Topic: Netbook or Laptop? (Read 635 times)

VWO4L · « **on:** May 11, 2009, 09:47:21 PM »

This is half a WTB thread and half a suggestions thread.

So, I've decided to take on a new opportunity offered to me at work. It's going to require a fair amount of travel for the next few months. Right now, I've been in Syracuse, NY since Saturday and in June I'll be back East again for about 3 weeks. More travel will probably occur before the summer is over as well.

So, I want to get a netbook or laptop for my personal use while I travel. I have one included with my work hardware(which is what I'm using now), but it's a huge clunky thing that's used for lots of other stuff and travels with our planes, not me(taking away any use in airports and on airplanes etc). I've actually been wanting one for a while anyhow, but recently it's become a higher priority.

So, what are the pros and cons of each and does anyone have something available for sale? I'm really looking to buy used(at least for a laptop). Most decent netbooks I've seen can come in under $500 new for a decent one and that's about my limit for either.

Reading up on netbooks last night(from the recommendation of a co-worker), I think that might suit my needs with the added advantage of being much smaller than a laptop. I really don't need a DVD drive or anything I really just need a decent HD(for music and work-related backup stuff), internet(wireless and Bluetooth if possible), and a couple of USB ports(not a concern).

Those things basically tell me that a netbook should be fine( I spec'd out one from Dell last night with everything I'd want for about $550).

Having not owned either, I want to get a little more advice from owners of each.

Thanks for any help you guys might be able to give.

Luckyy · « **Reply #1 on:** May 11, 2009, 10:02:50 PM »

I have an xps 1330, a lenovo Y510, a macbook, and an Asus Eee PC. As far as personal use, a windows laptop is by FAR the most convenient, capable, and compatible machine. The idea of a netbook is cool, but the application of it still relies on much more web 2.0 framework than what exists today. I started having to lug around the Asus and an extra external HD, which really limited mobility to places with power outlets... it got old. I guess it really depends on what you want to do with it though.

scurvy_bandit · « **Reply #2 on:** May 12, 2009, 05:24:13 AM »

just get the Acer Aspire. Its a tiny ass laptop with XP, it uses 160 GB HD and has pretty decent RAM. and it tiny.

If you had some Jynco's you could keep it in the back pocket.

ewreckttekneek · « **Reply #3 on:** May 12, 2009, 06:46:25 AM »

mac > windows

formulanerd · « **Reply #4 on:** May 12, 2009, 07:34:18 AM »

for what you need i'd get a netbook.... but i'd also make sure i got one with the 10" screen.

my favorite is the lenovo S10, followed by the acer aspire one.

you can get the S10 for like $399 right now with a 6 cell (about 6 hours).

System components
#
   Intel ATOM Processor N270 Single Core ( 1.60GHz 533MHz 512KB )
#
   Genuine Windows XP Home Edition
#
   Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
#
   1 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz
#
   10.2 " WSVGA AntiGlare TFT with integrated camera 1024x600
#
   Industry Standard Touchpad
#
   160GB 5400
#
   6 Cell Lithium-Ion
#
   Broadcom 11b/g Wi-Fi wireless
#
   One Year

formulanerd · « **Reply #5 on:** May 12, 2009, 07:36:37 AM »

also, if you really need bluetooth, these are unobtrusive, and dirt cheap.

sad_rocc · « **Reply #6 on:** May 12, 2009, 07:47:27 AM »

We sell all this stuff at my store. The EEE PC has a fairly small hd (but free online storage), a good screen and good battery life. I find the keyboard just a little too small though. The Lenovo Ideapad is the way to go for netbooks IMO. Lenovo = IBM = not gonna break. It is much more durable with better hinges and the keyboard is bigger. It is a good bit heavier than the asus however. If you wanna store a lot of crap on a netbook, get a notebook hd external drive. They're the size of an Iphone.

For notebooks, avoid Acer. We used to sell them (and still could) but the lower end models are garbage. We stopped selling them because we'd see them back 6mo later for warranty work which made us look bad. And if you're going to spend around 4 figures, you might as well get an IBM Thinkpad. There's a new Asus coming out later this month called the K40 that you should definitely look into. It has cool technology that keeps the keyboard and palm area cool (a very big plus, trust me) and LED backlit screen for reduced power consumption. MSRP is $699. If you're looking for best of both worlds, the Asus N20 is a 12.1" screen with a 320gb hd and 4gb ram. Pretty nice machine, MSRP $999. There's a higher level of this machine that's even lighter, at 3.6lbs. You're paying for some cosmetics on it though (MSRP $1649). All the Asus's that I mention come with a 2yr global, 1yr accidental warranty standard.

