What Is a Nettop?

Before we get into what they’re good for, let’s spend a moment getting to know what a Nettop is. In short, a Nettop is little more than a Netbook minus the display, keyboard, and battery. Both Netbooks and Nettops share the same lightweight, power-efficient components, like Intel’s Atom and AMD’s Vision processors.

So what good is a Nettop if a Netbook already has all of the same components and can actually work without being plugged into the wall? Well, it primarily comes down to peripherals. Nettops almost always have more features, such as additional USB ports for use with external hard drives, printers, and other peripherals. Some even have new USB 3.0 ports for extremely high speed data transfer. Most current Nettops also feature HDMI, eSata, VGA, and Serial ports, and while Netbooks sometimes offer some of these features, none offer more than one or two of them.

Basically, a Nettop is a Netbook that functions as a desktop.

So Why Not Get a Desktop?

When Netbooks compete with other laptops, they have the advantage of being much cheaper. At one point, the Asus Eee 900 was available for just $169 while you’d struggle to find a full sized laptop for under $400. Nettops don’t have this benefit.

Most entry-level Nettops start around $300. This may seem fairly affordable, but a $300 desktop computer will likely outperform any similarly priced Nettop. So why bother getting a Nettop at all?

First of all, Nettops are small, and even though they aren’t meant to be portable, size still matters. The smallest Nettops aren’t any larger than your average Wi-Fi router, and even the larger Nettops don’t get any bigger than a Blu-Ray or DVD player. This makes them easy to tuck away out of site. Just try balancing a desktop on a bookshelf or mounting it to the wall – it doesn’t work all that well.

Another huge benefit of a Nettop is power efficiency. Because they share many of the same components as a Netbook, they need very little power to operate. Most Netbooks will use only 1 or 2 Watts when idling, and rarely more than 50 Watts at maximum. In comparison, it isn’t unusual for a desktop to use over 50 Watts at idle alone. For a situation in which the device will be on 24/7, a Nettop could save you hundreds of dollars per year.

Best Uses for a Nettop

Even though Nettops aren’t always the most affordable choice in terms of cost to performance, their size and power profile make them ideal for certain uses.

The super compact size works well for anyone who is looking for the basic computing needs of a desktop but doesn’t want the added clutter of a full-sized computer. Some Nettops, like the Asus EeeBox EB1012, actually come with a mounting plate that allows you to mount it to the back of a standard LCD monitor, taking up no more space than the monitor on your desk.

Because of their power efficiency, Nettops also make excellent media boxes. Using the HDMI port to connect a Nettop to your HDTV gives you a very flexible media experience, essentially making it an HTPC (Home Theatre PC). YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu can all be watched directly on your TV, and with Windows Media Center, you can even stream HD video from any other computer on your home network. Nettops like the Lenovo IdeaCentre Q150 even include a wireless remote. Be careful, though. Not all Nettops are capable of HD playback. Stick with Nettops that feature Nvidia ION or AMD Vision technology.

Price

The price tag on a high-end gaming computer has always been a deterrent for those looking to get into PC gaming. When the PS3 Slim is just $300, why spend thousands on a gaming PC? Well, there’s a counterargument. We’ve come to the point where a computer is almost a necessity in every household, and typically speaking, if you spend about $300 more on a new PC (opting for a video card and CPU upgrade), you’ll be pretty well suited to play most high-end PC games as well. This round is a tie.

Graphics

When they first hit the market, the Xbox 360 and PS3 were both nearly on par with modern gaming PC’s in terms of video graphics capability. The problem is that consoles get stuck in the era they’re created in, while PCs see advancement every year. Over the past 5 years since the current generation consoles’ release, PC hardware has quadrupled in performance, leading to spectacular leaps in gaming visual effects. Point, PC.

Learning Curve

Gaming on a console is simple, just turn it on, pop in the disc, and start playing. On a PC, it’s not so simple. First you have to install the game; then you usually have to fiddle with a few settings, maybe install a patch or two…It’s not rocket science, but it does take a bit of an adjustment compared to the simplicity of console gaming. This ties it up.

Controls

Gaming controls are generally a matter of personal preference. For the First Person Shooter crowd, playing games like Portal 2 and Left 4 Dead 2, the aiming accuracy of a PC’s mouse and keyboard is the typical choice. Adventure gamers tend to prefer a gamepad like an Xbox or PS3 controller. The PC holds the advantage here, supporting many gamepads (including the Xbox 360 controller) as well as a mouse and keyboard. The Wii certainly gives the PC’s controller options a run for their money, but we think they still manage the win. PC takes the lead, 2 to 1.

