Woot : One Day, One Deal (SM)

Costco has the same unit with 2GB RAM, Vista Home Basic, and 250GB of hard drive for $300 (pre-tax). I don't know if they have this in stores, but shipping on their website is free at least.

Your decision then, is $50 worth it for an extra 90GB of HDD, 1GB of RAM, and Costco warranty/return support? Cursory research says "yes," as a stick of DDR2 2GB is around $50 on its own.

Downside to Costco is tax, and you must be a member there. Still, even with the tax you're getting it NEW and with a larger HDD for peanuts.

Performance-wise, the Z520 Atom is actually slightly slower than the popular N-series Atoms (1.33 ghz on the Z520 vs 1.6 on the more common N270). They both do hyper-threading and hence both "show up" as dual CPUs in Windows. There's one important distinction. The Z520 supports Intel's "VT-x" system for virtualization. Check out the full table of Atom CPUs at Wikipedia.

"Why would I care about virtualization on a freaking netbook?"
If you plan to put Windows 7 on it, and there's a chance you might need to use XP-mode (painful as it might be on a netbook), you must have VT-x support if you want to use it. So, the Z520 is a better buy in this case than the current run ("Diamondville") of N-series Atoms.

eyedeal1 wrote:I didn't know windows 7 has been out year.

The beta was to be publicly released January 9, 2009 (though it was leaked a while before that). Plus there was the release candidate and rtm.

It hasn't been *quite* a year, but almost

Does it have a word processor on it?

spitboy wrote:Sorry to be a dolt but does this have WiFi connectivity to the internet?

Um, 802.11 b/g is listed in the specs -- and it is the Wifi connection. It's pretty standard (for now).

MacG wrote:I have been thinking about buying a netbook... if only this one had Linux on it I would have very seriously considered it...

You do know Linux is free, right?

yes, netbooks are meant for the "net" thus it does have wireless, and i doubt you will be playing WoW on one of these. not exactly the best gaming computers.

We have two Acer Aspire Netbooks: one has the 3 cell battery, the other 6 cell battery (Woot purchase a couple weeks ago) The 6-cell battery model has much better speakers and volume output and lasts easily six hours on a charge. These are still too small for work use and touch-typing so got this 11.6 model today...smaller & lighter than a laptop. Now we will have 3 acers!

chaimg wrote:keyboard is difficult to type. laptop has no cd or dvd drive. not quite a laptop but a email or browser unit. stick to a proper laptop.

This is a pet peeve of mine, but...laptops serve a different need. Laptops are for someone who wants a full computer that they can move from place to place easily. They are priced and sized accordingly. I have never found the limited portability standard laptops (with their unwieldy size and short battery life) offer worth the steep tradeoff in price to performance.

On the other hand, netbooks are sized to be small and light enough to be a practical on-the-go machine - this one's pushing it, admittedly - and they're priced well as a secondary machine, which is all I want it to be.

The Aspire D150 I picked up a couple weeks back does a beautiful job of every nongaming task I've ever needed a computer for, weighs 3 pounds, fits in my coat pocket, and cost me just $235. Try getting that out of a traditional laptop. (It'll be even better once I stick a 2GB ram stick in there and put Windows 7 on. Next week.)

ahhh, this kills me. Just got the D150 refurb from woot last week, which I love. BUT this is the one I REALLY wanted. Why must you torment me, woot?

To all those on the fence, I say "go, go, go." These are really nice machines. The screen and keyboard are on par with full-size laptops, but the machine is very compact and light. Great woot.

niccilee wrote:Does it have a word processor on it?

The Aspire One D150 I got a couple of weeks back was preloaded with Microsoft Works and a trial of Microsoft Office. I can't vouch for the same being true of this model, but I suspect they use pretty much the same stuff on all of 'em.

You could also investigate OpenOffice, which is an open-source Office alternative which is entirely free and can be downloaded and installed without ever touching an optical drive.

stipo wrote:UGH! I was totally waiting for this machine to show up... but not with this processor!

