- home
- reviews
- news
- downloads
- cnet tv
On The Insider: Shields Reveals MJ Relationship Secrets
- log in
- join CNET
- welcome,
- my profile
- log out

Sony VAIO RB53 (Pentium 4 630 3GHz, 512MB RAM, 200GB HDD, XP Home)

More on this product: series info; user reviews; specifications; shop

Print
E-mail
Share

Average user rating: Write your own review
See all user reviews

Product summary

Sony's midrange home-theater PC line offers an adequate entry-point to Windows Media Center for families and students.

Specifications: Processor: Intel Pentium 4 630 (3 GHz) ; RAM installed: 512 MB DDR SDRAM ; Hard drive: 200 GB Standard ; See full specs

See all products in the Sony VAIO RB-Series series

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by:
Jason Compton
Edited by:
Rich Brown
Reviewed on: 08/08/2005

Sony's VAIO RB series features two configurable systems and a cluster of feature-set boxes, some bundled with monitors, others without. This series is notable because all of the systems come in midtower desktop cases and many can be powered by Windows Media Center 2005 Edition. They won't integrate seamlessly into your living room like machines with component-style cases, but with prices ranging from $590 for the VAIO RB49C (with Media Center added) to the $2,030 VAIO RB38G with a 19-inch LCD, the cost is low enough that almost anyone looking for a full-featured home-theater PC can get their hands on one.

You wouldn't want a VAIO RB series for gaming. The best video card you can get is the ATI Radeon 300, a budget card designed for only passable 3D graphics. And you'll need to look to the higher-end VAIO RA series for media-friendly dual-core CPUs. The VAIO RB series' 64-bit Intel processor is generally fast enough for most basic media-consumption tasks, though, so as long as you don't intend to get involved in a lot of content creation, the VAIO RB series is a competent, capable home-theater PC.

See more CNET content tagged:: Sony Vaio,; Microsoft Windows Media Center,; Sony Corp.,; Media Center PC,; Windows Media

User reviews

Average user rating: 0 stars Not yet available
Back to product review
My rating: 0 stars Write review

Showing 1 of 1 user reviewSee 1 user review
4.5 stars

"Great PC with a NICE Look"

by rkninc on January 4, 2006

read more
See 1 user review Write review

Submit your review

Sony VAIO RB53 (Pentium 4 630 3GHz, 512MB RAM, 200GB HDD, XP Home)

ORLog in with your Facebook account

1. Rate this product:: (Mouse over the stars to rate this product and click to set your rating.)
2. One-line summary:(Summarize your review in one line. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 55 characters
3. Pros:(Tell us what you like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 250 characters
4. Cons:(Tell us what you don't like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 250 characters
Bottom-line summary:(Explain to us in detail why you like or dislike the product, focusing your comments on the product's features and functionality, and your experience using the product. This field is optional.): 0 of 5000 characters; Submit