subject: Mini Notebook Computers - Smaller, But Still Worth The Cost [print this page] Mini notebook computers are becoming more and more common. The particularly small size makes them more portable than other styles of notebook computers, and the fact that they almost always have wireless capabilities built in makes it easy for you to get online just about anywhere you are that has a wi-fi hot spot. However, there are some things to keep in mind before getting your own mini notebook.
These kinds of computers are made so small because the internal components are generally either made smaller or they are lacking a few features. Most mini notebook computers aren't very powerful, and many of them lack some components that you can be used to having on your regular desktop or standard sized notebook.
One thing that is missing a lot of models of mini notebook is a CD or DVD drive. This can be a feature that many people have acquired used to having on their other larger computers, many mini notebook computers lack this component. This not only reduces the cost, but also contributes to their smaller size. No CD or DVD drive should not be an issue unless you intend to do a lot of work on your mini notebook, and even then you could use a thumb drive for. However, you could find external CD and DVD drives that connect via USB if this is a problem for you.
These kinds of computers also generally have smaller hard drives. Do not be surprised if many of the models you look at have hard drives that have between 10 GB and 60 GB of storage. The less gigabytes on the hard drive, the less disks there are in the drive, which contributes to them being smaller. Again, this is another setback that could be fixed with the utilization of an external lookup. External hard drives above 500 GB may be found somewhat easily these days, and relatively affordably.
Something else to keep in mind is that chances are these computers will not be particularly powerful graphically. This is no longer a problem that could be fixed easily, so if you are looking for a notebook computer to play games on mostly, then one of these is probably not your answer. Standard sized notebooks can be found with decent video cards and CPUs affordably these days, that is probably a better idea for you if you're looking to run graphically tasking programs or games.
While mini notebook computers do have their uses, they also have their setbacks. If you're looking for computer simply to use the Internet and run some applications while you are on the road, then this kind of computers likely for you. However, if you're looking to run more high-end applications that it might be better idea to go with a ordinary sized notebook.
