Asus EEE - Where can I get the best deal?

ED E

Hey all,

I think this is the right place, apologies to the mods if this the wrong place.


I got paid the other day and since I no longer need a new set of cans I have decided on an EEE. I'm looking at a 4G or 8G model (7 inch). I want something small, bigger tasks will get the attention of my main laptop.

I've been looking around the web but there are a huge number of sites selling them.

I was wondering if any boardsies knew of a good deal to be had? Anyone got promo codes? I want to find the cheapest inc shipping. I dont mind waiting 10 days for arrival etc, or buying from asia/us as long as I can be resonably sure its not a scam/knockoff. Also, I want to use Linux, though thats a secondary thing when buying, I dont mind one with no OS preinstalled.

I'm gonna search through the bargains thread now, just incase. Thanks in advance,
Lethal.

Alanstrainor

You should be able to pick one up cheap second hand. They're not sought after at all anymore since they're probably considered obsolete seeing how fast things move in the netbook market these days. The 7" screen is a bit of a pain in the arse though, so i'd be looking at a 901 or other models. I guess it all depends on your budget, which i'm guessing is tight.

And don't worry you got the right forum!

ED E

Alanstrainor wrote: »

You should be able to pick one up cheap second hand. They're not sought after at all anymore since they're probably considered obsolete seeing how fast things move in the netbook market these days. The 7" screen is a bit of a pain in the arse though, so i'd be looking at a 901 or other models. I guess it all depends on your budget, which i'm guessing is tight.

And don't worry you got the right forum!

Cheers. I've been doing alot more reading on them since I posted earlier. To my surprise they can do a lot more than I thought. GTA IV will run on them, along with CSS(800x600 10fps), though thats not what I want to use it for, I wouldn't mind a bit'a Worms WP every now and again while on the move.

I was using a 7" in The Carphone Warehouse today. Very impressed. I can see that having a bigger screen might be nice, but I really want something small. I got a C902 at christmas so I cant justify buying a Wifi enabled handheld(iPhone is tempting, even for a person with a thing against apple). Unfortunately no netbook with fit in my versipack(small satchel thingy) but I dont mind bringing a nice satchel around with me.

It seems like it'd be worthwhile to find a good deal on a 701 4g over the lower 4g model, 900 is that bit higher than 633mhz. I'm really hoping to spend very little over €150, I want to buy some concert tickets, but I'll have more to spend after next week.

If anyone has one, I'd love some first hand opinions

Amalgam

The 700/701 and 900's 900A use more or less the same chassis. The 901's are just a little bit thicker, but the difference is hardly noticed when carrying them around.

Check out the comparative chart here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASUS_Eee_PC

Study the chart carefully, some versions of the 900A have an awful SSD, the 900 have a known issue with the battery losing power, on or off, at a rate of roughly 10% a day.

An Eee 901, New. VAT inclusive, can be bought for roughly between 270-285, depending where you shop. They've been selling for 200 (roughly) on adverts.ie of late.

The extra screen on a 900, 900A really makes a difference when compared to a 700/701.

There's a very active forum here: http://forum.eeeuser.com/

Join/lurk, see what people are complaining about. There's clear sub-forums dedicated to just about every version of Eee and associated OS's.

They're great little netbooks, some people look down at them, but I don't think Asus has bettered the 701/900 chassis, which I use.

I [heart] mine.

Amalgam

Just to add, it's surreal playing Quake 3 or even worse, Starcraft on such a small device, just feels.. odd, but fun.

ED E

I spotted one and pounced. £86Stg ex shipping from England. Used 701 Black with 900Mhz, 512Mb, 4GB +2Gb Memory Card, Webcam. Its a little limited, but I'll get some Kingston RAM (Probably 2gb) and an 8gb memory card. That'll allow for a handfull or DivX movies for when I travel. Must remember to set them to encode a week before I need em, takes bloody ages :P.

Thanks for your help lads:)

Amalgam

Linger on the Eee forum, they have some great tips for keeping things lean!

ED E

Amalgam wrote: »

Linger on the Eee forum, they have some great tips for keeping things lean!

Will do. Gotta learn Linux now, might be good enough to use it on my desktop when I get the funds to build it

Thanks again:)