Netbooks: 8GB SSD vs 120GB HDD ??? Battery Life? - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Hack&Lube · 10-18-2008, 10:00 PM

So my parents want to buy a netbook for travelling. The most common options between all the netbooks (Asus EeePC, Dell, Acer Aspire, etc.) are to choose either an 8GB Solid State Drive or a 120GB hard disk drive.

Now my parents don't need harddrive space for anything really but it would be nice to have. All they do is keep digital photos. I am thinking 8GB SDD would be enough and I like how SSD's are faster than HDDs.

My main concern is battery life. Do SSD drives have a significant benefit in terms of battery life over regular HDDs?

photon · 10-18-2008, 11:46 PM

The common thinking is yes they do, but I've seen a few different rundown type tests (admittedly with more conventional laptops) and the difference wasn't that significant.

I think it would really depend on the particular SSD. Not all SSDs are faster than HDDs, and likely not all SSDs have a good power advantage.

Maybe check notebookreview or one of those sites to see if someone's done a direct comparison.

Rathji · 10-19-2008, 10:15 AM

I have been considering picking a netbook and decided that if I do, it will be an Acer Aspire with HDD. They can upgrade to 1.5 ram unlike the Dell models, and from my research the HDD is slower in random memory access but not in transfering larger files using sequential access like a movie or file full of pictures. Power wise, the solid state is a minor advantage, but not enough that I figured it would be worth it.

8 gigs really is not enough, and if your parents understand that they will be using USB flash drives or another external disk then it is cool.

sclitheroe · 10-19-2008, 11:09 AM

If the netbook will be running Windows XP, and not some Linux variant, I wouldn't go for the 8 gig SSD model.

The issue is that XP grows over time - every security hotfix updates the DLLCache folder, as well as creates a hidden uninstall directory with the contents of the previous versions of updated files. I tried running XP on an 8 gig SSD, and its more management than you really want - you will run out of space in a year or whatever, and then you have to start digging into the guts of the Windows directory, or upgrade.

Rathji · 10-19-2008, 11:25 AM

Also, I just remembered that the Dell model does have a upgrade to 16 gig. Which brings it to about $450.

http://configure.dell.com/dellstore/...n&OC=NI9X_F_1E

An upgraded Aspire is $429 @ memory express including upgraded battery(6 cell) and HDD(160) with windows XP. The only thing it lacks is the extra .5 gig of RAM.

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...22313(ME).aspx

Igottago · 10-19-2008, 05:24 PM

I'm in the market for a new laptop and have been wondering about these "netbook" things. Storage was always the issue I had with them, but if you can get a 160 gig drive thats not bad.

What are the drawbacks of getting one compared to a regular laptop? Obviously the portability is great, but in terms of performance, all I do is manage my music and media, surf the net, check email, etc. Do netbooks do all that efficiently enough?

Also, right now I've got a 15.4 screen...not sure if going to an 8.9" would maybe be a bit too small...I'd be using this thing daily.

photon · 10-19-2008, 05:34 PM

I think I'd go crazy with such a small screen, for daily use but still portable I think I'd be after a 12-13" screen.

Rathji · 10-19-2008, 07:24 PM

Quote:

What are the drawbacks of getting one compared to a regular laptop? Obviously the portability is great, but in terms of performance, all I do is manage my music and media, surf the net, check email, etc. Do netbooks do all that efficiently enough?

"You can play warcraft 3 on them, but not WoW because it gets too choppy." Is the description I was given when I asked about performance.

Anyone I know at school who has one says they are perfect for everything they need it for, except the gaming. I thought the screen would be way to small as well but I used one for an hour or so and the screen didn't bother me at all, but the keyboard did a little bit. Luckily with my non standard 5 finger typing method adapts easily by the end of an hour. Really not much different than the difference when I switch from my normal keyboard to my 15.4 keyboard. Keys are in different places etc and it messes you up at first.

Quote:

Originally Posted by photon

I think I'd go crazy with such a small screen, for daily use but still portable I think I'd be after a 12-13" screen.

One of the reasons I am waiting is to see what the Mini 12 from Dell brings to the table.

Hack&Lube · 10-20-2008, 09:59 AM

(Okay, we bought the Acer Aspire One with 120GB HDD as it was the last one at Memory Express for $399, they are switching them all to the more expensive 160GB models.

The keyboard is a little cramped for me, even with my small hands but it's tons better than the Asus EeePC which I also have.

As for gaming, with maximum graphics on at 1024x600 res (the native res of the screen) in Warcraft III with 12 computers all going at it, I get about 20 FPS. I just installed Steam and am downloading a bunch of source games, will try Counter-Strike when I get home from work but I don't think it will do that well. The Intel graphics are simply pretty poor.

