Lenovo does enjoy a screen resolution advantage over Averatec. The IdeaCentre A600 supports resolutions up to 1,920x1,080 pixels, the equivalent of 1080p on an HDTV. Averatec's display only goes as high as 1,680x1,050. Lenovo does also offer a Blu-ray drive on more expensive configurations of the A600. In fact, Lenovo has a lot of extras for this system, including 64-bit Windows, faster processors and 3D cards, large hard drives, and more memory available in other models. Lenovo even has a unique Wiimote-style motion-sensitive remote control available in certain models. With enough of those extras, the A600 suddenly becomes a viable, HD-capable home entertainment system. Our model is a harder sell in that regard given its standard definition DVD drive.
Because of its low price, our $749 A600 is relatively spare. Inputs include a handful of USB 2.0 ports, one mini FireWire 400 jack, analog and digital audio outputs, as well as a media card reader. The Webcam and wireless networking capabilities have become all-in-one staples. Lenovo actually differentiates a bit with bundled facial recognition software that works in tandem with the A600's Webcam as a security device. We found it worked well enough in our admittedly limited testing, but we also suspect most of you are satisfied with the traditional typed password as a PC security measure at home.
In addition to the facial recognition software, Lenovo includes the now-standard bundle of system maintenance applications. Novice PC users will appreciate these more than seasoned veterans. For some reason you also get a media management program that feels completely superfluous next to Vista's standard Media Center software. Finally, the A600 also includes a wired mouse and keyboard set, although the input device options are among the few customizable features for this system. According to Lenovo, it's working on expanding the options available for each configuration on its Web site.
Lenovo also deserves a lot of credit for this system's power consumption. Despite its 22-inch display, the IdeaCentre A600 drew the second least amount of power out of six all-in-ones with various configurations, coming behind only Apple's 20-inch iMac, the clear winner so far. This Lenovo isn't the fastest all-in-one, so it's not performing any remarkable feats of efficiency, but it's also not drawing more than its share of juice.
 Juice box |
|||
| Lenovo IdeaCenter A600 | |
| Off (watts) | 0.69 |
| Sleep (watts) | 1.27 |
| Idle (watts) | 23.9 |
| Load (watts) | 84.4 |
| Raw (annual kWh) | 114.1253 |
| EnergyStar compliant | Yes |
| Annual energy cost (@$0.1135/kWh) | $12.95 |
Lenovo's service and support policies hold to the near-universal industry standard of one year of parts and labor accompanied by a 24-7 toll-free tech support number. You can add at-home service and extended warranty coverage when you purchase your system online. You can also find basic drivers and documentation on Lenovo's support site, which is a bit too fragmented for our taste. We were happy to find a manual that documents how to access the internals of the system in order to replace the hard drive, the memory, and the optical drive.
Find out more about how we test desktop systems.
System configurations:
Averatec All-in-One
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1; 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E4600; 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS graphics chip; 320GB, 7,200rpm Seagate hard drive
Dell Studio One 19
64-bit Windows Vista Home Premium SP1; 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E5200; 4GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 9400m integrated graphics chip; 320GB, 7,200rpm hard drive
HP Pavilion SlimLine S3710t
64-bit Windows Vista Home Premium SP1; 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E7300; 4GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 512MB Nvidia GeForce 9500 GS graphics card; 500GB, 7,200rpm hard drive
32-bit Windows Vista Home Premium SP1; 2.0Ghz Intel Dual Core T4200; 3GB 1,066MHz DDR3 SDRAM; 32MB (shared) Intel GMA 45 integrated graphics chip; 500GB 7,200rpm Western Digital hard drive Sony Vaio JS250J
64-bit Windows Vista Home Premium SP1; 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E5200; 4GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS integrated graphics chip; 500GB, 7,200rpm hard drive
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Rich Brown is a senior editor for CNET Reviews, covering desktop PCs, peripheral devices, and video games. He has worked as a technology journalist since 1994. Full Bio
