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The look and style of a PC is more important to some buyers than the speed of the processor or the amount of hard disk space. In order to conform to style requirements, however, certain compromises need to be made.
The concern of most would-be buyers is whether too much has been compromised to make the end product worth considering.
The Advent 3900 is a complete PC in a compact package. The small case is kept company by a flat-panel monitor, wireless keyboard and mouse. All are finished in a smart silver hue which makes the system look good and occupy less desk space than a normal PC.
When first looking at the 3900, one of the most striking features is the 15in TFT monitor. Tilting the screen fore and aft makes getting a comfortable viewing angle fairly simple but there isn't any vertical adjustment.
The on-screen control menu is easy to understand but the controls on the base aren't very clearly labelled, so navigating the menu is a little hit and miss to start with. The auto-adjust feature rewards users with a sharp image but manually changing the settings is possible if you think you can do a better job.
To complete the line up of peripherals, the 3900 comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse. If you're concerned with desktop tidiness, these are a good option as all the obtrusive cabling is removed from the workspace. The only downfall of wireless devices is the inconvenience when the batteries give up. Make sure you keep some spares handy.
The set-up poster to aid assembly of the system is a plain looking but coherent affair. The user manual rates as average and is shown up by inaccuracies on a few occasions. The colour-coded ports at the back of the PC help the set-up, but if you're hoping to use the TV-out feature you'll be disappointed as it is disabled in this model.
When it comes to small and stylish PCs, limited upgrading options are expected, and the 3900 is no different. Peering inside, it was clear to see how tightly packed everything is.
The machine comes with 128Mb of memory but thankfully this can be boosted using the vacant memory slot. Getting to it presents a bit of a challenge though, as the floppy drive does a fine job of obscuring it. The 20Gb hard disk mounted nearby should be adequate for most home users.
When tested for performance, the 3900 scored poorly compared with normal desktop PCs with similar specifications - a consequence of all that pretty packaging.
Although the system packs a Pentium III processor running at 1GHz, the overall performance was closer to that of 833MHz PCs we've tested in the past.
The graphics card is integrated into the motherboard and based on the antiquated Intel 810 graphics chip. This is a very poor 3D performer and the lack of PCI upgrade slots means you're stuck with it.
With no separate video card, there is no dedicated video memory. Instead, the 3900 borrows the main system memory leaving the PC to struggle on with less than the total 128Mb available.
Similarly there is no separate sound card and an integrated chip provides the sound. The stylish speakers are also silver finished and are adequate for the beeps that Windows throws at you.
There is a DVDRom drive for film lovers, but there is no CD-RW drive and no space to add one. An external USB one is the only option. Otherwise, removable storage is restricted to the floppy disk drive.
In comparison with other PCs, style machines never do as well in overall performance tests and, as seen here with the 3900, they are a compromise. The 3900 is an adequate performer for office tasks and surfing the internet.
The 56k modem is built in, as is a network adapter for simple hooking up to other PCs or a fast internet connection. Further connectivity comes in the form of two USB ports, a serial port and a parallel port. It comes with Microsoft Windows Me and Works 6.0 pre-installed.
Contact: PC World 08705 464464 www.pcworld.co.uk
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