Review: XP 120 gb Aspire One vs Linux 8 gb SSD

TheOne · Aug 23, 2008

I’ve had the Acer Aspire One Linux SSD model for about two weeks now. While I really like the form factor and performance of the A1, I had a little trouble adjusting to the Linux operating system. I also found myself missing a few of the Windows programs that I use on a regular basis. So I decided to order the 120 gb hdd XP version. I have had it now for a couple of days and I am very happy with it.

Performance:

The performance of the One with Win XP and the HDD is far better than I expected. It's really quite zippy. I have Photoshop, MS Office, Firefox, Metastock (stock charting program), Sony Vegas (video editing) and some other programs installed and it handles them all without any issues.

The speed of the One in Windows is really quite amazing for such a small computer. I am especially surprised by how well Photoshop works on it. It loads quickly and doesn’t suffer any performance issues when editing reasonably sized images. Multi-tasking is also not a problem. I’m not saying that I would want to do any extensive photo or video editing on the A1, but for quick edits when traveling, it’s nice to know that the capability is there if I need it.

Windows boot/shutdown times are significantly longer in XP than in Linux, but actually quicker than my full size notebook. Standby and resume times are noticeably quicker in XP vs. Linux. The wireless adapter appears to perform better on the Windows version. I use to lose the signal periodically in Linux and have to switch the wireless on/off to re-acquire it. I haven’t experienced this problem thus far with the Win XP HDD version.

Size/Weight:

The two units are virtually identical in size and weight unless you place them side-by-side and look very closely. The HDD version is a few mm longer and slightly larger underneath to accommodate the hard drive (see photos below). The four little feet are also a little taller on the HDD One in order to balance out the extra volume of the case on the right side. This ends up making the HDD version slightly taller than the SSD model, but helps add extra airflow underneath to compensate for the additional heat generated by the HDD.

XP Drivers & Hard Drive:

The screen colors using the Intel video driver in XP are noticeably better than with the Linux model. It's actually quite a difference when you place the screens side by side. Also, there isn’t any color banding like there was on the Linux One. The colors are more accurate and vivid as well. The Intel driver in XP makes it easy to adjust color balance, brightness, contrast, etc. (something that I couldn’t figure out how to do in Linux).

The HDD that came with mine is a Hitachi Travelstar 5400rpm with 8MB cache. It’s essentially silent, although I did notice that the One generates a bit more heat with the HDD. The XP model comes equipped with two SD card readers and all the same external ports as the Linux model. Battery life using the 3-cell was slightly over 2 hours of constant use (full screen brightness, no power saving features enabled, wireless on). The Win XP One has 1GB Ram standard vs the 512MB on most of the Linux versions.

The XP One also has a really nice Realtek audio driver. It includes a 10 band graphic EQ, various sound environments, ability to speed up or slow down the audio from any source, and other nice features. The sound is impressive through headphones and the extra features in the driver help to compensate a little for the weakness of internal speakers.

Conclusion:

This HDD XP model is a very capable & compact Windows Notebook. The term Netbook just doesn't seem appropriate here for such a capable machine.

While I really like the idea of utilizing a SSD on the One, the speed and storage capacity of the HDD really help with performance and overall usability in a Windows environment. With the pricing set at $399 for the new model (6-cell battery, 160 HDD, and 1GB ram), Acer has really hit the sweet spot in the netbook market.

I think that Acer is going to sell a ton of these. Especially once the new 6-cell battery model arrives. And I think Intel is going to sell a lot of the Atom processors as well. Finally...an affordable, fully capable, lightweight & truly portable Windows notebook.

Bob

The taller feet on HDD model gives the illusion that it is thicker. However, the HDD and SSD versions are approximately the same thickness other than the slight bulge on the right underside of the HDD model.