How long until Asus' "EEE PC" is updated?

[STEvil]

I want to use the rest of the wasted space on the monitor.. 10" 1280*800 (or 720) would be perfect.. just skip the speakers or use flat panels that fold out.

Let the users put how ever much ram they want in it.

Make the CPU upgradeable and better cooled. A dual core cpu @ 3ghz with 6mb L2 could be done I bet.. but i'd settle for 2ghz :D

I'm sure Asus could do that much quite easily.

[nn_step]

I doubt you'll find budget laptops for under $400 with 6MB L2 for a couple years

Also given the current crappy graphics chip that they are using, which should be fixed first before anything else.

I'd rather they put most of their CPU budget into their Graphics chip than to put it into the CPU

[Jaivan]

I'm waiting for the eee or something equivalent to have a battery life >2.5 hours I mean is that too much to ask from an "ultraportable".

[STEvil]

nn- Just Put a DVI-Input on the side of the monitor and an external port that allows connection to an external PCI-E 16x box. Graphics solved.

[Bobsama]

You can get much of that--but the pricetag will be 4x higher. I personally like the plans for the 900 series--a 9" LCD (1024x600), 12GB SSD when going with WinXP, and a $500 price tag. Also the weight will a few grams more, and the actual laptop will be the same size as the current 700 series. I don't particularly care about processing power either--I just want enough RAM. Then again, 2GB sticks cost so little, so it's still going to come out sub-$550 for an EeePC with WinXP and 2GB of RAM. You don't need a dual-core to use the web and run a virus scan--and the SSD is small enough that any virus scan that can run will not take very long. I'm used to an hour on an AMD K6-3 at 550MHz, and during that hour the computer is unusable. Oh well--that's the problem with 256MB RAM.

[nn_step]

nn- Just Put a DVI-Input on the side of the monitor and an external port that allows connection to an external PCI-E 16x box. Graphics solved.

or just add a Advanced eXpress I/O Module slot or a Mobile PCI Express Module slot.
Depending on if they expect ATi or nVidia graphics... Unfortunately this isn't standardized enough to allow them to share the slot... :(

[STEvil]

or just add a Advanced eXpress I/O Module slot or a Mobile PCI Express Module slot.
Depending on if they expect ATi or nVidia graphics... Unfortunately this isn't standardized enough to allow them to share the slot... :(

The objective is to keep power requirements minimal. External graphics keep waste power at nearly nothing compared with adding internal devices not needed.

[nn_step]

The objective is to keep power requirements minimal. External graphics keep waste power at nearly nothing compared with adding internal devices not needed.

well the internal add-in slots don't actually increase power consumption.
Only should people actually add in the hardware is there increase in power consumption

[STEvil]

And if you want to remove the hardware every time you choose to go somewhere its a pita let alone the poor performance all of the add-in options would give for the limited space something like what has been suggested will have.

Just put a cable outside that is easily removed. Done.

[SteveLord]

I am just sick of the crippled wireless that came with it that has to be setup almost everytime to get online.

[cadaveca]

I want to use the rest of the wasted space on the monitor.. 10" 1280*800 (or 720) would be perfect.. just skip the speakers or use flat panels that fold out.

Let the users put how ever much ram they want in it.

Make the CPU upgradeable and better cooled. A dual core cpu @ 3ghz with 6mb L2 could be done I bet.. but i'd settle for 2ghz :D

I'm sure Asus could do that much quite easily.

in this?:rofl::ROTF:

:shakes:
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/04/19/inside_the_eee_pc_900/1
http://images.bit-tech.net/news_images/2008/04/inside_the_eee_pc_900/insideeepc9-8.jpg
http://images.bit-tech.net/news_images/2008/04/inside_the_eee_pc_900/insideeepc10-8.jpg






:

[Bobsama]

Good news--I'm getting one of the new EEE PCs in 2-3 weeks or so. Eee PC 900, 12G XP in Pearl White for $550 or so. I want the extra storage for XP and the full-size screen, as well as the larger trackpad. :) I'm happy now!

