Next-Generation PCs

Sony VAIO VGC-RA842G

The VAIO VGC-RA842G boasts some cutting-edge technology--such as a dual-core 3-GHz Pentium D 830 CPU, 1GB of DDR2-533 RAM, and quiet liquid cooling--but it's not for the graphics professional or the hard-core gamer. Our tests show it's better suited to the multimedia enthusiast who wants a complete audio, video, and graphics package out of the box. The system comes with two 250GB Western Digital Caviar hard drives that are striped with RAID 0 to provide fast and ample storage, a Pioneer rewritable DVD drive and a DVD-ROM drive, a five-in-one multimedia card reader, and a remote control for audio and video playback. A full complement of audiovisual software includes Windows XP Media Center, Adobe Premiere LE, Adobe Elements, and Sony's audio, video, and graphics utilities suite.

The slowest machine in this roundup, the VAIO had a WorldBench score of just 89, which puts the unit on a par with comparably configured PCs that run on Intel's 3.4-GHz Pentium 4 550. (Intel launched that chip back in June 2004.) The VAIO's video frame-rate scores on our standard graphics tests were similar to scores we've seen from other systems using comparable graphics cards based on the NVidia GeForce 6600 chip set.

Don't expect to add a lot of hardware down the road, however: The PC has no open PCI Express slots or externally accessible drive bays. Although there is room for one more hard drive and two more pieces of memory, the liquid cooling system hinders access to the cramped interior. That said, this VAIO already has the components you need for most multimedia applications.