Editorial Product Review:

Item Description:
The VAIO RB54G Desktop comes loaded with exclusive Sony software that allows you to easily create, manage, share and enjoy your digital photos, home videos, movies and music. View and record high-quality TV with Sony's Giga Pocket engine. Convert your old VHS and 8mm videos to DVD in just a click with Click to DVD software. And, with the advanced DVD+R Double Layer24 8.5GB recording capacity, you can create a whole digital library for your personal viewing entertainment. The tools you need for your growing multimedia entertainment demands and everyday essential computing needs. Versatile. Empowering. Ready for your digital lifestyle.

Amazon.com Item Description:
The Sony Vaio VGC-RB54G desktop entertainment PC comes loaded with the all tools you need to easily create, manage, share, and enjoy your digital photos, home videos, movies, and music. Convert your VHS or 8mm home videos to DVD discs to share with the whole family via the dual-layer, multiformat DVD burner. Store hundreds of hours of your music collection on the amazingly huge 320 GB Serial ATA hard drive. You can also watch and record your favorite TV programs (via the built-in TV tuner) using the Giga Pocket personal video recorder (PVR). It features a hyper-threading 2.8 GHz Pentium D dual-core processor for powering through work as multiple applications hum along simultaneously and without stress. This multimedia PC also features 1 GB of installed RAM, a multiformat memory card reader compatible with the most popular digital camera formats, Microsoft XP Media Center Edition 2005, and a wide assortment of pre-loaded software titles.

The Basics

• Hard Drive: This entertainment-centric desktop is loaded with a gigantic 320 GB Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive, which offers higher speed transfer of data--akin to FireWire and USB 2.0--than typical ATA hard drives.
• Processor: The 2.8 GHz Intel Pentium D 820 dual-core processor is one of the strongest processors currently available (as of May 2005). An Intel dual-core processor delivers additional computing resources and help expand the PC’s capabilities by providing higher throughput and simultaneous computing. You'll be able to perform multiple tasks such as digital rendering and gaming all while running virus scan or other background tasks seamlessly. Each core has 1MB of L2 cache onboard (for a 2 MB total), and the two cores share an 800MHz front-side bus.
  
  A hyper-threading processor helps a PC run several demanding applications at the same time. This technology enables the processor to execute two threads (parts of a program) in parallel, boosting performance during key high-drain procedures. This results in more efficient software performance, such as faster reaction times in gaming applications, and enhanced multitasking.
• Memory: The VGC-RB54G comes with 1 GB of installed PC2-4200 DDR RAM (533 MHz). This is a good start, but you'll want to max out the 2 GB capacity (which is a bit small for such a multimedia powerhouse) for your 3-D gaming and video-editing needs.
• CD/DVD Drive: Offering the latest in DVD writing technology, the multiformat DVD/CD drive is compatible with both DVD+ and DVD- disc formats as well as dual-layer DVD+R discs, which can store up to 8.5 GB of data. For DVD-RW discs, it has a 8x write/6x rewrite speed, while for DVD+RW discs it has a 16x write/4x rewrite speed. For double-layer DVD+R, it has a 4x write speed. For CDs, it has a 40x write/24x rewrite speed. It also has a separate DVD-ROM drive with 16x DVD read speed and 40x CD read speed.
• Keyboard & Mouse: It comes with a standard Vaio keyboard (PS/2) and a USB optical mouse.

Screen, Graphics and Sound
The ATI Radeon X300 SE is a high-end video card, powerful enough to run one large virtual screen across two displays. It features 128 MB of dedicated video RAM, S-Video and the higher-fidelity DVI connections out, and PCI Express x16 support, which enables graphics to process faster.

Connectivity and Expansion Slots
For expansion, the VGC-RB54G has two 5.25-inch half-height external bays (occupied), one external 3.5-inch bay (occupied) and four internal 3.5-inch bays (one occupied), two PCI slots (occupied), and one x16 PCI Express (occupied). It comes with the following external connectors:

• 6 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
• 2 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) ports for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals (1 6-pin in front, 1 4-pin in rear)
• 1 parallel port for connecting older printers and scanners
• 2 PS/2 ports for connecting keyboards and mice
• 1 VGA/DVI-D monitor port
• 1 S-Video inputs (front and rear)
• 1Composite video/audio inputs (front and rear)
• 1 RF coaxial video input (VHF/UHF)
• 1 microphone, 1 headphone, 1 line-in
• Multiformat memory card reader on the front, compatible with CompactFlash (Type I and II), MicroDrive, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro/Duo, MultiMedia Card, Secure Digital, and XD Picture Card

It also has an integrated 56K modem (V.90) and an RJ-45 LAN network port for a 10/100/1000 Fast Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems.

Preloaded System and Software
The pre-installed Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 is essentially Windows XP Professional Edition with a variety of tools to help you to create, organize, and enjoy digital media ranging from music to home movies to photo slide shows. Additionally, it enables you to control your television with the included remote and record and pause programs (much like a DVR--or digital video recorder--such as Tivo or ReplayTV). It's compatible with cable, digital cable, satellite TV and antenna inputs, and it includes an FM tuner.

It also comes loaded with a bevy of Sony multimedia software: Click to DVD (DVD creation), SonicStage (digital music), Vaio Media (network file sharing), DVgate Plus (digital video), and Image Converter (for PSP transfer). Other pre-loaded software includes Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Edition, Quicken 2005 New User Edition, Microsoft Works 8.0 (with word processing, spreadsheet, and calendar), Norton Internet Security (with 90-day subscription), Intervideo WinDVD, Roxio DigitalMedia SE, and SpySubtract.

Dimensions and Weight
This desktop measures 7.13 x 16.9 x 15.24 inches (WxHxD) and weighs approximately 25.35 pounds.

What's in the Box
This package contains the VGC-RB54G desktop PC, two stereo speakers, keyboard, USB optical mouse, remote control with IR blaster, and power cord. It is backed by a 1-year limited hardware warranty.



Accessories available:
     click for more

Accessories available:

• Sony XBRITE SDM-HS75P/B 17" LCD Monitor (Black)
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 7
• Quicken Deluxe 2009
• Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Standard
• Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009

---

---