[Duh]

Good news--I'm getting one of the new EEE PCs in 2-3 weeks or so. Eee PC 900, 12G XP in Pearl White for $550 or so. I want the extra storage for XP and the full-size screen, as well as the larger trackpad. :) I'm happy now!
not being mean, but: hardware specs are horrible for that price..:down:

[TRF-Inferno]

not being mean, but: hardware specs are horrible for that price..:down:

What'd you expect, a Core 2 Xtreme X7900 and a Geforce 8800M GTX? Those who are in the market for an Ultra-Portable are not overly concerned about hardware performance in the first place. The EEE is already close to overheating with just that 900 MHz Celeron ULV processor and the GMA900 video.

[Bobsama]

not being mean, but: hardware specs are horrible for that price..:down:
I don't care--I want to be able to use it in class and carry it around--it's big enough and powerful enough to do what I want. MS Office 2003, Firefox, and Trillian do not need a Core 2 Duo at 2GHz, 2GB RAM, a 120GB hard drive, a 15.4" screen, and weighs 2.5+kg. I want something that weighs 1KG, has a small screen but still a wide as a standard screen (most of my CRTs run 1024x768, my main PC runs 1280x1024), and will be fast and sturdy. As it is, I'll probably modify it a bit after a year is up.


What'd you expect, a Core 2 Xtreme X7900 and a Geforce 8800M GTX? Those who are in the market for an Ultra-Portable are not overly concerned about hardware performance in the first place. The EEE is already close to overheating with just that 900 MHz Celeron ULV processor and the GMA900 video.

I want an ultra-portable, I don't care that it's a Celeron M at 900MHz. As it is, the internet rig? AMD K6-III at 550MHz and 256MB SD-RAM. The Eee PC 900 is what I want, and I don't need the storage or even much in the way of 3D.


I may end up putting games on it--just because I can. I hear that most games pre-2004 or pre-2005 will run just fine on an Eee PC. SimCity 3000, Freespace 2 Open, Duke Nukem, and maybe SimCity 4 or Civilization IV. The other thing with it is I want to the portability--to play a game or surf the web from anywhere.


Last, I may wait for the larger battery before ordering, but I'm not sure. The battery isn't a big concern--as long as it's >2 hours, I'll be happy with carrying the tiny charger brick--it's still going to weigh significantly less than a full notebook.

[Boissez]

I want to use the rest of the wasted space on the monitor.. 10" 1280*800 (or 720) would be perfect.. just skip the speakers or use flat panels that fold out.

Let the users put how ever much ram they want in it.

Make the CPU upgradeable and better cooled. A dual core cpu @ 3ghz with 6mb L2 could be done I bet.. but i'd settle for 2ghz :D

I'm sure Asus could do that much quite easily.
So what you really wan't is something akin to a Toshiba R500 but with a way faster CPU and you wan't it for under 500$ :rolleyes: ... not gonna happen within the next 5 years...

Still, Anyone liking the EEE pc concept but put off by it's inherent drawbacks (cramped keyboard and screen, low performance and battery life) should check out the MSI wind (http://gizmodo.com/365720/msi-wind-laptop-to-make-eee-pc-cry-eeek). The only drawback IMO is the Atoms performance which is supposedly very low (we're talking lower IPC than willamette here). Hopefully there'll be a way to OC those :D
You may also do what i did: get a used Toshiba R100 for 200£ or so and put a 8GB 266x Compactflash SSD in it (another 80£). Same size and bulk as an EEE PC (but with a nice 12" screen instead) but way faster than an EEE PC (1,1 Ghz Dothan inside) and it runs any linux or win XP fine.

[STEvil]

Did I say anything about under $500?

What I suggested would be extremely minor changes to the EEE PC aside from a slightly larger cooling solution.

[RunawayPrisoner]

My Eee PC 701 can last for over 3 hours with the stock battery, and at least 2 hours with Prime95. Seriously. :) The 900 in the US may just come with the 5800mAh battery as default, and if that's true, you can really tweak at least 3 hours out of it.

[MaSell]

3h is big joke. My parent's 3-4yesr old dell d600 with stock battery can handle easy 4h+, and is a "little" faster than eee

[RunawayPrisoner]

I wonder if it's as small. :p

[Calmatory]

I doubt you'll find budget laptops for under $400 with 6MB L2 for a couple years

Also given the current crappy graphics chip that they are using, which should be fixed first before anything else.

