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Windows 8 on a Netbook Questions
TheVoid
Posts: 3,086 Forum Member
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Hi, I've ordered a Netbook from Argos which is a 1ghz dual core cpu with 2GB ram - I'll be upgrading the ram to 4GB when it arrives.
Will Windows 8 run just as well as Windows 7 ran on my old netbook with similar specs?
I also heard you can upgrade to Windows 8.1 - is that free via automatic updates?
Finally, my netbook won't have touchscreen, so I think I'd prefer a desktop view, are you able to set it up so that everytime you boot up, it goes to a desktop view just like Windows 7?
I'm guessing there's no advantages then over Win 7 for me?!
Thanks
Will Windows 8 run just as well as Windows 7 ran on my old netbook with similar specs?
I also heard you can upgrade to Windows 8.1 - is that free via automatic updates?
Finally, my netbook won't have touchscreen, so I think I'd prefer a desktop view, are you able to set it up so that everytime you boot up, it goes to a desktop view just like Windows 7?
I'm guessing there's no advantages then over Win 7 for me?!
Thanks
0
Comments
1. Yes, Windows 8 will run as well as Windows 7
2. Yes, Windows 8.1 is a free update
3. Yes, you can set desktop as default in Windows 8.1
4. IMO Windows 8 offers no advantages when their isn't a touchscreen
This one -
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331158407667?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Yeah you shouldn't have any problems.
Hm, the L2 Cache is 0.5 on my new one, but it was 1.0 on my old one which is 2 years older? Will this make much difference?
I think if you have Windows 8 then you have to manually install Windows 8.1 (correct me if I'm wrong)? But it is free.
If Windows 8.1 is already on the system then it will auto-update to Windows 8.1 Update.
Well, it's "better" in some sense but a lot of this is under the hood. Faster boot and so on.
Where are you reading that?
The laptop you linked has an AMD C70 which has 1MB L2 cache.
Also I wouldn't pay much attention to stuff like that as on it's own it doesn't really mean much.
Ah ok thanks. Do you think there's any point adding 8GB RAM to it? Will the processor even be able to use that much?
That's true but on a new PC that's not really an issue.
You can find a full guide from MS here - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/update-from-windows-8-tutorial
it only has 1 memory slot of DDR3 which supports upto 4GB AFAIK.
I would suggest you try it with 2GB and if you notice memory getting full in task manager then upgrade to 4GB, otherwise I would just leave it.
My old netbook which I'm getting rid of has 4GB so I'm just going to swap them over. I bought the 4GB ram a few years ago when I bought my first netbook.
The new Acer has slightly better specs, but will this give me any increased performance? i.e. the cpu is newer, and the graphics is a 8210HD as apposed to the 6250HD.
It wasn't quite clear from the OP whether the new Netbook was coming with Windows 8 or Windows 8.1. I assumed the former because they then asked about a free upgrade to 8.1.
I depends on many things, I would really need to know the model of the other machine to answer that.
Also the Acer you posted is a Acer V5-121 which has a AMD Radeon HD 6290.
On paper the 8210 is fairly faster, but it's not as if you are using it as a gaming machine though.
Yes it comes with Windows 8 but putting 8.1 on it should be rather simple following the guide.
From the link you posted:
As far as I can see, it doesn't say anywhere that it's a 123...
From the Argos website, under the description of the V5-123:
So, the eBay Acer ain't a 123...
I googled the spec and it up as V5-121
http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/laptops/1302325/acer-v5-121
So that's my best guess.
Here is a much better machine on dabs for £193 http://www.dabs.com/products/acer-aspire-e1-14--hd-intel--celeron-dual-core--4gb-500gb--hdmi-win8-91WD.html?awc=3044_1397591098_ace8a2b6865798eb70ec546b27ca1f32&referrerid=AW&utm_source=awin&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_content=AW00
It's not in stock. I ordered the Acer now anyway and I really like the 11.6 ones. Have done me well apart from the hinge that went on the back.
No longer available, apparently...
Typical, there were like 6 when I posted lol.
Yes, I put an SSD in a 6 year old laptop and it made it much faster.
Hmm, wonder how it would effect a netbook. 120GB for £45 isn't great though.
Also £45 for a 120gb SSD is the lowest it's ever been! I paid £145 for a 256GB SSD only a few months ago and wish I had waited a bit.
When most people use an SSD, they put the operating system and programs on the SSD for speed, and use a second hard drive for bulk storage.
Most laptops only come with ability to fit 1 hard disk (SSD or HDD), However, if laptop has a dvd/cd drive, you can remove this, and install a 2nd hard drive using a special caddy.
In your case, you do not have an optical drive, so installing only a 120 GB SSD drive is not really a good idea, unless you want to seriously rely on an external hard drive for bulk storage.
A better solution may be to install a hybrid drive (an HDD with a large SSD memory cache). The performance of these ranges from an SSD to an HDD depending on what you are doing. I have one and my pc start up very quickly.