Eee PC 1215n Performance

I figured this deserved a separate thread since it’s purely about the performance of the machine.

I received my 1215n last week and since then have tried numerous games on it and a few benchmarks to see how the device performs.

PERFORMANCE:

All tests were done with native resolution and with 257.41 drivers unless stated otherwise.

Starcraft 2

Driver 270.61

1v1: 30-40fps
1v1 max units: 20-30fps
2v2: 30ish
2v2 max units: 15-30fps

Test settings: All low except;
Models on high
Portraits 3d (no performance difference)
Textures high (no performance difference)

Summary: Thanks to the latest drivers starcraft is finally very playable even with shaders on medium (with less fps than shown above). On low it is very smooth.

Company of heroes

Settings: Mostly mediums

First mission 13-30fps

Inconsistant fps probably due to driver.

Crysis warhead

Driver 270.61

Settings: All low

Steel mill multiplayer level: 25-40 fps

Summary: As of latest drivers performance is good... very smooth especially with an overclock on cpu and gpu. Can set some settings medium and high.


Mount and Blade

Settings: Maxed out

Campaign map: 3-30fps

Massive frame dip when you look in a certain direction.

Battle: 3-14fps
Settings make no difference to performance at all... looks like drivers again or the pci bottleneck (but i doubt it)

Multiple drivers tried since the 257.x series up to 270.61 still no improvement.

Far Cry (the original)

Settings: Maxed out

Campaign: 25-35fps

Very consistant unlike most other games.

Batman Arkham Asylum Demo

Driver 270.61

Settings: medium details everything else off

Intensive treatment level: 15-30fps

Playable but very smooth if lowered to 1024x768 and overclock cpu and gpu.

Star Wars: kotor

260.63 beta driver

Settings: maxed with 8xAA and AF

General campaign performance: 25-45fps

Playable but has massive frame dips to 10fps when theres lots of characters or a moving door onscreen. Could be either driver or pcie related (but for such an old game the bandwidth should surely be sufficient). Also lowering settings has no bearing on the frame dips.

Star Wars Battlefront 2

258.96 driver

Settings: All high @ native res

Ground battle: 24-30fps
Space battle: 24-32fps

Plays really well and smooth. Nothing else to say really

Star Wars Empire at War

258.96 driver

Settings: Highest @ native res

Ground battle: 20-30fps

Space battle: 30-40+fps

Plays really smooth maxed out.

Half Life 2: The Lost Coast

258.96 driver

Settings: Highest @ native res (no aa or af)

Benchmark result: Average 32.89fps

Spore

259.64 driver

Settings: All Highest except for shadows on medium @ native res (no aa or af)

General gaming performance: 25-30fps (smooth as butter)

Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl

259.64 driver

Settings: All High except for lighting on satic @ native res (no aa, full af)

General gaming performance: 27-50fps (very smooth with occasional stutter)


Dragon age

259.64 driver

Settings: lowest @ native res (no aa or af)

General gaming performance: 10-20fps (playable but stutters a bit and sometimes choppy on outside levels)
note: resolution makes no difference

Age of empires III

259.64 driver

Settings:medium @ native res (no aa or af)

General gaming performance: 30+fps consistantly(keeping settings lowish to avoid input lag that occurs below 30fps)

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

257.41 driver

(Video review @ netbooklive.net)

Settings: Low@ 1024x768

Assault course: 12-18fps (generally unplayable)

First level: 6-35fps (totally inconsistant)

260.63 driver

(contributed by wcasdf)

Settings: Low @ 1024x768

General Gameplay: Still Unplayable


Portal 2

270.61 driver

Settings:medium @ native res (no aa 16xaf)

General gaming performance: 40+fps consistantly. Can set settings higher but performance can get choppy on high/very high in certain areas.

Arma 2

270.61 driver

Settings:all lowest @ 800x600 (no aa or af)

General gaming performance: 10-20fps (Barely playable)

Arma 2 is a massive system hog and wont really run well on this machine. Only tried to run for reference.

