Its one thing to flatter ones self but its another to be aware when its happening. Thats the impression I get when introduced to the Sony Vaio PCG-FX880K. Like the name? Sony only recently introduced its notebook range to Australia but previous reports from overseas have reached us in advance to herald the Vaio range as no Johnny-come-lately in the notebook stakes.

Sony present the FX880K model not so much as a desktop replacement but as a machine for both serious and recreational pursuits.Why would anyone argue? While the FX880K is no ultralight it makes full use of the dimensions its been given.

The bulk of the unit gives it a solid feel. The slate grey shell is austere in the traditional notebook fashion. You will notice that the heavy clamshell lid holding the TFT makes no concession to weight saving. Most of the other recent notebooks reviewed in PC Authority would not rate against the thickness of the FX880K. Looking at its exterior, the appointments are standard but complete: DVD and floppy drive dominating the left side; the right side busier with colour-coded audio ports, an i.LINK (FireWire) adaptor, the PC Card slots and access hatch to the battery; and the rear showing just two USB ports and RJ-11 connector for the modem. Hidden behind a hatch are serial, parallel, external VGA and network ports.

Theres some nice touches. The hatch covering the rear ports is not implemented often these days, but keeps the back tidy if these external connections are not being used. Colour coding on the audio ports is no big deal when it comes to desktop machines but I cant think of too many notebooks using it. On the underside, straddling the docking connector, are two feet that raise the back portion of the notebook slightly giving the user an inclined and better to type with keyboard.

Sony provide a generous wristrest with the trackpad sited in the middle. The keyboard has a good feel to it and 3mm travel on the keys. Two speakers of surprisingly good quality are set above the keyboard on either side of the machine. It has only three programmable keys to contend with and a battery of LEDs on the hinge for the screen. The screen itself is a brilliant bright 15in TFT, unfortunately marred by a single stuck pixel on the review unit.

All these features pale alongside the internal offerings bundled with the computer. Most notebooks from name brands and the lesser lights have very little bundled. Sony buck the trend by shovelling bucketloads of software onto the hard disk. Most of it youll never find on a store shelf as it is applied pecifically to the Sony hardware, but that doesnt mean its not useful. In fact, there are some programs right out of the top drawer. Theres an emphasis on content creation here like DVgate which runs an i.LINK capture session, or MovieShaker which takes the footage from a DV source and allows the easy application of effects. OpenMG Jukebox complies with the latest music security standards, not surprising given Sonys prominence in the recording industry, and just to confuse people there is also RealJukebox, which most people would be familiar with already, although you cannot run both jukeboxes concurrently.

Performance wise the FX880K is not a world-beater. A 2D benchmark score of 1.84 is average; certainly no match for any of the newest Mobile Pentium III CPUs which run quicker and cooler than the older Pentium III found in this Vaio. In 3D I could only refer it to 3DMark2000 Pro instead of 3DMark2001, owing to the integrated AGP adaptor taking 8MB of the 128MB of system memory. Quakes OpenGL environment appears to be not supported.

The Sony Vaio FX880K is one of the best-featured notebooks released this year.