So there I was, in the heart of Circuit City, surrounded by pricy computers flaunting their stats on their chests. There were big ones and small ones, black, gray, and white ones, and all with different sized hard drives and amounts of RAM. But around the corner, separated from the others, was an open box item of just the right stuff I was looking for.

I looked down to read the stats. My eyes widened as i read them impressed. A 1.6 GHz Pentium 4 Processor, 80 GB Hard Drive, 512 MB DDR RAM, Memory Stick input, 16x CD-RW, 40x CD-ROM, 16x DVD-ROM, iLink input, 2 front USB ports, Windows XP and a pretty blue light.

The software package didn't let me down either. With Vaio World I got: Adobe Photoshop elements, Digital Print, DVD Media Bar, DVGate Motion, DVGate Still, Image Station, Movie Shaker, Photo Printer 2000 Pro, PicoPlayer, Picture Gear 5.1, Screenblast ACID 2.0, Screenblast Soundforge, Sonic Stage, and Corel Word Perfect 10

I was very pleased with what this computer was offering but almost let it go. Certainly this computer was going to cost me a small fortune. What would the price be? $1500? $2000? No, it wouldn't be near that. This computer was a miracle find at only $770.

I ran to the register and bought it immediatly. I teamed it up with a 17" Sony Trinitron monitor which ran me an extra $300. However when compared with other computer and monitor packages, $1070 isn't bad at all for what I got in return.

But speaking of thing that i got leads me to my next point. This computer is lacking some software which should be here. I fully support Sony's exclusion of most Microsoft programs such as Word, Powerpoint, Excel, and Outlook. However, as a student, I am in need of these programs. A student and teacher edition of office can be found for about $140. In addition, this computer lacks easy to use CD burning software such as roxio easy cd creator or adaptec cd creator. The only way I have been able to burn cds is through Sonic Stage. I find it difficult to burn audio cds and completely impossible to make data cds. I would recommend buying an inexpensive cd creating program with the money you save buying this computer.

Another fault I found on this computer is its lack of a digital audio output. It has a DVD player but lacks Dolby Digital sound. Instead you have to listen to a movie on half decent stereo speakers. They aren't great if you are used to anything over stock computer speakers, but if its all you have, they would be fine.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 770
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50