Desktop PCs

On the lookout for an entry level, no-nonsense computer that you can completely rely on; the Advent Firefly FP9004 desktop PC powered by the dual-core Intel Pentium Processor E5300 that comes pre-installed with Microsoft’s Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium operating system will probably put an end to your endless search. Housed with 2GB on-board memory and a 320GB Hard Drive, the Firefly is perfectly capable of handling everyday multitasking. What makes this entry level computer stand out from the rest of its competitors is its brilliant space saving design and the very economical price tag.

Some might have doubts about the E5300 processor which runs at just 2.6GHz, and its performance capabilities, but it is still many times quicker than any nettop that is currently available in the market. Not surprisingly, it also performs around three times faster than a dual-core Atom 330. Sporting four USB 2.0 ports, a memory card reader, a VGA connector and an RJ-45 Ethernet port, this wonder machine has excellent connectivity too.

Design:

Flexible and Stylish:
The clever design of the Advent Firefly FP9004 lets you to place it vertically or horizontally, whatever is best for your environment. It is flexible in the sense that it can stand upright or lie on a desk, both without causing any functional difficulties. The top edge of the chassis forms the main air vent grille. The sleek front panel that adds to the charm of this wonder machine is split down the centre by an LED that makes it look expensive. Going into the finer details, the Firefly is not too large or too small; it is about 300mm tall, 93mm thick and 320mm deep – making it a rightful successor to the Advent family by letting it fit anywhere. The power and reset switches are strategically placed on the top of the case making it easy to reach them even if you have placed the Firefly beneath your desk. Swaggering a stylish black exterior, intriguing space saving design, the Advent Firefly FP9004′s clever design been duly recognised as one of the best in its class.

Efficient Space Usage:
One look inside the chassis of the Firefly and we were more than convinced that all the available space has been used in the best possible way. Everything seems to be so snugly placed inside it. The 250W power supply is seated at the foot of the chassis just beside a Micro ATX Fox Conn motherboard. The cooling circuit comprising of the Intel cooler sits atop the CPU. No expansion cards are installed as standard. However, there are PCI Express x16 and x1 slots that are free if you want to add a TV tuner card or graphics card for that extra gaming experience. There is no much scope for boosting performance as the only RAM slot onboard is filled.

Connectivity:
The Firefly FP9004 Desktop Computer comes with 6 USB 2.0 ports – two on the front and four on the rear, one DVD RW drive, two 3.5 mm audio connectors, a card reader that supports almost all card formats. The DVD writer is crammed at the front of the case. The front panel also houses the card reader. The 802.11bgn wireless dongle that’s bundled with the PC compensates the issue of having just a 10/100 Ethernet. The selection of other ports is limited toa VGA output for the integrated graphics chipset, a basic 5.1 surround sound audio output, and a pair of PS/2 connectors.

Features:

The design on the Firefly in undoubtedly one of a kind, but it is the features and hardware options that make a well designed computer worthwhile.

Processor:
The Advent Firefly FP9004 runs on the dual-core Intel Pentium Processor E5300 with a 2 MB L2 Cache, a Front Side Bus Speed of 800 MHz and a Clock Speed of 2.6 GHz. It is quite a powerful processor but for more demanding tasks, a quad-core CPU will do better. The E6600 with high quality cooling and a good motherboard would have been a smarter choice.

Memory and Hard Disk:
The typical memory requirement of a home computer is 2GB and a Hard Disk of 250GB or more. The Firefly comes with 2GB of DDR2 800/667/533 memory and a 320GB SATA Western Digital Caviar Blue hard disk. The 320GB hard drive provides plenty of room for multimedia files, documents and what not, while 2GB of RAM helps you to run everyday programs with smooth efficiency. Even if your storage space requirements are higher, getting an upgrade or buying an external hard disk is not much of an expensive affair. So in all regards, we think that the memory and hard disk that comes with the Firefly FP9004 is decent enough for any home computer.

Operating System:
The FP9004 Desktop Computer PC comes pre installed with Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium Operating System. The OS being genuine, you would not have to deal with any software counterfeiting problems. Windows Vista was a serious pitfall of Microsoft, and a year later, we have Windows 7- stable, smooth, and highly polished. It has introduced new graphical features that make your desktop look amazing. It also sports a new taskbar that can very well compete with the Mac OS X dock. The other features include device management and security enhancements that make it both easier to use and safer. Most importantly, Windows 7 does not require the hardware upgrades that Vista demanded. This might partially be because the hardware has caught up, and partially because Microsoft has done its part by going in great lengths to make Windows 7 accessible to as many people as possible. In short- Windows 7 is not too basic, not too complicated, but just right.

