scottbot84

Hey all,

I'm in the market for a more current laptop, and my retail job gives me a couple of options. I've been looking at an Acer Aspire One, but a half-decent Compaq laptop has recently become an option. here are the specs:

Acer Aspire One:
Dimensions - 9.8? (W) x 6.7? (D) x 1.14? (H) weight ~ 2.19lbs
3 cell battery- lasts about 2-3 hours
$335.82 after my discount.
* 1.6GHz N270 Intel Atom Processor
* 1GB DDR2 533MHz
* Windows XP Home SP3
* 8.9" 1024 x 600 WSVGA glossy LED backlit display
* 120GB 2.5" 5400RPM Hitachi Hard Drive (with SDHC storage expansion slot)
* 802.11b/g Atheros Wireless
* 3-Cell 23Wh battery
* Size: 9.75" x 6.625" x 1.28"
* Weight: 2lb 5.0oz


Compaq CQ50-139WM:
Product in Inches (L x W x H): 14.05 x 10.07 x 1.72, weight ~6 - 7lbs
6 cell battery - lasts about 1.2-2 hours
287.63 after my discount
Intel Celeron Processor 575
2.00 GHz, 667MHz FSB, 1MB Cache
2048MB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Expandable up to 3072MB with 2 accessible memory slots
15.4" Diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen (1280 x 800) Display
Viewing is enhanced with the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD (shared) with up to 765MB Total Available Graphics Memory
160GB (5400RPM) Hard Drive (SATA)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic with Service Pack 1
SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW drive
Network Card - Integrated 10/100BASE-T Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)
Wireless Option - 802.11b/g WLAN


Seems to me the Compaq is a better deal, but the Acer is obviously more suited for commuting. Any other geeks out there have opinions? I'm definitely not a gamer, and spend most of my time in my web-browser, and just need a laptop mainly to satisfy my Google Reader addiction on my lunch hour. Also I might be going back to school soon and something for notes and papers would be nice.

I know this isn't really bike related, but I value your opinions more than some elitist PC forum.

Note: both these laptops are in stock at my store, even though they are unavailable online.

Also the Acer comes in Blue, so it would be a great place to put a matching celebratory Obama sticker

weavers

well what is important to you? since your only typing up documents and surfing the web and such you don't need a expensive high performance laptop. do you have a separate laptop/desktop at home? is this really just for work? if so i'd go with the acer simply because of the size and you are going to be taking it from home to work each day. even if you carry it on the rear rack, its still gonna be in your hands or on you back part of the day. something small and lightweight is just less of a daily hassle. halling around a 6lbs laptop with a large screen will become tiresome.

i use my laptop for movies, dloading songs, storing movies, surffing the web in addition to my college studdies and i would go with the acer. it wouldn't have the raw power that i need, but its easy to take to school daily(where as my curent 14.1inch 5lbs laptop i kinda dread taking to school)

does your company offer any laptop that has N wireless? if so i'd strongly recomend that, its twice as fast as G and has twice the range. N isn't widely popular yet, cause its a newish techology and you can't run an a,b, or g server with it, but its gonna become more popular.

joninkrakow

I bought the MSI Wind (similar to your Aspire One above) specifically because I want to carry it on my bike. It's light as a feather, and solid to withstand any road shocks I've thrown at it. I put it in my computer bag (with a lined shell) and hang it in my pannier with the computer on the side facing away from the frame. Why? Because I want to minimize any vibrations and banging from the rack. If I'm ever in a collision or fall on it, I doubt that its location in such a situation would make much of a difference, but minimizing the vibrations from daily riding seems to trump that in any case. I'm very happy with my Wind (using it now), and have it running both Ubuntu Linux and OSX (for those times I need to run some of my more "specialized" apps or files).

One thing I'm still looking/waiting for is an SSD "hard drive" instead of a normal drive with platters. That would make it bike-proof. :-)

-Jon

Abneycat

As an Aspire One owner, I can tell you that it is a fairly nice piece of equipment. If you don't need a DVD drive, its extremely light and portable, very good value, and will do quite nicely for what you want it for. I'm very happy with mine, its the same as the one you are looking at with the exception of a 6 cell battery instead of a 3 cell.

