Alrighty then, lets get to this thingy, because I have nothing better to do today…
Sense I can never find a proper review of the Averatec 3225HS, I decided that if I got one, I would review it. So when I got one yesterday along with my brother, I spent the day fixing it up (installing and calibrating). Today However I went thought the paces.
First off, the rating system I use is simple, it’s a five point scale from: Crap(1) all the way to Sexy(5). The sexier the better (duh) sexy just means good so I don’t confuse you old people.
Ok lets get the show on the road!
First Impressions,
When you first buy the laptop, you receive a box that holds everything you need. 1 computer, 1 AC adapter, 1 set of recovery disks, 1 quick start manual and FCC documentation. The only thing I found wrong with the included material was the absence of a printed manual, however this was not that big of a problem seeing as it comes as a PDF on the computer, and also on the website. A side note on the manual is that it doesn’t have a table of contents, so it’s a tad bit confusing to find things, it is also written to be printed out and read before the computer is turned on, but I guess saving money there is better than saving money elsewhere. A few suggestions would be to go into the power saving option in the BIOS and train the fan and battery, It took me forever to find it in the manual so I’ll save you the trouble of searching.
Screen, 5
A nice little 12.1 inch XGA, no dead pixels, no ghosting I can find. The screen looks pretty stable to me, (as stable as most other laptops in the $1000 range) so there isn’t any problem there, I will soon invest in a carrying case for this baby because I think everyone should buy one for any laptop they buy. The resolution is 1024 x 768 and a interesting thing about it (I don’t know if you can do this with other laptops too but…) You can plug an external monitor into the VGA port and run it as a duel monitor set-up, I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m looking forward to trying.
Keyboard, 4
Everyone says that the keyboard feels odd, I don’t think this is the case other than the fact that the keys are rearranged to fit on this small laptop. However, not all is well and good with the keyboard, everyone comments on the small spacebar (Its not) the real thing is the insert key next to the backspace key. Sometimes (once) I found myself hitting the insert key instead of the backspace key. Everything feels good and snug with the keyboard so there really isn’t any problem with that.
Touchpad, 5
The touchpad is very good (why wouldn’t it be?) it comes standard with scroll zones on the bottom and the side. As well as coming with two buttons and other normal touchpad features.
Processor, 4
AMD XP-M 2000 running at 1.53Ghz is very good for what I’m planning to do with it (word processing, mp3, DVD) the fan runs at different speeds and I haven’t noticed it getting too hot unless I am doing a million things at once.
Wireless, 5
Runs fast with the router I have in my house from 2-3 years ago (back when wireless was still in its infancy) Its not even 802.11b its earlier than that, but this adapter runs it with pride and speed! The button to turn it on and off is conveniently located about 1/8th inch away from the power button above the keyboard for easy access.
Video, 4
The DVD that I was watching yesterday came through crystal clear and I was very impressed with the quality of video (it makes my desktop screen look all fuzzy comparatively) it uses 32 MB from the 512 DDR that comes included with the system (It runs better than the 256 DDR stick I have in my other computer so I have no problems)
CD/DVD, 5
As I stated before, DVD playback is exceptional, I have yet to try out burning a CD so when I do that I’ll let you know how it goes. Though I don’t see me having any problems
Audio, 5
The audio isn’t bad or (metallic) like some people say, just when you are using Winamp or I-Tunes (internet radio is what I use) just mess with the equalizer settings till you get the sound that you want!
Overall, 4.5
Pretty good laptop, I should be able to take some pictures later this week once I find the digital camera that is hidden under a pile of crap somewhere. As of now, I would recommend this laptop to anyone who just wants to have a word processing/audio & DVD machine, this thing is not for gaming (I haven’t tried a game yet, I’m planning on installing Half Life for a video test)
Look forward to some pics and another review after a week or so…
LATERZ,
Rabble
(If I missed anything out, let me know)
Sense I can never find a proper review of the Averatec 3225HS, I decided that if I got one, I would review it. So when I got one yesterday along with my brother, I spent the day fixing it up (installing and calibrating). Today However I went thought the paces.
First off, the rating system I use is simple, it’s a five point scale from: Crap(1) all the way to Sexy(5). The sexier the better (duh) sexy just means good so I don’t confuse you old people.
Ok lets get the show on the road!
First Impressions,
When you first buy the laptop, you receive a box that holds everything you need. 1 computer, 1 AC adapter, 1 set of recovery disks, 1 quick start manual and FCC documentation. The only thing I found wrong with the included material was the absence of a printed manual, however this was not that big of a problem seeing as it comes as a PDF on the computer, and also on the website. A side note on the manual is that it doesn’t have a table of contents, so it’s a tad bit confusing to find things, it is also written to be printed out and read before the computer is turned on, but I guess saving money there is better than saving money elsewhere. A few suggestions would be to go into the power saving option in the BIOS and train the fan and battery, It took me forever to find it in the manual so I’ll save you the trouble of searching.
Screen, 5
A nice little 12.1 inch XGA, no dead pixels, no ghosting I can find. The screen looks pretty stable to me, (as stable as most other laptops in the $1000 range) so there isn’t any problem there, I will soon invest in a carrying case for this baby because I think everyone should buy one for any laptop they buy. The resolution is 1024 x 768 and a interesting thing about it (I don’t know if you can do this with other laptops too but…) You can plug an external monitor into the VGA port and run it as a duel monitor set-up, I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m looking forward to trying.
Keyboard, 4
Everyone says that the keyboard feels odd, I don’t think this is the case other than the fact that the keys are rearranged to fit on this small laptop. However, not all is well and good with the keyboard, everyone comments on the small spacebar (Its not) the real thing is the insert key next to the backspace key. Sometimes (once) I found myself hitting the insert key instead of the backspace key. Everything feels good and snug with the keyboard so there really isn’t any problem with that.
Touchpad, 5
The touchpad is very good (why wouldn’t it be?) it comes standard with scroll zones on the bottom and the side. As well as coming with two buttons and other normal touchpad features.
Processor, 4
AMD XP-M 2000 running at 1.53Ghz is very good for what I’m planning to do with it (word processing, mp3, DVD) the fan runs at different speeds and I haven’t noticed it getting too hot unless I am doing a million things at once.
Wireless, 5
Runs fast with the router I have in my house from 2-3 years ago (back when wireless was still in its infancy) Its not even 802.11b its earlier than that, but this adapter runs it with pride and speed! The button to turn it on and off is conveniently located about 1/8th inch away from the power button above the keyboard for easy access.
Video, 4
The DVD that I was watching yesterday came through crystal clear and I was very impressed with the quality of video (it makes my desktop screen look all fuzzy comparatively) it uses 32 MB from the 512 DDR that comes included with the system (It runs better than the 256 DDR stick I have in my other computer so I have no problems)
CD/DVD, 5
As I stated before, DVD playback is exceptional, I have yet to try out burning a CD so when I do that I’ll let you know how it goes. Though I don’t see me having any problems
Audio, 5
The audio isn’t bad or (metallic) like some people say, just when you are using Winamp or I-Tunes (internet radio is what I use) just mess with the equalizer settings till you get the sound that you want!
Overall, 4.5
Pretty good laptop, I should be able to take some pictures later this week once I find the digital camera that is hidden under a pile of crap somewhere. As of now, I would recommend this laptop to anyone who just wants to have a word processing/audio & DVD machine, this thing is not for gaming (I haven’t tried a game yet, I’m planning on installing Half Life for a video test)
Look forward to some pics and another review after a week or so…
LATERZ,
Rabble
(If I missed anything out, let me know)