Aliens vs Predator (2010)

270.61 driver

Settings:lowest @ native res (no aa or af)

General gaming performance: 15-25fps (occasional dips had to lower to 800x600 to get smooth gameplay)

Dirt 2

270.61 driver

Settings:low @ 800x600

General gaming performance: 20-30fps (playable but not really enjoyable - stutters sometimes)

Darksiders

270.61 driver

Settings: lowest @ 800x600

General gaming performance: Below 20 fps all the time... console port that requires raw power this machine can't provide.

Civilisation V

270.61 driver

Settings:low @ native res (no aa or af)

General gaming performance: 25-30fps in early gameplay (within 1 hour)


OVERCLOCKING:

I tried overclocking the graphics card using nvidia system tools up to the 310m’s stock clocks (since they’re essentially the same card). It seemed stable enough after a 10 min furmark run and the temp never went above 64C which is pretty cool really.

I also overclocked the atom processor to 2.2ghz and that tends to stick around 30-40C under full load.

The overclocks allowed me to get 3300 points in 3dmark 06 which is a 400 point increase over the stock score.


OVERCLOCKING GUIDE

CPU

Currently the only way to overclock the cpu is with the latest freeware version of setfsb.

Open the program and select this pll from the dropdown menu: ICS9LPR427AGLF

The values reported don't match the fsb or pcie speeds but you can keep tabs on that with cpuz.

Then use the biggest slider bar or the incremental arrows next to it to increase the fsb.

Note: The highest STABLE i have been able to get is 2.2ghz (slider at 561 and fsb set at 123mhz, the actual fsb as read in cpuz is 246mhz).
Any higher and i will start getting program errors and eventually bsod.

If you want to make the overclock apply upon startup then do the following:
If you create a shortcut to setfsb then go into properties an where it says 'target' you should see the location of setfsb.

Then you add the following
C:\Users\Joe\Downloads\setfsb_2_2_134_98\setfsb.exe -w1 -s123

Adding - w1 sets the duration before the overclock is applied and s123 is the setting for the fsb.

If you put this shortcut in the startup folder on the start menu then it will load with windows every time.

HOWEVER make sure you've got it set up correctly before you put it in the startup folder otherwise you'll have to safemode it to delete it.

Overclocking with batch files (courtesy of rleonar5)

I found it a bit annoying to constantly have to open setfsb and change my clock speed, so I decided to stream line the process a little. I wrote a set of batch files for each game, which would run setfsb and change the clock speed, then run the game. The batch then pauses (I really tried to find a better way of waiting until the game was closed to finish running the rest of the batch, but after a couple hours I settled for this.). Once you are finished playing your game, just click the window for the batch and press any button, this will end the pause and continue the batch file. The last step of the batch is to set the CPU clock speed to the default setting.

Finally, I put these batches in the same folder as the game's executable, and then made a shortcut to my batch that I placed on the desktop, with a nice game icon.

Below is an example of a batch file that runs fallout new vegas:

Start /WAIT C:\setfsb\setfsb.exe -w1 -s123
cd "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\fallout new vegas\"
Start /WAIT .\FalloutNVLauncher.exe
Pause
Start /WAIT C:\setfsb\setfsb.exe -w1 -s100

NOTE: Most people have noted that when overclocking beyond 2ghz that the system doesn't resume from standby and some other minor wireless network problems may arise. This is because the 1215n is very sensitive to clock changes for some reason and seems to require a certain balance to function "normally".
Therefore i recommend only overclocking beyond 2ghz when you need it and don't put it as your 24/7 overclock - unless you dont put it into standby or use a wired lan.

GPU

To overclock the Ion you can use nvidia system tools.

I have successfully overclocked the ion to the clocks of the 310m (they're basically the same card) but it wasn't stable.

Note: If you overclock too much you won't necessarily get a driver crash like on other gpu's. The ion seems to just downclock itself to 400/400/800 and as such you'll see performance get cut in half.

Setfsb Homepage: SetFSB_HomePage

Nvidia System Tools Page: NVIDIA DRIVERS 6.06

WARNING!

