My netbook experience, even slower then I thought

[taltamir]

WTF are you doing wrong? It should not be THAT slow. Seriously. You are doing something wrong. Have you reinstalled a fresh copy of windows?

as a rule, I always install a fresh copy of windows...
I violated that rule with the netbook because it has no optical disk for me to install it from...

I might have been able to use an external USB drive, but I didn't have the money to buy one at the time.
I did clean it up of all the junk it came with, I am well aware that its not as good as a full reinstall.

However, CPU usage at idle is nothing, and CPU usage is stuck at 100% on the most trivial of tasks. It is really that slow.

 

[richierich1212]

I've owned a Lenovo S10, Dell Mini 9, and Dell Mini 10 (all came with the Atom). They are too sluggish. Which is why I'm eagerly waiting for my Dell 11z to arrive. 11.6", SU4100 Core 2 Duo CULV processor, 2GB RAM, Win 7, 6-cell (I don't like the 6-cell design though, will swap with a friend's 3-cell). I've already used the 11z but with the single-core 743 Celly, and it wasn't too bad with my Intel 40GB 25-V SSD.

Got it refurbed from Dell Outlet with coupon for $284 after taxes. Can't beat that.

 

[taltamir]

I've owned a Lenovo S10, Dell Mini 9, and Dell Mini 10 (all came with the Atom). They are too sluggish. Which is why I'm eagerly waiting for my Dell 11z to arrive. 11.6", SU4100 Core 2 Duo CULV processor, 2GB RAM, Win 7, 6-cell (I don't like the 6-cell design though, will swap with a friend's 3-cell). I've already used the 11z but with the single-core 743 Celly, and it wasn't too bad with my Intel 40GB 25-V SSD.

Got it refurbed from Dell Outlet with coupon for $284 after taxes. Can't beat that.

that is a great price... only 34$ more then what I paid for the netbook.
EDIT: wait, AFTER taxes? that makes it 4$ more.

 

[WildW]

2. Wow, this mention of OCing surprised me. Is this common for Netbooks? Or is this something specific to HP brand?

It seems to be not unusual. My MSI Wind has a built in overclocking option that seems to be manufacturer endorsed. Fn+F10 in Windows pops up a "Turbo Mode" graphic and suddenly my 1.6GHz becomes 2.0GHz. Haven't had any stability problems with it.

Overclocking the graphics chipset is possible too. GMA Booster overclocks the Intel GPU from 166MHz to 400MHz, on the basis that the same chip runs fine at 400MHz on desktop motherboards. Again, this seems to work fine without any hint of stability problems. With both overclocks in place I can run some surprising games for a netbook at playable rates. Unreal Tournament 2004 at 1280x1024 (external monitor) is quite playable.

 

[Emulex]

the video is the problem for sure. man the ipad does 720p flawlessly and you have to admit the 256meg of ram ARM has not much mojo.

 

[poofyhairguy]

2. Wow, this mention of OCing surprised me. Is this common for Netbooks? Or is this something specific to HP brand?

Its not super common, but for a few brands you can do it.

3. How much do you think the Intel GPU is affecting regular websurfing/page loading? (I normally think "CPU" with regard to these things for desktop, but with these low watt devices I have no clue where the bottlenecks really occur. I have even heard people complain Intel Desktop IGPs were at one time insufficient for running Aero)

I think that if you have a good GPU (like an ION) you can use it to do the tasks that are very frustrating on a Atom (like playing a Flash video).

Atom+ION+SSD= Enough bottlenecks removed that when you DO run into the CPU bottleneck it is much less frustrating.

 

[0roo0roo]

its why apple didn't bother.
and why the ipad is selling like f***

 

[Rifter]

Atom+ION+SSD= Enough bottlenecks removed that when you DO run into the CPU bottleneck it is much less frustrating.

Atom+ION+SSD = cost of a real laptop

IMO putting a SSD into a netbook is a waste of money

 

[hiddensniper11]

You shouldn't have any issues loading webpages as how fast pages are loaded is not related to the CPU power of the Atom.

