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 Oh god a new thread Unlike the last thread, you get to have your cake (dual core, graphics, or battery life) and eat it, too. Q: Hi, I'm looking for a netbook. A: Buy an HP dm1z, Lenovo x120e, or Lenovo x130e. This comes up a lot for a reason: the AMD Fusion platform. From Wikipedia: Wikipedia posted:AMD Fusion is the marketing name for a series of APUs by AMD. There are two flavors of Fusion currently available, one with its CPU logic based on the Bobcat core and the other its CPU logic based on the 10h core. In both cases the GPU logic is HD6xxx, which itself is based on the mobile variant of the Radeon HD 5xxx Series. Fusion was announced in 2006 and has been in development since then. The final design is the product of the merger between AMD and ATI, combining general processor execution as well as 3D geometry processing and other functions of modern GPUs (like GPGPU computation) into a single die.[9] This technology was shown to the general public in January 2011 at CES. In the same year AMD introduced Bulldozer for Socket AM3+ and for the server market. What does this mean? You can actually do something now on these machines. Netbooks used to mean a 1.6Ghz single core Atom, 1GB of RAM and Windows XP SP3 and a fairly bad experience. The GPU on the same die as the CPU means that there is actually a dedicated discrete video card that can do real video card things, such as: HDMI out, being able to play HD movies, getting 15 fps in Starcraft 2. If an application can do hardware acceleration, a modern netbook can do it. HOWEVER, Netflix is done with Silverlight which doesn't have hardware acceleration yet. Oh yeah, 6 hours of battery life observed is par for the course. Current Models: * HP dm1z - Starting from $379.99 USD, $405 for the E-450 model (get this one) * Lenovo x120e - Starting from $359, $409 for the E-350 model (get this one on eBay!) * ASUS Eee PC 1215B - Starting from $260, $400ish for the E-350 model don't buy this because it's getting an E-450 update *** NEW!!! *** * Lenovo x130e - Starting from $549.99 for the AMD Fusion OR the Intel i3; kind of on the expensive side, but still a good bet. CNET compiled a list of the "Best Netbooks" with no AMD powered netbooks. In case if you were wondering, both the HP dm1z and Lenovo x120e both scored higher than half of the netbooks on this list. (Buy one) If your budget is less than $300 Eat ramen for a week and buy a dual-core netbook. Or look on Slickdeals for a coupon to HP's or Lenovo's site; currently it is possible to get a E-350 x120e for $340 shipped. In the year Intel is coming out with their 32nm process Atom processor, Cedar Trail, which should be coming out very, very soon. It will be phasing out the current Atom N475 and N455 processors and will also have an integrated GPU that will support DX 10.1. AMD's minor update to the E-350s, the E-450, has just hit the market in the past month with the updated HP dm1z. Minor bump to the frequency and a minor revision of the Radeon graphics chip from the HD 6310 to the HD 6320. Next year AMD is looking at releasing a handful of 28nm processors that are based off of the current 40nm architecture, but they are still in development. Help me improve this thread by posting helpful poo poo that is new and/or relevant Phone fucked around with this message at Apr 11, 2012 around 15:11 |
| # ? Nov 30, 2011 05:56 |
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| # ? May 20, 2013 13:18 |
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Reserved for goon reviews. HP dm1z: poo poo is rad, go buy one if you like speakers Lenovo x120e: poo poo is rad, go buy one if you like a nipple mouse and a matte screen
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| # ? Nov 30, 2011 05:56 |
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There are rumors that Lenovo is releasing the x130e on the 13th of December. It will have an E-450 or Core i3 and a more ruggedized chassis. May be worth holding out for, at this point!
