i'm not defending HP or the 2133, but we shouldn't be resting our palms on anything in the first place. it's one of the causes of carpal tunnel and related disorders.
Kennedy808
· 1 year ago
Do you have an impression of the Via C7's speed vs the EeePC's Celeron running at the full 900mhz?
Brad Linder
· 1 year ago
I haven't performed any benchmarks, but the Mini-Note with the 1.2GHz processor feels like it might be just a tad slower than the Eee PC with a 900MHz Celeron processor. If you leave the Eee PC underclocked to 630MHz, I'd say they both perform about the same. For most day to day use, like web browsing or creating documents, you won't see much difference between the two machines. But when doing things like compressing WAV audio to MP3, the Eee PC feels a bit zippier.
I'm seriously considering the Mini-Note when it's available with XP and the newer processor. I edit the daily radio show and encode MP3s and WMAs for rense.com and I want a smaller computer that will allow me to do that anywhere with maximum convenience. Do you think the Mini-Note will be adequate for that task?
Brad Linder
· 1 year ago
The Mini-Note is better suited to audio editing than the Eee PC, simply because of its higher resolution display. I find it difficult to do much more than a little copying and pasting in Audacity, Reaper, or CoolEdit on the Eee PC because of its display. That said, neither machine is a speed demon. If you're going to be applying a lot of processes and saving large files, these machines will do that, but not as well as a PC with a faster chip.
I'd highly recommend the Mini-Note for light audio work, but I wouldn't recommend replacing your primary computer with it.
caldude
· 1 year ago
Well, I'm using an HP Pavillion dvd2000 with an AMD Turion 2X64, 1.61 Ghz...the speed has been good though not stellar. I have 3 one-hour segment MP3s at 64Kps.....I remove 3 commercials from each one.....encode MP3s at 56 kps as well as WMAs at 32 and 16. Do you think I'm going to notice a significant slowdown?
Brad Linder
· 1 year ago
In a word, yes. The VIA processor doesn't come close to your Turion in terms of performance. The advantage to these little computers is their portability. But they're really meant for light weight tasks, not CPU intensive tasks like encoding audio or video.
Now, don't get me wrong. You can totally use the Mini-Note to do audio editing on the go. Just don't expect it to perform as well as your Pavillion.
Mike Cane
· 1 year ago
It sounds to me (ouch, no pun intended!) that the Lenovo u110 might be better for him, no?
twalk
· 1 year ago
You may want to look at a Fujitsu P1610. They've got a 1.2GHz core 2 solo in them, so they should be fast enough. You can get a refurb from the Fujitsu store on ebay for around $800-$900.
Oliver
· 1 year ago
Nice summary, Brad. I got my top-of-the-line Mini last week and just started using it Friday (busy week). This is the first machine I used with Vista (after reading reports of how it impacts battery life, I never installed the free "upgrade" on my Thinkpad X60t). And I am honestly shocked that HP thought this was a usable configuration. So right now True Image is creating a backup, should I ever want to go back to Vista. And then it's time for an upgrade to XP Professional.
The three pronged plug bugs me, too. A lot of my international adaptors are only two-pronged; time to go shopping for three-pronged ones, I guess. It also was nice to be able to use the same cable for a variety of chargers (e.g., Sony ebook reader) and save some space in that crammed gadget bag.
The keyboard/touch pad isn't really ideal for using the Mini in bed. I guess I should have thought about that earlier :)
Not sure what kind of slip case solution the 3rd party manufacturers will come up with for the extended battery configuration. Hmm.
I love high-res screens and have a 1400*1050 screen on my Thinkpad, but with the Mini I had to increase the font size.
No restore disks. Not good. No software to create them. Really bad.
kripken
· 1 year ago
Regarding the heat issue: If I remember right, you have an HP 2133 with the 120GB hard drive? Is there any chance that the 4GB SSD version might be a tad cooler, or is this a CPU issue?
Andy
· 1 year ago
Do you have a faulty eeePC to compare this too? The fan on both my eeePCs are almost inaudible.
Brad Linder
· 1 year ago
If you upgrade your BIOS and/or install any "overclocking" tools to run an Eee PC at 900MHz instead of 630MHz, odds are your fan is going to kick into high gear occasionally. When it does, it's a bit like being in a wind tunnel. Well, not really, but it's loud.
Mike Cane
· 1 year ago
>>>The Mini-Note isn't great at multi-tasking.
So what you're basically telling me is that I would be cursing at it a *lot* as I tried to get some multi-tabbed Net work done. I do that *now* at my desktop with a 1.8GHz Celeron!! The Mini would be WORSE than that?
I guess I should either wait for the Wind or come up with the money for the Lenovo u110 (in RED, of course!).
Korgmeister
· 1 year ago
Yes, it would be worse. VIA C7 processors are significantly slower than Celerons.
