Asus Eee PC 4G Review

Is the drive user-accessible through a bottom access panel though, or do you have to take apart the whole notebook to get to it?

The technicality that most vendors use to get around problems like this is that it isn't the part or process itself that voids the warranty, it's claiming that damage is being caused during "an improper replacement process."

 

The "drive" which is actually just flash that has been soldered to the motherboard is not accessible through the bottom panel. You do have to take apart the whole notebook to get to it.

That said, the card slot next to the RAM could potentially be used for additional RAM storage. In fact, after we disassembled the Eee PC we discovered that may in fact be what Asus built that card slot for ... additional storage. So maybe future configurations of the Eee PC will come with additional storage in a card plugged into that slot ... or maybe Asus (or a third party) will start selling SSDs for that slot.

Stay tuned for our Eee PC Hacks article coming SOON which will show detailed photos of the Eee PC's insides ... including info on possible hardware expansion options and provide plenty of info on how the Eee PC runs XP.

 

That id like to see, just to see how good the cooling on the machine really is

Jeez! I hadn't even considered that, a laptop small enough to take everywhere with an internet connection always available... Run tomtom on it with a usb GPS module and Id never leave my car again

 

Just wanted to give a little update on the mini-pcie:

It doesnt look like it will work for bluetooth/wifi, etc. It appears to be a flash expansion slot

 

Actually, I was speaking to Paul for that quote, in regards to voiding Apple's warranty by replacing the hard drive on a Macbook Pro.

Lexar already manufactures a solid-state drive in ExpressCard format up to 16GB, and the Intel Turbo Memory card, while small, shows that solid-state storage in the MiniPCIe form-factor is possible, if expensive. Given the relatively low cost of SD media, I'd rather see that slot go to communications options, whether they be Bluetooth, GPS, or WWAN. Routing an antenna there would be troublesome though.

But again, with a warranty sticker slapped over the screws, any upgrades will have to be weighed against the value of the system if it breaks.

I'm looking forward to it.

 

For those of you who are interested in seeing the Eee PC with Windows XP, check out the video in the Dell XPS M1730 First Look Review. We put a little Easter egg in there for you.

 

It's available now on Newegg. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220244&Tpk=Asus+EEE

Let the madness begin. *Not all at once now*

 

DSL would be good for this machine if you wanted another distro of linux.

 

@JerryJ and other pre users:
Id love to see a comparison of the size of a thinkpad x61 vs the eee pc. is it possible to upload some pics or a video on youtube?

 

We should be picking one up for the office soon, and I believe we will have an X61 to compare it to hopefully around the same time. If someone can PM me in a couple of weeks to remind me I will try to get a comparison up

 

Does anyone have any idea when this will be available in Canada? As far as I can tell, Newegg doesn't ship to us northern types.

 

Portable One is a reliable store, and I "think" they ship to Canada ... but call their customer service to be sure:

http://laptopsinc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=EEE

 

Thanks
Rep +1

 

where can i find this in Europe ? or in US who ships to Europe ?

 

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Expansys or MobilePlanet.

For Canada:
http://www.expansys.ca/p.aspx?i=158478
Directron.com has also stated that they will ship the Eee to Canada, but you may be dinged for additional customs charges.

For the UK:
http://www.expansys.com/p.aspx?i=158485

Cheers!

 

Here's a question for you, JerryJ - is there any weight to the "70MHz FSB" underclocking of the CPU rumour that's going around the Eeeuser.com forums? Apparently it's not Speedstep kicking in.

That makes the 900MHz Eee actually run at 630MHz, and about 30% less appealing to me.

 

The short answer is yes and no. Out of the box the BIOS runs the FSB at 70MHz ... after a BIOS update the Eee PC runs at 100MHz FSB ... so you get the full power of the 900MHz processor.

 

Let me ask this...Is the processor even capable of scaling back? Or does it just run fullbore all the time?

 

You can scale it back in both Linux and XP ... and probably in Vista as well once the 8G model is released (too bad we can't fit Vista on the 4GB flash storage to test).

 

Does battery life improve when you scale it or is the system already handling that in the background?

 

This would be an ideal situation for "before and after" benchmarks - both in performance, and battery life.

 

why would you want to put vista on this? its a ram hog

 

or even better, a tz next to the eee

 

How can you print off this pc? What about an external keyboard/mouse?

 

Your wish is our command. We'll publish a photo of the Eee PC next to a TZ in the Eee PC hacks article tomorrow. And we'll have plenty of additional benchmarks and tips to add even more functionality to the Eee PC as well.

 

awesome, thanks!

