ASUS N10JC-A1 Review

by Kevin O'Brien

The high-class ASUS N10 is a netbook above all the rest, starting a new market segment called the "Corporate Netbook." The N10 offers similar features to standard netbooks, including an Intel Atom platform and WSVGA screen, but with the addition of optional switchable dedicated graphics and a fancy design. With a starting price of $649 for models with dedicated graphics; is a higher configuration worth the price jump? In this review we explain the differences between the N10JC and the cheaper Eee PC 1000HA and tell you if you should consider the costly upgrade.

There are several different configurations of the N10 series available at various online stores. Some configurations offer Windows Vista, others include a different hard drive or use integrated graphics rather than dedicated. The only reason we mention this is so that consumers are aware that there are different configurations on the market to meet the needs of different people.

ASUS N10JC-A1 Specifications:

• Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor
• 160GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive (Seagate 5400.4)
• NVIDIA 9300M GS with 256MB DDR2 memory and Intel GMA950
• 1GB of DDR2 RAM (667MHz)
• Windows XP Home operating system
• 10.2” WSVGA Glossy LED-Backlit 1024 x 600 LCD
• Ports: 3 USB 2.0, HDMI,VGA monitor out, headphone jack, microphone input, 8 in 1 SD card reader (SDHC compatible), Kensington lock slot, Ethernet 10/100, ExpressCard/34
• Webcam (1.3 MP)
• Battery: 11.1v 4800mAh 53Wh 6-cell battery
• Wireless: 802.11b/g
• Two-year Limited Global Warranty
• Size: 10.8 (W) x 8.25 (D) x 1.46 (H)
• Weight: 3lbs 8.5oz, 4lbs 2.1oz with AC adapter
• MSRP: $649

Build and Design

The N10 is designed a step above other netbooks, with a better paint scheme and chrome accents. The shape is slimmer than the 1000HA we just reviewed, but the thinner shape comes from the battery sticking out instead of down. While some people get hung up on a battery that hangs off the back of a notebook, it doesn’t really bother me since I am used to seeing it on many business notebooks which share that design element. The gold and chrome paint scheme looks very nice, giving this netbook a “normal” color that you don’t generally see on many netbooks.

Build quality is very similar to other netbooks with a feel of slight ruggedness, but generous use of cheap plastic. The two toggle switches for dedicated graphics and wireless on/off feel undersized and are difficult to switch without using your fingernail. The screen hinges feel weaker on the N10 compared to the 901 or 1000 series Eee PC, flopping the screen back when you are carrying around the netbook.

Display

The glossy LED-backlit WSVGA display is an odd screen choice for a business oriented notebook, where most manufacturers use matte displays to reduce screen glare. Another limiting factor is the lower resolution screen; which for the price premium you might expect a higher resolution option. That said the screen is bright and vibrant and very pleasing to look at for hours at a time. Viewing angles are also better than average when compared to standard notebooks, with a broad vertical viewing angle sweet sport before colors start to distort. Horizontal viewing angles extend almost to 90 degrees, if you can actually view the screen over the reflective surface that is showing the surrounding area.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard is comfortable to type on, but somewhat confusing to pickup if you are used to other keyboard layouts. One layout decision that irks me is the second function key located next to the direction pad. On most keyboards the outermost keys on the second row are both shift keys, making it easy to blindly aim your fingers all by feel. The N10 moves the left shift key inwards, and with it already being condensed in size, makes it difficult to find while typing. The sharp edge key design is another element which I would have preferred ASUS not use, since I found the rounded edge design on the Eee PC 1000 to be more comfortable. I personally think ASUS should have used the same keyboard on the N10 as they used on the 1000HA.

The Synaptics-based touchpad on the N10 is not only larger than most netbooks, but is easier to use than cheaper touchpads now found on many "consumer" netbooks. The pad surface is glossy, sharing the same color as the shell of the netbook. The large size makes it easy to move about the screen without having to pick up your finger to backtrack. Sensitivity is great with a wide range of adjustment and there was no noticeable lag found during use.

The touchpad buttons are adequately sized and easy to depress with little pressure. Feedback is shallow with a small audible click when pressed.