This post is purely informative and i in no way accept responsibility for what you do with your machine or any damage that may result from overclocking.

CAUTION!

When overclocking always keep an eye on your temperatures as heat is a component killer.

The only monitoring program i have found that recognises all the components and reports correct temperatures is this;

CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting


Fix for HDD Clicking/Lag(ATTENTION: ONLY WORKS FOR 32BIT WINDOWS)

Ive found a solution to the hdd clicking/lagging issue that some (including myself have encountered).
It seems to be a common issue with seagate hdds that when they change power states the hdd "stalls" for a second or two which can be really annoying when watching a video etc due to the loud click and freeze of the system.

The solution is a little old power management utility from 2007 called Notebook Hardware Control. With this utility you can set the hdd into "High Performance" mode which stops the hdd from winding down - thus preventing the click/freeze.
It will decrease battery life somewhat - i still dont know by how much but i cant imagine it being more than a few minutes.

Here is the link: http://www.notebookhardwarecontrol.n...release_06.zip

Note: There is a newer version of this utility but it doesn't have the required features available (at least not without paying). The older freeware version from the above link is the one you want.

Instructions:

1. Install the utility

2. Run the utility and open the main page

3. Go to the settings tab and click "Show all NHC options and settings"

4. Scroll to the hard disk tab and under advanced power management choose "max performance".

You can then untick some options on the various tabs to get rid of all the icons that appear on the taskbar etc to clean it up to your liking and then THATS IT!!!

Fix for RAM Issues

Yes it is possible to upgrade to 4gb of RAM and thanks to the latest BIOS update the system will now utilise the full 4gb of ram.

Here is a link to a topic on the bios update:
1215n new bios 0604 - resolves 4gb ram issue (Page 1) / Eee PC 1201x Specific Discussion / EeeUser Forum

Also heres a link to a topic on known working RAM modules for the 1215n:
Official Asus 1215N QVL compatible memory/RAM (Page 1) / Eee PC 1201x Specific Discussion / EeeUser Forum

GPUZ
Just for those of you who are curious, below is a screenie of gpuz with the new ion.

 

interesting.... think it could run cs:s and tf2 with out any problems? i know there were some people concerned with the pcie 1.1x bandwidth limitation of the pineview platform, but it would seem that's not an issue?

i can't think of a better laptop (netbook) in the $500 range. i need some gaming power, but also portability and battery life. anything with core i3, or ulv core 2 + switchable starts at the 650 range, m11x-r1 refurb + outlet coupon is ~725 shipped including tax.

 

I can't really comment on the pcie bandwidth issue because the system is limited by bigger issues. The only way we'll ever find out if it's an issue is if we can get good drivers and get the cpu speed up to fully utilise the ion gpu.

In regards to cs:s and tf2 i rekon it'd be able to cope because source games generally run like butter but i havent got either to try so i can't really say.

 

UPDATE:
Well i decided to open up the machine and find the pll number which is: ICS9LPRS427CGLF.
There is a similar pll in the current version of setfsb which works which is ICS9LPR427AGLF.

The maximum stable speed i have been able to get out of the d525 is 2.28ghz.

Ingame performance is only slightly improved by the overclock - increasing the minimum framerate but it doesn't affect the maximum performance much at all.
This points to either the drivers that are in need of an update OR the pcie x1 bandwidth limitation.

So basically we'll have to wait for new drivers before the performance limiter can be truely identified.

 

@OP:

You've probably already tried these links, but in case ya haven't, this thread may be helpful: EeeUser Forum / Games playable on the 1201N and CPU/GPU Overclocking guides.

I'm anxiously waiting for results as mine is still in the mail.

 

Yes i've been following the threads on eeeuser.com for a while now.
You can't really compare the performance to the 1201n yet because this still has crappy old drivers. Wonder when nvidia will release new ones...

 

I hope that they release new drivers soon.

I was going to try to stick the modded drivers from the thread in this forum ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/474538-modded-197-16-hybrid-graphics-driver-ul30-50-80vt.html) onto my 1215n. It probably won't work though.