 

You won't be able to use "every" printer with the Eee ... and you might not be able to use "every" feature on some all-in-one printers. However, if you click on the "Add Printer Wizard" on the Settings Tab you can select from a wide range of printers from almost every major printer manufacturer (Epson, Canon, Kodak, LexMark, Xerox, etc.)

There is actually a pretty comprehensive list of printers. I was able to find drivers for all three of the last Epson and LexMark printers I've owned ... but the Eee PC didn't have a driver for the all-in-one Dell printer in our editorial office.

In any case, the Eee PC can work directly with many, many printers. It works out of the box! (Where have I heard that before?)

 

Booting Windows XP on EeePC timed with stopwatch:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3874796040013140852


Booting Windows XP on EeePC no stopwatch:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4811197762895057294


Windows XP takes about 30 seconds. Acceptable but slower compared to 12 seconds of Eee PC Linux OS

 

Hi all:

for those interested to become North America's early adopters,
web sources have shown availability at NewEgg and Directron.

for those interested to see them in store,
MicroCenter is supposed to be the only B&M retailer for the launch,
even so, calling my nearby MicroCenters has been a hit or miss,
but word is the New MicroCenter store at New Jersey will have some kind of launch event.
At the very least, one can make in-store pickup for MicroCenter:
http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0275847

also, contrary to earlier translated reports,
EeePC will NOT be available at Bestbuy until much later,
and will only be on the "BB for business" system.

for those who live in Canada, CanadaComputers is the launch retailer,
http://www.canadacomputers.com/asus/EeePC/index.html
it appears NCIX may have gotten "punished" for leaking EeePC info back in the summer.

 

NCIX will have the EEE PC 701 4G for sale at 9:30am (PST) on November 1st.

The official Asus Canadian launch of the EEE PC 701 4G will be at the Vancouver, BC store.

The EEE's will also be on sale online starting at 9:30am (PST) but they will not last very long. (I'd recommend paying via creditcard if anyone is planning on buying the EEE from NCIX as availability for the orders will be based on payment fully processed)

 

do you know the sale price of the Eee in NCIX?

 

The sale price is $399.99 Canadian for the EEE (and then any taxes)

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=25905

Product will be up for sale at 9:30am Nov 1st. (PST)

 

$399.99 Canadian? Isn't that about $380 US? Not bad....

 

$399.99 Canadian is $422.04 US due to the abnormally high Canadian dollar.

 

Thanks for a great review. Just ordered mine through Newegg. In stock, out of stock by the time I submitted, then in stock again, and made it through the order process.

I've wanted something like this that would let me work/write on the bus. It will be lighter to carry, easier to secure for those sudden stops that bus drivers love so much (holding onto a 6lb. laptop with a 14" screen during starts/stops just ain't easy), and will be great for checking email, responding, doing short bouts of writing, etc. And the battery time should fit my 2-3 hour per day commute quite nicely. 4GB of memory will be just fine for those uses.

And, if it does go flying off my lap and into the back of the head of the bus driver, I'm only out $400. Which is still a significant amount of change, but better than $1200 for my standard Asus notebook.

It will fit a great niche for me and I'm glad that Asus developed it

 

Apparently, every CanadaComputers store in Ontario had 10 units each, as of this morning at 10am. Not sure about now, but all distributers are sold out.

 

Does the TZ has the same size as the x61?

btw: i havnt seen it mentioned on nbreview.com that there will be a black version of the eee pc. i prefer this to the "not-long-enough white" version.

 

Indeed. Portable One already has it available for pre-order. The black version will ship at the end of November:

http://laptopsinc.com/Merchant2/mer...Code=EPC4GB&Category_Code=EEE&Product_Count=1

 

nevermind, didnt think about the memory capaity

 

my mistake. Glad to see NCIX in the loop.

apparantly there are about 100k EEE PC units in North America for the initial launch. I'm surprised it's doing this well on the first day.

edit. Microcenter called back and said they will get / have about 9-10 units per store as well.

 

Got mine yesterday morning from newegg. It's very nice, but I'd rather have smaller speakers or have them placed somewhere else, and go with a larger screen.

 

ok thanx ...

 

I have a few questions:

1: If I can wait, is it better to wait for the 8gb SSD model, so I can at least put a 2gb Ram stick inside?

2: Is this a much better deal than a cheap Acer, etc....(cheap brand) of the same cost? Cause Walmart is having a sale on a Acer 14.1 inch...I need some help here, LOL! please... (this is the one on sale for $398 - http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7812645)

3: Will this laptop accept a 160gb WD Passport? and if possible, install XP and boot from it? (the passport that is)

4: Can I install programs and whatever if I choose to stay with Linux? (stupid question, I'm guessing, never used Linux)

5: Is the processor faster than a 1.4ghz Pentium M?

