Thoughts on the Averatec AV1050-EU1?

[NFS4]

I wouldn't mind a smaller footprint than my current Asus Z70v. And I haven't even played as many games as I thought I would (which was one of my reasons for getting a lappy with a dedicated GPU).

Damn thing only weighs 3.6 lbs.

Opinions????

http://www.samsclub.com/

Search for 1050EU1

 

[phaxmohdem]

Averatec is not a bad brand these days. Look it over for things like Hinge stability, port location, keyboard layout, warranty, etc. and make sure it is to your liking, I'd say go for it if you like it.

 

[TheCanuck]

Looks like a good one. Here's a review:

Text

And it's close to $400 cheaper at Sam's than anywhere else!

 

[NFS4]

Yeah, I've been reading those reviews and it seems like a great buy. The 1.1GHz clock speed probably won't even really bother me either. My 1.73GHz Z70v spends most of its time running at 800MHz and I never really notice a difference b/c all I do is word processing, internet surfing, and photoshop stuff.

 

[NFS4]

Hmmm, the mobiletech review says that the memory is not upgradeable. Yet buy.com says its upgradeable to 2GB (I also saw the 2GB figure somewhere else I do believe). I also couldn't find anything in the user manual. If the memory is not upgradeable, that's a deal breaker



**EDIT**

I just called Averatec and they say that it is upgradeable to 2GB and has two slots, but you have to take the whole machine appart to access the memory...yikes :Q

**EDIT 2**

http://www.averatecforums.com/showthread.php?t=2101

 

[phaxmohdem]

Meh, upgrade it once to 2GB and never have to open it again

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: phaxmohdem
Meh, upgrade it once to 2GB and never have to open it again

But it voids the warranty. Center screw to open the case is under the warranty sticker

 

[phaxmohdem]

Wow that is ghey. Do you have to send it to the factory to upgrade the friggin RAM??? Thats just plain stupid.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: phaxmohdem
Wow that is ghey. Do you have to send it to the factory to upgrade the friggin RAM??? Thats just plain stupid.

I guess I could just use a hair dryer

 

[TheCanuck]

I'm pretty sure Sam's Club has a 6 month return / no questions asked policy and you can buy an extended 3 yr warranty for something like $50. I'm pretty sure their extended warranty doesn't care whether a sticker is removed.

A friend of mine knew a guy that would buy a stereo or whatever, use it for a year, get borred and then take it back and get a new one all the time.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Wow, a P-M ULV in an Averatec? Surprising!

The only negative I have to say about Averatecs is their build quality is piss poor. It shouldn't break on you or anything more than any other brand, but they feel very flimsy and crappy. A lot of them are known to ahve problems with the keys pressing into the screen if scrunched at all. At least it was on an Athlon XP model a buddy got last year.

The way I look at Averatec is this: you spend less money, so you can (and should given the quality) upgrade sooner than with most notebooks. I bought my Thinkpad T42 with a 3 year warranty & accidental damage coverage because I fully intend to keep it 100% functional for 3 years or more. My buddy who bought an Averatec didn't get a warranty at all because he only spent like $700 on it, less after rebates, and if it breaks after a year he'll get a new laptop with new technology.

It seems like you enjoy cool technology Brandon, the latest & greatest. This strays a little from that IMO If you want a real basic, beater laptop the Averatec will work. Personally I'd rather play with a Fujitsu or Thinkpad ultraportable

We have a review on a Fujitsu ultraportable with Pentium M ULV (or is it LV?), but I can't get to the site from my work machine for some reason I think its the Lifebook P7010 or something, check it out!

 

[Beefy6969]

Where can I find these with multi color face plates?

 

[HamSupLo]

Asus Z63A

 

[cheesehead]

The Z33A (the Z63A is much larger, with a 14" screen) actually weighs a bit less, and has a 12.1" screen to boot.
A much better option, if you ask me.
On the other hand, it's a great deal more expensive; expect to pay 800$ or more just for the barebones laptop without processor, RAM, or hard drive.

 

[Corporate Thug]

i thought i saw this at compusa. seemed kinda cheap IIRC

 

[Gibson486]

Well, NSF4, my boss has an Avertec and she beats the fvck out of it. the only she complains about is the hinges.

 

[ElFenix]

that blows that you void the warranty for upgrading it. i've had my 600m completely rekitted several times.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Wow, a P-M ULV in an Averatec? Surprising!

The only negative I have to say about Averatecs is their build quality is piss poor. It shouldn't break on you or anything more than any other brand, but they feel very flimsy and crappy. A lot of them are known to ahve problems with the keys pressing into the screen if scrunched at all. At least it was on an Athlon XP model a buddy got last year.

The way I look at Averatec is this: you spend less money, so you can (and should given the quality) upgrade sooner than with most notebooks. I bought my Thinkpad T42 with a 3 year warranty & accidental damage coverage because I fully intend to keep it 100% functional for 3 years or more. My buddy who bought an Averatec didn't get a warranty at all because he only spent like $700 on it, less after rebates, and if it breaks after a year he'll get a new laptop with new technology.

It seems like you enjoy cool technology Brandon, the latest & greatest. This strays a little from that IMO If you want a real basic, beater laptop the Averatec will work. Personally I'd rather play with a Fujitsu or Thinkpad ultraportable

We have a review on a Fujitsu ultraportable with Pentium M ULV (or is it LV?), but I can't get to the site from my work machine for some reason I think its the Lifebook P7010 or something, check it out!