The ASUS N10JC-1A is also equipped with a fingerprint scanner which is located between the touchpad buttons. Scanning your fingertip can be tricky with how deeply recessed it is, but with a bit of practice you can get repeatable accurate readings.

Performance

From the moment I received this notebook I was very interested in seeing the performance of the Intel Atom platform with a dedicated graphics card attached. Almost all configurations use the dated Intel GMA950 graphics, which slow everything down, including movie decoding. With the NVIDIA 9300M graphics, this netbook might have a shot at decoding 720p video in a very compact package that has HDMI out.

For our test we tried a wide range of high definition content including an assortment of HD movies and HD movie trailers. Sadly, even though we tried a wide range of video codecs, including CoreAVC, the Intel Atom processor didn’t have enough grunt to keep a steady decoding framerate. Depending on the bitrate the N10 working with the NVIDIA 9300M graphics only managed 10-15fps, well below 24-25fps goal.

Since HD content was out of the question we moved onto video games as another area to see where the dedicated graphics might help out. Using Steam we pulled in Half-Life 2 and tweaked the visual settings to be easier on the system. With the resolution set to 1024x600 and most settings on medium the system average 20-25fps, which was playable, but still under what you would want for smooth gaming. Heavy action scenes dropped the framerate into the mid-teens, and if you weren’t lucky, got yourself killed in no time.

In day to day use the NVIDIA 9300M didn’t do much to improve the overall speed of the N10 compared to standard netbooks which only have Intel integrated graphics. It also didn’t help out much with gaming or video playback since the Intel Atom processor can’t keep up. While it did improve limited gaming abilities, it wasn’t a big enough jump to really make anything old games work under tweaked settings. For these reasons I don’t really see any benefit to including the dedicated graphics when all it does is increase power consumption.

UPDATE: Many forum members wanted clarification on the ASUS N10's ability to handle HD decoding when using hardware decoding software. We tested MPC-HC and it helps to offload both 720P and 1080P well enough to limit the frame dropping we noticed before. It does have some hiccups running off of battery, but when plugged in to a power outlet it seems pretty solid.

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

Notebook	PCMark05 Score
ASUS N10 (1.60GHz Intel Atom, Intel GMA 950)	1,531 PCMarks
ASUS N10 (1.60GHz Intel Atom, NVIDIA 9300M 256MB)	1,851 PCMarks
ASUS Eee PC 1000HA (1.60GHz Intel Atom, Intel GMA 950)	1,527 PCMarks
Lenovo IdeaPad S10 (1.60GHz Intel Atom, Intel GMA 950)	1,446 PCMarks
Acer Aspire One (1.60GHz Intel Atom, Intel GMA 950)	1,555 PCMarks
ASUS Eee PC 901 (1.60GHz Intel Atom)	746 PCMarks
MSI Wind (1.60GHz Intel Atom)	N/A
ASUS Eee PC 900 (900MHz Intel Celeron M ULV)	1,172 PCMarks
HP 2133 Mini-Note (1.6GHz VIA C7-M ULV)	801 PCMarks
HTC Shift (800MHz Intel A110)	891 PCMarks
ASUS Eee PC 4G (630MHz Intel Celeron M ULV)	908 PCMarks
ASUS Eee PC 4G (900MHz Intel Celeron M ULV)	1,132 PCMarks
Everex CloudBook (1.2GHz VIA C7-M ULV)	612 PCMarks
Sony VAIO TZ (1.20GHz Intel Core 2 Duo U7600)	2,446 PCMarks
Fujitsu LifeBook P7230 (1.2GHz Intel Core Solo U1400)	1,152 PCMarks
Sony VAIO VGN-G11XN/B (1.33GHz Core Solo U1500)	1,554 PCMarks
Toshiba Portege R500 (1.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo U7600)	1,839 PCMarks

