AnimeSuki Forums

emptyeighty · 2009-10-16, 15:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0

Might be worth linking a couple articles from the other thread here too:
Blogsuki review of the Acer Aspire Revo, 1.6ghz single core desktop atom with Nvidia Ion. Should approximate the HP Mini 311 pretty well.

Tech Report Review of the Asus UL-30A. This is one of those CULV designs just mentioned, however, they seem to have gone out of stock everywhere - probably due to Windows 7 just like the Acer Timelines. However, it doesn't provide any test results with softsubbed files. My guess is that the 1.3ghz Core 2 Duo is good for 720P but not 1080P, since it doesn't have GPU acceleration. (Anyone know if anyone plans to launch a CULV + Ion design?)

I would think that 2x1.3GHz handles your average 1080p anime ep at least.

The real question is why you would want 1920x1080 on a screen with a resolution barely above 720p.

synaesthetic · 2009-10-16, 15:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by emptyeighty

I would think that 2x1.3GHz handles your average 1080p anime ep at least.

The real question is why you would want 1920x1080 on a screen with a resolution barely above 720p.

Same reason I keep trying to play 720p on a 1024x600 resolution display.

There were no other encodes available for a given series.

Making sure the machine can handle 1080p is future-proofing it and ensuring it will last functionally as long as it will last physically.

Not too long ago, there were more XviD releases than h.264 releases. Now, that isn't the case, and there are more 720p h.264 releases than 480p releases. The number of "problems playing x encode" threads in this very forum has sharply increased with the resolution progression.

So yeah, it seems silly, but that's the reason. I would be stressing a lot less about this if every series I wanted to watch had a 480p h.264 version, which my year-old eeePC plays back just fine.

0utf0xZer0 · 2009-10-16, 16:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by emptyeighty

I would think that 2x1.3GHz handles your average 1080p anime ep at least.

The real question is why you would want 1920x1080 on a screen with a resolution barely above 720p.

Thora's 1080P Bluray rip of the K-ON OP can crack 90% at points on my 2.2ghz AMD dual core if I have subs on. I presume the episodes themselves would run a lot faster (lower bitrate than the OP + not so much karaoke), but it's hardly a sure thing.

As for the why... some of these machines have HDMI output. If I were buying it, I'd also want 1080P capability so that it could play 1080P files I download for my desktop.

emptyeighty · 2009-10-16, 16:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

Not too long ago, there were more XviD releases than h.264 releases. Now, that isn't the case, and there are more 720p h.264 releases than 480p releases. The number of "problems playing x encode" threads in this very forum has sharply increased with the resolution progression.

What? This forum is as dead as it gets pretty much.

As for future-proofing, H.264 can go far beyond what netbooks will be able to handle for a while. If you want to buy now, get as good of a CPU as possible and your average 1080p fansub should work. There's no guarantee though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0

Thora's 1080P Bluray rip of the K-ON OP can crack 90% at points on my 2.2ghz AMD dual core if I have subs on. I presume the episodes themselves would run a lot faster (lower bitrate than the OP + not so much karaoke), but it's hardly a sure thing.

As for the why... some of these machines have HDMI output. If I were buying it, I'd also want 1080P capability so that it could play 1080P files I download for my desktop.

I should've said average fansub before then. BluRay rips are an entirely different category.

As stated above those little machines probably won't be able to handle every 1080p H.264 file out there for a while. Fansubs probably work though.

RayLancer · 2009-10-18, 21:00

Bumping the thread again with another netbook option for those looking for something on a budget:

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-AS1410-22.../ref=de_a_smtd

Highlights: Dual-core Celeron Processor SU2300 (1.2GHz/1MB L2 Cache/800MHz FSB) and Windows 7 Home Premium. $399.

I mean, price is more than a normal netbook, but its like around $50 more (Most netbooks are like $300-400 anyways).

I'm considering over the HP mini, especially after that Asus review with the SU7300 review with Windows Media Classic Home Cinema. The Ion platform is incredibly nice but the Atom seems like the bottleneck (I never owned a netbook, its just from what I hear). I rather have a faster CPU for general use and for watching media than have a slow CPU and a strong GPU that can do the same and play modern games on low at 800x600. (But everyone has a different use for what they want a netbook to do).

synaesthetic · 2009-10-18, 22:06

Oooo the new Acer CULVs hit.

