ASUS eee PC Goes B (for Box)
Posted 06/23/08 at 01:07:50 PM | by Mark Edward Soper
The ASUS eee PC has made a big splash in the ultra-cheap PC/appliance market, so the popular motherboard and PC maker is aiming for a sequel, the eee Box, due to become available in US and elsewhere later this summer.
More Than Form Factor Makes the Difference
Like its laptop predecessor, the eee Box is designed to be a low-cost PC appliance designed for web surfing and light-duty word-processing, emailing, and similar tasks. However, the eee Box has little in common with its laptop predecessor.
Processors
The eee PC laptop uses 800 or 900MHz Celeron M ULV (ultra low voltage) CPUs, while the eee Box will use Intel's new line of Atom low-powered processors, specifically the Atom N270, which runs at 1.6GHz.
How Fast is an Atom?
Basically, despite its faster clock speed, the Atom N270 provides about the same performance as the 800MHz Celeron M ULV found in the original eee PC. This is due to the Atom's being designed for the target market of what Anandtech refers to as 'good enough' hardware. To learn more about what's "under the hood," keep reading.
(eee Box images courtesy of ASUS; eee logo courtesy of blogeee.net)
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Don't know why you're complaining...
Submitted by mikeart03a on Tue, 2008-06-24 12:54
I've got a simiarly specced box here that pulls server duty at home with ubuntu and it runs fine? Also, XP runs fairly decently, quick enough for everyday browsing, e-mail, typing, etc.
Specs:
-1.4ghz P4
-1GB PC-133 SD-RAM
-80gb Seagate HD
-52x CD-RW
-64mb AGP ATI Radeon 7500- mike_art03a
IT Technician
Gov't of Canada
Server
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Tue, 2008-06-24 08:12
This isn't the laptop. It's the Box man. I would want to figure out a way to make it into a server because it's so cheap but with the HDD options limited to only a 2.5" drive it's really depressing. Why not use the cheapest of the cheapest atx case. Would have offered some ability to make something out of it.
The processor is ultra low power and low performance. It's a cut down celleron man. Even notepad is going to be slow to open and run. With Core 2 and Core processors being priced so low with 65watt TDP's come on the Atom is a PDA processor. Why not use the Core processors? Cheaper, faster, inexpensive to use, and there are plenty to be had. Atom was designed for PDA's, Smart Phones, and teeney weeney useless little laptops that died away Six years ago here in the USA.
Submitted by 00john00 on Tue, 2008-06-24 04:53
Keith,
Linux will run fine and faster then XP.
"Wouldn't even be a good server"
Why would anyone use a laptop, that was designed for surfing the web, light-duty word-processing, emailing, and similar tasks, as a server?
Submitted by whelderwheels613 on Mon, 2008-06-23 19:04
Well, if Linux will run slow, than XP will be like a fat man with an asthma problem. I don't think Linux will run slow, considering it's incredible stability and light weight.
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Mon, 2008-06-23 15:28
Well I guess it'll run Linux albeit slowly. Wouldn't even be a good server. Perhaps it'll be an upgrade for all those creditors that complain over the phone about how slow their networks and pc's are.
That always bothers me. They should let me fix their networks in return for clearing my debts.
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