Editorial Product Review:Item Description:Ready for entertainment. The Sony VAIO R Series exemplifies cutting edge design and superior performance. A sleek black chassis with a revolutionary liquid heat pipe cooling system handles heat while minimizing noise. The VAIO R Series delivers professional quality video, music, and digital imaging solutions you demand. Loaded with software and hardware to help you create professional quality DVDs and CDs with up to 8.5GB1 recording capacity using advanced DVD+R Double Layer technology and Click to DVD software. Topped off with loads of expansion headroom to take your VAIO PC experience wherever your passion leads you.
Amazon Item Description:The Basics As one of the most affordable members of Sony's distinctly upscale 'R' series of desktop computers, the VAIO VGC-RA826G Digital Studio PC brandishes many of the same features Sony incorporates into its pricier R models but falls just short of state-of-the-art and does not include a viewing screen. Thusly, the unit is ideal for those who want high-end computing without paying top dollar. Designed to efficiently handle virtually anything you can throw at it, the VAIO VGC-RA826G is a great fit as the hub of a business, personal, home office, entertainment or gaming environment. It even features an innovative liquid heat pipe cooling system to squelch excess heat and minimize noise.
Processor At the heart of any computer lies the CPU (or processor), a massive collection of miniature transistors that governs the speed and power of the entire unit. The VAIO VGC-RA826G incorporates one of the fastest CPUs currently in existence (at the time of this writing), an Intel Pentium 4 550. New for 2004, this is an upgraded version -- nicknamed 'Prescott' -- of the venerable Pentium 4 chip, featuring one full MB of Level 2 cache and a more generous data 'pipeline' than prior models. Operating at an astounding 3.4 GHz and of course sporting Intel's Hyper-Threading technology (Hyper-Threading allows a single CPU system to behave at times as a dual CPU system, thus adding substantially more speed to some high-end applications), this CPU delivers more than enough power for any application or environment.
Memory Computers typically store information on their hard drive, but they keep frequently and recently accessed data in Random Access Memory (RAM) for faster retrieval. More RAM means more efficient computing, superior multitasking and less strain on your hard drive. For the VAIO VGC-RA826G, Sony has installed a whopping 1024 MB (1 GB) of fast PC3200 400 MHz DDR SDRAM memory. This is a ton of memory even for a high-end machine, and its rated speed is comparatively quick. As such, it is easily sufficient for any multitasking situation or complex application. Moreover, the system's mainboard is constructed to support RAM upgrades to a whopping 2 GB.
Video CPU's are usually so busy doing basic calculations that they need help translating visual output to the viewing screen. This is the duty of the graphics card (or graphics controller). A graphics controller with 'dedicated' video memory is preferable to a controller that's integrated on the mainboard and 'shares' the system's main memory, as it will better handle complex procedures.
One of the problems with many high-end PCs is that they simply aren't equipped with a graphics card on par with the rest of the system. Not so with the VAIO VGC-RA826G, which features an ATI Radeon X600 XT with 256 MB of video memory. Not only will this card efficiently operate all your 2D and 3D apps (including the vast majority of demanding 3D games), but it also includes a television tuner and a 16x PCI Express Giga Pocket MPEG2 Realtime Encoder/Decoder to pause, rewind and replay live TV. Furthermore, Sony will package the system with a handy remote control to make TV and movie viewing even easier.
Display: Sony has not included a display screen, thus allowing you to continue using your current monitor or select from today's many alternatives.
Sound The VAIO VGC-RA826G produces stereo and surround sound via an Intel High Definition Audio chipset with support for six distinct audio channels. Sony will also enclose a 2.1 speaker system with two desktop satellites for clean middle and high frequencies and a subwoofer for added bass support.
Hard Drive At 250 GB, the unit's internal hard drive is one of the largest on the market and thusly spacious enough for a massive allotment of files and applications and a comprehensive music, video/photo and multimedia library too. Furthermore, this particular hard drive is exceptionally quick -- sporting a fast 7200-RPM speed, an 8 MB buffer, and a futuristic Serial ATA connection. These are all comparatively recent innovations, each increasing the overall speed and performance of the system.
Optical Drive An optical drive is essential in today's computing world. A 'CD-ROM' drive allows you to install CD-based applications and play music CDs. A 'CD-RW' drive adds CD 'burning', so you can also backup your important files to long-lasting discs and create personalized music CDs. With a DVD-ROM drive you can enjoy all of the above plus watch the same big budget DVD movies you watch on your home entertainment system. And with a DVD-RW drive, you can also 'write' home movies to durable discs and archive files to DVD (DVDs boast more than seven times the storage capacity of CDs).
This unit features two optical drives -- a DVD-ROM drive for playing music and data CDs and DVD movies, and a DVD +/- RW Double Layer Multi-Format drive through which you can not only do everything above but also take advantage of new double layer DVDs (twice the capacity of traditional DVDs). Moreover, this two-drive setup allows you to make extremely fast CD or DVD copies.