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

Notebook / CPU	wPrime 32M time
ASUS N10 (Intel Atom @ 1.60GHz)	126.047 seconds
ASUS Eee PC 1000HA (Intel Atom @ 1.60GHz)	117.577 seconds
Lenovo IdeaPad S10 (Intel Atom @ 1.60GHz)	127.172 seconds
Acer Aspire One (Intel Atom @ 1.60GHz)	125.812 seconds
ASUS Eee PC 901 (Intel Atom @ 1.60GHz)	123.437 seconds
MSI Wind (Intel Atom @ 1.60GHz)	124.656 seconds
ASUS Eee PC 900 (Intel Celeron M ULV @ 900MHz)	203.734 seconds
HP 2133 Mini-Note (Via CV7-M ULV @ 1.6GHz)	168.697 seconds
ASUS Eee PC 4G (Intel Celeron M ULV @ 630MHz)	289.156 seconds
ASUS Eee PC 4G (Intel Celeron M ULV @ 900MHz)	200.968 seconds
Everex CloudBook (VIA C7-M ULV @ 1.2GHz)	248.705 seconds
Fujitsu U810 Tablet PC (Intel A110 @ 800MHz)	209.980 seconds
Sony VAIO VGN-G11XN/B (Core Solo U1500 @ 1.33GHz)	124.581 seconds
Sony VAIO TZ (Core 2 Duo U7600 @ 1.2GHz)	76.240 seconds
Dell Inspiron 2650 (Pentium 4 Mobile @ 1.6GHz)	231.714 seconds

3DMark06 comparison results:

Notebook	3DMark06 Score
ASUS N10 (1.60GHz Intel Atom, Intel GMA 950)	73 3DMarks
ASUS N10 (1.60GHz Intel Atom, NVIDIA 9300M 256MB)	1,417 3DMarks
ASUS Eee PC 1000HA (1.60GHz Intel Atom, Intel GMA 950)	95 3DMarks
Lenovo IdeaPad S10 (1.60GHz Intel Atom, Intel GMA 950)	N/A
Acer Aspire One (1.60GHz Intel Atom, Intel GMA 950)	122 3DMarks
Sony VAIO TZ (1.20GHz Core 2 Duo U7600, Intel GMA 950)	122 3DMarks
HP dv2500t (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS 128MB)	1,055 3DMarks
Sony VAIO FZ (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	532 3DMarks
HP dv6000t (2.16 GHz Intel T7400, NVIDA GeForce Go 7400)	827 3DMarks

HDTune hard drive performance results:

Windows Vista also performed remarkably well on the N10, which seems to be the case with many Intel Atom based netbooks. The flow of system applications and short boot and shutdown times made it much more pleasing to use on a day to day basis compared to XP, and some benchmark scores improved as well. PCMark05 with the NVIDIA graphics enabled managed a score of 1,869 and 3DMark06 pulled in 1,404. 3DMark06 with the Intel graphics in the Vista environment almost doubled, with a score of 128. All the required drivers were easy to find on the ASUS site, which was expected since ASUS sells an N10 configuration with Vista out of the box.

Speakers and Audio

The Altec Lansing speakers on the N10 did sound slightly better than other netbook speakers, but were still leaving much to be desired. Bass and midrange were lacking, but volume levels were fine for average use. The headphone output was great for private listening, and with my Sennheiser HD-80s hooked up, I had no more complaints about bass or midrange. Peak volume levels through the headphone jack were well above my tolerance of loud music.

Ports and Features

Port selection was above average compared to many netbooks, with the addition of the HDMI output, ExpressCard/34 slot for external devices, and security enhancing fingerprint scanner. Beyond those devices the port selection included three USB, VGA, LAN, headphone/mic, multi-card reader, and a Kensington lock slot.

Front: 8-in-1 Card Reader

Rear: Battery

Left: Kensington Lock Slot, Switchable Graphics, HDMI, two USB, Wireless On/Off

Right: ExpressCard/34, Headphone(SPDIF)/Mic, one USB, VGA, LAN, AC Power

Heat and Noise

Thermal performance of the ASUS N10 was great, even under the stress of gaming with the dedicated graphics under load. At no time did the system fan go above a whisper level of noise. Right after gaming the palmrest and touchpad area would peak around 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Compared to the original Eee PC 701 which would heat soak and reach temperatures of 112 degrees Fahrenheit, ASUS has come a long way in terms of cooling performance.

