JCBeezy Posted August 26, 2011 Report Share Posted August 26, 2011 Since I've started back at school, I've been pondering the use of a netbook over my laptop I use for work, which is a couple of years old, and runs a lot of design software and such. I've always thought netbooks were crappy, but several people I know swear by them, and just wanted some different opinions if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggman15 Posted August 26, 2011 Report Share Posted August 26, 2011 Don't expect them to be crazy fast. That being said, My Netbook is a couple years old and it will play the small maps on Unreal Tournament 2004... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koby Posted August 26, 2011 Report Share Posted August 26, 2011 The only netbook's I have experience with are owned by my mom and grandma. You can't really do a lot with them. The OS that comes installed is labeled as a 'starter' edition and lacks several basic features. You can't even change your desktop background. The resolution is tiny and thus with several programs you can't work with. Even MSN messenger you can't edit the settings of because the window is bigger than your resolution so you can never get to the apply button. Working with video or graphics is impossible and the specs of pretty much every netbook I've seen at the stores as well have bare-minimum specs. You get like 1 GB RAM maybe 2 GB, less than 200 GB HHD, and well 720p video is already too big for the screen anyways but it lags when trying to play it.Truth be told a netbook is pretty much a waste of money unless you just need it to write in notepad or browse the internet and have something smaller so it's easier to carry around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggman15 Posted August 26, 2011 Report Share Posted August 26, 2011 I think I should add something here... My netbook plays 720p to my external monitor just fine. I don't have any problems unless the virus scanner start kicking around for whatever reason. My mom's Netbook had the Starter edition that Koby is talking about. There are ways around not being able to change the wallpaper but it annoyed her so much that She payed the $80 something to upgrade to Home Premium. And her Netbook has no trouble with 720 videos either...Oh and as for editing the settings on programs with Hi-Res Windows. Once again there are work arounds... I have some software called Netbook Resolution customiser. Works like a charm...Honest opinion... If it's going to be your only Computer. Then avoid the little guys like the plague. But as an extra machine they are wonderful. Oh, on another note... If you have a Zune then you really don't want a Netbook. that software is not optimized to run on a 1.6 Ghz dual Core... It's a pain... And I hate it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinkie Pie Posted August 26, 2011 Report Share Posted August 26, 2011 The only netbook's I have experience with are owned by my mom and grandma. You can't really do a lot with them. The OS that comes installed is labeled as a 'starter' edition and lacks several basic features. You can't even change your desktop background. The resolution is tiny and thus with several programs you can't work with. Even MSN messenger you can't edit the settings of because the window is bigger than your resolution so you can never get to the apply button. Working with video or graphics is impossible and the specs of pretty much every netbook I've seen at the stores as well have bare-minimum specs. You get like 1 GB RAM maybe 2 GB, less than 200 GB HHD, and well 720p video is already too big for the screen anyways but it lags when trying to play it.Truth be told a netbook is pretty much a waste of money unless you just need it to write in notepad or browse the internet and have something smaller so it's easier to carry around.I agree with you on every point. It's pretty useless if it your only machine. There's far too much you *can't* do, and too little you *can* do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCBeezy Posted August 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2011 Well, I want it mainly for internet and Open Office only. Basically, to be used like a tablet for class and stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggman15 Posted August 26, 2011 Report Share Posted August 26, 2011 Office work, Try out the keyboard on one first... I don't mean put your hands on it and see how it feels... I mean really type something drawn out. Those keys really are small. You could get used to them. I did, But I've been using a normal keyboard for a while now. and it's really hard to go back to that little keyboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
†L4ugh Posted August 26, 2011 Report Share Posted August 26, 2011 If you can, I might try to hold out a few months until the tegra 3 quad core launches. Then I would try to find something like the eeePad transformer that is powered by the tegra 3. It will give you the best of both worlds a tablet when it's not docked and a netbook when it is. I think netbooks as a portable classroom pc is where netbooks really start to shine. They are much easier to carry around all day, and fit better on those stupid high school/college desks you may have to set in. I have a eeePC 1000HE and I bought it specifically for that reason. While it's dated now and I sometimes wish it was a tablet, it still gets the job done. A netbook like mine does max out the built in screen's resolution at 1024x600, if I remember right. When I plug it into my regular desktop monitor I can go up to 1440x900. Like biggman15 said, I can also play 720 video when plugged into the larger monitor. It will never be as powerful as a full sized laptop but if you don't need to play modern games and watch HD video on the go, than it should work for you just fine. You just have to remember that it will never be a replacement for a regular laptop.I would recommend making a checklist of everything you would use the new netbook for and then making sure that a netbook could do it when, where, and how you would want it to.I would also recommend trying to play around with one before you buy, because using firefox on a netbook can be a pain sometimes. You can customize the toolbar area so it doesn't take up so much space, but you will still need to do some scrolling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