Luckyy · « **Reply #7 on:** May 12, 2009, 08:12:56 AM »

Quote from: ewreckttekneek on May 12, 2009, 06:46:25 AM

mac > windows

mac (more expensive than) windows... Yes.

sad rocc where do you work?

Scott · « **Reply #8 on:** May 12, 2009, 08:46:44 AM »

I am waiting for the Samsung N-120 to come out, that thing looks fantastic!

sad_rocc · « **Reply #9 on:** May 12, 2009, 09:26:58 AM »

Quote from: Luckyy on May 12, 2009, 08:12:56 AM

Quote from: ewreckttekneek on May 12, 2009, 06:46:25 AM
mac > windows
mac (more expensive than) windows... Yes.

sad rocc where do you work?

Computer company in Albany NY. Happy to get price quotes and ship (sometimes drop-ship) for any systems. And Macs are over-rated.

formulanerd · « **Reply #10 on:** May 12, 2009, 10:09:18 AM »

if you can deal with purple, you just need to swap 2gb of ram in here

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10010055

RSR32 · « **Reply #11 on:** May 12, 2009, 10:40:55 AM »

Quote from: ewreckttekneek on May 12, 2009, 06:46:25 AM

big ole polished turd > mac

VWO4L · « **Reply #12 on:** May 12, 2009, 10:13:26 PM »

Quote from: sad_rocc on May 12, 2009, 07:47:27 AM

We sell all this stuff at my store.

If I was going to be near Albany before I take off, I'd totally stop by lol. We've mostly been farther North up over the Adirondacks. I've been all over upstate NY this week. I work for a mapping company and we're gathering data over upper NY currently, finishing up a job. Might find myself over NYC tomorrow though. No plans to be near Albany however, at least not to stop.

Back on topic though, the main reason I want to avoid a full on laptop is that anything I'd want is pretty much out of my price range, hence why I'm looking at used ones primarily. A well-loaded new netbook, on the other hand, can come in around $500 from my research. However, the Asus K40 you mentioned doesn't sound too bad and it's not far above my price range. I'd have to look at the specs though. I'm not the type of person who likes to buy the cheapest thing I can find. I don't mind paying more for better quality and/or better options. That said, I still have a limit to what I'd like to spend. $500 is a rough estimate for my limit. I'm earning extra cash for my time away and that's mainly what's going to pay for it, but I can spend more for the right product.

Also looking to get a GPS(since most of our rental cars don't have them) as well, but that's another topic for another day.

sad_rocc · « **Reply #13 on:** May 13, 2009, 07:41:42 AM »

The Lenovo Ideapad comes in around the $500 mark I believe. Here's early specs on the Asus K40IJ-A1:

14" HD LED screen
T6400 2.0Ghz cpu
4GB ram
Intel GL40 VGA
250GB 5400rpm HD
Super Multi CD-ROM
Vista Home Premium OS (might be able to change that)
802.11 b/g/n wireless
6 cell battery
2yr global, 1yr accident warranty (upgradeable)

formulanerd · « **Reply #14 on:** May 13, 2009, 07:43:25 AM »

there are like 20 ideapad models.

are you talking about the netbook or something else?

i can get epp/cpp discounts on lenovo, so if you go with that, talk to me first.... a netbook (ideapad S10) shouldnt run you more than about $400.... then you just upgrade the ram (cheap and easy) yourself.

sad_rocc · « **Reply #15 on:** May 13, 2009, 07:44:25 AM »

I forgot to add, that's cool that you're in my (relative) area! I'm a big fan of the Adirondacks, but they're definitely no Rockies and the parks are definitely no National Forest! Would have been nice to meet a current 719er, I don't think any 719er I know is a) still in the springs or b) active.

Anyways, for gps I highly recommend Acer. I don't know any others, but we have 2 models, a higher end and a lower end. The lower end gets the job done and well, the higher end is a little bigger and has all the bells and whistles. Good pricing on them.

sad_rocc · « **Reply #16 on:** May 13, 2009, 07:46:15 AM »

Quote from: formulanerd on May 13, 2009, 07:43:25 AM

there are like 20 ideapad models.

are you talking about the netbook or something else?

i can get epp/cpp discounts on lenovo, so if you go with that, talk to me first.... a netbook (ideapad S10) shouldnt run you more than about $400.... then you just upgrade the ram (cheap and easy) yourself.

