Would you do this? [Archive] - TBCS Community Forums

NightrainSrt4

12-26-2008, 09:13 PM

I've been thinking of getting an Acer Aspire One, selling my Macbook, and taking the difference in money and putting it towards taking the girlfriend/S.O somewhere nice for a weekend when I ask her that question.

I love my Macbook, but to be honest the ONLY things I do on it is surf the web, and coding. The savings in weight and size would be an enormous help for college. I've just been torn on this because it's been the best laptop I've owned.

Thoughts?

Spawn-Inc

12-26-2008, 11:12 PM

being a mac hater toss that junk out. congrats and good luck for when you pop the question.

NightrainSrt4

12-26-2008, 11:48 PM

Thanks for the support. :D

I'm still not sure about the selling it and buying the AAO. With the hundred dollars in giftcards useable at walmart, it would cost me $250. Thats with a 120Gb hdd. Or I could go through tigerdirect and get the 8GB ssd, with 8Gb sd card version for 299-50 cd, +shipping. I'd prefer the SSD I think, not sure though. I guess its a question of when its all said and done, which is worth more to me, keeping 100$ Walmart GC's or 50$ TD GC to use on other stuff.

Does anyone have an AAO? Opinions on it? I know reviews are pretty good of it for that price range.

I wish I could find one in a store to really play around with. All the walmarts have them in a damn plexi case.

xRyokenx

12-27-2008, 12:09 AM

I'd look into some Toshiba laptops. My uncle just got one and it is amazing. It wasn't very expensive and it also has some sweet speakers and I think a dual-core CPU, too.

But yeah, I'm not sure how much their low-mid range laptops cost, though.

Good luck with popping (almost put "pooping" o0) the question, dude.

NightrainSrt4

12-27-2008, 12:29 AM

Well I don't think she would appreciate me "pooping" the question lmmfao.

The reason I was looking into a netbook is that I don't do much at all on the laptop as mentioned. I've got two laptops converted into desktops. If either were able to be returned to laptop form I would just do that and deal with the bulk. But can't.

If I got something different it would have to be smaller and lighter than the macbook, as I've got a stainless steel bar in my chest which makes most things difficult, including carrying a backback with laptop and books to college. Even with the macbook, on days i need the laptop, I'm forced to ditch the books and many of the notebooks.

I've tried the rollybag route and that just sent a spear through my confidence and ego going to college like that. :dead:

I can suffice with the macbook size or less.

Collinstheclown

12-27-2008, 12:34 AM

I just got an Eee 1000, and it's fantastic! Cost $400 on newegg.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220369

-CollinstheClown

NightrainSrt4

12-27-2008, 12:44 AM

The EEE 1000 seems very nice, but the same one is 600 on TD, and 450 for the hdd model.

The reason I was going for the AAO was that I can get it for 250ish from either walmart or TD after giftcards. Anything really more than the 250$ cuts out the profits from selling the Macbook.

If I'm only going to make $200ish by going with a higher model netbook, I might as well just save a bit extra between now and the trip, and have a better laptop. :(

NightrainSrt4

12-27-2008, 12:54 AM

And to clarify, I'm not strapped for money, else I wouldn't be asking her that question. Although fwiw she wants a 2 year-ish engagement anywho.

I had just dropped cash on a DSLR, and was thinking about a sacrifice in order to better finance the trip without cutting into other funds. As in, at the end I haven't spent, or lost any money, but still have a functional tool for school.

Or I could go another route and try craigslist for pc's I haven't touched or booted more than once a month to screw around with. Those include:

P4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb Ram, 40Gb hdd, fx5200
Celeron 2.93 Ghz 512mb Ram, 40Gb hdd, ati 9250
Backup 1u P3 server, the usual
Unused 3u Dual P3 server, with multiple 10k 9Gb scsi's
E6300, 2Gb Ram, 100Gb hdd, sli 7600's
And I know I'm missing a couple I haven't touched in a while.

They feel like children, as many of you know, which is why I've kept them. But do they get utilized, no, and I could prob make some decent cash off of them. I have options. I could just finance it straight up. But was trying to weigh the options I had, but didn't want to litter the first post with so much though, as I'm sure everyone knows, I put a lot into each post, and have been trying to condense that lol.

Omega

12-27-2008, 04:51 AM

The Aspire One looks like a solid choice and I was going to get one until I saw my Eee at Best Buy (bite me) for $350. Newegg has a 120gb Aspire One for like $350, so you can get a good deal there if nowhere else.

