Back To School Technology Buyer's Guide
by Zach Throckmorton on August 4, 2011 8:55 PM ESTNetbooks
Small, lightweight, inexpensive netbooks featuring exceptional battery life started becoming popular in 2007, largely due to ASUS' successful Eee PC line. In order to achieve great longevity while unplugged and low price tags, these netbooks sacrificed processing power. The CPU featured in most netbooks until the recent advent of AMD's Brazos products was Intel's Atom and its derivatives. The new AMD APUs typically offer CPU power on par with or exceeding comparable Atom chips, and far superior graphics performance. That said, even the lowliest single-core Atom is sufficient for basic web browsing and office productivity. I've found inexpensive netbooks make near-perfect 'daily drivers' for campus use. They weigh less than a hardcover textbook, are small enough to be typed on in cramped lecture halls, and they often don't need to be recharged at all during the day.
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ASUS' Eee PC 1001P is a standard, mostly unremarkable single-core Intel Atom-based netbook that deserves your consideration for two reasons: it's cheap and its battery lasts a ridiculously long time. Tests here at AnandTech show the 1001P can stay unplugged for nearly 11 hours if idling and over 7.5 hours during heavy web browsing. You can expect it to last well over 8 hours if you're typing notes and occasionally browsing the web. At $260, it's one of the least expensive netbooks.
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Since their original NC10, I've been a fan of Samsung's netbooks. I like their keyboards better than the competition's, and they're particularly well-built. The NF310 features a dual-core Atom CPU which can help with multi-tasking, offering a level of performance that's a step up from the single-core Atom netbooks. That said, trying to do anything more than web browsing and basic office productivity can quickly become aggravating. At the time of writing, its pricing on the web isn't particularly competitive, but I've seen it as low as $300, and at that price, it's an excellent product.
As alluded to above, AMD's Brazos APUs that came on the market at the beginning of 2011 changed the netbook landscape. The E-350 APU in particular offers substantially better all-around computing than any Intel Atom. Furthermore, most Intel Atom-based netbooks feature 10.1" screens while most AMD E-350-based netbooks feature 11.6" screens. More display real estate isn't just easier on your eyes—I've found my fingers fatigue slower using the 11.6" netbooks' keyboards. Finally, most E-350 netbooks come with Windows 7 Home Premium installed instead of the Windows 7 Starter Edition that comes installed on most Atom-based netbooks. Windows 7 Starter doesn't let you change your wallpaper, nor does it support multiple monitors. These might not be relevant to your netbook usage, but I'd much rather get more memory and a "real" OS.
Dustin reviewed HP's dm1z here on AnandTech, and as you can see from that review, the dm1z offers great battery life (over 8 hours idling, about 7 hours while browsing the web)—and it can game! Or at least produce playable frame rates on lowered settings on many popular titles like Left 4 Dead 2 and Starcraft 2. Starting at $400, the dm1z is definitely worth the extra hundred or so dollars compared to an Atom-based netbook if you are looking for more than bare minimum adequacy for the most basic tasks.
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At almost $500, Lenovo's Thinkpad X120e is more expensive than many more powerful, full-sized laptops. It's more expensive than the dm1z, and in my personal testing, its battery life and performance are (unsurprisingly) very similar to those of the HP E-350-based netbook. However, I bought an X120e because the dm1z's screen is glossy while the X120e's is matte. Considering how much time I spend inside lecture halls and labs, I try to get outside as often as possible—and glossy screens are simply not as easy to see as matte screens in the sun. The keyboard on the X120e is also perhaps the bets "netbook" keyboard around.
If you're looking for something more capable than the above netbooks, or for a larger screen, we take a look at a number of full-sized laptops on the next page.
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overseer - Friday, August 5, 2011 - link
What I saw was the ASUS F1A75-I Deluxe, however I didn't confirm the stock with the etailer. http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=10954053720ASRock has an A75 ITX board around the corner as well. I believe those will be available at major channels in a week or two.
But 65W Llano SKUs... might be due out in Sep. (along with Bulldozer?) Umm this whole year has been about waiting AMD new arrivals.
frozentundra123456 - Friday, August 5, 2011 - link
Great article by the way.I have a question regarding the AMD E-350 APU. The first machine I saw this in was the HP dm1v, and I thought it was great. Thin, light, good battery life, and both better CPU performance and graphics than any atom.
However, I am seeing a lot of 15.6 inch laptops in local retail stores with the E-350.
Does anyone have any experience with this platform? It seems like an ideal fit for a netbook, but underpowered for a full size laptop.
And I also question the abiity of the Llano laptops to play all the games he mentioned at decent settings even at a 1366 x 768 resolution.
Granted, they are way better than intels integrated graphics, but can you really get a decent gaming experience with the titles listed without a discrete card?? (Decent to me would mean over 30 FPS at medium settings at native resolution.)
andymcca - Friday, August 5, 2011 - link
I've only had it for a day, but I just got a low-end Llano laptop (A4-3300M, the cheapest one they have at the moment), and I'm already impressed with it.I realized after playing with my settings that I was on battery power (for an hour, and still ~70% battery after gaming!), so performance may have been scaled down. Even so, I was getting 25-30FPS average in WoW and SC2 on medium. I was not in huge battles or anything, though.
I imagine the more capable models must kick some medium-setting butt. Most of the reviews seem to indicate this, too.