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| # ? Nov 30, 2011 06:30 |
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Phone posted:In the year
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| # ? Nov 30, 2011 06:36 |
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For those who live in the parts of the world where they sell the x121e instead of the 120, rest assured, it's quite good too. -The trackpad is garbage. It's got three clicking mechanisms. You can tap it, you can press the lclick button, or you can actually press the entire trackpad down. The last bit means that the whole thing isn't fixed. It's mostly rigid, but it's not ideal. Maybe a little superglue could fix it... -The clitmouse is perfectly good though. -1366x768 isn't bad for 11 inches, and it's matte, which is awesome. -The screen only opens about 140 degrees, not 180. This won't affect many people, but it's worth mentioning. -The keyboard is as good as any you'll find on a laptop -It's got an i3 and can do 8GB RAM. Left4Dead2 almost runs smoothly, if that's any benchmark. -The hard drive bay is NOT full sized. You can only put a 6.5mm high disk into it. They don't warn you about this. My IBM X25-M SSD fits once you take the plastic poo poo off it. -Computers without SSDs are just loving awful. Pull the 5400 piece of poo poo it comes with out and put it in a USB box. -It's only got one headphone/mic port. It autosenses what you've got attached. This is garbage if you want to converse with people using non-USB gear. -No serial port. I know they're never ever going to make a netbook with one, but it's still a negative  -Holy loving goddamn it has an onboard 3G radio. This is amazing. You'll need to install "access connections" and their hotkey software to make it work, which is less than ideal, but it's ok. Be sure to untick the boxes for LAN and 802.11* when installing access connections. Let windows handle that poo poo. Stonefish fucked around with this message at Nov 30, 2011 around 10:34 |
| # ? Nov 30, 2011 07:00 |
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Finally, a new op!  DM1Z is awesome, but I want to warn folks: if you don't get the rubber bottom, that poo poo will slide everywhere. Also, contrary to videos, I personally cannot get the bottom panel to come on/off easily.
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| # ? Nov 30, 2011 14:56 |
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Don't forget about the Acer 722 It's not quite as good as the DM1Z or X120, but it's been as low as $200 at Target a couple times. 11.6" screen, ATI graphics, 7-hour battery, plays HD video... CNET Review with video: http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/ace...7-34827874.html Laptop Magazine review: http://www.laptopmag.com/review/lap...re-one-722.aspx Bob Morales fucked around with this message at Nov 30, 2011 around 15:10 |
| # ? Nov 30, 2011 15:04 |
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Also, I want to chime in and say if you are putting 8GB of RAM in a netbook you're a fool. I wouldn't even spend $150 on an SSD to put in one, either. They're so slow it doesn't really make much of a difference. $400 + $150 + $30 and you're getting into Macbook Air territory. I'd stick a 64GB SSD in one, though.
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| # ? Nov 30, 2011 15:07 |
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you can get a macbook air with 8GB of ram and a $150 SSD for $600 (roughly)?
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| # ? Nov 30, 2011 15:31 |
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notwithoutmyanus posted:you can get a macbook air with 8GB of ram and a $150 SSD for $600 (roughly)? Used - which I forgot to mention. A clearance model (last generation, C2D 11") is $749-$799. Of course not the RAM but they all come with an SSD. The point of the 8GB RAM is that if you're doing something with datasets that large, you're in the wrong market for a netbook.
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| # ? Nov 30, 2011 15:53 |
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Bob Morales posted:Also, I want to chime in and say if you are putting 8GB of RAM in a netbook you're a fool. Bob Morales posted:They're so slow, SSDs don't really make much of a difference. My x121e is snappier than my gaming desktop by far, even with its budget i3. CPU doesn't make poo poo run faster until you start maxing it out for extended periods. Hard drives make EVERYTHING faster, except raw computation.
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| # ? Nov 30, 2011 16:58 |
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Bob Morales posted:Also, I want to chime in and say if you are putting 8GB of RAM in a netbook you're a fool. I wouldn't even spend $150 on an SSD to put in one, either. They're so slow it doesn't really make much of a difference. I spent ~$440 total for a lenovo X120e with 4gb of ram and a 64gb crucial m4. They're also pretty rugged. I dropped mine from about 6 feet high, it slammed between my bureau and the wall, and the paint chipped on the hinge down to bare metal. No damage to anything inside, boots fine, everything still sturdily in place. I've dropped it from 3-4 feet on to carpet/wooden floors probably six or seven times as well and there was no damage. I also keep it in a backpack with at least 8lbs of other stuff and it often ends up on the bottom and sort of tossed about. It has held up for over a year under these conditions with not so much as a mark anywhere except for where I dropped it that one time. edit: I have never dropped it while it was open. Also, the reason to get the x120e is for the keyboard. Khorne fucked around with this message at Nov 30, 2011 around 18:35 |
| # ? Nov 30, 2011 18:29 |
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Stonefish posted:So's your face. I need to run virtualised Windows sessions to cover gaps in functionality that my primary OS has. It's a domain thing. Don't ask. But it works, and it works pretty damned well for a 1.5kg device. You're talking about a $600 base netbook, so he is right. Add your 8gb of ram and SSD and you're looking at more money than a used Macbook Air.
