Geek Tested:

ASUS eee PC Goes B (for Box)

Posted 06/23/08 at 01:07:50 PM by Mark Edward Soper

Storage and RAM

Although the eee PC and the eee Box come to a virtual draw in processor power, the eee Box uses a conventional hard disk, creating a 10X improvement over its laptop counterpart's 8GB flash memory storage. The eee Box uses a 2.5-inch (laptop form factor) SATA hard disk. According to cNet, some models will include an 80GB drive and others will sport a 160GB drive.

The eee Box also adds a card reader with support for the most popular flash memory cards, including SD, SDHC, various reduced-size versions of SD and MMC, as well as Sony's Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro (as usual, digital SLR diehards like me must supply our own Compact Flash [CF] reader).

The eee Box will feature your choice of 1GB or 2GB of DDR2 memory. There is no DVD drive, but you can connect one via one of the four USB 2.0 ports, or, you could use the network to map another computer's DVD drive to a drive letter to install software or run backups (an old trick that still makes sense with the speedy networking connections features the eee Box includes).

Video, Networking, and I/O

The eee Box, despite its modest specs, is no slouch in the networking department, as it features:

Gigabit Ethernet and 2.4GHz 802.11n network support
Four USB 2.0 ports
DVI-I (VGA-compatible) video
Stereo audio out, SPDIF audio out, a headset and a microphone jack

Chipset mavens will want to know that the eee Box uses the Intel 945GSE and ICH7M chipset, with onboard video courtesy of the Intel GMA 950. See details here.

Essentially, a Low-Cost Laptop in Desktop Clothing

As you can see from the specifications, the eee Box is essentially a low-cost laptop (minus the display) designed to run Linux or Windows XP.

And Now, for the Price Tag...

According to Gizmodo, here's how much it will cost to take an eee Box home to Mom, Dad, or the kiddos:

US Configurations and MSRP:

$269 1GB memory + 80GB HDD Linux edition

$299 1GB memory + 80GB HDD XP edition

$299 2GB memory + 160GB HDD Linux edition

COMMENTS:5

TAGS:

COMMENTS

Don't know why you're complaining...
Submitted by mikeart03a on Tue, 06/24/2008 - 11:54am

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

Login or register to post comments

Server
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Tue, 06/24/2008 - 7:12am

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.

Login or register to post comments

Keith, Linux will run fine
Submitted by 00john00 on Tue, 06/24/2008 - 3:53am

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?

Login or register to post comments

Well, if Linux will run
Submitted by whelderwheels613 on Mon, 06/23/2008 - 6:04pm

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.

Login or register to post comments

Yawn
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Mon, 06/23/2008 - 2:28pm

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.

Login or register to post comments