CatScratchFever Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 I'm thinking about getting one for the wife. They all seems pretty much the same with the exception of Celeron vs. Atom processor, and size of HD. I've seen a few with 8GB SSD hard drives. Are they worth while? Is 8GB enough for surfing and email? Anything else I should know about these things? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 [quote name='CatScratchFever' post='745286' date='Feb 8 2009, 08:17 PM']I'm thinking about getting one for the wife. They all seems pretty much the same with the exception of Celeron vs. Atom processor, and size of HD. I've seen a few with 8GB SSD hard drives. Are they worth while? Is 8GB enough for surfing and email? Anything else I should know about these things?[/quote] I have this one: [url="http://www.amazon.com/10-Inch-Netbook-Processor-E-Storage-Battery/dp/B001BY97IU/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1234145963&sr=1-6"]http://www.amazon.com/10-Inch-Netbook-Proc...5963&sr=1-6[/url] I use it for when we travel (particularly overseas) and use it for surfing, email, and as a backup for the pictures we take. For just web surfing and email, they're great. I do recommend: Get the Solid State Drive. The speed difference is really impressive. Get Linux. Even XP will make you want to shoot yourself in the head. There are some with Vista, and the manufacturer should be slapped for even thinking it's a good idea. The speed difference between XP and Linux is about 2X faster. Get as much memory as you can. I would go with the Atom as the netbooks I've used with the Celeron are [b]really[/b] toasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Montana Bengal| Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 [url="http://www.amazon.com/MSI-U100-641US-10-Inch-Netbook-Processor/dp/B001P5GKCG/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1234149251&sr=1-8"]http://www.amazon.com/MSI-U100-641US-10-In...9251&sr=1-8[/url] I've been looking at this one...of course no cash. I thought solid-state weren't all they were cracked up to be yet...meaning transfer speeds weren't great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 [quote name='Montana Bengal' post='745297' date='Feb 8 2009, 10:15 PM'][url="http://www.amazon.com/MSI-U100-641US-10-Inch-Netbook-Processor/dp/B001P5GKCG/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1234149251&sr=1-8"]http://www.amazon.com/MSI-U100-641US-10-In...9251&sr=1-8[/url] I've been looking at this one...of course no cash. I thought solid-state weren't all they were cracked up to be yet...meaning transfer speeds weren't great.[/quote] Results have been mixed, but to really gain an advantage with a HD over a SSD, you have to be running at 10-15K, and you won't get that in a netbook. Main advantage is weight (or lack thereof), and maybe it's because it's running Linux, but I've noticed a definite advantage in speed vs standard HDD in the netbook. Again, just my personal experience... **Edit** Oh, and boot time is almost instant... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatScratchFever Posted February 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 I think I've decided on the Eee PC, basically the same one you've got Elflocko. I'm going with XP since it's for the wife. I put Ubuntu on my desktop as a dual-boot, and she's afraid to even try it. Her loss. Best buy has a great deal on them right now for $329... about $50 less than Amazon or even Newegg. You guys are right about the Celeron being hot. It's noticeably warmer than the Atom PCs I checked out. That scares me. Although the SSDs are cool, I plan on putting movies on this thing, so 8GB or so just ain't gonna cut it. Thanks for the advice guys. It helped out immensely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumble In the Jungle Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 i just seen them at best buy, they look sweet. they do look great for traveling so your not taking the bulky laptop. just smaller and easier to carry. the ones i saw were about $350 or less! i think thats something that i don't need now though but maybe down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 [quote name='Rumble In the Jungle' post='746389' date='Feb 13 2009, 04:00 PM']i just seen them at best buy, they look sweet. they do look great for traveling so your not taking the bulky laptop. just smaller and easier to carry. the ones i saw were about $350 or less! i think thats something that i don't need now though but maybe down the road.