†ballard Posted August 27, 2011 Report Share Posted August 27, 2011 (Sorry for my rambling lol... I'm just trying to give you my personal experience with this particular netbook.)I currently have an HP mini 311 which has nvidia ion (equivalent to a 9400m.) It may not be the most powerful graphics chip out there, but it lets me play back 1080p videos very nicely with the right codecs. The resolution is 1366x768 on an 11.6inch screen. I've been able to flash my bios to a custom one that allows me to overclock the atom processor if I felt the need to. If you're going to get a netbook I highly recommend getting one with the ion chip in it. I know that Asus came out with a netbook that has a dual core atom with ion. (ASUS Eee PC 1201N)From my personal experience with netbooks... or at least the model I have... they aren't as limited as most people would think. Add an extra gigabyte or two of ram and you're good to go. I've been running windows 7 perfectly including several games (my personal favorite is The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind)... It runs Sony Vegas pro 10, gimp, and photoshop. One thing I don't like... which isn't that big of a deal is that there's no optical drive.This is currently my only computer because the power supply on my gaming rig died and decided to take several other parts with it. As my only computer I've been getting a long fine with it. Of course you can't compare it to a nice desktop or a full laptop, but I'm still managing to get it to do everything my gaming rig was doing aside from playing highend modern day games.Random screen shot...Like Koby stated though... bare minimum netbooks just wont cut it, and their resolution of 1024x600 is pretty tiny and might make it difficult to do certain things unless you hook it up to a monitor or tv.Personally speaking though... I feel that you should just go with a full blown laptop. You can definitely find one for a fair price with decent specs that will out perform any netbook on the market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCBeezy Posted August 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2011 A lot of the bare min laptops are huge and clunky. I like the form factor of the netbook. Sadly, I am computer retarded. Though, I must admit the Eee Tablet is pretty sweet. I'm a huge fan of anything under 12 inches (though I have large hands), as I've had many screens that were 15 and up, and couldn't stand it. I like smaller, more or less.@ballard, thanks for the info. Definitely gonna look into the HP, as it's the brand I've heard most positive things about. I'm mainly looking to use Chrome for browsing, Open Office for word processing, and that's about it. I don't game on PC's or use Photoshop on anything but my tablet with my office PC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
†Mute point Posted August 27, 2011 Report Share Posted August 27, 2011 Netbooks are awesome for portability, but I prefer laptops for functionality on the go. Pretty much all I use the netbook for is text to speech. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Zero- Posted September 4, 2011 Report Share Posted September 4, 2011 Truth be told. I've dealt with net books and most are powerful enough to deal with Windows 7 Ultimate, although they weren't designed for that. Basically, a net book is a smaller and cheaper notebook. Do notice the cheaper means that performance will suffer rather impressively. They are great for portability and for doing the most basic of tasks, like word processing, internet surfing and such, but for anything else, look elsewhere. That's my summary without getting too tech specific.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zolockit Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 My Droid 2 can do more than most netbooks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightraven Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 I have a netbook and a full sized laptop and I find myself on my full size laptop over the netbook just due to the screen size. I like my net book for portability it is small and light it is nice for road trips and flights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
†Emotional Outlet Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 I had a ten inch EEE PC for a minute before I accidentally murdered it. I thought it ran things quite well, though I didn't expect it to do anything intensive. It ran well for all my writing and basic Internet browsing needs, as well as my occasional SNES gaming. I'm trying to remember how large the keyboard was--I want to say it was 95% of a regular laptop keyboard, but don't hold me to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unbi Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 My Samsung netbook is perfect for note-taking, and that's all I need since my PC back home is a powerhouse gaming monster.If it's just for school work/note-taking, it should be no problem. The battery life is good too, depending on the brand. The Samsung can last 8 hours with the internet off, as long as it's just for typing/reading notes. And it's smaller than any of my books, so I can carry it around as if it were one!Portability is love! My friends have huge 15 inch Toshibas & HPs and never bring it to class 'cause they're a pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma210490 Posted January 6, 2012 Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 Netbooks seem cheap and tacky.. i just prefer laptops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorTurkey Posted January 6, 2012 Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 Acer's Acer Aspire One and especially Acer Ferrari are awesome. Other than that netbooks are crap. There is this ultrabook thing coming up, my next shot will be with one of those acer / lenovo ultrabooks for business Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegenius05 Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 The main drawback with netbook is the screen resolution. Most can't display the dialog box properly because it doesn't fit the screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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