Summary: 2006-02-23 11:06:10 As with other Sony VAIO desktops that sport Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE), the VGC-RB42G comes ready to hook up to your various media sources, and then you can start forming your media center with this desktop for the core of your media system.
On the downside, you will want to buy a PCI-Express (PCI-E) video card with television outputs so you can use the VGC-RB42G with anything other than a computer monitor, as the only output is VGA. Once the PCI-E x16 slot is filled, all that is left is a PCI-E x1 slot, which is all but worthless at this point in time.
You will also need to buy a 3.5mm male to 2 RCA male stereo cable to connect the VGC-RB42G to your stereo, if you expect any decent sound. The supplied speakers are acceptable for getting computer sounds out of the desktop, and not much more.
If you want to get a better sound card than the one that is built into the Intel motherboard, then you will have to free up a PCI slot, most probably the one occupied by the modem card.
Even though it has four PC-3200 400 MHz DDR memory slots, two of which come occupied for a total of 1GB of RAM, the VGC-RB42G can only handle a maximum of 2GB of RAM.
Another strange design aspect is that there are motherboard connections for 4 Serial ATA (S-ATA/SATA) hard drives, one already used for the existing 250GB 7200 RPM hard drive, and expansion bays for three more drives, but there are usable power hookups for only two more hard drives.
Silver side mounted buttons open the DVD/CD-ROM drawers, with hinged doors folding down when they fully open. These and the side mounted power switch take getting used to, but keeps the blue glowing VAIO logo front of the computer clean and uncluttered.
The power supply and case fan start up like small jet engines, but then quiet down to a whisper once the system is booted completely. They appear to keep everything cool with a nice warm exhaust out the back. The perforated side panel allows a good flow of cool air into the case.
I added a EVGA GeForce 6600 LE (128MB/128bit) PCI-E video card to get output to my television, and because it puts out a steady stream of heat, I hooked up a Cooler Master Dual Storm. This attached quite handily on the side panel, with the four mounting screws easily going through the existing holes.
Once I connected my DirecTV tuner via the S-Video and composite audio inputs, the included IR Blaster back to the front of the satellite receiver and a 3.5mm male to 2 RCA male stereo cable to my amplifier, the rest of the setup of the MCE functions was straight forward.
Expect a minor, but not too irritating, delay between pushing a button on the Sony MCE remote control and the tuner reacting, as the computer now controls the satellite receiver.
Scheduling recordings is easy to do, the MCE program guide is flexible, fun to use, informative and powerful all at the same time, which is a rare thing. I set up and recorded a program inside an hour after unpacking the computer.
A few hours later and I also had a good amount of my music collection cataloged on the computer as well, after which I watch some live satellite TV through the system, while browsing the web at the same time. The MCE operations do not seem to have any real impact, so you can use this machine as your main home computer if desired.
Despite the irritating and seemingly unnecessary limitations the Sony VAIO VGC-RB42G contains, it provides more than the basics needed for a respectable home media center and personal computer.
Since writing the initial review above, I have added two Western Digital WD2500JD 250GB Serial ATA-150 hard drives to match the one that came with the desktop computer.
Installation was a pain because of the aforementioned lack of usable power connectors. Turns out the last connector is not usable because the drive bays are mounted sideways, and the last connector would stick out too far for the side panel to easily fit in place.
Further aggravation came from the need to get SATA data cables that have right angle connectors for the drive connection side, for the same side panel reason.
It took some searching to find some "clamp" style SATA power connectors, but the same place (Jab-tech) that stocked them had the right angle SATA data cables as well.
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