[/quote] Exactly. My wife can just drop it in her purse, and it saves us a carry on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Montana Bengal| Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 On a side note. I have a friend that has a MSI Wind and I was checking it out last night. He loves the mac os, so he decided to install in on the netbook (He has original OSX 10.5 install discs). I think he swapped out a wireless card for $15, but other than that he had no issues installing OSX on it. It seemed like it ran it like a 'champ'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 [quote name='Montana Bengal' post='747182' date='Feb 17 2009, 11:54 AM']On a side note. I have a friend that has a MSI Wind and I was checking it out last night. He loves the mac os, so he decided to install in on the netbook (He has original OSX 10.5 install discs). I think he swapped out a wireless card for $15, but other than that he had no issues installing OSX on it. It seemed like it ran it like a 'champ'.[/quote] Wonder if he used the KABYL-BUMBY boot utility... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Montana Bengal| Posted March 8, 2009 Report Share Posted March 8, 2009 [quote name='Elflocko' post='745290' date='Feb 8 2009, 08:23 PM']I have this one: [url="http://www.amazon.com/10-Inch-Netbook-Processor-E-Storage-Battery/dp/B001BY97IU/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1234145963&sr=1-6"]http://www.amazon.com/10-Inch-Netbook-Proc...5963&sr=1-6[/url] I use it for when we travel (particularly overseas) and use it for surfing, email, and as a backup for the pictures we take. For just web surfing and email, they're great. I do recommend: Get the Solid State Drive. The speed difference is really impressive. Get Linux. Even XP will make you want to shoot yourself in the head. There are some with Vista, and the manufacturer should be slapped for even thinking it's a good idea. The speed difference between XP and Linux is about 2X faster. Get as much memory as you can. I would go with the Atom as the netbooks I've used with the Celeron are [b]really[/b] toasty.[/quote] Elflocko, So are you running Linux only on your netbook? Pre-installed or did you install? I'm curious what distro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted March 8, 2009 Report Share Posted March 8, 2009 [quote name='Montana Bengal' post='754459' date='Mar 8 2009, 11:29 AM']Elflocko, So are you running Linux only on your netbook? Pre-installed or did you install? I'm curious what distro.[/quote] It's running the Lnux that came with it (modified Xandros, which is a Debian variant. Kind of like a commercial Ubuntu). I've thought about fucking around with it and installing another distro, but haven't had the time as of late. Plus, the configuration is squirrley due to the hardware... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Montana Bengal| Posted March 8, 2009 Report Share Posted March 8, 2009 [quote name='Elflocko' post='754466' date='Mar 8 2009, 11:15 AM']It's running the Lnux that came with it (modified Xandros, which is a Debian variant. Kind of like a commercial Ubuntu). I've thought about fucking around with it and installing another distro, but haven't had the time as of late. Plus, the configuration is squirrley due to the hardware...[/quote] How is Xandros as a distro? I've never had the desire to use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted March 8, 2009 Report Share Posted March 8, 2009 [quote name='Montana Bengal' post='754469' date='Mar 8 2009, 12:45 PM']How is Xandros as a distro? I've never had the desire to use it.[/quote] I would have never touched it either if not for the fact that it came on the Netbook, as I believe it heresy to charge for Linux. However, this version is tweaked to be completely idiot-proof in regard to UI. At the end of the day though, Linux is better than XP (or Vista for that matter) for netbooks because it has a much smaller footprint. That's my opinion at least... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatScratchFever Posted March 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 [quote name='Elflocko' post='754470' date='Mar 8 2009, 01:00 PM']I would have never touched it either if not for the fact that it came on the Netbook, as I believe it heresy to charge for Linux. However, this version is tweaked to be completely idiot-proof in regard to UI. At the end of the day though, Linux is better than XP (or Vista for that matter) for netbooks because it has a much smaller footprint. That's my opinion at least...