Pre-Installed Software and Performance
Because we received the Timeline 4810T weeks before the Windows 7 launch, our review sample shipped with Vista Home Premium 64-bit. Current outgoing units will either come with a free Windows 7 upgrade option or come installed with it out of the box.
After enjoying a naked OS install in the Averatec 13" ultra-portable we reviewed a few weeks ago, it came as a shock to arrive to the Timeline and have its default Vista installation loaded with bloatware. Needless to say Vista didn't run as impetuously as I had expected due to the bloat bundle, a practice that we hope will at least diminish somewhat with the arrival of 7 and its more minimalistic approach to background tasks.
Some people may enjoy the nearly 20 pre-installed games in the Timeline, but I'm not one of them. There were some useful applications included, such as McAfee Security Center and a 60-day trial of Microsoft Office 2007.
After removing all the junk software and updating to the latest drivers and Windows updates, the system seemed to wake up a bit. Below are some benchmarks to give you an idea of the performance you can expect from the 4810T under load.