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| # ? Nov 30, 2011 19:42 |
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Stonefish posted:My x121e is snappier than my gaming desktop by far, even with its budget i3. CPU doesn't make poo poo run faster until you start maxing it out for extended periods. Hard drives make EVERYTHING faster, except raw computation. i3 is also eons faster than a E-350 when it comes to raw CPU We're getting reaally sidetracked for the first page. The i3 isn't really a 'netbook' CPU anyway.
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| # ? Nov 30, 2011 19:58 |
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Is there a specific reason for those in particular or is it just the fusion core? The max i will need mine to do is 720p video, so i don't know if those are overkill or not. e: it's worth noting i'm in the UK, and I can't find the DM1Z anywhere and the x120e E350 is £360, or $570 in moon money. whiteshark12 fucked around with this message at Nov 30, 2011 around 20:51 |
| # ? Nov 30, 2011 20:22 |
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Can anyone comment on this netbook? Or, I'm not sure it's considered a netbook but the price on this laptop is pretty nice. I'm mostly wondering about the CPU on it and how it would compare to an E-350. I believe the CPU on this one is an Intel U5600. I haven't heard much about it which is why I'm weary about it. http://www.ncix.com/products/index....er&promoid=1115
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| # ? Nov 30, 2011 21:21 |
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infinite99 posted:Can anyone comment on this netbook? Or, I'm not sure it's considered a netbook but the price on this laptop is pretty nice. I'm mostly wondering about the CPU on it and how it would compare to an E-350. I believe the CPU on this one is an Intel U5600. I haven't heard much about it which is why I'm weary about it. Here you go: http://ark.intel.com/products/50029...Cache-1_33-GHz) It's a low-voltage Arrandale. A bit beefier than an E350, albeit with crappier graphics, and a step under a low-voltage first-gen Core i3. Shouldn't matter for media tasks, but it will make it a less capable gaming machine.
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| # ? Nov 30, 2011 21:33 |
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whiteshark12 posted:Is there a specific reason for those in particular or is it just the fusion core? The max i will need mine to do is 720p video, so i don't know if those are overkill or not. As far as I can see, HP doesn't offer the option to configure the dm1z to preference in every country, but rather sells preconfigured models with different model numbers starting with "dm1". I feel it's worth mentioning/confirming this for those who don't live in the USA, basically because, even following the previous thread closely, I wasn't exactly sure last year and gambled a bit by buying the HP DM1-3100. I paid 389€ back then. And it ís in fact an incarnation of the dm1z. There's also a HP DM1-3210 (E350, 4GB, 320GB) and now a HP DM1-4000SB (E450, 4GB, 320GB) for example. They're actually both offered at around 400€ here (525 USD, 340 GBP). This is in Belgium, where you can expect to pay a premium for any somewhat recent technology. I can't imagine the UK to do much worse, price wise. Edit: DM1-4000 in the UK from 329 GBP Edit 2: Good lord, why the 5400rpm drives though? Even with the E350 and 7200rpm the drive is often the bottleneck. An annoyance I encountered is the varibright-"feature" especially when browsing the forums and there's an animated avatar on the screen and the whole screen flashes. The entire internet tells me I can turn this of in the Catalyst Control Center, but on my computer the option simply isn't there. Any suggestions anyone? Flipperwaldt fucked around with this message at Nov 30, 2011 around 22:36 |
| # ? Nov 30, 2011 21:48 |
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Flipperwaldt posted:An annoyance I encountered is the varibright-"feature" especially when browsing the forums and there's an animated avatar on the screen and the whole screen flashes. The entire internet tells me I can turn this of in the Catalyst Control Center, but on my computer the option simply isn't there. Any suggestions anyone? Start> search box > type "ccc", then power> powerplay(?) > uncheck varibright Unless I misunderstood you. That's what I had to do.