I dunno, I'd have to go walk over to our showroom area and look to see which ones we have. Prolly the S10. Have you done ram on a netbook before? I find most laptops a real bitch to get into and I would think a netbook would be an even bigger pain in the balls.

formulanerd · « **Reply #17 on:** May 13, 2009, 07:53:31 AM »

most laptops are VERY simple to get to the ram (at least anything built in the last 6 years or so) except for some sony's... but sony is retarded..... but netbooks CAN be a pain, some are easier than others, luckily the S10 is just like any other normal notebook, remove one panel off of the bottom, remove dimm, replace dimm, replace cover, boot.

VWO4L · « **Reply #18 on:** May 13, 2009, 08:53:58 AM »

That K40 sounds nice and the price seems good for what you get. I might be looking into something like that. When are those supposed to be available?

I'm scheduled to be back on the road around June 8th so I'd be buying before then.

As far as the GPS, I don't know if it sounded confusing or not, but I'm looking for a standalone unit, like a Garmin or TomTom etc. not a unit that runs off a laptop. With the Acer comment, I was thrown off a bit, unless Acer makes GPS's now that I don't know about.

Thanks for all the help guys, I got more response here than I expected.

formulanerd · « **Reply #19 on:** May 13, 2009, 09:25:59 AM »

no, he was talking about the acer laptops.... some are junk, some are great... their netbooks (aspire one) are actually pretty good.

as far as gps, i have a tom tom and i like it just fine.... there is a neat little omnitech unit that can be hacked to play games, movies, mp3, etc....

if you just want basic gps, you cant go wrong with a cheap tom tom or garmin.... i survived driving around NYC with my sub-$100 tom tom.

sad_rocc · « **Reply #20 on:** May 13, 2009, 10:28:07 AM »

Quote from: VWO4L on May 13, 2009, 08:53:58 AM

That K40 sounds nice and the price seems good for what you get. I might be looking into something like that. When are those supposed to be available?

I'm scheduled to be back on the road around June 8th so I'd be buying before then.

As far as the GPS, I don't know if it sounded confusing or not, but I'm looking for a standalone unit, like a Garmin or TomTom etc. not a unit that runs off a laptop. With the Acer comment, I was thrown off a bit, unless Acer makes GPS's now that I don't know about.

Thanks for all the help guys, I got more response here than I expected.

"Shipping May week 3" is the best date I have. One reason I like Asus is because they manufacture motherboards and stuff for lots of other companies that gets rebranded and have been doing it for a long time.

Acer does make standalone gps units. There's a smaller one for like $100 that is your basic gps with some decent features and a $200 or $250 one which has real-time traffic alerts/rerouting and I think speech recognition and some other stuff. Both have a memory card slot and can handle some mp3s.

As far as general Acer quality, I dunno. We got so burned by their laptops that we pretty much said fuck it to all their stuff. The only reason I know about their gps's is because we got a couple as demos.

I'm not a tech (anymore) so I guess I just ran into more pain in the ass notebooks than not when I had to take a few apart. I forgot about the little door access. I just know that in general, cracking open a laptop sucks.

VWO4L · « **Reply #21 on:** May 17, 2009, 06:26:26 PM »

Anyone a fan of Dell laptops? I've owned a few Dell desktop computers and have had no issues with any of them, how are their laptops?

I'm looking at this one currently,
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9149414&type=product&id=1218036213682

Same computer on Dell's website(at least spec'd as closely as I could) is $859 and that's with $124 in savings from Dell not including shipping, it's $599 at Best Buy.

