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Photograph: Rick Rizner
Sony VAIO V520G Desktop
| WorldBench 5: Performance word scores reflect comparisons of PCs in the same category (power or value) running the same operating system. See Your Guide to the Top 100 for more details. | Very Good: 90 (Windows XP Home) |
| Base configuration | Outstanding |
| CPU | 3.2-GHz Pentium 4 540 |
| System memory | 1024MB of DDR400 SDRAM |
| Hard drive (GB): Total capacity. May represent multiple hard drives. | 250GB |
| Monitor size and model | 20-inch Sony LCD |
| Graphics: Most integrated graphics systems use the PC's main RAM. | 128MB NVidia GeForce FX Go5700 |
| Case type: Vertical cases are towers (over 20 inches), midsize towers (15.5 to 20 inches), or minitowers (under 15.5 inches). Horizontal cases are desktops (5 inches or taller) or compacts (under 5 inches). | All-in-one |
| Open bays, slots | None |
| Extra features | Good |
| Removable-media drives | DVD+R dual layer/ 8X DVD?RW drive, Memory Stick Pro slot |
| Sound card | Integrated SoundMax |
| Speakers | Built into monitor |
| Communications | Network adapter, four USB 2.0 ports, two FireWire ports |
| Software | Microsoft Works |
| Other | Memory Stick Pro slot |
| Graphics quality: Based on new testing begun in the November 2002 issue. Insufficient data for systems tested in previous months. | Very Good |
| Setup and ease of use | Fair |
| Vendor's reliability/service: A vendor's score is based on surveys of PC World readers. Vendors receiving insufficient data scores did not generate enough responses to our most recent survey for us to make a determination. | Average/Average |
| : Lifetime refers to the lifetime of the product. | One-year parts and labor warranty; 24-hour daily toll-free support during warranty period; $20 fee for phone support after warranty period |
Sony VAIO VGC-V520G TV-PC
VAIO V520G Desktop Review, by Richard Baguley April 29, 2005
If you were to mistake the Sony VAIO VGC-V520G TV-PC for a flat-panel TV, Sony wouldn't be offended. Designed to look like a television, this all-in-one PC is built around a WXGA flat-panel screen combined with a TV tuner. The TV-centric approach produces good-looking results. The screen is clear and bright, with strong, accurate colors and smooth motion in a DVD movie. You need to view this system from the same distance as you would a TV. The screen operates at a lower resolution than most 20-inch LCD computer monitors (wide-aspect 1280 by 768 instead of the usual 1600 by 1200 pixels), so if you position yourself the same distance away from it that you would from a standard computer monitor, displayed text and icons will look large and awkward.
Fortunately, you won't have to leave cables dangling across the living room when you use it at the correct distance. The system comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse and a remote control. The interesting keyboard includes a built-in touchpad on a fold-up panel at the front; you can close the panel if you don't need to use the keyboard, and the touchpad remains exposed so you can press any on-screen buttons. You can use the remote control to operate the included TV recording software or to access music or photos stored on the 250GB hard drive.
With a 3.2-GHz Pentium 4 processor and 1GB of DDR400 RAM, it's no surprise that the VGC-V520G is fast. In our WorldBench 5 tests, it achieved a score of 90--marking it as the fastest of the all-in-ones we tested. Game performance was strong as well. The integrated GeForce FX Go5700 graphics processor produced high frame rates at all of the tested resolutions. And there's no shortage of other features: This VAIO has a dual-layer 8X rewritable DVD drive, two ILink (Sony's name for FireWire) ports--one on the side and another on the rear--plus a PC Card slot, a MemoryStick reader, and four USB 2.0 ports around the case.
As is usual with all-in-ones, the VGC-V520G gives you no practical way to upgrade. The only user-accessible component is the memory; and since both memory slots were filled on our review model, upgrading would be difficult and expensive. You can't remove or upgrade the hard drive or the optical drive without completely removing the back of the case--a serious and warranty-voiding process. Though the screen can display HD video, the built-in tuner can't decode over-the-air HD transmissions, and there's no way to add an external HD tuner. The unit is expensive, too, at $2699, due partially to the 20-inch screen.
Upshot: The Sony VAIO VGC-V520G TV-PC is a great (though expensive) choice for home users who want to combine a compact computer with a display for playing games and watching TV.
Richard Baguley
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