EEE vs. Mini 9

[Jschmuck2]

I've narrowed it down to these two brands. Does anyone who has one of these care to chime in?

 

[Zap]

I don't have either, but some co-workers have the Eee PC 9xx models, and I've researched netbooks for my own purchase (settled on MSI Wind).

The Eee of course sets the standard as Asus was the first. I think they default to two years warranty unlike all other brands (though you can always get extended warranty). They seem to be a bit heavier than other netbooks of the same screen size. If you don't absolutely need to get an Atom CPU, you can probably still find older 900 models (not 901) that use a Celeron M 900MHz for cheap. I like the power management buttons.

The Dell has that smooth look. Cheap base price, but upgrades can be costly (as with all Dell purchases). It is more configurable than the Eee, and available in more colors.

 

[widefault]

I have a Mini 9. It's foolish to buy anything but the base model, unless you want the webcam. Remove two screws, pop off the rear cover, and the memory, SSD, and wireless card are all right there. Takes maybe 5 minutes to upgrade the memory, a bit longer to change the SSD. Mine has been upgraded to 2GB of DDR2, and I'll be going from the 8GB SSD to a 64GB. Because of how easy it is to swap components, I'm holding onto the 8GB for a different OS setup.

A lot of people don't care for the keyboard layout, and while it does slow me down, it's hardly a deal breaker.

What I love about the Mini 9 is the fact it is silent. No fans, no moving parts, no noise. I was worried it would get too hot, but so far it doesn't even come close to what I would call uncomfortable temps. Hell, with winter coming it makes a good lap warmer.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: widefault
I have a Mini 9. It's foolish to buy anything but the base model, unless you want the webcam. Remove two screws, pop off the rear cover, and the memory, SSD, and wireless card are all right there. Takes maybe 5 minutes to upgrade the memory, a bit longer to change the SSD. Mine has been upgraded to 2GB of DDR2, and I'll be going from the 8GB SSD to a 64GB. Because of how easy it is to swap components, I'm holding onto the 8GB for a different OS setup.

A lot of people don't care for the keyboard layout, and while it does slow me down, it's hardly a deal breaker.

What I love about the Mini 9 is the fact it is silent. No fans, no moving parts, no noise. I was worried it would get too hot, but so far it doesn't even come close to what I would call uncomfortable temps. Hell, with winter coming it makes a good lap warmer.

Thanks for the mini review. I was going to purchase one of them until I found that the apostrophe key wasn't in the correct place. That is a key that really cannot be moved, in my opinion and stopped me dead in my tracks when I went to purchase it.

 

[SpeedEng66]

hello (im postin from my 1000ha)

I just recieved my eee last week
so far I upgraded the ram also (like widefault) it was simple two little screws pop cover replace the ram
as for the keyboard it's quite anoying (shift key is in the wrong place, I read this in reviews and thought it wont be a problem but it really messes me up I keep pressing the up key instead of the shift )
im kinda glad I picked up the 10'' version im not sure how my fat digits would work on a even smaller keyboard

overall it's a very nice netbook

 

[Jschmuck2]

You can use a program to swap the keys around, if you want Google around for it.

 

[coolVariable]

The EEE can be had for $300 ... the mini 9 is passively cooled.
Mmmmmmh.

 

[hmsrolst]

Originally posted by: widefault
I'll be going from the 8GB SSD to a 64GB. Because of how easy it is to swap components, I'm holding onto the 8GB for a different OS setup.

It's hard to tell from the pictures the form factor of the SSD. Please describe it.

Thanks

 

[widefault]

It's a mini-PCI-e card.

 

[hmsrolst]

Thanks.

 

[Madhattan]

The Acer Aspire One just got a price drop on Buy.com
And Best Buy has this new EEE PC for 300 too.

 

[Jschmuck2]

Nice.

If you use the 10% off coupon + the 30% cashback through ebay, the 1000HA EEE comes out to less than that

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Jschmuck2
If you use the 10% off coupon + the 30% cashback through ebay, the 1000HA EEE comes out to less than that

That's just what I did, but for an MSI Wind (lighter than 1000HA, which was important to me). $500 -$50 -$150 = $300

 

[Madhattan]

Just got the latest Maximum PC in the mail.
They do a round up of netbooks, but do not include the dell...

Eee PC 901 = 6/10
MSI Wind U100 = 7/10
Acer Aspire One = 8/10

 

[hmsrolst]

Two questions:

I've just become familiar with the 30% off, but it looks to me like it's not available for the Mini 9. Is that right?

Is the Mini 9 the only one that's fanless?

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: hmsrolst
I've just become familiar with the 30% off, but it looks to me like it's not available for the Mini 9. Is that right?

If someone sells a Mini 9 on Ebay with a "buy it now" then you can get 30% cash back.

Originally posted by: hmsrolst
Is the Mini 9 the only one that's fanless?

AFAIK yes.

FYI last night I unboxed my new MSI Wind and used it for a while (maybe 45 min?) and the fan never came on, and it just got middling warm. Not anywhere near the inferno that my Inspiron 6000 can be.

 

[pstylesss]

This is exactly the thread I was looking for. I'm leaning more toward the mini 9. Anyone else have any input? OP did you bite yet?

 

[widefault]

Well, I had mentioned previously I was going to a 64GB SSD in my Mini 9. That won't be happening as the new SSD is about a half inch too long to fit. Looking at a few other boards I have with the mini-PCI-e slot, it won't fit ANY of them. It will supposedly fit the EEE, but from pictures it's a bit hard to tell. So if you plan on upgrading a Mini 9, make sure you take good measurements. I'm not too upset as I got a deal and can easily resell, but I still wish I had paid more attention.

 

[coolVariable]

any more news?

Bestbuy has the eee 901a for $300 ... tempting.

Which one has the better screen for outdoors?