We've already seen the NVIDIA ION-based
HP Mini 311 perform
impressively during demos, but now that the netbook is hitting reviewers it's time for some real benchmarks -- and according to the crew at
Laptop, they're more than solid. The 311 scored a 1,917 on the PCMark 05 test, almost 500 points above the average netbook, and put up a scorching 1,386 in the 3DMark06 test -- 1,200 points over the netbook average, and basically the same score as a MacBook Air. That's not too surprising, seeing as ION is just a netbook-oriented variant of the GeForce 9400M, but it's still rather impressive -- and combined with 1080p video playback, the potential for some light gaming, and (eventually)
ION-accelerated Flash, we'd say the Mini 311 is looking like a real contender.
posted Oct 5th 2009 7:02PM
keeps up with the Macbook Fail
I mean Air and it's $900+ less
well well time to invest in a netbook
How much does it cost?
The refurbished MacBook Air starts at $1100.
Who said anything about refurbished. Take a look at new prices and compare apples to apples. (no pun intended)
So how long will it be before these things start replacing integrated graphics on low range laptops? I'm currently typing on a laptop with a GMA 4500M (non HD) and might be in the market for a laptop pretty soon. I'd love to have a 12-14 inch semi thin laptop (my acer aspire 4730z is plenty thin a little thinner wouldn't hurt) with a 9400m. Pretty much I want a Macbook style laptop with a 9400m, dvd drive, mem card reader, web cam etc under $1000 preferably black. Any suggestions people?
It looks like it's just under 400$.
MacBook not-refurbished starts at $1500.
Woooooo HP mini 311, anyone?
@ N900
I'm in =D!
still has the crappy atom processor.
aww poor poor chap no one cares
now finish drinking your koolaid it's getting warm
@Terry
@Terry: It would be a competitor.... except it's as fast, has better connectivity, better battery life and is cheaper.
You want fries with that?
3 times as many ports!
Twice the number of speakers!
Smallerer!
i been thinking about getting one, Just waiting to see what a new white macbook looks like and how it runs
+1
I was gonna buy one, but now that I see how good this is, I'll just wait for more Dell/Samsung/Lenovo models to be available in the US. More power to the consumer!
I've gotta say: the referenced post is why I can't stand the Mac ethos...
- Mac user: what does it -look- like and how fast is it?
- Win / Linux user: how fast is it and how much does it cost?
Sure, all things equal, I'd pass over a beige / charcoal gray brick for a nice, shiny laptop, but I refuse to pay literally 3+ times the price for the same thing. "Shiny" is not quite that valuable to an intelligent person.
It has USB ports that are accessible, a removable battery, but only allows external drives, and, as far as I can tell, has only one DIMM slot (not positive though). The latter is the only real concern I have about it, but... $400 is a mighty compelling reason to overlook it, especially w/ web programming as its primary duty. I think I might pick me up a couple.
For the ability to use *nix tools and reap the benefit of certain proprietary software, plus the above average looking hardware and tight product integration, Macs are a very attractive platform. For a purchase with a typical lifespan of two to four years, an extra 10% to 50% cost on the sticker price isn't a big deal for most people, it's a few dollars a month difference. For computer freelancers or personal business owners, Macs are often magnitudes cheaper in the grand scheme of their business (time savings, sanity).
I won't bother to break down the numerous factors that have a monetary value that Windows simply doesn't offer out of the box, you'd probably ignore them anyways, but to paint us all with the broad generalization "Mac users prioritize aesthetics above performance or price" is naive, but more importantly, incorrect (see: dedicated OSX86 users as direct refutation of your assumption that case design trumps the OS choice).
For my situation, Macs save time (most important factor), cost roughly in the same ballpark, and they do usually look better than similarly priced counterparts.
MacBookAir was such a FAILURE its hard to understand why Apple felt they could get away with making a mistake that bad in the first place.
Lets make a laptop so thin it doesn't have enough connections for the average user and give it a power adapter that doesn't let it sit flat on the table.
And lets make its price around $2000 or higher.
Brilliant.
MBA makes me ashamed to push iPhones on everyone.
That's awesome, but this article isn't about the MBA. Go away.
Macbook Air was mentioned in the article, therefore his statement was relevant. Calm down.
My power adapter sits perfectly flat (funny enough, it is the custom power adapter that Apple ships with the Air) and performance of my Rev A easily meets my needs for uni work. Just because a computer doesn't meet your needs doesn't mean it's a failure, it means you don't fit into the target market. I personally wouldn't want a net book with a ridiculously small keyboard but they suit some people and I can understand why even though they wouldn't suit me. :)
"ridiculously small" =\
I hate this argument. I use a "natural" keyboard at the office and a MSI Wind on the road without any issues. I think my keyboard is 98%? I also wear a XXL glove in most cases.
