Laptop-Review.eu

Once again we have an Eee PC from Asus lined up for a test, this time the 10” Eee PC 1005P that brings about a few minor upgrades. The main attraction is the new Intel Atom N450 processor which – along with being more power efficient – should boost performance slightly. In addition to this the computer sports 1024MB of RAM, integrated graphics and a 160GB hard drive.

The product was kindly lent to us Asus.com

Specifications

Category
Students

Processor
Intel Atom N450 – 1.66 GHz - 1x 512 KB L2 Cache

Chipset
Intel NM10 Express chipset (Tigerpoint)

RAM
1x 1024 MB DDR2-SDRAM - PC2-6400 - ASint Technology

Graphics
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 - 8 MB

Storage
Seagate ST9160301AS - 160 GB HDD

Display
10.1 inch TFT 1024 x 600 ( WSVGA )

Sound card
Intel 82801GB ICH7 - High Definition Audio

Optical drive
None

Battery
Lithium Ion battery - 47520mWh - 12.646V

Connectivity
Atheros AR2427 Wireless Network Adapter - 54 Mbps
Atheros AR8132 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller- 100 Mbps

I/Os
3x USB 2.0
1x Card reader (SD, MMC)
1x VGA output
1x Audio jack-out
1x Audio jack-in
1x RJ-45 LAN port
1x Kensington lock slot
1x DC-in

Operating system
Microsoft Windows 7 Starter (build 7600)
SplashTop OS

Dimensions and weight
Width: 26.2 cm
Height: 3.7 cm
Depth: 17.8 cm
Weight: 1.27 kg

Price
About £250

Package contents



The computer ships with:
-     Installation media for Windows 7
-     Manuals
-     Power supply

All the necessities like charger, manuals and installation media are included.

Construction & Design

First impression









The first impression of 1005P is that it generally looks like the other models in the series. There seem to be very few things that distinguish it from other models, except for slightly differentiated hardware. The device is based on Intel’s latest Pine Trail architecture, which integrates the IGP and RAM controller onto the CPU, allowing for higher performance and greater power savings. Besides this though, the Eee concept is unchanged.
The device is very dark, with a glossy surface that unfortunately makes fingerprints very noticeable. This does not look too good when you have used the computer a few times. The edges are nicely rounded throughout, and the same design encompasses the entire device.  

The lid



The lid is black, with Asus’ logo printed just above the centre. The lid is very susceptible to fingerprints and causes a bit of glare, neither of which do wonders for its appearance.

The front



There are no ports at the front – all you can see are the status diodes.

The rear



Not much of interest at the rear either, except for the battery.

The bottom



As can be seen in the picture, the battery is at the top. In the middle we have the lid for the RAM module, which is the only thing you can replace on this device.

The right side



On the right side we have the card reader supporting MMC and SD formats, followed by the audio jacks, two USB 2.0 and an RJ-45 network port.

The left side



On the left we have the DC-in jack for the charger, VGA output, another USB 2.0 port and finally the Kensington lock slot.

Buttons/Diodes





The computer has two buttons above the keyboard. The one at the left starts up ExpressGate, the secondary OS. The one at the right starts up Windows.



There are 5 diodes at the front of the computer. They indicate the status of power, battery, hard drive activity, WiFi and Capslock, respectively.

Keyboard and touchpad





The keyboard is of decent size and easy to get used to. There is no flex and each key is clearly labelled. The edges of the keys are lowered, making it easier to distinguish between the different keys.



The touchpad reacts well too, but it feels like you have to drag your finger just a bit too long – that can get annoying if you are using it for extended periods of time. The touchpad also boasts multi-gesture technology, allowing you to use more fingers simultaneously to for example carry out functions like zoom and scroll. The right and left mouse buttons are integrated into a single button, so you cannot press it right in the middle. Depending on how fussy you are about such things, it can get a little irritating.

Display









The display measures 10 inches and runs a resolution of 1024 x 600, also known as WSVGA. The panel itself is TFT LED-backlit and features 16 levels of brightness. The backlighting is homogenous or evenly distributed across the screen. If you view the display from the side, the light dims. If you view the display from above, the brightness intensifies, and if you view it from below the light dims and the colours grow darker.

