Netbook Shopping

Netbook Shopping

Post just about everything that isn't directly related to Spring here!

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
User avatar
SinbadEV
Posts: 6475
Joined: 02 May 2005, 03:56

Netbook Shopping

Post by SinbadEV »

So yeah, never shopped on purpose for a "low end" computer so I figure I'd post here

I want a netbook, I would like to use it for at least the following:

* 1080p MP4/DivX Video (if hooked to a 1080p external display)
* Portal at native resolution
* OpenOffice
* Inkscape
* GIMP2
* Emulate PlayStation, SNES, NeoGeo, Genesis
* High End Flash (3D) Games
* SDHC Card Slot
* I intend to run Linux on the thing (not sure what flavor yet) and probably windows XP in a separate partition for lower end steam games (like portal/plants vs zombies) and flash... but I could be convinced to use wine if it provides the functionality I need with little overhead

price is "no object" because I'm just going to keep saving until I have enough for the netbook I want... that said I would prefer to pay the least amount of money for the most amount of functionality.

First, what kind of stats should I be looking for AND Second is there anything else I should take into account.

Third, can you provide any specific reccomendations of makes/models... things like battery life etc.
User avatar
Jazcash
Posts: 5309
Joined: 08 Dec 2007, 17:39

Re: Netbook Shopping

Post by Jazcash »

User avatar
Neddie
Community Lead
Posts: 9406
Joined: 10 Apr 2006, 05:05

Re: Netbook Shopping

Post by Neddie »

EEE PC 1201N should cover you.

http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=sZ0sI6WqjnCHGFta

As it has an Ion chipset, it probably can play Source games on moderate settings.
User avatar
MidKnight
Posts: 2652
Joined: 10 Sep 2008, 03:11

Re: Netbook Shopping

Post by MidKnight »

If you want to play portal on a netbook with any reasonable performance, the M11x (what Jaz linked) is the way to go. It has reasonable battery life and two graphics chipsets, but no CD drive. Why ever would you buy a netbook for Portal, though?
User avatar
aegis
Posts: 2456
Joined: 11 Jul 2007, 17:47

Re: Netbook Shopping

Post by aegis »

the m11x is very solid but it's not really a netbook :P
it'll handle most games really well (including portal), and the processor inside is MUCH faster than the atom or equivalent processors usually found in netbooks.

it has a magnesium alloy case, which makes it rather rugged, and the keyboard/case lighting system is great (you can change the color of individual areas separately, make them automatically change over time, respond to system events, etc).
I also hear it's the first alienware laptop to have a good touchpad in a long time (hopefully they'll continue the trend).
User avatar
SinbadEV
Posts: 6475
Joined: 02 May 2005, 03:56

Re: Netbook Shopping

Post by SinbadEV »

I mentioned Portal because I was low-balling, I have a crummy desktop that runs portal fine so I figured it would be a good benchmark... but I guess when it comes to netbooks 3D graphics come at a premium... so if we take Portal off the list what should I be looking for?
User avatar
Jazcash
Posts: 5309
Joined: 08 Dec 2007, 17:39

Re: Netbook Shopping

Post by Jazcash »

SinbadEV wrote:I mentioned Portal because I was low-balling, I have a crummy desktop that runs portal fine so I figured it would be a good benchmark... but I guess when it comes to netbooks 3D graphics come at a premium... so if we take Portal off the list what should I be looking for?
I can play Plants vs Zombies just fine on my 1005HA EeePC. In fact I love my EeePC. I've got me Ubuntu Netbook 10.10 and Windows 7 Ultimate dual booted on it with Microsoft Office 2010, Photoshop, Fireworks and Dreamweaver CS5 which all run fine for me. Its battery life is about 5-6 hours long, even when using Aero constantly and its screen size is just fine for me.

I couldn't recommend it more if you're looking for your money's worth.
User avatar
aegis
Posts: 2456
Joined: 11 Jul 2007, 17:47

Re: Netbook Shopping

Post by aegis »

atom dual core and ion is the best you can do in a netbook, which actually might be able to play portal, maybe with multithreading enabled...
User avatar
Neddie
Community Lead
Posts: 9406
Joined: 10 Apr 2006, 05:05

Re: Netbook Shopping

Post by Neddie »

You're still looking at an EEE.
Gnomre
Imperial Winter Developer
Posts: 1754
Joined: 06 Feb 2005, 13:42

Re: Netbook Shopping

Post by Gnomre »

aegis wrote:atom dual core and ion is the best you can do in a netbook, which actually might be able to play portal, maybe with multithreading enabled...
I suppose I'll try it. I have a desktop atom 330 with ion and a couple gigs of RAM. I'll report back shortly.

[edit] Running at 1440x900 (my main monitor's native res), it is playable but somewhat laggy at medium settings with no AA, trilinear filtering, no bloom, or any of that other fancy shit. Multicore rendering was on. It's certainly playable at low, but it still seemed to feel just a touch slow. It could just be in my head, though.

I will note that it took forever to load, and I have Steam on a seperate 7200 rpm hard drive from Windows... have fun with a low speed notebook drive, unless you decide to go SSD I guess.
Post Reply

Return to “Off Topic Discussion”