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So, a "What PC?" thread. It had to come some day, since I completely lost touch with the flood of offered components. I haven't been in the market in years, and my trusty 512MB-RAM Dual Core served my well... I'm moving out of my parent's house soon to a commune - and my desktop machine will stay at home. A new computer should be in order, be it a lappie (preferably - I want to carry the thing home, and use WiFi on the go), or a tower that will serve the entire commune. Obviously, I'd like to spend as little as possible.
Requirements:
I require very little of my computer. I'm planning to run Linux nearly full-time (which is actually a requirement: No VIA or other linux-unfriendly hardware), as I do these days, but will keep a smallish XP partition on hand for the odd Windows-only program. No gaming, no video-processing or others planned - basically, ye average user: Internet, Office, Video. That last one is the crux, though: Most Netbooks can run the first two easily, and stuff like the Acer Aspire One look pretty decent - but apparently the Atom/945GSE machines struggle with anything from 720p onwards. It also has to store decent amounts of video, music and photos - so 160GB is the bare minimum.
I'm considering a netbook, as the new ION thingies supposedly play even 1080 video content with ease, but I haven't seen them on offer yet - other than the IdeaPad S12, which looks promising apart from the N270 processor. At $450, the price is right, too, and according to reviews, even on the lousy processor it delivers gaming far above my requirements (for reference, I lived for years on a VIA integrated chip with no working Linux drivers). It sounds pretty much ideal, apart from the processor - and the fact that it's not even properly available for pre-order.
The other option is waiting a bit for the Atom N280 + Intel GN40s, but apparently, they too can't play video above 720p... Anyone got any advice? Should I skip "proper" netbooks and go for that $350 Dell with the dual-core? Will that one play HD content despite the Intel chip?
Second option would be a desktop machine. It'll be (much) cheaper and will probably be more powerful, dollar-for-dollar, than any netbook, but it also means reduced usability for me - no racing-footage and internet in bed, nor Linux (since I doubt I'll get the other 10 residents to use it). In that case, I'll build it from scratch (cheaper, after all), and so, what requirements would you suggest for a PC where video-viewing is the only real requirement?
Requirements:
I require very little of my computer. I'm planning to run Linux nearly full-time (which is actually a requirement: No VIA or other linux-unfriendly hardware), as I do these days, but will keep a smallish XP partition on hand for the odd Windows-only program. No gaming, no video-processing or others planned - basically, ye average user: Internet, Office, Video. That last one is the crux, though: Most Netbooks can run the first two easily, and stuff like the Acer Aspire One look pretty decent - but apparently the Atom/945GSE machines struggle with anything from 720p onwards. It also has to store decent amounts of video, music and photos - so 160GB is the bare minimum.
I'm considering a netbook, as the new ION thingies supposedly play even 1080 video content with ease, but I haven't seen them on offer yet - other than the IdeaPad S12, which looks promising apart from the N270 processor. At $450, the price is right, too, and according to reviews, even on the lousy processor it delivers gaming far above my requirements (for reference, I lived for years on a VIA integrated chip with no working Linux drivers). It sounds pretty much ideal, apart from the processor - and the fact that it's not even properly available for pre-order.
The other option is waiting a bit for the Atom N280 + Intel GN40s, but apparently, they too can't play video above 720p... Anyone got any advice? Should I skip "proper" netbooks and go for that $350 Dell with the dual-core? Will that one play HD content despite the Intel chip?
Second option would be a desktop machine. It'll be (much) cheaper and will probably be more powerful, dollar-for-dollar, than any netbook, but it also means reduced usability for me - no racing-footage and internet in bed, nor Linux (since I doubt I'll get the other 10 residents to use it). In that case, I'll build it from scratch (cheaper, after all), and so, what requirements would you suggest for a PC where video-viewing is the only real requirement?
