Advice on a netbook please and their capabilities

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mrgsm021

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#69838 13-Oct-2010 21:25

Hi,

I am looking to get the wife a 10" netbook, not sure on what brand/model yet.

The ones I have been looking at are of similar specs:

Intel Atom N450 1.66Ghz processor

1GB RAM

between 160GB & 250GB HDD

802.11b/g/n

What I would like to know is if these specs are enough for watching online streaming video/TV series which my wife is into from time to time?

I am asking since these netbooks don't seem to have a graphics processor so I wonder it will have difficulty handling graphics?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

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#391555 13-Oct-2010 21:49

should be ok for SD content.
For HD content it will struggle (but then so will your broadband connection probably)

It will be able to handle graphics on older games, but probably not much released in the last 2-3 years (other than simple indie games)

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
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Geekzone

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#391558 13-Oct-2010 21:57

Netbooks are certainly not for graphics intensive applications - HD and gaming. For those you need something with proper discreet graphics adapter and plenty of memory.

Kiwipixter

246 posts

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#391562 13-Oct-2010 22:08

I am currently using an Acer 531h with 2GB of ram. Can do most things but playing or streaming HD (even 720p) content is not one of them. I'd recommend you look at netbooks thats based on Nvidia ION chipset for playing HD content.

kyhwana2

2566 posts

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#391569 13-Oct-2010 22:26

If it's just SD video, it will be OK to play it OK.. Forget about playing HD content on a netbook unless it's an ION netbook and you have 720p content.

mrgsm021

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#391632 14-Oct-2010 08:23

Thanks guys for the replies.

Any suggestions on models with the Nvidia ION chipset? These would obviously be a bit more expensive than the ones with aforementioned specs?

My budget at most is around $700.