If you're looking at an Acer CULV, I'd personally want to go with the Aspire 1810TZ. The Aspire 1810TZ comes with the Core 2 Duo SU7300 @ 1.3GHz. It's $599, also comes with a larger battery and gets close to 9 hours of battery life (according to LAPTOP Magazine's review).

Or you could go for sexier with the Asus UL20A, which has the same SU7300 processor and costs the same but has much better aesthetics.

I'm still pretty much considering leaving the netbook and ultraportable world behind to get everything I need in the Asus UL80VT.

For $850 it's one hell of a notebook for general use, video and light gaming. It is so damn sexy. But definitely not a netbook at 14.1" screen size, it's a full-size laptop.

RayLancer · 2009-10-18, 22:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

Oooo the new Acer CULVs hit.

If you're looking at an Acer CULV, I'd personally want to go with the Aspire 1810TZ. The Aspire 1810TZ comes with the Core 2 Duo SU7300 @ 1.3GHz. It's $599, also comes with a larger battery and gets close to 9 hours of battery life (according to LAPTOP Magazine's review)

I looked at that, but I'm most likely buying 2 (one for me and my sister). HP Mini 311 is still on my list of netbooks I'm looking at. I'm just waiting for a full review of the SU2300 and SU7300 and seeing if its really worth the extra cost.

synaesthetic · 2009-10-18, 23:34

Here's a full review of the Acer Aspire 1810TZ (Core 2 Duo SU7300):

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/lapt...ire-1810t.aspx

They actually got the name wrong. The 1810T is the European model number for the 1410, which is the SU3500 model (has a smaller battery, too). As you can see, a very favorable review.

Though personally I'd go with the Asus UL20A if you're going to go with a SU7300. It's much nicer in terms of aesthetics and build quality (aluminum and plastic construction) and costs actually $10 less from Amazon.

Still, it's important to remember that processor only means so much when it comes to games. The CULV processors may be more potent than an Atom, but with the bad Intel IGPs the CULV notebooks will probably play games worse than an ION netbook.

Plus, I doubt the Intel GMA 4500MHD can handle hardware decoding of h.264 via DXVA, so if the processor itself can't handle it, you don't have the same hardware decoding options as you would on an ION.

The reason I'm looking so hard at the Asus UL80VT is because it does have both the SU7300 and a discrete nVidia graphics chip (incidentally, a better one than ION). Of course, the UL80VT isn't a netbook or even an ultraportable with its 14.1" display. Basically, the UL80VT is all that and a bag of chips (for $850). The size isn't really an issue, since it still weighs less than five pounds.

I would personally prefer it if the 12.1" Asus UL20 had the nVidia chipset, but it doesn't and won't in the US, unfortunately, so us dirty Amerikkans are shit out of luck. =|

Edit: It's important to know that while the Atom isn't a particularly fast processor, for what it's designed to do it works quite well. It gets very good battery life and it's inexpensive to produce. It is more robust than people give it credit for and the N270 is highly tolerant of overclocking.

I know lots of people over at eeeuser.com who have pushed their N270 eeePCs up to 2GHz. My older netbook still has the less-efficient (but more powerful per clock) Celeron-M 353. Truthfully, it really does not feel "slow" unless I'm on power-save mode or trying to do something it wasn't really intended to do (like play HD video).

Surfing the net, checking your e-mail and stuff like OpenOffice really don't take that much in the way of computing power. If you have processor-intensive special programs (like video encoding, 3D modeling, CAD, heavy computational stuff) or gaming in mind you should not look at netbooks or ultraportables. That sort of stuff just requires too much power.

But if you want a portable that can go the distance and do some light gaming and multimedia, there's not a lot you can do wrong by picking up an ION netbook.

Once the 11-13" CULV notebooks start getting discrete graphics though I suspect ION netbooks will be a thing of the past. At this point though, I'd personally rather drop $400 on an HP Mini 311 with that GeForce 9400M, than spend the same on a SU2300 CULV with just a little bit more oomph than the Atom, but bad Intel IGP.

