Asus EEE PC 1215PN - Atom Dual core D500 with Ion2 12'1 ultra portable

Got mine today (502€ and I'm pretty happy with it.

+ Shows 6h 15min of battery life with no internet and brightness set to lowest.
+ Touchpad is awesome after fingers greasing it.
+ Watching angels are good.
+ Plays at least Torchlight will full settings.
+ Extremely silent even during 3dMark test. The hard drive is louder than the fan.

- Can't see when Optimus is on.
- Drivers have to be downloaded from asus support site.

 

I was going to get a 1215pn, but I got an acer timeline 1410 / aspire one 752. Waaaaay cheaper (okay, like $100 cheaper, but that pays for an SSD), battery life is the same, and it has some oomph when doing anything CPU intensive (compared to the atom, anyways).

Build quality isn't as nice, though ... but for $400CDN, I'm going to replace it eventually, anyways...

 

Yeah, I agree with you. The Touch-Pad is really nice, and same goes to the keyboard! Can you try Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2? I can't run it :/

 

Sorry, I don't own that game.

I just tested 1080p Lord of the rings from usb 2.0 external hard drive and it plays very smoothly even in battle scenes.

 

Okay. What about League of Legends then?

What spects does your model got? 2 Gigs of ram or 4?

I can also play 1080p movies and play it very smoothly.

 

I don't play pay-to-win games either.

Specs:
- 1.8Ghz dual core shown as 4 core because of hyper threading.
- 2x 1Gb 1333MHz DDR3 ram
- Ion 2
- 250Gb of space
Anything else?

 

Well, it's actually not "Pay-To-Win". The only thing you can buy for real money in LoL are skins. I have not spend a single penny on that game

You got the same specs as mine, and thanks for your quick answers.

 

Did a bit battery testing with videos. Laptop was on power saving mode, screen on lowest setting and wifi/bluetooth were turned off.

640x480 video, 5h 31mins. (Integrated gpu, very smooth)
1080p video, 5h 5mins. (Integrated gpu, very smooth)
1080p video, 3h 50min. (forced Nvidia Ion 2, very smooth)

 

Hi, I was just wondering if you would know how long the battery life would be with only Microsoft Word open with maximum screen brightness? (University note taking)

 

5h 25mins

Brightness at maximum, no wlan/bluetooth
Edit: and power saving mode

 

Any .pdf manuals online for this model?

I should have pre-ordered one at excaliberpc before they went up $50 to $550.

So after using them for a little while, do you still like the keyboard?

How does the built quality seem? How about noise/heat?

 

Picture

Just to show that it can last over 7 hours with lowest brightness setting and you can still clearly see the text (Sorry about the crappy camera quality)

I still like the keyboard, even if it bends down just a little bit when pressing at the center but it doesn't bother at all. Nothing to complain about built quality either, after all it's Asus

About noise and heat. It's the most silent laptop I have ever seen. Like I said before the hard driver makes more noise than the fan. Heat control is good as well, doesn't really heat under your hand areas and you can keep it on your knees without burning

 

I use it only for taking notes at school and full brightness is way too bright xD. I always run on 50% and then it can run around 6 hours, and at minimum brightness around 7 hours and 15 min (At powersaving mode).

I love the keyboard. It's really comfortable etc. I like writing on it.

 

any date yet on when this will be out in the US? or when excaliburpc will start shipping them out?

i ordered a 1201n for 465... but i'm thinking about canceling that and waiting for the 1215 now. faster ram, gpu, and cpu... but i need one somewhat soon.

 

Eee 1215N is available for pre-order at Excaliber PC for $549 with D525 @ 1.8GHz:

ASUS Eee PC 1215N 250GB Premium 12.1" Netbook - Black. ASUS 1215N-PU17-BK

 

Ryoni,

When I use headphones I get a short "clicking" sound when my computer is working (etc. opening a program). Do you experience the same? Could it be the audio driver? (I have installed the newest one).

 

Hmm, I have also the latest drivers.

I can only hear operating 'click' -sounds when opening folders, moving back and forward but not when opening programs, I suppose that's normal. If I don't remember wrong you can change the windows sounds in some place. Maybe something has adjusted your settings there that you hear some 'click' -sound when opening applications?

 

Hmmmm which one should I get...

Asus UL30A-X5
$499.99
* 1.3GHz Intel SU7300 Core 2 Duo Processor
* 4GB of DDR3 RAM
* 500GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
* 13.3" HD LED LCD Display, Intel GMA 4500MHD, Wi-Fi 802.11 bgn, 0.3M Webcam
* Windows 7 Home Premium Operating System (64 bit)
* 12.9 x 9.3 x 1 inches ; 3.7 pounds
* Battery Life: Advertised 12 Hours

Asus Eee PC 1215N
$549.99
* 1.8GHz Intel Atom D525 Processor
* 2GB of DDR3 RAM
* 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
* 12.1" HD LED LCD Display, NVIDIA ION Graphics, Wi-Fi 802.11 bgn, 0.3M Webcam
* USB 3.0
* Windows 7 Home Premium Operating System (64 bit)
* 11.65 x 8 x .9-1.45 inches ; 3.2 pounds
* Battery Life: Advertised 6(?) Hours

CPU advantage - UL30A
GPU advantage - 1215N
Footprint advantage - UL30A
Weight advantage - 1215N
Battery advantage - UL30A

Hmmmm...

 

Well, it's not that kind of a click (not a windows sound). It's like a static click-sound, a noise that shouldn't be there. It's only when I'm stressing it, and it occurs only on the right speaker

Jay: Take the Asus 1215n. You wont regret it.

