Sony VAIO VGC-LV1S review
in Desktop PCs
Verdict
A superbly equipped media centre, but sound and 3D performance aren't great.
Review Date: 17 Jun 2009
Reviewed By: Darien Graham-Smith
Price when reviewed: £1,098 (£1,263 inc VAT)
Overall Rating
Features & Design
Value for Money
Performance
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Part Code | VGCLV1S.CEK |
| Review Date | 17 Jun 2009 |
| Price ex VAT | £1,098 |
| Price inc VAT | £1,263 |
| Overall rating |
|
| Performance |
|
| Features & Design |
|
| Value for Money |
|
| Warranty | |
|---|---|
| Warranty | 1 yr return to base |
| Basic specifications | |
|---|---|
| Total hard disk capacity | 500 |
| RAM capacity | 4.00GB |
| Screen size | 24.0in |
| Processor | |
|---|---|
| CPU family | Intel Core 2 Duo |
| CPU nominal frequency | 3.00GHz |
| CPU overclocked frequency | N/A |
| Motherboard | |
|---|---|
| Motherboard chipset | Intel P43 |
| Conventional PCI slots free | 0 |
| Conventional PCI slots total | 0 |
| PCI-E x16 slots free | 0 |
| PCI-E x16 slots total | 0 |
| PCI-E x8 slots free | 0 |
| PCI-E x8 slots total | 0 |
| PCI-E x4 slots free | 0 |
| PCI-E x4 slots total | 0 |
| PCI-E x1 slots free | 0 |
| PCI-E x1 slots total | 0 |
| Internal SATA connectors | 0 |
| Internal SAS connectors | 0 |
| Internal PATA connectors | 0 |
| Internal floppy connectors | 0 |
| Wired adapter speed | 1,000Mbits/sec |
| Memory | |
|---|---|
| Memory type | DDR2 |
| Hard disk | |
|---|---|
| Hard disk | Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 |
| Capacity | 500GB |
| Hard disk usable capacity | 465GB |
| Internal disk interface | SATA/300 |
| Spindle speed | 7,200RPM |
| Cache size | 32MB |
| Hard disk 2 make and model | N/A |
| Hard disk 2 nominal capacity | N/A |
| Hard disk 2 formatted capacity | N/A |
| Hard disk 2 spindle speed | N/A |
| Hard disk 2 cache size | N/A |
| Hard disk 3 make and model | N/A |
| Hard disk 3 nominal capacity | N/A |
| Hard disk 4 make and model | N/A |
| Hard disk 4 nominal capacity | N/A |
| Drives | |
|---|---|
| Optical drive | Matshita UJ-225S |
| Optical disc technology | Blu-ray writer |
| Optical disk 2 make and model | N/A |
| Optical disk 3 make and model | N/A |
| Graphics card | |
|---|---|
| Multiple SLI/CrossFire cards? |
|
| 3D performance setting | Low |
| Graphics chipset | Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS |
| Graphics card RAM | 256MB |
| DVI-I outputs | 0 |
| HDMI outputs | 0 |
| VGA (D-SUB) outputs | 0 |
| DisplayPort outputs | 0 |
| Number of graphics cards | N/A |
| Monitor | |
|---|---|
| Resolution screen horizontal | 1,920 |
| Resolution screen vertical | 1,200 |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1200 |
| DVI inputs | 0 |
| HDMI inputs | 1 |
| VGA inputs | 0 |
| DisplayPort inputs | 0 |
| Rear ports | |
|---|---|
| USB ports (downstream) | 5 |
| FireWire ports | 1 |
| PS/2 mouse port |
|
| Electrical S/PDIF audio ports | 0 |
| Optical S/PDIF audio output ports | 1 |
| Modem |
|
| 3.5mm audio jacks | 3 |
| Additional Peripherals | |
|---|---|
| Speaker type | Stereo |
| Peripherals | 47-button Media Center remote, DVB-T tuner |
| Case | |
|---|---|
| Case format | All-in-one |
| Free drive bays | |
|---|---|
| Free front panel 5.25in bays | 0 |
| Front ports | |
|---|---|
| Front panel memory card reader |
|
| Mouse & Keyboard | |
|---|---|
| Mouse and keyboard | 87-key wireless with integrated trackpad keyboard, wireless, optical four-button with wheel mouse |
| Operating system and software | |
|---|---|
| OS family | Windows Vista |
| Recovery method | Recovery partition |
| Software supplied | VAIO Music Box, SonicStage Mastering Studio, VAIO Content Importer/Exporter, WinDVD BD, Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 |
| Noise and power | |
|---|---|
| Idle power consumption | 135W |
| Peak power consumption | 135W |
| Performance tests | |
|---|---|
| Overall application benchmark score | 1.40 |
| 3D performance (crysis) low settings | 26fps |
| 3D performance setting | Low |
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