Also, Good luck with all your relationship-stuff. =]

BerticusPryme

12-27-2008, 07:05 AM

I like macbooks but I would go for the aspire one deal myself. they are really nice. I use one at a shop i work in part time to help them out and it is a lifesaver honestly. Iw ould also look into cleaning out the storage to. My wife convinced me to sell soem of my spare stuff I ahd laying around and we made like and extra 1k for christmas shopping and bills. If you do decide to get rid of one of the servers Iw ould be happy to take it from you:)

progbuddy

12-27-2008, 01:13 PM

My older brother got an MSI Wind. It's pretty solidly built and neat.

LiTHiUM0XiD3

12-27-2008, 04:13 PM

the acer is where its at.. the only way you could ever convince me to use a rotten apple (mac) is if ya had it fully loaded.. and put linux/windows on it... otherwise.. they really aint worth it.. with the intel CPUs in them now they r just stupidly overpriced IBM/compatible laptops with a lil apple logo

NightrainSrt4

12-28-2008, 01:45 AM

Tomorrow morning, actually this morning I guess, I am going to go check it out at walmart and see if they can let me physically hold it. I doubt it as its in a plexi case thing, but I will see.

As today, during my trip to NH to see my mom and bros, I got a $100 GC to walmart as well, which she shouldn't have done. I got another 50$ walmart GC from my other brother, as he wants an Antec 300, but its far more expensive there than at the microcenter down the street, so Im picking him up one in exchange for the card. Traded his visa gc things to me so he could order a DFI lanparty JR, E5200, PSU, and 4Gb ram on my card without going through hassles.

So ya, I'm looking at 250+ GC's to Walmart, plus another $300 visa cards that need to get used on something before they take off the damn 2.50 every month, but those I can use on food and house crap.

Makes the AAO all the more tempting, and a larger profit margin. But I'ma take it slow, as I do love my Macbook. Torn lmfao.

Bopher

12-28-2008, 02:09 AM

Me and the wife just picked up on of those for her. Her computer died today so she needed something to replace for web surfing, IMing, email and online offers. She's been using it for a couple hours now and she likes it. It seems like a good little laptop for the basics. I'm almost tempted to sell off my Inspiron 8500 because I just don't use it very often. Screen is very clear for only 8.9 inches. System runs very quite. She got the pink one. I haven't been able to play with it but I messed with one they had on display and it seemed to run pretty good for only a 1.6Ghz.

TheGreatSatan

12-28-2008, 04:27 PM

They're way too small for me. Dell makes the mini 9 (http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-inspiron-9?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn), but they have the tiny SSD Hard drives too. If I had to get one I'd get the Acer with XP just because of the size of the hard drive.

I wish they were expandable to 2GB, then it would be an easier choice.

NightrainSrt4

12-28-2008, 06:33 PM

Ya, I'm torn, as I would actually want the ssd if the Acer was fanless. Seeing as its not fanless, and will be slightly noisy, a hdd wouldn't bother me. I liked the Dell Mini 9 because it was fanless, and the ssd version is supposed to be dead silent.

I just don't know what to do. I can come up with money for the trip in other ways, and I think I will just do that as I like my macbook. I've just had it for a year and a half, and get real antsy once a laptop reaches the year mark, nonetheless farther.

I just can't figure out wtf to do with all these damn walmart cards. I wished more family members listened about the newegg.com cards instead lol. I was thinking going to either a 24" lcd, or another 22", but my desk is only big enough for one 22", so I'd have to build a vertical stand. But the quality of the lcd's at walmart leaves a bit to be desired, and any of the decent ones, the price isn't up to par.

TheGreatSatan

12-28-2008, 07:38 PM

Sell your gift cards on Craigslist :)

I've played with the Acer for a couple hours to set it up for a customer. It's pretty damn silent to me.

Vital

12-28-2008, 08:03 PM

Performance wise, SSD are a decrease in performance. So go with the 2.5in hard drive. Sure they are lighter, and require less power. But eh...

NightrainSrt4

12-28-2008, 08:40 PM

Well, performance isn't something I would be too critical of in a netbook. The fanless/quietness was intriguing because when your in a class or something trying to be quiet and a loud fan cranks on, it is quite distracting to other people. I haven't had that issue like some people in my classes, but I wouldn't want to start either.

I could use the walmart cards on a dvd upconverter/5.1 system, as my lcdtv is running off of the integrated speakers right now. I could grab some basic stuff for my dlsr coming in tomorrow, but all they have is a battery grip that might work and SD cards really. Or some DVD's/CD's to continue my server backup stuff as I am running out. I just don't want to waste it on crap like usual. Always seem to spend gift cards on little things that disappear in a couple months.