 

But when is this dang thing coming out? I'm on a G73JH, but I really want this 1215n soon for graduate school (which starts next week). I suppose it's still the "end of august," but still...

 

Well, here in Europe it's out. But it's worth waiting for dude. It got a nice comfortable keyboard, a nice screen and a decent battery-life. The perfect choice for me.

And it should be out in the USA in the very start of september or the end of august.

 

Oh.. that sounds strange. Could it be possible that the other speaker is a bit broken or are they just low quality? My Steelseries Siberia v2 doesn't seem to have that kind of static click thing even with all sounds at maximum. Hmm or are you using low quality media hubs or too long cables for the headphones?

 

Argh. I need it, and I can't really justify buying a significantly crappier notebook for $500 or an equal but larger notebook for significantly more than $500 considering this thing is just around the corner.

 

Good choice. I think 12,1 is just the perfect screen-size for me! The 1366 X 768 resolution is really good - You don't need to scroll much

The only bad thing I can say about this netbook/notebook is that Nvidia hasn't realeased a new optimized driver. The current one sucks at some games (e.g. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2), but for school it's just perfect (I never bring the A.C. adapter with me in school XD!)

Well, I have tried two different pair of headsets now and the same clicking noise is coming everytime I open a program or something. Even if I mute volume I can hear it! It's not the headphones since I have a main computer where the headphones works perfectly!

 

Ouch. One chance is to send it to warranty and hope for the best.. Maybe you could tell them you are audio editing professionalist and can't stand such a problem x)

 

Why would he have to claim that? The product is defective, and that's all the explanation he has to give.

 

Well, it's really annoying but I'm not in a rush.. I will send it for repair in a holiday or something, since I can't live without it at the moment. But besides that, it's a really nice computer .

 

ExcaliburPC says Asus should be releasing it right after labor day, or around Sept 6. I'll be waiting for that I guess.... or I'm considering a Thinkpad t400. what to do, what to do....

 

I am getting tired of waiting for this netbook to be released in the US... I need it for school which has been in session for 2 weeks now. I'm leaning towards getting a U35JC.

 

Well, it's your own decision, but as I said before. It's worth waiting for.

 

You're comparing this to the U35JC? I'd go U35JC in a heartbeat. That thing is SICK.

 

I agree that U35JC is indeed sick. But it also costs 300 USD more and is, to be honest, way more than what I need for school.

But I've already ordered an U35JC lol...

 

Anyone have a cached version? Engadget

They took the review down real quick wonder why? http://www.facebook.com/Engadget

 

Contro, Bing has a cached version of the recently pulled Engadget article - see: ASUS Eee PC 1215N review  -- Engadget

 

Hmm. It looks like the review done by NBR confirms that the 1215n doesn't have USB3.0.

Bummer.

 

I heard the overseas versions do have USB 3.0.

That sucks. I found a review from here to Asus EeePC 1215N Review & Rating | PCMag.com

 

Thanks. I was harassing my friend on Facebook to see if he could find a cached version.

 

What a horribly written review, and this:

" Nvidia's Ion graphics handles 2D games like World of Warcraft and online games very well,"

 

I heard the us version has desktop atom cpus?

 

That is sad isn't it. smh

I believe that's true. I have heard rumors that the US version of the 1215 will be coming out after labor day.

I really wanted to get this but I am not in a big rush and will wait a few more weeks, something better will come out using the dual-core and ion 2 technologies.

 

I thought this was using ION 2?

 

Go Beyond the Ordinary

According to the link above, the US is going to get the new Intel N550 processor instead of the D525. Unless of course, it is a typo.

 

So if I understand these things correctly,

- US version is going to be slower by having a mobile Atom with lower clock speed as opposed to a desktop one with higher clock speed
- But this reduction in power is countered by increase in batter life (from 6hr to 7hr).

I personally would prefer to have D525, the faster CPU. These netbooks are slow as hell as they are now... Does N550 have any advantages over D525 other than lower power consumption?

 

The review is here http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/31/asus-eee-pc-1215n-review/

 

It's up for sale on Amazon, but it's showing out of stock as of now.

Amazon.com: ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1215N-PU17-BK 12.1-Inch Netbook with 6 Hours of Battery Life - Black: Electronics

It looks like it will indeed have the Intel D525 processor rather than the Intel N550 that the Asus promo had listed.

 

ExcaliberPC also shows it with D525 also.

ASUS EeePC 1215N 250GB Premium 12.1" Netbook - Black.ASUS 1215N-PU17-BK

 

So the us version lacks usb3 and uses a desktop atom? And it costs more?

 

6 hours kinda blows chunks compared to the battery life of the new ulv machines. you figure the battery is always less then what they advertise. so if they are saying 6 hours realistically its prob like 3 or 4. im not impressed. so you get both a dog slow machine and crap battery life.

 

Well... i got mine today and i'm pleased overall.
Performance wise the opening and closing of windows/programs(general use) is snappy as any normal sized notebook.
The only game i've tried on it is starcraft and the most i saw on that was 20fps which is attributed to poor drivers (i've tried a few now) crippling the system as has been reported in various reviews.

One weird thing that i did come across though was that the 250gb drive was partitioned into 2 drives with nothing on the second. It was pretty easy to merge them back though so other than that and the driver issues i'm impressed.

 

Yeah, I still don't see why they continue to use desktop Atoms when they could use a ULV i3 or i5 and probably get better battery life and performance.