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+--- Thread: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? (/showthread.php?tid=9272)
Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - Apoc - 08-22-2011
That's what you get for buying something with an Atom processor. Those things are horrible.
You're pretty much gonna end up with AMD's budget dual core, the E350.
Then there's this quote on page 2 of this thread:
ViPER1313 Wrote:The E350 is on par with an Atom processor. An Athlon X2 should be a lot faster. You made the right choice.
Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - Evan - 08-22-2011
ultraportables arent cheap. its either netbook or ~$700+
you do pay for the smaller size
id suggest opening up the budget a bit. like
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or
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834131153">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834131153</a><!-- m -->
Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - Apoc - 08-22-2011
+1 on what Evan said. You really can't expect your primary computer to work well and still be portable for under $500. That price point is for people who have a "big computer" and a secondary portable.
The only reason I could justify a tablet+keyboard instead of another laptop is because I have a desktop that does the heavy lifting for me.
Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - .RJ - 08-22-2011
This wont be a primary computer, its for internets use on the couch and for travel. I have a desktop upstairs, a work laptop, and a media pc also... it doesnt have to be blazing fast but I'd like to at least be able to stream non-HD video and process photos without grinding it to a halt.
The Mini I have has this - Intel Atom Processor Z530, 1.6GHz, 533MHzFSB, 512K L2 Cache / 1GB,DDR2,533MHZ (onboard) - are the two linked on the last page (HP, Lenovo) really not going to be much better?
Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - Apoc - 08-22-2011
AMD E350 is dual core to the Atom's single. The Lenovo also has 4x RAM that's 2x faster. There will be a difference.
Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - ViPER1313 - 08-22-2011
Apoc Wrote:AMD E350 is dual core to the Atom's single. The Lenovo also has 4x RAM that's 2x faster. There will be a difference.
They also make the Atom in a dual-core (denoted by a D5XX or N5XX name, where D has a faster graphics core) which is comparable in speed to an AMD E-350.
Not the end-all of processor benchmarks, but it is a good reference guide for one processor's raw speed vs. another's.
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Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - ViPER1313 - 08-22-2011
The Samsung Evan posted looks good, probably along the lines of what I would get if I only wanted a 12" screen.
Also:
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More powerful than an E-350 AMD system but not as powerful as the Samsung, although it advertises an 8-hour battery life and is slightly lighter/cheaper than the Samsung :dunno:
Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - ViPER1313 - 08-22-2011
Also, just looking around on the web...
The AMD E-350 processor shouldn't have any problems playing back HD video content via Youtube or when using a hardware-accelerated video player (example: MPC) - however, Netflix uses Silverlight which is still not hardware accelerated as far as I can see for the E-350 APU, and there are tons of reports of people having issues with it.
Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - Apoc - 08-22-2011
After my experience with my wife's netbook, I'll never buy another Gateway/Acer.
I don't think RJ will be using Silverlight very much.
Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - .RJ - 08-22-2011
uh... whats Silverlight?
Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - Apoc - 08-22-2011
Like I said.
Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - .RJ - 08-23-2011
Ok, so if Netflix = Silverlight, I can see using on the laptop... so I should plan on not having issues.
The E-350 APU thats in the ~$500 netbooks, is this really a problem, or people with unreasonable expectations that complain loudly on the internet? Evan?
Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - Evan - 08-23-2011
.RJ Wrote:Ok, so if Netflix = Silverlight, I can see using on the laptop... so I should plan on not having issues.
The E-350 APU thats in the ~$500 netbooks, is this really a problem, or people with unreasonable expectations that complain loudly on the internet? Evan?
well, you said you hated your netbook and its too slow. is buying another netbook the solution to that problem?
ive never used E-350 so i cant speak out of experience, but it is inthe atom 'class' of processors. a little faster, but still not near a real cpu.
the i5 in the samsung and lenovo i linked is over 4 times as fast as the e-350
even the cheapest i3 chip is over 3 times as fast
maybe go check out bestbuy/ target and play with some of these to get an idea.
seems to me like expanding your budget by $200 will save you from wasting $500.
Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - .RJ - 08-23-2011
My old 700M was fine (I think it had an Intel M processor & 2 gb ram) but I wasnt doing any hulu/video streaming with it. Maybe I'm delusional that a slightly better processor and 4x the RAM will make a netbook into what I want.
I'll head over to best buy... that Samsung is probably what I need though. I cant find any info on battery life yet.
Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - Apoc - 08-23-2011
You went from an M/2gb to Atom/1gb? No wonder you hate life.
I think the M processor was better than the Atom, which is just plain shit.
I think the E350 with those specs will be be fine, but Evan has a point about spending $200. The iX chips are pretty awesome. You might see if you can find a form factor that doesn't have an optical drive for size/weight.
Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - .RJ - 08-23-2011
Now you understand.... Best Buy looks to carry most of the Samsung laptops, so hopefully they'll have the one Evan linked soon so I can go touch it.
Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - Evan - 08-23-2011
im not vouching for the samsung specifically, I just did a search for 12-13" laptops with intel i3 or i5 chips and lenovo and samsung were the cheapest name brands. id stay away from MSi and Asus.
Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - .RJ - 08-23-2011
I wouldnt have found that on my own, but it seems to hit all the right buttons (except price, but its only money right?).
Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - Evan - 08-25-2011
a little bigger but a hell of a deal for tree fitty
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Re: What are kids usin' these days for class laptops? - .RJ - 08-25-2011
Maybe. I really think that 12" is the sweet spot for usability/portability/etc. Anything bigger is cumbersome to use on a plane or travel with, anything smaller has a shitty keyboard and atom processor.
I'm tempted to buy another 700m off ebay but the battery life wasnt great.