Print
Discuss
Send to friend
The best thing about buying a computer from PC World is that buyers can pick their PC and take it home on the same day. The downside is that the PCs often aren't as state of the art as they might be, having been on the shop shelf for months. The Advent 3974SP is sold exclusively through PC World but it couldn't be accused of not being cutting edge.
It hasn't got the catchiest name in the world, but it has got the fastest AMD processor and a new GeForce 4 MX440 graphics card.
AMD's Athlon XP 2000+ processor runs at a speed of 1.67GHz but the company claims that it can outperform an Intel Pentium 4 processor running at 2GHz in many everyday tasks. With 512MB of DDR memory, the Advent is certainly no slouch and performed impressively in our tests.
The Advent 3974SP also stands out in the graphics department. Housed in the AGP slot is the first of the new GeForce4 cards. The 64MB nVidia GeForce4 MX440 fitted here is actually one of the budget options in the new line-up, but it performs well. Even when playing fast-paced, demanding games at high resolutions, images were stutter-free and had the high frame rates needed for comfortable play.
The 19in Samsung monitor complements the card nicely, providing a crisp picture and a resolution of up to 1920 x 1440. Although this will support games and DVDs quite adequately, movie enthusiasts can use the graphics card's TV-out port to hook up a normal television.
A huge 80GB hard disk is more than most people will need and offers plenty of room for anyone planning a spot of video editing. The CD-RW drive can be used to back up your files and create audio CDs, while the Toshiba DVD-ROM drive allows you to join the DVD revolution. As with most new PCs, the chosen operating system is Windows XP Home.Those looking for that full multimedia experience won't be disappointed with the excellent Creative Audigy sound card. This can provide a 5.1 surround sound output to suitable speakers, as well as providing a FireWire port for attaching high-speed storage devices or digital camcorders.
A Cambridge Soundworks 2200 surround sound speaker system is bundled and it sounds impressive at high volume. Where upgrades are concerned, it's difficult to see what could be added, but a free external 5.25in drive bay and an extra internal 3.5in bay at least provide a few options.
There are three PCI slots free but only two are available, thanks to the sound card's extra plug sockets.
It's reasonable to expect such a highly-specified PC to cost a pretty penny, and so it does. At a pound shy of £1,500, this PC is not particularly cheap. The software bundle isn't particularly high-rent either, consisting solely of MS Works Suite 2001.
Essentially though, this is a well balanced, powerful PC package worthy of consideration. Although it won't win any rosettes for its looks, it's well equipped to take first prize in the specification category.
Contact
PC World: 0870 546 4464 www.pcworld.co.uk
ALSO CONSIDER
Great performance and fantastic spec.
£1,644
See also:
Quite simply one of the fastest Pentium 4 systems we have ever seen. 04 Feb 2002All Desktops
del.icio.us
Digg this
reddit!
