funnybutrandom Wrote:in a way i would say netbooks (or at least small laptops) are becoming more popular that notebooks, netbooks are a lot easier to carry around then notebooks and have a better battery life.

i guess i am one of the people who prefer convenience over performance.

I agree... a powerful desktop at home and a netbook while on the move seems like a good combination.

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:

Assassinator Wrote:E5200 is more than twice as good as a 1.6GHz Atom

At what?  Twice as good at running your web browser?  Twice as good at loading Windows?

General performance?

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:

Assassinator Wrote:and the 2GB ram compared to 1GB is twice as good

Both the netbook and desktop have 2GB of RAM (netbook's 1GB plus added 1GB stick).

However, you can't put in a 800 Mhz and above stick in the netbooks. At least not yet. But again, I concede that for general users, this should not matter.

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:

Assassinator Wrote:160 > 120 for HDD, and desktop HDDs are faster

Not by much.  Not sure if the one I found was the Green power drive or not - if it is, difference may hardly be noticeable.

I disagree... most common notebooks (or rather netbooks) have a slower Hdd. Plus, the make is not customizable. You do hae an option of getting SSD, but its not worth it for the price.

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:

Assassinator Wrote:And the good thing about upgrading a desktop is that you can carry stuff over, stuff like DVD drive, HDDs, PSU and chasis are often carried over, saving you a bit of money.

You can do the same with laptops, except for the case/PSU.  The only difference is that one's connected internally, and one's external.  If you're not moving it around much, there's barely any difference.

Since wee are talking general users, not much familiar with technical knowledge, they will not be able to recycle any part of the Laptop. Even experienced user will prefer to buy a completely new laptop, due to various issues (mainly warranty).

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:

Assassinator Wrote:And the CPU difference here is sort of different from your Core2 vs i7 comparison. A decent core2 (lets say E8400) can do pretty much everything you want. It can run you 2 or more 1080 vids at the same time, and play the most hardcore games out there, just as good as an i7 (games are mostly GPU), and can encode videos decently fast. So going up to i7 doesn't offer all that much benefits... But the Atom doesn't do everything you want, (you have trouble playing even one 720p vid, you can't play hardcore games, and you encode slow as hell). So going up does give you benefits.

Who plays two 1080p videos at once?
I did mention that laptops weren't designed for games, now, didn't I, and perhaps not terribly good at multimedia applications.  But does the average user really use that that much?  Also, I proposed this thread looking a little into the future.  Perhaps current gen netbooks can't play 1080p that well, but it's really only a matter of time until they do.

Yes, maybe the next generation netbooks will be able to play hi-def. In fact Asus has said that they intend on making Eee PCs able  to do that. But that brings the question, who would want to watch a 1080p video on a 10" screen? or even 13" screen? Plus, netbooks, unlike more expensive notebooks, are not meant to be a replacement for anything. They are not even marketed as such. On the contrary, they are intended to supplement the Desktop. So the debate of Netbooks replacing desktops is somewhat invalid.  
But, the fact remains that the main aim of netbooks is to extend usability (battery life, ease of use, light weight, cost etc) and as such, there will always be a limit to how much they can do, while maintaining a cheap price. The ultraportables are of somewhat netbook dimensions, offer a good performance, but are more expensive than three HTPCs.

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:

feinicks Wrote:If you are looking at a computer that is to be used by a general home user. then you have to consider the fact that they will be playing Hi-Def and other hi quality format. If they want to watch movies, they will go in for big screens. At least a 19" screen. That said, the netbook you mentioned, doesn't have a large screen neither a processor that is comfortable with hi def.

The desktop I mentioned doesn't have a screen at all.  If you put money into a screen, you could do the same for the netbook.

However, consider the fact that for $600 you can play games, watch 1080p etc. While $600+ $x get you a big screen. Ok.. but you can't use it for any practical purpose.

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:

feinicks Wrote:Also, 1080 will soon to be bettered by more hi-def standards.

And no, 1080p won't be going out the door any time soon.

No.. not anytime soon.. Not for at least another 10 years. But wee are talking with reference to the future.

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:

feinicks Wrote:One thing that wee haven't discussed is that the desktops them self are becoming smaller and more portable (to an extent), while becoming more and more powerful. I really don't see that laptop completely replacing desktops, for an average user, who doesn't have to work on the go.

From my view, they're generally becoming larger and larger...  And the general small desktops run Intel Atom CPUs so really aren't much more powerful than netbooks.

Maybe you should check out the new models offered by Dell, Apple or HP. The only thing becoming bigger is the screen. Though yes, I will not say the same for those who prefer to build the PC on their own.

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:

|-Anubis-| Wrote:What about repairing/replacing existing components?
I agree that not everyone needs an i7 desktop. However in a desktop the components can be removed and replaced relatively easily.
You need to replace the motherboard? No problem with a desktop, just disconnect, swap and then reconnect.

Expenses...  Replacing a mobo may mean you have to swap the CPU, and possibly the RAM (DDR » DDR2 » DDR3).  PCIe and SATA will probably remain for a while right now, so those interfaces probably won't become redundant, but really, if you're changing mobo/CPU/RAM, you're pretty much getting a new system.

Not really. A motherboard may be reusable for a long period of time. For instance, any AM2 socket motherboard is compatible with Athlon X2, Phenom, Phenom X3 and maybe more... though I'm not sure about the Intel boards. Also, the expense of singly replacing a component is not as high as getting a new system. DDR3 may be here, but its still sometime till DDR2 is phased out. In that view, almost all newer motherboards offer dual compatibility. Also, very few people periodically replace the CPU. However, many people upgrade their RAM, Hdd, GPU etc on a regular basis. Also, changing a motherboard + RAM + CPU is not as expensive as changing a laptop.

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:

|-Anubis-| Wrote:Power cord has been cut? No problem! Simply buy a new $15 dollar cable.
Charger cord has been cut? That's at least $80.

Power cords don't easily get cut...  At least I've still got ~12 year old cables working fine...

I don't think that is the main point here.. :P

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:

|-Anubis-| Wrote:DVD drive busted? Replacements are easily found at your local electronics store
Laptop dvd drive busted? Send the whole computer to the manufacturer and hope they can replace it or by an external DVD drive.

You can replace those yourself too...

Aren't wee talking about the general user? Also, most laptops makers would declare that as void of warranty.

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:

|-Anubis-| Wrote:Main screen damaged? Simply purchase a replacement and hook it up.
Laptop screen busted? Same as above but lose portability. Otherwise throw it out.

That is an issue, but again, costs...  besides, if it's at home with the lid closed all the time, chances of laptop screen going bust is very low.

But it is there. Murphy's law.