If it were the N series I would have bought!

Due to Microsoft's rules about what Windows XP could be installed on, they have NEVER offered a netbook with this screen resolution and an N270/280. Now that Windows 7 is out, those limitations are gone. I'm sure that's why Acer is blowing these out.

drewy813 wrote:I just bought this thing off Amazon like an hour ago.

Anyone think I should switch them. I mean 60 bucks but double the battery life?

debron911 wrote:

Just ordered this on Woot and wonder if we should have gotten the Amazon with the "8 hour battery." Big difference in battery life for $60. Does anyone know if you can change and upgrade to the 6-cell?

woot it or leave it? I want it, yes. Do I need it, not really. Should I get this at a price that is hard to find now, or wait till i have a little extra money and spend more for the same thing?

Why don't they make these with Linux standard anymore? That's the main reason they're so sweet!

debron911 wrote:Just ordered this on Woot and wonder if we should have gotten the Amazon with the "8 hour battery." Big difference in battery life for $60. Does anyone know if you can change and upgrade to the 6-cell?

Looks like you can...for about $60...

http://www.batteryedge.com/product_p/acasone116blk.htm

macbjg wrote:Refurb? Acer? Now those are two words you don't want in the same sentence.

I've have one, and so does a guy I work with. They've both been great. Did you have a bad experience, or are you just speculating?

YoshiBear86 wrote:Wonder if this will support Wow-Warcraft.... Anyone know? I'm not looking for amazing graphics just something when I can't use my desktop.

No real on board video so, no. It's a netbook, pure and simple. A friend ones one (purchased from previous woot) and he loves it. Video is clear, speakers are decent, but it's really only for basic web browsing/docs.

Twan013 wrote:woot it or leave it? I want it, yes. Do I need it, not really. Should I get this at a price that is hard to find now, or wait till i have a little extra money and spend more for the same thing?

Had that same dilemma 2 weeks ago when the 10.1" went up. Pulled the trigger and am SO happy I did. Love this little machine and seems as thought the prices are only climbing. I have personal laptop, work-owned laptop, desktop, and now this. It's great to have just sitting on the coffee table for surfing...better than leaving the fam to head into the home office to look stuff up.

chaimg wrote:keyboard is difficult to type. laptop has no cd or dvd drive. not quite a laptop but a email or browser unit. stick to a proper laptop.

Have you actually tried the keyboard on this machine? It's full-sized and very nice in my opinion.

Thanks for explaining the difference between a laptop and a netbook, too.

Meh.

Dell outlet has better deals then this on their Mini 10v's with either 270 or 280 Atom processors (1.6ghz)

I want to buy a Netbook for my little girl she is 8..Is this the best buy or is there something better...I have no clue about computers...just a face book fan myself. Thanks for any help

We have one and love it...for what it's worth.

well guys, I wooted.. and until I get it in my hands and decide if I made a good decision or not, I'm going to be sick to my stomach. I seriously contemplated on this for 3 or 4 hours. I had questions like:
what if the processor is too slow?
What if its not?
what if I find a better deal somewhere else?
what if I pass this up, and NOT find a better deal?
What is my girlfriend and mom going to say?

Either way, I finally decided to go for it. and like I said, I'll hate every second of it until I actually get to work with it some.

MacG wrote:I have been thinking about buying a netbook... if only this one had Linux on it I would have very seriously considered it...

kuki

YoshiBear86 wrote:Wonder if this will support Wow-Warcraft.... Anyone know? I'm not looking for amazing graphics just something when I can't use my desktop.

if i can run WoW on my asus eeePC 900 running xp i think u should be able to run it on here. my eeepc has a 16Ghz processor though so idk.

spitboy wrote:Sorry to be a dolt but does this have WiFi connectivity to the internet?

Yup. That is what 802.11 b/g means.

