Sony VAIO VGC-LV1S review

We were impressed by Sony's compact VCG-JS1E/S all-in-one system, but the VGC-LV1S is in another league entirely. With its 24in TFT, set into a bezel that extends a further 4cm at the top and bottom and nearly 7cm at the sides, it's an imposing system.

The screen is so bright it's almost mesmerising and, while the colours aren't as rich as the Apple or Dell displays, the overall picture is more than satisfactory. The LV1S plays all sorts of media, including HD video courtesy of this month's only internal Blu-ray drive, and with an integrated DVB-T tuner, external inputs and a Media Center remote thrown in, it's pitching for the front room. It's just a shame that the speakers fall short of an immersive experience.

The LV1S is fairly versatile: you do get ExpressCard/34 and mini-FireWire, and the wireless keyboard and mouse leave all five USB ports free. And it's pretty powerful, with a 3GHz Core 2 Duo E8400 and 4GB of RAM delivering a respectable 2D benchmark score of 1.40.

Its 3D performance is rather less impressive. The Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS is fine for media decoding, but it isn't equal to the demands of modern 3D gaming. At low detail Crysis was just about playable with an average rate of 25.8fps, but stepping up to medium settings at a resolution of 1,280 x 1,024 slashed performance to a useless 7fps. For a system with a native resolution of 1,900 x 1,200, that's a disappointment.

Still, if you're not worried about games the LV1S could be ideal for a small flat. It has a range of media capabilities, and in a compact space its slightly restrained sound won't matter much. Indeed, if you're looking for Blu-ray playback, it's currently your only option, unless you want to get into costly upgrades or ugly external drives. We're still inclined to think the Dell is the more rounded system, but as a media PC the VAIO VGC-LV1S has a lot going for it.

Author: Darien Graham-Smith