HELP : eee pc 900 : LINUX OR XP

Hey guys.

as the thread name suggests, which do u guys think is the better option to go for, for a student like myself?

i have never used Linux before though i don;'t mind trying it out but i will most likely have to install xp on it anyways. is the process of installin xp on it hard for a noob like me?

Say if i was to go for linux (20GB), how much of that 20GB will actually be used up for installation of xp?

Personally i don't mind goin for xp though its got a smaller HD capacity as i will most likely be usin an external HD anyways. But is it true that xp takes up more juice than linux thus making it slower and etc?

I will be using the eeepc 900 mainly to bring to school and surf the web, watch online movies and maybe the occasional flash game or even WoW (i doubt it though but i have seen some guy playin WoW on the eee 900).

So yeah... do u guys think i should go for XP or linux? price wise is actually the same but i will need to wait for the linux version while the xp is already available.

 

4GB is more than enough for XP. I would go with the 12GB one with XP, the original XP licence + recovery cds are worth the sacrifice of 8GB. That's what I went with anyway

 

Yes, linux is not a resource hog like XP
No, you should not get it with linux, especially if:
1) you consider yourself a "noob." linux is not for "noobs"
2) you're questioning whether or not xp is going to be hard to install if you do infact get the laptop with linux pre-installed
3) you're going to be playing windows games


Yes, i think you should just get the eee pc 900 with XP installed. it will save you much trouble

 

XP is around 9GB after SP3 and other extra updates

 

How so? My Eee is packing XP home edition with sp3 and the works, at only 3.6GB (pre compression).

 

thanks for the replies guys. btw, does the 12GB of the xp version include the windows XP files as well (like out of the 12GB, 3/4GB is for XP files) or is it a clean 12GB that i can fully use.
Similarly, would the linux version have a full 20GB to use or is it shared with the linux etc

 

The storage is actually broken down into 2.
For the linux version, the primary 4GB SSD is actually 3731 MB and the secondary 16GB SSD is 14379 MB. The linux OS only uses up 2390 MB of the primary...so you got about 20GB -2390 MB of space to play with =).

I would suggest getting the 20GB because it will tell you how to install Xp in the manual...so it is not that difficult. Yes, the 12GB Xp version is for noobs =).

BTW, are we allowed to post Youtube links? Because I have a video that shows the startup and shutdown time of the Linux version.

 

Of course

 

Ok, just wanted to make sure.

Here it is =). Eee PC 900 startup to shut down in less than 49sec...not including the time my finger fidgets on the mouse pad trying to get to the shut down icon =D.

<object width='425' height='355'><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BjpwzWFooUA&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BjpwzWFooUA&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width='425' height='355'></embed></object>

 

Thanks for all the comments guys. I managed to get a friend of mine to help me download XP once i get my linux version of the eee pc 900.

 

I wanted the linux version because of the extra space, I already have XP so I can just install my copy.

But what OS to use? Well I actually want to use the linux OS since its lighter on resources & faster so it goes better with the EEE since its definitly not as high powered as my C90S. Also its fun to learn new things and a new OS would add alot of that "new" feel to a new computer and allow me to expand my knowledge of multiple operating systems.

However thinking deeper into it and what I would like to use a EEE for I may have to use windows just for compatibility reason (SNES games, Bluetooth headphones ect)

 

Just to let you know that there are SNES emulators for linux. For example, ZSNES has a linux version ( http://www.zsnes.com/)

 

i would probably hold off on the eee pc 900. either wait for the 901 which will probably be more expensive. or the better choice would and could be the MSI wind. atom cpu and bigger harddrive. i did a review on the eee 900. you wont be playing wow on it thats for sure. its seriously for only word processing, web browsing, music, and video.. if you even have space for video or music

 

I am waiting for the Wind myself actually, 80gb HDD, bigger keyboard, only slightly bigger size, bluetooth. It fits the bill better, but honestly I will go 901 w/ Atom or Wind almost totally dependant on who can give me the better price for what I get.

I also did the research today and know exactly how to use my wiimote as a pc joystick now via bluetooth that will be pretty cool for emulation, having to tote around my big xbox360 controller in my backpack and deal with rolling up and unrolling the cord was the main reason I stopped playing.

 

Yes, thus the name "Eee" =). Asus wanted to target children and non-techies.

 

Well Wii & EEE flow nice together they even look similar small and white.

 

honestly i dont see anyone playing modern games on a Eee. Gaming and other high end business apps aside, i see no reason to downgrade to windows.
This is not standard, enthusiast, do it yourself linux. this is a preinstalled linux customized for the notebook, and a notebook designed to run linux smoothly. Unless you absolutely cannot live without an office application that draws annoying green lines all over your work, i see no way that windows is remotely beneficial on the Eee.

edit. to be clear the "hard" parts of linux, are working out the occasional hardware driver conflicts, due to drivers not being provided by the hardware manufacturer. In this case the notebook is being released with the intention of linux. There should be no driver issues. Once thats taken care of, i find it unlikely that any sane person would claim that windows is easier to use for everyday applications than a modern linux distro.