[Debian-eeepc-devel] Question on a good eee or orther netbook to replace my 701

[Ben Armstrong]

On 03/23/2011 02:30 PM, David L. Johnson wrote:
> My eeepc is dying.  Well, actually, only the 4G internal disk is dying,
> but the replacement cost (for a larger capacity disk, but still) is
> $150, and since I could use a new battery as well, it's time to replace it.

Sorry to hear.

> The eee seashell (I forget the model) seems good, but these are all now
> considerably heavier than the 701 -- of course, with a larger screen and
> keyboard to compensate.

I'm using a model 1001PX. There's an updated version as well which a
friend has, the 1001PXD which has 1G of DDR3 instead of DDR2 and other
slightly more updated hardware. Generally, newer models work better with
newer kernels (newer than what is in Squeeze). I'm using 2.6.38 from sid
on mine and my friend is using it on the 1001PXD as well. Both units
have Atheros wifi chipsets using the ath9k driver which works well and
requires no non-free firmware (though in the past, ASUS has sometimes
substituted different cards without changing the base model#, so beware).

Yes, the weight is a bit more but not so much that it bothers me.
Unfortunately, aside from tablets, it seems there aren't any new 9"
models. You can find some models with smaller batteries if you care to
shave off a bit of weight, but I don't think it's worth losing battery
capacity for (mine is a 6-cell claimed "9 hr" battery, which in practice
is closer to 6 hrs).

> I saw reviews of a really nice-looking toshiba
> with a 16GB solid-state disk and an ARM cpu, but those reviews/previews
> were from last year and I can't find anyone actually selling them, so I
> presume they are vaporware.  It seems no one has solid state disks ---
> but of course that is exactly what is dying on my 701, so maybe there is
> a correlation.

SSD on the 701 was 1st gen. Quality varied per unit. Things may have
improved since then. I have two model 4G systems with ext3 filesystems
in service since Nov. 2007 with no issues with the SSD to date.

I now have installed an OCZ Vertex 2 60G 2.5" SSD in my 1001PX, taking
the old hdd out and putting it in a $10 USB enclosure to use as a backup
drive. It's not ideal to have to buy the SSD separately, but considering
you can get a 1001PX for 300 CAD (maybe even less, if you're lucky) I
don't mind having to buy the SSD separately so much.

Ben