Sony Vaio JS190J

[sequitur]

Sony Vaio JS190J (black)
Editors' rating Excellent 8.2 out of 10

REVIEWVIDEOSPECSSHOP
The good: Best deal on an all-in-one with a Blu-ray drive; best-in-class performance for its price; relatively free of software clutter.

The bad: Its 20-inch screen is smaller than some of its competition; some redundant bundled applications; cheap mouse.

The bottom line: By virtue of its price, its desktop processor, and its Blu-ray drive, the Sony Vaio JS190J makes a case for itself as the new king of the all-in-ones. Its screen might be a bit smaller than some, but no other all-in-one, including Apple's iMac, can do as much, as fast, for the same price.

http://review.zdnet.com/desktops/sony-vaio-js190j-black/4505-3118_16-33240864.html?tag=nl.e540

[Marvin]

It's not quite accurate as they are benchmarking a $1199 2.4GHz iMac vs a $1499 3.0GHz Sony. Apple have a 2.66GHz model for $1499.

Plus, the Sony uses integrated graphics (X4500) unlike the iMac's Radeon 2600 Pro, which is at least 4 times faster (as much as 10 times faster in some games).

Assuming they go with the lower CPU, you can still use it for games and get an external Blu-Ray from Lacie for $599. So overall it's still capable of doing more stuff (including running OS X) for just $300 more. There may also be Mac compatible Blu-Ray drives cheaper than that.

Also, this is a brand new machine. There are new CPUs that can go in the iMac so it will be refreshed in the coming months.

It kind of looks like the Sony uses a matte display, which I would say is a huge improvement but it also has a tray drive on the side, which looks like it would be awkward to load. I prefer tray drives though so it's not a huge disadvantage and is probably quieter than the iMac.

The fact that Apple's machines all use slot-loading drives could be what's holding them back from Blu-Ray as they are more expensive - almost twice the price.

[applebook]

Well, aside from the integrated GPU, the Sony is indubitably superior in hardware specs, but the iMac is due for a revision, so even the hardware comparison is not fair at the moment.

Software...I despise bloatware and Windoze. :D

[Ireland]

A little ugly, runs windows, and will topple over. Powerful though.

video (http://cnettv.cnet.com/9742-1_53-50003596.html)