I know reviews about the Asus EeePC have been cropping up all over the place but most of them revolve around the base install of Linux but we’ve got something different for you.  When I received my Asus EeePC the first thing I did was replace the distro of Xandros with Windows XP.  How does the Asus EeePC handle Windows XP, read on to find out.

The first thing to know is that installing Windows XP on the Asus EeePC requires a little more work than a standard PC would, the obvious difference being that you need an external optical drive  in order to install an operating system but the manual is good about providing details though sometimes the translation (from Chinese?) to English is a bit off (but completely understandable).

Installing Windows XP on the Asus EeePC doesn’t take any more time than it does with a standard PC once it has started.  After it’s finished insert the Asus support DVD to install the drivers, really, that’s one of the easiest steps though the ACPI driver can be a tad finicky.

With only a 4GB SSD to work with you don’t have much room left so one of the things the manual recommends is to compress hard drive space, I did so and with just Windows installed there is about 1.6GB of space left.  Additional space can be added through the SD/SDHC card slot (which will sit flush with the computer).

There are three USB 2.0 ports, LAN, WiFi, VGA out and headphone/microphone connections.

The Asus EeePC ships with 512MB of memory but can support up to 1GB so the first thing to do (if you don’t mind voiding the warranty) is to replace the included 512MB module with a 1GB module as there is only one slot in the system.  Part of the memory will be shared with the integrated Intel graphics of the GMA900 series.

As for the 7″ display, it is useable but is not exactly stellar, I think Asus could have squeezed a few more pixels in there instead of sticking with the 800 x 480 display that it currently uses.  But, that would have increased costs.

I won’t lie here, people with big hands will absolutely hate the keyboard but if you have small hands or thin fingers (like me) then it won’t be too much of a problem but even those with small hands will still have to get used to it, either that or use an external USB keyboard with it.

The heart of the system is a 900MHz Celeron processor.  I know what you’re thinking, how fast can it possibly be with a Celeron processor?  Well, it is surprisingly speedy.  It boots in about 30~45 seconds (no worse than a standard XP system) and once it is booted the speed of the SSD certainly helps things along.

But, it is not perfect.  If you follow some of the suggestions in the manual, Windows will occasionally look for a file that may have been deleted to save space on the SSD, these can be safely ignored.  It will also want to repair system files if you run the check for that, which should also be ignored.  Sometimes Explorer will crash and third party firewalls seem to have a hard time on it but it’s not so bad and does not happen very often.

It’s not a bad first attempt by Asus to enter the low cost UMPC market and if that’s what you are in the market for, there is no better or cheaper option, prices only go up (for other models) from the $399 price of the Asus EeePC.  Additional lower cost models and different colors are due out, including a black version, which was just released.

One with a 2GB SSD is due out but it’s hard enough squeezing Windows XP into 4GB, I wouldn’t want to try it with only 2GB of space.

To sum up,

Pros

Small and lightweight

Durable SSD (instead of a traditional hard drive)

More storage can be added through use of SD or SDHC memory cards

Speedy enough to run Windows XP (with additional memory)

Produces little, if no heat (it does have a small cooling fan)

Windows XP drivers included

Relatively low cost UMPC

Has webcam and speakers on side of display

Cons

Screen could be of higher resolution but is sufficiently bright with plenty of settings

Though the SSD is durable it is too small to contain both the OS and a lot of programs

Included memory isn’t sufficient to run Windows XP

Adding more memory voids warranty

Windows XP slightly unstable after install (but totally useable)

Windows XP is currently not an option though users can install it themselves

Optical drive extra

You’ll have to judge some of those for your own, I wouldn’t expect such a tiny and not to mention low cost computer to include an optical drive and I might have been a little bit picky on some issues but I’m just calling it as I see it.

Lastly, it is possible to buy a more capable full sized laptop with Windows XP or Vista, it is not possible to buy such a small computer, any cheaper but opting to install Windows XP will set you back the cost of that operating system plus an external optical drive if you don’t already have one.

The Asus EeePC ships to most customers with the default customized Xandros Linux (this does not mean it will necessarily fully support other distros so keep that in mind).

Related:

Asus launches EeePC with Windows XP in Japan

ASUS EeePC with Linux hacked out of the box

9-inch EeePC named EeePC 900 and gets detailed specs

Asus working to release Atom based EeePC 900 with more features in June

Asus to honor EeePC warranty even if seal is broken

Entry was posted on Sunday, November 25th, 2007 at 9:56 pm under Technology.  Print This Post

Read more entries by Jonathan Schlaffer.
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