suggestions on a small laptop or netbook $400 or less

[raverx3m]

i need to buy a present for my dad and i know he needs a laptop or something small to take with him.

looking for the following:
1 screen has to be between 10 and 13 inches.
2 needs to last a while and be reliable so prefer a good brand not acer.
3 good multitasking no atom 1.66 we have one at work and it is so damn slow...
4 windows based preferably windows 7 pro.

he needs it for his office organizer etc, emails, internet, ms office.

SSD drive if possible within that price range.


i looked through them and they all look like potatoes in the bag, im a bit outdated on laptop tech so not sure what the common problems are


apple fans please skip this thread if you gonna suggest buying an ipad or anything else with " i " in it. thanks in advance...

 

[iFargle]

From personal experience, I do *not* recommend HP. My brother and sister and I have gone through six HP Mini laptops, and all have failed the same way.. Battery failure. Even the ones ordered directly from HP and repaired by HP.

I'd say go for a Dell netbook. I've had good experiences with them. I can't recommend anything specific because I'm not entirely familiar with netbooks.

Speaking of iDevices...
If you're against Apple and not tablets, why not look at a Transformer Prime? It does everything you want it to, but it's going to cost a little more for the keyboard / trackpad attachment.

 

[raverx3m]

yea man i would love to get that myself but isnt that android based?

is there a windows based version of that?

cuz i would put that one in my car too if there was windows way.

 

[iFargle]

Nothing that's as nice as a Transformer Prime.. All the Windows based ones I've seen are larger and bulkier. When Windows 8 comes out I'm sure we will be seeing some nice ones.. Except for the fact that ARM devices are locked to the Metro UI interface.

 

[MindoverMaster]

I have the original Transformer. I love it, since I never had an android before. But if he needs MS software, I would look at actually getting a cheaper full laptop.

Like so: Newegg.com - DELL Vostro 469-1144 Notebook Intel Core i3 370M(2.40GHz) 15.6" Wide XGA 3GB Memory DDR3 1333 250GB HDD 5400rpm DVD±R/RW Intel GMA 4500MHD

Dell's Vostro models are very well made, they are for the business class. I had my Vostro 1500 for 6 years now, works like a breeze.

 

[raverx3m]

too big of a screen. a perfect size screen would be 12 inch or 11.

he pretty much needs a carry on netbook to keep al the files and check internet emails etc. but i know how picky he is( i have last 3 gifts sitting on my shelf lol)

what CPU should i look for. i only know that atom cpu is limited to 4 processes? or something like that. how is the dual core atom cpu rate at multitasking?

 

[raverx3m]

or maybe someone can tell me what shoud i avoid when looking through those netbooks?

 

[MindoverMaster]

You do understand that 99% of the netbooks have 1.66Ghz Atoms, right? Your best bet would be a small laptop.

 

[raverx3m]

so even a dual core atom is not recommended?

 

[MindoverMaster]

Well, in my experience, an Atom is an Atom, rather dual core or not. Sure the dual core will be a bit faster, but not really a huge improvement.