Best Netbook for £400??

Jimpowers79 · 26 Feb 2010 at 14:47

I've been wasting so much time researching netbooks that i have all but given up! The biggest problem is that i'm looking for too much for too little £!

I want something small, 12inch display and no bigger, and something that plays HD footage without any stuttering. Also the potential to use applications such as photoshop without too much trouble, as well as even the possibility of light video editing.

I considered the Asus eee pc 1201n with its higher spec graphics capabilities, but it still falls short in terms of CPU power compared to say the Acer Aspire 1810tx. The problem with the aspire however is that it falls down in the graphics side of things.

I'm not interested in playing 3d games, only the use of the previously mentioned applications. So my question is, which of these (or any other suggestions) would suit my needs the most?

Cheers!

capriboy1978 · 26 Feb 2010 at 18:56

Have you looked at the acer ferrari? Garish yes but a decently powered dual core processor and upto 4gb of ddr3 (iirc) ram, 320gb HDD. Gfx is ati HD3200 so roughly full or slightly better ION performance.

Can be bought new for budget or refurbed (DSR returns mainly) for £310. I'm in a very similiar postion as you and the ferrari seems the best bet for me withou going full on ultra portable money.

Jimpowers79 · 27 Feb 2010 at 11:49

yeah i looked at the ferrari, and whilst i don't usually give a damn what these things look like, i can't stand the ferrari stylings!! the best price i have seen for the aspire 1810tz is £439 and comes with 4gb ram and a 160 HDD, 4500MHD gfx. I've thought about going down the reconditioned route, but when spending upwards of £300 i would rather have the piece of mind that its covered under warranty and hasn't been caned.

By the way, of the 1810tz's i'm looking at, there are two different packages to go for, either 3gb ram and a 250gb HDD, or 4gb ram and 160gb HDD. Which would be best to go for do you think? Would an extra 1gb of ram make any difference?

Jimpowers79 · 27 Feb 2010 at 11:55

Found this comparison chart...

http://www.trustedreviews.com/lapto...Timeline-1810TZ---11-6in-Intel-CULV-Laptop/p4

bob055 · 27 Feb 2010 at 12:50

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18103574

Asus UL30A £399

Jimpowers79 · 27 Feb 2010 at 14:06

cheers for that link, good thread. Although the Asus UL30a only has a single core processor, the dual core version is over £500.

bob055 · 27 Feb 2010 at 14:12

Jimpowers79 said:
cheers for that link, good thread. Although the Asus UL30a only has a single core processor, the dual core version is over £500.

ah yea, didnt think it would be that powerfull for you.

Jimpowers79 · 27 Feb 2010 at 15:34

Thank's for the reply though. I can't believe how much time i've wasted looking up all these different models. Just when i think i've found something suitable there is usually something wrong with the HD playback, cpu limitations etc.

capriboy1978 · 27 Feb 2010 at 16:26

Jimpowers79 said:
yeah i looked at the ferrari, and whilst i don't usually give a damn what these things look like, i can't stand the ferrari stylings!! the best price i have seen for the aspire 1810tz is £439 and comes with 4gb ram and a 160 HDD, 4500MHD gfx. I've thought about going down the reconditioned route, but when spending upwards of £300 i would rather have the piece of mind that its covered under warranty and hasn't been caned.

By the way, of the 1810tz's i'm looking at, there are two different packages to go for, either 3gb ram and a 250gb HDD, or 4gb ram and 160gb HDD. Which would be best to go for do you think? Would an extra 1gb of ram make any difference?

Thanks for the link, seems that the timeline is a far more powerful machine and at full retail I'd definately stump the difference for this over the ferrari. As for recon it's fully guaranteed and allegedly dsr returns / packing damage so machine is as new. If it's not it'll just go back under their 7day peace of mind warranty.

Personally I'd prefer the extra ram to the bigger HDD if there priced the same. Can you drop me a trust mail pointing to where to buy these? I'm tempted but the £140 difference over the recon ferrari is too much for me - most of the time I'll do little more prosuctive than browse the web, watch a few movies or listen to music. Probably going to order tonight.

Update - stocks are dwindling fast so I've ordered a refurb ferrari one at £310 inc delivery, should be here tuesday!

Jimpowers79 · 27 Feb 2010 at 22:33

That's cool. I've heard of similar refurb goods stating that in many cases it is due to damaged packaging, and if that were always the case i'd be on it like a rash! But i guess there are always going to be repaired laptops, ex display, stuff like that, so i don't like taking the risk. But as you say, its most likely you will have a perfectly new machine in a dirty wrapper so to speak.

I don't know what a trust email is, but i'm guessing it has something to do with the button on the comment page above.. but as you already ordered your ferrari i guess you don't need it now!

Yeah if your just doing light tasks then i'm sure the ferrari model will be more than adaquate. When you get your hands on the machine would you mind getting back to me about what it's like?! I'm especially interested in how it handles HD footage.

Cool, yeah i was thinking of probably going for the extra Ram... i'm not desperate to get the machine so will wait for a bit and see if the prices improve!

manic_man · 28 Feb 2010 at 01:20

I managed to bag a 1810tz (the 3GB/250GB model) for £360 as an Acer refurb. Full standard Warranty, only things missing were the manuals. Really love it, it's a brilliant little laptop, I genuinely get 6-8 hours out of it, and it feels really quite snappy.

Certainly no issues with HD playback etc (though it's not my main usage).

Keep an eye out of the official Acer refurbs on most resellers websites.

capriboy1978 · 28 Feb 2010 at 02:16

Jimpowers79 said:
That's cool. I've heard of similar refurb goods stating that in many cases it is due to damaged packaging, and if that were always the case i'd be on it like a rash! But i guess there are always going to be repaired laptops, ex display, stuff like that, so i don't like taking the risk. But as you say, its most likely you will have a perfectly new machine in a dirty wrapper so to speak.

I don't know what a trust email is, but i'm guessing it has something to do with the button on the comment page above.. but as you already ordered your ferrari i guess you don't need it now!

Yeah if your just doing light tasks then i'm sure the ferrari model will be more than adaquate. When you get your hands on the machine would you mind getting back to me about what it's like?! I'm especially interested in how it handles HD footage.

Cool, yeah i was thinking of probably going for the extra Ram... i'm not desperate to get the machine so will wait for a bit and see if the prices improve!

Will do

If the machine isn't as near to perfect as possible, it goes back - simple as.

Timeline refurb at £360 would have been tempting, oh well. I was going with the 311 with a bundle deal but have decided to spend my 5870 money instead.

Jimpowers79 · 28 Feb 2010 at 12:49

Hey, would you mind giving me a link to these refurbished units? I may be tempted!

Cheers

driscos · 1 Mar 2010 at 12:03

competitor links removed

craptakular · 1 Mar 2010 at 13:06

second hand macbook?

13" and will do everything you ask of it

Jimpowers79 · 1 Mar 2010 at 22:26

Thanks for the suggestions. I've looked into the 1410, but it won't play HD video cleanly. I found the 1810 for 433 pounds, but can't find any refurbs going.

Thanks for the macbook suggestion, but i'm not keen on mac's myself. My university love them and have them all over the place. I'm sure they are very good, but can't stand all the hype that surrounds them... and the cost.