a PSU can be a bit of a bitch though if it is riveted in...but generaly it is a simple swap out. I would suggest with your config. is to get at the min. 400 Watt.

Yeah i'm having the same problem actually....i just bought a 9700pro..but...my sony rs712 only has 266W of power....i need 300W....is 266W close enuf to 300W? haha i wish...anyway, if you figure out a solution or find a psu that fits in the case that would be great. I dont' really want to buy a new case, i like the small pretty sony case..thats one of the reasons i bought it haha.

Well guys take it from a guy that used to sell the sony Pcvrs520 that the sony power supplies are indeed propietary infact the sony speaker systems take power from the back of the power supply on models like like sony pcvrz56g... in other words ur pretty much out of luck... because i tried fitting a 420 watt supply from Antec and the holes were off by a few millimeters.... u can drill it but then u void your warranty.... i would say go to liek Circuit City and have them do it cause they do it for the cheapest...

NOTICE: even if you had a powersupply installed the airflow is not enough to cool that graphics card..

i know from 1st hand expericne w/ a sony pcvrz40c1b that my co-worker/ co- store technician bought which comes stock w/ a 9800pro and 1gb of ram... well its supposed to be made to run the 9800pro but it doesn't cause it overheats in about 30 min

P.s. sony has now gone to a "liquid heat pipe cooling system" because every single one of their pc's was having heating/ cooling issues..... for example the Sony VGC-RA820G

Mark,

I plan on doing the same thing to my Sony VAIO PCVRS520.

Going to replace the stock power supply with the Antec True 550. It's about the same size as the stock Sony but goes a bit deeper into the case. The new one will be a bit closer to the rear of the CD drives but shouldn't be a problem since the Antec's fan on the inside is facing down instead of out the rear like the stock Sony.
http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=20550

Yes the Sony has a propertiery power supply but the only real difference is the screw pattern. I'm going to make a plate out of metal stock that I can mount to the new Antec power supply then screw that plate to the VAIO case screw pattern. Should work out fine. I really like my Sony, ships with good parts as far as I can tell, it's just to bad they dropped such a small power supply in there, the only short coming I can see.

The Sony power supply is 6.5'' x 3.5'' as you look as you look at it from the back of your Sony and 4'' deep. Screw pattern is basicly one at each corner about 1/4'' in from corners on the power supply.
http://homepage.mac.com/lloydfrancis/.Pictures/Back%20of%20Sony.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/lloydfrancis/.Pictures/Inside%20Sony%20Case.jpg

I'll let you know how my plate fabrication goes and send you a template if you need it.

When it's all said and done I'm tossing an ATI X800XT P in there. If things run hot in the case afterward I'll put a couple of PCI fans in my open PCI Slots.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1077630480777&skuId=6562702&type=product

I was reading this forum because i am having the same problem with my Sony Vaio RS712
it only has a 266W power supply ... for someone who doesnt know how to make a case for a new one..would i have to go through sony..or has someone found a similar power supply i can put in.

thanks for your help

Sony does not have higher watt psu's. If you are not picky about the looks of your system you can have the psu outside of the case. But , if your sony motherboard is like mine , you will not be able to put a longer card in the agp slot because they put a transistor just at the right height to prevent you from using a different card. I was forced to buy a different case , psu , motherboard and hard drive(hard drive only because of the partition they use for system restore)in order to use a 6800 gt. I never realized before how important it is to build a computer from the ground up. You should never buy a prebuilt computer unless you never plan to upgrade the system. At least this is the case for sony. Another lesson in life hard learned.

well thanks for the advice.. thats a real p**s off though.....last time i buy a sony PC ever...i guess i will have to live with the card i have now...or just hope i can fit a bit higher rated card in there that doesnt need a 300+ watt Psu.

Scratch that idea I had about the new power supply in my Sony case... There is not enough room in the case. So I"m pulling all items from my Sony's case and putting them into a nice new Antec Case with along with that new Power Supply and new round ATA & Floppy cables. New X850XT will follow as soon as they become available here.

Colin,

Your system is identical to mine with a couple exceptions but same case still. You will NOT find a good "standard" power supply to fit your case because of it's size. The best you could do graphic card wise without upgrading your power supply is probably the ATI 9600XT that doesn't require a power connection. I've had no problems with this card on my PCVRS520 since upgrading from the stock 9200 card first week I got my Sony. I knew the 9200 was a weak link when I got the Sony but I didn't know the power supply would bite me later on. Willing to sell the 9600XT as soon as the X850s come in from ATI.