I like the design and layout in general. Despite the small size, the keyboard is really easy to use, and the A1 doesn't feel cheaply constructed. The size is really nice.

The Atom processor can handle windows XP well enough, and is acceptably fast. I did have one complaint, that the equipped software is much more intensive than it needs to be, particularily in that the A1 browses 4-5x faster equipped with Firefox than with IE. I was almost going to take it back at first, so disappointed with the performance - turns out it was really just IE, switching off made it feel like a brand new machine.

The bloated, inefficient design of IE *really* shines through on the Aspire One, so if its your favourite browser, all I can say is you're in for some really disappointing browsing. I find that Acer bogged the little thing down with too much extra crap, but its easy enough to fix.

I've had 2 of these computers now. The prior one was the linux version. I didn't really like the linpus they included, skip over it if you like linux and go for ubuntu. Oh, and don't let your aspire one hit the concrete floor of your bike shop at extreme speeds, otherwise you'll need a second one like I did. Its cord was pulled, whipping the unit to the ground. They're not bulletproof.

The A1 is a nice computer, nice enough to be all I use now.

martianone

Take a look at a HP 2133.
I have the basic linux version without a CD or disk drive. The unit is great, easy to use especially given it's size.

benhenley

Between those two I would go with the Aspire. I actually have the eee pc 901. Its awesome. Pretty much everything is the same as the Aspire except for the hard drives and battery. I think that it also includes draft-n for wireless but I could be wrong, as I have never needed to use it.

Its got SSDs, so there are no traditional hard drives. Only has 20gb of storage as opposed to the 120gb on the Aspire, but I have a desktop that I use for most things and that has plenty of space for music, videos, and such. Ive never had a problem with running low on hard drive space.

The battery is significantly better. Its a six cell battery. I get about 7 hours of battery life with the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth off when I'm just typing things. I get about 5 hours of battery life with the Wi-Fi on.

My last laptop had only an hour of battery life at the most and this was such an amazing improvement. I've forgotten to charge it before taking it to class and magically it has enough power to make it through the day still.

The only thing about these small laptops is keyboard space. The keyboard is cramped and will take some getting used to. I would not want to spend my day coding on it, but for taking some notes and surfing the net its perfect.

So overall, if you cant pick and others then I would go with the Aspire, but if you can I would go with the eee pc 901.

fordfasterr

ACER.

It is smaller, lighter, and much better to carry on a bicycle.

I have an ASUS EEE with Linux =)

DallasSoxFan

If you are looking for advice on a commuter friendly laptop, specs really don't matter, its the form factor.

You have either two choices - small and light or durable.

For durable, look at the panasonic Toughbook:

https://www.panasonic.com/business/to...bnotebooks.asp

For small, just look for the smallest screen of the models.

As as alternative, if you simply need to get it back and forth from work, look at an ultra-portable such as the Acer Netbook or the Fujitsu Lifebook. Basically, these have the form factor of a portable DVD player like the ones you pacify kids with You can pair these with docking stations at both ends of the commute and have fully functioning PCs at both ends.

rbrian

I'd definitely go with the smallest one. I have a 15.4 inch widescreen laptop, which is great at home, but no fun to carry around. With a padded bag it completely fills a pannier.

The most important thing to remember, whatever you get, make sure it's properly switched off, not just in standby, when you carry it. The vibrations can kill a hard disc very quickly if it's running. Another reason to get a solid state drive, if possible.

poopisnotfood

If you ever plan on upgrading to Vista I would make sure it came with at least 2GB of RAM, otherwise the one you like is the one you should get. Esp for what you are going to be doing with it. XP will be fine with 1GB of RAM, but Vista eventually won't. Just like XP runs like poo with 512MB. Even though it originally had a min of 256MB.
My other suggestion is to NOT upgrade to Vista, can't stand that OS.

Bezier

Hard drives do not spin in standby mode. The only thing drawing electricity is the RAM (as opposed to hibernate, where the current state of RAM is written to your hard drive and then the computer shuts off entirely).

Grim

Good timing.

My beater laptop ate it and I am in the market. Mostly looking for something that will browse, allow me to dump the camera into, work with my old Garmin and Nroute for my cross country expedition travel I am planning soon and maybe hold some tunes. My cross country back woods traveler is a only 4cyl 4Runner 2door. Space is very limited for a laptop and smaller is better for my needs. (pic attached for what I had till the old beater died).

