Compaq Presario 1170 Mini-311C

Shy developments for the Mini netbook 311C Compaq

The small PC Compaq Mini 311 underwent some changes and shows a significant increase in its price …

The promising

The Netbooks with chip Nvidia GeForce ION 2 arrive this month on the shelves, but HP still maintained its position at the moment. The Compaq Presario 311-1170 Mini is simply changing Mini 311, Carrying the Chipset ION first generation. It is nevertheless endowed with a mini PC ultra mobile for HD.

The Reality

The Mini-311C 1170 Compaq (HP) is a netbook all round. Like the Pavilion Mini 210The chassis has no projecting stops and the mixture of black and silver is quite pleasant. Like the previous version, the keyboard is quite ergonomically pleasing to the strike and is much space allotted (92% of the standard size). The touchpad is, in turn, well proportioned. By cons, between the first and the second version, we have lost in quality of finish: plastic buttons is very average quality and responsiveness is just as much.

Few changes under the hood!

We were saying earlier, the major changes in the machine located under the hood. Thus, the Wi-Fi module is compatible with the standard N, Bluetooth is standard and not optional.
Also note, the amount of memory that goes from 1 to 2 GB This addition allows Windows 7 Premium to run more easily. Yes, you read correctly, this is not a Starter version that is in this netbook. The rationale is simple: for small PC with a screen of 11.6 inches, the standard Intel and Microsoft in terms of OS and configuration are much more flexible. Windows XP is scrapped!

A bit of play .. but especially a lot of HD

If Nvidia claims that it can play on such a machine, the designer of GPU does not hesitate to point out that this does of course not the last hits. Thus Warcraft 3, Counter-Strike or Call of Duty 4 pass, but damn it must play on the details and especially do not apply filters. Do not forget that the ION is not a smart lightning war and the processor remains in command Atom N270.

The force of ION is able decompress stream high-definition and project them on the screen of 11.6 inches with a resolution of 1 366 x 768 pixels. The quality of the latter does not do justice to the rest of the machine since the observed contrast ratio is difficult to reach the 420:1 and brightness does not exceed 198 cd/m2. With a movie in 720p or 1080p, no worries. The first goes well, the second can be projected onto an external display via the HDMI jack of the machine for maximum enjoyment.

However, if the chip is completely unsolicited and at ease, use the program Media Player Classic Home Cinema (VLC that do not quite support ION) and make some adjustments depending on the file format you want to read. Thus, for the best possible outcome, go to the program’s options menu and “Playback” select “Output”. Once this window, select the option “EVR Custom” and increase the “EVR Buffer” to 20 (instead of 5). Then go to “Internal filter” and check out the boxes corresponding to your “source files”. Once done, a movie to MKV (for example) in 1080 with DTS will be fluid.

A small camel music

The quality of sound equipment is surprising for a machine this size: immersion guaranteed for your projections. But to store movies on a given PC, you need a large hard drive and what Compaq has only 160GB .. Too easy!
Finish with the autonomy of the machine: four hours of video playback battery (not HD), an honorable score for this little PC.

Conclusions of review

Priced at 399 euros (50 euros more expensive than its ancestor), the Mini is a 311C-1170 netbook very nice for those who want to go beyond the HD 720p. Compact and cute, it offers a comfortable working and viewing increased with its 11.6-inch screen.