Zacate 11.6" laptop now available from HP

[Zap]

Actually the 10" width is more important to me than the weight and thickness, assuming they don't get any thicker than any current 10" netbook (which are all certainly thin enough).

Fair enough.

my bad, it shows still in production, they shipped the other stuff we bought, the sleeve and the notebook bag, but not the laptop.

Wow, that was useful of them. Fail, HP.

I'm wondering if they aren't shipping out until the first week of February. I think that was the original release date.

 

[sawtx]

Wow, that was useful of them. Fail, HP.

I'm wondering if they aren't shipping out until the first week of February. I think that was the original release date.

Mine was supposed to ship on the 21st, then they sent me an email saying it got delayed until the 27th along with a 15% off coupon for my next HP Home purchase (expires on the 31st).

 

[VirtualLarry]

So this means that Fusion and indeed any APU is doomed to be awful unless we start seeing much much faster memory bandwidth?

Basically, yes.

 

[sawtx]

I wouldn't call Bobcat awful at all based on the reviews and since we know the other APUs have dual (or more) channel memory I really doubt they would be awful.

 

[Bateluer]

Mine was supposed to ship on the 21st, then they sent me an email saying it got delayed until the 27th along with a 15% off coupon for my next HP Home purchase (expires on the 31st).

Need to double check mine. I got the sleeve/case, which seems pretty nice for the 15 bucks it cost. But, without a notebook to go in it, its kinda useless.

Edit - Yeah, mine delayed.

 

[PingSpike]

Basically, yes.

Yeah, I didn't want to say it for sure since I don't feel knowledgeable enough on the topic to say so with surety...but it seems like that it so. And since system ram is always going to be slower (but larger in capacity) than onboard graphics ram I'm not sure there's a way out of getting awful performance compared to the desktop parts of the day. As mentioned, adding vram and a memory controller would probably solve the problem...but probably increase the cost to much for it to be a compelling option. I also get the feeling chipset/motherboard makers don't want to be in the business of reselling ram. Hell, the video card makers don't even want to be in that business on their very low end discrete parts.

 

[Slickone]

So for $450 + tax you get 3GB DDR3 and 320GB HDD "free"? Is there anywhere to buy it cheaper with 2GB and 250GB?
For me, $450 - $25 code + tax = $464.31

What is the battery life?

I don't care about gaming performance, so how does the speed compare to an N550 w/ Intel IGP (GMA 3150) graphics for non-gaming (video, web/Flash/JAVA, etc)? The only benchmarks I've seen compare it to nVidia ION.

How do HP netbooks/laptops compare to Acer and ASUS? Don't HP's generally not hold up well?
And how would an MSI compare? They have the MSI Wind U270 (Zacate) coming, but no date or pricing announced.

Does Best Buy or Office Depot/Staples have an 11.6" netbook where I could get a feel for how much larger and heavier it'll be to carry around vs. a 10"?

 

[Bateluer]

So for $450 + tax you get 3GB DDR3 and 320GB HDD "free"? Is there anywhere to buy it cheaper with 2GB and 250GB?
For me, $450 - $25 code + tax = $464.31

What is the battery life?

I don't care about gaming performance, so how does the speed compare to an N550 w/ Intel IGP (GMA 3150) graphics for non-gaming (video, web/Flash/JAVA, etc)? The only benchmarks I've seen compare it to nVidia ION.

How do HP netbooks/laptops compare to Acer and ASUS? Don't HP's generally not hold up well?
And how would an MSI compare? They have the MSI Wind U270 (Zacate) coming, but no date or pricing announced.

Does Best Buy or Office Depot/Staples have an 11.6" netbook where I could get a feel for how much larger and heavier it'll be to carry around vs. a 10"?

I'll try to give some feed back on these. HP notebooks, from those I used to have to deal with at a previous employer, seemed to be below Asus, but on pare with Acer. Generally though, most netbooks/sub-notebooks in this class aren't going to be super durable and long lasting.

I haven't not seen an 11.6in notebook at Best Buy in several months, last model I remember seeing was that Gateway A64 ULV based model. I have seen a few 12.1in models at BB occasionally though, and they're roughly the same size. For me, a 11.6in-12.1 is about as small as I'd go with a 13.3-14 being as large as I'd go.

Once I get mine, I'll give more feedback on the performance and post some numbers for people. In the past, I owned an Atom N270 based netbook and I currently have an Acer Revo Atom 330 based nettop, so I have a decent feel for the Atom's performance.

Edit - Got a shipping notice from HP tonight.

 

[Zap]

Does Best Buy or Office Depot/Staples have an 11.6" netbook where I could get a feel for how much larger and heavier it'll be to carry around vs. a 10"?

Don't know about those places, but Sam's Club has a terrible selection. They have a few 10" netbooks, then around one 14" and one 17", and a whole bunch of 15.6" notebooks. They have nothing in the 11-13" screen range.

 

[PingSpike]

Yeah, the same problem seems to be going on around here. Staples and Best Buy both have plenty of 10" netbooks, maybe one 13.3 and the rest are the 15.6s and 16, 17" with maybe a 14" thrown in. Its annoying because the ~12" size is by far the most compelling to me. I actually think I would be OK with the 10" since I don't have large hands if it had the 1366x768 resolution...1024x600 just isn't enough.

 

[Slickone]

I'll try to give some feed back on these. HP notebooks, from those I used to have to deal with at a previous employer, seemed to be below Asus, but on pare with Acer. Generally though, most netbooks/sub-notebooks in this class aren't going to be super durable and long lasting.

I haven't not seen an 11.6in notebook at Best Buy in several months, last model I remember seeing was that Gateway A64 ULV based model. I have seen a few 12.1in models at BB occasionally though, and they're roughly the same size. For me, a 11.6in-12.1 is about as small as I'd go with a 13.3-14 being as large as I'd go.

