Netbook?

durandal4532durandal4532 Registered User regular
So, my girlfriend got tired of her surprisingly awful laptop. It doesn't have a battery, it heats up like a griddle, it's got a crappy screen, and everything freezes all the time for no reason.

She's in the market for a new computer.

The thing is, she's also got no money. That's not that bad, though, because really she isn't asking for much out of a computer. Her basic needs are:
-Firefox not freezing every 10 seconds
-ability to play streaming/downloaded video
-ability to use standard suite of text/whatever editors
-reasonably high speed for these tasks, ability to run things at the same time
-ability to carry to and from class without it being a huge hassle

She'd also kind of like the option to attach a bigger screen/mouse/keyboard for home viewing. I wouldn't mind her having just barely enough power to try some of the indie game things I bug her about either, but it's not a priority.

So what's the deal? Is a Netbook a good idea? Is there any secret downside to them, or is it pretty much just a $300 laptop that does what she needs it to do?

If yes, what the hell determines which one to get? As far as I can gather there is literally no difference between any manufacturer on NewEgg. All 1.60 Ghz, all 1 GB ram, all $299.99...

Do what you can to elect Harris/Walz and downticket Dem candidates in your area by doorknocking, phonebanking, or postcarding: https://www.mobilize.us/
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Posts

  • EshEsh Tending bar. FFXIV. Motorcycles. Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Asus.

    Esh on
  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Asus, and take heed of the battery that comes with it. As far as you're concerned, thats the only difference. Also, upgrading the RAM is always nice but thats what, $30?

    Improvolone on
    Voice actor for hire. My time is free if your project is!
  • Roland_tHTGRoland_tHTG Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Keep in mind some of the netbooks are not so great to horrible when it comes to streaming/playing HD so that might affect the attaching bigger screen portion of her request so make sure to research that when choosing your model.

    Roland_tHTG on
  • Pipe DreamerPipe Dreamer Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Yeah, the main things that differentiates netbooks are the battery and the keyboard. She might want to go to a brick-and-mortar store and try typing a few sentences on all the models she's interested in. When keyboards are so small, ergonomics design start to really make a difference.

    And my EEEPC doesn't play HD video very great, so you might need to think about if she's going to watch a lot of it.

    Pipe Dreamer on
  • SerpentSerpent Sometimes Vancouver, BC, sometimes Brisbane, QLDRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    From what I can tell about netbooks, you are asking a bit much from them.

    The $500 versions will do what you want. The $300... may, or may not.

    Serpent on
  • EshEsh Tending bar. FFXIV. Motorcycles. Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Keep in mind some of the netbooks are not so great to horrible when it comes to streaming/playing HD so that might affect the attaching bigger screen portion of her request so make sure to research that when choosing your model.

    Pretty much none of them will stream HD with the Intel integrated video they come with. Normal, yes. HD, no.

    Esh on
  • BullioBullio Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I don't have a netbook, but am using an ancient laptop that has comparable/worse specs than many $300-level netbooks. Regarding gaming, this link gets passed around a lot and will give you a good idea of what runs/runs well on netbooks. Hulu and Netflix stream just fine as long as I keep it at 480p or lower. Multitasking is rough, especially if video streaming is involved.

    EDIT: She should consider switching to Chrome if she gets one. Firefox takes forever to boot up for me on this machine and the performance loss is too great to even bother with it. I can't imagine using anything but Chrome on low end machines now.

    Bullio on
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  • Rigor MortisRigor Mortis Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Dual core/DDR3 netbooks should be hitting the market soon. They're available for preorder right now. And some models should have Nvidia's ION chip as well. I would expect that to fix the "doesn't play HD well" problem

    Edit: Scratch that, they ARE on the market now. I just checked. http://www.amazon.com/Asus-1015PEM-PU17-WT-10-1-Inch-White-Netbook/dp/B0042TYYLQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1284602486&sr=8-1notebookscom-20

    Rigor Mortis on
  • What Is Schwa?What Is Schwa? Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    That looks like an Amazon affiliate, not actually Amazon. They don't appear to be available through true Amazon just yet.

    Newegg has 'em for the right price. $379 + Free Shipping is hard to beat.

    In your choice of three colors!

    That is pretty tempting. I want to pick one up but also can't find any reviews.

    What Is Schwa? on
  • durandal4532durandal4532 Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Hm. I may try the dual-core one. Maybe I can make like, $100 of it my birthday present to her.

    I'm afraid that having only a netbook will be shooting too low for her, but at the same time she really just wants to be able to use the internet and type without constant fuck-ups.

    durandal4532 on
    Do what you can to elect Harris/Walz and downticket Dem candidates in your area by doorknocking, phonebanking, or postcarding: https://www.mobilize.us/
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