I'd rather they put most of their CPU budget into their Graphics chip than to put it into the CPU

Man, the laptop is not for gaming. :p I'd put some CHEAP GPU which can barely render 2D, ditch the 3D!

[nn_step]

Man, the laptop is not for gaming. :p I'd put some CHEAP GPU which can barely render 2D, ditch the 3D!

ok, try this for a second. Buy a Trident 8800 (with it's "leet" 512kb buffer) [You can get them used for $5] and then I want you to use it for just one day. Odds are you'll notice the difference extremely easily

[STEvil]

Got a 4mb Trident based card in a P1 233mmx.. man is it slow lol.

[Calmatory]

ok, try this for a second. Buy a Trident 8800 (with it's "leet" 512kb buffer) [You can get them used for $5] and then I want you to use it for just one day. Odds are you'll notice the difference extremely easily

As long as it can render well in 2D, then it will be fine. It's like people demanding to have 9800GX2s in office computers - completely needless, since no one really uses such machines for gaming. So, is Eee PC for gaming? Absolutely no. Can it render well what it should? Yes. The problem? :)

[oohms]

I had an eee pc 701 and it was terrible for any kind of serious work (documents, programming etc)

The 900 might have a better screen but they jacked up the price a fair bit, so i got a 14" acer and its pretty awesome.

[nn_step]

As long as it can render well in 2D, then it will be fine. It's like people demanding to have 9800GX2s in office computers - completely needless, since no one really uses such machines for gaming. So, is Eee PC for gaming? Absolutely no. Can it render well what it should? Yes. The problem? :)
I am not saying drop a set of 9800GX2s in, I am saying have decent onboard such as 780G and possibly an expansion slot. That isn't exactly a drastically difficult nor expensive thing to do. Also many "Modern" GUIs actually need hardware support for 3D primitives.

[Boissez]

Did I say anything about under $500?
Well if it sold for much more than 500$ it wouldn't be an EEE PC as it would adress an entirely different niche of the market.

What I suggested would be extremely minor changes to the EEE PC aside from a slightly larger cooling solution.
We're talking about 5W vs. 17W TDP respectively for the CPU - do you seriously believe that you'll be able to get away with a slightly modded cooling solution? :rolleyes:

Then of course there's the issue of battery life, pcb sizes and such...

[Boissez]

I am not saying drop a set of 9800GX2s in, I am saying have decent onboard such as 780G and possibly an expansion slot. That isn't exactly a drastically difficult nor expensive thing to do. Also many "Modern" GUIs actually need hardware support for 3D primitives.

Realisticly how useful is Beryl or Aero on a 7-10" screen?

People here should stop fretting about the low performance of EEE-like devices. They're not about performance. Period.
What they have to deliver is an adequate performance for the most common tasks, i.e. web browsing, e-mail, office stuff, music and youtubbing. And they have to do so in a low-cost, ultra low power and ultra compact form factor. So while it would be nice to have a nice GFX inside there is just not enough room/power overhead/incentive to fit it inside.

[nn_step]

Realisticly how useful is Beryl or Aero on a 7-10" screen?

People here should stop fretting about the low performance of EEE-like devices. They're not about performance. Period.
What they have to deliver is an adequate performance for the most common tasks, i.e. web browsing, e-mail, office stuff, music and youtubbing. And they have to do so in a low-cost, ultra low power and ultra compact form factor. So while it would be nice to have a nice GFX inside there is just not enough room/power overhead/incentive to fit it inside.

realistically, it is extremely useful but I do admit it isn't the most clock efficient

[WhiteFireDragon]

i have the cheapest EEE version and the HD is only 2gb. i put in an expansion card to save anything. i'm planning to add more memory since it only comes with 512mb. is this even possible with the cheaper version? and is it possible to put regualar laptop processors in there?

[RunawayPrisoner]

The RAM module on the 2G models are soldered in AFAIK, so you are stuck at that. But trust me, if you don't use Photoshop, 512MB is way too much.