Once I get mine, I'll give more feedback on the performance and post some numbers for people. In the past, I owned an Atom N270 based netbook and I currently have an Acer Revo Atom 330 based nettop, so I have a decent feel for the Atom's performance.

Edit - Got a shipping notice from HP tonight.

Thanks a lot for the answers. Please let us know what you think of your HP.

And if anyone comes across any benchmarks comparing the Zacate to N550 with Intel GMA, please let me know.

 

[Slickone]

Yeah, the same problem seems to be going on around here. Staples and Best Buy both have plenty of 10" netbooks, maybe one 13.3 and the rest are the 15.6s and 16, 17" with maybe a 14" thrown in. Its annoying because the ~12" size is by far the most compelling to me. I actually think I would be OK with the 10" since I don't have large hands if it had the 1366x768 resolution...1024x600 just isn't enough.

I've read where a few people have said 1366x768 is too small to read on a 10" screen. Maybe they just have bad eyes? I think maybe 1024x768 would be a good compromise, since aren't the complaints of the 1024x600 really just because of things not fitting vertically?

 

[Zap]

I've read where a few people have said 1366x768 is too small to read on a 10" screen. Maybe they just have bad eyes?

Maybe.

The argument goes like this: People want higher resolution so stuff looks better, and now Win7 can (mo' better) scale so stuff doesn't look too tiny.

For myself, I don't mind lower resolutions, especially since I'm likely to play a game or two and I can run native resolution without too much undue strain on the graphics card. Also, lower cost.

 

[fleshconsumed]

I've read where a few people have said 1366x768 is too small to read on a 10" screen. Maybe they just have bad eyes? I think maybe 1024x768 would be a good compromise, since aren't the complaints of the 1024x600 really just because of things not fitting vertically?

1366x768 on 11.6" screen is OK, but I feel that's the limit. I wouldn't go for that resolution on a 10" screen, it would be too hard to read text.

 

[PingSpike]

Thanks a lot for the answers. Please let us know what you think of your HP.

And if anyone comes across any benchmarks comparing the Zacate to N550 with Intel GMA, please let me know.

This might be of some interest to you:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4134/the-brazos-review-amds-e350-supplants-ion-for-miniitx

Looks like the atom MiniITX just became pointless. I'll wait for one of these for my server upgrade. Lower power consumption, better performance and USB3.0.

 

[IntelUser2000]

Looks like they're going with names of rivers/creeks:
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Zacate_Creek
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Llano_River

Off topic, but pronunciation of Llano is in Spanish, so its more like Yano, just in case someone wanted to know.

 

[veri745]

Off topic, but pronunciation of Llano is in Spanish, so its more like Yano, just in case someone wanted to know.

Except AMD's pronunciation of Llano as an APU has been 'LAN-O'

 

[Slickone]

This might be of some interest to you:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4134/the-brazos-review-amds-e350-supplants-ion-for-miniitx

Thanks. That's not an N550, but I guess the D510 is close enough. The E350 is quite a bit faster in lighter workloads, though not quite so much in heavier workloads.

 

[Slickone]

Think Acer and/or ASUS will have a 11.6" E350 netbook soon?

Acer does have a 10" C-50 Ontario coming, model AO522:
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=28143
But only a 6 hour battery life.

And ASUS has a 10" C-50 coming, model 1015B:
http://www.netbooknews.com/18717/asus-eee-pc-1015b-comes-with-ontario-apu-not-zacate/

At only 1Ghz, how would the C-50 compare to the N550 with Intel GMA for non-gaming stuff?

 

[wirednuts]

yikes i guess i would get the 1215 then. even if the c-50 is a little quicker then atom, it wont be by much. the graphics still make it a good deal but really... no e350 why even bother.

i wasnt hoping for a 12" model, but at least the bezel will be thin. now just for usb 3.0.......

 

[sawtx]

yikes i guess i would get the 1215 then. even if the c-50 is a little quicker then atom, it wont be by much. the graphics still make it a good deal but really... no e350 why even bother.

i wasnt hoping for a 12" model, but at least the bezel will be thin. now just for usb 3.0.......

Wait, so you are going to get the slower device with worse battery life because because it wasn't twice as powerful as an Atom system? Really? Also what does the "no e350 why even bother" comment mean?

Mine has shipped and should get here middle of next week. Now I'm trying to decide if I want to go ahead and grab a Vertex 2 or C300 or see how the 7200 RPM drive performs.

 

[Bateluer]

Fedex tracking number says my machine is being shipped out of Shanghai, CN. China? And just got an email from HP that says its been delayed.

We’re contacting you to advise you that your custom built notebook is on its way to you now. However, we have experienced a Clearance Delay during the shipping process. HP is aware of the delay of your delivery and is working quickly with U.S. Customs and FedEx to resolve the issue and get the delivery moving.

 

[erikistired]

apparently frys has the aspire one 522 netbook. it's not on the site, but on amazon a reviewer says he got one there. i'm tempted to go get one, amd fusion in a 10.1" package. i hate buying anything with only one speaker, but that seems to be the only drawback that i can see so far.

 

[PlatinumGold]

Fedex tracking number says my machine is being shipped out of Shanghai, CN. China? And just got an email from HP that says its been delayed.

I got the notice mine shipped, but i didn't get the delay notice. crossing my fingers. Expected delivery date is 2/3/2011 and tracking says it's in transit.

 

[frostedflakes]

That AAO 522 looks really nice. What's the build quality like on Acer's netbooks? I tried out an ASUS EEE PC clamshell a couple months ago and was kind of disappointed by the build quality, looked and felt cheaper than my Dell Mini 1012. Is Acer generally on par with the EEE PCs, better, worse?