which dual core netbook should I buy?

[phryguy]

I'm looking for a dual core netbook for traveling and won't be used much outside that. Due to the nature of my trip (tour in Europe) and fear of a laptop getting stolen, I intend to take with me on the tour bus instead of leaving it in my hotel.

It'll be running Win 7. I don't intend for it to replace my i7-860 desktop PC nor my (now old) Lenovo T61p laptop. It really won't be used much be must not be intolerable to use.

My budget is $450 max. The lower the better.

Primary usage:
Light web surfing, copying photos from a digital camera and viewing/deleting them, possibly watching standard def videos (and maybe some high def ones) copied from the TiVo HD. Video playback quality and perf isn't that important. If the CPU isn't up to par for videos, that's ok.

Additional features needed:
- MUST be dual core. I'm intending to get an Atom N550 netbook but am open to other dual core processors w/similar or better perf. Worse battery life is ok if it's significantly faster than the N550.
- Need to be able to get 2+ gigs of RAM on it cheaply, either from factory or by method that doesn't involve voiding the warranty.
- Would prefer a larger keyboard. I've seen some older HP netbooks (Mini 1000?) that had very nicely sized keyboards for a netbook. I'm a fairly fast touch typist and not a hunt and peck user.
- Button for trackpad must not be too stiff.
- (nice to have, not required) Would be nice if it had a trackpad and TrackPoint stick.

I know that someone suggested a Gateway EC1457u at http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2115345 and other threads. That's might be a possibility after plugging it into http://www.sizeasy.com/page/size_comparison/30450-Apple-iPhone-vs-Asus-1015PEM-vs-Gateway-EC1457u.

Anyone know where I can see a Gateway EC1457u or something with really similar dimensions?

 

[Winterpool]

If you can find a shop (say, a Best Buy, Micro Centre, Fry's) with a Gateway EC1400/1800 series or an Acer Aspire 1400/1800, they're all essentially the same chassis. It weighs slightly over 3 lb. I'm bringing my Gateway EC1458u to Boston with me this afternoon, and it didn't add noticeable weight to my rucksack (moderately packed with a couple of days' clothes and some reading material). I'm used to 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro notebooks, so the Gateway seems a great deal more portable. If I wanted more portability, I'd get the 11.6 MacBook Air (2.3 lb) or an iPad (1.5 lb?), ha.

11.6 and 12-inch notebooks are noticeably larger than 10-inch netbooks, but from a practical point of view, I feel they're in the same league of portability. Well worth the tradeoff when you consider the cpu is usually at least 2x as capable. I'd have some problems browsing busier websites or watching vid on a non-ION Atom machine.

Read the Laptop review of the nearly identical Gateway EC1430u for benchmarks.

 

[Winterpool]

By the way, it took over 3 hours of watching fullscreen Flash video on Hulu to run down the battery. I feel reasonably confident I could get 5 hours with normal web browsing and typing.

 

[phryguy]

Thanks!

Unfortunately, the Macbook Air is WAY out of budget and I wouldn't want to take something that costly on my trip. Although the iPad is nice (I own any iPhone 4), I don't think it'll do quite what I want.

I dropped by a Best Buy and Fry's and couldn't find any 11.6 inch Gateways or Acers. There are no Micro Center locations in my state.

 

[Eug]

I just ordered a dual-core Pentium SU4100 11.6" Acer 1810TZ refurb for $400. However it's a Canadian shop so the link will be of no use to you. Nonetheless you might want to keep your eye out for it as it or one of its brothers should be avail under $500 for a 2 GB model (expandable to 4 GB).

This CPU should be roughly 1.5X as fast as dual-core Atom. The 4500MHD GPU isn't as fast as ION but is still enough to decode HD H.264.

 

[shortylickens]

I would go to the store and get a feel for keyboards. Spend some time typing a letter or something. You may find the most important feature is a comfortable keyboard. I sure did. Am now sorry I got the Acer instead of an HP.

As for features, I'd purchase it online and customize to my hearts content. This time of year most online stores like HP and Dell have good deals going on. HP is taking a crapload of money off the 3 year service plan.

 

[phryguy]

I would go to the store and get a feel for keyboards. Spend some time typing a letter or something. You may find the most important feature is a comfortable keyboard. I sure did. Am now sorry I got the Acer instead of an HP.

Unfortunately, if I want to get a feel for the Gateway EC1457u, I think I'm out of luck as I couldn't find any 11.6 inch Gateways or Acers in the stores I went to.

 

[phryguy]

I'm getting close to pulling the trigger on the Gateway EC1457u at buy.com for $449, but it seems like perhaps I should consider the Thinkpad X100e with AMD Turion Neo X2 Dual Core L625. It looks like w/coupons (before they expire), I can get one w/250 gig hard drive and 4 gigs of RAM for $427.

It seems like the L625 is a bit slower or on par with the SU4100 but a power hog (thus considerably worse battery life and unit runs hot). The X100e has better graphics perf and reviews say it has a good keyboard. Battery life isn't of big concern for me at all and I don't care much about graphics perf. I do tend to be Lenovo fan as figure their laptops should be fairly reliable. (My >3 year old T61p is still fine and hasn't had any trouble. I know a few others w/problem-free Thinkpads.)

I'm thinking I'd rather have a laptop that will last longer before something fails or it dies. Acer/Gateway is an unknown quantity to me. I'd guess that the X100e might have better build quality.

I might have to carry whatever I buy in a backpack with me for quite a bit of a 2+ week trip, so it'd suck if it started developing problems from the jostling and flexing.

Thoughts? Am I crazy to go w/X100e over the EC1457u?

 

[Winterpool]

It seems a little peculiar that battery life wouldn't figure into the purchase of an ultraportable (the point of having a notebook this small is mobility, no?), but if that is indeed the case, I suspect the ThinkPad will beat the Gateway in almost every other aspect, especially if the Turion Neo X2 can perform comparably to an Intel CULV chip. You'll get equivalent cpu, superior graphics, and almost certainly superior construction.

I've heard that Lenovo's cost-cutting does seem to be having effects on some of their ThinkPad lines (your T61's generation is often considered the last 'worthy' ThinkPad gen by some), but I should think it remains considerably superior to the likes of Gateway / Acer. The same is likely true for their customer support. That said, my Gateway seems so basic, it's difficult to imagine what could go wrong. My main physical problem with it thus far: it's so light, if I push the screen too far back, it starts to tip over!

Frankly, other than the battery life, my main issue with the Lenovo X100e is aesthetic: I think the keyboard looks fugly. Ha! Also, I think I've read that some of the Neo processors get awfully warm?

 

[phryguy]

It seems a little peculiar that battery life wouldn't figure into the purchase of an ultraportable (the point of having a notebook this small is mobility, no?), but if that is indeed the case, I suspect the ThinkPad will beat the Gateway in almost every other aspect, especially if the Turion Neo X2 can perform comparably to an Intel CULV chip. You'll get equivalent cpu, superior graphics, and almost certainly superior construction.
...
Frankly, other than the battery life, my main issue with the Lenovo X100e is aesthetic: I think the keyboard looks fugly. Ha! Also, I think I've read that some of the Neo processors get awfully warm?

For me, battery life and aesthetics are less important than reliability and durability.

Unfortunately, the Turion Neo X2 Dual Core L625 on most tests looks like it ranges from not that much slower than the SU4100 to considerably slower (http://www.anandtech.com/show/3886/lenovo-thinkpad-x100e/3 and http://blog.laptopmag.com/amd-vs-intel-which-processor-is-best-in-the-toshiba-t135). At least it's far faster than Atoms.

 

[Winterpool]

Mmm, at this price, I'd have had a tough time deciding between the ThinkPad and the Gateway. $341?!

The Neo X2 L335 seems almost identical save for a slower memory controller...?

 

[phryguy]

Mmm, at this price, I'd have had a tough time deciding between the ThinkPad and the Gateway. $341?!

The Neo X2 L335 seems almost identical save for a slower memory controller...?

Dang! I already pulled the trigger on the X100e w/L625 last night and I stupidly passed on the L335. It seems like there aren't really any references to the L335 on AMD's site but it seems the L335 has only 512K of L2 cache instead of 1 meg but otherwise is the same clock speed and all.

Unfortunately, the coupon code doesn't seem to work as it keeps complaining "Coupon not valid for current shopping cart" but it comes out to to $379.05 before tax. Hmmm.... I might be able to cancel my last order (hasn't been filled yet) and order this instead. I'm not sure I'd be able to tell a huge perf difference between the two, at least not enough to justify ~$47 to ~$85 delta. I'm ok w/a 160 gig drive instead of 250 gigs.