Asus Laptop Computers

A leader in laptops industry Asus continues to decline its famous Eee PC by incorporating this time the last Intel platform and the new version of the NVIDIA. While Intel Pine Trail has attracted a lot of attention , especially with the help of the low graphics solution proposed (see Pine Trail, the new Intel platform netbook)  we stayed on our hunger with the first version of ION due to the pitiful performance of the Atom processor N270 (see Samsung N510 and HP Mini 311 netbooks ION Dual). Asus  announced at Cebit the last model that combines the new Intel platform and the ION’s next-generation NVIDIA supposed to give the Pine Trail “power” chart that was lacking. The integration of ION in the Pine Trail has been appreciated. As announced in the introduction, the Eee PC 1201PN has the merit of combining two of the latest technologies such as the redesign of the ION and NVIDIA’s latest Intel platform Pine Trail.

With its new platform Pine Trail, Intel did not really ease the task of NVIDIA regarding the integration of its ION Next Gen. Indeed, a simple solution was that of replacing the NM10 chipset with an element of its own. This was the case with the old platform of Intel. Indeed, the NM10 is connected to the processor by the DMI bus but for which NVIDIA has no license.  It was therefore necessary to use one of the 4 lines PCI-Express 1x to integrate its graphics chip, with the constraint of bandwidth involved, since these lines are limited to 250 Mb / s each.  To overcome these limitation techniques, NVIDIA has chosen to use the GMA 3150 processors introduced by Pine View: it will therefore be responsible for the display while the NVIDIA chip will handle 3D calculations. This is the famous Optimus technology, which we also detailed in a recent article (see NVIDIA Optimus: maximizing the autonomy of laptops). A more thoughtful solution given the limited room for maneuver left by Intel, but is not without fault. Regarding the GPU itself, it is equipped with a maximum of 512 MB of dedicated memory, which is the case in the Eee PC 1201PN. The fine print goes to 40 nm, whereas it used to 55 nm.

They are always 16 stream processors clocked at 1100 MHz that are present here, an operating frequency changes very slightly from 450 to 475 MHz. However, the memory bandwidth is reduced by 1 060 MHz to 750 MHz while the memory interface is limited to 64 bits, so here it was 128 bits on the first solution on this ION Compaq Mini 311 for example. What equipment was used for the Eee PC? Apart from the graphical solution mentioned for the moment, you can find in this laptop an Intel Atom N450 processor, a simple heart supporting HyperThreading running at 1.66 GHz. It is supported by 2 GB of DDR2 RAM running at 667 MHz.

Regarding storage, it is a hard disk with a capacity of 320 GB and 5400 rotating at rpm officiating. Finally, it is a 6 cell battery with a capacity of 5625 mAh which is responsible for ensuring the autonomy of this netbook. The side connector represents a nice surprise for the emergence of HDMI 1.3 that doing so lacking in MSI U135 which was devoid of the solution ION Next Gen NVIDIA. Alongside this HDMI, there is a USB 2.0, left side being also provided with a VGA output. To the right are two more USB ports, an Ethernet port and a memory-card reader that supplements the connection of the Eee PC 1201PN.

Watch tweets on: