Sony Desktops

The Bottom Line: Earlier this year Sony was the unquestioned king of all-in-ones designed for home entertainment. The new Vaio L117FX retains and improves on many of the features we liked about older models, but revamped all-in-ones from its competition make the new Vaio seem a touch overpriced.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400S (2.66 GHz), 6 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 1 TB Standard, NVIDIA GeForce GT 240M, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, Media center

The Bottom Line: You can find more-cost-effective large-screen all-in-ones for general productivity, but Sony's Vaio LV250B is our favorite for home entertainment. Loaded with unique features geared toward digital media convenience, this system will meet the needs of anyone looking for a PC to use as an entertainment hub.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 (2.80 GHz), 4 GB DDR II SDRAM, 500 GB Portable, NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT, EPA Energy Star, RoHS, EPEAT Silver, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition, Media center

The Bottom Line: Instead of succumbing to the latest fads, the Sony Vaio JS250J all-in-one PC stays the course pioneered by its models from last year, delivering capable performance and best-of-breed home entertainment features at a better price than its all-in-one competition. The Vaio JS250J will appeal to anyone in need of a multipurpose home PC.

Specs: Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200 (2.5 GHz), 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 320 GB Standard, NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS, EPA Energy Star, RoHS, EPEAT Silver, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition, Personal computer

The Bottom Line: Sony's Vaio LV180J updates its digital-media-oriented all-in-one with a larger LCD, more powerful hardware, and an exceedingly smart method for switching between the Windows desktop and other components connected via the unique HDMI input. No other all-in-one can make as strong a claim as this one as a command center for your digital media.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (3 GHz), 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 500 GB Standard, NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS, RoHS, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit Edition, Media center

The Bottom Line: Sony's distinctive, midrange VAIO TP1 Living Room PC trades performance and features for its cutesy appearance. Unless you really like the looks of this Roomba-like PC you can find a much better deal from a variety of standard desktop PCs.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 (1.83 GHz), 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 300 GB Standard, Intel GMA 950, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, Media center

The Bottom Line: The Sony VAIO XL1 DLS breaks some new ground for the living-room PC, but the wonky 200-disc changer hurts its overall appeal.

Specs: Intel Pentium D 820 (2.8 GHz), 512 MB DDR2 SDRAM, 200 GB Standard, NVIDIA GeForce 6200, Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, Media center

Specs: Intel Pentium 4 530 (3 GHz), 512 MB DDR SDRAM, 160 GB Standard, ATI Radeon X600 XT, Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition, Media center

Specs: Intel Pentium 4 (3.2 GHz), 512 MB DDR SDRAM, 200 GB Standard, NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200, EPA Energy Star, Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004, Media center

Specs: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400S (2.66 GHz), 6 GB DDR II SDRAM, 500 GB Standard, NVidia GeForce GT 240M, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium

Specs: Intel Pentium E5400 (2.7 GHz), 4 GB DDR II SDRAM, 320 GB Standard, NVidia GeForce G210M, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium