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Spec me a netbook!

Niir

Well-Known Member
May 27, 2010
193
15
Im starting a PGCE next year and i dont really want to take my current 3 year old laptop which has the form factor of a paving slab around in my bag in lessons.

So ive started considering a netbook.

What it will need:

-Word
-Powerpoint
-Excel
-Web browsing
-Good storage (although external HD would be an option)

I have literally no idea about netbooks but i need it to be snappy.

Im not to worried about keyboard size because for any extended typing ill be using my big beasty gaming rigg + full sized keyboard.

Price isnt really an issue within reason, i just want to know whats out there!

edit: i also have a HTC desire so internet tethering is going to be a posibility if that makes a difference!

edit2: also email...duno how i forgot that lol!

im looking at Scan.co.uk: 1008HA-BLK024S - 10.1" Asus Ess PC 1008HA Black, Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz, 1GB DDR2, 250GB HDD, Windows 7 Starter atm, thoughts?
 
Im starting a PGCE next year and i dont really want to take my current 3 year old laptop which has the form factor of a paving slab around in my bag in lessons.

So ive started considering a netbook.

What it will need:

-Word
-Powerpoint
-Excel
-Web browsing
-Good storage (although external HD would be an option)

I have literally no idea about netbooks but i need it to be snappy.

Im not to worried about keyboard size because for any extended typing ill be using my big beasty gaming rigg + full sized keyboard.

Price isnt really an issue within reason, i just want to know whats out there!

edit: i also have a HTC desire so internet tethering is going to be a posibility if that makes a difference!

edit2: also email...duno how i forgot that lol!

im looking at Scan.co.uk: 1008HA-BLK024S - 10.1" Asus Ess PC 1008HA Black, Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz, 1GB DDR2, 250GB HDD, Windows 7 Starter atm, thoughts?

Hey, good specs, but look for a netbook with the Intel Atom N450. As it uses hyper threading, so it's sort of pretend dual core and I find to feel far faster and responsive. Or you could go for the really rather expensive dual core Intel Atom models. But I would not recommend that.
 
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Asus eee 1201n is the best netbook on the market right now. Beautiful screen, full size keyboard, dual core, awesome graphics chip for the price, great trackpad, 5 hour battery life, and you can even game with it! I absolutely love mine. I use it for school, playing Eve on my lunch break, and internet browsing on the road via tethering.

Amazon.com: ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1201N-PU17-SL 12.1-Inch Silver Netbook - 5 Hours of Battery…

Added bonus: None of that Windows 7 starter crap, this comes with Home Premium. Also, HDMI out, and one of the only netbooks you'll find that'll do full screen HD Flash videos.

A small game review I did:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJHlSH3poxc
 
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I went with the MSI Wind U100. It is an older model, however with the newest bios is supports a cpu overclock from 1.6ghz up to 2.0(actually is 1.98ish for me) One of the reasons i went with this model too is because i am always switching OS's and trying new things. Well this model is one of the few that can support Mac's OSX (look up snowywindosx). Within OSX there is also a Utility to OC the Graphics Proc which is the GMA950(it may be 850 i don't recall which atm). With 1.5gb ram and 1.6ghz or higher it runs OSX Snowleopard perfectly; Substancially better than WinXP and Fedora 12. Not to mention this netbook is priced around $200-$250... Substancially less than most others on the market. That 2.0ghz OC really brings this little beast up to par with the newer netbooks currently on the market(other than the HT/dual core) too.
 
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start with a dell mini 9 (easy modify, upgrade, portability).
upgrade to 2 gig ram
runcore 32 gig ssd
windows 7.

thats my setup and i love it.
then i tore apart a verizon wireless usb external air card and soldered it into the mother board to be internal along with taking the camera wires and adding an internal usb thumb drive (also torn apart) just for fun.

plenty of room and info to play with these and big enough to watch movies but small enough to be convenient.

MyDellMini - Dell Streak, Dell Mini and more!
 
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He said a "Netbook" not laptop. Going by the first post, they are not looking for a gaming machine either.

I have a Dell Inspirion Mini (that I'm on right now) and the only complaint I have is the touchpad and mouse click is the one and the same. So if your not using an external mouse it can be a pita.
 
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I own an asus eee 1000HE (i've owned it for quite awhile now) and it's great. my only gripe is the display sucks whenever I try to plug it into a monitor, but I only ever did that just to give it a try; I never really needed to.

For anyone buying a netbook, this is what you should be looking at:

1) HDD. Get the cheapest, crappiest option possible (to keep the price low) since you'll be upgrading this yourself anyways. Your options:
- A large 5400RPM hdd (slowest, most cost efficient per Gb)
- A decent 7200RPM hdd (balance of speed and storage)
- A good SSD (low storage, high price, very fast)

Pick depending on your needs. For most people, the 5400 RPM or the SSD will be the big winner. 7200 RPM tends to be hot and noisy in a netbook.

EDIT: forgot to mention RAM. Same goes for RAM as the HDD. Just get 512MB / 1GB, then upgrade yourself to 2GB. It's cheaper that way, and it's the biggest thing you can do to improve performance for just a little money.

2) Battery life. You want lots of it. Any netbook that can't last 10 hours with power-saving settings isn't worth it's weight. There are laptops now that can manage to last 8 hours, so there's no reason to buy a netbook that can't outperform that.

Part of the portability of a netbook is the fact that most of the time you don't need to carry your charger with you, and that's not the case with a laptop.

3) Keyboard / screen size. Lots of netbooks have really crappy keyboards, which is due to the cramped room manufacturers have to work with. 10" netbooks tend to have the right size balance so that it's still small and portable without being uncomfortable. Plus, it tends to be a sweet-spot for aftermarket parts and generic accessories.

4) Touchscreen vs trackpad. If your netbook doesn't have a touchscreen, it better have an AMAZING trackpad because you'll eventually get sick of carrying that bluetooth mouse around. You can buy DIY touchscreen kits and install them yourself if you're up to voiding your warranty.

5) GPU. Whether it's dedicated or integrated, there is a bare minimum that your netbook NEEDS to meet; you really want to make sure it can handle playing fullscreen video. Personally I think any good netbook should be able to handle:
- Netflix
- Hulu
- Youtube at 720p

Everything else is icing on the cake, but you'll also want to make sure you have stuff like a half-decent webcam & mic, a decent card-reader, multiple usb ports, built-in wifi (wireless n please) and bluetooth (not as important as it seems, don't let it be a deal-killer because it isn't)
 
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