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| Living In A World Of VAIOs |
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Hardware November 2001 • Vol.9 Issue 11 Page(s) 19-21 in print issue |
Living In A World Of VAIOs A First Look At Sony’s Next Desktops | ||
Fortunately, Sony systems back up their aesthetics with real processing muscle. They're also more focused on audiovisual pursuits than the run-of-the-mill PC. These include digitally editing video imported from your camcorder through iLink (IEEE 1394), burning home movie discs for your DVD player, and digital video recording of your favorite TV shows. Sony sent us three new desktop systems in the RX Digital Studio Series for this article. Formerly the middle line of PCs between the J Series and the DS Digital Studio VAIOs, the RX Series will replace them both. At least one of the RX VAIOs will even get the cool digital video recording features of the innovative, retiring PCV-RX490TV Digital Studio ($2,499). Our preproduction VAIO test units were so new, in fact, that none of them had documentation or the intended Memory Stick slots. In a couple of cases, they didn't even have floppy diskette drives, although the final versions will. Each VAIO we received differed somewhat from the systems Sony will actually ship, so I've pointed out the differences.  How We Tested These Sonys are the first OEM PCs we've seen with Windows XP Home Edition (actually, the prerelease Build 2526 of WinXP). Unfortunately, our regular benchmarking utilities, BAPCo's SYSmark2001 and MadOnion.com's Video2001 and 3DMark2001, were not WinXP-ready at this writing. Lacking restoration CDs for these Sonys, we decided not to risk installing utilities that may not work out so well. This freed me up to do fun things with the systems without worrying about objective numbers. In my world, fun means playing DVDs, such as "The Matrix"; audio CDs, such as Peter Gabriel's "So"; and 3-D games, such as Quake III Arena. In other words, I had to test these Sonys as I did the Power Mac G4 in the previous article—all visceral reaction, no beancounting. Come to think of it, that's how most people judge a PC anyway. VAIO PCV-RX550How do you get a 1.5GHz Pentium 4 system for $1,099 ($999 after a $100 rebate)? Opt for one with SDRAM instead of Rambus memory, such as the VAIO PCV-RX550.Like the rest of the VAIOs reviewed here, this one comes without a monitor. The 17-inch Sony Trinitron HMD-A200 display that came with ours is a $299 option. Specifications. Our test system had a 1.8GHz P4 instead of the 1.5GHz the final version will have. In both cases, there's an Intel 82845 chipset handling the P4's PR, and 256MB of PC133 SDRAM. That's more memory than most users will need for a few years. However, with memory prices so cheap (I saw 256MB of PC133 SDRAM selling for about $37 today), why not run up the score a bit? All three models have the same 512MB maximum RAM limit, which is lower than most PCs' limits but still more than you'll likely need. The VAIO PCV-RX550, along with the other models shipped to us, use Maxtor 5,400rpm 536DX hard drives. This one used in the PCV-RX550 is an 80GB model, although the final PCV-RX550 will have a 60GB drive. This PC has two acronyms I like to see: CD-RW and DVD. With both a Sony 16X/10X/40X CRX175E CD-RW drive and a Pioneer 16X DVD-117R DVD-ROM, it's getting harder to believe this VAIO costs just $1,099. Design. All three VAIOs had the same style of minitower case. Each was easy to open, although one look at the inside will make you regret opening one. To upgrade something on the motherboard, you'll have to pivot the power supply and diskette drive bay outward. It's pretty cramped in there. There's a USB port and an iLink port hiding under a hatch near the bottom of this VAIO's front panel. Another iLink port and two more USB ports reside on the back, supplemented by five more USB jacks on the optional monitor. The models I looked at have 56Kbps modems and 10/100Mbps Ethernet jacks. They also share the same Sony PCVA-SP2 speakers, keyboard, and contoured mouse.
