Mini notebooks

[JamStone]

I'm about to buy one. Had an old Dell Inspiron laptop that's pretty old and one of the RAM caches is busted so the memory is super weak. Tried getting it fixed and every place I've gone said I'd be better off just getting a new laptop. Don't need a really great lap top so that's why I'm probably just going to buy a mini. Mostly need it for typing up documents and internet use. There are a bunch of fairly cheap models now. I can get one in the $250-400 range but I know fairly little about quality of brands. I guess Acer Aspire, ASUS, Dell, IBM Lenovo are all around that range.

I do have a home desk top computer so I'm not going to be on it all the time. Just need it when I'm away from home and when I'm traveling. Don't mind if it's the best computer ever as long as it isn't slow as shit when I get on the internet and doesn't frequently freeze when I'm running multiple programs, shit like that.

I would buy one of the really cheaper ones if I knew the difference in quality isn't too great. I can get a IBM Lenovo Idea Pad for about $200, an Aspire One for about $250, or a Dell Inspiron Mini for about $330. I'm leaning towards the Aspire because I liked the keyboard and mouse and everything else seems pretty comparable.

I'm looking for a little input from anyone who knows about quality of brands for computers/laptops/notebooks. If we're talking about the same quality processor, memory size, RAM space, and all those other technical things are all equal, is there a big difference in quality among the different brands? Anything I should know about certain brands to avoid? Frequent problems, tough to repair, slow regardless of processor? I'd appreciate any input.

[leemajors]

I would recommend one with the Ion graphics chipset. They generally have HDMI out and far superior video rendering to the native intel graphics chipsets. lenovo or asus would probably be a safe bet.

[Slydragon]

I don't own a notebook but find a model you like and then go to amazon, buy.com, Best Buy and look for the same model and read the reviews.

That's what I do because these people own the item so they have a feel for them unlike a tech site review where it's only hands on for s short time.

With that said if I get a notebook, I would make sure it has 2 clickable "mouse buttons" and not just one and that it's on the bottom of the touch pad like all laptops because some have them on the sides and it's just awkward and some only have 1 large button so right/left click is odd. Most do not have cd/dvd drives so keep a thumb drive handy.

Also I would go with windows XP os because it's less taxing on the already underpowered system than vista or windows 7

[Kori Ellis]

I have an Acer Aspire One that is very good. It's not much slower than my PC at all - which I found shocking. I use it almost every day since Christmas and have had no problems at all. I don't know about all the tech specs. It is purple and was in the $250-300 range, I think.

[Slydragon]

I don't know about all the tech specs. It is purple and was in the $250-300 range, I think.

That made me :lol there ya go find a purple one and buy it :toast


BTW, I'm not being a smart ass, that really made me laugh...something my girlfriend would say about my electronics

[panic giraffe]

my hp 110 hasn't given me any problems to date.

i just would add, buy an external Hard Drive and back up relentlessly. mine has been squashed so many times, i get afraid that it'll break.

[robino2001]

We have an HP one, works well. Had it for a year now. When we got it, I upgraded the RAM to the most possible and installed Office 07 on it to use it as a regular computer (albeit a small one). To my surprise, Office 07 is the suite with the lowest memory consumption/footprint... even less than open office or office 03. That surprised me since it has all of the graphics in the design, etc. I also was sure to buy one with a SS-HD because of the speed. Sure, it's smaller memory-wise (when comparing similar prices), but much quicker.

No matter what you do with it though, you want to minimize memory usage because you're not working with much.

[Drachen]

My mom has a dell, and my step daughter has an acer. They are both equally slow. The step-daughter was using my old laptop (2007 core 2 duo [very first core2duo, cheapest version] 2GB ram). I had it running the Beta of Windows 7 pro. The step-daughter told her grandparents that she wants a netbook because they are cute. The grandparents (my inlaws) buy said step-daughter whatever she wants (I will not go any further with that part), so she got the netbook. OMG It made me laugh at both the step-daughter and in-laws. Sometimes you get what you ask for. This thing, although brand new is AT LEAST half as fast as the 3 year old laptop and it is running Win 7 starter. There is a noticeable (up to 15 second) lag when you open firefox, or word and this was how it was out of the box (I was the first one to power it up so I could set up the Win 7 parental controls). Honestly, I would go with a cheap laptop if I were you those netbooks suck.

BTW, she has asked for the laptop back. LOL

[bus driver]

I'm about to buy one. Had an old Dell Inspiron laptop that's pretty old and one of the RAM caches is busted so the memory is super weak. Tried getting it fixed and every place I've gone said I'd be better off just getting a new laptop. Don't need a really great lap top so that's why I'm probably just going to buy a mini. Mostly need it for typing up documents and internet use. There are a bunch of fairly cheap models now. I can get one in the $250-400 range but I know fairly little about quality of brands. I guess Acer Aspire, ASUS, Dell, IBM Lenovo are all around that range.