 

Probably not, i've tried about 10 drivers now and only 2 work - 257.41 (windows update) and the ones on the asus site.

 

What are you using to overclock the Atom CPU? How did you get it up above 2.0GHZ stable?

 

As i said above i'm using setfsb with the stated pll.
Since this atom is 1.8ghz at stock it stands to reason that it'd be able to overclock higher than previous models like the n330 in the 1201n.

 

Updated the original post with a short overclocking guide for the 1215n.

 

tyvm for your research and work on the 1215n - looking forward to hearing more!

 

Thanks for the info and effort. I'm looking to pick up a 1215n soon so this is very useful.

 

Apparently some beta drivers will be coming from nvidia in the next 10 days so if these make a noticable difference (which they bloody should do) then i'll post some detailed results.

 

oogamar what was your score in 3dmark with both the cpu and gpu overclocked?

 

I got around 3300 in 06

 

Update: In anticipation of a new driver supposedly being released today i did some more testing this time using the arkham asylum demo as a benchmark.

At stock the performance was choppy @ native on low and upping texture detail to medium did nothing to hurt performance so i worked with that.
I got between 12 and 26 at these settings.
Lowering the resolution didn't really help performance (i suspect because of crappy drivers) so i left it on native.

Now heres the interesting bit: I overclocked the processor and this made the fps go down, HOWEVER performance was noticably smoother and the game was pretty playable - despite the lower FPS.

I checked starcraft again and the overclock yet again seemed to lower fps but improve performance.

I believe its the new way that the system has been linked together and that when changing the fsb, the applications can't accurately read the fps.

Again this may all be driver related but its interesting to say the least.

 

whoa, nice post oogamar !

Can you test Left 4 Dead for me ?

I´m thinking to go for the 1215n now after read this post. Thanks for the help.

 

is there any way to get the setfsb settings to load on startup? they reset every time i reboot.

 

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE!!!

The new beta nvidia drivers on their site for the ion has essencially DOUBLED performance.(in some games)

The challenge bit on starcraft where i was getting 17fps has shot up to a steady 36fps - and that's without overclocking at all!

I can't test the full game as i dont have it but i'll download the demo and have a look 4 u.
[EDIT: Sorry it seems steam have took the demos down and i can't find them anywhere else]

I'd deffinately recommend this machine in light of the new drivers... it performs really well now.

Yes there is. If you create a shortcut to setfsb then go into properties an where it says target you should see the location of setfsb.

Then you add the following
C:\Users\Joe\Downloads\setfsb_2_2_134_98\setfsb.exe -w1 -s123

Adding - w1 sets the duration before the overclock is applied and s123 is the setting for the fsb.

If you put this shortcut in the startup folder on the start menu then it will load with windows every time.

HOWEVER make sure you've got it set up correctly before you put it in the startup folder otherwise you'll have to safemode it to delete it.

 

Thanks for all your work on this. Any improvement in score on 3dMark06 with the new drivers installed?

 

how are the rendered cut scenes in Starcraft 2 with the new drivers?

 

To curb my earlier enthusiasm these drivers do still have a few issues... graphical errors etc. BUT this is still a beta and i've reported the issues to nvidia.

The rendered cutscenes are still unwatchable i'm afraid...

 

Hi oogamar, thanks for the great info. I'm big into 3d, and especially stuff like the Nvidia 3d Vision and the Roxtio Creator 2011 2d to 3d conversion. I already own a Asus 1215n and love it. I was wondering your thoughts on what you think its 3d abilities are. In looks like it meets the Nvidia 3d Vision minimum requirements, and before I buy one or pick up a 3d monitor just was wanting some info. Thanks

 

Tbh theres no way to be sure until we get stable drivers. These latest ones showed a bit of what this machine is capable of but the performance is still very hit and miss overall. I rekon that if it were working at peak then maybe it'd be fine but atm i wouldn't invest in anything big.

 

thanks! i've noticed that if i use setfsb and close the lid (put the laptop to sleep), i am unable to wake the machine. opening the lid and pressing the power button will just show a black screen. do you see the same thing?

