Sony SONY VAIO RX640 6/1300 60GB 256M XPH (Sony-PCVRX640)

WHAT'S NOT: With integrated Intel 815E graphics that depend on main system memory instead of providing their own, this VAIO didn't fare well in our gaming tests. Unreal Tournament at all test resolutions and Quake III Arena at all but 640 by 480 (our lowest test resolution) were so slow that they were unplayable. In addition, the images on the HMD-A240 17-inch monitor appeared too dark, with too much contrast.

The Sony PCVA-SP2 two-speaker set delivered adequate sound, with some distortion and only minimal bass, but we were forced to maximize the volume to hear some tracks clearly during our audio tests.

WHAT ELSE: With a 1.3-GHz Celeron processor and 256MB of PC-133 memory, our review VAIO earned a score of 91 on our PC WorldBench 4 tests. This nearly tied the only other system with that processor and operating system combination we've looked at, the Dell Dimension 2200, which scored a 92.

The 16X/10X/40X CD-RW drive burns audio or data CDs fairly swiftly (some PCs have begun to offer faster drives, however). DVD movies played back smoothly, although the images looked a little dark.

We had to explore a bit before finding the right tab to loosen the metal-lined plastic side. The PCI slots are easy to reach (two were open in our test unit), and the cage for the open hard drive bay slides out easily, but you must remove the power supply to access the memory sockets.

Sony provides a small but fairly complete quick-start guide that applies to the Digital Studio line generally; it includes setup information and a small troubleshooting section, as well as a section covering software that might be bundled with the system.

UPSHOT: Good for users looking for a budget digital video editing machine, but its game play leaves much to be desired.