1080p out on laptop/netbook not for gaming.
 

a friend of mine is looking for a laptop to output to his new tv, he doesnt play games just msn and web surfing, can you guys help me find the cheapest one for him, only windows no linux.

Asus N10J has integrated Nvidia graphics with HDMI out. I'd go for that.

well i told my friend lets see what he chooses.

Any laptop with a HDMI output would suffice IMO.

Not true, unless Vista is just bogging it down. It can stream 720p no problem, but 1080p seems to be quite difficult for a T4200 or whatever it's called. A lot of laptops have that chip so be cautious.

Thats a good point bojangles, but I believe many of those "entry-level" laptops pair a weak intel with a weak intell 4500MHD chipset. In this case, the CPU is still a big factor in the ability to play 1080p. On the other hand, any newer Nvidia/ATI IGP (9300/HD3200) does almost everything itself without the need for a high-end processor.

The 4500 will stream 1080p no problem and the cpu is by far not a roadblock imo. I've used an amd x2 4200 and 3800 to stream 1080p with no issue, no lag, etc, plus the 4500 has decoders built in that help.

I think the issue with HD playback is what codecs you choose to use. I typically run CoreAVC which IMO uses far less resources than anything else.

And any laptop with HDMI would be able to run 1080p to show the Internet and MSN. He never mentioned HD video playback.

It could be a codec issue or some resources being used that shouldn't be. I use the CCCP pack so I would have thought it wouldn't be an issue. I'll try another one and see what happens.