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| # ? Nov 30, 2011 22:04 |
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Lprsti99 posted:Start> search box > type "ccc", then power> powerplay(?) > uncheck varibright These are all my options under "power": (linked, don't want to hog the thread with this) http://i.imgur.com/UjSJT.png http://i.imgur.com/uDh4h.png http://i.imgur.com/6fZQa.png I don't see "powerplay" and I don't see a checkbox.  Maybe I should update my drivers or something? vvvvv Thanks, that did it. I didn't realise updating the driver through windows update only wouldn't ever update the catalyst control center. Lots of new options I don't understand or care about, but definitely access to powerplay/varibright! Flipperwaldt fucked around with this message at Dec 1, 2011 around 00:02 |
| # ? Nov 30, 2011 22:25 |
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Flipperwaldt posted:These are all my options under "power": I would. Pulled up my Catalyst, and PowerPlay is literally the only category. Lprsti99 fucked around with this message at Nov 30, 2011 around 23:12 |
| # ? Nov 30, 2011 23:10 |
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Right click on your desktop -> AMD VISION Engine Control Center -> Power -> PowerPlay -> Unmark "Enable Vari-Bright"
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| # ? Dec 1, 2011 00:07 |
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Sporadic posted:Right click on your desktop -> AMD VISION Engine Control Center -> Power -> PowerPlay -> Unmark "Enable Vari-Bright" Yes, my problem was that my Catalyst Control Center was so horribly outdated that this option wasn't available. I thought however that it was up to date, because I always updated my drivers through windows update. This caused my confusion when googling for a solution and getting exactly that advice. Thanks to a gentle nudge from Lprsti99 I got around to updating drivers AND ccc properly and all is well now. Appreciate it, nonetheless.
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| # ? Dec 1, 2011 01:28 |
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Flipperwaldt posted:Yes, my problem was that my Catalyst Control Center was so horribly outdated that this option wasn't available. I thought however that it was up to date, because I always updated my drivers through windows update. This caused my confusion when googling for a solution and getting exactly that advice. Glad you got it worked out. loving Varibright was the first thing I disabled on my dm1z
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| # ? Dec 1, 2011 02:04 |
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Did Dell quit selling the Mini? I don't see any netbooks on their website. Even TigerDirect only has 16 items in their 'netbook' section. Are the Atom-based machines going away?
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| # ? Dec 1, 2011 02:11 |
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Bob Morales posted:Did Dell quit selling the Mini? I don't see any netbooks on their website. They still have the Inspiron Duo flip-top tablet netbook, but otherwise it does look like the Mini is kaput.
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| # ? Dec 1, 2011 02:14 |
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Lprsti99 posted:Glad you got it worked out. loving Varibright was the first thing I disabled on my dm1z I remember the first time I tried to watch a video on my x120e while not plugged in, I made it full screen and the backlight on my screen completely turned off -  - It took me some time to figure out it was varibright and how to turn the stupid thing off.
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| # ? Dec 1, 2011 02:55 |
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Phone posted:Or look on Slickdeals for a coupon to HP's or Lenovo's site; currently it is possible to get a E-350 x120e for $340 shipped. kaschei posted:There are rumors that Lenovo is releasing the x130e on the 13th of December. It will have an E-450 or Core i3 and a more ruggedized chassis. May be worth holding out for, at this point! Still worth buying the x120e? Will prices plummet later this month? I don't know anything about computer release trends.
