Cheapest netbook with HDMI?

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Thundordan

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Feb 12, 2010
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Hey there folks,

Could netbooks with hdmi be a viable (and portable) smart tv replacement? Because the best way to have a smart tv is to have a computer instead. (already have an hdmi tv, and so do most places I visit)

I've been out of the netbook game for almost 2 years now. Does anyone know how well can netbooks today handle 1080p video, and what is the cheapest one that can do it?

The only specs that matter would be: 2gb of RAM and the HDMI port. The rest can be as cheap as possible.

It seems people throw the dm1z as a suggestion for anything regarding netbooks in these forums, but that one is something of a high end netbook. Nothing cheaper?

Cheers!
 
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Keep in mind that if you go too cheap then maybe it won't be powerfull enough to playback 1080p material (depending on bitrate) smoothly.

(That also depends on software/hardware combination).
 
Cheapest thing would be an Asus EeePC, with 1 GB of RAM. The Atom can't possibly make use of 2 GB, so it doesn't matter. Do note however that the performance will be terrible and not enough to actually make you enjoy video output at 720p even.

I'd advise you to pay a little more and at least get some AMD Fusion CPU (for example, the HP ProBook 4535s) in that thing unless you can live with choppy video (I couldn't). But the point is, stepping up from Atom to Fusion will typically cost you like 150 bucks.
 
I know; these netbooks have very weak processors. Even the dm1z's is equivalent to somewhere between a celeron and an athlon @~1300Mhz.

I don't just want a netbook with HDMI, I want to discover which is the cheapest that can handle 1080p video. Of course, if such a thing even exists, since I haven't tested these personally.

The HP ProBook 4535s is $500+ and I feel like I'm spending too much for the 4GB of RAM and other bells and whistles which I won't need. I'm never going to do work on this thing anyway.

I'm looking for something more like the Ouya - 1GB RAM and a Tegra 3 for 1080p.

Maybe I can buy an Ouya and flash Ubuntu on it. :D
 
Well, ARM is a very good idea actually. Maybe you should wait for some Windows RT device. Rumours have it that they will be dirt cheap and be able to do exactly what you ask for. Hacking Ubuntu on some Android thingy is always problematic due to driver incompatibilities.
 
Thundordan said:
I know; these netbooks have very weak processors. Even the dm1z's is equivalent to somewhere between a celeron and an athlon @~1300Mhz.

I don't just want a netbook with HDMI, I want to discover which is the cheapest that can handle 1080p video. Of course, if such a thing even exists, since I haven't tested these personally.

The HP ProBook 4535s is $500+ and I feel like I'm spending too much for the 4GB of RAM and other bells and whistles which I won't need. I'm never going to do work on this thing anyway.

I'm looking for something more like the Ouya - 1GB RAM and a Tegra 3 for 1080p.

Maybe I can buy an Ouya and flash Ubuntu on it. :D
Click to expand...

dm1z can do 1080p and it can be had < $400
 
I saw a decent AMD Fusion notebook at Target for under $300 a couple weeks ago (it was advertised). Really, the only reason to get a netbook is for extreme portability, and long battery life. Otherwise, you would be well to get a regular laptop. The cost difference is pretty negligable.
 
Thanks for the comments guys, they make sense :)

I think that my prayers have been answered: Giada A51 AMD Fusion-Based Mini PC

It seems to be around $399 and it's designed for what I need. I guess I can't go better and cheaper than that.

Seems to be out of stock a the moment though.
 
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