Asus N20 Lounge

This may be a stupid question but is it possible to upgrade the n20 to ddr-3 memory?

 

No it will not work DDR3 ram the golden part is slightly different.....But no it wont work

 

As Red Dragon mentioned, DDR3 ram will not work on the Asus N20 due to the different form factor:


Courtesy of GenTechPC

 

Another question, Can the processor in the n20 be upgraded to any socket p processor even though the fsb is only 800mhz?

 

Do you mean like the P8400/P9500? If so yes it should be able too.

 

Please take note that swapping out the CPU will automatically void your manufacture warranty. If your current processor is enough for your needs, I wouldn't recommend replacing it.

 

The few extra dollars spent on FedEx shipping paid back in spades as I received my N20 almost exactly 48 hours after I placed the order (and I didn't even order 2-day delivery). So far I'm pretty impressed, and it seems like exactly the kind of machine I've been looking for. Now I just need to think of a name for this machine and pick a Linux distro.

N20A-X1 Initial Impressions:
- I like the keyboard. There is some keyboard flex on the right side, but it's only noticeable if I look for it. The key-press distance feels a little deeper than a chicklet keyboard. The tactile feedback of the keys are good and certainly not as mushy as many of Dell's laptop keyboards.

- It has a Synaptics touchpad. The mouse buttons do have a loud click to them, but they're still a definite step above the buttons on the Eee 701.

- This model is mostly light silver in color. The finish is extremely glossy, but because of the light color it doesn't really show fingerprints.

- I was pleasantly surprised to find that the bottom of the notebook is made of metal. I was expecting it to be plastic.

- The screen is bright, extremely glossy, and has a slightly disappointing vertical viewing angle.

- The white status LEDs are a nice touch because they're noticeable but not bright enough to keep me awake at night. The blue LED on the AC adapter, on the other hand, is crazy bright.

- The fan is audible in a silent room, but it seems to have a lower-pitched noise than some other machines.

- The port on the laptop that the AC adapter plugs into is very tight, but I assume it'll loosen over time. Hopefully the insertion force won't break the port after a while.

- The little sparkly sound on boot-up is a nice touch. ASUS can't let Apple have a monopoly on "I just turned my laptop on" noises.

 

We Need Pictures
What are the final specs on it?

 

Aesthetically the N20A-X1 looks the same as the model shown in dorekofu_87's pictures. It's two-tone light silver and black. For a size comparison, here are two pics of it sitting next to an Eee 701. Other than the size, I think the most striking thing is how bright the N20's screen is at 100%. I'm running Slackware 12.2 on it and also included some Linux read-outs after the photos.

ASUS N20A-X1 Specs:
- CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB, 3 MB L2 Cache)
- RAM: 4 GB DDR2 800 MHz (2 x 2 GB SODIMM)
- HD: Hitachi Travelstar 5K320 (250 GB, 5400 RPM, 8 MB cache)
- Optical: Hitachi GSA-T50N DVD+/-RW
- GPU: Intel 4500MHD
- Wireless: Atheros AR928X (802.11n)
- Ethernet: Realtek 8111/8168B (Gigabit)
- LCD: 1280x800 w/ LED backlight
- Webcam: 1.3 MP
- Battery: 6-cell Lithium-Ion

Code:

sh-3.1$ cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor       : 0
vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
cpu family      : 6
model           : 23
model name      : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU     P8600  @ 2.40GHz
stepping        : 6
cpu MHz         : 800.000
cache size      : 3072 KB
physical id     : 0
siblings        : 2
core id         : 0
cpu cores       : 2
apicid          : 0
initial apicid  : 0
fdiv_bug        : no
hlt_bug         : no
f00f_bug        : no
coma_bug        : no
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 10
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx smx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm sse4_1 lahf_lm tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority
bogomips        : 4787.43
clflush size    : 64
power management:

processor       : 1
vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
cpu family      : 6
model           : 23
model name      : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU     P8600  @ 2.40GHz
stepping        : 6
cpu MHz         : 800.000
cache size      : 3072 KB
physical id     : 0
siblings        : 2
core id         : 1
cpu cores       : 2
apicid          : 1
initial apicid  : 1
fdiv_bug        : no
hlt_bug         : no
f00f_bug        : no
coma_bug        : no
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 10
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cm
pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc
h_perfmon pebs bts pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx smx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr
m sse4_1 lahf_lm tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority
bogomips        : 6607.09
clflush size    : 64
power management:

Code:

sh-3.1$ free -m
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:          4015       3870        145          0        139       3364
-/+ buffers/cache:        366       3649
Swap:         1961          0       1960

Code:

sh-3.1$ df -h
Filesystem            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/root             228G  9.1G  207G   5% /
/dev/sda1              99M   37M   57M  40% /boot
tmpfs                 2.0G     0  2.0G   0% /dev/shm

EDIT: The CPU info shows the clock frequency as 800 MHz, which is the chip's speed when idle. It scales up to the rated 2.4 GHz when the system is under load.

