Hello peoples,
My current computer (Dell Inspiron 9100) is starting to show its age big time – motherboard is cracked and XP is getting senile enough to need a new install. I’m thinking for the about the same amount of money it would take to get a new motherboard, I could buy one of those tiny Acer Aspire or MSI Wind netbooks with more than double the disk space and a dual core Intel chip etc, and ghost the image of my Dell’s hard disk onto there. I’m just wondering if one of these would make a good primary computer (it would be my ONLY computer).
I’m just worried that these little computers might not be able to do some of the stuff I need my home computer to do, especially streaming video full-screen on a larger external LCD monitor while running several USB peripherals (ASI external sound card, monitor, keyboard, mouse, occasionally a USB hard drive for streaming movies, etc – my Dell can handle that no problem but I’m afraid these little ones won’t).
Also, I need it to be able to record music inputs through Audacity (freeware sound recording program) without slowing down or skipping. If you’re not familiar, this is pretty much the same thing as Garage Band, only it’s using a USB soundcard interface for the instruments, and I need it to be able to record as many tracks as possible simultaneously – maybe even up to 20.
I don’t know enough about computer info to be able to tell if a middle-range Acer Aspire laptop would be able to process that kind of stuff with its dual-core, 1GB ram, big hard drive, or if it needs something else special to do these thing.
Thanks!
–C
EDIT: I do not play video games, and this computer will not be needed for that. I will just need it to be able to hook up to a bigger monitor with external keyboard and mouse and be able to run just as fast regardless
vulcan
March 5, 2010 at 6:14 am
Go with one of their notebooks you will be happier
Jerry J
March 5, 2010 at 6:25 am
I would not invest in one of those with no CD Drive small keyboard and screen. http://www.dell.com check the Inspiron
Colanth
March 5, 2010 at 7:11 am
Buy on the basis of – CPU (bit width [32 or 64 - look for 64 bits], model, cores and speed), graphics card (and what you need – streaming video needs a lot less power than gaming), RAM (not only what’s in it, but what it can be expanded to) and disk size.
A Netbook (I think that’s what you’re referring to) will not serve as your primary computer unless you’re a masochist. (But a good notebook will – I use a Gateway P6860FX as my primary computer – but it’s a 17″ screen monster and – at a giveaway price – it cost over $1500 with Vista Ultimate 64 bit.)
You WILL NOT replace a desktop with a laptop for the price of a motherboard at normal retail, or even sale, prices. Be prepared to spend close to $1,000 for a desptop replacement, if you shop wisely. (Check http://www.directron.com/ )