Originally Posted by
kyunbit
I am in a dilemma and was hoping that experienced FTers can guide me.
I am planning to backpack and I am debating whether to buy a tablet or a netbook.
My primary uses will be using Word, Powerpoint, Latex and if possible Photoshop.
Am I better off buying a netbook or a tablet with USB keyboard? Or should I consider something else?
1) All of the above except photo editing require a real keyboard, and real software. Tablet's out. Especially for LaTeX (or any other sort of coding); I've yet to see a tablet keyboard with a full array of symbol keys or a decent layout.
2) Depending on what you mean by "netbook," LaTeX and non-trivial use of Photoshop are going to be a stretch for the CPU on most machines sold as netbooks. If you're looking at the lower end of processors, you're
much better off spending a bit more on a real subnotebook CPU (there are a few decent 11.6" consumer models and a few decent 12.5" business ones), or looking for a used one if cost of a new one is prohibitive.
I'd look for one of the following processors by preference
- Core 2 Duo with a minimum of a 1.8ghz CPU -- examples: used Lenovo X200 or X200s
- Anything i5 or i7
(including < 1.8ghz ultra low voltage models; with turbo the low clock isn't a killer) -- examples new: some equipment of Lenovo X220/X230, Dell Latitude E6220/E6320, MacBook Air 11" i5 models (mid-2011 to present)some specs of used: Lenovo X201, some equipment of Acer TimelineX 1830T
- i3 non-ULV with a clock speed of 1.8ghz or faster: some equip of Lenovo models above, Dell E6220/E6320, some models of Lenovo X120e
Marginal:
- i3 ULV (clock 1.6ghz or lower) - not sure of any of these out there
- AMD dual core models E-350 or E-450 (some equips of HP Dm1z, Lenovo X120e, some models of Lenovo X130e)
- Core 2 Duo ULV 1.6ghz - a few older subnotebooks such as the Dell E4200
Avoid:
- AMD dual-core C-50 or C-60
- AMD single-core (E-250, etc) - some equips of HP/Lenovo models above
- Anything Atom (even dual core!)
- Core 2 Solo
- Core 2 Duo 1.4ghz or below (Dell D420, D430, some equipes E4200, and the first-gen MacBook Air 11")
- Any of the current "Pentium" models
If I had to pick two models to look at, new and used, what I'd suggest are -
New:
* Lenovo X220 (or X230 if 220 is out of stock when you look)
* MacBook Air 11" (present model only, the 2010 one is a dog)
Used:
* Lenovo X200 (or X200s) -- plentiful on the used market, and quite durable, should be as cheap as a new netbook.
* Dell Latitude E6220 via
http://outlet.dell.com/ -- same-as new warranty, should be around $500 if you wait for one of their coupons via
https://twitter.com/DellOutlet/