For those complaining about the performance of the Eee PC, please be aware that the thing can still play quite a few games, including GTA SA, and with a few tweaks, those games will run nicely as well. If you want something more powerful, I remember Sony offering a Core 2 Duo U7600 laptop with DVD-RW and 945 chipset and a few nicer things... like 11.1" screen. I think that one also has a Lithium Polymer battery pack as opposed to the Lithium Ion battery pack on the Eee PC, so you should get some nice run time. Thing is... it's $2100.

[STEvil]

Well if it sold for much more than 500$ it wouldn't be an EEE PC as it would adress an entirely different niche of the market.
And with what i've suggested a retail price of up to $600 would put it in a nicely competative envelope of everything under $1000 pretty much


We're talking about 5W vs. 17W TDP respectively for the CPU - do you seriously believe that you'll be able to get away with a slightly modded cooling solution? :rolleyes:
Yes.


Then of course there's the issue of battery life, pcb sizes and such...
Stacked PCB's can take care of a lot of the issue and why not use a smaller battery in the unit with an available external battery?

[Duh]

my biggest crtic to the first eee pc is that they placed the speakers in a place where it was only meant to take away space for the display..

[WhiteFireDragon]

my biggest crtic to the first eee pc is that they placed the speakers in a place where it was only meant to take away space for the display..

i think that was planned. they did that to hold out on the release of the newer EEE that has the 10" screen

[Frank M]

i think that was planned. they did that to hold out on the release of the newer EEE that has the 10" screen

Or they put it there as that was dead space - the screen already had
to be so wide not to cramp the keyboard.
The 10" prototypes were bigger and slightly different from the start.

Me, I'm waiting for the MSI Wind (the $550 version has 1.6G Atom with
6-cell battery - and supposedly 7hrs battery life; 10", 80GB HDD, xp, etc);
or if Clevo comes out with their Atom-tablet and it has decent specs and
price, then that.


The Atom-based Eee901 is said to be released in early June in Taiwan,
then later on elsewhere, too.


STEvil, not everyone is looking for an ultraportable bench-machine ;)
I'd be happy with a small (useably small), light and durable machine with
long battery life that has enough computing power for work (office, net).

[STEvil]

How does a 1.6 atom compare to VIA's latest @ ~1.5? I saw one of them for sale for $350 today with 80gb drive and 15" 1440x900 LCD among other things.

[nn_step]

How does a 1.6 atom compare to VIA's latest @ ~1.5? I saw one of them for sale for $350 today with 80gb drive and 15" 1440x900 LCD among other things.

It gets outperformed because it is an in-order processor and VIA is an OoO processor

[STEvil]

So the 1.6 Atom is slower than a 1.5 VIA... hmm. Sale's off on the VIA now though lol :(

[nn_step]

So the 1.6 Atom is slower than a 1.5 VIA... hmm. Sale's off on the VIA now though lol :(

a 1.5Ghz Via Isiah core, but it is faster than a 1.5Ghz C7 core [except in terms of cryptography]

[Calmatory]

C7 is old. So it is either Atom or Isiah. ...once people can actually GET them. ;)

I'd be more concerned when it comes to TDP, IMO battery life is just as important as the performance. Though, I wouldn't mind if I got Isiah, which is[just an example] 10 % faster but consumes 5 % more.

[filthysanchez]

I just want a decent sized screen and a real keyboard, then I'll buy one.

[Bobsama]

Just bought one. I expect it Wednesday or so. NewEgg--$550 list, $562 shipped. I guess I should post here again when I get it.

[Okda]

anyone got the HP mininote, i think this notebook with an Intel Atom will be much better

[NickS]

Price?

[RunawayPrisoner]

Some benchmark results of the MSI Wind have shown similar CPU power to the current Celeron M in the Eee PC, and 2:20 of battery life under full stress. So again... ehh... like I said before, not even worth an update due to the price difference. Atom is just another marketing ploy of Intel.

[Okda]

Price?

starting from 500$

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF25a/321957-321957-64295-321838-306995-3687084.html

[Bobsama]

Got my EeePC 900 12G with Windows XP. It's nice! Very small and light. I won't mind carrying this thing around--it's plenty fast for basic tasks, I don't need it to play games (though I will still be trying to put on a few--SimCity 3000, CnC Generals & Zero Hour, maybe more). $550 list, $562 shipped. Ordered Saturday and it arrived today--I ordered over Memorial Day weekend so it was on-time.