Best 350$ (Or cheaper) Netbook

[gidgiddonihah]

I was seriously considering the iPad, was in the line to purchase it. But then I thought of some of the restrictions and how MUCH they are charging. So I dumped it off at the register and left without my iPad. :lol:

ANYWAYS, I still want something similar. My current laptop is the CRAPPY dv1000 from HP. Its HEAVY and slow (Had to install vista because I lost my XP disc and XP was corrupted...)!! Slow enough that streaming on a High Speed WiFi connection it would stop and stutter at 360p. So I decided that I wanted something that would:

-Stream Music
-Stream Video
-Stream Netflix (HUGE)
-Play music from internal storage
-Play video from internal storage
-Be able to jump on it and start surfing the web without having to wait for boot up times (Yes I know, netbooks still have to start up)
-Be able to last more than the hour I can squeeze out of the crappy dv1000 that i got for 50$
-Be able to play internet games/lower quality games
-Have a big hard drive (The iPad didn’t have this, but it had many options for increasing memory by 32GB+)
-Video Chatting would be nice

Optional
-Capacitive Touchscreen (Oh yea baby lol) :lol:
-The bells and whistles of Bluetooth
-1.8Ghz Proc would be nice, I’m tired of hearing the 1.66GHz, it’s not all that much better than my dv1000 one, though granted a new proc will run better than an old one.

Some of these things the iPad wouldn’t do, but I considered It worth it until I got into the line to fork up the bucks. :lol:

And right around 300-350 for one sounds good to me.

Reason for Getting Rid of my dv1000:
-SLOOOOOOWWWWWWW as cold tar
-Won’t stream more than 360p
-DVD’s stop and stutter, WMP doesn’t respond when playing videos and even VLC has issues. I can get it to run fine if I shut down EVERYTHING, including Anvti Virus… GRRRRR
-Battery is shot
-No hard drive space…
-One USB port is shot
-Gets 1000000 Degrees (The cooling system is shot)
-Screen has some problems (Not big, just some purple pixles, only visible when im viewing something stark black
-You get the point

Some im considering:
HP Mini 210
Acer AO532h
ASUS Eee PC 1015PED

The Levenopad or whatever that had a touchscreen looked cool until I saw the price tag :lol:!

I would apreciate any help!

 

[buwish]

I've seen a lot of good reviews on the Asus model that you are looking at. Check out Engadget or Gizmodo to see the reviews.

 

[IsabellaWinTeam]

I was seriously considering the iPad, was in the line to purchase it. But then I thought of some of the restrictions and how MUCH they are charging. So I dumped it off at the register and left without my iPad. :lol:

ANYWAYS, I still want something similar. My current laptop is the CRAPPY dv1000 from HP. Its HEAVY and slow (Had to install vista because I lost my XP disc and XP was corrupted...)!! Slow enough that streaming on a High Speed WiFi connection it would stop and stutter at 360p. So I decided that I wanted something that would:

-Stream Music
-Stream Video
-Stream Netflix (HUGE)
-Play music from internal storage
-Play video from internal storage
-Be able to jump on it and start surfing the web without having to wait for boot up times (Yes I know, netbooks still have to start up)
-Be able to last more than the hour I can squeeze out of the crappy dv1000 that i got for 50$
-Be able to play internet games/lower quality games
-Have a big hard drive (The iPad didn’t have this, but it had many options for increasing memory by 32GB+)
-Video Chatting would be nice

Optional
-Capacitive Touchscreen (Oh yea baby lol) :lol:
-The bells and whistles of Bluetooth
-1.8Ghz Proc would be nice, I’m tired of hearing the 1.66GHz, it’s not all that much better than my dv1000 one, though granted a new proc will run better than an old one.

Some of these things the iPad wouldn’t do, but I considered It worth it until I got into the line to fork up the bucks. :lol:

And right around 300-350 for one sounds good to me.

Reason for Getting Rid of my dv1000:
-SLOOOOOOWWWWWWW as cold tar
-Won’t stream more than 360p
-DVD’s stop and stutter, WMP doesn’t respond when playing videos and even VLC has issues. I can get it to run fine if I shut down EVERYTHING, including Anvti Virus… GRRRRR
-Battery is shot
-No hard drive space…
-One USB port is shot
-Gets 1000000 Degrees (The cooling system is shot)
-Screen has some problems (Not big, just some purple pixles, only visible when im viewing something stark black
-You get the point

Some im considering:
HP Mini 210
Acer AO532h
ASUS Eee PC 1015PED

The Levenopad or whatever that had a touchscreen looked cool until I saw the price tag :lol:!

I would apreciate any help!

Hi there,

The Asus is a very popular netbook choice. However, it has a 1.66 GHz processor. The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 is another netbook with similar specs, but it has a larger keyboard than most netbooks. How important is having the faster processor? Most netbooks are 1.66 GHz.

Cheers,
Isabella
MSFT Windows Outreach Team

 

[gidgiddonihah]

How much difference in perfomance would there be?? I know in real computer terms there wouldnt be much, but in netbooks... would i be worth 50 $$? I will upgrade Windows Starter to Home Premium (And stick a gig of RAM in so i will be at 2GB total) so i was worried about it being able to handle aero transparency...


Keyboard size isnt a problem for many reasons...

 

[IsabellaWinTeam]

How much difference in perfomance would there be?? I know in real computer terms there wouldnt be much, but in netbooks... would i be worth 50 $$? I will upgrade Windows Starter to Home Premium (And stick a gig of RAM in so i will be at 2GB total) so i was worried about it being able to handle aero transparency...