6: How do you get into the BIOS on the Eee?

7: Is there an exact date for release on the 8gb?

8: Is the current one on Newegg the high-end 4gb or the low-end 4gb?

9: Since the OS and programs take about 2.7gb of HD, what's different on the 2gb surf model?

10: Is the integrated Wi-Fi capable enough, so I don't have to use a PC wi-fi card?

11: When will you post a full review, or should I say, a thorough review? I'm hoping to buy one soon to replace my Dell D600!

Oh Yah, Hi everyone, I'm Kelvin, your friendly neighborhood Noobie!

 

http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9807651-1.html

Would this work? Maybe a little hacking might be in store....

 

http://www.cnettv.com/9742-1_53-29603.html

Cnet's first look, informational, but not enough details!

 

That's up to you. If you plan to stick with Linux, then you don't really "need" the 8GB model ... because you can put a SDHC memory card with 8GB or 16GB into the card reader and use it like a second SSD. However, if you plan to install Windows on the Eee PC then you should "probably" wait for the 8GB version because 4GB is just a little too small for Windows to stay happy.

The Eee PC isn't really meant to be a "primary PC." In other words, this is just meant to be a travel or school notebook that you take with you when you don't need a full desktop or full-featured notebook. If you already have a desktop PC or a full-featured notebook and want an extremely portable notebook just for casual day-to-day use then the Eee PC is PERFECT. But if you plan to make the Eee PC your "only" PC ... then you'll probably find it very frustrating. So, if you don't already have a computer then the $400 Acer at Walmart is the better deal. If you already have another computer that works and just want a nice, extremely compact notebook, the Eee PC is the way to go.

Any external USB hard drive will work ... and if you go into the BIOS and select the external USB hard drive as the boot disk then it will boot from the external drive.

Yes. See the "Eee PC Tweak Guide" linked below.

In all practical terms, yes.

Press F2 at startup ... when you press the power button the screen comes on and tells you to press F2 if you want to go into the BIOS.

No specific release date was given ... just "late November."

It's the "high end" 4G ... the 4G "Surf" model isn't available in the US yet.

Since I don't have a "surf" model to test I suspect the difference in that the webcam application isn't installed (since there is no webcam in the surf models) ... there are probably other changes in order to fit the OS and applications on the 2GB flash drive.

Yes ... as mentioned in the review, the Wi-Fi was perfectly fine I've actually had worse Wi-Fi performance on much more expensive notebooks.

Sorry if it isn't up to your standards, but this is the "full" review. The preliminary "Hands On" review with video is posted here:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4044

The Eee PC Tweak Guide is posted here:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4062

 

I'm sorry, I think it I got those two mixed up.....my bad!

I'm very interested in this laptop, I already have a Desktop and Notebook, but I need somethiong lighter, way lighter! I've been checking Crave Blog for some time right now, and the wait is killing me, LOL.

 

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm just making sure! (for when I do buy it)

The Eee can handle 2gb of DDR2 right?

And would there be any evidence (broken stickers/seals) left behind, just in case I need to reinstall the original Ram for repairs/warranty coverages?

 

The short answer is yes ... and no.

The BIOS recognizes the 2GB of DDR2 RAM just fine but the Asus customized Xandros Linux is preset to only use up to 1GB of system RAM ... so it ignores the other 1GB of RAM. Windows doesn't do that, so if you install Windows XP on the Eee PC then it uses all 2GB of RAM.

Most distros of Linux have the option of setting the system RAM limit to whatever you want, so considering all the Eee PC owners who are hacking their Eee PCs there "should" be a hack that will allow the Eee PC to use 2GB of RAM in Linux ... we just have to wait for someone to figure it out and publish the instructions online.

All that being said, I don't think there's a "need" for 2GB in Linux. When we tested a 1GB module in the Eee PC it was WAY more RAM than the Eee PC needed to effectively run linux. Even if someone does hack the custom Linux on the Eee PC to recognize 2GB of RAM I seriously doubt it will give you any noticeable performance gains over 1GB in Linux.

Of course, if you plan to install XP on the Eee PC you should go ahead and put a 2GB module in it.

Oh, and YES, if you open the expansion bay cover to install more RAM you have to remove the "Warranty Void If Removed" sticker ... which means your 2-year warranty is gone (unless you want to hire an expensive lawyer to argue your case ... which is pointless for a $400 notebook).

 

ive been hearing people saying they are having a 10" screen coming out in april is this true? this thing has caught my attention for months but with a 7" screen and the price point changing to $399 it really turned me off.