[Marijketje]

I'm thinking of buying a netbook, because I will probably be be studying abroad a couple of times in the next two years.

But I'm not sure if a netbook with windows 7 starter can do all the things I need it to do. I'm an average user: I need it to access the internet. I need Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint. I need something to open my email in (like Microsoft live mail). It needs to be able to stream online videos and I sometimes play simple online games. And maybe a media player to play mp3 or something. So I do not download anything big or play very graphic games or anything. Would windows 7 starter give me any problems with that?

And is there a netbook under 450 Pounds you can recommend?

[DarkTitan]

the moment you said online games a netbook isn't thing tbh. Is the reason your getting a netbook because of its size?

[quattro94]

I would avoid a netbook at all costs. Go for a smaller laptop- more capable, easier to type on and generally better hardware all round.

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/sony-v...96511-pdt.html this would be the minimum I would go for as the hardware is a bit weedy.

[Marijketje]

(Original post by DarkTitan)
the moment you said online games a netbook isn't thing tbh. Is the reason your getting a netbook because of its size?

Well yes, and the weight. I'm going to travel a lot, so it needs to be very portable.

[DarkTitan]

I would say for small laptop as quatt said. they'll last longer and will be able to handle processes better than those atom processors. If your budget is around 450 you can defo find a nice one that fits your job perfectly. Cant say any that I can think from the top of my head I think lenovo and sony defo do some

[djshine88]

Don't buy a netbook... Its a waste of money.

Overall for extremely portability i would recommend getting a tablet, but also get a cheap laptop instead. You will regret buying a netbook

[mfaxford]

The biggest issue with most netbooks is the screen size. This makes most games un-playable (for the ones that do work). It can also make serious work harder (but not impossible).

Netbooks are good for something thats small and portable. Mine has also taken huge amounts of abuse (my previous laptops would have died multiple times by now)

[firegalley246]

I was in a similar position to you - studying abroad and needing a computer to take.

I had a large laptop (17 inch screen, 4kg, no way was I taking it) and a netbook (10.1 inch, 1.5kg). I ended up taking the netbook, but within a month I ended up buying one of the 12 inch netbooks based on the amd e350 processor. Something like this Lenovo or Samsung:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-IdeaP...8332528&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-305U...8332820&sr=1-3

I found the step up to a 12 inch screen a massive help (also, they had a higher screen resolution), but crucially it still weighed the same as the 10 inch netbook, and had a better keyboard.

I think these are still in your price range (plus they should have enough grunt for simple online games - they playback 1080p videos effortlessly). Maybe you could try and find them in currys or somewhere and have a go to see what you think (just checked: currys do the hp pavilion dm1 for £350 which has a similar spec to the Samsung above).