Acer Timeline 1810 vis Packard Bell DOT MU 002 vis Packard Bell Dot M/U

asgaard

I'm interested in one of that netbooks. All of them are 11.6", the webcams are VGA (800x600) not 1.3MPix and hdmi output.
Some spec.:

Toshiba T110-121
Intel Celeron 743 processor (1.2GHz, 800 MHz, 1MB Cache)
2 GB RAM
250 GB Hard Drive
Windows 7 Home Premium
Battery life - up to 6,5 hours
€479.99 (without Norton Internet Security)

Packard Bell Dot M/U
Intel Celeron processor 723 (1.3GHz, 800 MHz, 1MB Cache)
3 GB RAM
250 GB Hard drive
Windows 7 Home Premium
Battery life - up to 6 hours
€349.97 (without Norton Internet Security)

Packard Bell Dot MU 002
Intel Celeron 743 processor (1.2GHz, 800 MHz, 1MB Cache)
3 GB RAM
250 GB Hard drive
Windows 7 Home Premium
Battery life- up to 6 hours
€479.99 (without Norton Internet Security)

Acer Aspire 1810 Timeline
Intel Pentium Dual-Core processor SU4100 (1.3GHz, 800 MHz, 2MB Cache)
3GB RAM
250GB Hard drive
Windows 7 Home Premium
Battery life - up to 8 hours
€495 (without Norton Internet Security)

The prices and spec. taken in PC-WORLD.
Some questions:
Which one of them should be enough to use net, watching films in HD and some games? One more: can you explain me why in PC WORLD there is "Intel Pentium Dual-Core processor SU4100" if on Acer website http://us.acer.com/acer/productv.do?LanguageISOCtxParam=en&kcond61e.c2att101=63853&sp=page16e&ctx2.c2att1=25&link=ln438e&CountryISOCtxParam=US&ctx1g.c2att92=447&ctx1.att21k=1&CRC=662014091#wrAjaxHistory=0 . I'm not in hurry to buy netbook so if i'll wait some time should I (for example: to buy Acer Timeline 1830T)

Thanks for help
Btw. Where the prices for them will be the lowest (i don't mind if i'll go to North Of Ireland)

Lu Tze

Not directly related to your question - but i have the toshiba you listed if you have any questions on it. Plays 720p video fine anyways, haven't tried anything else. But if you are paying up around the 500 mark you would probably be able to get one of the dual core pentiums (like that acer) or better, which i would imagine would be quite a bit better

asgaard

What's the battery life like in that Toshiba and what's your opinion about processor - is it newer and faster than Atom N270 or N450 1.6??

DemoniK

I have the 1810tz, and €495 is a fantastic price for it. The discrepency is the 1810T started with older processors - but if you check the configurations (on the uk site ) then you'll see the proper spec. SU4100 is right.

There is quite a difference between the Celeron and the SU-4100.
Both the 723 and 743 are single core processors - the difference between the 2 being the extra 100Mhz in the 743 that won't translate much into big performance.

The SU-4100 on the other hand is dual core, and 64bit capable.
My recommendation would be the Acer of the bunch. For an extra €15 the performance difference is immense!

Another thing to look at is the chipset being used.. Make sure it's the G45M with the GMA X4500HDM graphics. This is what'll do the MPEG2 and MPEG4 decoding reducing the CPU dependency. Again the 1810tz fits the bill.

And also look at the screen resolutions. 1366x768 is needed for 720p

And Finally,
If you can wait until June I would consider holding off. Acer (and others) about to bring out i5-520UM based devices. These are dual core i5s with hyper threading, and 1.8GHz Turbo. The graphics is also much improved (and on the CPU package). The 1830T should be out around the end of June.

asgaard

RikD wrote: »

I have the 1810tz, and €495 is a fantastic price for it.

Where did you buy it? What's the best place is to order it?

Thanks for your help. I appreciate that.

DemoniK

I got it from laptopsdirect.
But to be honest, after reading the posts about them I was lucky that things have been ok with the laptop 'cos their after sales appears to be non-existant. Explains the 4/10 rating...

So I'd recommend elara.ie instead... It's 560 on there I think.

If you can pick it up from PC World for 495 - I'd go for that one.. Am thinking of nipping in to my local one and upgrading my wife to one at that price

The only bad things with it
- No Bluetooth (I didn't need and don't mind)
- No 5GHz 11n (again, not critical, but would have been nice)
- Creating rescue discs with external drive kept failing on final disc... I installed virtual CD to allow me to create the ISOs (used the free trial), and then burnt sucessfully.

Otherwise I love it. Can play battlefield 2 & 2142 as well as Halo at reasonable frame rate, although quality is medium

I've a review up here:
http://irish-networx.com/blog/blog4.php/2010/01/22/review-acer-aspire-10810tz

Lu Tze

asgaard wrote: »

What's the battery life like in that Toshiba and what's your opinion about processor - is it newer and faster than Atom N270 or N450 1.6??

