$50 off HP mini 311 netbook with Nvidia ION

[Deemo]

The keyboard is swappable. I did this on my Mini 110.

You don't want to get it from HP as it is too expensive.
The Chinese source for the Mini 110 keyboard just doesn't have it for the 311 yet.
I wouldn't let the keyboard stop anyone from buying this netbook - especially at this new lower price.

[ikeny]

In addition to ION LE vs. full ION, another newfound difference between the two models (for me anyway):

311-1000CA (Futureshop, Staples, Tigerdirect): Up to 319MB total graphics memory
311-1033CA (Costco): Up to 895MB total graphics memory

[amrod]

the $50 will pay for the 2GB stick of ram to upgrade this to 3

[Deemo]

In addition to ION LE vs. full ION, another newfound difference between the two models (for me anyway):

311-1000CA (Futureshop, Staples, Tigerdirect): Up to 319MB total graphics memory
311-1033CA (Costco): Up to 895MB total graphics memory

Enabling Full Ion
http://myhpmini.com/2009/10/upgrade-...-dx10-support/

[ikeny]

Enabling Full Ion
http://myhpmini.com/2009/10/upgrade-...-dx10-support/

A better link directly to the drivers -
http://myhpmini.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=2580

However, it wasn't clear whether the patched drivers can also increase the max graphic memory. Probably not if the video RAM is defined in the BIOS. What do you think?

[Deemo]

A better link directly to the drivers -
http://myhpmini.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=2580

However, it wasn't clear whether the patched drivers can also increase the max graphic memory. Probably not if the video RAM is defined in the BIOS. What do you think?

Then flash with a hacked bios

They usually come out to whitelist non HP approved parts.

[Sansul]

The keyboard is swappable. I did this on my Mini 110.

You don't want to get it from HP as it is too expensive.
The Chinese source for the Mini 110 keyboard just doesn't have it for the 311 yet.
I wouldn't let the keyboard stop anyone from buying this netbook - especially at this new lower price.

Its not just the keyboard. The trackpad is one of the worst I have ever used. You are literally fighting just to scroll anywhere.

Everything else about this notebook is fantastic. HP has a real winner, but yet again they destroy the user experience with horrible keyboards and trackpads.

[b1unt3d]

Its not just the keyboard. The trackpad is one of the worst I have ever used. You are literally fighting just to scroll anywhere.

Everything else about this notebook is fantastic. HP has a real winner, but yet again they destroy the user experience with horrible keyboards and trackpads.

I was going to post the same thing. I bought this from Costco a couple weeks and and the track pack is the worst I have ever used. I am always accidentally brushing it and resetting the cursor in some random place. The cursor literally jumps as I am typing mid sentence, all the time. And it isn't just me, it happens to my girlfriend and she has tiny hands.

[darethehair]

I was going to post the same thing. I bought this from Costco a couple weeks and and the track pack is the worst I have ever used. I am always accidentally brushing it and resetting the cursor in some random place. The cursor literally jumps as I am typing mid sentence, all the time. And it isn't just me, it happens to my girlfriend and she has tiny hands.

I have read bits and comments here and there about solutions for this problem. This page also seems to describe the problem and some solutions:

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/psg/board/...ssage.id=19174

I don't (yet) have an HP 311 to try any of this myself, but it is good to know that this is not a 'fundamental flaw' of the netbook itself. In fact, this particular netbook is "Editor's Choice" at Laptop magazine:

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptop/hp-mini-311.aspx

[ShadedNine]

Picked this up at Costco NE in Edmonton for $450 last night.

First off, the promised HD playback using ION is not plug & play, it takes a little work. Out of the box, all my videos were running off the CPU, which mean 1080p was unwatchable. After finding some guides on setting up "DXVA" (directx video acceleration) in MPC-HC (it's non trivial, and requires some seemingly arbitrary settings) I was able to get perfect, smooth 1080p playback of h264 encoded video.

I will also echo existing sentiments about the really crappy peripherals. Give me enough time, I might get used to the bilingual keyboard, though I find it absolutely ******** that they're doing this, but alternatives seem to be vanishing short of getting something out of the US. I also really can't understand why, when the machine is already so small, the keyboard doesn't maximize the available space, but leaves a bunch wasted on the sides. Other 11" netbooks manage to fit full size keys by extending right to the edge.

The trackpad might be enough for me to return this and wait for ASUS or someone else to release an ION netbook. It's terrible...when you aren't trying to use it, it's super-sensitive and jumping all over, then when you are it feels unresponsive, and as others have mentioned, there's far too much friction (it's got a sort of glossy coating that has a bit of a sticky texture against skin).

Finally, the mouse buttons are equally terrible, so I really don't want to try the proposed jumping solution of disabling tapping. Not only are they far too resistive, they make an unreasonably loud and annoying click, loud enough that I make every effort to avoid it if I'm using the laptop in a meeting or in public.

Ultimately, it feels like this product was really rushed to market and not properly tested. That and/or there was some cost-cutting behind these flaws.

[xstatik]

Picked this up at Costco NE in Edmonton for $450 last night.

First off, the promised HD playback using ION is not plug & play, it takes a little work. Out of the box, all my videos were running off the CPU, which mean 1080p was unwatchable. After finding some guides on setting up "DXVA" (directx video acceleration) in MPC-HC (it's non trivial, and requires some seemingly arbitrary settings) I was able to get perfect, smooth 1080p playback of h264 encoded video.

Can you post a link to the guides?? I'm having a hard time finding the settings.

[ShadedNine]

Can you post a link to the guides?? I'm having a hard time finding the settings.

This was the most useful one that I ultimately used to get things working:
http://nunnally.ahmygoddess.net/watc...os-using-dxva/

[Beradon]

Does ordering from HP's website means I can get an english only keyboard as an option? Have they allowed that in the past?

[ikeny]

Does ordering from HP's website means I can get an english only keyboard as an option? Have they allowed that in the past?

I doubt that. None of the mini 110's currently on sale at hp.ca has CTO options. No choices of keyboards for sure.

[fjanicki]

Can you post a link to the guides?? I'm having a hard time finding the settings.

Just download the K-Lite Codec pack, it asks you in the set-up if you want to use DXVA or not. Pretty straight-forward.

http://www.codecguide.com/download_kl.htm