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Advent 7204
by Lydsabug
I bought this laptop around 6 months ago for my home business and was particularly impressed by the speed of the processor and the memory size, i tend to save a lot to external drives for security and this fits the remit exactly. There were a lot to chose from at the time and although i wasn't too sure about the widescreen, I definitely ... made the right decision to go with this as its clear and picture quality excellent. I know Advent are usually the value range for laptops but this particular one has proven itself to be reliable, fast to boot and unlike my previous laptop, hasnt needed to be 'rolled back' to 'restore' for any reason at all. I needed good quality at an affordable price and I got just that without a doubt. This is a well used computer and is on all day and through the evening as the family tend to use it for its large monitor.
The computer came with Windows 7 preinstalled and I was happy to use this, I had previously had XP and was a little daunted by the need to pick up on a new operating system, I shoudnt have worried though. The keyboard has a number pad on it to the right, which I know not all laptops possess and as this was really important to me, I was happy to consider this one when purchasing. Now i know its in the lower bracket price wise and to be fair, I think you can tell with the way the keys feel and sound on the keyboard itself, they are noisy and feel like they will break but so far have been fine, this makes it noisier to use than my last machine but something I wont dwell on.
There is a DVD reader/writer which I have used a couple of times, the speed is fair but I believe writing to DVD can be a little slow anyway. There is some software to enable you to do the burning for CDs as well.
This laptop come with preinstalled software for Antivirus but i changed it to AVG as im used to it and I know the preintalled will ask for payment to continue (AVG is free)
With 100Gb hard disk I have no worries about storage and with having various user accounts for the family, this have proven to be great, I dont have to worry about itunes music files taking the space etc
The 3 USB ports are ideally situated but i feel maybe we could have had 4, 2 on each sde as I use a wireless mouse and this need a constant port, as my work is often carried on various USB sticks I feel happier with them all in at the same time. Not to worry, 3 is acceptable and I guess mor that most people would use at any point.
The 1.7 Ghz processor is quick off the mark and makes an ideal computer for fast work, Im not too sure if this is why the fan always seems to be working hard though as I can hear it clicking into action quite frequently, maybe its the usage and the fact the machine is working long hours. 1Gb RAM is also an advantage and I particularly looked for that as a minimum in the machine.
I love the fact this laptop has a card reader, in the past I have had to physically link my camera to the laptop to take photos off, not anymore! Amazing, the SD card just slots into the card reader and away I go, saving and clearing the card for further use its fab, my husband also loads his music onto an SD card on it to play in his card reader in the car (technolgy is brilliant).
Wifi was easy to set up and like most computers, the indicator bar shows you are accessing the internet or just connecting to the wifi, its quick and seems to connect as soon as the laptop has booted, my other machine took a little longer so this is a bonus.
Battery life seems to be around 1.5hrs before I need to recharge but I tend to charge most of the day when im on it as the battery saver reduces the light on screen and makes it duller when working. The battery pack gets a little hot, as does the laptop underside if you have it on your legs whilst sitting.
All in all, a lovely little machine for the price (£299), I would recommend this if you didnt have too much spare cash, solid and reliable with very few issues if any.
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Advent 6552
by jodiannee
I purchased an Advent 6552 about a year ago, as my mother has an Advent laptop and it always seem quick and reliable. The computer is fast to load up and is too reliable. To only real issue I have with it is the battery life, which only lasts about an hour, despite the fast it says much longer. The case of the laptop tends it get hot if ... it's placed on your knee or something, but never over heats, which is good as my last laptop was a pain for overheating and switching itself off. Personally, it's one of the best laptops I've bought and believe me, I've bought a lot. It doesn't shut down suddenly, over heat or do any of that crazy stuff that other laptops tend to do. I tend to take my laptop with me when travelling home and I find it isn't too heavy to carry and slips nicely into a laptop bag.
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