Sony VAIO L Series 24 review

Sony hasn’t pulled any punches in its underlying hardware either, as this particular L Series model comes with a quad-core 2.4GHz Intel Core i7-3630QM processor that can Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz when there’s enough thermal headroom and 8GB of RAM. This gives the PC plenty of performance power for even the most demanding programs, and its impressive overall score of 90 in our multimedia benchmarks puts it just ten points behind our 3.4GHz Intel Core i5-3570K reference desktop processor.

Its 2GB Nvidia GeForce GT 640M graphics chip gives it some decent gaming credentials as well, as it managed a steady 47.9fps in the laptop version of our Dirt Showdown test on High quality at a 1,280×720 resolution. You should be able to play most modern 3D games in Full HD, too, as long as you’re prepared to tailor the graphics settings as we managed a perfect 60fps at 1,920×1,080 when we set the quality to Low.

As well as its many ports, you can also access the memory easily if you want to make an upgrade

The L Series 24 is also one of the most versatile all-in-ones we’ve tested so far. On the side of the PC, you’ll find three USB3 ports, a multi-format card reader, a FireWire port, separate headphone and microphone jacks, a Blu-Ray drive, and a host of menu buttons to change the volume, TV channel and source input. Round the back, there’s another three USB ports, one of which can charge devices when the PC’s in sleep mode, an HDMI output, an HDMI input, composite inputs and a TV tuner.

You don’t even have to sacrifice a USB port to use the bundled wireless mouse and keyboard either, as the L Series 24 has an integrated wireless receiver. The keyboard was a joy to use as its sensibly spaced keys gave plenty of tactile feedback, and its number pad and added row of media buttons were welcome additions. The mouse was similarly responsive and easy to use, and its pointed design was a surprisingly good fit for our hand.

Its integrated speakers were particularly impressive as all of our test tracks had lots of bass and produced rich, full bodies of sound. Diehard music fans will probably still want to connect a dedicated sound system, but we were perfectly happy to go without.

The Sony VAIO L Series 24 is a fantastic entertainment PC, but its slightly flawed 3D display holds it back from being the very best. Still, Sony should be applauded for trying to merge its PC and TV expertise to create the ultimate media hub. If Sony can perfect its two technologies, future models of the L Series 24 will be the all-in-ones to watch.