I got 6 hours plus on a flight home, watching videos, but with the screen dimmed. And it still hadn't run out of juice at that point. Realistically you are rarely going to be using it for extended periods with the screen dimmed that much

The processor aint bad at all, it can run autocad so long as you keep to 2d, and it can handle playing gta3!

But as rikd said you are better off going for the dual core version if you can get it. Just make sure they have a 6 cell battery on them.

asgaard

What's yours opinion about webcam (i mean sensor resolution). Is it enough good or bad?? RikD can you tell me something more about No 5GHz 11n and did you insured your netbook?

Lu Tze

The webcam is fine, only used it once for skype to be honest, but its a webcam so not expecting high quality or anything! The res is 640*480

Lu Tze

Actually the one thing i will say about the toshiba was when i got it the webcam wasn't working and the maximum volume was very low. I got the drivers of the website. Don't know about the webcam, presume it was just my laptop but the volume thing was definately a known issue

asgaard

Lu Tze wrote: »

The res is 640*480

I know that some Dell netbooks has 1.3 MPix webcam and actually i often used Skype.

DemoniK

11n is in 2 bands.. the standard 2.4GHz which 11b and 11g use for wifi, and then 5GHz which used to be where 11a was
I live in a very busy area - walking round my house will showup ~25 unqiue SSIDs. This causes havoc with my wifi for sustained download. While at 5GHz there is only 1. I have everything except this laptop and a squeezebox on the 5GHz.
It's not an issue - but a dissapointment.

Not sure what you mean about insured? I have a policy (personal one) that if it costs ~500 or less I don't ever take out any additional insurance options shops try to force on me.

Also, just to point out that the battery life is good.
Without dimming screen, etc.. I get ~7hrs out of it gaming with wifi
Webcam is pretty good. Perfectly usable for skype and other video messaging.

keyboard is on the large side which is nice, but means the touchpad area is small. I'm ok with it, but some don't like it.

asgaard

What's Your opinions about Dell Inspiron 11z? Two days ago you can bought it online just for around €450, but now it cost some more.

DemoniK

I'm not a big fan of dells..
But that said - spec looks ok. My only quibble is the price. You can get one for €449 but with only 2GB of RAM. Really needs more - so 4GB is the only other option and they're charing €225 for it!!!!
Puts the price up to €678 which just seems expensive.

Oh and you may need to add 11n wireless for an extra €20 and of course the 6 cell battery which is another €45
So final price is really €743!

asgaard

Actually i have a spare 2 gig of RAM, so i can put it myself, but i have to add 11n wireless and 6-cell battery (11n wireless can buy after on ebay and battery also, but don't know how much will i be charge for that)

DemoniK

If only it was so easy

I knew it seemed odd that they quote 1x4096 for the 4GB of RAM. This would suggest you may be stuck with a single SODIMM slot..
This also explains the cost as 4GB sticks are expensive.

Did a little further investigating through crucial.com/eu and they quote 1 slot only, and 1 bank only of DDR2. So your stuck with 2GB unless you get the 4GB.

And TBH you'ld be better off getting something which would enable dual banks in the memory controller anyway to increase memory throughput (also affects the graphics).

So - definitely would recommend the Acer over the dell just on this alone.

asgaard

So tell me: how many slots for RAM Acer has it? 2 - and how many RAM can i put inside?? One more: if i decide to buy netbook i gonna change myself webcam, because 640x480 that's not enough for mine SKYPE conversations. MIght be you know what's the size of webcam will i need it (is it same as in lappys) and how can i change it (i can't find any instructions on You Tube).
Thanks

It has got 2 slots for RAM-i can upgrade to 4 GB.

DemoniK

Yes Acer has 2 slots, so 4GB is possible. Most configs come with 3GB, but you can get 4GB ones. Save the cash if you have a 2GB stick lying around - just do your homework and make sure it'll work

swapping webcams isn't easy - but doable.
Most laptops/netbooks come with either 640x480 (0.3) or 1.3MP (sometimes referred to as HD). I haven't seen any with bigger.
The Acer has a 0.3MP camera but is pretty good - I use for skype

asgaard

Dell's has 1.3 MPix. When i buy Acer i'll try change the webcam for a better quality

Thanks for help

DemoniK

check out this link (I had to google to see what was possible )
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=6161626

asgaard

RikD wrote: »

check out this link (I had to google to see what was possible )
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=6161626

Can You help me to find it out on You Tube, please??

I found only Review http://acer1810treview.blogspot.com/

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5333093&postcount=14
also you can upgrade some another components (by tweaking)