Mike Cane
· 1 year ago
Ah, bugger! MSI Wind, then... or if that craps out, then an Isaih Mini Note. Or if money falls from the sky, the U110!
Mike Cane
· 1 year ago
Someone on my blog asked about screen glare. That's not an issue at all?
Brad Linder
· 1 year ago
I don't find it problematic. But I think it's just a matter of taste. Some people hate glossy screens, others love them. I'm not really sure I have an opinion.
w4tt4n4b3
· 1 year ago
I was in favour of the Mini-Note over the Asus...and I say "was" because if the VIA processor is so bad at multitasking 6-7 firefox tabs with p2p software downloading stuff or creating a photo slide-show, then it's no use if you have to close all applications to do a decent job. And since I am connected to the net there is always an antivirus/firewall and adware shield on the guard...I am afraid that the VIA won't make it. On the other ASus 900 has only 4gb for OS and softwart. That's big limitation. Very poor battery and small keyboard. Does not seem ideal although it has better processor. So I am stuck in the middle waiting for the MSI to give me the solution I am looking for.
Brad Linder
· 1 year ago
It's important to remember that there's a reason these new ultraportables are so much cheaper than yesterday's ultraportables: they have cheaper parts. Hopefully the new Atom and Isaiah processors will help some, but I would never expect one of these cheap tiny laptops to do everything you can do with a more expensive machine. Or you know, a desktop that costs about the same price.
Mike Cane
· 1 year ago
>>>they have cheaper parts
Which was what MS planned Origami to be, and look at what happened there!
Mike Cane
· 1 year ago
Argh. Your use sounds a lot like mine. Although out and about, I'd forgo the always-running anti-virus (I use Avast on the desktop) and make sure I stick to websites I knew.
Yeah, looks like the Wind will have to save us. But that U110 sounds like the best -- but that price!!
Something you might not have thought of with warm laptops, but definitely worth considering: infertility.
"Scrotal hyperthermia has been identified as a risk factor for male infertility...scrotal temperature elevation with working laptop computers was significantly higher..." (To read the whole abstract www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15591087 or go to pubmed.com and search for 15591087) Hum Reprod. 2005 Feb;20(2):452-5. Increase in scrotal temperature in laptop computer users.
My unit come with a 3 cell battery which only last about 2 hours of normal usage,I overcome this issue by purchasing a DC-AC converter to have it charged in the car before visiting another client. I am glad that my unit come with a beautiful case with HP logo on it. Due to the excessive heat when recharging the battery with home AC power,I have sent my unit back to the service centre and have not collect it yet.They did not tell me its normal,so I am giving them time to find solutions solve this issue.
All Comments
You can read a bit more here: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A...
I'd highly recommend the Mini-Note for light audio work, but I wouldn't recommend replacing your primary computer with it.
Now, don't get me wrong. You can totally use the Mini-Note to do audio editing on the go. Just don't expect it to perform as well as your Pavillion.
The three pronged plug bugs me, too. A lot of my international adaptors are only two-pronged; time to go shopping for three-pronged ones, I guess. It also was nice to be able to use the same cable for a variety of chargers (e.g., Sony ebook reader) and save some space in that crammed gadget bag.
The keyboard/touch pad isn't really ideal for using the Mini in bed. I guess I should have thought about that earlier :)
Not sure what kind of slip case solution the 3rd party manufacturers will come up with for the extended battery configuration. Hmm.
I love high-res screens and have a 1400*1050 screen on my Thinkpad, but with the Mini I had to increase the font size.
No restore disks. Not good. No software to create them. Really bad.
So what you're basically telling me is that I would be cursing at it a *lot* as I tried to get some multi-tabbed Net work done. I do that *now* at my desktop with a 1.8GHz Celeron!! The Mini would be WORSE than that?
I guess I should either wait for the Wind or come up with the money for the Lenovo u110 (in RED, of course!).
Which was what MS planned Origami to be, and look at what happened there!
Yeah, looks like the Wind will have to save us. But that U110 sounds like the best -- but that price!!
"Scrotal hyperthermia has been identified as a risk factor for male infertility...scrotal temperature elevation with working laptop computers was significantly higher..."
(To read the whole abstract www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15591087 or go to pubmed.com and search for 15591087) Hum Reprod. 2005 Feb;20(2):452-5. Increase in scrotal temperature in laptop computer users.
Note however that they didn't measure fertility in this study - see the comment on this study at
http://www.ivf1.com/laptop-use-and-infertility/
I am glad that my unit come with a beautiful case with HP logo on it.
Due to the excessive heat when recharging the battery with home AC power,I have sent my unit back to the service centre and have not collect it yet.They did not tell me its normal,so I am giving them time to find solutions solve this issue.