HP Mini 1030NR Review and Upgrades

HP Mini 1030NR
In August 2010, I picked up a barely used HP Mini 1030NR as a spare machine to use for fieldwork.  Having only paid $150 for it, I felt it was a steal, even for a slightly older machine.  It has since become my preferred portable, even over my newer 110.

System Specs
1.6GHz Intel Atom
2GB of DDR2 RAM
16GB SSD + 2GB USB Key
Intel 945 Express w/ 128MB of Vram total (64 dedicated + 64 shared)
Integrated Webcam
3x USB (1x left and 2x right)
1x VGA out (require proprietary dongle cable, left side)
1x SD (combo multiple SD formats, right side)
Ethernet (left side)
Integrate G wireless
combo Audio in/out (left side)
touchpad
3-cell battery (about 3 - 5 hours battery life)

First off, the 1030NR is frankly higher quality system than the 110. The sound is better, performance of the SSD is better, had it been equipped with a larger Harddrive, I would easily take the slightly older system.

The 1030NR are currently available on Tiger Direct for $209. They have WIndwos XP Home installed, 1GB of RAM, and all the other specs listed above. They also come with HP's XPSP3 Restore CD and MS Works 9. While it does have 3x USB ports, one of the ports is dedicated to the HP USB Memory key, that USB port is not readily accessible for use, which realistically only gives you 2x USB ports. On the HDD versions of this system, the USB key USB port has been removed.

The 1000 Series utilizes a 1.8" HD bay. Half of that bay is taken up by the SSD - which is the size of a stick of Ram and has a ZIF connector to tie into the system board's HD controller interface. The other half od the drive bay houses the dedicated memory stick USB slot.

As the system uses the 1.8" Zif Pata drives, you can find replacement HDD int he 4000-5400 rpm variety found in the Ipod Classic and certain Zune MP3 players. Toshiba makes a HD for the Ipod in 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, and 100GB capacities. These drives are compatible as a replacement - ranging in prices from $25 for the 20-40GB to about $120 for the 100GB. If you want to keep the SSD options, the 32GB is about $100, 64GB - $160, 128GB - $200+, and 256GB is about $400 - suffice it to say it is cheaper to buy a newer HP Mini with a 250GB - 500GB HD than upgrading, but, to each his own.

It is possible to remove the 2GB key and stick a small USB bluetooth module in its place. If you had a mouse or something similar, you could save your other two USB ports. If you decide to upgrade to a ZIF 4200 rpm ZIF drive, you would have to remove it completely.

HP Mini Gaming

HP Mini Gaming
Having owned the HP Mini for 6 months and it is still running strong. Here is a list of games I have tried to play on this system along with some of the tweaks I've used to get them to run in Windows 7 Starter.

• Damage Inc. (Win 95 game) - You must download a DX9 .dll file to get it to work properly, and run in 95/98/ME compatability mode.
• Doom2 (Win 95 version) - this game runs in XPSP2 compatability mode.
• Postal (Win 95 game) - this game runs as-is.
• KKND Xtreme (Win 95 game) - this game runs as-is.
• Carmageddon 2 (Win 95 game) - this game runs in compatability mode.
• Total Annhilation (Win 95 game) - this game runs as-is.
• Grand Theft Auto (freeware version from Rockstar) - will not install under Win 7, does not run in any mode, will run in Win XP.
• Grand Theft Auto 2 (freeware version from Rockstar) - works as-is.
• KKND2: Krossfire - this game runs with a DX9 .dll file.
• Age of Empire 1 and 2 - they will install but limited to 800x600 resolution, may work better in XP.
• Unreal/Unreal Tournament 1999 - This game runs very well in 800x600 resolution, but can modded via the Unreal...ini to run at 1024x600.
• Tactical Ops:AOT (UT99 based) - This game runs same as UT.
• Return to Castle Wolfentstein - This game runs as-is.
• Jedi Knight: Jedi Outcast/Jedi Academy - this game runs as-is.
• Halo: Combat Evolved - this game runs choppy in Win 7, suggest upgrading RAM and running in 800x600 for best performance, XP would likely run this better.
• Dungeon Siege/DSLOA - runs fine as-is.
• StarCraft/Brood War - would not even install under Win 7, will definitely run in XP.
• C&C Red Alert 1/2 - would not install, may work in XP.
• C&C 1 and Red Alert 1 (First Decade Edition) - works
• C&C Tiberian Sun (First Decade Edition) - works
• C&C Red Alert 2/Yuri Revenge (First Decade Edition) - would not even boot.
• C&C Renegade (First Decade Edition) - runs at full speed, is a horrible game.
• C&C Generals (retail version)- would not even boot, may work in XP.
• C&C Generals/Zero Hour (First Decade Edition) - works on lowest detail setting, but runs very slowly).
• Rainbow Six 3 - runs well in XPSP2 Compatability mode, some user-created content is sluggish.
• UT 2003/2004 - Will install and run but needs more system RAM for Win7, runs fine in XP at maximum settings.
• Tactical Ops: Crossfire (UT2K4 mod) - runs sluggishly, definitely more RAM is needed.
• Killing Room (UT2K4 mod/standalone) - runs very sluggishly, more RAM or downgrade to XP should help.
• UT3 - Installs fine, but is extremely unstable, may work in XP. UT3-based games apparently have issues with the Intel Chipset GFX.
• Battlefield 2 - Installs, the Easy Info lists the only conflict as the Processor, Patch 1.5 did not like Windows 7 at all - will try dl-ing the patch again. Right now, it just prompts for the CD.
• Rainbow Six Vegas 2 - Installs, but gets an error message and crash during game boot - "Video Card not supported." This game may require a netbook with an NVidia ION GFX chip (Mini 311). System failed compatability test during installation, listing System RAM and GFX.
• World of Goo - This game runs as-is.
• Zombie Driver - Program Installs, boots, and runs extremely sluggishly. I would suggest adding RAM and running XP.

HP Mini 110 Review

So December 2009, I moved from Wisconsin to Texas and had to ship all of my stuff to Texas. At the time I was unaware that I could carry my laptop as a carry-on and had decided to purchase a Netbook to replace the ASUS AEEPC 701 I had sold in November.

I was very pleased with my ASUS as many of you who own them have agreed, but the ASUS 1000 series that were available locally just weren't doing it for me. I had narrowed my choices to three brands.

Lenovo's Ideapad - this netbook support 4GB of RAM as opposed to 2GB on the ASUS, prices started at $400

ASUS 1000 Series - running XP Home, 120-160 GB HD, starting at $379

HP Mini - mostly the same deal as the ASUS but much better support, also about $60 less.

Now keep in mind, there are other netbooks ont he market that may be just as good a machine, but (1) I hate Toshiba and have had horrible luck with that brand, (2) Dell Mini is a nice machine but slightly overpriced, and (3) Acer ONE are never in stock. I needed a machine ASAP as I was leaving the next day.

My choices in town were Target, WalMart, Best Buy, and Sears as they sold the three brands I was looking for.