Multiplayer

Online gaming is definitely the direction multiplayer games are taking, and the online world was essentially tailor made for the PC. Compared to consoles, online games on PC’s have more dedicated servers for smoother connections, better match making, and versatile communication options. Consoles are really playing catch-up hear; however, they do have one key advantage: offline multiplayer. All you need is an extra controller. For the PC, your buddy would need to lug over his own PC as well as his own copy of the game, and you’d need to be able to network your PC’s together. Each has their strong points, but this round is a tie.

Longevity

The key difference between PC and console gaming is how long your hardware will last. The best looking PC games also need the newest, fastest PC hardware. This means that awesome PC game you’re waiting for next month may not run on your 3-year old gaming laptop. Consoles don’t have that problem. If the game is made for your console, it’ll work, no matter how old.

Yeah, this means it’s a draw, but we feel PC gaming should come first for those who think they might be interested in computers for more than just gaming. If it’s only about the games, a console will do just fine.

The Sleek One

Dell XPS 15

In its current form, the base configuration of the Dell XPS 15 is an excellent buy. Its CPU is the exact same model used in many high-end powerful notebooks, and while it may not have as much RAM as the more expensive models, it’s still the latest technology and easily enough for most every task. Where the $799 XPS 15 falls short is its display. At just 1366×768, it can seem a bit cramped in terms of screen space, but the color quality is still among the top in the industry. It’s also not the best choice for gaming, but can still play all of the modern games as long as you turn down the settings.

The Heavy Hitter

Acer Aspire 7741G

The Aspire series actually comes in a variety of flavors, but the 7741G is a great example of a well rounded laptop. It’s similar powered compared to the XPS 15, but with its larger and higher resolution display (1600×900), as well as more powerful GPU, it lends itself much better toward gaming. You’ll still need to turn down some of the settings on the latest games, though. It also doesn’t come with the styling you’ll find in an XPS, but considering you can find the 7741G for less than $700, it’s a pretty fair trade.

The Speedy Lightweight

Acer Aspire TimelineX 4820TG

If you’re looking for a bit of style and some serious portability, Acer also has its TimelineX series. The TimelineX 4820TG has essentially all of the same hardware inside as the Aspire 7741G, making it a very capable laptop for just about anything you’d want to do. The main difference is its physical size, at just an inch thick at its thinnest point and sporting a 14-inch 1366×768 pixel display. With this configuration weighing in at $799 while performing nearly identically to the 7741G, what you’re paying for is primarily enhanced portability.

The Movie Buff

Sony Vaio EL VPCEL17FX

Sony’s EL series isn’t nearly as fast as the previously mentioned laptops, but it’s also considerably cheaper. Plus, this specific model comes with a Blu-Ray drive, allowing for glorious playback of Blu-Ray movies. Despite its slower hardware, it’s still capable of most any task, though if you’re planning on doing any semi-serious gaming, you’ll want to look elsewhere.

The Super Lightweight

Asus Eee PC

When it comes to affordable computing portability, you can’t do much better than the Asus Eee PC series. With screen sizes hovering right around 12-inches, they can nearly fit in your pocket, and without putting a hole in your wallet. Their biggest downfall is performance, but if you don’t mind spending a little extra on the 1215B-PU17 model (currently about $450), which sports the AMD E-350 processor, you can get similar performance to the previously mentioned Sony Vaio EL.

1: Portal 2

Portal 2 is everything you could possibly love from the original Portal (like witty humor, exciting puzzles, and insane sentient robots set to make your life a living hell) plus an entirely new game mode: Cooperative Multiplayer. Portal 2 truly is nothing short of amazing. We just wish it were a bit longer; both game modes only last about 12 hours in total.

2: Dead Space 2

If you like suspenseful horror, the Dead Space series is for you. Dead Space 2 keeps the same gruesomely terrifying game play as its predecessor but with an added flare of more action. It also includes a fun, though somewhat limited, team based multiplayer mode for some extra depth.

3: Total War: Shogun 2

Shogun 2 is certainly one of the lesser known hit titles of the year, but it still turns out to be a very enjoyable strategy title. It combines both turn-based and real-time strategy together into a unique experience. It is often praised for bringing the Total War series back to its roots.

4: Crysis 2

Crytek games have always been praised for pushing the envelope of graphics performance, and Crysis 2 was no exception (though some wish Crytek pushed further than it did). Crysis 2 took the series out of the tropical jungle and into the concrete jungle and refined the game play experience. It also adds a critically acclaimed multiplayer mode that rivals Call of Duty’s Modern Warfare 2.

5: DiRT 3

DiRT 3 is the current leader when it comes to PC Racing Simulators. Even though it only focuses on Rally Racing, which disappoints some, it maintains a lot of widespread appeal with additional party modes, such as Zombie Infection and Capture the Flag. It also includes a new Hardcore Mode for dedicated racers who want to test their skill.

