Desktop PCs

Renovation and miniaturisation are the two words that best describe the chronology of the production of desktop computers. The recent advancements in technology meant that there is no need for a separate monitor and CPU, but both can be together. The advent of this type of desktop systems is made possible by Advent, hence justifying its name. Advent is also one of the very few companies that have produced all-in-one personal computer systems. In this process, it has recently announced the advent of the Advent AIO-101 desktop, the pretty much all in one computer that you would want to have on your desk. As this is a unique and interesting model and also a new one, let have analyse it in detail so as to find out whether it lives up to the minimum expectations of a home PC.

Design:

Uniqueness:
This is the topic of the greatest interest as the only thing that is keeping this PC from the ordinary ones is the design. You will not find the CPU at first sight because it is engrafted so beautifully to the monitor. It looks like an extension to the stand of the monitor, but it actually is the CPU. These both are linked with the help of sole, glossy chrome and a flexible stand. This is a very good idea indeed by the engineers of Advent. Although there were some claims that the stand is not so flexible, the statements were not so true. Now, going a bit deeper into the very details of the AIO-101, it measures (H x W x D) 370 x 448 x 214 mm. These measurements are pretty much on the finer side and also very good when compared to the normal standards. This sleek design of it means that it is not difficult to place your system anywhere you want. Another great aspect of the design is that the display screen can be rotated up to an angle of 90 degrees upright. This may be useful in many aspects.

Display:
The Advent AIO-101 Home Desktop PC has got one of the best displays that we have ever seen. The 18.4 inch LCD screen is pretty good for watching movies and playing video games. As we have already seen earlier, the screen can be comfortably rotated to a good degree. This means that the screen has a wide viewing range and this helps you when the whole family plans to watch a movie. Everybody can be comfortable watching the movie as there is no colour distortion or fading or even blurring. Every other characteristic regarding the display is just about normal.

Features of Advent AIO-101:

As the design and display parts of the system are pretty satisfactory, let us now move on to the features section and see if the new features and options are good enough to make the Advent AIO-101 desktop a worthwhile one.

Processor:
The AIO-101, like most of the desktop computers, features the processor from AMD. To be more specific, the AIO-101 comes with AMD Athlon X2 3250e processor. For reasons that are unknown, Advent has been going towards AMD, instead of Intel. This may be due to the fact that the processors from Intel are costlier. Since Advent is trying to provide a pretty good computer for a reasonable rate, it has gone in favour of AMD. As it is a well known fact, the processor is like the brain of the computer and it should necessarily be a good one. This processor is excellent and also very good in boosting up the performance of the system on the whole.

Memory and Hard Disk:
The AIO-101 all-in-one Desktop Computer has an internal random access memory or RAM of 4GB. This is more than sufficient for any home utility. Most of the computers nowadays, either laptops or desktop computers, are coming with an internal memory of 4 GB or higher. But 4 GB is perfect for home desktops. Even then, if there is necessity for a higher RAM, then there is always a scope for you to upgrade it. When it comes to the hard disk capacities, they range from 160GB to 500GB. But the default capacity that is provided is 320GB. This can also be upgraded in the future if needed. Thus, on the whole, the AIO-101 has got good memory that gives you excellent performance.

Operating System:
The AIO-101 comes with a pre installed operating system, the Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium version 6.0, Service Pack 2. You are guaranteed with a genuine copy of this operating system so you need not worry about software counterfeiting problems with your system. Adding to these, Windows Vista is a wonderful operating system and it makes your desktop look more attractive than ever before. This operating system has almost replaced in all areas of Windows’ previous OS, Windows XP. It also makes your work a lot easier by providing shortcuts to many programs.   Working with this operating system is really fun and easy and even an enjoyable one.

Graphics Card:
The Advent AIO-101 has a built in ATI Radeon HD 3200, 256 MB of graphics card in order to give you optimal performance while watching movies or even while playing games. With the graphics card, the pictures on your computer look more fine and sharp, hence increasing the beauty of it. Another main function of this graphics card is to provide you a very good graphics base for your computer games. It allows smoother game play without any drags or other issues and it also accounts for the speed at which the games are running. It allows 3D gaming with great support for the picture motion. This built in card may be sufficient for home use and mediocre games, but if you wish to play the latest games and wish for a high end gaming performance, then this is not enough. But the best part about the graphics card is that you can upgrade it to any level, whenever you want. Graphics cards of higher memory are being sold in the market.