Yeah, I like all the cool gadgets and all, but I just wish I had something a lot smaller. I thought that I'd be able to handle the 6.1lb girth of my Z70v, but it's getting really tiresome.

I've actually been looking at the Averatec 4155 as well. It's ~$950 at eBuyer with no tax (for me at least). After tax with the 1050, the two would run around the same price. I'd get a larger screen and a larger keyboard and gain about a pound...not too bad.

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products...m9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=184571

Only thing is, I don't know any specs on the motherboard/video/upgradeability of the CPU.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Wow, a P-M ULV in an Averatec? Surprising!

The only negative I have to say about Averatecs is their build quality is piss poor. It shouldn't break on you or anything more than any other brand, but they feel very flimsy and crappy. A lot of them are known to ahve problems with the keys pressing into the screen if scrunched at all. At least it was on an Athlon XP model a buddy got last year.

The way I look at Averatec is this: you spend less money, so you can (and should given the quality) upgrade sooner than with most notebooks. I bought my Thinkpad T42 with a 3 year warranty & accidental damage coverage because I fully intend to keep it 100% functional for 3 years or more. My buddy who bought an Averatec didn't get a warranty at all because he only spent like $700 on it, less after rebates, and if it breaks after a year he'll get a new laptop with new technology.

It seems like you enjoy cool technology Brandon, the latest & greatest. This strays a little from that IMO If you want a real basic, beater laptop the Averatec will work. Personally I'd rather play with a Fujitsu or Thinkpad ultraportable

We have a review on a Fujitsu ultraportable with Pentium M ULV (or is it LV?), but I can't get to the site from my work machine for some reason I think its the Lifebook P7010 or something, check it out!

Yeah, I like all the cool gadgets and all, but I just wish I had something a lot smaller. I thought that I'd be able to handle the 6.1lb girth of my Z70v, but it's getting really tiresome.

I've actually been looking at the Averatec 4155 as well. It's ~$950 at eBuyer with no tax (for me at least). After tax with the 1050, the two would run around the same price. I'd get a larger screen and a larger keyboard and gain about a pound...not too bad.

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products...m9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=184571

Only thing is, I don't know any specs on the motherboard/video/upgradeability of the CPU.

http://www.buy.com/prod/Averatec_4155_N...ok_notebooks/q/loc/37008/10410447.html

I was gonna buy this notebook....everything was nice....but I decided to wait on a Toshiba notebook. Thye should hit bottom on price when the Yonah or whatever it is called comes out. Go to Toshiba's site now, and they give 20% off customizable notebooks. I think today is the last though.


Here is the Intel variant that I was thinking about getting.....

http://www.averatec.com/notebooks/4200series.htm


is 6 lbs that bad? I mean, I have been lugging a 10 lbs one around, and i thought 6lbs would be a nice sigh of relief.

 

[tvarad]

I bought this puppy a few months ago for about the same price at CompUSA. I just couldn't get used to the 10.6" screen size (I have a 14.1" Compaq V2000). Even after 2 weeks of playing around with it, I still kept fidgeting with font sizes, scroll options and the like. In the end I returned it.

What it's got going for it is it's size. It's barely bigger than a notepad. I would suggest it for the die-hard road warrior who carries around a ton of things and is desperately trying to create space and shed weight. Else, there are quite a number of 12.1" and 14.1" screen sizes which are better in terms of real-life usability.

Funnily enough, I have been sticking to my Compaq V2000 for more than a year even though I used to buy a new laptop every six months. It's been the perfect balance between usabilty and portability for me. If I don't donate it to my niece who's been bugging me for a laptop for her birthday, I may keep it for some time more.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: Gibson486
is 6 lbs that bad? I mean, I have been lugging a 10 lbs one around, and i thought 6lbs would be a nice sigh of relief.

I went from a Gateway that was 5.5 lbs to the Z70v which is 6.1 pounds. I thought that I wouldn't notice much of a difference, but it feels like carrying around a bookbag after a while

I'm really liking the 4155-EH1 right now. Someone has GOT to know what the chipset/video is on this thing.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: Gibson486
is 6 lbs that bad? I mean, I have been lugging a 10 lbs one around, and i thought 6lbs would be a nice sigh of relief.

I went from a Gateway that was 5.5 lbs to the Z70v which is 6.1 pounds. I thought that I wouldn't notice much of a difference, but it feels like carrying around a bookbag after a while

I'm really liking the 4155-EH1 right now. Someone has GOT to know what the chipset/video is on this thing.

it probably uses the Via chipset.....

 

[NFS4]

Well, I went to play around with the 4155-EH1 today at Circuit City and liked it. Case felt ok to me and the keyboard was nice. The screen was incredibly purdy. I came back and ordered one from eBuyer with overnight shipping. Should be here tomorrow. I'll post my results.

 

[makken]

I've looked into the avertec's 4200 series briefly while i was on the hunt for laptops (ended up with an asus W3 / Z63), check out www.notebookreviews.com and post on their forums, really helpful bunch when i was buying.

 

[NFS4]

Well, my 4155 came in about an hour ago. Wiped it clean and am install XP on it w/o all the Averatec junk. It's light, and the screen is beautiful. Build quality seems very tight as well. I'm quite impressed.