Anyone who claims not to have noticed Christmas creeping into view is telling pork pies. The first packs of shortbread and plum pudding are appearing on supermarket shelves, so maybe this is the perfect time to be thinking about Advent.

The latest PC in the Advent range is based on the new Athlon 2600 XP+ processor, which runs at a speed of 2.13GHz. That makes it the first AMD processor we have seen to actually tip over the magical 2000MHz barrier.

PC performance freaks tend to scoff at anything other than a Pentium 4 but the newest Athlon as seen here is not just a tweak of the old model.

The new Athlon 2600 and the slower 2400 XP have actually been redesigned, running cooler and faster than previous models to make up ground on the Pentiums, which should be reaching 3GHz just in time for Christmas.

The Advent we are looking at is designed to be something of a range-topper.

As mentioned, there is a fast processor alongside 512MB of fast DDR memory. The 120GB hard disk is certainly large enough to meet the storage needs of you and a couple of your friends.

Typical uses for really fast PCs are music management or video. To this end, the system features a Creative Audigy soundcard, which is as good as they come, as it provides high-quality audio and also has very stable drivers.

Added to this, the soundcard features a FireWire connection, which is great for connecting the PC to a digital camcorder.

ATi has long had a reputation for good-quality graphics cards but slightly iffy drivers, while the dominance of nVidia in the graphics market has seen many games developers writing games that seem to run best on its cards.

In terms of quality, however, graphics cards based on ATi's Radeon 9700 Pro chip are the best available and so far, drivers have been very good.

If things stay this way, nVidia may well have trouble wrestling its graphics crown back when its GeForce 4 range is replaced in the new year.

Certainly at the moment, the Radeon 9700, featured in Advent's system, is the best choice bar none.

Our benchmarks bore this out, showing the combination of Radeon and fast Athlon to be very impressive indeed.

As if to prove the manufacturer's claim that this is a good choice for gamers, the machine comes supplied with a Microsoft steering wheel, which is a bit over the top but a very nice extra nonetheless.

As expected, both CD-RW and DVD-Rom drives are fitted to the Advent, giving a bottomless supply of removable storage and the chance to watch movies on the splendid 19in LG monitor.

The movie-watching experience is made all the more special by 5.1 surround sound speakers which accompany all but the most basic PCs these days.

The VideoLogic ZXR-500 set supplied here are excellent whether you're playing a game or enjoying the latest blockbuster film.

There are very few points on which to criticise the Advent. We're sure the majority of PC owners happily put up with the fact that PCs come in ugly white boxes but we do like a little design flair.

Many Advent PCs come in handsome two-tone blue cases but this one is in a large pallid PC-beige box.

Still, on the positive side, this large case does have plenty of elbow room inside for fitting upgrades when the time comes and with three usable PCI slots and two memory slots available, there are places to fit your new bits.

There are four USB 2 ports fitted and also modem, printer, serial and PS/2 ports on the rear, but the lack of a network card suggests that this may be the upgrade most of you plump for first. A Microsoft keyboard and mouse are supplied.

The software bundle is pretty fair, including Microsoft Works Suite 2002 along with Norton AntiVirus 2003, Ahead Nero for CD creation, PowerDVD for movie playback and Windows XP Home.

We found the set-up poster disappointing but the loose-leaf handbook supplied for when the computer is up and running puts most competitors to shame.

If you are shopping around for a new PC, this Advent is good bet but it's fair to say that it is aimed at enthusiasts or more experienced computer buffs rather than complete beginners.

If that sounds like you and you have £1,600 burning a hole in your pocket, why not treat yourself to a pre-Christmas present this advent?

DETAILS
Price: £1,600

Contact: Advent 0800 0565732
www.adventcomputers.co.uk