I did a search, but couldn't find anything.. which I found a bit strange, so pardon me if it's there, but I didn't see it.

I'm thinking of getting myself either an MSI Wind (80gb or 120gb, depending on whether there's a big noise difference) or an Asus EEE (901 or 1000(H/HD) again depending on noise).

Since this is a computer I may want to break out for typing lecture notes on, it's imperative that it is a silent one. That goes for both fan/HD noises as well as keyboard noise; that constant key click sound would probably be very intrusive during a lecture.

I've only had hands-on experience with the EEE 900, but that was in an electronics store, so I couldn't determine how much noise it made. The only thing I could decide was that the keyboard was way too small for my fingers, which will also be the case with the 901, but I figure it's a matter of practice. The MSI Wind is larger in any case, and the EEE 1000 will also be, but when it comes to the 1000, there's a matter of the difference between the 1000, the 1000H and the 1000HD. The two latter ones have HDs instead of SSD, and although the prospect of having 80gig instead of 20, and that it won't “wear outâ€

The EEE 901 keyboard is much smaller than the other 9" netbooks, so you might find the AA1 or 9" Wind's keyboard more comfortable. The 1000H's keyboard is a dream to use. It's almost like typing on a regular 14" notebook. The AA1 takes some getting used to and I don't think I could ever go even close to full speed on it. I have not tried the Wind.

The EEE is also easy to service/upgrade - it uses a standard 2.5" SATA hard drive and the memory slots are easily accessible.

Here's video comparing the 1000 to the 901:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47__AIKRNYY

Many thanks!

Do you have any thoughts about the noise issues? Does the keyboard “clickâ€

I've got 1000h, in fact I'm typing from it right now while watching a movie. The keyboard was one of the considerations when I got it. I tried my dad's Acer Aspire 1 and the keyboard on that one was tiny, basically unusable. The keyboard on 1000h is much better. The only problem is that I accidentally touch touchpad too much which can take the focus off of what I'm typing. Quite annoying when it happens. 10" screen is also nice. Acer Aspire 1 has 9" screen and it's a little too small.

Also, don't get 1000HD, that one uses celeron instead of atom.

As far as noise is concerned. I can't compare Wind and EEEPC because I only have EEEPC, but the main source of noise from 1000h is HDD. HDD is mounted right at the bottom of laptop for easier access should you want to change it. So it's easily heard. Asus also skimps on hard drives and uses older models. My model uses two platter 160GB one when it could have used one platter model. If you get 80GB that probably would be less of a problem because that one will use single platter, but 160GB is two platters and I'm planning to replace it along with upgrading RAM. The fan is smooth sounds smooth and doesn't ramp up at all. Although I'm running on reduced CPU speed at all times. The vents are a little small compared to Wind. According to reviews Wind runs cooler than 901 which is probably right considering size of the vents.

Anyway, hopefully that was useful.


EDIT actually I take it back about hdd being the biggest noise source, it depends on the fan noise. Unfortunately I can't make any clear tests as I have had troubles getting my drive to spin down so that I can isolate fan noise.

i've played with my gf's msi wind u100 alot recently and it's pretty quiet.

i have very high standards silence-wise (my last silentpc was quieter than my monitor) and in my opinion it's definitely quiet enough to be used unobtrusively next to other people, even though you wouldn't call it silent.

anywhere outdoors you probably wouldn't be able to hear it

if this is your only reservation then i would highly recommend the wind.

I've also got the EEE 1000HA, and while it's not silent, it's definitely quiet enough to use in a classroom environment. The keyboard isn't obtrusively loud (a standard quiet-ish level), and the main source of noise is the system fan. However, even when running at full speed, I doubt that anyone would really notice it in class. At least... nobody did this morning when I was running Matlab on it in class.

I went ahead and got the 1000h, 160gb a while back. I agree that the keyboard is quiet, but there is a bit of noise, either from the fan or the hd, as you say. It can be slightly annoying when you're at home, and it's quiet, so of course I'd love to change whatever is noisy, but it still isn't so noisy that it's a bother when bringing it to lectures, etc.