Going from 7" (EeePC) to 8.9" is a world of difference. It's big enough for me for most everything I do online.

Hack&Lube · 10-20-2008, 09:55 PM

I get about 6-7 hours on the 120GB WinXP version.

I can play Warcraft III. Counter-Strike is pathetic at like 3 frames per second. Forget gaming on this thing unless you want to play legacy games.

Rathji · 10-20-2008, 09:59 PM

You have 1 gig RAM only?

I wonder how much it would improve with another 512k, since the graphics are integrated it might just break the barrier and make it margianlly playable.

Bobblehead · 10-21-2008, 09:08 AM

I thought this was for your parents for traveling?

Rathji · 10-21-2008, 11:00 AM

He has to 'break it in' first.

Hack&Lube · 10-21-2008, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rathji

He has to 'break it in' first.

Exactly. New toys in the family, I have to totally see what I can do with them because I'll probably get them as hand-me downs in the future. Not to mention the usual demands to install all her old software and transfer all her e-mails and pictures and documents over.

My mom is a laptop nut. She has FOUR of them (a Thinkpad, a Gateway, Asus EeePC 7", and now the Acer Aspire One). She keeps buying them to see what she wants to use for travelling when retired, etc.

I have zero laptops.

And some of you asked what the netbook was good for so I just tried out some stuff so I could tell you. The Intel Atom 270 is plenty fast for surfing the net, doing documents, watching movies and multimedia, etc. It's even hyperthreaded (shows two cores in task manager even though it's a single core CPU). The Intel Graphics though, are pathetic. I can't even run demoscene graphics demos from 5 years ago. Counter-Strike gets about 3-5 FPS on 640x480 on everything low. It's awesome for watching movies though. I'm sick and I just sat in bed watching about 4 hours of movies and the battery still lived. It'll probably last 7 hours in regular surfing/document usage. That kills the performance of any other laptop I've had.

Rathji, I'm probably not going to try another 512MB of ram, the Intel Graphics architecture is that bad, I don't think it will make any difference. The thing is that it already comes preinstalled with the 512MB sodimm so I would have to chuck it for a 1GB sodimm and you can't even access it from the outside, you have to dissasemble the whole system. Besides, it's not my laptop...hehe.

FurnaceFace · 12-11-2008, 08:31 PM

I'm catching up to this thread late, but did you happen to try some heavy applications on it? Specifically photoshop? Just curious to get first hand experience running apps like that.

Also now that I've bumped this thread, anyone pickup one of these over the last 6 weeks? I want to get one but keep putting it off for what's coming around the corner, and now with CES approaching I'm waiting for that.

photon · 12-11-2008, 08:34 PM

Yeah I'd still put off getting an SSD, OSes aren't optimized for them and I get the feeling that the performance / price thing is going to keep getting better quite quickly.

Unless you are getting a new system or laptop, then it might make sense to make the jump, OCZ launched some today with pretty decent prices and performance I think.

Rathji · 12-11-2008, 08:45 PM

An interesting article I pulled off The Raw Feed

Fujitsu Siemens' LifeBook: The Last Laptop You'll Ever Buy?

Quote:

Fujitsu Siemens is offering a laptop that will last your entire life.
More precisely, the company's new LifeBook4Life program enables purchasers of a new LifeBook laptop to receive a replacement of their notebook every three years.
The warranty costs about £40 ($60) and is a three-year collect-and-return policy, meaning owners will have to mail in their old notebooks before receiving replacements.

Seems interesting, but you need to wonder about the long term implications.

FurnaceFace · 12-11-2008, 08:52 PM

I was more meaning netbooks in general, not just SSD.

I did see the postings about the OCZ drives. I'd go for SSD if I could however I would want at least 64gb and those are still pricey.

photon · 12-11-2008, 09:55 PM

Oops lol sorry.

Laptops, Macbook +/- Pro or GTFO.

sclitheroe · 12-11-2008, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by photon

Yeah I'd still put off getting an SSD, OSes aren't optimized for them and I get the feeling that the performance / price thing is going to keep getting better quite quickly.

Unless you are getting a new system or laptop, then it might make sense to make the jump, OCZ launched some today with pretty decent prices and performance I think.

SSD is here today. Yeah, you are still paying a price premium, but the performance is stunning. My Macbook with the 128 gig SSD that Apple ships loads Photoshop CS3 in about 3 seconds flat. The machine boots in about 20 seconds. If you have a Mac, you know you can count icon bounces in the dock to get a sense of how quickly an app is launching - well, except for Photoshop as already noted, my icons don't bounce anymore...they go up, and they come down, and the app is launched.

I do agree that the price performance numbers are going to continue to improve, and when you finally decide the price is right for you, you won't be disappointed!