BIOS: Technology Means Business

Sony's dream of AV/IT convergence has made another step forward with its new VAIO V2 range of multimedia computers. Although the VAIO (an acronym for Video Audio Integrated Operation) brand was launched some seven years ago, the company has continued to strive towards combining computing with the joy of creating and sharing digital entertainment content. With the VAIO VGC-V2S, Sony has extended its VAIO brand with a computer than more resembles a stylish consumer device than a boring number cruncher. It's not the slimmest or most powerful system of its type, but the VAIO VGC-V2S could be perfect for your modern living space, trendy office or even retail point of sale.

Pros: Attractive consumer design; gorgeous widescreen display; Wi-Fi
Cons: Sluggish performance; useless for games; expensive

The VAIO brand has grown and changed over the years to not only meet customer demand but to inspire us to do things we have not yet been doing with a PC. Taking that idea one step further by blurring the boundaries between traditional A/V and IT products, the VAIO VGC-V2S combines the power of a regular desktop PC (albeit most of its parts are derived from a laptop) inside a 20in. TFT LCD monitor. It comes with plenty of output options, too, as well as a built-in FM tuner.

The new VAIO V2 series is available with a choice of two screen sizes: 17- (from £1236 ex. VAT) or 20in. (£1499 ex. VAT), reviewed here. Regardless of which model you opt for, you'll instantly be amazed at the system's jaw-dropping glossy-black profile and beautiful X-black screen, the latter of which we constantly praise when it's incorporated into one of company's laptops. With a profile that puts CRT monitors to shame, the all-in-one VAIO VGC-V2S would add an element of cool to even the smallest space.

The all-in-one PC offers decent computing and entertainment options in a body that resembles an LCD TV. Its bezel is thicker than most LCDs at 58mm at either side (45mm at top), and the fact that all of its components are crammed into the rear of the screen means you wont be able to push the system flush against a wall.

The chunky aluminium stand does look great, though. The 20in. widescreen display is a real star. Based on Sony's patented X-black technology, the screen offers a native WXGA resolution of 1280x768 pixels and displays rich and deep colours. The panel is bright too, literally shining bright among the mass of dull, lifeless panels on rival systems.

It's no coincidence that the VAIO VGC-V2S doubles as a TV with Sony's exclusive Giga Pocket personal video recorder, or that it include Sony's original Motion Reality technology borrowed from its WEGA TV group. The included wireless keyboard, mouse and remote control further give you flexibility whether you decide to work on a spreadsheet or fold-up and put the keyboard away and watch TV using the elegant remote control.

Besides is attractive wholly-black consumer design, the coolest thing about the VAIO VGC-V2S is that it only requires one power outlet, it can be rested on most shelves and desks (14.4kg), and it can be set up in a matter of seconds. Its all-one-one design means it can be moved from room to room too, although there are no carrying handles so you'll have to be careful not to scratch the lovely screen or drop the unit.

The VAIO VGC-V2S is more than just a pretty face however, and processing muscle is catered for by a 3.20GHz Prescott Intel Pentium 4 processor, older Intel 865PE chipset, 512MB of DDR400 system memory (upgradable to 1GB), 250GB hard disk (7200rpm), nVidia GeForce FX Go5700 GPU, and a slimline DVD±RW recorder. Unfortunately, there's no SATA and PCI-Express interfaces for the latest high-speed connections.

You also get a TV tuner, four USB 2.0 ports, two FireWire ports, headphone and microphone jacks, digital audio-out port (S/PDIF), S-Video in, FM antenna (for hooking up a live analogue TV feed), video-, audio- and line-in ports, Memory Stick slot, Type II PC Card slot, 10/100Base-TX NIC, V.92 modem, infrared port, and built-in 802.11b/g (dedicated on/off switch at right-side of unit). The addition of Wi-Fi is great news for anyone who has a media server or home network, but it's a shame Sony couldn't also squeeze in Bluetooth and a SCART socket.

It also comes equipped with Sony's comprehensive VAIO Creation Suite Plus software, which includes PictureGear Studio for managing digital images and creating photo albums, SonicStage Mastering Studio for digitising ageing analogue music sources such as vinyl records and tapes with recording studio tools, DVgate Plus video editing software, Microsoft's Works 7, Adobe's Photoshop Elements 2, and a 30-day trial copy of Norton Anti-Virus.

Sony also bundles its own media management application, VAIO Zone. Similar to Microsoft's Media Center offering, VAIO Zone handles your live television, films and music in much the same efficient, user-friendly way. Crucially, though, it lacks much of the online functionality that Media Center 2005 has embraced.

In terms of performance, Sony's latest desktop PC is not the fastest system on the block. This is due largely to its use of laptop components and the fact that it's based on an older Intel 865PE chipset and doesn't support PCI-Express graphics cards, SATA hard disks or DDR2 SDRAM. The nVidia GeForce FX Go5700 GPU is only up to general computing tasks also, so gamers should stay clear. Having said that, the system is relatively quiet when running, so it's ideal for watching DVD-Movies and TV, or for streaming content into your living room.

About our tests:
BIOS uses Futuremark's SYSmark 2004 benchmarking application to test the overall performance of desktops. SYSmark 2004 contains scientifically designed workloads that represent the range of activities that an office productivity or Internet content creation worker may encounter. PCMark04 Pro is Futuremark's application-based benchmark for measuring component-level performance. It uses portions of real applications instead of including very large applications or using specifically created code. Futuremark's 3DMark05 Pro runs game tests to provide an accurate overview of a system's gaming performance. In all benchmarks, the higher the score, the faster the computer.