Netbook for $100? (DVD, notebook, hard drive, monitor)
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Occassionally I see some advertized on sale for around $100 and wondering if these lowest priced ones would be good or not. Anybody have any thoughts on that because just looked on Walmarts site and cheapest looks to be around around $250.
Slightly older refurbished ones can be had for that price ... and the bottom line is that you're going to get what you pay for. Less memory, lower performance processors, and less battery life than the current generation.
FWIW, I considered getting a netbook before, but after trying them out, I just couldn't live with the smaller-than-normal-size keyboard. I ended up buying a Dell Latitude D620 off-lease (with a complete warranty) for $235 instead. Heavier (though not bad at under 5 lbs.), but with a 14" widescreen, a full-size keyboard, a better performing processor (Core 2 Duo/Merom), and upgradeable with more memory/bigger hard drive if need be. Dimension wise, it's in between a netbook and a full fledge mainstream notebook (with 15"+ screens). When I need more time away from an outlet, I just swap out the DVD burner for the second battery and get 7+ hours.
If you need something ultra-portable with a physical keyboard, and don't need it to have a lot of horsepower, they're quite a bargain. If you're looking for something to use as a full time PC, they're not the way to go, unless you're going to hook up a full size keyboard and monitor.
Also, the cheapest of the refurbs tend to have small ( <= 8gb ) SSDs, so be wary of that if you need to store any significant amount of data.
The very first generation of netbooks had 2-4GB of storage space. I have a 4GB netbook that I've replaced with one that has 80GB of storage. For ease of use, there's no comparison. Windows XP doesn't fit very well into 4GB of storage and the 80GB model running XP is so much easier to manage. I agree with swagger... If the $100 netbook is a refurbished first-generation model that no one wants anymore, I'd avoid it.
Do all the current NEW netbooks have at least a certain amount of GB's now and what would be the lowest recomended amount to get? Do you need 80gb with windows to be satisfied or would 40gb do for example or is 20gb good
There's no set standard as to what a computer "must have"; however, it's price ineffective to put substantially lower spec components; currently at newegg, an 80gb 2.5" SATA goes for $37; a 250gb 2.5" SATA goes for $40. $3 difference (at retail), but triple the storage space ... there's absolutely zero reason to go with the small drive.
Nowadays, netbooks typically come with a 160gb or 250gb hard drive. System memory, 1gb is typically standard.
What is more important is the processor. The newer N450 is more energy efficient than the older N270/N280. None are serious performers, still; a 6 year old Dothan-based Pentium M can still crunch numbers a lot faster than these Pineview Atom processors.
Ok thanks for the help and when looking at cheaper netbooks I'll keep in mind to look at specs and either post back or look in consumer reports etc and not buy solely on cost
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