I do have a home desk top computer so I'm not going to be on it all the time. Just need it when I'm away from home and when I'm traveling. Don't mind if it's the best computer ever as long as it isn't slow as shit when I get on the internet and doesn't frequently freeze when I'm running multiple programs, shit like that.

I would buy one of the really cheaper ones if I knew the difference in quality isn't too great. I can get a IBM Lenovo Idea Pad for about $200, an Aspire One for about $250, or a Dell Inspiron Mini for about $330. I'm leaning towards the Aspire because I liked the keyboard and mouse and everything else seems pretty comparable.

I'm looking for a little input from anyone who knows about quality of brands for computers/laptops/notebooks. If we're talking about the same quality processor, memory size, RAM space, and all those other technical things are all equal, is there a big difference in quality among the different brands? Anything I should know about certain brands to avoid? Frequent problems, tough to repair, slow regardless of processor? I'd appreciate any input.

i have a dell mini, with ubuntu installed and works fine. although i wouldnt load it with a whole bunch of crap since the processors are usually not that great, unless they have better processors now.

[Drachen]

i have a dell mini, with ubuntu installed and works fine. although i wouldnt load it with a whole bunch of crap since the processors are usually not that great, unless they have better processors now.


Just so you know, both of the laptops I mentioned have the Intel Atom 1Ghz. I know that they have a 1.6Ghz now, but I don't think I could buy one because of the crap for speed. Oh and the keyboard is so squished together, I wouldn't be able to use it for any period of time.


edit: due to unintentionally insulting.

[koriwhat]

my mother bought a acer netbook and that thing sucks fuckin ass! so damn slow and such a waste of money.

[Kori Ellis]

That made me :lol there ya go find a purple one and buy it :toast


BTW, I'm not being a smart ass, that really made me laugh...something my girlfriend would say about my electronics


:lol I would have given more info, but it's downstairs and I'm upstairs right now. Anyway I know a lot of people who say they suck, but I don't have any issues with mine. I even work on it at night from the bedroom and don't have any speed problems. I thought it would be noticeably slower than other computers but it really isn't. I don't have it packed with programs though -- just the basics.

[JamStone]

Thanks for all the input.

I wouldn't be adding a bunch of programs on it so wouldn't be overloading it. I'd basically add microsoft word, but not the whole office, I'd change web browsers from Explorer to Firefox because I can't use Explorer anymore, and I'd add a couple messengers, Yahoo! Messenger and AIM. And I'd download stuff like Flash and java. That's pretty much it. I'm not going to add itunes/quicktime/safari. Not going to add any major software programs like photoshop. Won't be loading pictures and videos. So, I would hope just adding those things wouldn't slow it down too much.

Only other thing I'd ask about are the webcams. My sister and her family are in Houston and I like to video chat with my niece and nephew. Any of you video chat on these things? Slow?

I am doing a little research on some of these things now because I want to buy one within the next couple days. So again, thanks to everyone who responded.

[Drachen]

Thanks for all the input.

I wouldn't be adding a bunch of programs on it so wouldn't be overloading it. I'd basically add microsoft word, but not the whole office, I'd change web browsers from Explorer to Firefox because I can't use Explorer anymore, and I'd add a couple messengers, Yahoo! Messenger and AIM. And I'd download stuff like Flash and java. That's pretty much it. I'm not going to add itunes/quicktime/safari. Not going to add any major software programs like photoshop. Won't be loading pictures and videos. So, I would hope just adding those things wouldn't slow it down too much.

Only other thing I'd ask about are the webcams. My sister and her family are in Houston and I like to video chat with my niece and nephew. Any of you video chat on these things? Slow?

I am doing a little research on some of these things now because I want to buy one within the next couple days. So again, thanks to everyone who responded.

Seriously, go to the store and play with one, or find someone who owns one, and play with it. I am telling you. I pulled it out of the box on Christmas, plugged it in and it was slow. It took about 7 seconds to open explorer (remember, I just opened it for the first time, so I hadn't even downloaded FF). I guess it all depends on the other computers you use. If all of your other computers are pentium 3s, or celerons, then you might not notice. Like i said my 3 year old first generation core2duo is 2-3 times as fast.

[robino2001]

Seriously, go to the store and play with one, or find someone who owns one, and play with it. I am telling you. I pulled it out of the box on Christmas, plugged it in and it was slow. It took about 7 seconds to open explorer (remember, I just opened it for the first time, so I hadn't even downloaded FF). I guess it all depends on the other computers you use. If all of your other computers are pentium 3s, or celerons, then you might not notice. Like i said my 3 year old first generation core2duo is 2-3 times as fast.

Just as an opposing view, mine was super quick out of the box. Fast startup, programs opened very quickly... now with that said, it's slowed down gradually as more and more got put on the pc. Maybe it's the difference between the solid-state hard drive and a normal one...? Getting your hands on one is a good idea. Keep in mind these things don't have dvd-roms in them, so you'll need an external dvd drive to install word or something.