RayLancer · 2009-10-19, 11:39

Yea, what you said synaesthetic is what I've been debating for a while. I don't want a netbook to cost more than $400 (well, obviously tax will take it over but thats not what I meant xD). So pretty much it boiled down to the Acer Timeline 1410 (HP has an equivalent called the dm1, it uses the same body as the Mini 311 but it'll probably cost a lot more) and the HP Mini 311. I don't plan on playing a lot of games on it, besides old games, since I have my PSP and DS for that. Media playback is very important to me, I don't plan on on watching HD Bluray (or HD streaming) but it has to be able to play animes.

I think the Intel GMA 4500HD should be fine for softsubs. I'm hoping to play around with a display model and use Windows Media Player Classic Home Cinema and see how that turns out.

EDIT: Personally, I prefer the HP Mini 311 for its look, build quality, and cheaper battery ($100 for a HP 6 cell vs $150 from a Acer 8 Cell). Acer one is bigger but I don't really need that much battery life, 5-6 hours is plenty enough.

synaesthetic · 2009-10-19, 11:49

Order online and out of state, pay no tax. I'm going to order the UL80VT from xoticPC and avoid paying sales tax on an eight hundred dollar lappy. ^^;

And yeah. That's the problem. I don't really think the SU3500 or the SU2300 can handle anything over 720p with softsubs, and even to get the video playing smoothly you'll probably need CoreAVC (more efficient than libavcodec) to reduce the burden on the processor.

I want to be able to play 1080p high bitrate Blu-Ray rips with softsubs going, since I want my lappy to last me at least two to three years. I suspect that 1080p will wind up being the new standard for fansubs eventually. So I want something that will go the distance.

Aird · 2009-10-23, 03:26

I own an Acer 1410 with the SU3500. It'll play 720p with softsubs for 95% of the time. I find it tends to sometimes drops frames on 30 frames with softsubs at 720p. Which is usually op/ed segments so isn't killer. This was with cccp, if you install coreavc it'll probably fix it. If you want some headroom, get one with a dual core. I didn't have a choice since I had to buy back at the end of Aug/Sept. The more important thing was cpu power to play flash video which an atom sucks. I also stream flash video much more than I watch fansubs. I haven't played a single game so can't comment on the 4500hd for that.

If you can find that dual core 1410 on sale, I think it'd be hard to beat price/performance. If I had to do it again where time wasn't a factor, I'd probably wait for an 1810t to go on sale in the low 400s. However, I have no regrets on my single core 1410 that I paid $383 for a month and half ago. I'll probably never buy a laptop that isn't 11.6 again. Small and lightweight to easily carry against bigger laptop. At the same time it has a full size keyboard and more screen resolution then a typical 10".

emptyeighty · 2009-10-23, 04:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aird

I own an Acer 1410 with the SU3500. It'll play 720p with softsubs for 95% of the time. I find it tends to sometimes drops frames on 30 frames with softsubs at 720p. Which is usually op/ed segments so isn't killer. This was with cccp, if you install coreavc it'll probably fix it.

Note that the latest CCCP (2009-09-09) has ffdshow-mt included for H.264. On a multi-core system, go to CCCP settings, 1st page and check "MT". That way there's a good possibility that CoreAVC won't even be needed.

RayLancer · 2009-10-23, 22:48

I just bought a HP dm3: http://www.officedepot.com/a/product...3-1030us-13-3/

Specs and everything is in there, its a steal for $499 after rebate (Most of the body is in aluminum casing). It plays 720p MKV H264 AAC animes like a champ (I've been watching stuff with a lot of action and fast scenes to test it). Also plays Youtube HD fine, though I haven't been playing a lot of HD to say that Youtube HD is not a problem.

Benchmark score for the AMD Neo X2 L335
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_look...Dual+Core+L335

synaesthetic · 2009-10-23, 23:41

I read Laptop Magazine's review of the Intel CULV variant of the dm3, the dm3t. The editors say the touchpad is terrible. Can you comment on that? I usually just use a wireless mouse but sometimes I don't have a table to set the computer on.

I really wish I could get something in this form factor with good discrete graphics and decent battery life. The dm3z can be upgraded to a discrete ATI card, but it's not a very good one.

The Dell Studio XPS 13 is the right size (plus it looks hot) but it's expensive and the battery life is awful.

