# Averatec 3150



## plschwartz (Nov 15, 2000)

Looking for a cheap lightweight notebook for the wife. 
Does anybody have any experience with the Avertatec 3150 series?


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

Hi Paul 

I don't know anythin about the Avertatec brand.

I did recently pick up a basic Toshiba A15 S127 on sale for $800+tax(after rebate)

It's for a family member. Has a CDRW and DVD player.

15" screen. Setting it up right now.

Nice screen.

Might be worth a looksee.


Jack


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## thekubiaks (Oct 17, 2003)

I picked an Averatec 3150 up from Sam's about a week ago for $897US plus tax. I have already taken it on a trip and worked it hard. The system seems to do a great job with Win XP. I initially tried to run Windows 2000 but it acted funny...lockups etc. But, with WinXP it is running great. I tried several $2000 machines from Sager and Dell but this machine does everything they can do but cheaper and battery life is fine, about 3 hours. I upgraded the memory to 384MB to let WinXP breathe easier. Overall, 9/10 If it had a SVGA+ screen, it'd be a 10/10.


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## nerraw (Oct 28, 2003)

the memory has 128 uninstallable, meaning it's with the mobo, so the max that the comp will support is 640. the 3150 with 256 mb of ram has xp pro, and the 3150 with 512 mb of ram has xp home, both have the AMD athlon XP 1600 running at 1.4 ghz, wi-fi, hardwire LAN, modem, external VGA, 3 USB 2.0 slots, volume control, 30 gig HD[some come with a 40 gig with XP home and 256 mb of ram], DVD-CDRW combo drive, 12.1" VGA, 1.2" thick and 4.3 lbs. battery life is about 2 1/2 to 3 hours....just my 2 cents


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## hix (Dec 7, 2003)

I bought the 3150H, needed something a little snappier than the dell pIII 500 I was using before. It's been a nice little notebook, I upped the RAM to the max 640. It has handled everything I've thrown at it from java development tools to running linux as we speak. The only subpar attribute on it, IMO, is that the 2 cooling fans on the bottom of the case are easily blocked so It will run really hot, to the point of shutdown, if you dont use it on a hard flat surface... if I'm in bed or on the couch i just allways use a big book or folder to set it on and then I have no problems. I've had dell's, compaq's, apple's, IBM's and this Is one of my favorites. All around a nice value and a fun little machine.


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## Lone Samurai (Dec 28, 2003)

>I don't know anythin about the Avertatec brand

"Averatec" is an OEM brand or has something to do with "Sotec" a Japanese PC company with a so-so- track record in our small island. They're well known for low priced systems and fair quality. They are like the "E-machines" brand of Japan but with better quality. They do have a 8-9year history starting in the Win95 era.

I bought this thing at Staples for $759(after rebate) because my old laptop back light went dead. I also needed a portable system to be able to work anywhere, and It's been a great companion on the road. It's been working under Windows2000 Japanese without problems, and the specs are enough to smoothly run my Internet related apps and OpenOffice.org, VB6 plus a few games under default specs, but like everyone else I am thinking about upgrading the memory to 384 or 640 when I get the cash.

You should try the reference drivers they provide at VIA tech. They are up to date and gave me higher bench mark scores overall on most of the tests I performed and better bandwidth on my ethernet port.(I won't guarantee they'll work for you...)

****Be warned!!! DO NOT install the "IDE miniport driver" VIA provides. It doesn't seem to be compatible with the 3150 and made the system hang. It also seriously effected the performance of disk access (limited DMA transfer mode to PIO)***

hix mentioned about the two cooling fans on the bottom, and I agree the system gets very hot when I leave it running on my bed. Other flaws I've noticed are the USB ports on the right plus the ethernet port and VGA connector on the left side. These should have been placed on the back end of the PC or somewhere that the cables don't get in the way. Also one of my major problems is the "Del" key which is seriously out of place for me. Also I wanted to upgrade the HDD to an existing 60Gb I've got, but is unable to be changed without taking the thing apart.

To summon up, I think the 3150 has it's flaws, but is easily covered by the $759 price tag and is a grab for any Laptop buyer. It's very small and thin enough that you should be able to bring with you on the road. The Athlon has enough power for a mobile and the keyboard is large and has enough key pitch for comfortable typing(except for that stupid Del key)

Good luck to you all.


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