First up was my Peter Gabriel audio CD. One song in particular combines brooding, plucked bass chords with Kate Bush's wispy cooing and Peter's raspy vocals. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the Sony speakers reproduced the song. I'm an avowed subwoofer convert, but these two speakers sounded nearly as deep (not to say as loud) without one. The DVD was another story. We didn't get decoder software with this VAIO, but Sony's representative said this was an oversight. It turns out that Microsoft's Media Player for Windows XP doesn't really decode DVDs after all. I tried to install CyberLink's PowerDVD 3.0, but it kept erroring out. The drive would read files from both CDs and DVDs and even play some features using the PC Friendly software included with "U-571" and "The Matrix," but not the movies themselves without decoding software. Finally, the 32MB NVIDIA RIVA TNT2 3-D card made Quake III Arena smooth at 800 x 600 pixels resolution and somewhat playable at 1,024 x 768. Avid gamers should upgrade to at least a GeForce2 MX, if possible. Still, the TNT2 is fine for casual 3-D gaming, movies, and other graphics. Final Word. The VAIO PCV-RX550's huge software bundle includes loads of audiovisual editing programs, in addition to Internet Explorer 6, Media Player for Windows XP, PC-cillin 2000, and Tomb Raider Chronicles. Ours came with Adobe Photoshop Elements, although Sony says Adobe Premiere 6 LE will actually ship instead. The final VAIOs should also have Corel WordPerfect 9. Even with a lesser P4 and a smaller hard drive than our review unit, the production VAIO PCV-RX550 should still be a great deal at $1,099. VAIO PCV-RX580The PCV-RX580 ($1,699; $1,599 after rebate) is fairly similar to the PCV-RX550 above, but with a little surprise: a Pioneer DVR-103 SuperDrive. It's not only a CD-RW, but also a 1X DVD-RW and 2X DVD-R. A 40X CD-ROM sits underneath the SuperDrive for faster CD reads and easier disc copying.Specifications. The 1.8GHz P4 and 80GB, 5,400rpm hard drive of our test unit will carry over to the final version. However, the PCV-RX580 will ship with 256MB of PC133 SDRAM instead of our review PC's 256MB of RDRAM; a 32MB NVIDIA TNT2 card instead of our unit's GeForce2 MX; and Sound-MAX audio circuitry instead of our VAIO's Yamaha AC-XG. Bummer. Sony also says the production PCV-RX580 will have at least one Memory Stick flash memory slot. Design. This model also has a minitower case, so refer to the PCV-RX550 review above for details. It also has a second USB port under its front hatch next to its iLink port, in addition to one on its back. We tested it with the same optional 17-inch HMD-A200 monitor ($299). Performance. Even the challenging fight scenes in "The Matrix" couldn't trip up this VAIO. The DVD played error-free and sounded great, just like my audio CD. The Yamaha AC-XG audio seemed to have a few problems elsewhere, though. It cut out during parts of Quake III's introduction sequence but reappeared for the setup screen and gameplay.
Final word. The PCV-RX850 that hits the shelves will be slightly faster than the PCV-RX550 above, but the main reason to choose it is the SuperDrive. This is a terrific innovation. However, I'm hesitant to recommend any rewriteable DVD drive until a) its prices fall and b) the market chooses a standard format or two. This VAIO should have the same great software as the others, with plenty of photo and video emphasis. VAIO PCV-RX590GNot only is this VAIO among the first OEM systems I've seen with WinXP, it's also the first I've seen with Intel's new 2GHz P4. What sets it apart from the others is its Giga Pocket Personal Video Recorder software. This turns your VAIO into a digital video recorder for your television, similar to TiVo technology. You can set it to record TV shows to your hard drive, using online program listings specific to your ZIP code. The difference is that while TiVo charges a monthly fee for its online listings service, Sony says it won't charge a thing.Specifications. Our VAIO had 256MB of PC800 RDRAM, which is impressive enough, but production models will have a ridiculously huge 512MB. This VAIO's video adapter is a 32MB NVIDIA GeForce2 MX. The 5,400rpm, 100GB Maxtor hard drive is abundantly large and quick enough for the TV shows you'll be recording to it. And you can burn your favorite shows to DVD-R or DVD-RW with the Pioneer DVR-103 SuperDrive. Design. Most of the PCV-RX590G's peripherals are described in the reviews above. One difference is that the final version will also have a HomePNA networking adapter. This VAIO's other goodies include an infrared remote control and receiver so you can control the TV shows you'll be watching on the computer. It also has extra jacks under the bottom front panel for S-video out, composite video out, and right and left RCA speaker jacks. Performance. We used a gorgeous 19-inch Sony Trinitron A400 monitor ($449) to try this system out. As expected, the VAIO played the DVD movie and music flawlessly. Also as expected, I didn't want to quit playing Quake III at 1,600 x 1,200 resolution. Ever. My only gripe is this $2,499 system ($2,948 with monitor) doesn't have a subwoofer. Final word. If you've been considering a TiVo recorder, first consider a VAIO PCV-RX590G. It's expensive, but you'll save the TiVo's monthly fees, and you'll have the DVD-RW drive ready to archive things. You'll also have the joys of CD-RW, 3-D gaming, and everything else a 2GHz computer can do. The Right Site It's not easy to navigate Sony's gangly collection of Web sites if you're not sure where to start. Try http://www.sonystyle.com for VAIO desktops and notebooks. You can usually reconfigure a VAIO online before you buy, so there's no reason to stick with an almost-perfect stock configuration.  by Marty Sems View the By The Numbers chart. |
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