Keyboard size isnt a problem for many reasons...

Hi there,

Do you mean what the difference in performance would as a result of different processor speeds? Were you able to find a netbook in your price range with a processor speed greater than 1.66?

Cheers,
Isabella
MSFT Windows OutreachTeam

 

[gidgiddonihah]

:lol: Sorry do that alot, think my thing through and my brain thinks that everyone else knows what im thinking :lol: .Yes the difference in perfomace as a result of the smaller clock. I found the ASUS Eee PC 1015PED with a 1.83 Ghz CPU, but it starts at 370... And i wanted to get Home Premium...

So my question is what is the difference in speed/perfomance between the:
n450/n455 1.66Ghz and the n475 1.83Ghz

Will both of these be able to handle aero well?

Also i would like to see a video review of the ASUS Eee PC 1015PED but i can't find it anywhere...

 

[IsabellaWinTeam]

:lol: Sorry do that alot, think my thing through and my brain thinks that everyone else knows what im thinking :lol: .Yes the difference in perfomace as a result of the smaller clock. I found the ASUS Eee PC 1015PED with a 1.83 Ghz CPU, but it starts at 370... And i wanted to get Home Premium...

So my question is what is the difference in speed/perfomance between the:
n450/n455 1.66Ghz and the n475 1.83Ghz

Will both of these be able to handle aero well?

Also i would like to see a video review of the ASUS Eee PC 1015PED but i can't find it anywhere...

Hi there,

From the reviews I have been reading, there doesn't seem to be a huge, noticeable difference between these two processors. However, for running Aero Transparency, you will need Windows Home Premium. Make sure the netbooks you look at will be able to handle Windows Home Premium.

Cheers,
Isabella
MSFT Windows Outreach Team

 

[gidgiddonihah]

Will they run aero well? If I got Home Premium...

 

[IsabellaWinTeam]

Will they run aero well? If I got Home Premium...

Hi there,

To run Aero, your netbook will need to have the following specs:
1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
1 GB (gigabyte) of RAM memory
a DirectX 9 compatible GPU with a minimum of 128 MB of Video RAM

I hope this helps!

Cheers,
Isabella
MSFT Windows Outreach Team

 

[gidgiddonihah]

Thanks a TON!!

Haha :lol: just one more question:

Will the netbook's graphics card be better than what i have in my DV1000? If you want the exact graphics model, i can post it in about an hour since i am not at home...

 

[IsabellaWinTeam]

Thanks a TON!!

Haha :lol: just one more question:

Will the netbook's graphics card be better than what i have in my DV1000? If you want the exact graphics model, i can post it in about an hour since i am not at home...

No problem. Please post the two graphics models when you get a chance!

Cheers,
Isabella
MSFT Windows Outreach Team

 

[gidgiddonihah]

Netbook: Intel GMA 3150
DV1000: Intel 82852/82855 GM/GME Graphics Controller

So the Intel GMA 3150 vs the Intel 82852/82855 GM/GME Graphics Controller.

Thanks a ton for all your help! Just tell me which answer you want to be the best answer! :lol:

 

[jsc]

Netbooks typically have underpowered graphics. I doubt if you are going to be able to satisfactorily run movies from netflix. Should work OK for something like you-tube.

I have a Samsung that I bought primarily for travel - really good battery life and a better than average keyboard.

 

[gidgiddonihah]

http/forums.pcworld.com/index.php?/topic/86410-netflix-on-a-netbook/

These guys are talking about streaming netflix without problems...

 

[IsabellaWinTeam]

Netbook: Intel GMA 3150
DV1000: Intel 82852/82855 GM/GME Graphics Controller

So the Intel GMA 3150 vs the Intel 82852/82855 GM/GME Graphics Controller.

Thanks a ton for all your help! Just tell me which answer you want to be the best answer! :lol:

Hi there,

Are you only planning on playing internet games and streaming Netflix?

Cheers,
Isabella
MSFT Windows Outreach Team

 

[gidgiddonihah]

WoW might be something i would TRY on it but its not a breaker if it can't handle it...

But other than Wow, i dont plan on gaming with it. I know that the netbook is totally underpowered to do anything besides surfing the web, light multimedia, and the sort.

 

[IsabellaWinTeam]

WoW might be something i would TRY on it but its not a breaker if it can't handle it...

But other than Wow, i dont plan on gaming with it. I know that the netbook is totally underpowered to do anything besides surfing the web, light multimedia, and the sort.

As long as you are not trying to play any recent games, the Asus Eee will be a great fit. It will be an all-around better experience than your dv1000. Also, if you want to wait, the Eee PC 1015PN will come with NVIDIA ION graphics starting next month.

Cheers,
Isabella
MSFT Windows Outreach Team

 

[gidgiddonihah]

I just started the netflix trial account and love it. Ill be stopping by best buy this weekend to see how the netbooks accualy perform. Then if im liking what i see, ill grab one. :lol:

 

[IsabellaWinTeam]

I just started the netflix trial account and love it. Ill be stopping by best buy this weekend to see how the netbooks accualy perform. Then if im liking what i see, ill grab one. :lol:

Sounds great! Let me know if you have any other questions. I'm glad to help!

Cheers,
Isabella
MSFT Windows Outreach Team

 

[gidgiddonihah]

I don't want to use the flash browser player for netflix. Is there any way to get a program to play movies for netflix since 7 Starter does not come with WMC? Planning on upgrading to home premium, but im not sure yet...