 

Yes i noticed that the other day... its something i think were just gonna have to accept i think.

 

Thanks for the answer, I had another question. I know my way around the inside's of a computer well enough to take out the HDD 250gb drive in my 1215n, and replace it with a SSD drive. I need to ghost the contents of my HDD drive to the SSD drive. My experience with ghosting is limited, but I do know that Norton Ghost can do it. Is there another software package for ghosting that you recommend?

 

My experience is also limited, i have used Norton before and it was fine but the only thing I recommend is googling other ghosting software to find out if there is something better for the job. Sorry i can't be of more help.

One thing i will say though it that if you plan on opening this thing up then be vary wary of the little plastic catches along the front of the palmrest because they easily snap (experience talking ).
Also after unscrewing everything down below (including the screws inside the ram cover) you must start with the palmrest as the keyboard is screwed down underneath it.

I foolishly tried to unclip the keyboard first and wasted allot of time.

So:

1. unscrew all screws on bottom
2. take off palmrest (careful of the front bit)
3. unscrew keyboard
4. unscrew metal covering (note: this is also taped down in places so can be a bugger to get off)

All of that and you should be good

 

i used a program called acronis to image my stock drive to the ssd. everything works great!

 

For reference it'd be nice for anyone else with this machine to post some results (so i can rule out a bad gpu as the cause of performance issues) because atm my results, though interesting might not reflect the trend and might be a faulty gpu (i doubt it but it'd be nice to know for sure).

 

I just tried the original farcry and i can max it out @ native resolution with 4xAF with around 30 fps. Not bad for a netbook. I think i remeber seeing the 1201n running it on medium @ 1024x768 so this is a nice boost over the old model.

 

Let me just clarify that the reason that I am ghosting the HDD contents to an SSD drive is that I'm a college student again and I can get Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate for a good deal. The thing is that it is an upgrade only copy, so you have to have an original Windows 7 first. What I was gonna do is ghost my Windows 7 32 bit copy that came with my Asus 1215n and to my SSD drive and then upgrade it to Windows 7 64 bit. I am hoping that it all works and is valid and lets me upgrade. Do you see any problems with that?

 

very nice to see performance as high as it is, btw thanks for answering my prior question

last question how is the screen backlighting is the lower half the screen lighter then the upper half.. i notice this is a trend with cheaper laptops these days... even though my cheapo 1000he doesnt show signs of this lol

 

Even though it says "upgrade copy" thay include the full thing incase you're "upgrading" from xp so you just pick the custom install option instead of upgrade.
Unless they started doing it different since i "upgraded" mine

In a nutshell you shouldn't need to ghost it at all.

Also yes unfortunately the screen does have a light bleeding issue from the bottom, it is noticable but not the worst i've seen.

 

Love the info on the 1215n here guys. I'd like to pick up a 1215n but I want the one with the USB 3.0 ports any recommendations on wear I can pick one up?

 

Thanks oogamar. I realized you were right that if you go into the custom installation you don't need to upgrade, you can just put Windows 7 on the blank partition. I also This might be a noob question, but once I get Windows 7 64 bit on my SSD drive I wanna get the down loadable Starcraft 2 on it. I realize that most of the graphics and power to run the game is from the GPU and CPU, but what effect would it be running from an SSD drive do you think? Would that improve the performance at all?

 

All it'll do is lessen the time you spend looking at a loading screen. Performance wise it has no impact.

 

whenever i use setfsb, it will run fine within the OS. however, the moment i put the machine to sleep or restart, the machine would just display a black screen. i used to be able to just restart, but i don't know why it's starting to have these problems now.

 

Hmm thts weird... i have the sleep issue but i can restart without issue.

 

Updated original post with a bit more detail on individual game performance.

Note: On the current performance stutters - it could be the pcie bottleneck hindering performance and having a buffering effect on the games so we see skips and jumps. However it isn't consistant, why would it effect old, undemanding games like kotor and mount and blade when it can perfectly max out farcry without a hiccup?
Also why would a driver double performance in starcraft 2 if it were a bottleneck?
The hiccups are quite widespread (from what i've seen so far) but there hasn't been one FULLY STABLE driver for this machine... not even the stock ones.

