Netbook Recommendations

[nlt76]

Hi Terbites

Looking to buy a netbook for surfing the net mostly. I would like to be able to keep this thing plugged in all day without worrying about over heating.. not sure if that's possible or not.

If anyone has recommendations.. I'll take em. Wondering if Sony is worth the extra money and/or if I should get one with Windows 7.

500 or less is what I would like to spend. I'll have to buy a router, too.. think they are another 150 or so.

 

[ig-88]

netbooks: limited to 1 GB max, no optical drive, slow processor, etc.

for the same price, you can get a regular laptop, and it won't be that much larger

 

[WoodPeckr]

If you are mainly going to use it to surf XP or Linux will run better than W7.
The Atom CPU will work better with any OS that is not a resource hog.

 

[jamilv]

Go for an asus or if you want reviews just google "netbook reviews" and look around, the good 3 in my opinion are Asus, Lenovo and HP
All of them do have a limited processor (I dont have much problem with it for web surfing and skyping) but the ram and hard drive are EXTREMELY easy to upgrade.

The base OS on the Asus Linux one isnt too bad, but it doesnt allow much other than skyping, web surfing, emailing and using instant messengers....if you want to do anything else I would recommend going with any netbook with a windows OS.
I got all of my netbooks for under $350 just a FYI.

I have an Asus eee 7inch, the one with a webcam and 4GB HD...but I just pop in a 16GB SD card which is cheap to buy anywhere and I have a ton more space (Cost me $275 as a display model from radio shack).
I also have a HP mini (upgraded to 2GB ram and original 160GB HD running XP...cost me $350 online from ncix.com with discounts) and a Lenovo s10 (more expensive than the rest, but I changed the OS to mac os x since the 13 inch macbook wasnt portable enough for me...bought from canadacomputers.com with some store credit I already had which made it $300 plus tax)

But either way I stil recommend Asus, its been the most reliable of them all for me...but I have only had the linux version so I dont know about the xp or windows 7 one.

EDIT: I forgot to mention routers...for any netbook wireless "g" is the max you can get (so 54mbps), which means you can get a router for them as cheap as $29.99 or maybe cheaper online. I got myself a router from radio shack for $39.99 and it works fine. If you want a super good router (wireless "n" router...dual band is best if you can find it) then that will run you about 129.99 and up.

 

[danmand]

Canada Computers has a refurbished 9 inch Acer Aspire One for $199. Excellent
machine.

 

[daty]

I am following this thread and mine

https://terb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=260520

it seems Canada computers has a lot of Acer referbs
do they deal only in acer or is it there are a lot of Acer bugs to work through ???


.Not much there in deals on Asus


.

 

[danmand]

I am following this thread and mine

https://terb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=260520

it seems Canada computers has a lot of Acer referbs
do they deal only in acer or is it there are a lot of Acer bugs to work through ???


.Not much there in deals on Asus


.

You have to be careful with canada computers. I bought one of the refurbuished ones in Hamilton,
and after 15 minutes of use, the screen went gobligook. I took it in and
got my money back, but I think I saw them put it back on the shelf.
I then went to Mississauga and bought one there. No problems.

 

[Riley.Royal]

Hi Terbites

Looking to buy a netbook for surfing the net mostly. I would like to be able to keep this thing plugged in all day without worrying about over heating.. not sure if that's possible or not.

If anyone has recommendations.. I'll take em. Wondering if Sony is worth the extra money and/or if I should get one with Windows 7.

500 or less is what I would like to spend. I'll have to buy a router, too.. think they are another 150 or so.

Well no laptop or network you can leave plugged in all the time. you will kill the battery that way and it will get over heated.

I have a dell mini it's great. it was about $350 after taxes.

 

[ig-88]

if the purpose is to leave it plugged in all the time, then why get a netbook?

how about a cheap desktop with kvm switch?

 

[nlt76]

thanks for all the advice, everyone!

looking at this:

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pr...665000FS10132446&catid=28357&logon=&langid=EN

it's Asus, on XP service pack 3. 6 cell batt.

surprised all i need is a cheap router.

 

[Cinema Face]

Notice that many stores sell lots of Acer refurbs? What does that tell you about Acer?

Stick with Asus.

 

[daty]

Notice that many stores sell lots of Acer refurbs? What does that tell you about Acer?

Stick with Asus.

http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/17/this-just-in-macbooks-are-more-reliable-than-netbooks/

 

[Rushmore]

Of course Macbooks are better than netbooks, they're triple the price.

If you're strictly looking for a netbook, 10 inch screen, atom processor, XP, than go with the Asus 1005HA. But don't buy the once at Best Buy, that one has an Atom 270 and a smaller battery. Go to a Canada Computers and get the premium version. It has an Atom 280 processor and a bigger battery (not bulkier, though) that'll get you almost 8 hours of life. It kicks ass, and is sexy as hell. Also, spend $20-30 for an extra gb of ram. Easy to install. If you like XP, and only want the netbook to surf, type, email and other light tasks, than the Asus 1005HA is very, very good.

 

[WoodPeckr]

Good point on maxing out the RAM.
You can never have too much RAM.
Another point a 160GB HDD is plenty of room for a cheap netbook. Some have 250GB drives!
FWIW a 16-32GB SSD on a netbook is all you need. Need more room, plug in a usb drive.

 

[WoodPeckr]

Glad I bought a Toshiba

Of course Macbooks are better than netbooks, they're triple the price.

Really! That is very debatable that Mac is better!
According to this chart Mac is only a tad better than Dell!

http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/17/this-just-in-macbooks-are-more-reliable-than-netbooks/

 

[nofrill]

looking at this:

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...gon=&langid=EN

it's Asus, on XP service pack 3. 6 cell batt.

The following is the premium version of the Asus 1005HA (1005HA-PU1X, with upgraded N280 processor and 802.11 N wifi).

Compu2000 is in BC, therefore no PST for out-of-province purchase (well until they also get the HST .....). Shipping is FREE ATM.

http://www.compu2000.com/product/8073/1005HA_PU1X_BK/ASUS/

Total cost: $399.99 + PST = $419.99

Order processing and shipping around XMas / NY is probably a bit slower than usual, but if you are not getting this in a hurry, it is worthwhile.

I have bought from this store several times and they are reliable.

Beware that while these Atom processor netbooks are good for surfing the web, checking emails and simple office software, the major limitation is watching online Flash videos. Standard definition videos eg. standard youtube or vimeo are OK, but high definition (HD) videos will not play smoothly. This is in part the problem with the weak on-board Intel graphics that comes with the Atom chip and motherboard - I try to avoid using the word "crappy", because the tradeoff of this weak(er) video performance is lower power consumption and better battery life.

If you burn your own movies, convert them to DIVX/ XVID at standard definition resolution (eg. 720 x 480) and they will also play flawlessly. There is no need to play huge HD video on these netbooks which have relatively low resolution screens.

The N280 Atom upgrade is worthwhile, because I find that it is definitely less taxing than the N270.

I got into the netbook rave a year or so ago. I have the Asus 4G (Celeron), 900HA (N270), 1000HE, and MSI Wind U123 (the last two have N280). For me apart from the cheapo keyboard feel, the 900HA is the perfect machine - portable and easily upgradable (just open the back cover - I upgraded the RAM to 2GB and the HDD to SSD). The N270 has adequate performance (the SSD gives you brisker response) but the N280 is definitely smoother running.