Comments on: What is a good cheap netbook to run SPSS on?

Question: What is a good cheap netbook to run SPSS on?

mlle valentine — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 09:11:42 -0800

Any recommendations for an inexpensive and highly portable netbook? I want to run the PC version of SPSS on it and take it to my stats class. I will also want to check email, but that's about it.

If for some reason I can't run SPSS on a netbook, I would like to know that too! I am a total noob.

(Also, I have seen that there are a couple other netbook threads but since I'm not well versed in netbooks I'd like to know if there is anything new and exciting out since those Asks were asked. Thanks.)

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:07:40 -0800

There's no reason you shouldn't be able to run SPSS (or Stata or R) on an XP/Win7 netbook. While you wouldn't want to do big MCMC runs on it, it should perform fine for OLS/logit/etc up through at least a few thousand observations.

Before you get sucked into paying $X/year for SPSS you might check out the freeware PSPP. Never used it, can't vouch for it, have heard decent things if you want to be in the SPSS world.

By: snorkmaiden

snorkmaiden — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:44:22 -0800

After asking a netbook question a year or so ago (under a different username) I wound up with this EeePC. I'm glad I chose a model with a near-full-sized keyboard, but other than that I think I would probably have been fine with whatever.

I had expected to have to buy a desktop eventually, but now I don't think I will. I've been using only the netbook for over a year and have not encountered anything it can't do.

I've never used SPSS, though.

By: Nanukthedog

Nanukthedog — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 15:56:11 -0800

If you are doing truly intensive stuff (working with data files in the 1G+ datasize), and you must do it on your personal PC, you'll want at a minimum 4G memory and (ideally) a quad core. I'd say you want a fast drive setup in a RAID as well, if you are going that route, but that's ideal... Unfortunately, what I just described was a $750+ laptop and not a netbook.

If you are taking a intro stats course, and you will never work with stats again, and the files will be small and manageable, yeah, almost any netbook will do the trick.

If you splurge on anything - get a fast read time on your hard drive - there is a big difference between 4800RPM and 7200RPM...

By: k8t

k8t — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 19:35:05 -0800

SPSS sucks on a netbook. Sorry.

By: mlle valentine

mlle valentine — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 12:02:33 -0800

SPSS does suck on a netbook, unfortunately, but it's better than nothing for taking to class (and I have it on a larger laptop at home). I wound up getting an HP model that is all right but slow. Thanks all for your help!