Averatec Bad!!!!

Purchased an Averatec 6240 at Circuit City the other day. Got home and it had a dead pixel. Went back to CC exchanged it for another, got home and once again another dead pixel, same location different color. I call Averatec and I'm told 1 dead pixel is not considered a defect and they ship their products out if it only has 1. Back to CC, yet they are out so they order me a new one. Go in today to pick it up and turn it on at Circuit City to check. What do you know? Dead pixel, close to same location. Needless to say I just returned it for a full refund. The chances of me getting 3 laptops with bad pixels for most computer companies would be 1 and 1,000,000. Obviously Averatec need to work on their quality assurance.

Howard

 

I agree, However until everyone takes the quality of their new purchase seiously like you and returns it for a refund, these companies will continue to try and sell these defective displays to us.


Jack

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" (Ben Franklin)
http://pbase.com/joneill

 

I had the same problem with a 6130. Went through two computers before I got one without a dead pixel. Got them from sam's.

 

Ironically enough, the first 6100 I got worked fine, except for the power parts inside the notebook failed, and then the 2nd one i got has one dead pixel. I would have taken it back, but the store had to order this one in for me. Since I had already came to love this notebook i decided to live with it. I don't even notice it, and it can be hard to find unless it has a black background. I was also having problems of it cycling on/off with standby, but i somehow fixed that problem. Other than that it has been working really good for me, wish i had more batt time, but i have also learned to live with that.

 

I recently purchased the 6240 from CC and had a dead pixel. I used the computer for a week and by the end of the week I didn't even see the pixel anymore. However, I still took the computer back just in case the dead pixel was an indication of other problems.

The computer I exchanged it for has a serial number that is about 3000 (ending in 4223 instead of 1000 something) greater than the original. My new computer has no dead pixels and the system runs cooler and the fan is much quieter.

Perhaps they were doing a bit of learning by doing and the first couple thousand out the door weren't up to par.

Ironically, my business partner wanted his computer to be a 'reliable' name brand. His toshiba A75-s229 would freeze intermittently, even once while configuring the bios. We took it back to get an HP. We'll see if his new one does any better.

 

by law manufactures of lcd displays don't have to check every single lcd display they make and that includes notebook displays. One dead pixel isn't bad if it came with 7 or 8 then it's considered a defect by the manufacture. I've had my 6130hs since September of this year and it working perfectly.

 

I've had my 6130 for about 4 months now. It developed a bad pixel about 6 weeks ago. Now I have to look hard to find it! Althought I wish the display didn't have a bad pixel, the other features of this 'value' notebook, more than make up for a bad pixel or sub-pixel. So, I don't worry too much about something that's hard to see and doesn't disrupt my computing experience. I wish I could say the same for the wireless connectivity! That always seems to be a hit or miss proposition when I get back to my hotel room nights! I haven't changed the settings from one day to the next. Go figure.

redjr..

 

Well, I really wanted to like this laptop, I loved the idea of being able to watch 7 hrs of DVD. But after 3 laptops with 3 dead pixels, I wasn't going to chance it. Thats just to uncommon for me to consider their laptops of any quality. To the average person 1 dead pixel doesn't mean much, but if I'm paying 1000+ dollars for something I want it 100% defect free to begin with.


Howard

 

no one will get 100 percent defect free. If all the manufactures tested every single lcd display and found one bad pixel and they had to fix it, do you know how long it'll take to get them to the consumer a very long time. I'm sorry about your bad luck with averatec. I've heard emachines notebooks are pretty good.
-andrew

 

Not only that, but Averatec doesn't make the LCDs. They are constrained by the LCD manufacturer, in that the LCD manufacturer will not accept it back without meeting certain criteria. The LCD that is in the Averatec goes in several other manufacturer's laptops as well, I'm sure.

 

so u don't recommend at all averatec??? cause i have one (3200) and i haven't had any problems with it...... now i want to buy one for my own.

please advice

Mariella

 

Some of the people in this thread are being really picky about the pixel thing. Really about the only time you see it is when the screen is black, and even then, one pixel isnt that big. Therefore they don't affect the screen that much. One thing however, is it seems like it can be hit and miss with Averatec, that is, you could get a bad one initially like i did, but exchange it and the next one will be fine. I guess this is my first notebook, and therefore i don't know too much about other brands, but alot of the technology is standard and built by the same companies (i.e., Intel/AMD processors, ATI/Nvidia Graphics, etc), and then someone puts it together and puts their name on it. I don't think Averatec is bad, and would recommend them to others, but i can't really say which model because i don't know enough about them. Averatec really gives you a good deal for your money. Similar systems by other manufacturers would be much higher in price.

 

I've had my notebook since september and I'm pleased with it. I would highly recomment any averatec notebook. I mean the new 6240 uses the AMD 64 bit chip and it's cheaper than an HP or a emachine.
-andrew

 

I'm going to have to expressly AGREE with Jedisolo, Radcomm, Symboint and any others that are in support of Averatec. In addition to a comment that ANY manufacture can be subjected to a bad batch of components , doesn't make the manufacture bad. Those things happen...welcome to the 21st century. At lease you have been able to get the devices replaced...granted if it were me, it would be a bummer...but as a software dev and desktop support, i would still recomend Averatec.