 

Thanks for all the comments previously posted been lots of help.
Looking to buy an n20 also and just wondering whether or not can put dedicated graphics in it, if so what type, if not oh well. Other thing is how accessable is the hdd cause i'd like to put an ssd in it. Tossing up between the n20 and a hp tx2z touchsmart.

 

The hdd is easily accesible just remove one cover. As far as upgrading the video card I am not sure. If you find out let me know, although im thinking its not going to be easy.

 

I just recently purchased an N20A-X1. It's great and I love it except the right touchpad key is a bit loose and jiggles while the left key is firm. The right key works, but if I touch it lightly there is movement on the key. Would you return it because of that? I don't use the key often though I do use it to delete bookmarks and such. Seems like for a machine at this price quality control should be better. Some disappointment here.

 

Installed a 3G card (Option GTM378) into the free mini pci-e slot under the keyboard and it works fine but I can't find the internal antenna which would give much better reception. Anyone knows were the cable is located inside the computer?

 

I don't think the antennas are there. You may need to purchase them separately and install them yourself.

 

I don't see this behavior in my touchpad keys. The N20A-X1 comes with accidental protection if you send in the registration card, so if you really wanted to you could probably take up the issue with ASUS?

 

i guys i have just brought my asus n20a-x1 and are having a couple of quality problems. on the corners of the laptop they seem to be cracking a bit, so too is the screen lid handle.

i also have a what looks to be a deep scratch line under the CD drive, but its so perfect that i dont know if it is meant to be that way.

the harddrive also screams like hell, does anyone else have these problems?

 

That's disturbing to hear for a unit of this price. No, I haven't had those issues myself. The right and left keys under the touchpad could be more firm. Certainly no HDD noise, and no deep line under the dvd draw. My suggestion would be to RMA as soon as possible. Check with Newegg on that. Best wishes.

 

thanks for the reply tenasnus ^^.

yeah will RMA it and update you guys later to see what happens.

 

Bought N20A a few days ago, quickly after installed XP instead of VISTA.

My main gripe with it is that the screen is quite uneasy on the eyes, something which I did not notice in the store, unfortunately. Objects are not that sharp and the angle of viewing clearly is very limited.

The touchpad is great. Sound quality is so so. Keyboard is comfortable.

 

You probably didn't notice it in the store because it isn't evident with Vista. I also installed XP on my N20A, since there are several reasons why I need/prefer XP.

For some reason, the screen doesn't perform as well under XP as it does under Vista (or Windows 7). Under XP, I need to tilt the screen just right in order to reduce washed-out text and the unevenness of the display.

But I also have Windows 7 setup as a dual-boot configuration with XP. The display works so much better, is all aspects, under Windows 7. This annoys me because generally I need/prefer to use XP.

Perhaps it has something to do with the 4500 driver for XP? I have a few other notebooks where the display works equally well under both XP and W7. But they have mostly 950 graphics.

In the case of the N20A, I think it probably is related to the 4500 graphics hardware/driver rather than the LCD/LED itself.

 

"Under XP, I need to tilt the screen just right in order to reduce washed-out text and the unevenness of the display."

That's spot on.

Vista was installed for a couple of days before I changed to XP, and during that time I also recall I was not satisfied with the sharpness of the objects.

Having said that, there are a few utilities which can be installed on the XP and tweaked some, will try that and see if there's some improvement.

BTW, another quirk which [might be a feature], is every now and than I notice the brightness level change, it gets darker for a millisecond and than up again. Did you encounter this as well?

(some N20 pics, including for internal parts http://www.enet.com.cn/ediy/inforcenter/enet_z.jsp?articleid=20090106412510

 

For those whom are using XP and are unsatisfied with your screen, you can try calibrating it with a software monitor calibrator. It may or may not produce the same results as in Vista, but it's worth a shot

http://quickgamma.de/indexen.html
http://quickgamma.de/QuickMonitorProfile/indexen.html

 

Ive upgraded my wireless card to the gigabyte one mentioned earlier in this thread ,but I am still only getting connections of 54mps does anyone know why this is and how to change it?

