Eurocom LV220C ViiVA Review: A PC in HDTV Clothing
Monday, May 5, 2008
0
comments
The “PC in a TV’ concept isn’t new – Sony’s VAIO LT line has made an art of housing a multimedia rig in an HDTV casing. Eurocom has countered with the LV220C ViiVA, an all-in-one PC in a 22-inch widescreen frame that looks outstanding in a living room or office. Though a fine effort, it doesn't provide the oomph or the extras to match the Sony all-in-ones, and it's pricier, to boot.
With the LV220C, video is front and center. It has a tuner plus an MCE remote that supports analog cable and digital over-the-air (OTA) HDTV, as well as unscrambled digital cable channels. (You can use it without a cable box if your provider doesn’t scramble the signals.) Because the LV220C lacks component video or HDMI inputs, you can’t use an external cable or satellite box, or an external high-def Player with it. Our test unit came with a DVD burner that has LightScribe disc labeling, though Eurocom also offers HD optical disc drives.
The system packs a 2.66-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 CPU. The LV220C did well on our Windows Media Encoder test and aced our Photoshop CS3 test in a zippy 32 seconds. Its notebook-class nVidia Go 7600 graphics aren’t up to much 3D gaming, though.
The LV220C's user-serviceable chassis can accept a pair of hard drives. Ours came with a 320GB drive, but the bays can hold up to 2TB between them. If the drives are identical, you can configure them as RAID 0 (for speed and capacity) or RAID 1 (for data safety). You get 2GB of RAM, and there’s an empty slot for another 2GB.
Although the LV220C is a good choice, check out its rivals before buying. Comparable Sony LT systems sell for less, and they offer far more hardware for just a little bit more.
Eurocom LV220C ViiVA Review
Price range: $3,176 direct
Specs:
- 2.66-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6700
- 2GB 667-MHz DDR2 SDRAM
- 320GB 7,200-rpm SATA hard drive
- 256MB nVidia GeForce Go 7600 graphics card
- Dual-layer DVD±RW drive
- Integrated 22-inch widescreen LCD monitor
- Four USB 2.0 ports
- One FireWire port
- One eSATA port
- integrated stereo speakers
- Windows Vista Ultimate
Check This Out:
Gateway One: A Pretty Vista All-in-One
HP TouchSmart IQ775 PC Review: Family Computer in Kitchen
Dell XPS One Review: The New All-in-One to Beat
The system packs a 2.66-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 CPU. The LV220C did well on our Windows Media Encoder test and aced our Photoshop CS3 test in a zippy 32 seconds. Its notebook-class nVidia Go 7600 graphics aren’t up to much 3D gaming, though.
The LV220C's user-serviceable chassis can accept a pair of hard drives. Ours came with a 320GB drive, but the bays can hold up to 2TB between them. If the drives are identical, you can configure them as RAID 0 (for speed and capacity) or RAID 1 (for data safety). You get 2GB of RAM, and there’s an empty slot for another 2GB.
Although the LV220C is a good choice, check out its rivals before buying. Comparable Sony LT systems sell for less, and they offer far more hardware for just a little bit more.
Eurocom LV220C ViiVA Review
Price range: $3,176 direct
Specs:
- 2.66-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6700
- 2GB 667-MHz DDR2 SDRAM
- 320GB 7,200-rpm SATA hard drive
- 256MB nVidia GeForce Go 7600 graphics card
- Dual-layer DVD±RW drive
- Integrated 22-inch widescreen LCD monitor
- Four USB 2.0 ports
- One FireWire port
- One eSATA port
- integrated stereo speakers
- Windows Vista Ultimate
Check This Out:
Gateway One: A Pretty Vista All-in-One
HP TouchSmart IQ775 PC Review: Family Computer in Kitchen
Dell XPS One Review: The New All-in-One to Beat
Categories:
Digital Life
If You Like This Post, Share it With Your Friends & Peers
0 comments:
Post a Comment