Netbook eePC for Arch

ArchMan · 2008-10-26 14:05:24

Hi guys,
i was going to buy a super expensive laptop at12.1 screen only for the portability so i thought why shouldnt i choose a netbook with 10inch?

things i need and i like for it

working super well with arch
ssd 16gig
nice keyboard
10inch screen
good touchpad
Under 700$
from america :S

I am buying prolly in Christmass and i am starting to search for the right one for our beloved distro...
Should i suppose that with arch and openbox the system is going to run smooth and fast? Am i going to be able to use openoffice and surf the internet and download from the net small stuff?? Would a hard disk be a better option? Would you go with an aluminum macbook (without macosx) nor with a eePc... Money is an issue i wont to buy whatever i can do my school work effectively ( i have a desktop with arch and big space for home) but most of the day i am of the run! Need it to work in cafes and everywhere i am able to work with other people except my home!

SO the big question is WOULD I NEED to spend a lot of money on an super expensive laptop with12.1 screen to do my work? (i am coding only... not running anything like blender and other stuff) and starve to death because i wont have any money left then or a netbook will to my work more productively on the road?

Thanks in advance,
George

Megamixman · 2008-10-26 18:45:47

If coding is your main thing, you want a good keyboard. AFAIK, the netbook keyboards are not the best. Thinkpads have great keyboards. You may want to look at a used Thinkpad X60. Good Battery life, light weight, and a great keyboard. Thinkpads also work well with linux, so you should have no problems with it.

lucke · 2008-10-26 18:54:57

MSI Wind has a really nice keyboard, I even prefer to type on it rather than on my desktop Logitech UltraX, only using Home/End/Page Down/Page Up is a bit annoying, as you need to use Fn key and arrows. From what I've read, Eee's keyboards aren't as nice.

I don't know how enjoyable would coding be for you on a 10 inch screen. Nevertheless, Wind is great to keep on your knees when traveling ;-)

Last edited by lucke (2008-10-26 18:56:53)

Rumor · 2008-10-26 19:28:42

Well, the Asus eee 901 will ring most of bells you want.

It works very nicely with Arch.
It is $450 from Newegg
It has a 4G ssd for the os and a 16G ssd for your /home
*I* find the keyboard just fine and I have huge gorilla hands.

The screen is just under 9 inches, so it won't make the cut on your 10" wish list.

For me the Atom processor and insane battery time were the keys to going with the 901. Arch works wonderfully on it to date.

Last edited by Rumor (2008-10-27 16:03:31)

elliott · 2008-10-26 20:08:53

I agree with Rumor, I love my EeePC 901, it has become my primary computer.

ArchMan · 2008-10-27 08:21:02

Well for lenovo i dont know its full of plastic

Although i will take a pick at Wind and Asus 901 i was thinking to go with the Dell Inspiron mini even though its 9 inches (cant i change the resolution so i can code more nicely?)

Thanks again.,

whats your opinion,
george

XFire · 2008-10-27 08:49:37

If you are going to be working at a desk some of the time, all of them have a VGA output do they not? I brought an Acer Aspire One, that comes with a 160GB HDD and a 9" screen, the keyboard is a good size too, I can type nearly as fast, if not faster as the keys are closer together.

vistor · 2008-10-27 10:47:28

Msi wind all the way!

Im running newest Arch flawlessly on it without any problems. (dual booting OSX Leopard aswell without problems)
The keyboard and screen are really the best parts about it and the battery life might be the worst but with the new 6 Li battery you will easilly hit 5-6 hours.

Edit: It comes with a 120/160 gigs harddrive so your wish for an SD isnt fulfilled but I would personally go with a normal HD until the good SD's have dropped a bit in prize because the ones used in theese netbooks hardly deserves to be called SDs in my opinion.

Last edited by vistor (2008-10-27 10:51:06)

elliott · 2008-10-28 03:56:28

ArchMan wrote:

Although i will take a pick at Wind and Asus 901 i was thinking to go with the Dell Inspiron mini even though its 9 inches (cant i change the resolution so i can code more nicely?)

The 8.9" and 10" netbooks on the market both use 1024x600 resolution screens, being an LCD, running non-native resolutions gets ugly.

I played with an EeePC 1000H(10") at the store today, I didn't notice a huge difference from my 901(8.9"), I think the wide bezel around the screen gave the illusion of the screen being smaller than my 901. That was the only netbook they had in stock, it was beside a 12" standard notebook, so that may have added to the illusion. It was also running XP, which is just horrible in stock form at that resolution.

Ranguvar · 2008-10-30 00:18:20

May I interject a question or two here? I'm looking at getting an Eee PC, since I need a new video/music player anyways and carrying a larger device isn't a huge problem.

First, what kind of battery life do you get from _basic_ tasks like light web surfing, but mostly music and video with the WiFi off?

And second, do you recommend I go for the 904HA instead of the 901 (904HA has a 160GB HDD instead)? I don't really need the extra space (much), but I'm worried about using flash as a primary drive... I know how to mitigate the damage, but what sort of life time are we looking at for the flash memory (since flash has a finite number of writes possible on any given sector)?

elliott · 2008-10-30 01:33:38

With my 901 I get nearly 7 hours of run time with the wireless ON, I've never tested it with the wireless off.

I don't worry about my SSD's, I use them just like a hard drive, for the most part. I do use tmpfs for some things, mostly because the SSD's write speeds aren't that great. I think the drives should last 3-5 years under average use, by then, they will be dirt cheap and bigger and faster, so I'm not worried.

My worst case scenario, my 901 didn't come with the ZIF connector to replace the 2nd SSD with a 1.8" hard drive, but they have successfully been added by hackers. If my SSD's wear out and new ones aren't cost effective, I'll just do that.

elmer_42 · 2008-10-30 03:34:24

Megamixman wrote:

Thinkpads have great keyboards.

I'm not entirely sure, but I believe this was the case only when IBM was still making them. Now that it is a Lenovo product, I do not know that the keyboards are as great as the IBM Thinkpad keyboards. I've not used one myself, but that is what I heard. You will want to see whatever laptop you buy in person so you know whether there are certain things about it that you like or dislike.

e:On a similar note, has anybody installed Arch on an MSI Wind? I'm interested in one, but I don't want to get one if I can't use Arch on it.
e2:I should probably read the whole topic first... Im running newest Arch flawlessly on it without any problems

Last edited by elmer_42 (2008-10-30 04:00:29)

Arch Linux

#1 2008-10-26 14:05:24

Netbook eePC for Arch

#2 2008-10-26 18:45:47

Re: Netbook eePC for Arch

#3 2008-10-26 18:54:57

Re: Netbook eePC for Arch

#4 2008-10-26 19:28:42

Re: Netbook eePC for Arch

#5 2008-10-26 20:08:53

Re: Netbook eePC for Arch

#6 2008-10-27 08:21:02

Re: Netbook eePC for Arch

#7 2008-10-27 08:49:37

Re: Netbook eePC for Arch

#8 2008-10-27 10:47:28

Re: Netbook eePC for Arch

#9 2008-10-28 03:56:28

Re: Netbook eePC for Arch

#10 2008-10-30 00:18:20

Re: Netbook eePC for Arch

#11 2008-10-30 01:33:38

Re: Netbook eePC for Arch

#12 2008-10-30 03:34:24

Re: Netbook eePC for Arch

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