Battery Life

Battery life with the screen brightness set to 100%, the N10 set to the “Quiet Office” power profile , and wireless active was 5 hours and 9 minutes before it went into standby at 3% remaining. With the NVIDIA graphics enabled under the same settings, estimated battery life was about 1 hour less.

Conclusion

The ASUS N10, while performing quite well in our testing in overall performance, didn’t see much gain in day-to-day use from the dedicated graphics. While the addition nets you an HDMI port, it doesn’t help with decoding HD movies or help with many games since the Intel Atom processor doesn’t have enough power to handle those activities. While you do get a classier looking design with a much nicer paint scheme and slightly slimmer look, you pay a price premium over the Eee PC 1000.

With a price tag nearly 50 percent greater than other netbook models, even more when compared to new HP and Dell offerings, it seems ASUS might have priced themselves out of the consumer market with the N10. Of course, the price tag is still perfectly reasonable as a "corporate netbook" ... and some less demanding road warriors may desire the affordable N10 over outrageously priced ultraportables like the Sony VAIO TZ.

Pros:

• Improved cooling over previous Eee PC models
• Good battery life
• Slimmer design over 10” Eee PC 1000
• ExpressCard slot for expansion
• HDMI output from a netbook

Cons:

• High price tag (compared to consumer netbooks)
• Dedicated graphics don’t really improve HD video decoding or mild gaming
• Keyboard doesn’t feel as comfortable as other 10” netbooks

 

uhhhh the price

 

Kevin - Great review - Thanks!!

 

This new $650 configuration of the N10 seems like an okay deal ... particularly if you look at it like a budget-priced alternative to a corporate road warrior notebook like the Sony TZ, Sony TT, or Toshiba R500.

However, given the fact that the new Dell Mini 12 will cost less than $600 and the dedicated graphics in the N10 have questionable benefit given the limitations of the current Atom processor it seems like the N10 may be too high priced for average consumers.

 

Thanks for the review.

It is interesting that games are, in reality, unplayable although the 3DMark06 score is quite good. There is evidently a CPU threshold below which the CPU performance does matter, and the Atom is below that threshold.

John

 

Even if the Atom processor is the bottleneck in the 9300M GS's ability to play games, its what is allowing the N10 to have HDMI out, the GMA 950/Intel 945 chipset cannot do that.

 

This had been a question of mine for a while. I was thinking about getting one of those Intel Mini ATX boards and slapping a decent PCI video card in it for mild gaming. I now know that would be pointless basically.

While true, HDMI out wasnt that useful over just VGA. If it handled decoding HD movies it might be nice for a little HTPC use, but as is it was kinda pointless.

 

Thanks for the review.

personally, anything over $500 ceases to be a netbook and becomes a poorly specc'd notebook.

 

Well that depends greatly on the features. It it was a 12" WXGA panel with similar configuration it would be more worth it at that price. Instead it is a Eee 1000 with a better paint job and HDMI out.

 

Don't forget the fingerprint reader and the ExpressCard slot!

Yeah, it's expensive compared to the other netbooks out there, but it does have a few extra features.

The new Fujitsu U820 has basically the same hardware (minus the port selection and using a smaller touch-sensitive screen and built-in GPS) for $1,049!!!

 

I hope there are plans to give the $499 Samsung NC10 a workout.

John

 

It's surprising that the keyboard is actually worst than other 10" netbooks such as the 1000H.It's suppose to be a full keyboard instead of 85%..90%.And it's suppose to be a big selling point over other netbooks.I am pretty pleased with the keyboard on my Eee 1000H.If business users are looking for a cheaper alternative to the Sony TZs and portable Fujitsus,I don't see this as a better choice than the Eee 1000 or MSI Wind etc....I never thought theres big market for this or the newer Eee S101.Thought the GPU is pointless on it as well,and it should have better display resolution at this price.I predict a price drop at this soon.

 

When I can get this, leather wrapped, for $400 I will bite. For now, too high.