Connectivity:
Although the deck or the platform looks quite small, it still has good connectivity options that greatly enhance the range of the AIO-101. As usual, there is a DVD writer in the front. This can read and write DVDs and CDs as well. At the back of the platform or the so called central processing unit in this case, you will find numerous terminals that can be used to connect your computer to various external devices. First up, there are as many as five USB 2.0 ports. This can be vital because you can increase the range of the AIO-101 to higher levels if you can sync it with the USB ports. Then there is the slot for the HDMI cable. With the help of an HDMI cable, you can connect your PC to your high definition television and then synchronise them both. The next one that you will find here is the Ethernet cable, with which you can connect to an Ethernet port and then gain internet access. As there is no Wi-Fi enabled system, this feature might come in handy when it comes to connecting to the internet. Thus there are a lot of utilities that elevate the utility of your computer.

Miscellaneous:
The digital TV tuner feature is now gaining a lot of popularity among many and hence it has started to feature on few of the computers. The Advent AIO-101 is one such computer. This very digital tuner helps you tune your computer to you television and then watch regular TV channels either from the cable connection or directly from the satellite. This means that you can even watch full length television channels on your computer without any additional pay. There is an internal built in microphone that can be used during video chatting and conferencing. This mic is pretty good and it receives signals almost perfectly. The multi-card reader helps you in reading memory cards of different formats and hence data accessing is easier than ever with the AIO-101.

Thus, as we have deeply gone through the very details of almost all the features of the Advent AIO-101, it can well be said that they are pretty useful and are also very unique. These features have perfectly complemented its beautiful design.

Performance:

The overall performance of the AIO-101 is pretty good. Moreover, the features that are discussed above boost the performance to a greater extent. But it is always better to have a closer look at the audio, video and overall performances of the system in order to have a better idea. Let us look at these aspects so as to see how good they are.

Video Performance:
The video performance of the AIO-101 has mostly been covered under the display and graphics sections. But on the whole the performance is good. Even if it is not as captivating as the displays that you will find on the best computers, it is satisfactory.

Audio Performance:
This has rather been one of those aspects of the AIO-101 that led to a slight disappointment. The built in speakers are less impressive and also did not produce great acoustics. This means that you will need to connect external speakers if you want great sound quality. But even then, you cannot connect a surround sound speakers system like the 5.1 channel sound system because there is no digital audio output. Thus you have to remain satisfied with just stereo speakers, just because there is no other go. Or you can also connect a headphone to the jack that is provided. This has really been the disappointing aspect of the AIO-101.

Therefore, it can be concluded that although the design and features sections are almost perfect in order to make it a buyable PC, the audio performance did not meet the standards. Even then, there is nothing much to worry because it was observed that almost no computer is perfect and there will certainly be a few weak points in every system in the market. Hence, this is not such a serious problem. Since everything else is good and more than satisfactory, you can consider these weaker sections because another important thing that is to be kept in mind is that this computer is a rather cheaper one when compared to most of its counterparts. Therefore, you cannot expect everything to be perfect.

Power Consumption:

The power that the AIO-101 consumes on an average is really very good. When the system is idle, it consumes about 39 W of power. When there are many programs running at a time, then on an average, the peak power that is consumed is just about 56 W. This is very good news as these power consumption ratings are very good when you look at the average ratings and also the ratings of the prime computers in the market. So, the AIO-101 not only saves lots of bucks, but also it protects the environment.

Warranty:

The Advent AIO-101 has been warranted for parts and labour, for a period of one year from the date of purchase.

Verdict:

The Advent AIO-101 is a bit of a surprise at first instance. It may have shocked many other brands in the market with its catchy design and good features. The design part of the computer is the most attractive one as it does not occupy much place. The screen is also pretty flexible with viewing angles and Advent has always been up to date with technology and it is clearly evident in the very unique and useful features of it. But when it comes to performance, the AIO-101 is a step behind the elite desktop computers in the market. The remaining of the system is nearly perfect and it can be one of your better choices if ever you wanted a sleek and good computer that occupies minimum space and that which comes for such a reasonable rate. But if you can afford a few more bucks, then you may choose a better desktop computer, with more advanced features and performance aspects. But all is well with the AIO-101.

Check other Advent Desktop PC Reviews, Specs in this website.

Advent AIO-101 Computer – Technical Specification Table

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