I've been just considering very hard to save up for a fully-loaded Sony Vaio CW. It is unfortunately over $1000 though. =(

The Asus UL80VT is still in the running though based on its 3DMark06 performance (3801 points with discrete graphics and Turbo33 on while running off AC power) and the price is definitely attractive. Discrete graphics tend to make things expensive. x_x

RayLancer · 2009-10-24, 00:18

Touchpad isn't great, but its not horrible either. I haven't used it much since I've been letting it sit there to do all the updates. But I was watching a lot of movies and animes on it =] I still recommend using an external USB mouse. You should check out the threads here about the dm3, there's a lot of potential with the Radeon HD4330.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=427567
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=415272

Its going to be really hard to find something cheap, small, and powerful for a notebook/netbook. That might change with CULV + Ion 2 but that might be a long while for now. At least AMD gives you a decent video card thats not intel based. (The Radeon HD3200 has 128MB of discrete memory).

synaesthetic · 2009-10-24, 00:41

The stock HD3200 is not very good and getting the HD4330 requires paying HP $150 more because they want you to bump the CPU up also. They don't offer the upgrades separately.

When that is all done, it is the same price as Asus UL80VT.

I really wanted to get the dm3z but I cannot justify paying so much when the Asus is better (even though it is slightly larger and heavier), and especially because I live in CA and will have to pay tax on it if I order from HP Direct. ><

RayLancer · 2009-10-24, 00:53

Tell me about the CA tax... the HP dm3 put a huge dent in my wallet (it was $549 before rebate, it came out to like $612 after tax). The Radeon HD3200 is pretty nice for media playback, but I know you want to play games. But at that price, you can't really beat that graphics card (comparing to what you can get IN a store). My sister doesn't, and this is mainly for her. I just saw it today at a store and I really liked the specs, price, and what I saw.

Personally, I'm trying to stay on the cheap side so I think I'll probably end up getting the Acer AS1410 refresh with the Intel Celeron SU2300. I just need something small, decent battery life, and has pretty good performance.

Gaming on laptops I think is great, but I don't think the price justifies the cost. I rather just build a gaming tower. I have an old Dell with a Core 2 Duo 1.83Ghz and a Radeon X1400 (Looking back at it now, I did pay a lot for it >.>). It was pretty good for its time, but now it can't really handle a lot of games out there now, and its been like 2-3 years only.

synaesthetic · 2009-10-24, 01:02

I don't have room for a desktop and since I do not have a monitor and peripherals it would cost me quite a lot to make even a so-so gaming desktop.

I went to Sony's website and customized a Vaio CW with what I wanted. It came out to be $1400 with tax and shipping. -.-'

I'm slightly afraid to get the UL80VT because it just feels like it would wind up obsolete real fast. I'd like it to last at least 3 years before replacing.

Aird · 2009-10-25, 02:54

I looked up the specs of the 210M on the Asus and it's just a faster version of what's in an Ion chipset. I doubt you'll even be able to play 3d games like crysis all that well on it. You'll will need something like what's in the CW, the 230m if you want to last 3 years. I doubt that'll even do if you are playing the latest games in the future.

synaesthetic · 2009-10-25, 04:03

I don't play Crysis. I mostly play games that are between 4 and 15 years old. Most of them I don't even need a dedicated graphics card to play. I just wanted the capability to play Aion Online if I so desired.

I really DO want to pick up the Vaio CW, I just don't have the money. I mean, compared to the Asus, it's 300 dollars more for the second config I put together (almost twice as much for the maxed-out config though), but much more powerful.

I'm not an FPS gamer, the only FPS I ever really cared about was DOOM and Half-Life 2.

2009-10-18, 22:06	Link #46
synaesthetic blinded by blood Author Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Oakland, CA Age: 39	Oooo the new Acer CULVs hit. If you're looking at an Acer CULV, I'd personally want to go with the Aspire 1810TZ. The Aspire 1810TZ comes with the Core 2 Duo SU7300 @ 1.3GHz. It's $599, also comes with a larger battery and gets close to 9 hours of battery life (according to LAPTOP Magazine's review). Or you could go for sexier with the Asus UL20A, which has the same SU7300 processor and costs the same but has much better aesthetics. I'm still pretty much considering leaving the netbook and ultraportable world behind to get everything I need in the Asus UL80VT. For $850 it's one hell of a notebook for general use, video and light gaming. It is so damn sexy. But definitely not a netbook at 14.1" screen size, it's a full-size laptop. __________________ Indie science fiction author and all-around weirdo: Check out my original fiction here! Read an excerpt from my sci-fi novel Binary System!