We also have many more PC games in our PC Games Category. Just sort by alaScore to help find the most popular.

If you are thinking about upping your computer’s graphics performance, here’s a list of some of the best dedicated video cards for popular price points.

Best GPU Under $100: AMD Radeon HD 5570 and HD 5670

The Radeon HD 5570 can turn just about any budget computer into a manageable gaming system, and at just $65, it’s easy on the wallet. It will play most titles with moderately high settings at 720p resolutions, and even 1080p for some. At just $10 more, the HD 5670 will give you about 20% more performance. The best thing about both of these cards is that they have very low power requirements, meaning it’s very likely that they will work in most commercial desktops.

Best GPU for about $120: AMD Radeon HD 5770 (and HD 6770)

The Radeon HD 5770 offers a perfect balance between price and performance, easily making it the best valued video card on the market. It can play most games at 1080p resolutions while keeping detail settings relatively high. The HD 6770 is simply a newer version of the HD 5770 and offers the exact same performance.

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Best GPU for about $180: AMD Radeon HD 6850

If you’re looking to get into some serious PC gaming but don’t want to spend some serious money, the HD 6850 is a great place to start. It’s capable of playing even the latest games at 1080p resolutions with nearly every settings maxed out. Nvidia’s GTX 460 1GB also offers similar performance, but the HD 6850 is generally cheaper.

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Best GPU for about $220: AMD Radeon HD 6870 and Nvidia GTX 560 Ti

Both the HD 6870 and GTX 560 Ti should be able to play just about any game at 1080p resolutions with the settings cranked up to the max. They’re even capable of playing some titles at 2560×1600, though may require some slightly lowered detail settings. Nvidia’s GTX 560 Ti edges out a bit more performance than the HD 6870, but it also costs about $25 more.

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Best GPU for $250 to $300: AMD Radeon HD 6950

Coming in both 1GB and 2GB flavors, the HD 6950 is about the highest performing video card that still carries a practical price tag. Expect to be able to play at 2560×1600 with detail settings maxed out for most titles, though you may have to settle for 1080p resolutions to play some of the latest titles maxed out.

Best GPU when cost isn’t an issue: AMD Radeon HD 6990 and Nvidia GTX 590

Once you go past $300, cost per performance becomes much less practical, making it difficult to recommend anything past that point, but if you want to play the most demanding of games at 2560×1600 with every feature and setting turned up to 11, regardless of cost, one of these cards is for you.

The Apple iPad

The iPad has been available since November of 2010, and it currently sits at the pinnacle of the tablet world. Its 10-inch XGA resolution (1024×768) screen does well to satisfy your video viewing and web browsing needs, and the iTunes App Store keeps it well stocked with feature rich applications. The hardware, however, leaves something to be desired. In fact, even several months before the iPad’s release, there were already several mobile phones that boasted similar or even more capable hardware, such as Samsung’s Galaxy S phones. With even more powerful tablet devices coming out in the next months, you have to ask yourself, “Is that Apple backbone of the original iPad strong enough to compete?”

The Samsung Galaxy Tab

The Galaxy Tab is almost literally an enlarged version of the top-selling Galaxy S Smartphone. Compared to the iPad, the Galaxy tab is slightly more powerful and has a front and rear facing camera, but it only has a 7-inch display, which does allow it to fit into a pocket, but can be a bit limiting with screen space. Built on the Android Operating System, it has an app store that truly does rival Apple’s; however, the version of Android it uses is a bit premature for Tablet use, giving it manageable functionality while being less than ideal. As it doesn’t share the iPad’s strong Apple roots, the Galaxy Tab is likely on its last legs the upcoming dual-core tablets coming out this year.

The Dell Streak

While technically a Smartphone, its 5-inch display teeters dangerously close to tablet territory, so close in fact, that it’s worth mentioning. The Dell Streak may be smaller and considerably slower than other tablets, but it can do something neither the iPad nor Galaxy Tab can: make and receive phone calls. Still, being built on the Android platform (an even older version than the Galaxy Tab), it suffers from the same non-tablety interface.

A Promising Future Ahead

CES this year was ablaze with tablet announcements. Dual core Tegra 2 (that’s an impressively fast NVIDIA processor btw) tablets were on display, and perhaps even more significant, a Tablet version of Android (known as Honeycomb) was seen on several of them, like the Motorola Xoom. There were also very innovative hybrid devices, like the Tegra 2-powered Motorola Atrix, which is an Android Smartphone with laptop style docking station. The turnout was absolutely impressive, and one thing is for certain: all of these upcoming tablets will put last year’s to shame. Still, if I had to buy a tablet today, I’d go for the iPad.