I agree that netbooks are slow for games but I have been using mine for heavy browsing for up to 5 Firefox windows with no issues.

Maybe you have too many background applications running? Or doing heavy multitasking?

 

[Ika]

I only have issues on my MSI Wind using Firefox if I load up too many tabs (~10+) or let Firefox sit for too long and eat up the memory. Loading a webpage slows everything to a crawl but only for the first 5 seconds or so until the page is fully loaded. I think it's a Firefox issue, though. If I need to load something at full speed I copy the URL, close Firefox, and load up Chrome.

My main gripe about the Wind, besides, the web page loading issues, is it not being able to play 720p videos properly. However, I looked into it and discovered it wasn't exactly the hardware, it was the software (codec). I got CoreAVC, which is supposed to be much more efficient in decoding, and HD vids run fine now.

 

[taltamir]

You shouldn't have any issues loading webpages as how fast pages are loaded is not related to the CPU power of the Atom.

web pages are all CPU, this is why:
1. I use google chrome.
2. I have seen massive improvement whenever I upgrade my CPU.

My main gripe about the Wind, besides, the web page loading issues, is it not being able to play 720p videos properly. However, I looked into it and discovered it wasn't exactly the hardware, it was the software (codec). I got CoreAVC, which is supposed to be much more efficient in decoding, and HD vids run fine now.

That doesn't mean it isn't the hardware. CoreAVC is an especially efficient decoder, but you can't expect all software to be perfectly efficient. And coreAVC costs money (because its so efficient). A faster CPU can handle it with less efficient codecs. The money for core AVC gives you more if its put towards a better CPU (aka, a CULV).

 

[poofyhairguy]

Atom+ION+SSD = cost of a real laptop

At a much smaller size. I would much rather have my pimped out Netbook over a cheap 15 dually laptop, because I know what they are like. My last few laptops have been cheapie 14/15 inch ones.

Last "real laptop" I have is technically way more powerful than the Netbook, but I don't care.

I actually use the Netbook, because it is light enough to carry around.

With a little overclock,OSX and a SDD I have a wonderful ultraportable that provides better than my early 06 Powerbook performance for the price of a cheap and heavy real laptop.

Worth it IMHO.

 

[cbn]

http://meego.com/devices/netbook

Has anyone tried this Meego operating system? I am assuming it will run faster with atom than Windows 7, but I am not sure how big the difference would be?

Supported Hardware

In general MeeGo v1.0 for Netbook will run on Atom® based Netbooks and has been tested on the following platforms,

* Asus EeePC 901, 1000H, 1005HA, 1008HA, EeePC 1005PE, Eeetop ET1602
* Dell mini10v, Inspiron Mini 1012
* Acer Aspire One D250, AO532-21S, Revo GN40, Aspire 5740-6025
* Lenovo S10
* MSI U130, AE1900
* HP mini 210-1044
* Toshiba NB302

 

[Fayd]

http://meego.com/downloads

Has anyone tried this Meego operating system? I am assuming it will run faster with atom than Windows 7, but I am not sure how big the difference would be?

it's a linux project.

i've had windows 7 ultimate (the RC), Xubuntu 9.10, and windows XP Pro all on my netbook. tbh, i didnt have any real issues with the performance of 7. in fact, for most purposes, the performance on 7 was better because it held more cached in ram.

the main slow point on the cheapo netbooks is the harddrive.

 

[cbn]

it's a linux project.

i've had windows 7 ultimate (the RC), Xubuntu 9.10, and windows XP Pro all on my netbook. tbh, i didnt have any real issues with the performance of 7. in fact, for most purposes, the performance on 7 was better because it held more cached in ram.

the main slow point on the cheapo netbooks is the harddrive.

Yep, and I wouldn't be surprised if Meego didn't have support for "trim" at this point. (Heck, even Apple doesn't support "trim" at this time.)

What do you think about the Nand Flash netbooks?

 

[taltamir]

Heck, even Apple doesn't support "trim" at this time.

This should be ONLY apple doesn't support TRIM.

