Hi guys,
I'm considering buying a netbook/notebook and I need some advice. I'll list the basic things, like purpose and budget etc, below, and hopefully you guys can help me out with some ideas.
1. Purpose: Initially, a development machine for the December holidays. I'm an aspiring indie game developer, so I want to make use of the time that I'll be away from my desktop to carry on development. Yes I am still in regular employment. I'm away for about 2 weeks in December, I want to develop a few hours a day if I can. Using a Netbeans based IDE. After that, the netbook/notebook will be used for testing - both network testing but also to find out how it runs on different hardware, notably on less capable graphics hardware.
2. Special considerations: From what I've heard, Intel integrated graphics is especially useless at OpenGL. The game engine I'm using is OpenGL based and there is a 0% chance of a DirectX port. Hence, I want AMD or Nvidia graphics so that the game will run on my own development hardware. Yes this means owners of Intel integrated graphics chipsets cant run my game, but then they cant run BF3 so I dont feel too bad.
3. Form factor: I'm really wanting a sub 14 incher. Leaning towards 12 or 13 inches. Portability is important. If a 15.6 inch laptop is the best solution, then perhaps I will overlook this.
4. Budget: I'm variable on this, but leaning much closer to a budget for allowing for a netbook. Based on how much I'll use this thing after the December holidays, I'm just not sure I can justify spending a lot of money. However, I am also thinking that I would rather not waste money - so if I have to spend a little more to get something that actually fulfils my needs, well I guess thats what I have to do.
5. Current candidates: Asus 1215B, Asus U36SD, and Asus 13.3 inch Zenbook, whatever the codename for it is. Leaning towards the 1215B because of its cost, form factor and AMD graphics chip. Doesnt need to be a fast chip, just needs to have drivers capable of running OpenGL games. Yes its dog slow, could be irritating but considering how much I'll use it, not use it matters. U36SD is better in every way, except price. Its double the price and I'm just not sure my use for it justifies the expensive. I can do a lot of things with that money. Zenbook, likewise, is expensive and fast, has an SSD and a high res screen, but Intel HD graphics pretty much rules it out for me.
Thoughts? Ideas? Is the 1215B going to be so slow that I'll want to tear my eyes out? Is it worth just sucking it up for a few weeks?
Asus X42 series deserves a mention but it doesnt have a Sandy bridge CPU - what concerns me about that is availability of the notebook itself. I mean Nehalem is still easily fast enough for development, I'm just not sure I could get hold of one. Not fussy about brands - although before anyone suggests it, I wont consider any Apple product.
I'm considering buying a netbook/notebook and I need some advice. I'll list the basic things, like purpose and budget etc, below, and hopefully you guys can help me out with some ideas.
1. Purpose: Initially, a development machine for the December holidays. I'm an aspiring indie game developer, so I want to make use of the time that I'll be away from my desktop to carry on development. Yes I am still in regular employment. I'm away for about 2 weeks in December, I want to develop a few hours a day if I can. Using a Netbeans based IDE. After that, the netbook/notebook will be used for testing - both network testing but also to find out how it runs on different hardware, notably on less capable graphics hardware.
2. Special considerations: From what I've heard, Intel integrated graphics is especially useless at OpenGL. The game engine I'm using is OpenGL based and there is a 0% chance of a DirectX port. Hence, I want AMD or Nvidia graphics so that the game will run on my own development hardware. Yes this means owners of Intel integrated graphics chipsets cant run my game, but then they cant run BF3 so I dont feel too bad.
3. Form factor: I'm really wanting a sub 14 incher. Leaning towards 12 or 13 inches. Portability is important. If a 15.6 inch laptop is the best solution, then perhaps I will overlook this.
4. Budget: I'm variable on this, but leaning much closer to a budget for allowing for a netbook. Based on how much I'll use this thing after the December holidays, I'm just not sure I can justify spending a lot of money. However, I am also thinking that I would rather not waste money - so if I have to spend a little more to get something that actually fulfils my needs, well I guess thats what I have to do.
5. Current candidates: Asus 1215B, Asus U36SD, and Asus 13.3 inch Zenbook, whatever the codename for it is. Leaning towards the 1215B because of its cost, form factor and AMD graphics chip. Doesnt need to be a fast chip, just needs to have drivers capable of running OpenGL games. Yes its dog slow, could be irritating but considering how much I'll use it, not use it matters. U36SD is better in every way, except price. Its double the price and I'm just not sure my use for it justifies the expensive. I can do a lot of things with that money. Zenbook, likewise, is expensive and fast, has an SSD and a high res screen, but Intel HD graphics pretty much rules it out for me.
Thoughts? Ideas? Is the 1215B going to be so slow that I'll want to tear my eyes out? Is it worth just sucking it up for a few weeks?
Asus X42 series deserves a mention but it doesnt have a Sandy bridge CPU - what concerns me about that is availability of the notebook itself. I mean Nehalem is still easily fast enough for development, I'm just not sure I could get hold of one. Not fussy about brands - although before anyone suggests it, I wont consider any Apple product.
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