Netbook, Notebook, I don't care, but small

[nksmfamjp]

OK, I'm looking for a small Netbook or Notebook for Home use.

Basically, here are my uses:
64% Internet (lots of it in internet cafe unplugged on small tables)
35% Slingbox
10% Office soft work
5% Gaming
10% Picture storage, management, some editing
5% Video editing (cutting and sewing together 5 and 10 min family update clips from hours of 10 and 15 min clips)
5% Music file management for MP3 player
1% Other device syncing(GPS. . .??)

My idea is to get an Atom powered netbook and unleash the power by dumping Vista, or dual booting, and running Linux(Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Mandriva, OpenSUSE, etc as a main OS.

Is this remotely viable, or do I need to step up to a 2Gb RAM, Core 2 Processor in a 12" screen?

[liambl]

As far as I know XP and Linux are the only OSes available on netbooks, due to Vistas speed on such devices. The only real issue I see with using a netbook is gaming, picture storage and video editing. First of all, what type of gaming ( I hope you're not aiming for Crysis on high). Second, netbooks typically have small SSD's that wont go far for storing lots of images, although the EeePC 1000HD and Aspire One have larger hard disks, possibly among others. I have also heard that the Atom chokes on video editing. Based on this, I would be more inclined on to a 12" laptop with a Core 2 Duo or Solo CPU and 2GB RAM, as this seems like it will suit you better.

[niceday]

You can consider getting a HP tx2-1025dx TouchSmart 12.1" Laptop, with AMD Turion X2 RM-72 - 2.1GHz 4GB DDR2 memory ,320GB SATA hard drive (7200 rpm).

[Rev_pizzaguy]

Originally Posted by nksmfamjp Basically, here are my uses: 64% Internet (lots of it in internet cafe unplugged on small tables) 35% Slingbox 10% Office soft work 5% Gaming 10% Picture storage, management, some editing 5% Video editing (cutting and sewing together 5 and 10 min family update clips from hours of 10 and 15 min clips) 5% Music file management for MP3 player 1% Other device syncing(GPS. . .??)

=135%
Is that supposed to add up to 100%? I think you've been overbooking yourself!

[mattaggie]

I would get with a regular notebook. The netbooks are nice for the size, but can be annoying if you are use to faster PCs.

[nksmfamjp]

Originally Posted by Rev_pizzaguy =135% Is that supposed to add up to 100%? I think you've been overbooking yourself!

I knew I was gonna run it hard!!!

I screwed up the math somewhere, sorry!!!

I think several members highlighted my main issues. At the same price point, a notebook 12" is a 320Gb HDD 2Gb RAM and a netbook is an Atom 1.6 with like an 80Gb HDD and 1Gb of RAM. The trouble is they all run VISTA, but there is no way that 1.6 Atom is giving acceptable performance with Vista.

I know running Linux will give me some performance gains, but enough to live with the atom CPU? Also, regardless of machine, at oime, I plan to add on LAN, a USB HDD, full size keyboard speakers , a DVD burner, if needed, and large monitor.

My target price for the laptop is like $600 - $800, but would go to $1000, if I had to.

[nksmfamjp]

I hope you're not aiming for Crysis on high

I don't game now at all, but if I get the Linux running well, I expect to have some free time. I'm thinking it might be nice to run like Deer Hunter through Wine or something. . .

[glc]

This may or may not fill your needs, but I just ordered an Asus Eee 900ha, a Rosewill external mini DVD burner, and a 2gb Corsair SODIMM. $400 shipped for the whole works. It comes with XP.

[Tin]

I have an MSI Wind U120...loving it so far. Ive swapped out the crap Realtek Wifi card with an Intel 802.11n, and added a mini PCI-E 3G card so I can use my AT&T data plan on the go. I got rid of XP, and now run Ubuntu 8.10 Netbook Remix. Even using Blender or GiMP...I seldom see it using over 500MB of RAM, and it hasnt once used the swap file. If you want a netbook, I would take gaming and HD video out of the equation, as they have a hell of a time doing that. For anything else, theyre great. Just keep in mind that it isnt a full fledged laptop and dont expect it to be like one, and youll be fine.