Will a netbook drive me nuts?

donny-gal

As we travel quite a lot, and like to keep in touch and back up my camera memory card while away, I have been considering a netbook in particular the Samsung NC10 due to size/weight lugability. I have a Dell Laptop 15.4"a couple of years old now spec Inspiron 1501 Tuyrion 64 x2 TL56 (1.8GHz, 512k) 120gb hd and 2gb RAM.

My fear is I will find a netbook slow and frustrating witht he Atom processor. Mainly it will be used for email and web work, but just have a feeling I will be disappointed with the performance.

Opinions please.
DG

RobTang

I've always found netbook performance to be fine for the tasks its deigned for, OK its no Core i7 but as long as you dont install too much crap on it, it should feel pretty zippy.

Go into pcworld and ask for a demo or somthing if your really worried.

Jakg

Seeing as my NC10 can actually run Photoshop acceptably - I doubt it.

tsimehC

I really can't see how you're using Photoshop on the NC10 unless you're doing quick tasks like filtering or just cropping. The small screen and the small trackpad make it a nightmare.

From the 8 odd months I've used my netbook, web surfing and emailing is fine and the NC10 is very adept at handling a lot of opened applications but multi-tasking will slow you down a bit.

Leopard

Provided you understand that a netbook is not a substitute for a powerful laptop but that it makes a great addition to one in your personal armoury of kit, you'll love it.

A netbook is ideal for what you have in mind. The Atom 270 processor is a surprisingly powerful little device - it is, after all, an Intel Core 2 duo of 2.16 GHz - and you shouldn't find it slow for doing simple, undemanding tasks. I don't. But you wouldn't want to try doing complicated things in Photoshop with it.

Check out the MSI Wind before plumping automatically for a Samsung NC10. The Wind has got a matte screen, which is much more agreeable to work with than the Samsung's when you are out and about. The Samsung's is glossy and it behaves like a darkened mirror, reflecting every light source behind you: I find that infuriating, personally.

It's well worth upping the RAM with a second 1 GB stick, particularly since the first gig of RAM is powering the graphics.

I used to take a MacBook Pro with me on my travels, but now I often take just the Wind, instead. It's much handier, if you're not going to be needing the larger screen and some serious computing grunt while you are away. Indeed, I might well go up from 15'' to 17" when next I replace my MacBooks Pro, now that I have the Wind as well.

RobTang

and before you look at the MSI wind take a look at the advent 4211 its basicly a re-badged msi wind without the overclock button, and its bit cheaper. the NC10s with the big batteries are very nice however.

Jakg

Leopard wrote: »

The Atom 270 processor is a surprisingly powerful little device - it is, after all, an Intel Core 2 duo of 2.16 GHz

I'm sorry, what? The Atom is impressive in many ways, but a Core 2 Duo, even at 1.6 GHz (the same speed as the Atom) would still walk all over it...

asininity

They're certainly good but I recently found my netbook my only computer for about 3 month, I had to get a proper laptop only for the keyboard and screen size.

Leopard

Jakg wrote: »

I'm sorry, what? The Atom is impressive in many ways, but a Core 2 Duo, even at 1.6 GHz (the same speed as the Atom) would still walk all over it...

You are absolutely right; what I wrote was disgracefully incorrect and I apologise unreservedly for that error.

(Sunday luncheon was rather indulgent and the drinks flowed liberally. :beer: )

The Atom 270 is single core, running at 1.6 Ghz. Many thanks for pointing that out and reminding me.

It is, nonetheless, surprisingly perky and can perform simple tasks, such as those for which a netbook is designed and intended, swiftly and with ease. (Especially if it's running on Mac OS X.)

Perhaps my thoughts were led momentarily astray not just by the wine but also by the fact that it feels like a Core 2 Duo at 2.16 GHz when it's just browsing and emailing!

Thank you again for pointing out my error. I'll go in search of the Alka Seltzer immediately. :cool:

RobTang

TBH for most people's usage you dont really need these silly powerful processors, people have done a lot more with a lot less than 1.6ghz.

Atoms in reletive terms are very very very slow, even a single core celeron clocked at 1.6 will easily outpace an atom (its geared for energy efficiency after all.) but as I said real terms its overkill for just browsing the web and writing a few letters.

Screen size and keyboard size maybe more of an issue however, I found the 8.9" far by far too small to use, 10" are ok to type on (for me) but havn't used one for an extended period of time.
Howfully more 11-12" will come out as thats about right for me.

LadyMorticia

tsimehC wrote: »

I really can't see how you're using Photoshop on the NC10 unless you're doing quick tasks like filtering or just cropping. The small screen and the small trackpad make it a nightmare.

From the 8 odd months I've used my netbook, web surfing and emailing is fine and the NC10 is very adept at handling a lot of opened applications but multi-tasking will slow you down a bit.

I agree, but mianly because I use Adobe Camera Raw and the screen res was too small to run it.

The trackpad was also annoying as was the small keyboard.

Thankfully a friend fixed my old laptop.