 

At least test the video playback properly, you don't use Core AVC as it does not support the purevideo HD video decoding, you need to use Power DVD Ultra and have Hardware Acceleration ticked, worthless review in my opinion.

Also For test Material you need to specify what you use and use it across all platforms, eg.. WMV 720P/1080P, H264 720P/1080P, MPEG 2 1080i

Also the screenshots of the LED Screen don't do it justice, can you at least compare it side by side with a great screen eg.. Vaio TZ and a crap screen eg.. Msi Wind/EEE PC

How about you send me the lappy and I will do a technical review of it?

Also for these reviews i'd like to see what the insides look like, is there a spare Mini- PCI-E slot so you can add a HSDPA card..?

 

A dedicated graphics card in a netbook is such a waste but with yesterday's heartbreaking announcement that VIA and nVidia have abandoned their Nano+GeForce 9400M netbook plans it looks like the NJ10C-A1 is the only way to get anything "better" than the GMA950.

 

this is pretty heavy w/o an optical drive. I would get a tx2500z instead.

 

The 9300 ver. got a lower PC mark score?

 

So add another 100 bucks to the price of the notebook for software that may or may not work? We cant test every possible combination of video codecs in our reviews.

The LED backlit screen is the same thing that is found on the EEE PC 1000, MSI Wind, HP Mininote, HP Mini 1000, Lenovo S10, etc etc. Some might be offered in different flavors such as matte of glossy texture, but they are almost always the identical panel. The Sony TZ LCD would blow it out of the water though, different class of notebook.

No spare internal slot to add a WWAN slot.

You are free to purchase an N10 and run technical tests to your heart's content.

The HP Mininote and S10 also offer an ExpressCard/34mm slot, but I am not sure that is worth the price jump. Many USB WWAN cards exist today that are much smaller than the breakout box style radios out even a year ago. I still think an open internal slot would have been a much better option, considering it had the space and WWAN antennas are only a few cents worth of parts.

Now the fingerprint reader might be handy, but I cant say I use mine for much more than quick and easy logon

 

Great review but one thing really stands out....
THE N10 IS NOT A FREEKING NETBOOK. Man...

This has been mentioned by Asus on several ocassions. Notice how they named it like they do all their other laptops. Its a normal notebook, not a netbook:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/09/19/asus_intros_n10/
http://www.liliputing.com/2008/09/asus-n10-isnt-a-netbook-it-just-looks-and-acts-like-one.html
http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/notebooks/asus_N10/

Please people, stop calling it a netbook... ITS NOT!

 

But... it is... who cares what Asus calls it? 10", Atom processor, etc... It's a netbook whether they want it to be or not. The only reason they would NOT call it a netbook is so they can add a graphics card or more than 1 gig of ram to it... or just to slap a larger price tag on it. Man....

 

Weak excuse! I know I should be more diplomatic but it's a pet peeve when ignorance stomps on peoples hard work. There's a lot of engineers who put in months of their life to getting that 9300 gs on board and that effort certainly demands a more careful approach.

To put it in plain english, CoreAVC is CPU decoded and the Nvidia GPU will not help at all.

If you don't want to drop the $100, why not download Media Player Classic Home Cinema edition ($0) which happens to support GPU accelerated playback very nicely.

If you would have at least googled this netbook, you would have found many reviews and posts where people are amazed by the Nvidia gpu on a netbook.

If you don't have the knowledge, don't comment and certainly don't form conclusions!

 

Asus recently changed their minds. That is where the "Corporate Netbook" term came from, right out of our Asus press materials.

 

Its hard not to call it a netbook IMO with its size and "netbook" processor, despite the more expensive price. The upcoming Asus EEE S101 is around the same price range as this N10 but still classified as a netbook.

 

I don't think the ee pc and msi wind have LED backlight, and I don't think the mini note and s10 have expresscard, well the s10 definately does not, what kind of reviewer are you?

Also the Video playback is importantto some and the power dvd ultra is a free trial, if your not technical enough to do a review maybe you should let someoen else to, Iwas simply trying to advise youon what should be covered, why whould I buy an Asus N10J?, how about you buy it for me and i'll do a proper review of it or you pay me to teach you how to write a technical review..

