Product Reviews

During the last few years we've seen the emergence of a new type of PC - let's be unkind and call it the bimbo system. These PCs look nice, are often approachable and user-friendly, but nearly always seem to be missing something in the brains department. And, just as with everyday human bimbos, you always pay a high price for their company.

The first Sony Vaio desktop, the PCV-LX1, was one of the smarter bimbo systems, but a bimbo nonetheless. Despite its strengths - good looks and excellent connectivity - it suffered from some awful components, a whacking price tag and a lack of any serious upgrade potential. Luckily, Sony's second try at the UK desktop market, the PCV-RX1, is in many respects a definite improvement.

The biggest gain is in the specification. A 1.7GHz Pentium 4 with 256Mb of PC800 RDRAM should be adequate for most tasks, while the 80Gb Seagate hard disk leaves plenty of room for MP3 files, digital photography and DV movie masterpieces. A GeForce2 MX400 graphics card isn't likely to set anyone's world alight, but it can still cope with most current games and, more importantly, it's a vast step up from the shoddy and slow integrated SiS 630 graphics that held the LX1 back.

The good news is that Sony has still held on to all of the LX1's plus points. Once again, you have just about every connection you could possibly wish for and all very sensibly situated. At the rear you'll find one USB port, one iLink FireWire port, audio inputs and outputs, a 56K modem and an optical audio port, enabling you to wire the Vaio up to a quality amplifier or MiniDisc recorder should you so desire. Meanwhile, the front of the case houses two additional USB ports, another FireWire port and a slot for Sony's Memory Stick storage cards. These are all discretely hidden by flaps when not in use, leaving the rather attractive case, in the usual grey and purple Vaio livery, dominated by a 16-speed DVD-ROM

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drive and a 40x/24x/10x CD-R/W drive.

Once again you have the strong feeling that Sony has designed the RX1 as a complete system in a way that few other manufacturers ever manage, as evidenced by everything from the cool blue power switch on the front of the case to the high-quality matching keyboard and mouse. The RX1 doesn't come with a monitor as standard, but Sony has supplied it here with an SDM-M51 15in TFT display (£399 extra before VAT). This handles its 1,024x768 resolution with aplomb, delivering a bright, stable image of excellent clarity. Admittedly, the speakers supplied are somewhat weedy stereo desktop models, but we'll let that pass for now.

If you want added value then you should check out the bundled software. Sony's usual bundled media apps - MovieShaker, DVGate and PictureGear - provide for beginners, and there's something more on offer for serious creative types. With a superb suite of Adobe apps, including GoLive, LiveMotion, Photoshop Elements and Premiere 6 LE, you can create, edit and get it all online without needing to splash out on any extra packages.

Unfortunately, that's where the glowing praise ends and the real bitching begins. Firstly, this system is nothing short of a nightmare to upgrade. Cramming everything inside a small box means that there's not a great deal of room for manoeuvre, and even the simplest operation requires you to remove the power supply. The lack of space for additional drives - a single 3.5in internal bay remains empty - can be excused considering the mass of storage already provided. What can't be forgiven, however, is Sony's unbelievable decision to fit the 256Mb of RDRAM as four 64Mb modules, taking up all the available RIMM slots. Want to fit more memory? Well, you'll need to get rid of some first.

More seriously, the price is still way above what it should realistically be. Yes, the specification has been upgraded, but at the end of the day you're still paying £1,200 for what is a basic, entry-level system without a display. What's more, performance in our 2D applications is underwhelming, to say the least, while the score in 3DMark 2001 - 2372 - is genuinely disappointing.

For the money, you should expect top-notch performance all the way. The RX1 proves that Sony can get many fundamental elements of PC design brilliantly right, but it's highly frustrating to see some points that are hopelessly wrong. Next time, perhaps, we'll see a desktop system that really lives up to the Sony name. We can but hope.