Solved! Intel Atom Netbook, good enough for me?

[_gs_]

Hi all, I'm currently planning to purchase an Intel Atom Netbook..
The main point is on mobility and long lived battery..

The questions are:
1. Is Intel Atom good enough to run Windows 7 OS? Because there are some netbook bundled with Windows 7 instead of XP.
2. How much longer will a netbook with 6 cells battery compared to 3 cells one? Twice? Does it cause some heating problems?
3. Can Intel Atom run "Spore" smoothly? (Games from Maxis)

Thanks for all the answer, I'm confused either to get an Atom or Core2duo, all my need is to do work, long lasting battery(preferrably more than 3 hours), and do some minor gaming..

Additional question:
Does a Intel core2duo automatically lower its speed when idle? How long would it approximately last on doing some office stuffs?

Thanks for all the help..

 

[Maziar]

Hello
1_Yes it should run win7 fine
2_Don't know exactly
3_It depends on the spec,what are the specs ?

If you are going to game then its better to go with a notebook and C2D,and yes CD2 automatically lowers its speed when on idle.

 

[_gs_]

Thanks for the answer, it helps me clear some confusion..
Anyone know the number 2 question? It still confused me though..

 

[Shadow703793]

1. Yes, but don't expect to run multiple apps or Win 7 x64 Ultimate + Aero,etc.

2. ~1-1.5hrs depending un use,load,etc.

3. Hell NO. Providing that a 8400GS (OCed, see my specs in me sig) can barely run it at 800*600, I doubt you can run Spore*** on a netbook, even with Ion. 8400GS > Ion.

Does a Intel core2duo automatically lower its speed when idle? How long would it approximately last on doing some office stuffs?

Yes. It's called SpeedStep.

@OP: Get a Core2 based laptop. It's a better investment in terms of performance vs money. A decent laptop can run on battery for at least 2 hours. Even the budget laptops (NOT the netbooks; budget laptop != netbook).

A laptop is for actually getting work done, a netbook is just for checking email and little work (imo).

***Please be aware that Spore has pretty nasty DRM. See: http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SecuROM

 

[_gs_]

1. Yes, but don't expect to run multiple apps or Win 7 x64 Ultimate + Aero,etc.

3. Hell NO. Providing that a 8400GS (OCed, see my specs in me sig) can barely run it at 800*600, I doubt you can run Spore*** on a netbook, even with Ion. 8400GS > Ion.

@OP: Get a Core2 based laptop. It's a better investment in terms of performance vs money. A decent laptop can run on battery for at least 2 hours. Even the budget laptops (NOT the netbooks; budget laptop != netbook).

A laptop is for actually getting work done, a netbook is just for checking email and little work (imo).

Well thanks Shadow, I thought that Spore is just a simple game, because I used to run it on my desktop.. Haha..

Well again, I'll just use it to do some email checking and office.. No hard work here, just wondering if I could play Spore, but it's not the main point anyway..

C2D seems to be a waste for me, since I don't use much of its power, I had a desktop at home which is good enough for me already.. So, may be Atom will be my choice..

 

[madonvibes]

Hi _gs_! I know this is a bit late, but I currently own an HP Mini 110-1030CA which has the Intel Atom processor. 1GB RAM, Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950, 5400RPM SATA HDD 160GB.

I installed Win7 on it and I can assure everyone Aero works on this particular netbook. Depends what you're trying to multi-task, but I was running Word, a browser, MSN and maybe one other program and it seemed to be fine until I hit a Flash heavy website (???). I plan on upgrading to 2GB RAM which hopefully will improve that.

The wireless card on it is awesome. At home I get the same speed as if I was hardwired to our LAN.

I use my netbook mostly for typing up school essays and assignments, MSN, browsing websites, and checking e-mail. I'm going to try to run the game "Torchlight" today and see if it will work.

All in all it's very handy =)

Oh and I don't know personally, but I read that on 6-Cells netbooks should last up to 6hrs. I'm planning on purchasing one of those batteries

Hope this helps!

 

[_gs_]

Haha, thanks madonvibes..
I postponed my purchase on Netbook, because there is a sale on my city this Wednesday..

Erm, are you using Win 7 Starter Edition or Home Edition?
If U are using the Starter Edition, does it limit you to run only 3 apps?

Well, Torchlight is a great game, hope U enjoy it.. Haha..
(Sorry, out of topics)

 

[madonvibes]

Windows 7 Ultimate 32Bit

I'm not familiar with the Starter edition, but from Wikipedia: "The least-featured edition of Windows 7; the Windows Aero theme is not included, and it isn't available in a 64-bit variant. The desktop wallpaper is also not user-changable." I do not know if it limits the amount of apps you are running simultaneously.

I was merely stating that I begin to see some strain on the system once I pass 4 programs running at once, especially when I wander onto a website with a Flash element.

As for Torchlight, it runs but takes some time to load and is a bit laggy but very playable =)

 

[_gs_]

Well, thanks again for sharing your experience here madonvibes..