So I asked the guy about this model of sony and its features and between me and him we figured out what it was capable of and honestly it's capable of a lot. It was $1339.99 but it had a hundred dollar mail in rebate and was tax free. And at $1239.99 it's a steal. You couldn't build a pc with the same features for that.

First off if you don't have a digital camcorder or don't plan on getting one then you probably don't need this much computer. One of the lower end vaios will suit you just fine if you only plan to take still photos.

The biggest selling point for me for this particular box was the ports. Not only does it have s-video inputs it also has analog video in and out and coaxial in and out. What that means is that with those ports and the bundled software you can basically hook up about any video source you can think of and record from it straight to the HD. And that is what makes this box so cool. Hook your cable tv up and wham instant tivo. Hook your sony dv cam to it and its recognized instantly. I was capturing camcorder video in less than 5 minutes. Also a bonus is the memory stick slot in the front byt the floppy drive. Getting digicam pics into a pc doesnt get any easier than this.

It is also well equipped in the output dept. In addition to the top of the line DVD + - rw burner it has 8 USB 2.0 ports and 2 firewire ports. The video card has DVI and standard and tv outs. Generally speaking all of the hardware seems to be high quality and there is plenty of it. The case is gorgeous once you pull the advertising off. All the drives and front ports are concealed behind sleek doors. The side panels pop off with no hassle whatsoever and the interior is clean and tidy. If the ports on this system don't meet your at home needs then nothing else will.

From a hardware and basic productivity standpoint I am extremely satisfied. Everything I have done on it has worked smoothly and without mishap of any kind. I do have a few complaints but they are minor. First the speakers suck because unlike the more expensive model they dont come with the subwoofer. They aren't very loud or very good sounding. With the sub they sound nice but I can't seem to find the sub for sale separately. Second there isn't much room for expansion. Adding an extra HD is one thing you will want to do and it's very easy (the drive will have to be a slave as there is only one ide channel available.) The HDs come out of the case on a separate (very nice) sub chassis with the throw of a lever. My other complaints concern the bundled software but you know what it's bundled software so what do you expect? The good news is that the configuration and the installation of windows XP seem to be very tolerant of taking programs that you don't want off.

Overall I'm about two weeks into the experience and I'm totally pleased. I'm using it with a Sony 18" flat panel on the DVI connection and the whole package is compact and gorgeous. My wife is much happier with the look of it than she was with our previous machine. And I'm happy that it does everything including video editing so well.





Recommended:
Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 1239.95
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50