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Asus Eee Top ET1602 review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £440
inc VAT and delivery

Specifications

1.6GHz Intel Atom N270, 1.000000 RAM, 15.6in 1,366×768 display, Windows XP Home Edition

http://www.ebuyer.com

As the only all-in-one touch-screen PC here, Asus’s Eee Top isn’t easy to compare with most of the other systems here, but it’s still a great PC. Like the Eee Box, it has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor and runs Windows XP Home edition.

Although XP lacks Vista’s graphical bells and whistles, it’s a solid, stable and well-proven operating system that’s perfectly suited to the Eee’s low-power processor. You can also boot into the lightweight ExpressGate Splashtop Linux (which is stored on the motherboard) in a few seconds to browse the internet.

At the screen’s 1,360×768 resolution, XP’s interface is a little too small to use comfortably with the touch screen, but the Eee Top also comes with a standard keyboard and mouse, so you can use it as you would any normal PC. When you want the benefit of the touch screen, simply switch to Easy Mode, which provides a set of large, cheerful-looking icons for a few popular programs. Easy mode and the touch screen make a particularly rewarding combination if you’re using the computer with kids or as a media player. The onboard Intel graphics are too slow for 3D games. The Realtek on-board audio sounds good through the integrated Denon speakers, and a built-in webcam adds to its family-friendly features.

The Eee Top doesn’t come with any kind of optical drive, so you’ll have to buy an external one if you want to play movies or install software from DVDs. However, its card slot can accept SDHC cards capable of holding up to 32GB of content, which is one way of getting applications and data on your PC. You can also access content stored elsewhere on your network over Draft-N WiFi or Gigabit Ethernet.

The Eee Top is one of the best-value touch-screen PCs available and is remarkably fun to use. It lacks an optical drive and has only a 160GB hard disk, but it’s an effective media player, home PC and interactive toy. It’s quite expensive at £430, though, and Novatech’s Ion Home PC Bundle offers more for less.

Basic Specifications

Rating ****
Processor Intel Atom N270
Processor external bus 133MHz (533MHz quad-pumped FSB)
Processor multiplier x12
Processor clock speed 1.6GHz
Processor socket Socket 437
Level 1 cache 32KB
Level 2 cache 512KB
Memory 1.000000
Memory type DDR2
Maximum memory 1GB
Motherboard Asus ET1602
Motherboard chipset Intel N945 GSE
Power consumption standby 1W
Power consumption idle 33W
Power consumption active 38W

Ports

USB2 ports (front/rear) 2/4
Firewire ports (front/rear) 0/0
eSATA ports (front/rear) 0/0
Wired network ports 1x 10/100/1000
Wireless networking support 802.11n
Other ports none

Internal Expansion

Case all-in-one
PCI-E x1 slots (free) none
PCI-E x16 slots (free) none
Free Serial ATA ports 0
Free memory slots 0
Free 3.5in drive bays 0

Hard Disk

Hard disk model(s) Seagate Momentus ST9160821AS
Interface SATA 150
Total storage capacity 160GB
Spindle speed 5,400rpm

Graphics

Graphics card(s) Intel GMA 950
Graphics/video ports none

Sound

Sound Realtek High Definition Audio
Sound outputs stereo line out, mic in, line in
Speakers Denon integrated

Removable Drives

3.5in floppy drive no
Supported memory cards SD, SDHC, MMC, Memory Stick Pro
Optical drive model none
Optical drive type(s) N/A

Display

Viewable size 15.6 in
Screen model integrated
Native resolution 1,366×768
Screen inputs none

Other Hardware

Modem No
Keyboard Asus EK-C1
Mouse Asus EM-C1

Software

Software included none
Operating system Windows XP Home Edition
Operating system restore option restore disc

Buying Information

Warranty one year RTB
Price £440
Supplier http://www.ebuyer.com
Details http://uk.asus.com

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