The Sony Vaio JS190J is in direct comparison to the Apple iMac 20″ though it does not have the same killer looks as the former. The keyboard also seems to have taken a cue from Apple’s iMac keyboard. The desktop PC starts from the $999 mark which does not have the Blu-ray drive and some other stuff.

The dimensions of the desktop are a tad smaller than iMac. Sony decided to go in for a 20″ display even with a bundled Blu-ray drive which limits the cinematic experience on the machine. The machine also has a webcam located above the display. The machine has an adjustable foot at the back so that you can choose an appropriate angle for viewing on your desk. Although HP has bundled a mouse with the machine, it did not care to include a remote with it. The Blu-ray drive has its place at the side of the display from where it pops out.

The desktop has a 20″ LCD TFT display which has a resolution of 1680 x 1050. The display is crisp and clear. A higher screen with full D resolution would have been ideal for watching HD movies using the Blu-ray drive. There isn’t an option for connecting external video display too, which is utterly disappointing. On the networking front, Sony has included wireless-N capability also. Gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth are the other two networking options.

64-bit Windows Vista Home Premium comes loaded on the desktop to fully utilise the 4GB RAM present on the system. The onboard graphics chip is insufficient to play full blown 3D games. But it is more than capable of playing full HD movies without a glitch. USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 are the other ports present at the back. Lack of Firewire 800 and eSATA ports is another disadvantage for people wanting to connect devices for high speed data transfer.

The Sony Vaio JS190J has great performance. Barring the graphics performance, it leads all other similar budget desktop PCs by quite a margin. The dismal graphics performance is attributed to the absence of a dedicated graphics card. Overall, the system has great performance but it not targeted towards gamers.

The Sony Vaio JS190J desktop PC brings Blu-ray drive into a desktop at an affordable price. The PC has good performance but lacks a dedicated graphics card. The smaller display might disappoint a few and also it ain’t fully HD compatible also. Overall a good system to put your money in if you are not a gamer.