Netbook advice

[Bu B3ar]

I have a laptop and a rig, but i have been thinking about picking up a netbook to limit the use i put onto my laptop. I have a few questions for the AT gods though:

- Should I try for a solid state HD, or is there really no major difference? I don't a lot of storage space as i won't be saving anything large on it, i just want the max speed/battery life.

- I have heard good things about the Atom processors, but is there something better out, or is something better coming out soon that i should wait for?

- If you had to choose between Asus and HP, which would you prefer? I think I have narrowed the choices down to those two brands, but is there another strong contender that I am looking over?

Thanks, any help is much appreciated.

 

[Skott]

I've heard people say the SSD in the netbooks and notebooks are not that great. Supposedly they are slow and overpriced and not worth it over traditional drives. You may want to look into that a little closer.

 

[IlllI]

ssd in netbooks are pretty slow. don't expect intel x25-m performance with them
battery life is somewhat inconclusive

the next step up from atom is culv processors, which are in notebooks like acer timeline Text

here is a preview anandtech just did today Text

as for netbook contenders.. well they all have pretty much the same internals. things to look for is battery life and how nice the keyboard is. some are better than others. for example samsung netbooks had some of the best keyboards for their netbooks.

 

[Mattdoommaster]

I wouldn't pick up an SSD for a netbook. The performance will be handicapped by the fact the computer's processor is so slow.

As far as which processor to look for, well, some of the new CULV stuff is good and has high performance. But a netbook is a lot more than a processor, and I think most of the netbooks with Atoms inside are far more mature.

Between HP and ASUS, I'd go with an Asus 1005HA. However, Samsung's products are also extremely good. They used be kind of pricey but the NC10 and NC110 are both under $400 now. They're good buys. There is also the Toshiba NB205, which I quite like because of its really great keyboard and trackpad.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: Bu B3ar
[...]Should I try for a solid state HD, or is there really no major difference?

[...]I have heard good things about the Atom processors, but is there something better[...]?

[...]If you had to choose between Asus and HP, which would you prefer?

First question: All depends on the SSD...

A friend of mine has an OCZ Vertex and it hauls azz! Really, it's unbelievably fast!!!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820227395 (Newegg - 120GB OCZ Vertex)

The question now becomes... What's it worth (to you) to own a SSD that hauls azz?

I'll take a $69 TraverStar any day - it's a better value, IMHO!


Second question: Hard to answer... Depends on your definition of 'better', I suppose.

My Eee PC has a Celeron-M. It's faster than an Atom, and cheaper, but it uses more power.

Personally, I prefer cheap and fast, to extended battery time - I spend 90% of my time on AC.


Third question: The Asus Eee PC (et al) is an industry standard. There's nothing special about them, but they're cheap, work great, and have LOTS of community support.

There's no doubt in my mind that HP makes better products than Asus, but there's a price to be paid.

Sooo, let me put it to you this way... I prefer HP computers, but I own an Asus. LoL! Go figure!

 

[Paperlantern]

Just as a side note, wouldnt a SSD be the route to go if he IS concerned about battery life? Less moving parts = less power consumption, even if its not going to blow hima way on speed, it should at least perform as well as say a traditional drive that would sit and spin away his battery. (heh i said Sit and Spin).

 

[Parasitic]

Problem with netbooks is that you won't find any SSD that puts mechanical drives to shame in them. There are a few non-Atom choices out already but their prices put them closer towards regular notebook territory. HP makes a 12" model (dv2z) that can be configured with a dual core AMD processor (Atom level, but marginally faster and dual core) for $550.

Otherwise you'll have to wait longer for a dual core Atom and nvidia Ion.

 

[Bu B3ar]

i have been reading up on some of the ULV processors, but i'm not too sure what to think...i know it's considered a duo core, but if it's got less juice flowing to it doesn't that negate most of the power benefits? I know i want something with good battery life (5 hours or better would be awesome) and from what i've read the SSD doesn't add that much to the life, so i guess my biggest concern is getting a processor that can function (i know it's not going to be blazing regardless of what i get) without being a drain.

 

[TimeKeeper]

Originally posted by: Bu B3ar
- Should I try for a solid state HD, or is there really no major difference? I don't a lot of storage space as i won't be saving anything large on it, i just want the max speed/battery life.

You save few seconds with SSD on boot up only, it will not give you extra battery life.
No Actual "netbook-task" speed improvement.

- I have heard good things about the Atom processors, but is there something better out, or is something better coming out soon that i should wait for?

There will always be something new coming out. Do you really need a netbook?

- If you had to choose between Asus and HP, which would you prefer? I think I have narrowed the choices down to those two brands, but is there another strong contender that I am looking over?

I would take Asus.
I have owned MSI U100 to U120, then ASUS 1000HA to
now Asus 1005HA.

Even though it "rated for 10.5 hours" but in real life...
( 6.5 hours with SuperPerformance setting@ 1.69ghz / wifi on / BT mouse on - continue use )
( 8.5 hours with Auto setting / wifi on / BT mouse on - continue use )
( 30 min charge will give you extra 3 hours on the meter )

Performance-wise, you really can't tell the different. It is all about how long the battery can really last. ( if you have to carry a charger with you, then, it kinda defeat the purpose, no? )

 

[Bu B3ar]

Originally posted by: TimeKeeper

Originally posted by: Bu B3ar
- Should I try for a solid state HD, or is there really no major difference? I don't a lot of storage space as i won't be saving anything large on it, i just want the max speed/battery life.

You save few seconds with SSD on boot up only, it will not give you extra battery life.
No Actual "netbook-task" speed improvement.

- I have heard good things about the Atom processors, but is there something better out, or is something better coming out soon that i should wait for?

There will always be something new coming out. Do you really need a netbook?

- If you had to choose between Asus and HP, which would you prefer? I think I have narrowed the choices down to those two brands, but is there another strong contender that I am looking over?

I would take Asus.
I have owned MSI U100 to U120, then ASUS 1000HA to
now Asus 1005HA.

Even though it "rated for 10.5 hours" but in real life...
( 6.5 hours with SuperPerformance setting@ 1.69ghz / wifi on / BT mouse on - continue use )
( 8.5 hours with Auto setting / wifi on / BT mouse on - continue use )
( 30 min charge will give you extra 3 hours on the meter )

Performance-wise, you really can't tell the different. It is all about how long the battery can really last. ( if you have to carry a charger with you, then, it kinda defeat the purpose, no? )

No, i guess i don't really need a netbook, but i want one I have a rig and a laptop (which is actually faster than the rig) but i like the idea of having something light to carry around with me so i can tinker on the web when i wont need real processing power.

 

[BadRobot]

I just bought a netbook and i use it for browsing and watching hulu. Absolutely do not get anything weaker than eee 900 (this is what i have). And whatever you get you should probably plan to spend 30 more dollars on a 2 gig stick of ram.

The default ssd drives can be painfully slow if you do ANYTHING that uses it. If you have xp on it make sure to turn off page fileing and it will significantly increase the speed. If you have plenty of money, plan to mod the netbook with a nice ssd, if you need to access anything on the hard drive regularly you will need to upgrade it.

Flash performance in linux is overall worse than on windows.

I can get xp to take up less than a gig on my 4 gb default ssd

(add a 2 gig stick of ram please! youll need it)
Shoot for a 10 inch screen if you can.