Connectivity and Expansion With no less than seven high-speed USB 2.0 ports, you'll have lots of room for plug and play gadgets such as digital cameras and printers. Sony has also installed two IEEE 1394 'FireWire' ports (often used for fast data transfer from digital camcorders), an S/PDIF jack for crystal clear digital audio, two S-Video inputs for lossless digital video, a DVI monitor port for the highest quality flat-panel display images, and a memory card reader for reading today's most popular memory cards from devices such as digital cameras, PDAs and more. Communication options include an integrated Gigabit Ethernet LAN interface for substantially faster network and Internet access than traditional 100Mbps and 10Mbps Ethernet, and a 56K data/fax modem for low-speed dial-up connections
Operating System and Software The VAIO VGC-RA826G features a software package that's clearly aimed at fans of multimedia. Headed by Microsoft's Windows Media Center Edition operating system and Microsoft's Works 8.0 productivity pack, the bundle also features Adobe Premier LE video editing suite, Adobe Photoshop Elements digital imaging utility, and a half dozen of Sony's own top notch audio, video and photo tools.
Control Apart from the aforementioned remote control, the system includes a convenient VAIO Keyboard and a no hassle PS/2 optical mouse.
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Buyer Reviews
Average Buyer Rating:
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Best PC I've ever owned. Lots of software. Extremely quiet
I purchased this PC about two months ago with a 19 inch Sony X-brite LCD so I've had time to play around with it and I'll tell you that this PC is awesome. Having had a Dell and Gateway computer beforehand...I'd rank this particular Sony better than those other PCs. Compared to the others, build quality is excellent and Sony managed to pack a lot of hardware into a very small and attractive package.
Side by side, I can't tell you how whisper quiet this Sony is compared to my Dell and/or Gateway. You can barely hear the Sony...it is that quiet!!!
I love the fact that I can watch, pause, and record live TV using the Sony. I simply plugged in the cable line directly from the wall outlet to the PC and was able to perform TIVO like functions using the PC and display....all WITHOUT having to pay for a monthly service charge. The program automatically updates the latest program guide via the Internet so you are always up-to-date to what is available on TV.
Another feature I liked about the Sony is how easy it is for me to convert old video tapes to DVD using the PC. The front of the Sony has all of the connections to directly hook up your VCR and begin converting video tapes to DVD.
Additionally, the Sony is very expandable in terms of swapping out a new graphics card in the future Or adding add'l hard drives. In fact, I purchased another 250 gig SATA hard drive and put it into one of the 2 extra hard drive bays. Installation was a snap...no need to go into the BIOS and opening the PC via the side panel required NO add'l tools...it was that simple.
Compared to my Dell and Gateway, this Sony does a LOT MORE for me for the money!!! I HIGHLY recommend this computer for anyone.
Customer Rating: 
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Lots to like, but disappointing overall
I've had a fully loaded version of this computer since November 15, 2004. I use it all day every day at work and stress it out pretty heavily.
The biggest plus is that the machine is whisper quiet. The only sounds you hear are spinning media and CD/DVD doors opening and closing (more on that later). It's also quite fast and comes with some great multimedia applications.
I bought Sony's 23" LCD display, which is absolutely fantastic - by far the best PC monitor I've ever seen.
But there are too many minuses for me to recommend this machine overall:
1. The audio chipset sucks and the speakers are very weak. Not what I expected from Sony, especially for a multimedia PC. Even at full blast, speaker volume is very low and the subwoofer is overpowerwing. And I can't record anything. I had hoped to use this machine to create Flash presentations with voiceovers but I can't find a single microphone that will work with the sound card. So I threw a $20 SoundBlaster into my old Dell and it works just fine. This is infuriating considering what I paid for the unit, and I can't get any support from Sony or RealTek for the problem.
2. The keyboard has eject buttons for the CD and DVD drives that toggle the drive trays open and closed. Neat feature, but the drive trays often get into an infinite loop of rapidly opening and closing, and the only way to stop it is to log off of Windows. Funny to watch, but once again very infuriating considering the price paid.
3. The video driver is buggy, causing my machine to crash and reboot at least once every 5 times I power it up. Downloaded the latest version of the driver but there's been no improvement.
4. Support from Sony and 3rd-party vendors (RealTek, ATI, etc.) is nonexistent.
Stick with Dell. I know I will from now on.
Customer Rating: -
Quiet as a mouse!
Gamers, digital photo enthusiasts and home video/TV series fans will love this computer.
This comes with lots of pre-installed programs to satisfy almost every taste. Power users will appreciate the expandable ram, SATA hard drives and multitude of audio/video, USB and firewire ports. Sensible case design makes this a desktop PC you actually want to keep on your desktop. The best feature (for me) is how quiet it is!
I've had mine for a few months now and I'm very satisfied with it.
Now the bad news: poor documentation - you should download the manual from the SONY support website. Only one open PCI slot. TV resolution not as good as I had hoped but still very good for what it does.
If you're looking for a good "out of box" experience, I'd recommend this comuter. Its my first SONY computer and I was a bit skeptical at first. Get it. You won't regret it.
Customer Rating: -
Way-cool system
This Vaio is VERY nice. Not the absolute top-of-the-line, but close. Very fast and powerful, as you would expect; and I love being able to watch and/or record my cable shows that my better half doesn't care for. :) The Vaio has better capabilities than the DVR from my cable company, and with no monthly rental.
Another great thing about this PC is convenience. For example, I moved my TV/DVD player out of my crowded home office, now that my PC can do the same thing as a TV/DVD and more.
Better still is the well-thought-out placement and generous quantity of drives, ports, and jacks on the Vaio. Now my kludged-together mess of USB hubs, extension cords, external DVD writers, and other various cr-p can all go to Goodwill, and I won't have to stand on my head to use my little Flash drive--just reach down and plug it into one of the THREE front USB ports. This was money well spent.