[/quote] Maybe for the ones with the tiny SSDs... but most can be had with a traditional hard drive as big as 160GB. Plenty to hold either XP or Vista. Keep in mind that the netbooks are really only designed for surfing and email. Anything else is gravy. That being said, Linux is a great fit, but with hard drive over 100GB, space is hardly a concern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 [quote name='CatScratchFever' post='754529' date='Mar 8 2009, 07:48 PM']Maybe for the ones with the tiny SSDs... but most can be had with a traditional hard drive as big as 160GB. Plenty to hold either XP or Vista. Keep in mind that the netbooks are really only designed for surfing and email. Anything else is gravy. That being said, Linux is a great fit, but with hard drive over 100GB, space is hardly a concern.[/quote] It wasn't a commentary on space, but on performance (SSD or spinning disk). Linux will out-perform XP (and exponentially out-perform Vista) on the same hardware. It's even more important on limited specs that Netbooks usually possess. 'Course most pedestrian users won't notice the difference, but I'm OCD and have high-end equipment, so I don't have much tolerance for poky performance. Just my preference, mind you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 Speaking of SSD, this is high quality geek porn... [url="http://hackaday.com/2009/03/09/24-solid-state-drives-in-raid/"]http://hackaday.com/2009/03/09/24-solid-st...drives-in-raid/[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatScratchFever Posted March 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2009 [quote name='Elflocko' post='755037' date='Mar 10 2009, 04:34 PM']Speaking of SSD, this is high quality geek porn... [url="http://hackaday.com/2009/03/09/24-solid-state-drives-in-raid/"]http://hackaday.com/2009/03/09/24-solid-st...drives-in-raid/[/url][/quote] fap, fap, fap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Montana Bengal| Posted March 11, 2009 Report Share Posted March 11, 2009 It is driving me nuts. I think I told you guys that I told my wife I'd pay for a machine by selling extra crap that I have. Old camera, pocket pc, some books, etc. I should be about 3/4 of the way there by Monday, but I'm just ready to pull the trigger. Sigh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Montana Bengal| Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 [quote name='Montana Bengal' post='755364' date='Mar 11 2009, 06:30 PM']It is driving me nuts. I think I told you guys that I told my wife I'd pay for a machine by selling extra crap that I have. Old camera, pocket pc, some books, etc. I should be about 3/4 of the way there by Monday, but I'm just ready to pull the trigger. Sigh...[/quote] I think I might be feeling a Wind blowing this way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Montana Bengal| Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 $249 MSI Wind 100U-420US + $13 shipping + 1GB spare ram that I had + 160GB spare sata drive = $263 Got here today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 [quote name='Montana Bengal' post='758383' date='Mar 24 2009, 04:51 PM']$249 MSI Wind 100U-420US + $13 shipping + 1GB spare ram that I had + 160GB spare sata drive = $263 Got here today[/quote] Did you get it with Linux or XP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Montana Bengal| Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 [quote name='Elflocko' post='758385' date='Mar 24 2009, 03:13 PM'] Did you get it with Linux or XP?[/quote] It actually came with XP. I'm in the process of updating everything and then I'll ghost it to have the backup. Campus is much faster than my house for DLing updates. Give me a week and I'll upgrade the HD and RAM. I may dual boot for awhile (because my wife may use it). I need to go back and see what you suggested for a linux distro :-) So far I'm pretty happy with it, but I haven't been using it very much...sitting and waiting really...while I'm working. Only thing that it didn't have internally was bluetooth, but that is easily fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatScratchFever Posted March 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 [quote name='Montana Bengal' post='758383' date='Mar 24 2009, 04:51 PM']$249 MSI Wind 100U-420US + $13 shipping + 1GB spare ram that I had + 160GB spare sata drive = $263 Got here today[/quote] Awesome. Bravo, I say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Montana Bengal| Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Just a quick update. I'm dual booting XP and Mint (very pretty). Mint is so fast on that machine and I haven't even added that extra stick of ram. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatScratchFever Posted April 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 [quote name='Montana Bengal' post='765148' date='Apr 18 2009, 05:38 PM']Just a quick update. I'm dual booting XP and Mint (very pretty). Mint is so fast on that machine and I haven't even added that extra stick of ram.[/quote] Mint? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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