HP Mini 311 on sale!

awsome , will they be selling windows 7 machines then ?

 

Well they have windows 7 for $50 bucks for the upgrade and 3 gigs of ram for $50 bucks. So thats adding $100 to the cost right there. If oyu want bigger hardrives the options are there , no ssd at this point.

The ion is still the LE though so I think i might hold off. Though $130 off if it works would be nice

 

I got mine $151 off!

 

blah bought it anyway. $600 out the door with 2 day shipping ($10 bucks why not) 3 gigs of ram , win 7 the n670 .

 

did u get the cashback info already or just did the math in your head ?

 

How long does it last? I want to see what kind of options HP has.

 

no one knows.

 

Hmm, this hibernate problem seems to be more of an issue than I thought. The netbook goes into hibernate automatically when slept for a long period of time, so now I'm dealing with this at least every morning.

When I power it up, it will resume correctly if I see the "Press ESC" message in the bottom left corner. If I don't see the message (and just the HP symbol), that's when it goes to the black screen with the underscore in the upper left indefinitely. If I power cycle again until I hear a little click from the hard drive, the ESC message appears and windows resumes like it should.

I'm assuming it has something to do with the bios and not the OS, though I don't know very much at all about how hibernate works. I disabled the CD ROM and floppy check under boot up options but that didn't seem to help. Someone online also recommended unchecking something about a network wake under Device Manager > Network Adapter > Power Management which I did and that didn't help.

Is anyone else seeing this? I'm assuming everyone is sleeping instead of shutting down?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

-TK

 

I suppose I'll have to wait then. It's not a good idea for my to buy a laptop I haven't seen yet. Guess I'll have to wait until Thursday.

 

someone know a good efficient mkv codec render for windows 7? I am using CCCP+WCMP and my mini can't handle 720p video (15 frames) and CCCP chops up the video to make things fuzzy

 

It seems as this might work in conjunction with HP's academic discounts. It at least allows me to shop with my academic discount at the same time I'm shopping with Bing Cashback.

 

If you download and install the DivX MKV Tech Preview, MKVs should use hardware accelerated decoding, provided the video is H.264 and not VC-1. It'll also allow you to stream MKVs to a 360 (it works beautifully). Only thing it lacks is subtitle support, but I believe that is coming soon.

 

thanks, cleared up alot of chopiness

EDIT: hope it releases Subs option unless someone can recommend me another codec

 

I told someone else to give this a shot.
http://myhpmini.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=2331

You have to uninstall CCCP since WMPCHC has its own built in codecs. Someone had CCCP installed while using WMPCHC but complained it was the same, but after uninstalling CCCP they said it was working fine.

Let me go how it goes since playing MKVs is pretty important to me in deciding what netbook to go with.

EDIT: Also noticed on the HP website, the HP Mini 311 only lists ION (the ION LE is no longer on there) as its only GPU. If you goto configuration, even choosing Windows XP Home only shows the 2 ION GPU (one for each of the two Atom processor choices).

 

works averaging 23-24 frames at full screen with subtitles.

Test file was a 345 MB Encode(25 min), gonna give a 700 MB Encode(25 min) when it transfers

EDIT:Using 750 MB file, runs fine. I am having issues with frames that it shoots up to 45 frames if you skip to another part though.

 

splash lite player, google it! all u got to do is enable hardware encode and it plays most compatible .mkv files

 

Looks like the Windows 7 version of the 311 has gone live for sale now.

 

Well... I must admit that I was going to hold off on purchasing a netbook until the release of the ASUS 1201N. But considering a decked out HP Mini 311 is close in specs/performance to the 1201N, in addition to the new 25% Bing cash-back, I simply couldn't resist... Ordered mine today (win7, 3GB RAM, N280). Saved $140 with the bing.com cashback.. total was less than $500 ($479). Can't wait.

I've never ordered from HP.com directly before.. anyone know if the "build date" and "ship dates" are accurate?!

 

The are relatively accurate if the build date is within a week. Anything after that and it means they are usually waiting for a specific part.