Twan013 wrote:well guys, I wooted.. and until I get it in my hands and decide if I made a good decision or not, I'm going to be sick to my stomach. I seriously contemplated on this for 3 or 4 hours. I had questions like:
what if the processor is too slow?
What if its not?
what if I find a better deal somewhere else?
what if I pass this up, and NOT find a better deal?
What is my girlfriend and mom going to say?

Either way, I finally decided to go for it. and like I said, I'll hate every second of it until I actually get to work with it some.

Don't worry, I bought this AND the d250 on Tuesday. I haven't gotten either yet to decide which to keep...you wanna talk about antsy? Lol, I hate woot. Two woots ever, two Acer netbooks, watching the films?!

YoshiBear86 wrote:Wonder if this will support Wow-Warcraft.... Anyone know? I'm not looking for amazing graphics just something when I can't use my desktop.

Intel graphics card. Don't expect too much out of this. If it runs I'll be surprised if you get any performance. Just like everyone else has said that is not the purpose for these devices.

The 11" screen is probably just the right size. The 8" screens are much smaller. The battery is also fine the way it is, you only use a netbook for a few hours (2-3), anything more than that you should get a regular laptop or a desktop.

usernotfound wrote:Don't worry, I bought this AND the d250 on Tuesday. I haven't gotten either yet to decide which to keep...you wanna talk about antsy? Lol, I hate woot. Two woots ever, two Acer netbooks, watching the films?!

I think for what I use a laptop/netbook/computer for, this is exactly what I need. PhotoShop, heavy video editing, Crysis, etc..

but seriously, the laptop I have now is only used for youtube and other internet stuff, downloading music.. The only reason I want a new one is because mom keeps confiscating mine so she can play MahJong.

Jesda wrote:ATOM Z VS ATOM N PROCESSOR COMPARISON

http://www.netbookmarket.net/intel-atom-n-series-vs-z-series/

The CPUs actually perform equally. The difference shown in this "benchmark" was due to cooling system differences in the laptops and not due to the CPUs. The Sony VAIO P with passive cooling was not able to keep its Z530 cool long enough for the benchmark to complete; the Z530 thus throttled to half speed to avoid melting. Check myvaiop's comments in the original blog.

I have the 10" version with the upgraded processor, and I love it. Only issue I have had is the SD card under base Ubuntu install. Still haven't found a way around this.

XP Home edition does not include Microsoft Visio.

1Lord1 wrote:these are new at walmart for about the same price... not refurbs. but they ARE neat little computers, and I agree... make sure you will use it or you're wasting time and money

IT guy at my company tells me these aren't really refurb, they are brand new, just discontinued. He buys products from woot often. just bought one for my 13 year old kid for her b-day

emecks wrote:That might be true, but install Unubtu Netbook Edition in one of these and they rock hard. Got one a few weeks ago, hasn't disappointed me yet.

I have one of these with 2 GB of RAM and Vista Basic. I have been shocked at how much the performance doesn't suck. I am reluctant to put Windows 7 on to "fix it" until it actually annoys me. As was pointed out elsewhere, you could go to Walmart and have it TODAY.

YoshiBear86 wrote:Wonder if this will support Wow-Warcraft..

about as well as an ice dispenser in hell

STAY FAR AWAY from this Netbook if you do anything Flash based. Most Internet games, video, and applications are flash based and the Intel 500 chipset is a trainwreck for those applications. I bought this exact netbook and returned it twice because I thought it was just a fluke. After researching the issue the INTEL GMA 500 chipset is a horrible joke. It cannot even run Peggle (just an example) without choppy video and Peggle isn't exactly an intensive application.

Be warned.

schni wrote:I'm sure it does.
But for the price of this plus Windows 7, you're probably better off just buying a new one with Windows 7 on it...

I doubt he will pay for windows 7.
Torrents man, Torrents...

schni wrote:I'm sure it does.
But for the price of this plus Windows 7, you're probably better off just buying a new one with Windows 7 on it...

I doubt he will pay for windows 7.
Torrents man, Torrents...