As for the webcam part... I believe almost all of them come with built-in webcams (that is kinda what these are for afterall) and ours works very well as long as you have a solid internet signal. The computer never hinders anything for webcam stuff.

[duhoh]

kinda depends.

i have an ASUS EEE 1000HE, and i can get 8+ hrs of battery with the right settings, with WiFi on. i love going to class for a week and not charging or worrying about carrying a charger around. I'm dual booting Windows 7 and Mac OSX SL on it now :tu

I totally agree with the ION chipset. that would bring a far superior experience, but with added expense. IONs can run Call of Duty 4 decently, just to give you an idea of what those things can do. Not perfect, but decent.

The Acer Aspires usually have easy access to all replaceable parts, including the WiFi card, which is a big plus, seeing how you can upgrade the RAM and HDD extremely easily.

The biggest gripe I have with my ASUS is the finish. I get kinda OCD about fingerprints :lol

[TDMVPDPOY]

upgrade the ram, lower the settings and overclock it....

[Bukefal]

I have an Acer Aspire One that is very good. It's not much slower than my PC at all - which I found shocking. I use it almost every day since Christmas and have had no problems at all. I don't know about all the tech specs. It is purple and was in the $250-300 range, I think.

Acers are good! And not so expensive.

[JamStone]

So I'm going to go buy one tonight. I've done a little more research myself and I think I'm set on getting the Acer Aspire. I will look to make sure it has the 1.6 Ion chipset, I'll see if I can upgrade the RAM on the spot, and hopefully the ones available will be running on XP and not 7. Other than that, I do appreciate everyone who's chimed in to give me a little info from their experiences.

[robino2001]

I'll see if I can upgrade the RAM on the spot

if not - www.crucial.com is typically fantastic and cheap.

[JamStone]

Bought the Acer Aspire One. Finished with all the changes I wanted to make on it. Works beautifully. Didn't upgrade the RAM because the sales rep told me to see how the 1 GB worked out and if it wasn't enough to do it at a later date. I don't think I need it actually. Not slow at all. Everything's in working order. It's only been about an hour since I've been messing around on it, but so far so great. Just got to figure out how I transfer my Microsoft Word onto here because it doesn't have a CD/DVD port and I didn't buy a USB connector to hook up to my desktop. Can I save Microsoft Word to a thumb drive and transfer it that way? Wouldn't that require transferring the entire Microsoft Office installation program? I'm going to try to figure out that next.

But I'm pretty happy with the purchase. Only $250.

[spursncowboys]

I have an Acer Aspire One that is very good. It's not much slower than my PC at all - which I found shocking. I use it almost every day since Christmas and have had no problems at all. I don't know about all the tech specs. It is purple and was in the $250-300 range, I think.

I have an Acer Aspire One. It is awesome. It can stream games from nba league pass. It does everything. I would never had thought it so powerful for the size. I would recommend the 10.5 in. one because it has a six cell battery.

[spursncowboys]

Bought the Acer Aspire One. Finished with all the changes I wanted to make on it. Works beautifully. Didn't upgrade the RAM because the sales rep told me to see how the 1 GB worked out and if it wasn't enough to do it at a later date. I don't think I need it actually. Not slow at all. Everything's in working order. It's only been about an hour since I've been messing around on it, but so far so great. Just got to figure out how I transfer my Microsoft Word onto here because it doesn't have a CD/DVD port and I didn't buy a USB connector to hook up to my desktop. Can I save Microsoft Word to a thumb drive and transfer it that way? Wouldn't that require transferring the entire Microsoft Office installation program? I'm going to try to figure out that next.

But I'm pretty happy with the purchase. Only $250.

download this. It is a free cloud 2 gb storage.
https://www.dropbox.com/

OpenOffice opens all Windows files.
https://www.openoffice.org

If you want a good linux ubuntu that works straight out the box - jolicloud. Everything works right out the box.
http://www.jolicloud.com/

[robino2001]

Openoffice has 2x the memory footprint as word 07... I'd find an external dvd drive to borrow to put word on instead. As for the RAM, wait until you get word and a few other programs on it and it'll slow down quite a bit. You'll want to upgrade so I'd just do it.

[duhoh]

Bought the Acer Aspire One. Finished with all the changes I wanted to make on it. Works beautifully. Didn't upgrade the RAM because the sales rep told me to see how the 1 GB worked out and if it wasn't enough to do it at a later date. I don't think I need it actually. Not slow at all. Everything's in working order. It's only been about an hour since I've been messing around on it, but so far so great. Just got to figure out how I transfer my Microsoft Word onto here because it doesn't have a CD/DVD port and I didn't buy a USB connector to hook up to my desktop. Can I save Microsoft Word to a thumb drive and transfer it that way? Wouldn't that require transferring the entire Microsoft Office installation program? I'm going to try to figure out that next.

But I'm pretty happy with the purchase. Only $250.

hey you can actually just copy and paste an office cd on to a USB drive and then run the setup file that way