Err.... it does sit flat on the table if you use the charger that came with it. If you use a standard macbook charger it doesn't, but then it's not designed to be used with one of those.
As for the price, some people have lots of money to spare (not me) and choose to spend it on things like Macbook Airs, BMWs, Gucci bags, Rolex watches, Mont Blanc pens etc Unless you're going to take world hunger and child poverty into account I don't see the problem.
I'd say you'd say we'd all say we'd say
I'm not particularly familiar with all the advantages of a graphics card like ion.
Would an ion based netbook be better at streaming sports games/video or would a faster culv with the intel 4500 card work better?
It can decode most any modern video format in hardware.
It doesn't just "accelerate" it. It does all the work.
If your decoder supports PureVideo or VDPAU then you can flawlessly decode BluRay rips with about 0% cpu utilization.
That's the million dollar question though.
That would depend on whether or not the video was GPU-accelerated. If it's a flash video, for instance, like the ones on Youtube and a buttload of other places, then it is currently better to have a CULV processor, since they are better than the Atom. HOWEVER, GPU acceleration is coming to Flash soon with 10.1, and when that happens, you'll be able to do stuff like watching Youtube HD vids on something like this HP Mini 311.
So for now, CULV is better for watching Flash video. In a while though, Ion will be the better choice. But if the video you're watching is not GPU-accelerated, then CULV is the way to go.
Interesting. Thanks. I'll have to read up on GPU acceleration.
Im debating b/w the 311 and the dm1 if saving the 100 bucks is worth it.
@Kingcyrus
I'm waiting on the same thing too. It really comes down to what kind of the GPU the dm1 has. I refuse to get anything with Intel graphics, no matter if someone paid me to have the laptop. *shudder*
Mine shows up on Thursday.
Now i'm even more impatient to get it.
"basically the same score as a MacBook Air."
... And that's a good thing?
For a netbook? Fuck yea.
I'd like to see the Ion paired with a Z series Atom. Is that possible or is there some difference that prevents it? Actually, if the Ion LE uses less battery life than the standard, the Z series with the LE would be absolutely ideal.
In real world testing, what is the hurt of the Ion on battery life in general anyway?
Important questions... for me.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Z series of Atom less powerful?
Why would they use a less powerful processor in a premium netbook which could/should be used for light games and HD video?
And also, the Ion and Ion LE are the same, except the LE doesn't support DirectX 10.
I believe the Ion is considered quite energy efficient.
For battery life. In what I've seen, the Z series is easier on the battery and runs much cooler, and does so without a significant hit in performance. As for the LE, if it loses Direct X functionality, then it probably also uses less power (or so I would assume that the weaker yet similar architecture released around the same time by the same company would use less power). So a Z series with an LE, I would think, would give you some decent bang for the buck (as far as heat and energy is concerned).
From what I understand LE shouldn't be any weaker. Supposedly all they did was take the existing chipset and disable DX10 support.
"Supposedly all they did was take the existing chipset and disable DX10 support."
Wow, if that's true... what a bunch of slimebags.
Eh, blame Microsoft. They're the ones that won't license Windows XP ULCPC if the graphics card supports better than DX9. They might change more for DX10 certification as well.
But can i make it a hackintosh?
Only if you are very, very stupid.
Probably.
The Atom (Ion processor) is supported by the OSx86 community and the 9400M (Ion graphics chipset) is supported by Apple - it's in most of their computers now.
It's more than likely compatible, but I would wait and see. The original HP Mini 1000 and 110's had problems with the speakers not working. WiFi problems are common on notebooks and netbooks.
Again - wait and see if there are any problems. If it's all clear and the OSx86 community gives you the green light, go for it.
Not sure how well the hackintosh could handle the ION platform yet? I'm sure it would run it, but I don't know if it requires a special driver for the ION feature to work, of if its a hardware feature?
ION = Geforce 9400M, which all of the new Macs use as a default GPU. There should be no problems there.
Wow, this may be my next computer purchase...
Well these things are not cheap compared to the power an inexpensive laptop gives you.
Plus I wonder if it is worth it. I wonder if it is a huge hit to performance as these things lack dual channel memory possibilities.
I'd rather have this than the $299 Wal-Mart computer. You get an AMD Sempron (yuck) and some crappy integrated chip with that, right?
ION LE all the way.
The only thing the $299 Wal-Mart computer has over this is 3GB of RAM vs. 1GB on the HP Mini.
Most cheap laptops are 15.6" models. That's much too big for some people.
like i care