Windows 7 Pro on S10-3 (?)

[icsd08063]

Good morning,

I'm planning to buy a netbook in the next months and i'm thinking of Lenovo's S10-3. I like the features of the netbook, even though i would prefer a 1366x768 resolution and an extra slot for RAM memory upgrade (2 GB's) - at least, Greece Sellers don't offer this upgrade .
But i would like to run Windows 7 Professional. Can this netbook run 7 Pro?
I'm planning to use it as my assistant on the university. So, i will need MS Office, Firefox and some other programms. Can all these run on Win 7 Pro at this netbook?
Also, i would like you to post here your experience from using the netbook.

[ThisIsNot]

Yes, that netbook can run Windows 7 Pro and your required programs just fine. I don't think anyone here has a Lenovo IdeaPad netbook and I am definitely not a fan of them. They are nice netbooks but Lenovo charges $50-$200 higher than the competition despite offering the same specs and features. You are paying a premium for the Lenovo name. For example, the S10-3 starts at $370 US on Lenovo's site yet the Asus Eee PC 1001P has the exact same features and it can be purchased for $280-$300. The IdeaPad S12 with an Atom chip and ION graphics starts at $600 yet HP has been starting their Mini 311 (with the same features (except with an 11.6" 1366X768 screen, not a 12" 1280X800 screen) at $399 for a while now. Why is Lenovo charging $200 more for the same thing?

So as you can see, I am not a big fan of Lenovo's netbooks simply because they are needlessly overpriced. I feel that way about Sony, Samsung, and Toshiba though the later has been better in the price department with their newer releases. They are still higher than the competition but the gap isn't $100 like it used to be.

[icsd08063]

Thanks for the info ThisIsNot.

I also did my own reasearch and find out that Windows Pro can actually run pretty well on this netbook. You seee, i want to install Pro edition because our university provides us with msdn accounts, so i have a free legal copy of Windows 7 Pro X64,X86. The X64 version is already installed on my laptop and i wanted to have the X86 version on my netbook too.

The only thing i'm worried about is the RAM memory. With 1 GB of available RAM, i don't know how "covered" i am. The greek retailer from where i'm going to buy the netbook (unfortunately, it's the only shop that sells this netbook in Greece), says that the maximum RAM memory for the netbook is only 1GB. So i wonder, can't i upgrade the memory to 2 GB's? I'm little confused about that and i would appreciated if you could inform me more.

One other thing that i would like to have is a 1024x768 resolution screen. The netbook comes with a 1024 x 600 screen resolution and from what i have heard, i'm going to have some difficulties when scrolling down. On the other hand, i found out that post --> Resolution of 1024x768 and more for your netbook!
So, do you have any experience on all these things?

Thanks again.

[ThisIsNot]

1024X768 should be the last resolution that you want on a netbook. Why? It is an old 4:3 resolution and displays, along with most video content, have migrated to widescreen. 1336X768 is the resolution that you should be shooting for on a netbook. It allows you more than enough space when it comes to working with Word, Excel, or browsing the web (unlike 1024X600) while giving you the push beyond 1280X720 (720p) for video playback. Of course that really only benefits netbooks that can playback HD videos.

That is another aspect: how important is video playback? The Lenovo S10-3 is capable of playing back standard definition and 360p (which is below 480p, SD) YouTube videos but it won't smoothly playback anything higher. YouTube HD is out of the question and about the maximum you will get is 720p playback of video files so long as you use software such as VLC. CPU usage will sit above 70% but it will work for some 720p video files.

I am not sure about the RAM. Again, I don't have a Lenovo, I don't like them, and I don't think there are too many people here who have one. I would hate to answer a technical aspect regarding hardware if I don't have actual experience with it. However, that netbook should be able to go up to 2GB of total RAM. Most Atom N270, N280, and N450 powered netbooks come with one RAM slot that is accessed under the netbook. Simply screw off the cover and it should be there. Take out the 1GB stick and put in a 2GB stick, that is about the most you can do. There are some netbooks (mainly ones with Nvidia or VIA motherboards, that can handle more than 2GB though.

[icsd08063]

Thank you for your answers.