Netbook €200-€300

cson

Just need something small and portable for browsing. I've had a look at Argos and there are 3 in the price range;

MSI Wind U180 for €215
Asus Netbook for €250
HP Mini for €300

So basically [a] is there anything better than this online and if not which of the 3 offers the best value?

I'm on the phone at the minute so I can't link them but they're on the website and I'll do it as soon as I get back.

The_Conductor

Technically they appear to have identical specs-

- same 1.6Ghz dual core atom processor
- same 1Gb RAM
- same shared graphics
- same 320Gb hard-drive

Personally I'd suggest for 30 or 40 quid more- getting a full blood laptop- with a full version of Windows 7 Home premium, full keyboard etc. (not to mention a far more powerful processor and more RAM)

A netbook is fine for casual browsing of the internet- but if you have anything to type- the keyboard will get cramped very very fast.

cson

Cheers, tbh I have a decent specced Dell Studio so I'm only looking for a cheapie Netbook for portability and light browsing - like a keyboard proper so I wouldn't be a tablet fan. Just a particular personal preference really.

Is this any better;

http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/HP-Mini-1104113sa-Netbook-Red/310292/2.5.0

N64

"With the Intel graphics media accelerator 3600 you can view your content in spectacular quality and be dazzled by the greater level of detail within games!
"

What games are they talking about?! My netbook with this chip can't even run 1080p youtube videos and it has a HDMI out on it! :eek:

to be honest with you, all netbooks are the same, spec wise. Just get one with a good battery life and keyboard.

Since all of them ship with 1GB of ram and have w7 starter installed, its advisable to get a 2GB stick of ram for about €12 extra (including delivery) from the likes of crucial.com to make it run much faster.

The_Conductor

In all fairness- the 3600 is a brandnew graphics chipset- even a current generation Core i7m is a 3000 rather than 3600 integrated GPU.

Integrated graphics are always going to mean compromises- and in the case of Intels integrated GPUs- you're probably 1 or 2 generations behind AMDs integrated Radeons (however probably 2-3 generations ahead CPU wise......)

Its a compromise. If you're outputting 1080p by HDMI- you will tax this beyond what it can reasonably be expected to do- it will manage- but by moving to the CPU rather than the GPU and it will also play other tricks to get around its limitations........

I can output 1080p by HDMI with my phone, if I so choose. I don't tend too- while it can do it- its not the best idea to do it other than on rare occasions for short periods of time.

If you want a hidef media player- buy a WD Live or something similar- there is no point in wrecking your head using this netbook for the purpose......

cson

Cheers lads, ended up getting a HP Mini 210 with the Beats Audio. Pretty good so far but I haven't really asked her any questions.