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| # ? Dec 1, 2011 05:15 |
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Quick question, I jumped on that $300 3105m deal that was linked in the last thread, it only came with 2GB of DDR3 memory, but I am hoping to upgrade that to 4 sometime in the (very near) future, since it has another empty slot. Is there anything that I should look out for? Also, on a related note, it came shipped with 32-bit Windows 7 Professional. I presume that in order to allow over 3 gigs of RAM to work, I should immediately reinstall with 64-bit, since it seems that you can't just 'upgrade' without flattening and reinstalling clearn? e: I don't see prices for a netbook, especially one as well balanced as the e-350 netbooks mentioned above, going much further below $300 without people just snapping them up in lieu of lovely old-hat Atom-based units. People are already slashing prices on Atoms to $250, $200 and nobody really wants them even at that price, especially now that smartphones and tablets are eating away at the market. nftyw fucked around with this message at Dec 1, 2011 around 07:58 |
| # ? Dec 1, 2011 07:54 |
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nftyw posted:Also, on a related note, it came shipped with 32-bit Windows 7 Professional. I presume that in order to allow over 3 gigs of RAM to work, I should immediately reinstall with 64-bit, since it seems that you can't just 'upgrade' without flattening and reinstalling clearn? Yes, there's no upgrade path.
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| # ? Dec 1, 2011 11:36 |
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I've got an SSD (just a Kingson V+100, 90GB), and 6GB of RAM in my DM1Z. I figured 3 wouldn't be enough, and a 4GB stick was dirt cheap. Obviously I replaced the existing 1GB stick, not the 2GB stick. I justified some of it with the system having shared video memory and it having a 64-bit Windows 7 install by default, but I'm sure I'm not using all of the RAM. It's true, though, 8GB is a waste of money, spend half as much and end up with 6GB. Put what you didn't spend on that second stick of RAM towards an SSD. And then if you still think an SSD is too small, pick up an SD card for media storage or something.
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| # ? Dec 1, 2011 12:19 |
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How's the SSD treating you on the thing? Apparantly this 3105 is basically a differently marketed dm1z so it's nice to hear more about it. I haven't put it through all the tests since I had to reinstall drivers and hp crud from scratch (ugh) but already it's not clunking away at the hard drive like my VIA C-7 netbook was  Though just like the old netbook, the touchpad on this thing is , perhaps even moreso than the one on the 2133 which is honestly saying something. Ugh.
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| # ? Dec 1, 2011 12:48 |
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nftyw posted:
On a related note to this, can I install a copy of Win 7 Pro 64 that I download from a legal Microsoft source (digitalriver) and use the CD key that came with the computer and Win 7 Pro 32?
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| # ? Dec 1, 2011 19:54 |
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Yes.
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| # ? Dec 1, 2011 19:55 |
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mars posted:On a related note to this, can I install a copy of Win 7 Pro 64 that I download from a legal Microsoft source (digitalriver) and use the CD key that came with the computer and Win 7 Pro 32? As Factory Factory says, you can use the same key for 64 bit or 32, you just have to make sure that you install the right edition (Pro only works for Pro, Home Premium only for Home Premium) which it sounds like you've got under control.
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| # ? Dec 1, 2011 22:16 |
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Yeah I just got a 3105m on that deal and it's coming tomorrow. I was planning to switch it to W7 64 Pro, but just wasn't sure if the HP versions used some kind of specially restricted keys.
mars fucked around with this message at Dec 1, 2011 around 22:22 |
| # ? Dec 1, 2011 22:20 |
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Well, I was hoping to put this on the second page, but whatever. I stuck my X120e up on SA Mart: link
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| # ? Dec 2, 2011 05:57 |
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I got my girlfriend a dm1z back in May (so E-350) and it owns bones. My only gripe is that the trackpad buttons are part of the trackpad itself, so sometimes it will read button clicks as cursor movement and vice versa. Other than that she loves it, it's quite a lot of computer in such a small package.
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| # ? Dec 2, 2011 19:49 |
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C-Euro posted:I got my girlfriend a dm1z back in May (so E-350) and it owns bones. My only gripe is that the trackpad buttons are part of the trackpad itself, so sometimes it will read button clicks as cursor movement and vice versa. Other than that she loves it, it's quite a lot of computer in such a small package. My dm1z is the best piece of technology I have ever bought. I never hesitate to recommend it to anyone, it's just a fantastic machine all around 
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| # ? Dec 4, 2011 06:43 |
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| # ? May 20, 2013 13:18 |
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Got a steal of a deal on a x120e. Other than a problem which eventually resolved itself over time, it's been a great little machine. If I didn't play games, it would be the only computer I ever needed. I would recommend it to everyone.
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| # ? Dec 5, 2011 04:39 |
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