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Question: Are netbook computers worth getting?

(Posted by: rockstar0525 on 2009-04-11 11:33:19)

My old computer broke and we brought it in to a guy who said that the motherboard failed and he'll charge $325 to repair it. I thought, for this price, it might be worth it to get a new cp. My old one is a 18 month old gateway and it's out of warranty so I can't do much with it. I was looking around and found this new type of computer called a netbook?? I'm not sure what to think of a netbook, is it worth it? What are the pros/ cons of one? Also, I saw that they don't have a cd drive, is there any type CD drive that plugs into a USB input that I could use? How much would this be? If not, then how can I watch a movie/ listen to a CD? Thanks.

Posted by: Mercuri on 2009-04-11, 11:41:06

Netbooks are cheap, portable laptops for web surfing and basic applications. They're great as a second computer but kind of suck as a primary computer. They severely lack in performance, features, storage, etc. There are external USB CD/ DVD drives you could use with one, but that adds to the bulk of the computer and kind of defeats the purpose of having an ultraportable laptop.

Posted by: Gerald K on 2009-04-11, 11:44:11

To listen to music you can get a external drive or use a sd card or a flash drive Pros- Easy to carry Cons- Small screen and keyboard

Posted by: eclipse_rs98 on 2009-04-11, 11:47:27

There is external Cd drives if there wasn't there would be no way for the O/ S to be on this computer. when you get your new computer make sure it has Windows Vista home premium or better, NO home basic, Home basic don't have media capabilities. look at it like this. Desktops are a hell of alot cheaper then laptops, so if you really don't need a mobile computer, its best to just grab a desktop, desktops come with tons more stuff for cheaper. second is laptops expected life span is 1 to a max of 2 years. any longer its just WAY out of date and the moving around alot make them ware out quicker. and Desktops last 3 to 5 years. and can be upgraded alot easier and cheaper. seriously my gateway is 7 months old and the motherboard just fried in it too. luckly for me it's still under warrenty. my next one will be a desktop for sure. I'm looking at the new Dell studio. the whole computer is the size of and external hard drive and has a CD drive and all. and its ECO friendly. also its cheaper then a laptop. What more can a guy want.

Posted by: paintballpro111 on 2009-04-11, 11:50:16

By your question, you seem to know very little about the subject (not questioning you) BUT this is ok. The repair guy was a pretty big scam. He did not describe the problem with your motherboard (or atleast it was not written), but motherboards are pretty cheap nowadays. Especially basic ones. Knowing your gateway was almost 2 years old, he probably would have just gotten a new motherboard from Gateway and put it back together and pocketed the extra. It is if you get a server MB that the cost gets up. The processor is where the money is, so maybe that was also bad. Anyway, back to the question. A notebook is a laptop. There are many things to look into when it comes to a notebook. BUT basically, you are right, getting a new computer would cost about the same as having your old one getting fixed. Notebooks come with cd roms most of the time. There are also cd roms that do plug into USB slots. There are many things that are USB. Floppy drives are pretty much obsolete now, but if you want, you can get one USB as well. Watching / Listening to media is simple given you have the correct software installed. Basically, windows media player plays most media extensions. Notebooks range from 300 - to upwards of 3000. It just depends on what you want. Although i never will buy a Dell, going to Dell's customization site will help you get a basic understanding of what you are getting yourself into as far as price. If you like the concept of being mobile while also having a desktop, you could look at getting a laptop with a docking station, which will connect your laptop to a monitor and external keyboard and mouse. it is a pretty nifty idea if you need a laptop for work and do not have the money for a desktop. it is just pretty much what you want. hope that helps

Posted by: Jeff on 2009-04-11, 12:15:31

Http:/ / astore.amazon.com/ produrevie01-20/ detail/ B001RIYOL0 This is a link to a Netbook. Some pros is that Netbooks are very light-weight, so if you're traveling a lot or on the go, this is a small, compact computer which does have the capability of using the same programs that a normal Laptop would use. It does have a pretty big hard drive capable of storing up to 160 GB of data. It has one gig of RAM which is the average for a typical Laptop. I'm not sure as to whether or not the RAM can be updated with more or not. It has a very long battery life of almost ten hours. Also, it does have two USB ports, which means you could plug in a portable CD drive. astore.amazon.com/ produrevie01-20/ detail/ B001B1796U This is a link to a portable CD drive. It's pretty cheap, $24.99. If you need more than two USB ports, you could purchase a USB hub. A USB hub is a device which you plug into your USB port. This device has an additional 3-5 extra USB ports which you can use for whatever you need. astore.amazon.com/ produrevie01-20/ detail/ B000SDZ0K4 for more info on USB hubs. Cons: I don't think it comes pre-installed with any Microsoft products besides the operating system. So if you need Word, Excel, Powerpoint or any other program, you'd have to buy it and install it yourself. I myself don't have a Netbook, but I do intend on getting one soon. I also hear Netbooks are great for doing presentations.