Any GOOD comments about the AV4155??

Ho hum. I may have made a mistake.

I have a Vaio FE series lappy for my main machine which is fabulous. However, as my second widescreen lappy, I find that I can't work effectively on a standard 4:3 screen. Therefore, I wanted a second laptop that had to be light, widescreen, and cheap. That was my only criteria; my current second laptop is an IBMx20 which is pretty ancient specs-wise.

I saw a handful of good reviews of the 4155-including from UK based pc mags- and went ahead and ordered. As it's refurbished, it's only costing me £388, incl P&P, which I thought was pretty good. I knew going in I was unlikely to get a machine as solid as either my VAIO or-ha!- the IBM......

Only I'm now very worried about the number of negative reports re Averatec in general.

Query:
Is there anyway of supporting the chassis? Eg, the vinyl sticky things, using sleeves etc?

Any definite don'ts?-bearing in mind that the machine will not necessarily recieve heavy use.

Definite positives???

Or should I just flog the AV together with the IBM and get something a little more solid?!

 

I have a 6130hs, It has had its problems, cracked screen, cracked case at hinge. After the screen and case was replaced. I dismanteled the NB and found the source of the crack cases. All related to poor workmanship. A lot of screws were loose that supported the back plane. When the backplane not straight, opening and closing the lcd put servere stress at the hings. The cause of the crack case and resulting lcd. Always support the LT on a flat surface. This will prevent it from flexing. I added a felt bumper between the latches to prevent the lcd from being flexed. Only carry the NB in a case, or grip only at the hinges, to prevent flexing. The reason I added the bumbers.

With the Artic Ag 5 I have no cooling problem, allways running on low speed. But I do blow out the dust and lint monthly.

 

Judging from this, then, would it be worth checking and tightening screws when the lappy arrives? Also, I've seen 'laptop jackets'- essentially cases that you don't need to take the lappy out of. Would it be worth buying one for the sake of the extra protection, or, indeed, hauling out my sewing machine and making a custom fit one myself?

Could you provide pics to show your felt setup?

Thanks!

 

The screws I found loose were buried deep into case. As long as you sit the NB on a solid surface, it will stay flat. Early on I was setting mine in my lap which gave no support for the middle. And tring not to block the fans inlet. I did noticed on the later models they re-design the lid to stiffen it up some. The thinner and wider they make these LCD's the more they are subject to stress.

The cases for transporting are fine. Mine is a old Targus leather case. I like the hard cases better.

As far as my felt pad. What I did was pick the center of the lcd, between the latches. You can actually add as many as you like. I'm thinking about adding a couple more. These are the same felt pads that are used on cabinet doors to keep them from crashing every time the doors are closed, 3/8" dia. The pads I used were too thick and I had to thin them up so the latch would close.

This may help explain how LCD screens are stressed when carrying them. It applys to all Notebooks execpt some of the Al/Mag/Ti cases.

Lets say the hinges are 12" apart. The lcd is closed, there is a gap of 1/16+" between the hinges. At the top of the lcd where the latches are I have roughly 1/8" of movement when closed. The little rubber plugs used to cover the screws do nothing.

When you grab the notebook you naturally squeze the 2 surfaces together, flexing the lcd. All I was tring to do was put stops at locations that prevented the case from being flexed/crushed when I grab it.

 

I gather from reading threads both here and in the averatec forum that your model is particularly susceptible to this kind of problem. Is that also true for the 4100 series? The only references to cracking I could find for that was re a chip on the extreme left hand side of the palm rest, and even then there was some debate over whether the chip was an actual crack in the plastic, or simply a chip in the paint finish.

BTW, I gather the latches for closing your model are on extreme edges- I was confused for a moment. All my laptops- and the 4155, from pics- have a central latch. Would that minimise this issue? Or should a pad the corners on the principle you outline?

Then again, maybe I'm panicking unduly. This Averatec will be my sixth notebook, and only my Vaio has a metallic alloy screen back-well, IBMs are virtually bullet proof anyway- but apart from those two, all the laptops have had plastic backs. One of my Toshibas actually chipped at the corner of the screen back because I dropped it- that literally was a thin shell of plastic. ...Apart from that, I've never had trouble. Here's hoping it'll continue and I'm just freaked..

Thanks for responding to my thread BTW!

 

I don't know of any cracking issue with the 4155.

There is a web site I found that does nothing but LCD replacements for most all models. The price started at around 150 and went up. At the time I did not have the parts breakdown from uniwill. There are 4 different screens used in my 6100. Averatec said it was $400. I'm glad that I had it replaced under warranty. Even though they took 5 weeks, then left 6 screews loose that you could see, resulting in a cracked case. And another 3 week in the shop. A friend of mine had dropped his HP and cracked the lcd. He was able to get a replacement screen and all of the parts off of ebay, for around a $100. Took less that 1 hr to change it out. Came apart lit easier than my 6130.

My 6130 has 2 latches about 4" in from the outer edge. I think all of the crack lcd's can be contributed to stress. The larger they are they easier to stress. My lid is basicily flat. Nothing to stiffen the 16" long lid. The problem is not squeez the lcd screens against the the base. I can actuall flex my lcd lid, with very little force. Which tells me there is no stiffner internal, to prevent flexing. If you have a local store, look and play with the model you are looking at. If you can flex the lids easly, it may present a problem down the line. When the lid is closed look to see if the screen is straight to the base. Even compress like you would be carring it. How much force is required to open and close. Should be smooth with little effor. If hard, indicates there maybe an alignment problem.

My 6130 averages 13-15 hrs a day. I think they make a good unit for the price. Depending on price, I may but another one. But I will throuhly check to see what problems have arrised. This is hard to do if its a new model.

Like you said you may be overly causes. And all models have some type of problem, including Apples. The more they sell the more these issues come to the front.

 

I think I am being overly cautious- partly because Averatec has only just come to the UK, so it's not a known brand over here in the same way Sony and Toshiba are.

Plus, my other lappies have always come from the big names- Sony, Toshiba, IBM, even Fujitsu-Siemens- and yet I had the same panick before I recieved my VAIO, after reading a number of not-so-good reviews. And I couldn't be happier with it!

I did more checking online, and most complaints relating to the 4155 appear to be software/battery related. I think I'm savvy enough to cope with the first lot, and realistically battery life is not a major concern. If I get an hour and a half from it I'll be happy. Two hours would be great, but since I'm usually working near power points, really not a biggie. So long as it arrives in one piece, seems reasonably well put together, and works pretty much out of the box, I'll be happy. It's a second lappy anyway, and cost less than £400, so...!

Your machine obviously gets heavy use, and yet you're considering another. That speaks for itself!

 

I've only seen one Averatec laptop in my life and it looked ok, BUT...

Dude, if you're considering tightening the screws on your laptop to keep it from breaking and you've owned an IBM, then WHAT are you doing buying this new one???

 

I'll chime in on my experience. Had a 5110H and it was terrible. It worked fine for about 12 months before the half the LCD crapped out. I had to keep moving the lid around to get full picture. After a few months, no amount of lid adjustment did anything anymore.

 

Sorry to advertise, you should check out www.averatecforums.com, an excellent source for info on any Averatec model, including the 4000 series.

I had used an Averatec 4200 at Costco last year and liked it quite a bit. The build quality was average, comparable to most manufacturers out there, the design was very Mac like, cute, I liked it quite a bit.

The only problem I noticed is that the display model had a stuck green pixel on the screen.

I have heard some good and some bad stories with the 4000 series.