The great Acer Aspire One/Netbook challenge.

[Sapience]

Hopefully Comstrike doesn't mind, but due to the renewed interest and general netbook nature of this thread I tweaked the title slightly to reflect that.

[Comstrike]

I don't mind at all!

[floon]

Couple questions:

The GMA950 chip vs standard Intel integrated graphics, Much a difference?

Anyone try a 9300M based netbook yet?

How important to upgrade to 2GB, some it seems are not upgradable bast 1GB.

I've passed my Mini 1000 on to my daughter, because I recently discovered the Asus N10J... wow. It's a 9300 netbook, and it's nice. Runs Left4Dead - slowly - and runs lotro well. Capable of DX10, although it's pretty slow at that, so I turned that off. And Moria runs significantly worse than non-Moria landscape. So when I'm playing on that, I've been levelling alts, and not playing with my main.

320gb hd, 2gb ram, dedicated video, 6-cell battery... a bit larger than the Mini 1000, but definitely more computer, and a much better gaming netbook.

[chuimon]

And Moria runs significantly worse than non-Moria landscape. So when I'm playing on that, I've been levelling alts, and not playing with my main.

I find this and interesting statement. Any feeling on whether it is just more people crowded together since they can't spread out over the landscape or a basic difference maybe due to the intense three dimensional nature of many areas?

[floon]

I find this and interesting statement. Any feeling on whether it is just more people crowded together since they can't spread out over the landscape or a basic difference maybe due to the intense three dimensional nature of many areas?

Probably the geometry of two landscapes, instead of one. I was also in the 21st Hall, now that I think of it, so it could have been a zillion players, as well.

[Ascus]

When you get to the N10J you are talking serious money at about $700 and its starting to approach small laptop size.

I am very tempted to stick with the 8.9 screen if I can get a smaller package, I want something light and portable. I had a 17" gaming laptop it ran LOTRO on high, but I dreaded taking it anywhere, just too big. Many 10" boxes however are not bigger than the 8.9" model of same maker.

I am going to stick with a gaming desktop and a netbook for travel, Playing LOTRO is a nice benefit for the netbook but I don't want to sacrifice small size and (non-gaming) battery run time for it.

So my target is a netbook with 6 hour battery life under non-gaming use and can play LOTRO at ultra-low 1024x600 at 20+/fps and withing $50 of $400. WHile gaming I will have it plugged in. Any suggestions?

[Digital_Utopia]

That kind of goes against the idea of a netbook of being all you need in a small package. A standard docking station would be great.

Yes it would, but then again - whether it be a netbook or a notebook, If you're looking to upgrade, it's obviously not all you need.

I've got an Acer 5100 laptop, but I also keep a 320GB portable hard drive in my bag. Since the only time I use it is when I'm in an area where I have a workspace, it's a convenient (and relatively cheap) way of getting a whole lot of extra storage without having to replace the internal drive, and all the "fun" that would go with that.

My point was simply, if they can do that with hard drives, then why not look into having it possible to do something similar with video cards? True, having a standard PCI-E slot outside of the laptop would take too much real estate, but if there were a way to make a smaller/compact PCI-E slot it could solve the largest upgrade limitation known to laptops and their younger brothers. On top of that, considering these external video cards would contain their own fan, it could vastly improve heat issues as well.

[Ascus]

My bonus check is in, so I will be buying a Netbook by Sunday.

is GMA950 a requirement to play LOTRO? will base integrated graphics work? I'd like to get a SSD but so far have not found a SSD machine a 1GB and GMA950. (reading this thread makes it look like the GMA950 is next to required)

I did decide on the 8.9" screen since I want the smallest possible and the 8.9" screens are same resolution as the larger ones.

Candidate #1: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834115519
8.9" GMA950 1GB 120GB-HD

Candidate #2: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220449
8.9" IntGrx 1GB 16GB-SSD

The 9300M netbooks look nice, but I would rather spend the extra money on remodeling the Bathroom (at least that's what my wife tells me ).

The one with the HD and GMA950 has lead, but if anyone has experience running LOTRO on the ASUS Eee PC EEEPC901

[saxtus3]

My bonus check is in, so I will be buying a Netbook by Sunday.

is GMA950 a requirement to play LOTRO? will base integrated graphics work? I'd like to get a SSD but so far have not found a SSD machine a 1GB and GMA950. (reading this thread makes it look like the GMA950 is next to required)

The 9300M netbooks look nice, but I would rather spend the extra money on remodeling the Bathroom (at least that's what my wife tells me ).

The one with the HD and GMA950 has lead, but if anyone has experience running LOTRO on the ASUS Eee PC EEEPC901

Integrated Graphics = FAIL. Avoid these like the plague.

[Ascus]

Integrated Graphics = FAIL. Avoid these like the plague.

With the exception of the 9300M models ($650-800) all netbooks have integrated graphics, and it appears that almost all of them have GMA950's even when listed as just integrated graphics.

[Sapience]

Just a note about your 8.9" preference. If you want the smallest screen possible then those are both great options. Patience has the Aspire one with the SSD drive and LOTRO runs tolerably well on it with decent boot time.

I have a Lenovo Ideapad S10. It has a 10.2" LCD with an almost identical form factor to the Acer one. We're talking irrelevant size differences between the two. Maybe a 1/3 of an inch. The Acer has a rather thick bezel where the S10 has a thin one. So if what's really important is form factor, there's no meaningful difference between the two.