I badly want to jump on this deal, but I think it'd be a bit irresponsible to buy stuff when I don't have the money (and I'm not really a fan of "buy now, hope to get paid in time later"). Plus, I'd rather get the dm1 if it has anything resembling non-Intel graphics. Or even the dm3 if the screen was 1366x768 instead of 1280x800.

 

They are charging $50 for Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit; $55 for 3GB DDR3 System Memory.

However you can easily get free Windows 7 32-bit, and 2gig DDR3 for under $40.

They also took out there netbook with linux option.

 

Question: how would iTunes HD/Amazon VOD HD run on this with Ion? Or would I be better off with the Broadcom accelerator in the Mini 110? I read on here that iTunes doesn't take advantage of the GPU? Thanks.

 

As far i understand is, Hardware acceleration is some thing vendors need to implement in there software. Or users just have to activate such feature in some programs, if they have that option.

 

Right. But I know that on the 110, using ArcSoft's media player, you can play back HD videos just fine. Using the accelerator.

 

As tempting as this is, I'm going to hold out a little bit longer. I figure by early/mid-2010 I'll be able to get a 311 with USB 3.0, possibly ION 2, and a faster Atom processor (at least 1.8GHz -- and one that will support 64-bit, not that it will likely make too much difference on the latter).

Hard choice, but I think it'll be worth it to wait slightly longer.

 

In late 2010 you'll be able to get a 311 with usb 3.0 ion 3 possibly and a dual core faster atom with 64 bit support

So whats your point

 

if you search my name (th3drow) on youtube, you can see all my performance videos on the mini 311. I was a bit disappointed on some things (cpu bottlenecked alot) so I returned it for a dm3 now.

I was in love with the form factor of it and size, and it outperformed any netbook out there but I think I was just trying to use it for things that were above atom's capabilities.

 

Thanks for the honest opinion. I'm currently looking at netbooks of the same size as this HP Mini 311 (I really love the build and design quality of the HP Mini 311), like the HP dm1. I never owned a netbook but I hear a lot of mixed opinions on the Atom processor which makes me want to look for other alternatives.

 

ya the dm1 reallly sparked my interest, I thought it would come out along with the dm3 and others on the 18th but sadly not so, hp has no information whatsoever on their site or anything so i'm thinking it might be a while.

 

Yep, that's the reason why I didn't pull the trigger on the HP Mini 311. It seemed to weak for typical Internet use, and I think any kind of Flash website would bog it down. I ended up going for the dm3z with a dual-core AMD Turion Neo X2 chip and I'll see how that fares. Thankfully, HP has a good return policy of 21 days and they'll pay return shipping should I decide that the laptop isn't for me. I want to spend a good week or two running it through typical usage.

I would suggest not settling for anything less than what you need. If the Mini 311 is being bought as a semi-primary laptop, using an underpowered CPU is going to cause headaches down the line. If you start taking on background processes that you install later down the road, it's hard to say if an Atom chip can really handle it all.

 

I pulled the trigger because of the deal. They expect it to be built by the 26th. So i figure if amd gets something good out there thats much better than this and matches the cost of this with the $140 off i can still cancel or return.

 

ya i'm glad for the return especially with my free shipping I'm not out anything. oi ordered the intel su7400 with g105m, hopefully we get a bunch of us with different builds to post up some benchmarks to find the best performer

 

Do you just like to argue or something?

My point is I'd prefer slightly more power, and with USB 3.0 just around the corner, why shouldn't I wait? It's going to be standard.

 

This may be slightly off topic but would anyone who has installed Windows 7 on the 311 know whether or not performance is dependent on which edition is installed on a netbook? For example would Professional be overkill? I read an article where Microsoft commented that any edition would be just fine for netbooks in general. I have one student license and just want to decide which I should purchase. Thanks in advance.

