11,6 inch netbook for a future university student

[cbk]

I'm looking for a netbook because I don't like tablets and hybrid PCs (subnotebook/tablet).

The low power of netbooks' CPUs is not a problem for me. I own a notebook yet (with an enough fast, for me, i5-3210), but it is a 15.6'' and is 2.35 KG heavy, too big and too heavy to be carry around every day when there are thousands of people in the underground and hudreds on trains.
Yes, I know 720p or 768p is the highest resolution in 99% of netbooks, but I can't say right now that I'll not plug it to a TV or a 1080p monitor i.e. showing videos of my holidays in Full HD.

Thank you! Yes, here in Europe we use "your decimals" as "commas" and viceversa (honestly I'm not sure if they use is in Germany and UK too).

Just one information: what does "OP" mean? I'm sorry... right now I don't know what is its meaning!

I'll use Word, PowerPoint, maybe Excel, and a C compiler just for an exam, I don't need anything more than half performance of the slowest Celeron or A4 APU on the market. The problem is that these processors usually in most of netbooks create a lot of heat, that means a lot of work for the system fan --> louder PC.

You got it!

It's okay! I had to think about what that meant for a while. I think it means, "original post." Basically, "if (insert name here) wants this' equals "if the OP wants this"

 

[Torn Mind]

I always thought "OP" meant opening post or opening poster.

 

[Ancalagon44]

The Acer Aspire V5 is a nice PC, but where did you read that it has the new AMD CPUs? (I mean Temash or Kabini) I found only V5 versions with AMD C-60, or low-end Celeron 877.

Look on websites in the States - the new V5 has newer AMD CPUs. Doesnt seem available in Europe yet.

Good luck OP!

Pity it is taking AMD and its manufacturing partners so long to bring the new chips to market.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

OP, I'm not sure where in Europe you are, so I'll just post several ideas from various stores. After reading your requirements, it's clear to me that you need something known as a "sub-notebook". Not a netbook, not a laptop. Something in between, like my trusted Acer AS 1410.

Here are some options:

1) http://www.saturn.de/mcs/product/AC...-2GB-320GB,48352,286904,609940.html?langId=-3
(just get Windows installed on it!)

2) http://www.saturn.de/mcs/product/LE...-4GB-500GB,48352,286904,488856.html?langId=-3
(really nice!)

3) http://www.amazon.fr/Acer-Aspire-V5...1_8?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1373554196&sr=1-8

4) http://www.amazon.fr/ASUS-E-KX059DU...1_6?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1373554196&sr=1-6

These cover the German and French markets, and even if you're elsewhere you should still get similar prices...

Good luck, let us know what you ended up getting!

 

[javier_machuk]

I own an Amd c-60 based acer aspire one 722. The battery life is very good, but it does feel slower than a regular notebook, but it's not something that you can't get accustomed to.

Having that said, i would suggest that you wait and get one of the new generation processors, having double of cores (4) and better IPC in the same TDP certainly won't hurt.

The laptops with the new processor are selling right now:

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-V5...090806-9374015

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-V5...AOG_B00CM1AANW

these are both relatively premium devices, they feature touchscreen and backlight keyboards, but maybe soon cheaper option will follow. The first one got only a dual core processor but with a 3.9 TDP! so the battery life should be pretty good. The second one have the better a6 quadcore processor.

 

[Battery low]

Look on websites in the States - the new V5 has newer AMD CPUs. Doesnt seem available in Europe yet.

Thank you for the suggest! On Acer's US website there are new versions of the V5, with the new APU A4-1250 and A6-1450.

The laptops with the new processor are selling right now: http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-V5...AOG_B00CM1AANW these are both relatively premium devices, they feature touchscreen and backlight keyboards, but maybe soon cheaper option will follow.

At this point I think I'll wait a V5 without touchscreen (useless, for me) and/or without Windows 8. Right now there are older V5's versions without both this specifications and I'm sure I will buy and extra battery (3.5 hours aren't enough at university).

The first one got only a dual core processor but with a 3.9 TDP! so the battery life should be pretty good. The second one have the better a6 quadcore processor.

The A4-1250 has a 9 Watt TDP, the A6-1450 has a 8 Watt TDP. Yes, this could "surprise"!

 

[javier_machuk]

The A4-1250 has a 9 Watt TDP, the A6-1450 has a 8 Watt TDP. Yes, this could "surprise"!

sorry... my bad. I confused it with the a4 1200

 

[I4AT]

I have an Acer AO722 with an AMD C-60 (1ghz turbo to 1.33) and it's really the bare minimum I would recommend as far as a light browsing/word processing machine. It can barely handle 720p flash-based video on Youtube, it will drop frames if you don't let the video buffer before starting playback, but once the video is mostly/fully downloaded it'll run stutter-free.

It also chokes after any .NET Windows Update (which are released fairly often). CPU utilization will spike to 100% even while the machine is idle as .NET recompiles which can take up to 15 minutes or so.

The fan is loud at full speed as well, audible but not noisy at low speed.

Even though I like mine I can't recommend an AMD C-60/70 or E-series notebook unless it's used and priced accordingly. I bought mine over a year ago for like $210.

If you're buying something brand new I'd recommend anything based on the 1.5ghz Celeron 1007u, it's Ivy Bridge 22nm architecture, a step up from the 1.1ghz Celeron 847 which is Sandy Bridge 32nm.