 

What type of wireless router do you have? If you have a B/G router, then the maximum rate is 54MB/s. Also your internet service provider may limit the speed of your internet.

 

Well, I have a linksys wireless n router even when im at school where there is wireless networks with 300 its still limited to 54 though. I dont know what the deal is, I think it is something software related on my notebook.

 

You could try to install the latest wifi driver from Intel if it is a software issue.

 

Hi all,

I'm interested in buying Asus N20A, but in my country it only comes in one model with processor T6400. I read here that some of you were lucky enough to get this notebook with P8400 processor. My questions are:

1. Does the performance between P8400 and T6400 differ significantly?
(I think the differences between these two in terms of tech spec are in Clock speed: 2.26 GHz n 2.0 GHz, FSB: 1066 MHz vs 800 MHz, and L2 cache: 3MB vs 2MB)


2. Does anyone ever play games using N20A? Not really demanding ones...I'd like to play....Diablo 2, CS Source (my working laptop, HP NC6400 can play this quite well)....

3. What about outputting to HD monitor / HD TV? ie to watch DVD or ripped movies?

Thanks

 

Why should one get this over let say the Asus U6 either with the older nvida graphics or the now cheaper model with the x3100 graphics? I know the U6 has a smaller size as the bezel is smaller and it also looks sleeker cause it more business oriented but besides that what advantage does the N20 have?

Also is there a model now with integrated ati or nvidia graphics?

 

I notice that Amazon now has the N20 D-1 model or what not. What the processor specs on that? Is that better than the N20 X1 or what ever newegg is carrying?

 

U6V was one of my main candidate...unfortunately it's not released in my country.

@ macadocious, you mean dedicated ATI/NVidia grapgics?
I think nowadays the trend for notebook is 'thin n light', hence the processor usually using SU series + integrated GPU for 12" notebooks.


I find it hard to find a 12" notebook with P series processor n dedicated GPU.

 

I was told when buying to just double the speed of the processor. So a 2.4 ghz x2 = 4.8 vs. 4.0 for the D-1 version. A significant difference in processing speed. That's why I went for the X-1 version at newegg.

 

As you stated the U6 line is not available where you are, but it does meet that description, does it not?

 

Yes, because it's not available....so I have to look for an alternative....N20A is the strongest candidate

 

Depending on your country, some US Asus resellers may offer international shipping. There's a list of reputable US Asus resellers on the Asus Info Booth that you may want to check out.

 

IMHO this would have been a better machine if they made the bezel a little smaller and gave it a better gpu, like the upper end U6 line has. Then again one issue I have with Asus is the fact that they give you too many options, which can confuse even the well knowledgeable people.

BTW how does this compare to the U20 like, which is also 12in?

 

The U20 will definitely be more expensive, but will also have better features and a sleeker design. It's hard difficult to speculate due to the U20 not being released yet, but if the U20 follows the typical U series notebooks of the past, it will have a better build quality to say the least. The additional features of the U20 include an illuminated chicklet-style keyboard and an illuminated touch-sensitive touchpad.

 

But doesn't the U20 also come with the base with the C2S and C2D optional? So I would think that would keep the price about the same? Then again it looks the the N20 is using the more powerful C2D so it should be faster. I know I saw it Asus U.S. website, but i wasn't able to find a review for it just like the N20, so I assume it was also release. It is a shame both are using the same intel 4500hd gfx card or else I'd take a serious look at either one of them. So could one say the U20 is the more consumer friendly model vs the U6, which can be had with leather? Interesting to note the U20 is a little smaller, but has the same weight as the N20.

 

Last night I tried to install a modded synaptics multitouch driver on my N20A-X1 with no success. Has anybody gotten this or some variant to work on their machine? I'd been interested in hearing if someone has successfully installed such a driver on the N20A. Thanks.

 

Did the N20 go out of business? Is new ones being made right now? I can't find it for sale almost everywhere.

I know about U20 but its not having 8600 like some N20?

 

At least officially, it seems that the N20 has not been discontinued - no doubt it would look bad for Asus to discontinue a line shortly after it's released - but in practice it definitely is discontinued. Can't find it anymore in any of the stores and locations which I frequent.

Worse than that, other than a few BIOS updates it gets ZERO support from Asus. Nothing. Hardly any answers from their support as well.

Personally, I am very disappointed with Asus. If they make a commercial decision to move on, that's fine, but they should at least support their customers who buy their product. I've been using Asus for 10 years now, but it seems they have lost their way, massively releasing new models to stay "fashionable" one after another like some low quality fashion brand.

Well, I doubt my next computer will be Asus.