Taft12 - Friday, August 5, 2011 - link
However, I am seeing a lot of 15.6 inch laptops in local retail stores with the E-350.Does anyone have any experience with this platform
It's an idiotic platform. Toshiba, HP et al. are only doing it for the sake of putting a $350 price tag on a full-sized laptop. Most laptop shoppers are looking at the price only and don't know or care about any technical specs.
Chron79 - Saturday, August 6, 2011 - link
I recently purchased an E-350 Lenovo from BB for $300. This is basically a test purchase to see if I want/need anything more once the fall semester begins.It handles internet video fine up to 720p I would say. 1080p YouTube and Netflix streaming HD content can get choppy at times, but those are both luxuries. I loaded Office 2010 and have put Acrobat through its paces with my summer seminar work and everything seems responsive. Also tried WoW, and would call it passable in low-to-medium settings but nothing to write home about. If you plan to game at all on a laptop the E-350s are not for you anyway.
What I love is the overall package and battery life. Fingerprint/face recognition, media card reader, hdmi out, 4 gb RAM and anywhere from 6-8 hours of use depending on your video use. Also the base stays super cool - just a tiny bit of warmth in the upper left quadrant the quiet fan handles. If you are a basic college student who does not game or has a desktop for gaming I really don't see where you would need more than this. To me the next logical step up is $600-700 with BR drives and/or the new A6/A8 cpu/gpu functionality. If you can afford these then more power to you, but for those looking to make ends meet this $300 model is a great deal.
yourwhiteshadow - Friday, August 5, 2011 - link
i made the mistake of buying just a laptop. its not comfortable to do your stuff on a laptop. best bet is to get netbook + desktop. get high productivity in your room, and be able to take notes or do whatever in the class room.honestly though, note taking on the laptop is overrated. i don't remember taking that many notes on my laptop as a science major. my $1200 macbook pro was honestly a big waste of money. should have bought a $500 laptop and upgraded my rig, imagine how far $700 would have went when you already have a case, PSU, fan, etc...
frozentundra123456 - Friday, August 5, 2011 - link
No one mentioned Windows Live Skydrive for cloud storage. You get a really large amount of storage (25 Gb I believe) for free.Is there some reason not to use this, such as lack of security or difficulty transferring files??
I used it to store some photos that I did not care if anyone saw, but I am not sure you can load entire folders at once or if you have to upload one file at a time, which would be impractical.
duploxxx - Friday, August 5, 2011 - link
It's hard to defend any atom based netbook these days, even the Ontario based APU is way better in the lower end netbook area.for the Asus EEE pc 1001P there is a much better solution called 1015B with a c30 apu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
its even cheaper....
A series LIano are in the range between 500-700$ its artificial OEM prices that keep these solutions expensive, the cost price of the A series liano is less expensive then the new intel i3-i5 series, yet priced higher.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Sub...
mtwardochleb - Friday, August 5, 2011 - link
I'm heading up to Cal Poly SLO next month with a gaming desktop and an iPad 2. I used them together for the last few months of high school and quite enjoyed the experience. Being a tech-savvy user I'd like to share some experiences and recommendations.Having a fast computer paired with a 24" monitor seems essential to me for productivity since it enables one to comfortably read a web browser while using Word. It's also fantastic when editing video and watching movies in full HD, or browsing the web without having to minimize chat client windows. I use a SSD for my boot drive and a 2TB green HDD RAID1 array for hardware failure-resistant storage. A backup and image of the SSD are run daily and everything is copied to a 2TB external once a week. I consider this to be a very comfortable level of data redundancy and highly recommend it for anyone who has a lot of data.
The NoteTaker HD app on the iPad is exellent for notes on the go, especially since it lets you annotate PDFs and pictures you take with the iPad cameras. I used this feature to take pictures of handouts in class to consolidate everything in one location. For PDF textbooks I use iBooks and for all other books I find Stanza to work extremely well, especially since it can download books wirelessly off your hard drive when paired with Calibre. There's also a wonderful app called Splashtop HD that gives very good remote desktop functionality over the Internet that's smooth enough for videos or playing Starcraft (albeit clumsily). For EE majors I also found a great app called iCircuit which allows you to design and simulate circuits in real-time.
As for other peripherals, I can say having a more expensive printer is very nice. I have an iP4300 which has automatic duplexing, a very large black ink tank, and a paper cartridge. The cost for text printing is pretty low and the picture printing is superb. Printing 8x10 pictures and other odd sizes also comes out cheaper than having the work done at a lab, which is nice if you enjoy photography. A wireless mouse and keyboard are a must for reducing clutter. If you're a serious musician or just really appreciate music I highly recommend splurging for the Audio Technica ATH-M40fs studiophones. They can be had for around $80 and provide excellent sound quality with great responsiveness to equalization settings (I prefer a bump in bass since I'm used to my Logitech Z-2300 system). Be aware of the 10ft cord and 1/4" professional TRS plug, both useful features in certain situations and annoying in others.
Blaze-Senpai - Friday, August 5, 2011 - link
I don't know about you guys, but I don't mind a slightly bigger laptop that can do everything I need it to do decently, although I can understand people not wanting large computers.I still think its weird people complain about laptops being too heavy, do people notice that much of a difference between 6 and 7 pounds? Just get a backpack that can hold it.
...actually, why aren't bags included? You need a way to carry around all of that stuff, after all :3