Question about netbook performance

bargain_bagger

I'm poised to buy this netbook:
Asus EeePC 1005HA Seashell 10-inch Netbook
(Intel Atom N280 1.66 GHz, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB HDD, Windows XP, up to 10 Hours Battery Life, White), probably from Amazon.
but am worried about what someone has written in their review: "...YouTube plays very well, but the machine does seem to struggle a little with BBC iPlayer, even with settings on high."

As there is no DVD drive I will be definitely be wanting to use iplayer and other tv websites to watch shows online (and also occasionally download shows to the hard-drive to watch offline).
Does anyone have one of these netbooks (or one of similar spec) and can you tell me if you also have problems watching iplayer etc?
I am actually planning to buy 2GB ram to put in it.. do you think having this will help smooth out any problems?

Also.. id prefer to get a matte screen netbook as i will spend alot of time using it on trains etc where i would get loads of reflections etc on a glossy screen. Does anyone know of a matte-screeened one with similar spec to this asus one?

Thanks.

busenbust

As per most netbooks and the processor - Intel Atom - used, they often do have a problem playing HD video (and sometimes Flash HD YouTube). You might want to take a look at the Samsung N510 instead - a combination of Atom processor and ION graphics chipset - which provides far more performance in the video playing department :cool:

Nice looking netbook too;)

jaydeeuk1

Have nvidia updated their Ion drivers to add in better flash HD support? Older versions didn't decode it and meant playback was juddery.

busenbust

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

Have nvidia updated their Ion drivers to add in better flash HD support? Older versions didn't decode it and meant playback was juddery.

I'm unsure; I think not but it's early days :cool:

kwikbreaks

Atom 270 (so probably 280 too) based machines with the onboard intel 950 graphics will not play 1080p. I've seen some people say they play 720p but mine won't.

Whether or not they'll play SD probably depends on what codec has been used.

I've just tried iPlayer and it is pretty much OK although I did get the odd pause that is most likely because I'm currently using a mobile BB dongle.

The real question is do you want to watch video on a 10 inch screen.

bargain_bagger

kwikbreaks wrote: »

The real question is do you want to watch video on a 10 inch screen.

Absolutely.
iv got a desktop pc and a tv.. so will only really use this for watching stuff when im travelling etc. i used to watch iplayer downloads on a tiny 2 inch sony mp4 screen!
anyway notebooks seem to have rubbish battery life so i think its a netbook that i need.. but not if its not going to be powerful enough to work well with iplayer etc.. hmmm. dilemma.

bargain_bagger

busenbust wrote: »

As per most netbooks and the processor - Intel Atom - used, they often do have a problem playing HD video (and sometimes Flash HD YouTube). You might want to take a look at the Samsung N510 instead - a combination of Atom processor and ION graphics chipset - which provides far more performance in the video playing department :cool:

Nice looking netbook too;)

looks good... but pretty expensive (£381.85 amazon. The asus one is £269.99).
one of the reviewers on amazon says:
"Keep your eye out for the next EEE though (EEE 1201) it's also got the ION graphics, but with the advantage of a dual core Intel ION."

maybe i should hold out for this??

The specs are improving all the time on these things, it's hard to know when to go for it!

busenbust

The specs are improving all the time on these things, it's hard to know when to go for it!

With netbooks, always and never

kwikbreaks

bargain_bagger wrote: »

i think its a netbook that i need.. but not if its not going to be powerful enough to work well with iplayer etc.. hmmm. dilemma.

I have an EEE Box at home (that is a netbook spec machine too which I use as a server because the energy costs are low) and I've just set it downloading an episode of spooks. I can take a look at it across a logmein link but that probably won't tell me much so I'll also check it when I get home and post back to say how it looks.
======
The official BBC iPlayer download using the desktop iPlayer is terrible.
An unofficial xvid download of the program plays perfectly OK using VLC

computershack

Current netbooks are poor for video playback. The next few months will see some being released using the nVidia ION chipset and that does full 1080p HD. Wait for a bit.

HOWEVER, HP NC4200 and Dell D410 sub notebooks are only slightly larger than a netbook and have a 4hr battery life. They're cheap as chips too. If you really want to splash the cash, a second hand Lenovo Thinkpad x200s will give you a Core 2 Duo machine with a 1280x800 screen and 8hrs+ battery life. Very small and compact.

bargain_bagger

Thanks for advice.
Think i'll play the waiting game.. As much as I'd love to have one now, it's not an urgent purchase. I'd rather wait and get suitable spec for my needs.