[Majesto]

Also, check out the new Asus Eee 1000HE. It has the newer 1.66ghz processor and 667mhz FSB, compared to the typical 1.6ghz processor and 533mhz FSB. It also has the right-shift key moved to where it should be, and even wireless-N built-in. Plus you can upgrade it to 2GB of RAM and get a SSD for it. Total price <$500. (or $550 anyway if you get a larger SSD)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...f?ie=UTF8&s=pc (1000HE at Amazon)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220504 (1000HE at Newegg)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820134587 (2gb RAM)

[chuimon]

Just a note about your 8.9" preference. If you want the smallest screen possible then those are both great options. Patience has the Aspire one with the SSD drive and LOTRO runs tolerably well on it with decent boot time.

I have a Lenovo Ideapad S10. It has a 10.2" LCD with an almost identical form factor to the Acer one. We're talking irrelevant size differences between the two. Maybe a 1/3 of an inch. The Acer has a rather thick bezel where the S10 has a thin one. So if what's really important is form factor, there's no meaningful difference between the two.

Hmm...

10.2 - 8.9 = 1.3

1.3 / 8.9 = .1461

Looks to me like nearly a 15% difference in screen size, but at that small size I can see where it is not readily apparent.

[Sapience]

Hmm...

10.2 - 8.9 = 1.3

1.3 / 8.9 = .1461

Looks to me like nearly a 15% difference in screen size, but at that small size I can see where it is not readily apparent.

The point I was trying to make was that despite the screen being ~15% larger on the Lenovo, the physical size of the device was almost identical to the Acer due to the Acer using a wide bezel around the smaller screen. So the physical housing is nearly the same size, just the screen is smaller within it.

[Majesto]

I think the point here is that the device won't be any smaller if you go with an 8.9" screen over a 10.2" screen. They'll be the same size, but the 8.9" screen will have a wider border around it. Due to the necessary size of the keyboard (to be usable), they can only shrink the entire device so much.

Assuming the pixel width and height are equivalent, we get the equation: sqrt((1024x)^2 + (600x)^2) = 10.2in (or 8.9in)
which gives us:
10.2in screen: x = 0.008594, so the screen is: 8.8"x5.16"
8.9in screen: x = 0.007499, so the screen is: 7.68"x4.5"

Personally, I think if the device is going to be the same size either way, I'd go for the larger screen.

EDIT: Sapience beat my post by 1min... Doh!

[Ascus]

Thanks there, now I am eyeing the 1000HE right now, just trying to find some reviews before pulling the trigger for the order. a little faster FSB and 9 hours of battery life sounds good.

While Amazon is cheaper, Newegg's is the "deluxe" pack which includes a case. Plus I am frequent shopper at Newegg.

Edit: ouch, its sold out.

[chuimon]

The point I was trying to make was that despite the screen being ~15% larger on the Lenovo, the physical size of the device was almost identical to the Acer due to the Acer using a wide bezel around the smaller screen. So the physical housing is nearly the same size, just the screen is smaller within it.

Understood. Since you have seen both more or less side by side, does the difference in screen size make a noticeable difference in font size or readablilty of things like quest text? (Aging eyes here and a small difference in font size can make a big difference in ease of use.)

[Samolf]

How bad are these computers on over heating? I recently got a Dell Inspiron Mini 9 and attempted to play lotro on it. It had no trouble to start but then it got VERY hot and pretty much slowed to a crawl. This is mainly because the Mini does not have a cooling fan and instead uses a large heat sink for cooling. I got it on ebay and turned it around for a profit back on ebay so no worries but I want to find a netbook which can run Lotro without heat problems and for longer periods of time.

[Comstrike]

I was on LOTRO for over three hours recently, using my Aspire One, and had no issues at all.

[Ascus]

I got my Asus eeePC 1000HA yesterday. Installed .Net 1.1 and 2.0. Plugin in my USB drive with LOTRO on it, ran the LOTRO registry updates program. Fired up the invoker and LOTRO came up without problem.

It defaulted to Low (Not Ultra Low) and got 10-15 FPS running around Bree. After making some tweeks. Lowered Population Control to .5, lowered texture detail to low. I got 15-20 FPS with that. Did not go to Moria

[Comstrike]

I got my Asus eeePC 1000HA yesterday. Installed .Net 1.1 and 2.0. Plugin in my USB drive with LOTRO on it, ran the LOTRO registry updates program. Fired up the invoker and LOTRO came up without problem.

It defaulted to Low (Not Ultra Low) and got 10-15 FPS running around Bree. After making some tweeks. Lowered Population Control to .5, lowered texture detail to low. I got 15-20 FPS with that. Did not go to Moria

Welcome to the club! Seriously, we need hats and jackets now.

[Ascus]

Welcome to the club! Seriously, we need hats and jackets now.

Since it appears that you inspired some people, including some devs, into trying out lotro on the netbooks, may the next set of official set of LOTRO wall papers could include a 1280x600 one especially for the lotro on a netbook club

[Comstrike]

I may change my car's plates to PLYLOREZ.

[Eugorr]

This is hilarious, just reading through this last week caused me to give in to instant gratification and run over to Office Max on Friday and buy an Acer One ($299, 1g ram, 160gb HD). I'm not sure I can remember the last time I bought something there, but hey, they had one left.

So I load up the game this weekend, tweak nothing on the Acer, and by gum, it runs!

Grab a little Sprint broadband USB thing on Saturday, and instead of wading through reports Monday morning at work, I'm banging out blackberries!

This WILL get me fired, but until then, funfunfun...

[auximenes]

instead of wading through reports Monday morning at work, I'm banging out blackberries!

If you had filed your TPS reports on time, then you wouldn't be in such a predicament. Also, blackberries have feelings too; don't hurt them!