Wally world is list what sounds like a Similar to the Acer 1 They list is as Acer AOA150-177-1786 for $348. Price is right. I don't want to take a $1k machine to beat on the road. Just wish they would come out with big storage that doesn't use a spinning drive that is susceptible to vibration.

Good to hear these seem reasonably durable.

TechKnowGN

The toughbooks, or if you really want portable (but not expensive: https://www.apple.com/macbookair/ )

ClintP

Just don't get a huge one with a large screen. I have a 17 inch sized monitor and it is nearly too massive for most panniers. I just bought some Ortlieb ones that I like alot, but haven't taken my laptop home yet. But that was frustrating when trying to get it home and stuff.

I have not had an issue with the weight or anything, other than the backpack it goes in kills my back during my commute until now.

Watch the size and try to get as much performance as you can in your laptop is my official recommendation.

Belazriel

Ok, I understand the watch the size comments in regard to being easier to carry and such, but am I reading it wrong or is it an 8.9" monitor? That would be about the size of a DVD case. Now you're surfing the web, reading stuff, etc on a tiny monitor with a keyboard that's all squished together. It may be great for commuting but make sure you're willing to go with that small of a computer for everything you're doing.

I miss my dual 22" LCD monitors I had at my one job...you don't think you could get used to two screens rotated onto their sides, but then you get to work and see how much it can help.

brokenknee

+1 on toughbooks.

Purchased by employer, so don't know anything else about them other than there, ah, tough.

ClintP

That one sure looks like a 8 inch one.

I was just saying in general not to get a huge one like me. I wanted it since I am a programmer and look at code all day, but otherwise it is kind of large.

madcalicojack

It's hard to compare the two because they are vastly different. I'd say 8.9" monitor is awfully small. For the kind of usage you describe, I'd look for a 12 inch screen and try to buy one with long battery life. Also make sure it has internal wireless. I think it's kind of hard to find one that doesn't, but double check.The performance specs aren't that important for running a browser.

beatnik0422

What he said.

Mine has held up quite nicely.

Ubuntu is really user friendly if you're interested.

npkeith

Kensington now makes a 64gig USB flash drive. Just install everything on that. But I guess you'll still have to have your OS (es) installed on a platter-based drive.

Caleab

"Durable" is very relative depending on your commute.

I'd pay attention to what operating system (personally, I'd stay away from Vista), memory upgradeablity (is that a word?) would be good and really... warranty.
I know with Dell you can get a strong warranty (you pay strongly too, but it will guarantee your laptop for 3 years)
The other thing would be to really watch how you travel with it. The discussion has happened many times on BF - pannier vs. backpack.
Either way.. .make sure it's secure snuggly, cushioned and probably most importantly, powered off.

rbrian

I managed to kill one. My employer didn't remove the bloatware that comes with all new PCs, and then added some more of their own. It was also locked so I couldn't uninstall any programs or edit the registry. It crashed at least twice a day, which was very frustrating. Very very frustrating. On top of that it said "toughbook" in the corner of the screen, taunting me. It's not that tough. Using nothing but my bare fist, I managed to detach the touchpad, and break both hinges, so the screen was just held on by the ribbon cable. Amazingly, it survived in that state for another year before the hard drive died. And it crashed a whole lot less once I'd shown it who was boss.

brokenknee

You always have to show these contraptions who's boss.

Waves77

+1 for the Acer Aspire One, I know several techies that own one a love it, especially if you have semi-decent desktop at home and just want the Acer for browsing, some light office work, etc.

Also check out Lenovo's offering:
https://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...1D24AEBC064493

benhenley

Yes it is an 8.9 inch screen. Very usable though. I have a desktop in my dorm paired with a 22" LCD and thats what I do any serious work on. I only use the laptop for taking notes in class and any windows specific programs as I use Linux on my desktop.

I needed something with a decent battery life as I have 2-3 classes in a row and that adds up to about 4-5 hours of usage. So it was good for me. If you dont need something with a huge battery life then just go with a normal laptop. If all your doing is taking it back and forth, then get a desktop and use a flash drive to transport any data necessary.