Checking around, I'm not seeing too much else with similar specs coming in with a much better price. That Asus K40 is not far off, but isn't out yet.

formulanerd · « **Reply #22 on:** May 18, 2009, 08:28:48 AM »

the latitude line of dell is pretty damn good.... anything else is hit or miss.... i wouldnt buy anything that isnt a latitude.

formulanerd · « **Reply #23 on:** May 18, 2009, 11:06:55 AM »

smokin deal... this wont last long.

http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?afsrc=1&EdpNo=4348755&sku=S445-89001&srkey=AOA150-1777&SRCCODE=LSCMPUSA&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&AffiliateID=lw9MynSeamY-kwS28cocSYUOXYBNxGv12w

sad_rocc · « **Reply #24 on:** May 18, 2009, 02:37:49 PM »

Dells are ok. You get what you pay for. Super mass produced parts with poor quality control and cheap parts to begin with mean some work and some die. Batteries are often a problem. They often have hardware that's a few generations behind to get the price down. Realtors get an extra discount, so you can have one order it for you if you know one. Best bet is to price/build one online and then call up and price/build it over the phone. A lot of times they'll toss in extra free upgrades that one. Don't expect anything along the lines of customer service unless you buy an XPS.

formulanerd · « **Reply #25 on:** May 18, 2009, 04:49:26 PM »

like i said, for dell i can get CPP/EPP which is the highest discounts available (contractor/employee)

VWO4L · « **Reply #26 on:** May 18, 2009, 06:07:16 PM »

Quote from: formulanerd on May 18, 2009, 11:06:55 AM

smokin deal... this wont last long.

http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?afsrc=1&EdpNo=4348755&sku=S445-89001&srkey=AOA150-1777&SRCCODE=LSCMPUSA&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&AffiliateID=lw9MynSeamY-kwS28cocSYUOXYBNxGv12w

Says no longer available.

I did find another couple of options while searching around today. I've pretty much decided to nix the netbook idea in favor of a full-on laptop. Still looking mostly at Best Buy's site since I can easily pick one up in town and not have to order one or anything.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9167689&type=product&id=1218041150488 - HP - Pavilion Laptop with AMD Turion™ X2 RM-72 Dual-Core Mobile Processor - $599

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9172851&type=product&id=1218044029604 - Asus - Stylish Laptop with Intel® Centrino® Processor Technology - $649

Still open to options, but I'm leaning towards the Asus now. Has lots more than the Dell I posted yesterday for not too much more money.

sad_rocc · « **Reply #27 on:** May 19, 2009, 05:12:54 AM »

Centrinos are on their way out.

Just got this from Asus:
N20A-D1 has a $100 price drop (down to $979)
Core 2 Duo 2.0
4gb ram 320gb hd
Vista Premium
12.1" screen
http://www.amazon.com/N20A-D1-12-1-Inch-Laptop-Processor-Premium/dp/B001U3ZYHA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1242408793&sr=1-1

And this guy, if you were still interested in netbooks, could be the way to go. Asus has a new EEE model out with bigger keyboard and 7hr battery life.
http://www.amazon.com/10-Inch-Netbook-Processor-Storage-Keyboard/dp/B00203EZA6/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1242420429&sr=8-6

formulanerd · « **Reply #28 on:** May 19, 2009, 01:13:42 PM »

for that price i'd go with the x301, it's pretty much the best ultraportable on the market.

also, stay away from HP (unless its the business line) and anything with AMD in it (notebook wise)... and i'd never buy one from best buy, but its your money.

VWO4L · « **Reply #29 on:** May 19, 2009, 04:54:47 PM »

Quote from: sad_rocc on May 19, 2009, 05:12:54 AM

Centrinos are on their way out.

I'm a bit confused. A lot of the computers I'm looking at state that they have a Core 2 Duo processor(not the same as Centrino I presume), but most of them also mention Centrino along with it. Only one I've looked at actually said Core 2 Duo only with no mention of Centrino.

Additionally, to confuse matters more, some of the laptops had a Core 2 Duo sticker while others had a Centrino sticker while all of them claimed to have Core 2 Duo processors.

So, what's the difference and why the confusing naming scheme?

Plus, I'm looking at lower-end laptops anyhow(or at best low-end mid-range ones) so I'm not expecting to get the newest technology. As it stands now, any of the laptops I'm looking at has equal processing power and double the memory of my desktop, so I'm not too concerned.

Also, I stopped by Best Buy on my way home today and added a couple of options to my list. They are all very close in specs and price though so it's really a matter of which brand to go with. Where else in town would have a good selection of laptops to look at for competitive prices?

formulanerd · « **Reply #30 on:** May 19, 2009, 08:26:15 PM »

centrino is more of an idea than a physical piece of hardware.... centrino certification requires a few different parts that work well together for low power consumption... . i havent heard anything saying centrino is going away.... it's more marketing than anything else.

sad_rocc · « **Reply #31 on:** May 20, 2009, 06:03:12 AM »

Yeah my bad, I was thinking celeron.

formulanerd · « **Reply #32 on:** May 20, 2009, 07:40:33 AM »

yea, celeron is crap, but thats a good chunk of the market they service.... it's been around for 10+ years, and even if it goes away, something with a different idea and the same business plan will take its place.

try to avoid celeron VWO4L

VWO4L · « **Reply #33 on:** May 20, 2009, 08:59:21 AM »

That clears things up. I guess I wasn't as confused as I thought. I knew Celeron is the low-end processor stuff.

