Get a proper computer I hear you all say.
My little Samsung NC10 netbook, which is perfect for what I need a computer for at home is a bit of a struggle for actually working on. If I buy a screen to plug it into, will it give more 'space' on the screen, or will it swamp the computing power?
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It may be a little sluggish because the CPU will be driving a higher resolution to the screen - that takes more memory.
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Mapmaker, if you really don't want to spend much money try this lot:
www.morgancomputers.co.uk/
I've bought several things over the years and have been very satisified. It was better when they had real shops though.
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I plugged my netbook into a bigger screen and didn't notice any difference in performance, although I was only pratting around on the net and emailing.
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I have an NC10 and wanted to do exactly the same. The answer was to upgrade the 1gig of RAM to 2gigs which was cheap and very easy to do. The NC10 then happily ran a separate monitor and wireless mouse. It even ran my network for a couple of days in an emergency. The only downside of running 2gigs is that it does not last quite as long when running on battery. Other than that no problems at all. Also with 2gigs the NC10 will run Windows7 fine which it will not do with just 1gig.
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It was better when they had real shops though.
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They have a place in Zummerzet open to the public, don't they?
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Don't know what Morgan have on offer, or what size screen you're after, but you can get a brand new 20" 1600x900 Samsung for £67:
www.ebuyer.com/260589-samsung-syncmaster-s20a300n-lcd-led-20-ls20a300ns-en
I just use a 17" 1280x1024 to supplement my 12" laptop display when working at home - makes a big difference.
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>> Don't know what Morgan have on offer, or what size screen you're after, but you
>> can get a brand new 20" 1600x900 Samsung for £67:
>> www.ebuyer.com/260589-samsung-syncmaster-s20a300n-lcd-led-20-ls20a300ns-en
:o
Wow. That's not just cheap, that's giveaway. Price has obviously dropped like a stone:
£150 for a VGA monitor? Nahhh · October 24, 2011 at 12:33am
ONLY £109.99 including free delivery. August 23, 2011 at 8:34am
BUT an extra £15 will buy you an HD screen. (Though I don't know who BenQ are?)
www.ebuyer.com/246568-benq-g2020hd-lcd-tft-20-dvi-d-monitor-9h-l0xla-tbe
And therein lies the problem why I never buy anything like this. Within twelve months it will be utterly superseded. Even now just a few extra pounds will buy you something so much better. And then another extra £n will buy you something yet better... etc. etc.
Here: £117 for a 23" HD Samsung. www.ebuyer.com/393240-exdisplay-samsung-s24a300bl-full-hd-led-lcd-23-6-dvi-monitor-ebr3-ls24a300bl-en It's only a few pints of beer more than Focus's £67 one, and...
At which point, I really need a computer that's worthy of it. So there's another £300. But actually do I want to run a computer at home that's slower and lower-spec than my work one?
So it's back to the beginning, which is "I love my little NC10 as it's great for 'net and email and it'll even do a bit more than that when travelling. So why do I need anything else."
One of these days somebody will manage to invent a computer where you have just one computer but it metamorphoses so it's a little netbook to travel with, portable enough to take around the house so you can use it in the kitchen, bedroom, garden etc., but with a large enough screen to see.
Actually, I've got an old CRT monitor somewhere. I'll try plugging that in and see what difference it makes to the operation of the computer. Then I can throw the CRT - and attached desktop (running '97 IIRC) away.
Last edited by: Mapmaker on Wed 8 Aug 12 at 17:47
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>> One of these days somebody will manage to invent a computer where you have just one
>> computer but it metamorphoses so it's a little netbook to travel with, portable enough to
>> take around the house so you can use it in the kitchen, bedroom, garden etc., but with a
>> large enough screen to see.
You are describing a decent spec lightweight laptop that is easy to plug into more peripherals/screen. An example of that would be a Macbook Air with an expensive Apple Display with a Thunderbolt connector. But when Thunderbolt is more popular on other laptops this could be the solution for many.
By using a Thunderbolt connector you can connect to a display and other peripherals with just the one connector. So this could include keyboard, mouse, additional storage and even an external, higher performing graphics card (Thunderbolt is a PCI-Express extension).
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I know what you mean about the temptation to spend that little bit more. How about spending the bare minimum instead?
As I said previously I'm using a 17" (4:3) LCD which does the job, and cost £40 off ebay from a local seller - but it came with a half-decent 2GB Windows XP desktop bought for stepson (who has his own screen, for Xbox).
Might be worth checking for any local bargains ie. £15 or under? Or I can see ones for less than £20 including postage.
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>>How about spending the bare minimum instead?
I frequently think about the CRT display...
There's a little bit of me that fancies an iPhone and a Mac, so that everything is integrated and you can use your phone over wifi to control the music that comes out of your computer. etc. etc. etc. But then there's the realist in me that knows it will involve copious amounts of swearing every time these things don't do what I want. iPhones are hopeless for actually sending text messages let alone emails, I can out-text almost anybody using my old brick phone. I feel like a dinosaur, but I'm a million miles from being convinced that the new technology is worth having.
Last edited by: Mapmaker on Thu 9 Aug 12 at 10:10
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> BUT an extra £15 will buy you an HD screen. (Though I don't know who BenQ are?)
BenQ are a Taiwanese manufacturer who were originally part of Acer. I have a 24" BenQ monitor at home and its panel quality is up there with the very best.
One thing I will say about monitor purchases these days is that it's worth lashing out a few quid on a decent, third-party, adjustable stand that handles VESA mounts.
Then you can subsequently buy the best panel for the price, without having to compromise to get the right stand functions, in perpetuity.
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"They have a place in Zummerzet open to the public, don't they?2
No idea - it's not London so can't be real.
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The prices for large screens are attractive, but I've been caught out here before (I bought a 22" 1600x1200 screen for a current-model Dell Latitude, only to find the laptop can barely drive the screen, and certainly not both the external screen and its own display at the same time). So check first what resolutions your netbook can support on an external display, then choose a screen that supports this.
From memory, the Samsung has an analogue VGA port, which is probably intended for presentation projectors. If its like my Compaq Mini, it'll support 800x600 or 1024x768, so you're looking for a screen between 15" and 19" to match these resolutions. If you get one with a USB hub built in, you can then connect the netbook to the rest of your setup with only two cables, which makes it easier to unhook and go walkabout with when the humour takes you.
also, you can reduce the amount of memory needed to run the external display by reducing the colour depth in the Display settings at the same time as you configure the resolution. Going from 16 million colours to 64,000 or 32,000 won't make a noticeable difference to the image you get (I guess you're not doing heavy-duty picture editing on a netbook!) but it will decrease the processing power needed to drive the screen. Also, toggle the display to show on the external screen only - this will also reduce the demand on the netbook's video system.
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>> From memory, the Samsung has an analogue VGA port, which is probably intended for presentation
>> projectors. If its like my Compaq Mini, it'll support 800x600 or 1024x768
Looks like it will go up to 2048 x 1536; some useful info here:
www.samsungnc10.co.uk/how-to-use-your-nc10-with-an-external-monitor
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Netbook and a plug-in screen - Zero
