A nice PC, but not quite the Digital Studio
Written: Nov 19 '02 (Updated Nov 19 '02)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Quality of Tech Support: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Turnkey system: 1.8GHz processor, 512MB, 80GB hard disk, WindowsXP, Firewire, DVD/CD writer and Sony "style"
Cons: A nice system for digital photography, but too underpowered for serious video work.
The Bottom Line: For someone looking for a system mainly for video work, there are some distinct limitations, and you may find yourself doing some expensive upgrades.
|
|
|
| memobug's Full Review: Sony VAIO Digital Studio PCV-RX670 PC Desktop |
This is a stylish, well-rounded system that would be great for the vast majority of users, but it needs a little help to be the "Digital Studio" it was destined to be. If your interest is mainly photography and casual home video capture with a miniDV camera, this system may be just the ticket. "Power" video users will need to look elsewhere or plan to upgrade.
The good news is this about the easiest PC I have ever opened. No tools are required, but it is something of a magic trick, which I couldn't find anywhere online. More on that later.
OVERVIEW: PRO & CON
DVD DRIVE
The system includes a DVD-R/-RW writer, which is convenient, but it writes only at 1x speeds. It's still not clear in the format wars which format (DVD-RW DVD RW) will win out. The latest aftermarket drives support both formats.
HARD DISK
The 80GB hard drive is adequate for most uses, but it can store only several hours of DVD quality video. IF needed, additional storage can be added using the firewire interface and purchasing one of the standalone hard disks manufactured by IOMEGA or Western Digital
DISPLAY DRIVER
The display driver is 32MB AGP, which may not be up to the latest PC games. It also lacks a composite video or SVideo connector to output video to your TV or bigscreen monitor. The display is on its own card, so it can be removed to upgrade.
READER
The built-in Sony MemoryStick reader is not very useful unless you happen to own a sony camera. Most others would need a CompactFlash or SmartMedia Card.
PROCESSOR & MEMORY
The 1.8GHz processor and 512MB SRAM are respectable, but I understand that an upgrade to 1GB memory would require you to scrap the existing memory because the slots are all occupied.
I/O
The firewire (iLink / IEEE) interface provides a convenient upgrade path into high speed standalone hard disks, fast compact flash readers, MiniDV cams and webcams. A USB bus is included with four ports conveniently located front and rear, but I am almost positive it is USB 1.1 format only.
Keyboard is a slightly abbreviated design with a good layout; however some keys functions are shared. There is a separate numeric keypad, but Pageup & Pagedown are shared with the cursor direction keys. In addition to the normal function keys there is a top row of user configurable keys.
SOFTWARE
The system comes bundled with a Windows XP, a LE version of Adobe Premiere video editing, Movie Shaker - a fun movie editing program and a couple of DVD authoring tools, and PC-Cillin antivirus software.
OPENING THE BOX - here is the secret:
It's actually really simple. Facing the unit from the front, Lift up on the two latches at the top rear while sliding the top back. The entire top will come away. Now pull out on the little metal lever at the top-left rear, and the entire left side panel can be tilted away.
RELIABILITY - I have found the system to be very reliable, and much more stable (thanks to XP) than the Windows-98 version I replaced.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1800
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
memobug
|
|
Member: Matt Chroust
Location: Santa Clara, CA, USA
Reviews written: 22
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.