[Retrospekt]

I need a netbook for college after the summer. I want one now though, so I'm just gonna shell out the cash for one instead of waiting. I want as spacious keyboard as possible, a nice screen, webcam, and nice battery life. I was looking at this Asus from newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220675

It's got the new N450 and supposedly really great battery life. Opinions?

Edit: Budget: 350 dollars.

 

[Tator Tot]

If you could add a few, an Athlon NEO Solution won't be nearly as sluggish.
The Asus 1201T-MU10 is a personal favorite.

Buddy uses this at college every day, easily lasts our 4hrs spent there with 15% battery left. And that's ~4hrs constant use with only a lid close between classes. Which is a 2 minute pick up and go to the next class, then open up and go again.

It's also the only one that comes close to your budget, and offers the features that it has. IE: HD Screen, HD Playback, WiFi N, 2GB of RAM (very important with any of the Windows OS's), & Blutooth.

 

[reberto]

Grab a 2nd hand HP Mini 311. ION power (aka 9400m), up to 3GB DDR3 RAM, easily overclocked using a modded BIOS (Most people stop @ 2.0-2.2ghz, mine is at 2.4ghz 24/7), and great battery life (I get ~5.5hrs in OS X with my screen brightness at highest and constant web browsing while listening to music.

 

[Retrospekt]

Seems like too much for me. I don't need an HD screen or anything fancy. I'm going to have my desktop with me. The netboook will be running ubuntu netbook remix, so ram isn't really an issue. The one I linked claims better battery life than both you posted. The better battery life is much more important to me than a little faster processor or and HD screeen. I'm just going to be used for notes. Papers, and web browsing. I couldn't care less about overclocking or anything like that.

 

[reberto]

I've had 2 GMA950 based netbooks (Dell Mini 9 and 10v) and I use my roommates GMA3150 based netbook from time to time (Dell Mini 1012), and I've gotta say even in basic tasks the 311 @ stock beats them every single time. You may not need all the power it has but in day to day tasks it is noticeably faster. Plus the fact that it's an 11.6' netbook means that if you have large hands like mine the keyboard feels very nice, as does the trackpad

 

[hermitmaster]

I liked my Compaq Mini. Make sure you get something with an anti-glare (non-reflective) screen.

 

[Tator Tot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retrospekt Seems like too much for me. I don't need an HD screen or anything fancy. I'm going to have my desktop with me. The netboook will be running ubuntu netbook remix, so ram isn't really an issue. The one I linked claims better battery life than both you posted. The better battery life is much more important to me than a little faster processor or and HD screeen. I'm just going to be used for notes. Papers, and web browsing. I couldn't care less about overclocking or anything like that.

What you've got to realize too is Intel's drivers for linux are almost as bad as the Windows ones are.
And by that, I mean absolute garbage on the IGP.

nVidia & (even) ATi's drivers are much better. And that's saying something considering ATi's past linux drivers.

Also, the Atom is a SLOW CPU. It lacks even the basic instructions like Out-Of-Order Execution, causing it to be painfully slow.

If you start multi-tasking, you'll feel like you're being bogged down. As an equally clocked Athlon XP or Pentium III could out match an Atom.

 

[Retrospekt]

Are there any other cheaper options with the better CPU that don't include the stuff I don't necessarily need (HD screen, hd playback, wireless-n).

Thanks

 

[reberto]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retrospekt Are there any other cheaper options with the better CPU that don't include the stuff I don't necessarily need (HD screen, hd playback, wireless-n). Thanks

Only ones with a 1.2ghz Celeron and Intel HD4500 GPU, but you can't find any of those without the features you don't want (and they're a lot more expensive). Really, you'd be best off with a 311.

 

[Tator Tot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retrospekt Are there any other cheaper options with the better CPU that don't include the stuff I don't necessarily need (HD screen, hd playback, wireless-n). Thanks

Possibly if you hit the world of Open Box & Refurbs.

But that Athlon NEO bases solution is really the closest I think you'll get.

 

[reberto]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tator Tot Possibly if you hit the world of Open Box & Refurbs. But that Athlon NEO bases solution is really the closest I think you'll get.

But those tend to really suffer when it comes to battery life and heat (two things that matter with netbooks

)

 

[Tator Tot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by reberto But those tend to really suffer when it comes to battery life and heat (two things that matter with netbooks )

Battery Life wise, they can easily pull 4hrs.

Heat wise, I've never felt my friend's have more than a "warm to the touch" feeling. IE: You can feel the heat, but it's only slightly above body temp.

 

[eseb1]

I ordered a HP Mini a week ago, while Bing cashback was at 25%. Right now its at 10%, so its still a good deal.

HP Mini

Bing Cashback

 

[CJRhoades]

The MSi Wind U-100 is nice and quite cheap. Add an extra 1GB stick of RAM and you're good to go. Fn+F10 instantly overclocks it from 1.6 to 2GHz.

 

[Retrospekt]

4 hours is way too short of battery life for me. I'd like 7 hours at least. I'm trying to decide between the HP Mini and the new Asus EEE.

The Asus EEE is 294.99, the HP Mini is 314.99. They have the exact same specs. Both have 6 cell batteries and anti-glare (matte) screens.

 

[eseb1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retrospekt 4 hours is way too short of battery life for me. I'd like 7 hours at least. I'm trying to decide between the HP Mini and the new Asus EEE. The Asus EEE is 294.99, the HP Mini is 314.99. They have the exact same specs. Both have 6 cell batteries and anti-glare (matte) screens.

Look at my post in this thread

 

[reberto]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tator Tot Battery Life wise, they can easily pull 4hrs. Heat wise, I've never felt my friend's have more than a "warm to the touch" feeling. IE: You can feel the heat, but it's only slightly above body temp.

4hrs? Last time I got anywhere near that with my 311 was when I was watching episodes of The Office in HD on my last flight, and it got just over 4.5hrs. 6hrs is considered pretty *meh* nowadays, 4 is pretty horrible.

 

[pheoxs]

I average 9 hours on my 1005HA. I charge it at night, take it to class, use it in class / in between class, then come home, keep using it in and plug it in around supper time.

The newer ones are rated for even more ~11 hours with the N450.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220675

Then just pick up 2gb of notebook ram on here and swap it in.

 

[Rookie1337]

I'm going to tell you as an owner of that exact model you linked there is nothing better for that price at what you claim to want to do. With Auto mode in Super Hybrid and Power Saver in Win7 at a 10% screen brightness I can make it through 3 2hr classes worth of typing and sometimes WIFI and have between 70-80% battery left. I can't stress enough how while slower than a dual core, the performance of the Atom really hasn't been an issue to me when having Chrome, Windows Media Player, Word, and PowerPoint open at the same time. They are definitely slower starting up and can take at most a full two seconds when switching between each other but nothing horrible in my book. If it's papers and notes then get the one you linked. Just make sure to get rid of a lot of crap on day one.