The 1007u is relatively new though and just starting to hit the market in notebooks/chromebooks here in the USA. Not sure what that means as far as availability in Europe. The Acer V5 is available at Newegg and there will also be an Acer C710 model with the 1007u which hasn't actually shipped to retailers yet.

Another option might be the Lenovo Thinkpad X201 if you don't mind buying used. They've been around for a while so there are likely plenty on Ebay and they came in several different configurations from Intel i3 all the way up to i7, or the X201e which is the AMD E-series version. Some of the higher end units came with IPS screens as well which is pretty rare in notebooks of this size range.

Be careful with some of the newer notebooks though, a lot of manufacturers, Acer in particular, are shipping units with much lower battery capacities than netbooks of the past. 6-cell was the standard for a long time, and now a lot of units contain 4-cell, or even 3 and 2-cell batteries. So even with improved architectures and die shrinks you might get even worse battery life with modern netbooks due to weaker batteries, check the specs before buying and try to aim for something with at least a 6-cell.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I have an Acer AO722 with an AMD C-60 (1ghz turbo to 1.33) and it's really the bare minimum I would recommend as far as a light browsing/word processing machine.

Be careful with some of the newer notebooks though, a lot of manufacturers, Acer in particular, are shipping units with much lower battery capacities than netbooks of the past. 6-cell was the standard for a long time, and now a lot of units contain 4-cell, or even 3 and 2-cell batteries. So even with improved architectures and die shrinks you might get even worse battery life with modern netbooks due to weaker batteries, check the specs before buying and try to aim for something with at least a 6-cell.

I agree about the battery. Too many mfgs, with the new lower-powered chips, are reducing the battery size, instead of increasing battery life. It's a shame.

I too own an Acer 722. It's a nice little machine, but it get sluggish running skype alongside Waterfox, when I'm in a video call.

Unlike the other two posters with this netbook, I would recommend you get one. However, you should also invest in a sizable SSD to go inside. Make sure to get a model with 4GB of RAM, or upgrade that too.

 

[Battery low]

I read only today the Aspire V5 has not the removable battery. As I wrote, I think it is a good PC but this change completely my choice. I won't buy a PC that doesn't allow me to buy another battery and change its when is low.
Fortunately HP has announced the Pavilion Touchsmart 11, that look very similar to the V5 but has the removable battery.

Also, I hope Acer will update his Aspire One with Temash too... it would be nice to have a choice between two PC (I didn't find similar subnotebook/netbook on other OEM's websites)

 

[paulcheung]

I have this HP Envy X2, it work very good and have very good battery life. It give me 7.5 hours continously video play none stop and would give you over 10 hours casual use. You don't have to detach the tablet if you don't want. it is very firm connected. so it is like a laptop only a little more expensive.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...U?tag=at055-20

 

[Battery low]

only a little more expensive.

"Only" = 200 $? 50% more than a Aspire V5-Touchsmart 11? 100% more than a Aspire One? 600 USD are too much for me

 

[AnitaPeterson]

OP, check and see if you can find some of these:

ASUS Eee PC 1225B Notebook 1225B--SU17-BK
- 11.6" AMD Fusion E-450 (1.65GHz) 4GB 320GB HDD
- AMD Radeon HD 6320, HDMI, BT, W7HP

$324.88 - see http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=710_577_367&item_id=046492

 

[Battery low]

OP, check and see if you can find some of these:

ASUS Eee PC 1225B Notebook 1225B--SU17-BK
- 11.6" AMD Fusion E-450 (1.65GHz) 4GB 320GB HDD
- AMD Radeon HD 6320, HDMI, BT, W7HP

$324.88 - see http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=710_577_367&item_id=046492

Right now I'm looking (waiting) only for new (or updated) 11.6'' with low-end Intel CPUs or AMD APUs as Temash/Kabini.
I read something about the Lenovo S210/S215, it looks cool: removable battery, 6/hrs battery and a Celeron Ivy Bridge CPU (S210) or a Kabini APU (S215).
I read also that it will be launched on the market soon (later this month or in august) at something around 400 $.

 

[sm625]

I would wait. A 1080p panel would be nice and it should be possible to find one for under $300 in the next few months. Especially since windows has improved its DPI scaling. The new atom should be ok since it has a vastly modernized gpu. I have a windows 8 tablet with a Z2760, and it is fast enough for everything except league of legends is a bit slow.

 

[Battery low]

I would wait. A 1080p panel would be nice and it should be possible to find one for under $300 in the next few months. Especially since windows has improved its DPI scaling. The new atom should be ok since it has a vastly modernized gpu. I have a windows 8 tablet with a Z2760, and it is fast enough for everything except league of legends is a bit slow.

I'll wait but not until the launch of Intel's Bay Trail architecture (new Atoms): I'll begin my university adventure on late september and I read new products with Bay Trail should be launched at the end of 2013. I need to buy something in september (or late august). It just depends by what there will be on Italian market: Acer/HP/Toshiba/Asus/Fujitsu are on Italian market since 20 (or 30?) years, but Lenovo is relatively new here. I just hope all these OEMs will launch their new products in Europe (Italy included) in these weeks.
I don't need a powerful GPU. I just need a chip that can manage a Full HD video: everything on the market in exception of some Atoms.