I can tell you this too after reading some case reviews... Our Sony cases run pretty hot, so I can't wait to get my parts in a new case. You guys need to join me on this and get new boxes.

As far as prebuilt systems go I'll probably never buy one again (unless it's a Mac of course). I'd rather do it myself and though it's costing me more than it should at this time when thiniking that I've only had this Sony for about 8 months, I'm really enjoying the research and planning of setting these Sony parts in a new box.

thanks Jake

i guess i will have to go with the 9600XT and hope it lasts 2 years till i buy a new computer (which wont be a sony) ...if i were to look into gettin some one to switch my parts into a new case how much would this cost me...not including the new case and power supply..
this seems like a good idea for the long run ..and after reading lots of forums on sony ... most people seem to be doing...i live in canada so if u guys have a price on the cost of labour can you please say if tis in US or CND currency...
thanks alot for all your help.
PS. i dont even think sony tech support know what a computer really is lol

Colin,

Though I've upgraded things like memory, drives and video cards I've never setup a new box. I think if you research it a little bit you'll find the courage to move to a new box on your own all by yourself too. It'll cost you about 150 to 200 to make the upgrades yourself. You can probably plan on doubling that if your going to have someone do it for you. Hecked I'd do it for free as long as I could do yours before mine for the practice. lol

I'll gladly help you along in the process as well. We can exchange AIM screen names via a private message and discuss it if you like. Let me know.

Going to pick up the Antec Super LANboy tomorrow and an Antec Power Supply and do the switch. I may or may not grab an ATI x800 Pro but will only install that after the box is up and running.



Jake

Jake,

I was thinking on trying to install it my self and if it goes wrong i can just put it all back in and bring it back to the best buy where i got it ...i have a 3 year warrenty ...i have an old 2.2 ghz celeron laying around i can practice on lol

yeah i would like to exchange more thought online....i dont have AIM but i have MSN messenger..and i could get AIM if you dont have MSN......if not post a msg and i will get AIM

Well, my problem has nothing to do with upgrading, simply put my 2 year old sony stock decided that it wouldn't work any more. Sony tells me that sending me a new one would cost a whopping $120(yeah this is the desktop, and u are making the same face as me i'm sure) , so forget looking pretty, i'd rather go with reliable with higher output.
So here is my question, i'm looking at the Antec true, although not the 550, but instead the 330 http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=20330 However, i was looking at that annoying 3 prong hook up on the vaio motherboard, and noticed that the stock power had 3 cords heading into it, while the antec only has 2 cords going into that 3 prong hook up. Am i being paranoid? Does anyone know if that really makes a differnce, and will this supply work with my vaio PCV-RZ22G?
Thank you much for the help!
Al

Hi everyone,
I am new to this forum and I look upon your topic with great interest because I am also having a problem with a sony and it's power supply (mine is PCV-RS320) I see topics being mentioned about putting the Sony parts in to another case and I love the idea,but before I venture into trying, I would like to know if anyone could help me with a few things,and they are (1) the front of the Sony case is pretty standard with 2 USB and 1 firewire and most other cases can handle that but, I've noticed most of the cases only carry holes for 2 USB ports at the rear, and the RS Sony series carry 4 USB + 1 firewire, and they are all on the motherboard. Can anyone recommend a case that would work? (2): also, when I transfer everything over to another case would I lose my Sony programs including the operating system? ( I have already made the backup recovery discs) or could I use the recovery disc to configure the hard drive if I am unable to boot up.

Thanking you all in anticipation

hey linden

I just went down to my local computer shop and got them to switch everything over it cost me $200 which would be like $140 US if that...for the case a new PSU and the labour.....u dont loose any programs as it is saved on the HDD
thats what i would reccommend.

the case i purchased was the JETMASTER JR http://www.aerocool.com.tw/aerocool-files-v3/case/jetmaster/jetmaster.htm
and i just bought a 500W Psu to put in it (make sure its a good company not a cheap one)

Hi Colin,
Thanks very much for the information, it would be better to do it that way, I learned the hard way. I went out and bought an Antec case SLK 2600AMB only to find the case was too big for the Sony motherboard . I had to put everything back in the Sony case and now I am stuck with an empty Antec case. I will follow your advice
Linden