Are all entry-level netbooks this slow?

[Fayd]

when i had 7 on my netbook, it didnt seem all that bad. some things ran slower than on XP. (I had trouble playing semi-HD video on 7, it worked on XP. same issue with diablo 2)

but in terms of normal computing, browsing the internet, i dont think it was any faster or slower.

i put linux on it (karmic xubuntu) and it works well. only gripe i have is VLC doesnt work as well as MPC-HC on low power processors, and my anime gets bugged out sometimes.

 

[StageLeft]

I didn't want to try Linux because I've no familiarity with it and I wanted a turnkey kitchen net surfer.

 

[Zap]

I'd love to know if she continues to have problems with it, though.

She's had it for a few days but it hasn't sorted itself out so she has decided to return it before it is too late (will be traveling so doesn't have the full return period).

 

[StageLeft]

She's had it for a few days but it hasn't sorted itself out so she has decided to return it before it is too late (will be traveling so doesn't have the full return period).

I wish I knew exactly her experience to see if it mirrored mine. My one certainly did work and was usable, it just felt like the kind of computer that a person typically replaces because they're tired of how slow it is.

 

[OS]

i had been shopping for a small, low end notebook also, my roomie has an asus netbook, i think this one;

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+N...&skuId=9664154

so some basic atom/1gb/xp/12"

anyways she let me use it for an evening, like you say, i could not get over how it struggled with just windows like it was 1997 or something.

2D scrolling was slow and choppy, but i managed to get it smooth by turning off clear text and setting color to 16 bit, which felt backwards, because i have not seen a computer in many, many years where i even bothered to do that..

youtube was also choppy, i don't remember if i got that acceptable or not.

the 12" monitor was good and high res, laptops 10 years ago had crappy "dual scan" monitors that were dim, 11-12" and ran 800x600.
Of course they were also 6-7 lb bricks for that size too back then.




anyways, at that point i scrapped the netbook idea and got a cybermonday deal;


http://us.acer.com/acer/productv.do...tx1g.c2att92=447&ctx1.att21k=1&CRC=3502305612

Athlon 64 X2 L310 (1MB L2 cache 1.20GHz)
ATI HD3200 256 MB dedicated
4GB/320GB
Win 7 64 bit
15.6" lcd, low 5 lbs, ~1.2" thick


i think my price was $360 before tax, not much more than a decent netbook, i am very happy so far.

it is bigger and heavier than netbook, but it runs like a real computer and the screen is even nicer.
it is still thin and 5 lbs is still fairly light.

it's funny, i was reading a gun forum with a topic about ballistic armor where one guy was writing about how some armor plates were 1 lb lighter and the rest of the guys told him he should go to the gym more..

low 5 lbs fine for me, 6+ lbs becomes not convenient to use.

the graphics card is half respectable, i can play CS:Source everything high at full res
it also runs my trading platform thinkorswim stuff well.

on paper the weakness i saw was cpu and battery,
the cpu has low clockrate, but i do not see it, win 7 boots fast and like i said i have my brokerage software open all the time and no slowdowns.
battery life i have not really tested, but windows seems to think i can get just under 4 hrs out of it.

i'm thinking about getting an SSD drive for it, to see if i can squeeze out even more battery life, weight and snappiness, but i am still very satisfied with it.


anyways thx if u read all this, gl

 

[CurseTheSky]

I really don't see netbooks lasting more than a couple of years. It's a trend that will fade away as notebooks come down in price and weight and go up in specs.

Don't get me wrong - they're excellent if you need something that's extremely small and light, or extremely cheap. The problem is, full blown notebooks have come down in price so much that you can get something with a good amount of power for just a bit more than a netbook. Some "premium" netbooks even cost more than "low-end" notebooks, and the notebooks have far more power.

When netbooks came out, it was amazing to be able to buy a new, full-blown portable computer for just a couple hundred dollars. Now it seems amazing to spend more than $1000 on a full-blown portable computer, unless you have a specific task in mind (gaming, video editing, etc.).

Unfortunately, most of the people I know personally that own a netbook got just as another gadget to play with, not out of practicality (using it as a cheap kitchen PC is practical, IMO). These are mostly the same people that bought a PDA or early smartphone.

 

[Owl]

I have the Samsung N130 with XP and one GB of ram and it responds quite quickly for a netbook. Even have MS Office loaded on it for power point presentations. No complaints; does what I expected. Pleased with the product. Problem may be Win7.

 

[Zap]

I wish I knew exactly her experience to see if it mirrored mine. My one certainly did work and was usable, it just felt like the kind of computer that a person typically replaces because they're tired of how slow it is.

Heh, I wish I was there in person too, to figure out exactly what was wrong with it. The demo N130 at Sam's Club worked almost as well as my MSI Wind with Windows XP. Guess I'll find out more this weeked because I'll see her (uncle's funeral ) and let her use my netbook for the weekend so she can give me a perspective.

 

[Zensal]

After playing with an Atom at our local BB, I don't think I would ever get one.

CULVs are looking awesome though. I am thinking strongly about something like this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834115656

An actually portable computer that I won't have to worry every minute about battery life, and it has just enough power to get the job done, all for <$450.

 

[her209]

Didn't Windows Vista thrash the computer's HDD when it was still new? Does Windows 7 do the same?

 

[WildW]

Arg, multipost mayhem.

 

[WildW]

Arg, multipost mayhem.

 

[WildW]

Netbooks are slow - it's the first time in a long time that a computer has felt slow because of the CPU rather than the little laptop hard disk.

I have an MSI Wind U100 running XP . . . I absolutely love the thing. I only bought it because it was cheap, but it seems to be one of the few models around with overclocking options. With the latest BIOS a function key combination in Windows overclocks the CPU from 1.6 to 2GHz, and it seems to make all the difference.

The other thing to note is that if your netbook has an Intel GMA GPU, it can likely be overclocked. In the Wind the GMA950 is downclocked to 133MHz from the rated 400MHz. A shareware app called GMABooster can put it back to full speed - mine runs at full speed without issue. Now I can play games you wouldn't expect, including a playable Unreal Tournament 2004 (1024x768), Heroes of Might & Magic V (1280x1024) - netbook comes with me to work and hooks up to a full monitor at lunchtime. Pure awesome.

 

[WildW]

Arg, multipost mayhem.