About to get my first Aspire One, what should I know about ?

Discussion in 'Acer Aspire One' started by Dodge34, Oct 31, 2010.

  1. Dodge34

    Dodge34

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    I'M about to get my first netbook, now I saw a load of different models, are the basic models like the one at 229$ scrapware that can't even open youtube webpage or are they something reliable. I'm a computer tech support guy but never owned any netbooks and I wanted one for a long time, now I've decided it was the time for it, got extra cash on my hand, I've considered the D260 that is currently sold for 279$ (if I can find it in stores at Staples) they claim it has Atom N475, 1GB DDR and bluetooth, but the Acer product page tell me its probably bullshit, who we need to trust on this, I don't see difference of between Atom processors to me they all run at 1.6GHZ, is there any differences between N450, N475 and N455. My budget is around 325$ max with taxes included, I could go up to 350$ but not over it.

    Things I want :

    Good battery life, they claim 8hrs on the D260, what is the truth about this, honestly, if it can at least have 4-5hrs on it while using it intense (wifi, max brightness, videos on youtube with headphones plugged in) I'll be very happy.
    Able to play at least 720P video on youtube (not a deal breaker for me)
    Bluetooth (not a deal breaker but would love to sync my Samsung Impact with it instead of usb cable, known in USA as the Samsung Highlight, just renamed for Canada)
    Absolutely no SSD drive, they are not safe for long term data storage.
     
    Dodge34, Oct 31, 2010
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  2. Dodge34

    Darryl

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    Re: About to get my first Aspire One, what should I know abo

    Well i've just ordered a D250 win XP and Android 6 cell (160Gb Hd 1Gb RAM) 10.1 in for my girlfriend. I'm going to dual boot that with linux mint to get the best out of it. My (this) heavily tweaked little ZG5 ssd version also has 1.6ghz processor but it won't stream 720p video. The D250 model also has bluetooth and allegedly has a battery life of up to 7.5 hours. I'll max this out in linux by installing powertop to cut down on unnecessary cpu usage. If you don't get the 6 cell battery you'll only end up with 2-3 hours use. Also bear in mind that windows 7 uses pretty much a gig of ram and so a machine with only that much installed is going to struggle to do much besides show you a "nice" desktop. This is why I picked the XP model. The machine arrives in a few hours I'll post back and let you know how it fares.
     
    Darryl, Nov 1, 2010
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  3. Dodge34

    Dodge34

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    Re: About to get my first Aspire One, what should I know abo

    I already successfully installed and used Windows 7 Ultimate on a Compaq Presario V6320CA, basically amd turion 64x2 at 1.6ghz (mostly same like the Atom speed at least) which was delivered with only 1gb of ram, of course later I upgraded it to 2gb but I didn't really feel it was really needed, I never install any anti-virus softwares on my laptops anyway, I check them every month via network share using my main computer anti-virus software and I use MalwareBytes Anti-Malwares every 2 weeks. I plan to use a new trick this time with a netbook, a software called deepfreeze on the main windows partition, this way, anything that can happen will be cleared on the next reboot. I'll also tweak the best of windows 7 and take off any not needed services from it, there's a load of crap not needed on a netbook that use ressources such as a printer service, who needs a printer on a netbook...

    Now I hesitate between the D260 and the 532h, besides having a larger hard disk, is there any other big differences I should watch. I will probably get the D260, but I want to make sure the battery is a 6cell, is it wrote on the box somewhere, cause the in store demos don't have their battery in them, so you can't check for this.
     
    Dodge34, Nov 1, 2010
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  4. Dodge34

    AOD150BLACK

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    Re: About to get my first Aspire One, what should I know abo

    Check the specs and reviews on each model carefully, only a coupld of Aspire netbooks can handle 720p.

    Several models that don't handle HD natively do handle it well with a Broadcom video accelerator mini card.
     
    AOD150BLACK, Nov 1, 2010
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  5. Dodge34

    Dodge34

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    Re: About to get my first Aspire One, what should I know abo

    I'm checking specs and probably will really get my hands on the D260 from Staples, its currently sold for 279,99$, a real deal for Atom N475 (they claim it, but Acer specs for the D260 say it is a N450) and a 250gb disk, if they don't have this model in stock, I'll get my hand on a 532h with a 160gb disk and a standard Atom N450 if they have it with the 6cell battery (I need at least a 6cell battery), otherwise I'll check either at Best Buy or Future Shop for at least a 6cell battery model. 720p video streaming isn't really important to me after some research, most youtube are offered in 480p or 360p, if needed, I could probably get my hands on the broadcom chip and try to install it if there's a slot available for it on my choosen model, but my first upgrade will probably be a 2gb ram module in december or January after the holidays.
     
    Dodge34, Nov 1, 2010
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