Sony VAIO J12 review

The VAIO J Series is well established, so it's no surprise that Sony hasn't tinkered much with a winning formula. Thus, the VAIO J12 does little to externally update its predecessor, the J11. It has the same glossy black frame with its cut-out base, and it leans on an adjustable arm that slides to suit any viewing angle.

It also has the same 21.5in Full HD screen, set back from the main bezel to make room for the optical sensors that control its multitouch interface. We won't go into the pros and cons of touchscreens on a desktop again, but suffice it to say it's there for the occasional useful hands-on moment rather than as a new way of using your PC. It's responsive, and to make it as useful as possible, Sony's application dock pulls down from the top edge of the screen, complete with finger-friendly icons.

We're more interested in the quality of the panel itself, and in this regard Sony has again lived up to its own high standards. The brightness is impressive without being blinding on white screens, while the evenness of the backlight was impeccable. As with many VAIO screens it sits closer to the side of oversaturation than professional colour accuracy, but for a home all-in-one such as this, it makes sense. Videos look splendid and the jungles of Crysis are as lush as we've seen them.

Not that you'll get much opportunity to explore them. This VAIO J12 has an Intel Core i3-370M processor, complete with its own integrated graphics chip - and it isn't really one for gamers: in our Low quality Crysis test at 1,366 x 768, it averaged only 15fps.

The processor is capable, though, as evidenced by a score of 1.39 in our application benchmarks. It's a mobile chip, and is supported by the now-standard 4GB of DDR3 RAM. The J12 never felt sluggish during our testing, and it's fair to say it won't blanch at more intensive tasks. We often say all-in-ones make good second PCs, but this has the muscle to be your main system.