So, I've got 4 models now and barring anything major, one of them will become my first laptop.

Here's what I've narrowed down to:

Toshiba Satelite A305-S6905 (15.4" screen)
Asus X83VB-X2 (14.1" screen)
Gateway MD7818u (15.6" screen)
Dell Studio S15-158B (15.4" screen)

In the interest of space, I won't list the detailed specs for all of them. Plus they are quite close anyhow.

All have the same processor (2.0Ghz Core 2 Duo), 4GB of RAM except for the Toshiba which has 3GB. 250GB-500GB HD's. All obviously have WiFi and all have DVD burners, USB ports(betwen 3 and 5), all but one(Toshiba) has HDMI output. 3 have 64-bit versions of Vista while the Toshiba has 32-bit I believe(the others actually state 64-bit while the Toshiba does not). All also ring in fairly close on price, ranging from $599-$699.

Looking at reviews on CNet, The Gateway is rated Excellent, the Asus Very Good and the Toshiba Good. I was unable to find a review for the Dell model I'm looking at. It does have a 9-cell battery with over 7hrs of runtime, it is the priciest one though at $699. The cons for the Gateway are that it is a physically larger computer than the others and it has weak speakers, according to CNet. I am a music fan so good audio is somewhat high on my list. The Asus is the smallest of the bunch physically, but does have the best combination of features IMO. It's middle of the road on HD space and price, but does have dedicated graphics and the most USB ports, but it does have a low run time of under 3hrs under CNet's testing.

Any thoughts on some of the models or brands I've chosen? As I've stated before, I've had Dell's pretty much all my life but they've all been desktops. How good are these other brands?

Thanks again for putting up with this thread those that have. I'm about 95% there though. I was in the store ready to buy yesterday when I spotted these other options that I wanted to research.

formulanerd · « **Reply #34 on:** May 20, 2009, 09:15:13 AM »

if it were me, and those were the only choices, i'd go with the asus.

if they were all the same screen size and it was the size i wanted, and the other features were similar, i'd be torn between the toshiba and the asus.

i have an acer and a toshiba now, my wife has a gateway, they've all been great laptops, with the gateway the "worst" of the 3 (though still pretty good) and my toshiba has amazing sound for a laptop, much better than 99% of laptops i've heard.

you'll really compromise portability quite a bit with a 15" screen... but i'd bet the H/K on that toshiba sounds pretty damn good.

VWO4L · « **Reply #35 on:** May 20, 2009, 07:17:28 PM »

Ended up picking up the Asus. It was really my first choice and so far I'm happy with it. It's taking forever to update so I really haven't gotten to play with it much. This is also my first Vista computer so that's taking some getting used to as well.

Thanks for all the help guys!

formulanerd · « **Reply #36 on:** May 20, 2009, 07:59:26 PM »

let me know when you want to ditch vista and install windows 7

VWO4L · « **Reply #37 on:** May 21, 2009, 11:11:20 PM »

Quote from: formulanerd on May 20, 2009, 07:59:26 PM

let me know when you want to ditch vista and install windows 7

I'm almost there. I had Vista on my desktop when I bought it last year and I ditched it after about 10mins. I've given Vista a couple of days now on the laptops and I'm sick of it. I've tried to give it the benefit of the doubt, but I'm just not liking it. I know XP too well to have everything change on me. Vista just doesn't make sense to me and I'm having the hardest time doing the easiest shit I used to do before. If Vista makes it through the weekend on this laptop, I'll be surprised.

I'm really trying to learn it though, but so far, it's been more of a headache than anything else.

formulanerd · « **Reply #38 on:** May 22, 2009, 07:47:08 AM »

you're probably better off to stick with it... windows 7 is freaking amazing, but all the stuff they moved around from xp to vista that was hard to find, well its in the same places on windows 7.... it'll take a couple days, and its annoying, but after a little while you'll feel comfortable knowing where everything is.

let me know if you have any questions

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