 

Performance isn't affected by which version is installed. I think overkill only matters based on the uses of the computer (i.e. paying $300 for Windows 7 Ultimate on a netbook doesn't make much sense, unless you are REALLY that interested in Bitlocker and Bitlocker-to-go)

 

MY point is that there is allways something just around the corner. You can find yourself waiting and waiting and never buying anything

 

I agree, and thats my problem also. But I think there's some pretty decent cheap netbooks/ultraportable laptops out there now that makes me want to buy one now. Also for the fact that Windows 7 is/coming out.

 

Agreed... which is exactly why I bought one now and took advantage of the 25% Bing cashback... I couldn't resist the deal. I probably could wait another week or 2 for something slightly better, but it wouldn't be 25% off.

 

Yes, I comprehend that point. I would be amazed if almost any tech-savvy person didn't. But when there is something concrete to wait for -- such as USB 3.0 -- then why not wait? Standards like USB don't get adopted every year. As for as performance, it's not where I want it to be, but only slightly -- so why on earth would I buy it now? Not to mention Black Friday is just around the corner, and companies normally slash prices after Christmas.

Not to mention USB 3.0 is a pretty big standard for a machine that lacks an optical drive (meaning the best way to transfer files and install things is through an external hard drive).

 

How can I tell which mini 311 version I have?

The BIOS shows HP Mini 311-1000

but the HP support website has three:

HP Mini 311-1000 CTO PC
HP Mini 311-1000CA PC
HP Mini 311-1000NR PC

 

The exact version should read in the sticker, bottom of your laptop If you want to have drivers, choose the CTO version. It should show all the drivers listed for all models.

 

I would hardly think usb 3.0 would be a featrue I would delay for. But that's just me

 

Well, I constantly back up my data to an external hard drive, so it's certainly a big deal for me. Plus the 1.6/1.66GHz Atom just doesn't QUITE get me to where I need to be, performance-wise. If Ion 2 comes out by then, so be it, but the main problem is the anemic Atom processor at the moment.

I'm not exactly made of money either, so I'd prefer to just wait when I know I'd have a Mini I want sometime next year than regretting the purchase. If you know what you want, do the smart thing and go with your gut. Hasn't failed me yet. Last time I thought "hey, I'll just get this now" I ended up with a system I was unhappy with.

 

I agree the atom isn't really really atm I agree to wait for that. Keep an eye on the dm1, same size but it will have the intel su4300 I believe.

 

I'd take a look at the HP dm3 series unless you really are looking into the 11.6" form factor.

And if you are constantly backing data up, I'd suggest going for a NAS or Windows Home Server system. Gigabit ethernet should suffice for most transfers (unless you really need your speeds to be very local).

 

I hope the dm1 comes out soon, but I doubt its price will be comparable to an Acer AS1410, maybe closer to the 1810TZ.

 

The only problem is that usb 3.0 will cost alot when it first comes out just like usb 2.0 . When usb 2.0 came out it was first in the most expensive motherboards and hten cycled down. Netbooks are all about getting the cheapest component costs . It may be awhile for usb 3.0 to come out .

Black friday is jsut around the corner, however these are new netbooks that just released , they wont get slashed in price , it will be the netbooks that these replace that will be slashed in price as to clear inventory.

Also the last few black fridays there have been terrible black friday sales.

if you want to wait for usb 3.0 that is fine , but you may find yourself waiting a long time. Just like hdmi ports in netbooks

 

I've read this entire thread...

Can anyone comment on the performance of Youtube & Hulu on the 311 with the new version of Flash that came out this week?

 

10.1 is out??

 

HDMI ports hardly took long at all to come to netbooks. Dell had them practically from the get-go. USB 2.0 didn't even take a year to cycle down, either -- I had a mid-range HP laptop with one about the year it came out.

Waiting doesn't bother me. It's not like these are going to go up in price, so if something doesn't come along within 4-6 months (or even get announced), then I'll go ahead and bite the bullet. But, like I said, I'm not made of cash, so I'd rather play it safe. I don't have the luxury of just buying the "new hotness" of computers like a lot of people here, I'm sure.

 

Hulu doesn't run great, youtube non hd runs fine. the new version of flash did not come with it, it's still not out i don't believe.