Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Recommendations for a netbook with 3D accelerator?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Recommendations for a netbook with 3D accelerator?

    I'm looking for a netbook with real 3D. AMD drivers being what they are-- I intend to use Linux --and "Intel" (PowerVR) hardware being what it is, I think my options may be limited to ION, ION, and possibly ION 2 if that's available before the sun goes cold.

    (If there's such a thing as a netbook with a low-draw NVIDIA GPU but Intel or even AMD chipset, that would be fine.)

    I'm completely ignoring:

    And, that said, it would be really awesome if I could get a CPU in amd64, multicore optional. I have one machine left running WinXP-- everything else is running some kind of amd64 OS. I plan to keep it that way.

    I'd love things like reliability, good support, nice keyboard, big batteries, and so forth, but I think I've already severely limited my options.

    For that reason, I'd also ask if there's anything nice available in "SFF" notebook. I just need something with amd64, real 3D, decent drivers, and good-to-astounding runtime in a relatively small case. I wouldn't mind at all having an integral ODD and being able to use a 2.5in SSD...

  • #2
    ASUS 1015T or similar with AMD V105 CPU and Radeon 4200 GPU.

    Note: I'm not sure if it is even available yet.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by rmenessec View Post
      I'm looking for a netbook with real 3D. AMD drivers being what they are-- I intend to use Linux --and "Intel" (PowerVR) hardware being what it is, I think my options may be limited to ION, ION, and possibly ION 2 if that's available before the sun goes cold.

      (If there's such a thing as a netbook with a low-draw NVIDIA GPU but Intel or even AMD chipset, that would be fine.)

      I'm completely ignoring:

      And, that said, it would be really awesome if I could get a CPU in amd64, multicore optional. I have one machine left running WinXP-- everything else is running some kind of amd64 OS. I plan to keep it that way.

      I'd love things like reliability, good support, nice keyboard, big batteries, and so forth, but I think I've already severely limited my options.

      For that reason, I'd also ask if there's anything nice available in "SFF" notebook. I just need something with amd64, real 3D, decent drivers, and good-to-astounding runtime in a relatively small case. I wouldn't mind at all having an integral ODD and being able to use a 2.5in SSD...
      Just about any laptop with either a K125 or K325 CPU and the Radeon HD 4225 would suit your needs. They come in 10" or 11" for the most part and are pretty inexpensive (with the more basic models starting at $330.)

      Comment


      • #4
        The "ThinkPad lock-in" which you complain about is actually rather common and not restricted to Lenovo. If you really want replaceable mini-PCIe then you will have to shop around a lot.

        NVidia ION you will find in HP Mini 311c, some Lenovo IdeaPad S12 (eg. M19KT model), Samsung N510 and ASUS Eee 1201N.
        Last edited by chithanh; 28 July 2010, 11:08 AM. Reason: fix typo

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by rmenessec View Post
          I'm looking for a netbook with real 3D. AMD drivers being what they are-- I intend to use Linux --and "Intel" (PowerVR) hardware being what it is, I think my options may be limited to ION, ION, and possibly ION 2 if that's available before the sun goes cold.
          There are some interesting notebooks ahead for back-to-school (with 11.6" display). They are based on Core i3 ULV processors. The Ironlake IGP performance is on par with ION or ION2 systems on Linux. You just won't get CUDA or GPGPU-like toolkit though, if that matters to you.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by LinuxID10T View Post
            Just about any laptop with either a K125 or K325 CPU and the Radeon HD 4225 would suit your needs. They come in 10" or 11" for the most part and are pretty inexpensive (with the more basic models starting at $330.)
            That would leave me with no working GPU driver.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by chithanh View Post
              The "ThinkPad lock-in" which you complain about is actually rather common and not restricted to Lenovo. If you really want replaceable mini-PCIe then you will have to shop around a lot.

              NVidia ION you will find in HP Mini 311c, some Lenovo IdeaPad S12 (eg. M19KT model), Samsung N510 and ASUS Eee 1201N.
              Lovely. Well, that was sort of the tip of the iceberg. They've refused repair under warranty, tried to wiggle out of having to live up to onsite repair, and sold me an "UltraNav keyboard" in the US, off the US sub-site, that turned out to be a "Japan-only" model when I tried to get it repaired under (3-year) warranty, then claimed I'd have to provide proof of purchase (On a year-old SKU?) before they could do anything (Why?).

              And every ThinkPad T-series I've been forced to buy or use in the last two years or so has shipped with a terrible Hitachi ODD (various models) that roars, rattles, and shakes the entire notebook past about 16x CD speed-- reading or writing. And they refuse to do anything but sub an identical FRU with the exact same problems.

              I just don't trust them at all any more.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by gbeauche View Post
                There are some interesting notebooks ahead for back-to-school (with 11.6" display). They are based on Core i3 ULV processors. The Ironlake IGP performance is on par with ION or ION2 systems on Linux. You just won't get CUDA or GPGPU-like toolkit though, if that matters to you.
                Those I'm not worried about. VDPAU or VA-API could be important, though. I don't recall what the MPEG-2 / MPEG-4 / x264 accel situation is for Ironlake. Does it work under Linux? Does it look good (have reasonable artifact removal / quality scaling and resampling)?

                Comment


                • #9
                  This may be exactly the sort of thing I wanted.

                  ...with one exception: really only 2GB max? And it ships with NT6.1? Are there any "mega-netbooks" with an N450-like Atom that can handle a "staggering" 4GB?

                  At 2GB, running whatever Linux, I can handle most netbook-type tasks and play a handful of games, but I don't think I'm going to be carrying my PSX games around and playing those with pcsx. Or using WINE, for that matter.

                  (Yes, I still have my actual games. And an SCPH-50001 to play them on. But I'm partly looking for a more-capable system to make up for the severe disappointment of GamePark consoles, broken Dingoos, radically underpowered Nintendo handhelds, Pandora, and whatever else you like. I want my music, my network access, and my games in a small, if not handheld, package.)

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by rmenessec View Post
                    That would leave me with no working GPU driver.
                    How exactly do you figure? BOTH the blob as well as the open source radeon drivers support the 4200 series.

                    Comment

                    Working...
                    X