I'm looking to replace my g/f's POS laptop because the skype quality is so damn bad. Its a nice laptop, only about 3 years old, 1.6ghz celeron, 1gb ram, using logitech USB cam. Despite having good wireless signal, her cam always lags and quits randomly and the quality is poor. So, i was thinking about replacing it with a netbook, but I'm not sure if all of them skype too well. Anyone skype with a netbook? whats the absolute cheapest skype-capable netbook with built in mic, cam, and wireless?
whats the cheapest skype capable laptop?
- Thread starter OogyWaWa
- Start date
What's her Internet connection like? A lot of the time, webcam stutter is caused by latency.
Otherwise, can you try a different webcam? With a netbook or notebook, you're at the mercy of whatever comes integrated (unless you go external anyway, which makes the netbook a waste of money).
Otherwise, can you try a different webcam? With a netbook or notebook, you're at the mercy of whatever comes integrated (unless you go external anyway, which makes the netbook a waste of money).
shes got standard dsl, so connection shouldn't be a big issue. when i had my vaio z over there the quality wasn't spectacular, but it was bearable and didnt lag. anyways, her CPU usage is at 100% when she skypes...
I just spent 2 months in China and used Skype on my netbook. No one complained about anything other than the tinny sound from the built-in mic and on my end I didn't notice any problems at all. FWIW I have an Acer Aspire One 8.9" w/ n270, 1gb RAM, 160gb HDD... ya know, the usual specs for one of these things, running Win 7.
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The thing is, going from a 1.6GHz Celeron and 1GB of memory to a netbook is going to be a side-grade at best performance wise. A 1.6 or 1.66 GHz Atom will be similar in performance, or possibly worse, than the Celeron, and most only come with 1 GB of memory as well.
If you're really intent on saving money, I'd try reformatting her current computer and doing a fresh install of Windows. Get all of the latest drivers and see how it goes. Otherwise, I'd suggest spending a little bit more ($400-450ish) for a notebook with a real processor. An Acer Timeline series (available in 11.6" if she needs something portable) should be cheap enough with a single core CULV, and they're far more capable than an Atom.
If you're really intent on saving money, I'd try reformatting her current computer and doing a fresh install of Windows. Get all of the latest drivers and see how it goes. Otherwise, I'd suggest spending a little bit more ($400-450ish) for a notebook with a real processor. An Acer Timeline series (available in 11.6" if she needs something portable) should be cheap enough with a single core CULV, and they're far more capable than an Atom.
yah, i've formatted her machine and done everything i can to get the damn thing working. it just spikes to 100% usage when skyping. i know an atom is not necessarily more clock speed, but i figured they would be faster than a 3-4 year old celeron. also, since the mic and webcam is built in a figured that might be a little faster as well. worst case, i could load ubuntu netbook remix and maybe get a performance gain there? i dunno, she is running vista, so maybe that in itself is the issue...
Is it a Celeron M 420? If so, I'd expect it to equal or outperform a 1.6ish GHz Atom. A quick Google search seems to roughly confirm this.
If the CPU usage really is pegged at 100%, I suggest looking into a dual core. Again, you can find laptops with entry level dual core processors dirt cheap, and they're vastly outperform an Atom netbook. The only way they'll fall behind is in portability and battery life. Look at the Acer Timeline series and see if you can grab on with a SU2300 (1.2GHz, CULV, dual core), which should be leaps and bounds faster than any Atom chip. The SU3500 also wouldn't be a horrible choice, though it's only single core so the difference won't be as dramatic.
If the CPU usage really is pegged at 100%, I suggest looking into a dual core. Again, you can find laptops with entry level dual core processors dirt cheap, and they're vastly outperform an Atom netbook. The only way they'll fall behind is in portability and battery life. Look at the Acer Timeline series and see if you can grab on with a SU2300 (1.2GHz, CULV, dual core), which should be leaps and bounds faster than any Atom chip. The SU3500 also wouldn't be a horrible choice, though it's only single core so the difference won't be as dramatic.
Brainonska511
Lifer
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slag
Lifer
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he already tried that
"yah, i've formatted her machine and done everything i can to get the damn thing working."
Brainonska511
Lifer
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Oops. I should really try reading more than the first post. Could always try putting a lighter OS, like Xubuntu or Puppy and then trying Skype for Linux.
If you need a replacement, any of the CULV Core 2 Duo processors in stuff like Ideapad Uxxx series should be sufficient. I used Skype on one of those machines and it ran without a hiccup.
Fayd
Diamond Member
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