Confused about netbook spec at PC World/Currys

h.cowell

Hi

I'm thinking of getting our fashion conscious daughter a netbook for Christmas and have my eye on the Acer Aspire One Happy. Have done some research and found that the rrp for the base product is around £250. But I can't find the available specs for the base version on the Acer website, and find conflicting information on various other sites :-/

Since we have a local PCWorld/Currys, I want to buy it from there through Quidco. They have these versions:
N450 processor (1.66GHZ) = £339 or
N550 dual core processor (1.5 GHZ) =£279
(Both have 1GB RAM / 250GB Memory)

Am I right in thinking that the N550 processor is the faster one? With everything else being the same, why then is the N450 the dearer one? A couple of websites quote the N450 as being the base version....

Help please, from someone more knowledgeable than me! Thank you!

closed

You could get a proper laptop for that sort of price

TrickyDicky101

As far as I can tell the N550 is the superior chip in every way except power consumption (although the difference here is probably insignificant). Possibly the N550 version sells a lot more than the N450 and hence the economies of scale kick in making it overall cheaper despite being a superior product.

h.cowell

Thanks TrickyDicky, that's what I needed to know! Still seems odd to me though - maybe they plan to reduce the price of the N450 version to it's rrp and claim it's a sale bargain ;-)

Closed, I thought about a laptop but a netbook is more suitable for her purposes

penrhyn

So not for school work just friend face then?:rotfl:

Waste of time pointing out the small screen, slow performance, lack of optical drives etc.

h.cowell

Yeah, mostly for surfing and a bit of word processing assuming it's up to that? We already have a high spec PC tower, and my husband's super-duper laptop... but all dd wants to do is post messages to friends in Moshi monsters! Don't need anything too fancy

stilltheone

h.cowell wrote: »

Hi

I'm thinking of getting our fashion conscious daughter a netbook for Christmas and have my eye on the Acer Aspire One Happy. Have done some research and found that the rrp for the base product is around £250. But I can't find the available specs for the base version on the Acer website, and find conflicting information on various other sites :-/

Since we have a local PCWorld/Currys, I want to buy it from there through Quidco. They have these versions:
N450 processor (1.66GHZ) = £339 or
N550 dual core processor (1.5 GHZ) =£279
(Both have 1GB RAM / 250GB Memory)

Am I right in thinking that the N550 processor is the faster one? With everything else being the same, why then is the N450 the dearer one? A couple of websites quote the N450 as being the base version....

Help please, from someone more knowledgeable than me! Thank you!

Not quite follwing your line of reasoning here:

Since we have a local PCWorld/Currys, I want to buy it from there through Quidco.

h.cowell

stilltheone, I should have said that I can pick it up from my local store but save money by ordering it through Quidco for collection....I'd prefer not to have it posted, particularly given the current cold spell. A couple of Christmas's ago, I did a whole load of internet shopping which arrived weeks late because of the weather :-/

But if anyone knows of a cheaper deal for the N550 version then I'd be happy to listen! John Lewis sells the Acer Aspire One Happy too, and I could get there, but they only have the N450 (£249).

hubert_cumberdale

i would stay away from pcworld/ currys and what ever other names they trade under

and i would stretch that little bit more for a 15.4" laptop those net books are a royal pain in the bum.

Im not sure how old your daughter is but if she starts doing homework and such like that involve graphicy things like making posters or photoshoppy things it will drive her insane on a small screen

kabayiri

h.cowell wrote: »

stilltheone, I should have said that I can pick it up from my local store but save money by ordering it through Quidco for collection....I'd prefer not to have it posted, particularly given the current cold spell. A couple of Christmas's ago, I did a whole load of internet shopping which arrived weeks late because of the weather :-/

But if anyone knows of a cheaper deal for the N550 version then I'd be happy to listen! John Lewis sells the Acer Aspire One Happy too, and I could get there, but they only have the N450 (£249).

Since you're in Cheshire have you looked at Aria or MicroDirect?

These retailers are both in Manchester area, and Aria have an Acer Aspire One D260 in stock for less than 220. Perhaps it's worth a look.

Moshi Monsters will look good on any, but if your DD is anything like mine, she will want to "customise" her netbook with stickers and stuff!

TrickyDicky101

I really like my Netbook (a Samsung NC10 about 2 years old now). It has a reasonable keyboard and a 10" screen and because it's so light it is easy for me to carry on my commute. I also find I rather like surfing on it whilst I watch TV in our living room - this is in preference to the larger laptop i have (there's a time and place for everything, but basic surfing is well catered for).

I would certainly miss it if I didn't have it!