 

[IntelUser2000]

Yep, and I wouldn't be surprised if Meego didn't have support for "trim" at this point. (Heck, even Apple doesn't support "trim" at this time.)

What do you think about the Nand Flash netbooks?

Those NAND flash in Netbooks are like the first JMicron based OCZ Core SSDs EXCEPT with the high sequential speeds. I heard after 6-12 months or so the drive capacity gets lower(say from 8GB to 7.5GB) since the cells die, LOL.

 

[xSauronx]

What model did you get? Is it running XP Home or 7 Starter? Linux works much better on Netbooks than any windows OS.

to the detriment of battery life, though I agree.

I have a netbook, I use it regularly for web browsing, pdf reading and such...yeah its on the slow side. Id like to upgrade to maybe a 13" CULV in the near future.

As it is...its very nice to have a capable laptop with me all the time, even though it isnt fast. Ill keep my piddly netbook over my friends iPad. Yes, it can play his kids games and he can get on the internet...Ive used mine for work, school and leisure.

still, Id definitely like something just a tad higher resolution and a touch faster.

 

[richierich1212]

So far I love my new Dell 11z. And I love using it to play HD movies streamed from my media server to my 11z and output to my TV via HDMI.

 

[beginner99]

I have an asus T91 with a z520 (=slowest atom). Of course it's not fast but IMHO the "ssd" in it is the main issue not the cpu. Also in other netbooks with 1.8 4200 rpm hdd's, they are probably the most limiting factor. Flash of course sucks. flashblock is a must especially the commercials on pages can cripple performance.

I use it for coach surfing mainly. better than with a normal heavy laptop.
Also for flying it's great. battery last for 2 normal length xvid movies. You can watch what you want, screen is superior to on-board enterainment system stuff (which normal is pure crap) and it's small enough. Even a 11" CULV can get problematic once the gu in front decides to lower his seat.

But in the end you get what you paid for.

 

[accguy9009]

make sure you run OSX ; its far faster.

And an intel SSD makes all the difference.

Your on the right track with the SSD but how do you run OSX on a netbook?

 

[Chiropteran]

as a rule, I always install a fresh copy of windows...
I violated that rule with the netbook because it has no optical disk for me to install it from...

For Vista & Windows 7, it's not hard to install from a USB stick. No need to buy an external optical drive.

This tool can copy any vista or 7 iso to a bootable USB stick:
http://store.microsoft.com/Help/ISO-Tool

I don't know of an easy way to make a bootable USB install for windows XP, though.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Your on the right track with the SSD but how do you run OSX on a netbook?

Hackintosh of course:

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=216449

I have mine hacked up so nice the only thing that doesn't work in OSX is my network adaptor after I put the system to sleep. Everything else works 100%- I can even use the hardware accelerated Flash on the thing!

I will admit two things though:

1. Most 2010 Netbooks SUCK at OSX. OSX lacks GMA 4500 support that many netbooks have nowadays. In fact the ION1 Netbooks- my HP 311 and the Asus 1201N will probably be the last great hackintosh netbooks. I almost think that Apple worked with Intel to MAKE SURE the "netbook GPU" wouldn't work with OSX so they could stop the second hackintosh wave that began with the Dell Mini 9.

2. Now that OSX purposefully tries to break itself on Netbooks through the kernel, the scene is a little more difficult than before. As I said, I have mine working 98%, but I am an avid hackintosher that has build more than 20 hackintoshes since 2006. I don't recommend it for everyone- hackintoshing makes Linux looks easy (which is why I like doing it).

 

[zod96]

Wait you can install OSX on a netbook? Are their are special things you need to do so? Or is it like a regular Windows install?

 

[Bateluer]

Wait you can install OSX on a netbook? Are their are special things you need to do so? Or is it like a regular Windows install?

Yes, its possible to install OSX on a netbook, however, Apple actively tries to stop people from creating Hackintosh's on on non-Mac system. Several of the Snow Leopard 'updates' have been designed to stop the Atom. Good to know their priorities are in the right place.