2009-10-18, 23:34	Link #48
synaesthetic blinded by blood Author Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Oakland, CA Age: 39	Here's a full review of the Acer Aspire 1810TZ (Core 2 Duo SU7300): http://www.laptopmag.com/review/lapt...ire-1810t.aspx They actually got the name wrong. The 1810T is the European model number for the 1410, which is the SU3500 model (has a smaller battery, too). As you can see, a very favorable review. Though personally I'd go with the Asus UL20A if you're going to go with a SU7300. It's much nicer in terms of aesthetics and build quality (aluminum and plastic construction) and costs actually $10 less from Amazon. Still, it's important to remember that processor only means so much when it comes to games. The CULV processors may be more potent than an Atom, but with the bad Intel IGPs the CULV notebooks will probably play games worse than an ION netbook. Plus, I doubt the Intel GMA 4500MHD can handle hardware decoding of h.264 via DXVA, so if the processor itself can't handle it, you don't have the same hardware decoding options as you would on an ION. The reason I'm looking so hard at the Asus UL80VT is because it does have both the SU7300 and a discrete nVidia graphics chip (incidentally, a better one than ION). Of course, the UL80VT isn't a netbook or even an ultraportable with its 14.1" display. Basically, the UL80VT is all that and a bag of chips (for $850). The size isn't really an issue, since it still weighs less than five pounds. I would personally prefer it if the 12.1" Asus UL20 had the nVidia chipset, but it doesn't and won't in the US, unfortunately, so us dirty Amerikkans are shit out of luck. =\| Edit: It's important to know that while the Atom isn't a particularly fast processor, for what it's designed to do it works quite well. It gets very good battery life and it's inexpensive to produce. It is more robust than people give it credit for and the N270 is highly tolerant of overclocking. I know lots of people over at eeeuser.com who have pushed their N270 eeePCs up to 2GHz. My older netbook still has the less-efficient (but more powerful per clock) Celeron-M 353. Truthfully, it really does not feel "slow" unless I'm on power-save mode or trying to do something it wasn't really intended to do (like play HD video). Surfing the net, checking your e-mail and stuff like OpenOffice really don't take that much in the way of computing power. If you have processor-intensive special programs (like video encoding, 3D modeling, CAD, heavy computational stuff) or gaming in mind you should not look at netbooks or ultraportables. That sort of stuff just requires too much power. But if you want a portable that can go the distance and do some light gaming and multimedia, there's not a lot you can do wrong by picking up an ION netbook. Once the 11-13" CULV notebooks start getting discrete graphics though I suspect ION netbooks will be a thing of the past. At this point though, I'd personally rather drop $400 on an HP Mini 311 with that GeForce 9400M, than spend the same on a SU2300 CULV with just a little bit more oomph than the Atom, but bad Intel IGP. __________________ Indie science fiction author and all-around weirdo: Check out my original fiction here! Read an excerpt from my sci-fi novel Binary System!

2009-10-19, 11:49	Link #50
synaesthetic blinded by blood Author Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Oakland, CA Age: 39	Order online and out of state, pay no tax. I'm going to order the UL80VT from xoticPC and avoid paying sales tax on an eight hundred dollar lappy. ^^; And yeah. That's the problem. I don't really think the SU3500 or the SU2300 can handle anything over 720p with softsubs, and even to get the video playing smoothly you'll probably need CoreAVC (more efficient than libavcodec) to reduce the burden on the processor. I want to be able to play 1080p high bitrate Blu-Ray rips with softsubs going, since I want my lappy to last me at least two to three years. I suspect that 1080p will wind up being the new standard for fansubs eventually. So I want something that will go the distance. __________________ Indie science fiction author and all-around weirdo: Check out my original fiction here! Read an excerpt from my sci-fi novel Binary System!

