Verdict: A quality laptop with a stunning screen, but lacking in the 3D department

Sony just doesn't seem content unless it creates something different to make its products stand out in the crowd. With this VAIO, that something different is the screen. To use Sony's marketing speak, it's 'ultrasharp and ultrabright'. And, to use our words, on the whole it's ultragreat. Even with the backlight set to the lowest setting we found this screen very easy on the eye.

The trouble is that it's very shiny too, so the resulting reflections can be distracting. The resolution is another mixed blessing. Although the combination of a 15in viewable diagonal and 1,024 x 768 pixels means that system text is always easy to read, you lose out on detail when it comes to close-up work, such as admiring digital photos, and it also makes it practically impossible to view two web pages simultaneously.

We found the screen performed well for both DVD movies and games and for the moment, the VAIO has enough firepower to cope. At 1,024 x 768, with 2x anti-aliasing and 4x anisotropic filtering, it managed 28.1fps in Wolfenstein. However, the GeForce FX 5600 Go graphics chip will almost certainly struggle with games such as Half-Life 2.

We've no real complaints when it comes to 2D speed, which is no surprise, considering the 2.8GHz Pentium 4 processor. Its best score came in our video encoding test, and this VAIO is well set up for video work, with an 80GB hard disk and a DVD burner that writes to both DVD+RW and DVD-RW discs. However, the optical drive slowed down the VAIO in our audio compression test (this rips audio tracks from a CD to MP3 files on the fly), which gave it a lower overall score than expected.

You'll also be a little disappointed if you intend to use this laptop on your lap, as its rear feet can dig uncomfortably into your legs. There are plenty of other signs it was intended for desk use too, with a weight of 3.4kg, a maximum battery life of just two hours and a complete lack of wireless technologies.

But we still like this VAIO. Little touches, such as a single button to maximise brightness, plus dedicated volume up and down buttons show how much time has been spent on attention to detail, and the speakers sound better than most, too. You're buying a lot of quality for your money - but not necessarily great speed.

• Cases - 21st November 2008
• Motherboards - 24th October 2008
• Gaming Headsets - 26th September 2008
• Dream PCs - 24th September 2008
• Headphones - 12th September 2008
• Media PC components - 22nd August 2008
• PSUs - 14th July 2008

• Intel DG45FC - Motherboards
• Intel X25-M Mainstream SATA SSD - Hard disks / storage
• OCZ Core Series 30GB - Hard disks / storage
• Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB - Hard disks / storage
• Asus EAH4870 TOP - Graphics cards
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Sound cards
• Multiwinia - Games