Media center system 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: 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: HP's new digital-media-oriented Pavilion Elite m9040n is fast, loaded with features, and its new looks and newly integrated receivers improve its profile. Our main issue is the redundant bays for two of HP's proprietary external hard drives. If you can get past that, there's a solid desktop here.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4 GHz), 3 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 320 GB Standard, NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, 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: Velocity Micro's first full-fledged home theater PC pulls very few punches in providing a complete digital media experience. It's big, it lacks a built-in audio receiver, and it invites PC gaming into the living room, which has never been the best fit. It's also the victim of a few Vista-related growing pains. On balance, though, Velocity Micro has as complete a home theater PC as we've seen.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad Core (2.4 GHz), 2 GB, 400 GB Standard, NVidia GeForce 8800GTS, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

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

The Bottom Line: We're fond of the Gateway DX4300-11's clever design, but halfhearted performance scores mar its overall worth. The TV tuner and 1TB hard drive may tempt you to stick it in your living room as a media center PC, but your money is better spent on the Asus Essentio CG5270-BP004.

Specs: AMD Phenom II X4 805 (2.5 GHz), 8 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 1 TB Standard, ATI Radeon HD 3200, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, Media center

Specs: AMD Phenom II X4 925 (2.8 GHz), 6 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 750 GB Standard, NVIDIA GeForce G210, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, Media center

Specs: AMD Phenom II X4 945 (3 GHz), 8 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 1 TB Standard, ATI Radeon HD 4650, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, Media center