I/Os

Special Features

ExpressGate



ExpressGate is Asus’ own version of the SplashTop OS, a secondary OS primarily made to provide quick access to communication software like Skype, Firefox, Chat etc.

Benchmark

CPU-Z & GPU-Z







Comparison

The device is pitted against Asus Eee 1000H, a slightly older model in the Eee series. The computer has the following specifications:

Intel Atom, N270, 1.6GHz, 512KB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB
Intel i945GME, 82801GHM ICH7-M/U Southbridge
1.024MB DDR2, PC5300 RAM, 667MHz, ASint Technology
Intel i945GME, med 8MB DDR2 RAM
160GB HDD, 2.5" SATA, 8MB cache, 5400RPM
10", WSGA TFT, resolution of 1024x600 pixels
6 Cell, 6600mAh
Windows XP Home Edition

You can read a review of it here:

http://www.laptop-review.eu

Windows Experience Index



The base rating is set by the lowest sub-rating, which in this case is “Processor – calculations per second”. 2.4 points are not particularly impressive compared to say a standard core 2 Duo Processor. However, the upside is lower power consumption.

Boot times and out of standby



The computer starts up in about 35 seconds – very reasonable. However, the 1000H model only takes 22-28 seconds, so there is quite a difference.

Battery life



Idle test settings
Brightness: 1/16, HDD standby after 10 minutes and WiFi active.
Classic test settings
Brightness: 16/16, HDD standby after 10 minutes and WiFi active.

1005P lasts a whopping 9 hours and 47 minutes with WiF active – it may only be idle, but impressive nonetheless. Under classic settings it lasts about 4 hours and 53 minutes, which is still pretty good at full performance but also a greater loss in comparison to idle. Anyway, the key point is that you can clearly see the evolution from earlier to newer models.

Processor

wPrime 2.0



The computers goes through the wPrime test in 111.89 seconds, which is not very good. That also means that performance still does not match up to the average, modern laptop.

SisSandra Processor Arithmetic & Multi-Media



In the Arithmetic test, the program outputs MIPS per second (Million instructions per second) and Mega Flops per second (One million floating point operations per second) in the Multi-Media test. In both cases, a higher score is better.

As can be seen, the N450 CPU performs slightly better in both tests, but the difference is really quite small.

RAM



Same tendency as above – only a minor difference.

Overall

PCMark 05



1000H wins in the PCMark 05 test, perhaps because the program no longer supports newer hardware. The scores should have been different – we would expect 1005P to win if both computers had been able to run the newer PCMark Vantage benchmark

Graphics

3DMark



Though neither has very much going on in terms of graphics, you can clearly see there has been a substantial improvement. 1005P gets 160 points while 1000H only nets 84 points.

HDD



When it comes to the hard drive, 1005P takes a comfortably victory with a faster drive. It reads at 53 MB/s while 1000H is down to about 37 MB/s.

Conclusion

Asus 1005P is a smart little device that caters to the students who requires a computer that lasts all day in particular. With about 10 hours of battery life, you will not need an external power source in most cases. If you push the device to the limit you still get an impressive life of 5 hours. The feel of Windows and the performance in different programs have been improved greatly compared to the older Eee netbooks. The device runs quite well on Windows 7, and it is just that little bit faster in many areas.
The craftsmanship is fair and there is really nothing missing. The only thing you might criticise is the touchpad, which requires you to move your finger a bit too much for our taste. On a final note, the price has really gone in the right direction as you can now get 1005P at a measly £260 or so, which is really quite cheap.

Pros:
Sturdy
Long battery life
Good size

Cons:
Touchpad
Susceptible to fingerprints

Battery:	4,5 / 5
Construction:	4 / 5
Mobility:	4,5 / 5
Software:	3 / 5
Graphics:	1,5 / 5
CPU Performance:	2 / 5
Innovation:	2,5 / 5
Connectionspeed:	3 / 5
Price:	4,5 / 5
Accessories:	3 / 5
Design:	3 / 5
Weight:	3,5 / 5
Performance:	3 / 5
Overall:	3 / 5