2009-10-23, 23:41	Link #54
synaesthetic blinded by blood Author Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Oakland, CA Age: 39	I read Laptop Magazine's review of the Intel CULV variant of the dm3, the dm3t. The editors say the touchpad is terrible. Can you comment on that? I usually just use a wireless mouse but sometimes I don't have a table to set the computer on. I really wish I could get something in this form factor with good discrete graphics and decent battery life. The dm3z can be upgraded to a discrete ATI card, but it's not a very good one. The Dell Studio XPS 13 is the right size (plus it looks hot) but it's expensive and the battery life is awful. I've been just considering very hard to save up for a fully-loaded Sony Vaio CW. It is unfortunately over $1000 though. =( The Asus UL80VT is still in the running though based on its 3DMark06 performance (3801 points with discrete graphics and Turbo33 on while running off AC power) and the price is definitely attractive. Discrete graphics tend to make things expensive. x_x __________________ Indie science fiction author and all-around weirdo: Check out my original fiction here! Read an excerpt from my sci-fi novel Binary System!

2009-10-24, 00:41	Link #56
synaesthetic blinded by blood Author Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Oakland, CA Age: 39	The stock HD3200 is not very good and getting the HD4330 requires paying HP $150 more because they want you to bump the CPU up also. They don't offer the upgrades separately. When that is all done, it is the same price as Asus UL80VT. I really wanted to get the dm3z but I cannot justify paying so much when the Asus is better (even though it is slightly larger and heavier), and especially because I live in CA and will have to pay tax on it if I order from HP Direct. >< __________________ Indie science fiction author and all-around weirdo: Check out my original fiction here! Read an excerpt from my sci-fi novel Binary System!

2009-10-18, 21:00	Link #45
RayLancer Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009	Bumping the thread again with another netbook option for those looking for something on a budget: http://www.amazon.com/Acer-AS1410-22.../ref=de_a_smtd Highlights: Dual-core Celeron Processor SU2300 (1.2GHz/1MB L2 Cache/800MHz FSB) and Windows 7 Home Premium. $399. I mean, price is more than a normal netbook, but its like around $50 more (Most netbooks are like $300-400 anyways). I'm considering over the HP mini, especially after that Asus review with the SU7300 review with Windows Media Classic Home Cinema. The Ion platform is incredibly nice but the Atom seems like the bottleneck (I never owned a netbook, its just from what I hear). I rather have a faster CPU for general use and for watching media than have a slow CPU and a strong GPU that can do the same and play modern games on low at 800x600. (But everyone has a different use for what they want a netbook to do).

2009-10-19, 11:39	Link #49
RayLancer Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009	Yea, what you said synaesthetic is what I've been debating for a while. I don't want a netbook to cost more than $400 (well, obviously tax will take it over but thats not what I meant xD). So pretty much it boiled down to the Acer Timeline 1410 (HP has an equivalent called the dm1, it uses the same body as the Mini 311 but it'll probably cost a lot more) and the HP Mini 311. I don't plan on playing a lot of games on it, besides old games, since I have my PSP and DS for that. Media playback is very important to me, I don't plan on on watching HD Bluray (or HD streaming) but it has to be able to play animes. I think the Intel GMA 4500HD should be fine for softsubs. I'm hoping to play around with a display model and use Windows Media Player Classic Home Cinema and see how that turns out. EDIT: Personally, I prefer the HP Mini 311 for its look, build quality, and cheaper battery ($100 for a HP 6 cell vs $150 from a Acer 8 Cell). Acer one is bigger but I don't really need that much battery life, 5-6 hours is plenty enough.

2009-10-23, 03:26	Link #51
Aird Member Join Date: Feb 2007	I own an Acer 1410 with the SU3500. It'll play 720p with softsubs for 95% of the time. I find it tends to sometimes drops frames on 30 frames with softsubs at 720p. Which is usually op/ed segments so isn't killer. This was with cccp, if you install coreavc it'll probably fix it. If you want some headroom, get one with a dual core. I didn't have a choice since I had to buy back at the end of Aug/Sept. The more important thing was cpu power to play flash video which an atom sucks. I also stream flash video much more than I watch fansubs. I haven't played a single game so can't comment on the 4500hd for that. If you can find that dual core 1410 on sale, I think it'd be hard to beat price/performance. If I had to do it again where time wasn't a factor, I'd probably wait for an 1810t to go on sale in the low 400s. However, I have no regrets on my single core 1410 that I paid $383 for a month and half ago. I'll probably never buy a laptop that isn't 11.6 again. Small and lightweight to easily carry against bigger laptop. At the same time it has a full size keyboard and more screen resolution then a typical 10".

