The future

rypt · 17 Feb 2009 at 21:43

So when do you think we'll finally see a "proper" netbook?
And by that I mean Dual Core x86_64, DDR3 with SSD drives.

Kinda fed up that nothing out there is "perfect" as yet

Spit · 17 Feb 2009 at 21:53

You will never acheive this. Once these netbooks arrive you will bemoan the fact that these "Dual Core x86_64, DDR3 with SSD drives" are not yet perfect and will want the Quadcore, DDR4 and Super SSD netbooks.

The latest software will always keep you wanting more.

Enjoy what is out now and you will achieve inner beauty and peace

beermonster · 17 Feb 2009 at 22:35

why would you need all that processing power for browsing the net, if you need more power you need an ultraportable, which costs around 4x more for anything decent.

RobH · 17 Feb 2009 at 23:00

That's sort of defeating the point of a netbook, the whole idea of a netbook is:

Cheap < £300
Small < 10 Inches
Light < 1.5 KG

As soon as you start sticking in things like DDR3 and high spec CPU's you loose some of the above advantages.

Ging3r · 17 Feb 2009 at 23:29

Nothing will evern be perfect, because as soon as you get a netbook like that, they will already have 8cores or whatever, and people will be posting the exact same thread saying
"Do you think the perfect netbook would have DDR8 and 8core processor with 2TB SSD"

rypt · 17 Feb 2009 at 23:29

beermonster said:
why would you need all that processing power for browsing the net, if you need more power you need an ultraportable, which costs around 4x more for anything decent.

Because I do not need more than a dual core Atom. I do not intend to use a netbook for just web stuff (I would if this country finally got some decent WiFi coverage) but also for some coding on the move when I have time to kill.

Spit said:
You will never acheive this. Once these netbooks arrive you will bemoan the fact that these "Dual Core x86_64, DDR3 with SSD drives" are not yet perfect and will want the Quadcore, DDR4 and Super SSD netbooks.

The latest software will always keep you wanting more.

Thing is though, DDR4 is a good 3-4 years away, DDR3, 64bit and SSD have been with us for a good few years and are hardly new technology.

RobH said:
Small < 10 Inches

Light < 1.5 KG

As soon as you start sticking in things like DDR3 and high spec CPU's you loose some of the above advantages.

I do not want a high spec CPU, I want something like the Atom 330 (dual core version - 8W), or ideally something new based on Nehalem architecture scaled down.
DDR3 should improve battery life due to lower power requirement, as would an SSD.

It is annoying me how netbooks are still a good few years behind mainstream

Gibber · 18 Feb 2009 at 02:05

I've found the only thing that becomes remotely close to this in size and weight aspects at least is the Vaio Z Series. It hosts an Intel P9500 core 2 duo CPU, 4gb of RAM,, 320gb HDD (SSD is an option on custom build) and a dedicated Nvidia GPU with hybrid graphics switch to onboard Intel, all made with a carbon fibre construction and only weighing 1.48kg.

I think the problem though will always be cost. To cram top end hardware into such a small space obviously comes at a huge premium. Netbooks are clearly aimed at the lower end budget market.

At the moment it doesn't look as if anything termed 'Netbook' will be overly powered, it's a niche market that works. I can also imagine that as far as the manufacturers see it, releasing something like this would be stepping on the toes of the ultraportable realm of which this kind of 'laptop' is not really aimed at.

Kainz · 18 Feb 2009 at 05:11

rypt said:
So when do you think we'll finally see a "proper" netbook?
And by that I mean Dual Core x86_64, DDR3 with SSD drives.

Kinda fed up that nothing out there is "perfect" as yet

That criteria defeats the whole point of a netbook. The current generation models are proper notebooks - cheap, ultra portable, and finally low power consumption thanks to the atom resulting in high battery life.

Sounds like you want something beyond that like an XPS 1330.

rypt · 18 Feb 2009 at 20:53

Kainz said:
That criteria defeats the whole point of a netbook. The current generation models are proper notebooks - cheap, ultra portable, and finally low power consumption thanks to the atom resulting in high battery life.

Sounds like you want something beyond that like an XPS 1330.

The dual core atom is only 8w, DDR3 uses less than DDR2 and SSD uses less power than normal hdd.

james.miller · 18 Feb 2009 at 22:06

rypt said:
DDR3 uses less than DDR2 and SSD uses less power than normal hdd.

and are both vastly more expensive. power usage of ssd is also debatable.

Kainz · 19 Feb 2009 at 05:16

rypt said:
The dual core atom is only 8w, DDR3 uses less than DDR2 and SSD uses less power than normal hdd.

Dual cores are still too much given that current N270's atoms sit at 0.65-2w. SSD's are nice but as james said debatable on cost as well as their benefits, especially the cheaper variants used in laptops. DDR3? Cost wise at present no chance.

crazyswede · 19 Feb 2009 at 08:52

Kainz said:
Dual cores are still too much given that current N270's atoms sit at 0.65-2w. SSD's are nice but as james said debatable on cost as well as their benefits, especially the cheaper variants used in laptops. DDR3? Cost wise at present no chance.

I think I saw somewhere that the new dual core atom performs worse in some situations than the N270?