I wish we lived in a 100% defect free world...but the reality is that nothing is 100% defect free![xx(]

 

Averatec offers the best valule out there, bar none. I used to give the title to eMachines, but I think Averatec is moving up the quality ladder, while the Gateway acquisition is hurting the momentum eMachines was building.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

How could anyone suggest an averatec notebook? I purchased the 3200 series and within 6 months the motherboard went. It was replaced temperarily with the 6200 while the parts were on order. Within a week the 6200 wouldnt start. No idea why. Three weeks later the parts still hadnt arrived and the store replaced it was a 3200. I got this new computer home and nothing worked right. It was hit and miss to get the DVD/CD players to even read let alone write CDs. The fan would sometimes nearly squeal. It ran slower than the first one from the day I got it, freezing often. The wireless internet went from cutting out a lot to the computer not even recognizing the hardware existed. I did a factory restore and it did not improve anything. The store refuses to replace it again, and averatec is nearly impossible to get on the phone. With Dell and other reliable low priced notebooks out there do not, whatever you do, purchase an averatec. Its not worth the plastic it was built with.

Lis

 

Not sure why people are complaining so much about the pixels. Can and does happen with any manufacturer. Even a so called higher end laptop isn't any guarantee. Read the threads on the dell forum about the UXGA display for the 9200 laptops. Poor quality management indeed

I bought an Averatec 5500 for around $530 after rebates and for that price and for what I got in return, I'm happy. The only disatisfaction I have is with the strength of the inbuilt wireless connectivity. It's poor. But I'm using a $10 wireless USB adapter, and I couldn't be happier. Once better spec laptops come out, especially more affordable 64 bit Athlons with upgradeable PCI video cards, then I'll sell the Averatec for a few hundred bucks and get that

 

I bought an Averatec while I was deployed in Iraq. It worked fine for the deployment. Then I got home. For some reason after getting home I lost a large portion of the lower right screen to the pixel grim reaper. The laptop's fan never seems to turn off and it is so hot that the piece of wood I use to sit it on (because ironically enough if I placed the LAPtop on my lap, I'd burn a hole through my skin to the bone) would start on fire. I've read around hitting this forum and evidently the problem may be repaired by replacing faulty thermal paste on the CPU. I honestly think that Averatec is a cheap piece of crap, but you get what you pay for. At the time I wanted a laptop with a fair amount of processing power. Other than the heat problem (the pixel problem really doesn't bother me that much and happened about a week ago) I believe the laptop has served its purpose. I'm honestly mad at the fact that they put such a crappy video card in it (it's a 6200 that replaces the Radeon mobile found in the P4 6100 with some CRAP Sis M741 video card that shares system memory).

I would go so far to say that Averatec is bad. I just think it's cheap. You can not expect the best from a cheap product which is why the American economy is going to die importing broken crap from other countries. It works good enough though I suppose. You can't find a laptop made in the US anyways.

I will say one thing though. A while ago I also bought an IBM thinkpad. It was by far the best working laptop I ever used. I think you could compare Averatec stuff to a car. If you are walking or taking a bus, then that 1970 Gremlin is like a gift from god. If you already have a car, then you want a Cadallac. Averatec laptops and whatever else they make is probably more for a consumer who has nothing else or just doesn't know any better. I would rather drive the Gremlin than walk. Especially if I could get the Gremlin for $1.

 

I have an Averatec 6240, it came with 1 dead pixel and Averatec wouldn't do anything about it, then a second dead one appeared 2 weeks later. Averatec replaced the screen (very quickly I might add). Then a letter on the keyboard went funny, again they fixed that within 2 days.

I was very happy with my laptop. I could forgive the dead pixels and the keyboard as these things do happen occasionally. But now, the DVD drive has died, in fact it died very loudly! Averatec will of course fix the problem if I asked them to but I think that I'm now going to request a refund from the supplier. 3 faults in 4 weeks?? I guess I have just lost faith that it will even survive the 1 year warranty let alone last beyond it.

On the plus side, it is a very very fast machine for the price, when all of it works at least. Averatec's support has been great. It does get hot, battery life isn't good and I was disappointed with the graphics performance but then yes you do get what you pay for. I wouldn't say Averatec were bad, just room for improvement.

Well thats my 2 pence worth anyways....

Now I just have to hunt around to try to find a laptop with similar spec to replace this one for the same price, not an easy task!!!

 

I just purchased a 4265 from Staples. When I got home and turned it on, it had to stuck pixels. I went and exchanged it at another Staples and when I got home and turned the new one on, that also had to stuck pixels. It has to be more than a coincidence. Needless to say Ive given up on Averatec.

 

well ive had an averatec 5110 h for 1 year 3 months and has been totally flawless except i did have to replace the wireless card after having it for a year and as far as the new 4265 the lcd in it was built by toshiba someone in the forum posted a link to some pics of a review site and they showed the laptop taken apart and lo and behold on the lcd it said toshiba i also have owned a averatec 3150p and it was great to the current owner still has had no prob with it and that machine is 2 years old the peeps who have big problems i have one question for ya how many times has it been droped and how rough have you been with your machine i hold mine as if they were new born babies and also have never had a bad problem with either one ive owned

 

Finally someone who has had an Averatec longer then 1 year. Come September my 6130hs will be a year old and I've had no problems with it.
-Andrew

 

i am coming up on one year (october) for my 6130hs as well, and have had no real problems with it. i haven't had any of the heat problems that other have had, which i am glad. I do have 2 stuck pixels, but they are no big deal, the others that return their units for one bad pixel is stupid. You have to look really hard for them and they do not affect operation at all. They are just being really picky. And for appearance of new pixels, they problem missed them and didn't see them before.

For anyone looking at averatec, dont be totally put off by these bad reviews, remeber, bad is more visible/heard then the good.

 

Two more months and my 6130 will be a year in service, with the only issue (EVER) being a bad battery...which was promptly replaced.

This lappy has completly replaced my desktop and is used 12+ hours every day and travels almost everywhere with me. It's been a flawless performer, easy to upgrade and still commands respect in my group of Devs\co-workers or classmates.

Averatec is NOT bad...but to qoute lcpl_gonzo "it's no Cadallac"...my only complaint/wish would be a heavier case.