Netbook purchase recommendations

Marnomancer

Posts: 709   +53
Aye, maties! :)

I'm planning on getting my self a good netbook for my campus stuff. Here's the criteria:

1) With anything low on power usage (like the Atom), of course. Need the battery life. But something powerful enough to compile a Python code.
2) SSD. I'm usually not that clumsy, but for the occasional drop, I'd prefer something that doesn't have moving parts. Oh well, admitted, I just want the speed more.
3) Atleast wi-fi. My college has it, so I'll leech it. ;)
4) Preferably no OEM OS installed. Recently-converted Linux lover (blame Leeky :p) , so will arm it with my Backbox, but don't want to waste the Windows (likely) installation's warranty. Dual-booting a last resort.

Budget is upto $240 (USD). Hard-set, unfortunately. Ready for compromises. :D

Any recommendations?
 
I personally like Toshiba's line of Netbooks, we use one at home for a media center and it's quite nice. Although given your budget, I think you'll struggle to find something with Ivy and SSD at that price. That's what Ultrabooks are for, afterall ;)

Something like this:

http://us.toshiba.com/computers/laptops/mini-notebook/NB500/NB505-N508BL

Only has second generation in it (Atom N455) but still a quality little machine. Second gen is still nice. You could always pop out the HDD and put your own SSD in at a later time when budget allows.

Others might have had experiences with other brand netbooks, but I've liked Toshiba's NB series since they launched. I play old games on mine all the time too, Like Fallout 1/2 :p

Hope I'm not rambling at that this helps or gives you an idea. 30 dollars more than your budget too..
 
Hey, that was quick! :D(y)

Thanks for the prompt reply. :)
I'll look into it.

I may be able to bump up the budget a bit, I guess. Have to try. My actual budget is $200, 240 was the bumped price. :(
The SSD isn't a compulsion, but I'd really love the Ivy.
Let's see what others have to say. :)
 
unfortunately, with your current budget you can't afford Ivy bridge..
if you want ivy bridge, you should see ultrabook models that's more pricier..
asus offers plenty of netbook models (eee models), some of them (depends on models) may come with ssd, but IMHO just go with HDD
http://usa.asus.com/Eee/
 
Thanks for the reply. :) Okay, I've edited out Ivy Bridge. An Ultrabook will set me back severely on college funds. As for an SSD, I'd really love one if I can get it for a few more dollars. If it's worth the performance, why not? I'll be running Linux, and not much of big files I'll be carrying. So space isn't a real huge issue. Performance, plus more safety (sturdiness).
 
recently it kind of hard to look netbook with an ssd, maybe it's just my feeling, I'm not sure about this too :)

FYI: some pc vendors often offers promotion of their product for college students, they'll give you some discount for a college student (terms and conditions apply), unfortunately I don't know which vendor that still offer this kind of promotion :p
 
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