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Averatec 6200
The Averatec 6200's wide body also provides enough room for a good, comfortably sized keyboard with 19.5mm keys that make typing less of a chore. The wide touch pad has generous horizontal and vertical scroll regions. Audio comes through a pair of speakers that produce surprisingly high-quality sound, with enough volume to fill a hotel room or a small office.
Though the 6200 has four USB 2.0 outlets, it lacks a FireWire port--unfortunate, as transferring video for editing is slower without one. Also missing are a flash memory slot or an S/PDIF optical plug for a high-end set of speakers. In addition to LAN and modem ports, the system offers S-Video out, as well as external monitor and audio connections. It also comes with an 802.11g Wi-Fi radio that has an approximate range of 90 feet; the Wi-Fi has its own on/off switch, handy for battery conservation.
Aside from the excellent screen, just about all of the Averatec 6200's other components are second best. There's AMD's sluggish 1.8GHz XP-M 2400+ CPU (instead of the hotter 64-bit Athlon CPU); a 60GB lower-performance hard drive; and a combo DVD/CD-RW drive--a DVD burner option won't be available until October 2004. The machine's SIS M741 graphics accelerator, with 32MB of video memory, isn't enough to make the 6200 a stellar choice for gaming or other screen-intensive uses. One additional complaint: this laptop runs very hot.One of the 6200's nicest features is its ability to play CDs or DVDs without booting up the operating system, thanks to a quick-to-load player. Just hit the on/off button on the front panel, and in 15 seconds, the disc is playing--and it keeps playing. Our test DVD went for more than five hours in this mode. The rectangular monochrome screen displays timing but not track names. Using the six buttons along the front edge of the laptop, you can lower or raise the volume, stop, eject, pause, and advance or rewind a track. The player can handle audio CDs, DVDs, and MP3 discs, and best of all, it comes with a tiny remote control (conveniently stored in the laptop's PCMCIA slot) so that you don't have to get up to turn it on--perfect for a dorm room.
The laptop's 4,400mAh battery pack is easily removed for swapping--a good thing, because when the OS is booted up, the 6200 runs for only 2 hours, 35 minutes on a charge. Like other Averatec laptops, the 6200 comes with a reasonable assortment of software, including Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Works, and Norton AntiVirus (with a 90-day subscription for updates).
![]() | BAPCo MobileMark 2002 performance rating |
Performance analysis written by CNET Labs assistant lab manager Eric Franklin.
![]() | BAPCo MobileMark 2002 battery life in minutes |
Battery life analysis written by CNET Labs assistant lab manager Eric Franklin.
To measure mobile application performance and battery life, CNET Labs uses BAPCo's MobileMark 2002. MobileMark measures both application performance and battery life concurrently using a number of popular applications (Microsoft Word 2002, Microsoft Excel 2002, Microsoft PowerPoint 2002, Microsoft Outlook 2002, Netscape Communicator 6.0, WinZip Computing WinZip 8.0, McAfee VirusScan 5.13, Adobe Photoshop 6.0.1, and Macromedia Flash 5.0).
System configurations:
Acer Ferrari
Windows XP Home; 1.9GHz Athlon XP-M 2500+; 512MB DDR SDRAM 333MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 128MB; IBM Travelstar 60GN 40GB 4,200rpm
Averatec 6200
Windows XP Home; 1.8GHz Athlon XP-M 2400+; 480MB DDR SDRAM 333MHz; SIS M741 32MB (shared); Hitachi Travelstar 80GN 60GB 4,200rpm
eMachines m5310
Windows XP Home; 1.8GHz Athlon XP-M 2400+; 448MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; ATI Radeon IGP 320M 64MB (shared); Toshiba MK4021GAS 40GB 4,200rpm