PCV-70/90

Overview

The Sony VAIO PCV-70 or PCV-90 were the first computers released by Sony under the VAIO line. Unusually for Sony, they were released in 1996 in the US and 1 year later in Japan in 1997. They were intended as computers designed for multimedia. Sony used the VAIO name for many reasons, one of them was because the VA joined together to symbolise a sine wave and the IO meaning the binary symbol for on and off, and this joined together name was supposed to represent the integration of analog and digital technology.

The PCV series of desktops featured a unique purple colour, which stood out among the vast amounts of beige towers (keep in mind this was 2 years before the iMac G3) They often came in a bundle with a matching purple CRT monitor, keyboard and mouse. To match the multimedia theme of the computer, they came with a unique desktop replacement interface called VAIO Space, which had "3D" styled graphics and was truly unique compared to other desktop replacement offerings. They came with a fair share of multimedia features, such as a 8X CD-ROM drive standard, and a built in Yamaha YMF701 sound chip.

Detailed Specs

Processor: Intel Pentium 166/200MHz

Graphics: ATI Rage 3D (2MB VRAM)

Chipset: Intel 430HX

Memory: 16MB or 32MB EDO RAM, maximum 128MB

Storage: 2.1 or 2.5GB hard drive

MSRP: Up to $3000 for a top spec PCV-90

Daily Usage Today

You can't. These days they are only useful for retro gaming, and due to the expandability you can upgrade them and get a very good experience when gaming. These also came with a very nice sounding Yamaha sound chip, so you will get excellent sound in DOS games.