 

You are aware that this is the guy who wrote the review!, god forbid on what basis he was hired, maybe he should switch his role to forum mod or something..

 

Please stop using the word netbook, is does not mean anything as it has no specifications locked to it, i.e pocket size pc with 5 inch, screen 5 mm thick, just some name some company used which everyone copies, he can called the think whatever he wants, since you call these littlecomputers netbooks, personally I think their little kidd'spc's, i.e laptops for noobs or stupid people

 

Still don't see the point of paying 200$ more then my eee 1000h

 

THIS IS CRAZY

using Halflife 2 and say N10J doesn't do much better in gaming..
Halflife 2, TF2 this game is more cpu dependent...
then many newer games

I have been playing fallout3 at 1024*600
at med- high setting . even added AA and AF to the setting.


ever tried to play Spore , fallout 3 , COD4 on any other netbook...
???
yes completely unplayable..
but on N10J it is playable...
and with cpu overclocked to 2.0ghz.
and with the help of the 9300M GS , I love the N10J.
it is truly a gaming "NETBOOK" lol

also yes about the HD video playable..
go n10user.com
there are guide about how to do it correctly
, there is also thread about how to overclock and
what games you can play using it

 

I guess i'll make some screenshots tonight showing my N10J playing VC1 1080P videos, on battery power none the less!!!

I"ll also have to retest all the syththetic benchmarks @ 2.1ghz (3D Mark series)

I wouldn't discount the ability of the 9300M with the Atom, as there are other users who have seen noticable gains in 3d performance with overclocking.

 

it is like saying...

something is suck, as you just don't know how to use it....

 

MPC-HC ($0 USD; Free) will offload H264/AVC & VC1 compliant DXVA materials (720P, 1080P) HD videos to the nVidia GeForce 9300M GS's GPU for full 100% decode leaving the Intel Atom virtually out of the decoding process. Commercial solutions (i.e. CoreAVC & PowerDVD) are no longer needed.

We have several people using the HDMI out to HDTV's playing back 720P & 1080P content perfectly fine. And should also note that audio-passthrough for AC3 & DTS and stereo downmix works properly over the HDMI out when powered by the GeForce 9300M GS.

Software decode (i.e. CoreAVC) will soon disappear as more GPU's enter the market which support full H264/AVC & VC1 GPU offload.

Cheers,
Kermee

 

The lid is nice. I wish Asus would release that external graphics card thingy already.

 

yeAh. with the liD oPen, it lOoked like HP's DVxxx series.

 

Just wanted to provide an update since many forum members wanted clarification on the HD decoding when using hardware decoding software. I tried out MPC-HC and it helps to offload both 720P and 1080P well enough to limit the frame dropping I was noticing before. It does have some hiccups running of of battery, but on AC it seems pretty solid.

Much better results in the HTPC area, but paying 100 bucks for other software would be insane. At $649 it still tips the scales for a netbook, considering how much more notebook you can get for that price with more capabilities. If it was closer to $500 my opinion would change.

 

Well it has express card and fingerprint and dedicate graphics, in my opinion it's a bargain!, if only it had the dual core atom

 

I would vote for the Dual Core Atom too. The fingerprint reader works very well. I use it everyday to log into Vista. I'm also using a Verizon Kyocera KPC680 EVDO Rev A (ExpressCard 3/4) in the ExpressCard slot and it works great.

Kevin,

Did you use MPC-HC under XP or Vista? The GPU offload seems to work better under Vista using an EVR graph (Enhanced Video Renderer) which XP doesn't support.

Under Vista when using MPC-HC and a 1080P Blu-Ray rip (we're talking full bitrate close to 30Mbps H264/AVC), even under battery power and the GPU being declocked to VERY low 2D speeds with nVidia PowerMizer, the CPU usage is only around 15% during playback when the Blu-Ray is completely offloaded to the nVidia GeForce 9300M GS.

GPU temps (using GPU-z & HWMonitor 1.11) never breaks 60C during full H264/AVC playback. Pretty impressive.

