best netbook / cheap laptop

[Wiglaf]

I've been on newegg looking at the netbooks, mostly in the $300~$400 range. I need something portable and convenient for tuning the car. I've used the eePC before but it was with linux on it, that was troublesome. Now they can come with windows 7 which is great but there are a TON of options out there. Honestly I wouldn't mind a better screen and more speed, but this isn't a gaming rig or anything. But I might want to run autocad or something.
Basically just looking for the best bang for the buck. Have any of you spent the time to compare all of these?

[Dermeister3]

read the reviews of the hardware inside, that will do the best for you. or check out their forums if they have em.

Also check out tigerdirect.com Its basically the same as newegg, but a few different products.

[Desaevious]

Netbooks with the Intel Atom N400 series processors on Windows 7 Starter will not run autocad. Most netbooks have 1GB stock (upgradable to only 2GB due to single memory bank and motherboard limitations) or if you pony up more money, 2GB. But with the slower-than-Celeron single core Atom processor, you ain't doing autocad on a netbook.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?siteID=123112&id=13784795

I don't know what type of software is used to tune cars so I can't be of much help whether you'll be able to use a netbook for it if you decide against using autocad. Interneting and low processing software is what netbooks are great for...

[Kershaw]

tuning programs do not require very much processing power.

[Desaevious]

I figured not, a netbook with 1GB of ram on Windows 7 Starter would be fine for practical usage including that tuning program if you can live without autocad.

[TheEtaUnderdog]

if you're looking for a netbook, watch the dell outlet. they have deals all the time. They are referbed items but they go on sale for huge discounts sometimes. I picked a mini1010 fully loaded for 200 shipped to my house, they're normally more than double that

[Wiglaf]

not full bloat autocad, just 2D lt stuff.. netbooks should be ok, I just got blown away by the size of the competition in this area. A lot of choices and comparisons to make.

[Emre]

Bought an ASUS Eee PC (retarded name) for my g.f. not too long go. I shopped around for a while. I chose the Eee PC for the following reasons:

• the sharpest screen
• the longest battery life (a full 10 hours under normal use)
• a 250GB hard drive (other netbooks are 120GB)

The new version is supposed to have a 1366x768 screen resolution, too.

All in all, it was the best Windows7 netbook for the price.