Desktop & Notebook Computers: Sony CE Sony VAIO PCV-RZ22G Desktop (2.4-GHz Pentium 4, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive)

Average Rating:

The RZ22G is designed to be a digital A/V (audio video) powerhorse, and it shines. The Sony DVD-R/RW/+R/RW burner (manufactured in Malaysia) is well integrated into the system, and you can use the Click-to-DVD program to burn your home-made DVDs quickly and painlessly. It also comes with Adobe Premiere LE which allows you to edit video clips. BTW, you can hook up MiniDV camcorders *as well as* RCA-connector analog devices, like 8mm camcorders, VCRs, etc. The included capture board can digitize the analog video.

[Sidenote: Most Sony MiniDV camcorders come with built-in digitizers so you can always use them as a conduit to capture videos from analog devices.]

The number of included ports is impressive. There are six USB 2.0 high-speed ports, with two in the front and four in the back. There are two IEEE 1394 ports, one 4-pin i.Link in the front and one 6-in regular IEEE 1394 in the back. You also get PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports as well as serial and parallel ports. Pretty much everything you need! The inclusion of MemoryStick slot and floppy drive (take note, Dell!) makes this a very complete system in terms of inputting information.

I always thought Sony was expensive, but they've been aggressively pricing their VAIO computers and they now represent pretty good values. You can get a Dell for cheaper, but not when you consider what Sony gives you: IEEE 1394, tons and tons of software, a large hard drive, a dual-format ("minus" and "plus") fast DVD burner. I've done a lot of configuration comparisons, and I think the RZ-series totally beats Dell and HP in terms of overall value.