Graphics Card:
Intel GMA X3100 is what the Firefly comes pre-installed with. The GMA X3100 itself is both theoretically and practically a formidable piece of technology, from an integrated graphics point of view. At present, using the pre-installed X3100, the Firefly can handle anything that uses Flash player – but that might not be the case when you try to do a bit of overloading. You will not be able to play the latest 3D games, and you might find trouble while playing 1080p video clips, such as those on YouTube. This is not primarily a PC built for entertainment; hence such a flaw is excusable. On the other hand, if you are too much into gaming- high end gaming, then you should go for an upgrade. Only low profile versions work as they are the only ones that can fit into the 9cm wide base unit. The Radeon HD5450 and the NVidia 220GT should fit in the base units.

Install only what is required:
The Advent Firefly FP9004 is a PC with novice consumers in mind. The initial boot experience is something that has to be praised, rather than chucking a barrage of bloat ware at every user, you are given a comprehensive menu list of available software. It is your computer and hence you have the right to decide what you want and what you do not want. One can select or deselect software for installation. It sure does use up a lot of your hard disk space, but makes you the rightful owner of your PC.

Miscellaneous:
The FP9004 sports a RJ-45 Ethernet port, a Headphone, 1x Microphone, 1x Line-in, 1 x PCI-E slot. As mentioned earlier, the Firefly FP9004 comes with the Foxconn G31S motherboard which has just one DDR2 slot, with a 2GB memory module installed. This is the maximum memory module size that can be fitted onto this board, making it impossible to upgrade at a later point of time. The peripherals that come with the Advent Firefly FP9004 include a normal Advent PS/2 Mouse and an Advent PS/2 Keyboard.

Performance:

The overall performance of the Firefly FP9004 is pretty good. The features that have been discussed above boost the performance to a greater extent. Now, let us take a look at audio, video and overall performances of the system in order to have a better idea. Let us examine how good they really are.

Video Performance:
The chipset used with the Firefly FP9004 is the Intel G31 Integrated. The G31 chipset includes Intel’s GMA3100 integrated graphics unit. The G31 is classified as a mainstream desktop chipset targeted at “essential computing.” The product hence clearly does not support top notch features. The power consumption however is very minimal. If you try to play back a Blu-ray quality HD video on the Firefly, it might somehow manage without any video acceleration. If you are the kind who likes to watch HD videos regularly, we would recommend a PC with a much more modern graphics chipset.

Audio Performance:
The audio performance of the Advent Firefly FP9004 is well over satisfactory; thanks to Realtek. The ALC662 is a 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio Codec that was basically designed for Windows Vista desktop and mobile PCs. Its performance and functionality meet Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium requirements. The ALC662 features three stereo DACs, two stereo ADCs, and legacy analog input to analog output mixing, to provide a fully-integrated audio solution for multimedia PC systems. As with all PCs, the Firefly has one headphone, one microphone and one line-in audio interfaces. It is compatible with Direct Sound 3D, A3D, I3DL2, and even HRTF 3D. It has 10 Software Equalizer Bands and can handle Voice Cancellation and Key Shifting in Karaoke mode. It is feature rich and hence guarantees amazing performance.

Power Consumption:
The power that the FP9004 consumes on an average is really very economical. In idle state, the Firefly FP9004 consumes 40 Watts of power, and in the peak power state, it consumes close to 65 Watts of power. These power consumption rates are very good, and hence make the FP9004 an environment friendly model.

Warranty:

The Advent Firefly FP9004 comes with a one year Return To Base(RTB) or Customer Carry In warranty. That should put aside all your worries, if you have any at all regarding this wonder machine.

Verdict:

All in all, the Advent Firefly FP9004 is a well-specified machine that is available in the market at an attractive price. Comparing it to the current raft of nettops that focus on basic tasks and decoding media, one can be sure that they make more of a consumer option; and hence your investment wise. If you already have a monitor to re-use from an old PC the Advent packs an awful lot of value into its little frame. A perfectly good dual-core processor, a capacious hard disk and 802.11n wireless, all in a smart yet slim package and the Firefly FP9004 is a charmer.  For fun, effectual and infallible computing, look no further than the Advent FP9004 desktop, because it is definitely here to stay.

Advent Firefly FP9004 – Technical Specification Table

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