Yet again it's up to nvidia to produce the beans... only time will tell.

 

have you tried running modified drivers? i posted a guide over at macrumors on how to do it:

GUIDE: How to Update the nVidia 320M Video Drivers on the 2010 13" MBP - Mac Forums

basically all you're doing is replacing one file (the .inf file) and then running the driver setup. this was the only way i was able to run the newest non-beta ion drivers (258.96). however, performance did not change much as 3dmark06 went up only a few points.

as an aside, i figured out why the system would hang after using setfsb and restarting. i had the super hybrid engine set on "super performance mode" the entire time. when i changed it back to "auto mode," i was able to reboot normally again.

 

Yes i've tried several modified drivers and i'm currently running the ones you mentioned and they are more stable than the new beta but they dont perform well - i assume because they released before the new ion was.

In regards to super hybrid engine, i've read that uninstalling it is best when using another solution to change the clocks. As long as it doesn't cause any major problems it's probably fine to leave it though.

 

thanks for the tip about removing Super Hybrid Engine. It was really conflicting with setfsb and causing all kinds of weird problems. I'm try to get setfsb to autoload the settings now and followed your directions. However, I keep getting the following message:

"The name ................specified in the Target box is not valid. Make sure the path and file name are correct."

am i supposed to put the " -w -s123" right after the .exe?

UPDATE: Nevermind figured out what I did wrong. I put SetFSB in the "Program Files" folder, which it doesn't seem to like. I moved it to the "Downloads" folder, tried again, and now it seems to work just fine.

 

I've noticed that when i overclock the fsb, in some games/programs the sound becomes crackly. I did a little research and it seems that the fsb and the pcie frequency could be linked, which would explain why you can only access one slider in setfsb.

I have a theory:

As it has been said - the gpu is linked by a pitiful pcie x1 link which limits the bandwidth.
I remember reading somewhere that nvidia had to tweak the pcie speed for peak performance (it wasn't an official source but it sounds plausible).
If that is the case then messing with the pcie speed could hurt performance, that could explain why results arent very consistant.

Note this is only a theory and i can't currently prove it. If someone knows of a program that can show separately the fsb and the pcie frequency i could check this out.

 

Not sure it has been brought up here, and I apologize if this is a re-post. I was just wondering if anyone had tried to output 1080p on the Asus 1215n to a 1080p capable monitored for Blu-ray moves. It's something I have read in reviews work, and was just wondering if anyone had first hand experience. Also, how well does it do other tasks while watching a Blu-ray? Thanks

 

If its any help i have tried 1080p output and it was very smooth but i havn't tried bluray because i dont ave a bd-rom drive for it.

While watching the 1080p file performance was noticably slower when performing other tasks however, if your watching a movie you wont really be browsing multiple websites or doing any gaming so i don't really see this as a negative point.

 

I've found that CPU performance has the most effect on playing 1080P files, particularly 1080P trailers from Apple's website. At stock speeds, there will be some stuttering in the trailers. With a small overclock (2.1-2.2Ghz), the video would run perfectly smooth. Here are my current stable overclock settings:

FSB: 600 (2.3GHz). I think I can push it higher =)
GPU Clock: 625 MHz
Memory: 800 MHz
Shader: 1250 MHz
3Dmark06: 3121

The only game I play is SC2 and am still testing the different configurations. However, if I use same configurations as OP, I get pretty much the same FPS. Very impressed!

 

just got mine today.

lots of bloatware. christ.

loving it though. hopefully click button wears down over time. keyboard flex is noticeable, but not too bothersome to me.

edit- only 1 gig of available memory. I know the max is 4gb, although i hear windows will only recognize a max of 2.75?

 

Thanks for the benchmarking and trying to figure out the bottleneck.
Hopefully nvidia will figure something out.

Anyways, are you guys getting these scores with a FRESH install of windows 7?

I just received mine, and I don't know how much FPS i'll be losing if i didn't do a fresh install and get rid of all the bloatware.