Sony Vaio PCV-RX1

The Vaio desktop PC range has been available in other countries for some time, but the new RX1 is the first to make it to the UK.

Vaio notebooks compete on style and features, and not necessarily cutting-edge performance or value. Sony hasn't decided to go about the desktop PC market any differently.

The lines of the silver case and purple-blue trim are unbroken by the CD-RW and DVDRom drives, which have custom designed fascias. All other front-panel accoutrements are hidden by hinged flaps, leaving the case an unsullied piece of techno sculpture.

Lurking behind the facade are two USB ports, a mini Firewire connector, floppy drive and a Memory Stick slot.

The budget for this machine doesn't stretch to an actual Memory Stick but, when you do get one, it appears as a standard removable storage device in Windows Explorer. Speaking of which, the RX1 arrives complete with Windows XP Home Edition.

The machine's illusion of cool, stylish calm is shattered abruptly when you pull the side off the case to reveal - shock horror - a normal PC, and a rather poorly laid out one at that. The case is too small to make access to internal components anything less than a swearfest, since the power supply is mounted sideways and covers most of the motherboard.

It doesn't swing neatly out of the way either; you need to unscrew it and remove it completely to get to the processor, which is a 1.7GHz Pentium 4, nestling in a Socket 478.

You get 256Mb of RD-Ram which, according to the sales blurb, can be upgraded to 512Mb. What the blurb doesn't say is that all four RD-Ram slots are occupied, so you'll need to throw memory away to be able to upgrade. Considering the price of RD-Ram, this is a pretty big blot in Sony's copybook.

Graphics are handled by a 32Mb Asus Geforce2 MX 200-based card, which is the bare minimum a machine at this price point could get away with.

This being a Vaio, the emphasis is on digital audio and video: the name Vaio does, after all, stand for 'video audio input output'. At the back, as well as the single front-panel USB and mini-Firewire connectors, you get one more USB and a full-sized Firewire, plus an optical digital audio output. There's also integrated 10/100 networking with an RJ45 connector.

A PCI 56K modem takes one of the spare PCI slots, leaving two free. Aside from the PCI slots, the only other upgrade space is a single 5.25in hard drive bay next to the one already occupied by the 80Gb Seagate EIDE drive.

Sony's current 'go create' tagline is backed up by a comprehensive suite of 'lite' Adobe applications: video editing is catered for by Premiere 6 LE, photo editing with Photoshop Elements and web publishing with Golive.

You also get the standard custom Sony apps supplied with Vaio notebooks, such as the DVgate video capture utility and Picturegear imaging software.

Our review unit came with Sony's swish M51 LCD panel, with a native resolution of 1,024 x 768 and the all-important themed styling, but it's not included in the price: you'll have to pay an extra £468 including VAT to get one.

Sony does have the heart to include the mouse and keyboard in the package though, both of which are good quality.

The Vaio isn't aimed at your run-of-the-mill PC buyer. Sony will no doubt argue that it's supposed to be for media-savvy 20-somethings who understand the value of style and the importance of branding. But at the end of the day this machine is overpriced considering its components.

What saves it from a complete slating is the software bundle; the best you'll get from a lot of our review systems is a basic office package. The Sony doesn't come with this, but there's plenty else to be getting on with. Those looking for out-and-out value, however, need to shop elsewhere.

Price: (base unit, mouse and keyboard only) £1,199 (£1,021 excluding VAT)

Contact: Sony UK 08705 424 424 www.vaio.sony-europe.com