- Average user rating:
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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4 out of 4 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Quiet, Cool and Fast as Hell"
Pros: Extremely quite and easy to setup
Cons: Doesn't allow for converting of recorded programing into psp format
Summary: Sony has done it again! Nice design and a great peice of hardware. This Desktop was easy to setup and get running. From the color coded speakers to the media center setup. It took only about a hour to fully setup from out the box, to up and running in media center. The only thing I found lacking was a physical users manual, and backup system restore disks that have been standard in previous models. This model is super fast and amazingly quiet. There is hardly any sound coming out of this thing. I tried to test the hardware and see if I could freeze it up. I was running media center, watching TV while surfing the net while running music software and also installing additional software onto the computer and it ran seamlessly. This machine is well worth every penny. I must say that it is worth spending the few extra bucks to get the additional 1 gig of memory.
- 3 replies to this review
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now seems that the product is backordered in many places - but i still don't understand why it's no longer available from sony. i will shut up now - thanks again.
karlee -
available from sony.com? it was on their site packaged with a monitor. this evening i read that it was (literally) "no longer available." as i just brought mine home today (and of course i continue to read reviews) - and see a $300.00 rebate on amazon and b and h photo being out of it - am i missing something? do you have any information to support its continued shelf life? i am wondering if sony decided that the chip is too slow compared to the other d offerings. well, you can see that i'm not a technical person - but would so appreciate any tidbit of information you might supply. like you - i was totally awed by the quiet, lovely, configuration of the computer. thanks in advance for reading this. by the way - i'll be using the computer (mostly) for heavy duty photography. i hadn't thought about the other gig of memory. i guess that can be added??? again, thank you.
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I have been waiting years to spring at the right moment for a PC, and I finally pulled the trigger and bought the VAIO RA-842G. I was tired of looking for a Media Center PC that had all the features I wanted, without any weak links in the hardware. Finally SONY delivered with this PC.
I was surprised about its lack of documentation and CD's as well (It simply came with a trial of AOL). I purchased the service warranty from the store I purchased it from, because this monster is PACKED with features. (Murphy's Law, you know.) Individuals who look to customize their PC after they buy it should look elsewhere, because the available slots just aren?t there to add more.
This PC features a decent video card (not the fastest) but great for the money, and can handle any game or video editing project with ease. Mine came with 2-250 GB hard drive configured in RAID 0, for a total of 500 GB. This makes the computer look like it has 1-500 GB hard drive. For the record, it only shows about 466 GB as usable, because all original configuration software is stored on your PC, instead of accompanying CD's. RAID 0 allows faster access to the computers hard drives, and is an additional performance boost, but lacks any redundancy (if you loose one hard drive, the pc won't work at all.) I'd prefer this configuration in a workstation this fast, because with all its strengths, access rates to the HD could pose a bottleneck in redundant (RAID 1) configuration.
I can't say enough about this computer. Buy this one if you are serious about getting into video and graphics editing, as the Media Center OS and peripheral connections allow for easy collection of movie, camcorder, or TV audio / video. Also, it didn't come with a wireless network adapter, so I had to install my own, which installed without a hitch. I used the LAST available slot, for the record. It should be noted that it comes with Gigabit Ethernet, which would be very handy if you had a robust network to support that speed. With a Gigabit switch, you could easily stream video to any computer in your house.
It has plenty of USB slots in front and back, one 4-pin iLink (1394 Firewire) port in front and one 6-pin (1394 Firewire) port in back. It also has a DVI jack in back for projectors, though lacks the upcoming HDMI jack that would support audio and video out of one cable. The case is approx 18" high, so I was discouraged for keeping it in my Home Theater area until I can make room for it. There really isn't a weak link in this PC, which is why I bought it. The software is lacking, but contains enough for the amateur graphics enthusiast to get his/her feet wet. Expect to buy more software if you're a professional.