Omega

12-28-2008, 08:43 PM

If the Eee has fans, I sure as hell can't tell. I can't even hear anything from it unless it's dead silent in my room. and I've got two 60gb hdds in mine. =p

Zephik

12-28-2008, 08:52 PM

If the Eee has fans, I sure as hell can't tell. I can't even hear anything from it unless it's dead silent in my room. and I've got two 60gb hdds in mine. =p

The Eee can hold two HDD's?

Omega

12-28-2008, 08:58 PM

The Eee can hold two HDD's?

Yeah, Mine has two 60's for a total 120gb capacity

NightrainSrt4

12-28-2008, 10:34 PM

That is very cool. The eee's do have a lot of modding potential. There's a lot of room on the inside of those cases to add a lot of stuff.

I may still get a netbook, but I think I am deviating from that now. I just realized how many computers were in my apartment. Several I could probably get like 100-200 bucks for. If I even just took half of them and got a measly $50 for each, I would have a real decent chunk to put in the bank towards the trip.

Christmas only comes around once a year, so instead of worrying about getting a little extra money for the trip by making sacrifices, I can just sell off the crap I don't use. At the family's house for a few days, but when I get a few days at home I might go through and catalog everything and toss some crap on craigslist. As it is, I am donating one more computer to a family member that needs one, yet, I am getting another computer from my brother for upgrading/building his new one.

TheGreatSatan

12-29-2008, 01:50 PM

That is very cool. The eee's do have a lot of modding potential. There's a lot of room on the inside of those cases to add a lot of stuff.

Then they should at least add a slot loading DVD drive.

Vital

12-29-2008, 02:21 PM

There's a lot of EEE hacking sites..etc. You can buy touchscreen kits... gps kits..etc.

NightrainSrt4

12-29-2008, 08:00 PM

I went to walmart today and was looking around, mostly for a SD card as my DSLR came in, but the memory card was in a different box that wasn't here yet, when I had an epiphany.

I walked up to the counter, asked the lady if the walmart gc's could be used on anything in the store. She said yes, so I grabbed a few AmEx GC's. She said she wasn't sure if she could do that, but turns out it let it through. So not cash, but now I don't have so many damn Walmart cards lol.

Still trying to figure out what to get. Was looking at 24" monitors to upgrade to have more space for photo editing for the dlsr, but my gaming would suffer because the 8800GTS 320mb is starting to show some gray hairs, so I was looking at a 4850x2.

Not sure on anything, but leaving my options open.

moon111

12-29-2008, 08:15 PM

I say don't give up nothin' !!!

Seriously, this giving up stuff is a game you'll play for the rest of your life. You'll give up your notebook to get engaged? Then you'll give up something else ($, personal space, time, friends, computers, toys, fun, work, etc.) for the wedding... house... In-laws... kids... etc. It won't ever stop.

You possibly have a lifetime of getting things taken from you so you're nothing but an empty husk of a man, so why give in so much so soon?

NightrainSrt4

12-29-2008, 08:37 PM

Lol. I laughed pretty hard on that one, but I do understand what you mean.

I was just trying to bring the notebook I was using more inline with my needs. But I don't think I need to sacrifice a laptop I love for a netbook I have no clue how I will like.

And it may have came off that way, but I wasn't giving it up to get engaged. I will either way. I was just trying to get some extra pocket change without sacrificing too much, but I think I found another way anywho. It's not necessary, but I might as well dump some stuff that I haven't touched and just accumulated.

Crazy Buddhist

12-31-2008, 07:36 PM

And to clarify, I'm not strapped for money, else I wouldn't be asking her that question. Although fwiw she wants a 2 year-ish engagement anywho.

Then stop being a silly billy and keep your macbook you love and ask the girl you love and take the weekend to pop the question ... and if I don't get an invite to the wedding you can ignore this advice.

Congrats.

:D

NightrainSrt4

12-31-2008, 08:24 PM

Lol, thanks Matthew, I appreciate the support more than anything in the world. ;)

Crazy Buddhist

01-01-2009, 03:22 AM

Lol, thanks Matthew, I appreciate the support more than anything in the world. ;)

You are welcome - you sounded like you needed/wanted it. And, btw, she is wise to want a two year engagement. I will tell you why:

1) the longer you date before you cohabit, and;

2) the longer you cohabit before you marry,

are the two biggest influencing factors, statistically, affecting the length, stability and success of the marriage.

Best wishes :)

NightrainSrt4

01-01-2009, 03:25 PM

Thank you. Ya we dated for a couple years, and have been living together since my surgery a little more than a year and a half ago. I'm glad we mesh so well together, as I've heard some pretty crazy nightmare's some couples go through once they move in together and realize they are NOT meant to be together.