2009-10-23, 22:48	Link #53
RayLancer Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009	I just bought a HP dm3: http://www.officedepot.com/a/product...3-1030us-13-3/ Specs and everything is in there, its a steal for $499 after rebate (Most of the body is in aluminum casing). It plays 720p MKV H264 AAC animes like a champ (I've been watching stuff with a lot of action and fast scenes to test it). Also plays Youtube HD fine, though I haven't been playing a lot of HD to say that Youtube HD is not a problem. Benchmark score for the AMD Neo X2 L335 http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_look...Dual+Core+L335

2009-10-24, 00:18	Link #55
RayLancer Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009	Touchpad isn't great, but its not horrible either. I haven't used it much since I've been letting it sit there to do all the updates. But I was watching a lot of movies and animes on it =] I still recommend using an external USB mouse. You should check out the threads here about the dm3, there's a lot of potential with the Radeon HD4330. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=427567 http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=415272 Its going to be really hard to find something cheap, small, and powerful for a notebook/netbook. That might change with CULV + Ion 2 but that might be a long while for now. At least AMD gives you a decent video card thats not intel based. (The Radeon HD3200 has 128MB of discrete memory).

2009-10-24, 00:53	Link #57
RayLancer Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009	Tell me about the CA tax... the HP dm3 put a huge dent in my wallet (it was $549 before rebate, it came out to like $612 after tax). The Radeon HD3200 is pretty nice for media playback, but I know you want to play games. But at that price, you can't really beat that graphics card (comparing to what you can get IN a store). My sister doesn't, and this is mainly for her. I just saw it today at a store and I really liked the specs, price, and what I saw. Personally, I'm trying to stay on the cheap side so I think I'll probably end up getting the Acer AS1410 refresh with the Intel Celeron SU2300. I just need something small, decent battery life, and has pretty good performance. Gaming on laptops I think is great, but I don't think the price justifies the cost. I rather just build a gaming tower. I have an old Dell with a Core 2 Duo 1.83Ghz and a Radeon X1400 (Looking back at it now, I did pay a lot for it >.>). It was pretty good for its time, but now it can't really handle a lot of games out there now, and its been like 2-3 years only.

2009-10-24, 01:02	Link #58
synaesthetic blinded by blood Author Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Oakland, CA Age: 39	I don't have room for a desktop and since I do not have a monitor and peripherals it would cost me quite a lot to make even a so-so gaming desktop. I went to Sony's website and customized a Vaio CW with what I wanted. It came out to be $1400 with tax and shipping. -.-' I'm slightly afraid to get the UL80VT because it just feels like it would wind up obsolete real fast. I'd like it to last at least 3 years before replacing. __________________ Indie science fiction author and all-around weirdo: Check out my original fiction here! Read an excerpt from my sci-fi novel Binary System!

2009-10-25, 02:54	Link #59
Aird Member Join Date: Feb 2007	I looked up the specs of the 210M on the Asus and it's just a faster version of what's in an Ion chipset. I doubt you'll even be able to play 3d games like crysis all that well on it. You'll will need something like what's in the CW, the 230m if you want to last 3 years. I doubt that'll even do if you are playing the latest games in the future.

2009-10-25, 04:03	Link #60
synaesthetic blinded by blood Author Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Oakland, CA Age: 39	I don't play Crysis. I mostly play games that are between 4 and 15 years old. Most of them I don't even need a dedicated graphics card to play. I just wanted the capability to play Aion Online if I so desired. I really DO want to pick up the Vaio CW, I just don't have the money. I mean, compared to the Asus, it's 300 dollars more for the second config I put together (almost twice as much for the maxed-out config though), but much more powerful. I'm not an FPS gamer, the only FPS I ever really cared about was DOOM and Half-Life 2. __________________ Indie science fiction author and all-around weirdo: Check out my original fiction here! Read an excerpt from my sci-fi novel Binary System!