Netbooks, is that 1.6Ghz CPU enough ?

[Fif23]

I am interested in the MSI Wind netbook, I like the fact that it's so small and still has everything I need.

BUT, is a 1.6Ghz CPU enough to run XP or Windows 7 without lags ? All I do is talk on MSN\SKYPE, use Firefox, read PDF's, watch youtube and download stuff using eMule and Torrent.

So should I go for this MSI computer or increase budget for a proper 15" laptop ? (Which I do not prefer because of it's size, but if 1.6 can't do anything, oh well.)


BTW, none of these netbooks can play HD movies, huh ?

 

[IggSter]

I've had experience of the Asus 1.6Gig Atom netbook running Vista and tbh I was very suprised how responsive it was. It also handled HD content at 720i without any issues.

So I would say a netbook can handle what you want fairly easily.

 

[3870x2]

yes, it is very good, they are very good processors.

 

[eidairaman1]

i wouldnt try playing games on them, but Movie Watching is a less resource hungry task, so it shouldnt be a problem.

 

[Urbklr]

I own an Aspire One, and freaking love it.

It run's everything well, I have used XP, Vista(With Aero) and OS X on it and all run well. The processor is plenty for browsing, word processors, and that stuff. Emulators work well, I play:

GTA 3, VC
CSS, HL2, CS1.6
N64, SNES, PS1
WoW works too I have read

Youtube works fine, movies work fine, and I've read that 720P will work on certain codecs(Haven't tried yet). I run Guitar Rig 3 on it, and am going to use Sonar 8. They are really great little rigs!

Edit: Check out the A150-1001 that I have, it is only $400 and has 160GB HD, 1GB of RAM, and a 6 cell battery that does me 5 hours on a charge

 

[Fif23]

Wooo thanks ! that Acer is actually the best buy I could find for the specs !
Great, I didn't expect to run ANYTHING but if a game like GTA 3 runs then WOW, i'll get myself one of these for sure.

 

[crazy pyro]

Silencer, just a point TRY THE DAMN KEYBOARD OUT, I've tried the following:
Acer Aspire one: Best of the keyboards on the 8.9" screen but still a pain in the ass
Asus EEEPC 901: Hated this keyboard with a vengance
The toshiba netbook: Tried it but it was a generally meh experience but on the wrong side of meh.
Asus EEEPC 1000: Usable keyboard but it's not an ideal layout
Samsung NC10: Tried out the keyboard and fell in love with it, this is the one I've ordered.
Wind and its clones: It has an OK keyboard but the way it goes right to the edge of the chassis worries me since I'm taking mine to school everyday so it needs to take abuse.
Lenovo IdeaPad: Not tried it since I can't find it in any shops.
Macbook air: Love this machine but seriously overpriced and can't be considered a true netbook, more a UMPC.

 

[Urbklr]

Yes, the keyboards aren't great, but the Aspire One has the best one of any 8.9" and the price to performance is much better. It didn't take me long to get used to the keyboard on my AAO.

 

[crazy pyro]

Fair enough, I personally couldn't type on the AAO for sustained periods of time and also needed the enhanced battery life of the NC10, although I'd have reconsidered it if I didn't get £38 off the NC10.

 

[Urbklr]

Fair enough, I personally couldn't type on the AAO for sustained periods of time and also needed the enhanced battery life of the NC10, although I'd have reconsidered it if I didn't get £38 off the NC10.

How long does the NC10 go on a charge?

 

[Deleted member 3]

BUT, is a 1.6Ghz CPU enough to run XP or Windows 7 without lags ? All I do is talk on MSN\SKYPE, use Firefox, read PDF's, watch youtube and download stuff using eMule and Torrent.

And you need Windows 7 just to chat and surf? XP runs great on a Pentium 3, the Atom is is faster than that.

 

[Urbklr]

And you need Windows 7 just to chat and surf? XP runs great on a Pentium 3, the Atom is is faster than that.

Call me crazy, but I find Vista runs better than XP on mine. Software did anyway, especially Guitar Rig 3. Only downside is that Vista uses alot more RAM.

 

[crazy pyro]

NC10 gets 8 hours apparently, I can tell you exactly how long mine lasts with everything on full and everything on minimum when I get it, it's currently out of stock where I bought it but they'll call my gran when it's back in (She's an ex employee so she gets 12.5% off electronics.

 

[Urbklr]

NC10 gets 8 hours apparently, I can tell you exactly how long mine lasts with everything on full and everything on minimum when I get it, it's currently out of stock where I bought it but they'll call my gran when it's back in (She's an ex employee so she gets 12.5% off electronics.

Nice, thats pretty awesome for a 6-Cell.

 

[Fif23]

NC10 also has good specs, I am reading about sick battery life..

Lol I guess I don't need windows 7, but still, XP is old and 7 is supposed to run smooth on netbooks, so I read.

 

[crazy pyro]

That's with the screen turned way down and stuff, wireless still on though.
~5 when you've got it on the "balanced" setting I think, that's according to a friend at school but he said he didn't alter any power settings so 8 should be nice and achievable for me, no more running out of battery in the middle of lessons.
If I can get 7 to play nicely on my NC10 I'll let you know. I know the NC10's one of the more expensive netbooks but it's also one of the nicer looking and higher spec ones, I'm tempted to go to Ebuyer and stick in a 2GB stick of RAM for £15.

 

[BrooksyX]

I had a dell mini 9 but I just sold it and bought a full size laptop. The main reason I sold it was because of the keyboard being so small. The cpu was great handled vista just fine. Infact vista ran better than xp did. Xp had this annoying studdering problem because of the ssd.

So yes the CPU is great, just watch out for the small keyboards.

 

[Urbklr]

That's with the screen turned way down and stuff, wireless still on though.
~5 when you've got it on the "balanced" setting I think, that's according to a friend at school but he said he didn't alter any power settings so 8 should be nice and achievable for me, no more running out of battery in the middle of lessons.
If I can get 7 to play nicely on my NC10 I'll let you know. I know the NC10's one of the more expensive netbooks but it's also one of the nicer looking and higher spec ones, I'm tempted to go to Ebuyer and stick in a 2GB stick of RAM for £15.

I get 5 on balanced as well. I don't turn the screen down much, and the wifi card is always on(Power save mode disabled).

 

[crazy pyro]

Ah right, thanks for that UrbKlr, I'd have not got the benefit of it anyway, the space bar on that keyboard freaks me out so much.

 

[Deleted member 3]

Call me crazy, but I find Vista runs better than XP on mine. Software did anyway, especially Guitar Rig 3. Only downside is that Vista uses alot more RAM.

You're crazy. Not all older hardware has Vista drivers, I doubt it supports my laptop. Perhaps I could try it some day though.

 

[Urbklr]

You're crazy. Not all older hardware has Vista drivers, I doubt it supports my laptop. Perhaps I could try it some day though.

True, but for the netbooks it work surprisingly well

 

[BrooksyX]

True, but for the netbooks it work surprisingly well

Vista worked better on my netbook than xp did. So your not crazy.