Netbook Help

brgn hntr

Hello Everybody,

I would greatly appreciate some help from any of the more tech savvy people participating here.

I am looking to buy the cheapest, smallest, lightest netbook I can find. I would be willing to pay extra for features (longer battery life, matt screen, etc.) if they are worth it.

Given that I haven't a clue about the technical aspects of computers I've been doing a bit of research over the Christmas. This has led me to the following options. Although each of these options have thrown up their own questions.

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/5083187/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice,+PCs+and+phones%7C14418968/c_2/3%7C23716614%7CLaptops+and+netbooks%7C16164797/c_3/4%7Ccat_16164797%7CNetbooks+and+mini+laptops%7C16164806.htm
The N270 seems to have the same speed as the N450 so what is the difference?
Also the battery time is very short on this. How expensive would it be to buy a second battery?

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/ASUS_EEE_PC_1001P_738269.html
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/ASUS_Eee_PC_1001PX_987745.html
What is the difference between a SATA hard drive and a normal one?
What is VGA out?

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/ASUS_Eee_PC_1001PX_980714.html
From reading a bit about the OS would the XP home edition on the other netbooks be preferable to the windows 7 starter edition? Or have I got this arse about face?
Also this one has integrated graphics. What does this mean and what difference does it make to the others if they don't have it?
What does the "n" stand for in the 802.11b/g/n for the wireless LAN and what difference does it make over the 802.11b/g?
This one also only has a 3 cell battery giving it half the battery life of the two netbooks above.


Also I haven't seen any netbooks at all that specify a matt screen. I really would prefer this to a glossy screen. Or is there something in the letters for the screen spec. that indicate a matt finish?

I'm so confused at this stage! Any comments/advice on which of the above options would be the best will be received in very grateful appreciation!

Thanks very much,
BH

c-note

i can quickly answer some of your q's

hard drive
SATA replaced IDE some years back, sata drives are just standard
disk drives, other types are solid state drives (SSD's) which have no moving parts, use less power, and are more expensive

a VGA out is usually a connector at the back of the computer which will connect to an external monitor or TV

XP Vs 7
XP will use less resources (will run better on a lesser machine)
but on a good machine 7 will run fine, if you've no specific preference or reason for choosing xp, go with 7

Integrated graphics means that the hardware for running the screen is essentially part of the motherboard of the computer, and cannot be swapped, as opposed to a dedicated graphics card which is a seperate internal piece of hardware and will be more powerful for graphics,
unless you intend using 3d applications you prob wont need a seperate gfx card.

802.11n is the next generation of wifi, faster than G which itself is faster than b. n also has a greater range, but you'll need a wireless n access point in order to take advantage of this

Lord Khan

as is the eee pc process the intel atom

n2* outdated at this stage
n4* single core processor better because they lose less energy and doubled the battery (11-13+)
and not a D5* the Duel Core processor

I'd recommended the Asus 1015PEM (300-400) N525 is dual 1.8ghz while the N550 is dual 1.5ghz. 1015PN if you want to watch 720/1040 or play games.

the 1015PEM/PN aren't directly available in European shops, but ebay and other such places have them online.

brgn hntr

Thanks very much for the prompt replies. Very helpful.

I think I'm going to go with this one.
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/ASUS_EEE_PC_1001P_738269.html

The once Lord Khan suggested look great but are nearly twice the price and I don't really need it for games or 3D programmes. I only want it for checking updates on college website and maybe the odd bit of Ms Word/Excel/PP. I've enough books and crap to be hauling around the place with me so size and battery life are the most important aspects.

Thanks again for your inputs. Very much appreciated.

BH

brgn hntr

Why does this have to be so complicated?? :rolleyes:

I found this;
http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ZKB_02PC/02_NOTEBOO/04_NETBOOK/productdetails/13747822/Asus_10_1_Eee_PC_1001PX_N450_1GB_250GB/90OA2BB22111J81E22QQ/default.aspx

which is almost the same as this;
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/ASUS_EEE_PC_1001P_738269.html

The only difference that I can see is the OS. Yet the top one cites a battery life of 4.5 hours and the second one cites 10 to 11 hours. Both are 6-cell Li-ion. Can the OS make that much of a difference or is one company telling porkies? :eek:

bhickey

brgn hntr wrote: »

the top one cites a battery life of 4.5 hours and the second one cites 10 to 11 hours. Both are 6-cell Li-ion. Can the OS make that much of a difference or is one company telling porkies? :eek:

I'd think that the battery time will be very similar on both. For useful info on differences between the 2 models have a look here.