Cheers,
Kermee

 

Thanks for the Info, I take it it would be the same when using Power DVD Ultra, My Sony TZ which costs 4 times more than this has a 1.2GHZ C2D and the crappy GMA 950 and maxes out at 720P H264@ 8mb/s.... , just proves how much better the dedicated graphics are, and they are not just for games, how good is the screen? compared to say the MSI Wind?, I will get one if it had a good screen.., i.e good viewing angles, deep blacks, insanely bright, and no washed out display

Thinking of getting this.. PCI-E H264 Decoder, can swap it with my WWAN card..., why don't notebookreview buy one and test it in say an MSI Wind or EEE PC, or are you not technical enough to do it?

 

I've been extremely happy with the screen. This is actually my first semi-glossy/glossy screen that I've had. I thought I would hate it after being so use to matte, but it hasn't been bad at all. The blacks are definitely very deep and the LED backlight makes this screen extremely bright when turned up all the way. I think there's a small bit of washout, but it's not bad at all. I prefer this screen over my Eee 1000H's screen. I don't have an MSI Wind to compare with.

For reference, the Hardware ID on the screen is CPT04C4.

I don't know much about that particular miniPCIe device for offloading H264/AVC/VC1 decoding plus wouldn't have a use for it other than to test it in my Eee 1000H after taking out the WWAN. I wished notebooks/netbooks had more spare miniPCIe slots these days

Cheers,
Kermee

 

This is cool, ASUS always make laptops with high spec at low price....cant believe this thing also come with dedicated graphics.....a netbook with dedicated graphics....this is real new thing.

 

I just noticed your sig the LED screen in the new Mackbook is nothing to rave about as it is a bad screen with poor viewing angles and washed out display, I don't think it is even LED think they are lying about that..

 

No offense, but that is a pretty crap thing to say to someone about their new notebook unprovoked. Have you even seen both in person? I am by far not a Mac fan, but the new screen is pretty good on that notebook, much better than the older version.

EDIT: Tomorrow I am going to crack out the Al Macbook and get some N10 vs MacBook screen shots. If I can steal another guys laptop it will be N10 vs Macbook vs TZ.

 

Not to mention totally irrelevant to the review

btw, nice review Kevin I'm looking forward to see your macbook/N10 comparison. Hopefully there will be pictures!

 

I am 95% certain it is still on Jerry's desk. If it is I will have some comparison shots early in the morning.

 

Sounds to me like someone is just upset they aren't smart enough to start their own laptop review site so they can play with all the fancy new toys, so he come on here and try and act all high and mighty to try and feel better

 

With regards to the gaming - can you test more than just HL2? The Source engine is notoriously CPU-hungry, and the poor Atom is just getting crushed there.

Try something - anything else, really. Maybe an iDTech-based game, or Call of Duty 4.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMgBFwneMdQ&fmt=18

You can see how badly I suck at COD4

"ASUS N10J-A1 running Call of Duty 4 COD4 @ Native Resolution (1024x600), 4xAA 16xAF, with the "big three" turned off (Shadows, Specular Map, Soften Smoke Edges). Using Laptop2Go's ForceWare 179.13 drivers. Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz. GeForce 9300M GS 256MB. ~20 people on a multiplayer server."

I have not retested with the Atom OC'ed to 2.1 GHz w/ForceWare 180.43 but would expect a noticeable increase in FPS due to the OC itself.

Cheers,
Kermee

 

Yes I have seen it in person. otherwise why would I comment?, it's a washed out display, seen it side by side with the mac book pro LED the mac book pro displays whipes the floor with it but still not no where near as good as the TZ.....

Add the Eee pc 1000 or Msi wind to that screenshot

 

Here is the N10 next to the Macbook (aluminum).

Macbook is brighter dead on, both colors and white levels. The Macbook has a slightly warmer hue while the N10 shifts whites towards the blue spectrum.

Also attached a Wind comparison shot that I took during that review against my Lenovo T60 and my Dell D630.

 

Thanks for the pictures Kevin! Any comments on the graininess between the macbook and N10?

 

Neither stand out as being grainy or having a "sparkle" effect. Usually glossy panels dont exhibit it as much as some matte panels.