I'm not going to rush to the question though, as we were just talking about stuff not too long ago. How long she wanted it, what kind of ring, etc. So I am going to let it cool down a bit and let her forget all about it, then in the spring when its warmer, take her somewhere nice to go hiking/taking pictures, and surprise the hell out of her. ;)

Plus I've got to make sure the ring gets cleaned and is the perfect size, as it was owned by someone before. She always wanted something older, something that had good history behind it. I guess we are both just old fashiony lol.

NightrainSrt4

01-01-2009, 03:38 PM

On the original purchase not of this thread, today I just went to the big Best Buy near my apartment and I got to handle some of the netbooks. I am very glad I didn't buy the Acer, as I really did not like the feel of most of the netbooks I handled.

The Acer was okay, but didn't really like it. The small side mouse buttons through me off a bit. Didn't mind the side part, just were a little too small.

The 10" EEE was nice, but I wasn't overly impressed with its finish. The plastic felt a bit cheap I guess is the closest way to explain it. Didn't care for the two hinges sticking way out the back either.

The 7" EEE felt a bit like a toy. And at $279 at BB I would get one of the others for a little more. Same finish issue as the 10"

The MSI wind had one of the nicer finishes out of the bunch. The single mouse button was a little weird for a pc, but I've been used to it with the macbook so no biggie.

The HP 1030nr had the best feel out of all of them, but was very close to the Wind. Didn't care for the little swirlies on the top but it felt like it had some decent quality. The keyboard wasn't perfect, but HP keyboards haven't been what they used to be in a LONG time.

Overall, glad I didn't sacrifice for one, because I was not impressed with the build quality of most. Performance seemed fine for what they were, I just like a good feeling laptop, and most had that same kind of plastic that was on my old 2001/2 laptop.

NightrainSrt4

01-13-2009, 02:12 PM

In the end I used the gift cards on another 22" lcd to give me more workspace, and a new glass L-desk that I got a pretty nice deal on at OfficeMax. Thing is huge and allows the two 22"s to fit, along with 17" CRT+laptop on just one part of the L, allowing the gf's pc to be on the other with the 15" lcd and still having plenty of space to lay out books and do college work and such. I love it and it allows me to be more productive in multiple ways.

AND, the girlfriend/soon to be bought herself TF2, so we were having a BLAST last night! woot!

So no netbook, but I very much enjoy my choice more. Having a gf/so who enjoys the same things and participates right there with me is great too!

Twigsoffury

01-13-2009, 03:31 PM

NightrainSrt4

01-13-2009, 04:20 PM

Good thing I wasn't drinking anything as I started laughing my as off. Sometimes you guys' posts smack me like a 2x4 and I start lol'ing like crazy.

On that note though, I do have a nice one.

I forgot to mention, I donated my other glass desk to my brother, as he had nothing to put his computer or anything on. So I'm happy I could help someone out. Although I should really watch doing that, as I just helped my other brother with a pc build, and realized I dumped 100$ extra over what he gave me just to help him out. Ughhhh, need to watch that, as it almost always goes unnoticed, and generally never get any kind of return on investment lol. But I can't help it sometimes, I just give regardless. I know it will smack me in the face someday but its hard not to try and help out where I can.

Crazy Buddhist

01-14-2009, 04:12 AM

So give without expecting, then there is never a disappointing return on investment :)

Twigsoffury

01-14-2009, 11:44 AM

NightrainSrt4

01-14-2009, 12:33 PM

Ohh, I don't expect anything at all. It's just the people around me that are telling me that I should either know I am going to get paid back or just not give at all.

I just don't think I can do that.

If they can use and appreciate whatever I can do, then I do it. As much as this material crap is great, I don't need it, and I either end up pissing it away, or giving it away, even if I don't have much anyway. Might as well give when I can. I'd be happy with the basics.

Twigsoffury

01-15-2009, 04:58 AM

I'd be happy with the basics.

even if it was a packard bell 233mhz w/ 1.3GB ATA 66. with 1MB 3D Accelerator?

nevermind1534

01-15-2009, 11:39 AM

even if it was a packard bell 233mhz w/ 1.3GB ATA 66. with 1MB 3D Accelerator?

My grandparents have one (not the primary computer anymore) that came with a 133MHz Pentium and a 1GB HDD. I upgraded the CPU to 166 (possibly a faster one later) and the 16MB of RAM to 64, as well as upgrading from Windows 95b to 98 SE. I also had to replace the battery (smallest one I've seen on a PC) that was soldered onto the board recently.