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Asus Transformer Book T200TA review

By Andrei Girbea , updated on April 8, 2021
Tested: Asus Transformer Book T200TA
Rating: 4/5     Price Range: $399-$499
Summary: The Asus Transformer Pad T200TA is one of the most interesting affordable 2-in-1s of the moment. It starts at $400 and for that kind of money you're getting a BayTrail platform machine with a 11.6 inch IPS display, a 37 Wh battery and a docking unit that bundles a full-size keyboard, wide trackpad and more ports. They all add up and the entire thing is rather bulky and heavy, but that's a compromise you can probably learn to live with.

The good

nicely build, decent quality IPS screen, handle daily tasks well, packs a dock with a good keyboard and a good selection of ports, charges fast and lasts for 8+ hours on a go, excellent price

The bad

bulky and heavy, packs only an HD screen and only 2 GB of RAM

A while ago I’ve reviewed the Asus Transformer Book T100TA, which quickly became one of the best-selling 2-in-1s of the last year. Now it’s time to have a look at a similar, yet different in a few important ways device, the Transformer Book T200TA.

This one is mostly an oversized version of the T100, as it is still designed as a stand-alone Windows 8.1 tablet bundled with a matching docking station, included in the pack. In other words, the T200 is something you can use as a regular slate, or a mini-laptop if you need the extra productivity provide by a keyboard and peripherals.

Compared to the T100 though, the T200 is larger, heavier, and packs an 11.6 inch touchscreen. The dock is more complex, with extra ports, a full-size keyboard, and a wider trackpad. Price-wise though, the T200 is expected to start at $399 (follow this link for an updated price tag at the time you’re reading this), which is more or less on par with what Asus charged for the T100 at launch.

Keep in mind that I’ve used the T200 extensively for the last two weeks and my review is based on my impressions gathered during this time. The tablet came from Asus’s PR department and went back after I published the article and the video.

Later update: The Transformer Book T200TA has grown old in the meantime, but if you’re still interested in this kind of highly-portable devices, then you should definitely check out our guides on the best 10 and 11-inch mini-laptops available in stores these days, as well as our more recent reviews of Asus ultraportable devices.

The Asus Transformer Book T200 is one of the most affordable 11.6 inch 2-in-1s available right now

The Asus Transformer Book T200 is one of the most affordable 11.6 inch 2-in-1s available right now

 Asus Transformer Book T200TA spec sheet
Screen11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 px, IPS
HardwareIntel Atom BayTrail-T Z3775 CPU 1.46 GHz CPU and Intel HD graphics
Memory2 GB RAM
Storage64 GB eMMC inside the slate and 500 GB HDD in the dock
Connectivity
Wireless N, Bluetooth
Sensorsaccelerometer, compass, gyroscope, light sensor
Portsmicro-HDMI, micro-USB, microSD card reader (up to 64 GB cards), proprietary docking port, headphone jack
Cameras5 MPx back camera without Flash, 1.2 MPx front camera
Battery37 Wh
OSWindows 8.1
SizeTablet: 305 x 194 x 11.95 mm (12” x 7.6” x 0.47”)
With dock: 305 x 200 x 26 mm (12” x 7.7” x 1”)
WeightTablet: 780 g (1.71 lbs)
With dock (and HDD): 1625 g (3.58 lbs)
Othersdocking station included, with keyboard, trackpad, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 slots, LAN port and HDD

The Video Review

Design, exterior and first look

Like I said above, on a first look the T200 seems just like a larger version of the popular T100. That was expected, since there’s an 11.6 inch screen on this Transformer Book, while the T100 only packed a 10.1 inch display. However, you’ll notice that there’s a lot of bezel around the screen, at this has a major impact on this slate’s footprint as well.

On top of that, the T200 is rather heavy, as it tips the scales at 1.7 pounds. Have it connected to the dock and you’ll end up with a 3.6 pounds device, while most standard 11 inch mini laptops weigh less than 3, which means that Asus somewhat sacrificed portability on this device in order to implement the form-factor with reduced costs.

Weight aside though, the T200 feels and looks good enough. In fact, it’s fairly sturdy and nicely finished, again, for something that only sells for $400. Blue textured plastic is used for the slate’s back and sides, with a rubbery feel that makes it grippy in hand, but will catch dirt easily. The sides are a bit sharp and covered in some sort of glossy plastic, while the front is occupied by the screen (and bezel).

It’s worth noticing here that all the ports and connectors were placed on the left-edge, which leads to an uncluttered right-side, ideal for most users when having this on a flat surface, in laptop mode.

Docking station

The dock is made from a mix of silver plastic on the interior and black, rugged plastic on its belly. But if you were looking for premium materials, you won’t find them on the T200.

In fact, this is what makes the Transformer Book T200 as versatile as it is, enhancing your experience with the slate. It offers a full-sized keyboard, with proper spaced keys, good tactile feedback and decent travel. In fact, this feels a lot like the keyboards on the Asus Chromebook C200 and the Asus Vivobook X202.

There’s also a large, smooth trackpad and most-of-the-time accurate trackpad, with gestures support, and a roomy palm-rest.

On top of that, on the sides Asus tucked a LAN port and two USB connectors (USB 3.0 on the right and 2.0 on the left), while on the inside there’s room for a hard-drive. A 500 GB HDD came presintalled on our test unit, but Asus actually made it really simple to access this bay, which is only one Philips screw and one plastic cap away from you. So if you’ll buy the T200 without the HDD in the dock, it’s going to be very easy to put one in there yourself (or maybe put an SSD instead).

Latching/unlatching the slate and the dock together is another simple process and the hinge is solid enough to keep the screen exactly how you’ll set it up. However, the connection is not completely firm, as the slate moves in place when attached to the dock. On the other hand, the T200 is not very top-heavy, so it won’t easily fall on its rear when the screen is leaned back as much as the hinge allows.

To sum these up, I overall liked how this Transformer Book T200 feels and looks. The slate itself is large and heavy, thus not that comfortable to use, which I wasn’t exactly expecting considering the hardware it packs inside (read down below for details). But that’s the corner Asus had to cut in order to meet the low price point and it’s just something you’ll have to take as it is.

Screen

There’s an 11.6 inch touchscreen on this T200 and Asus went with an average-quality IPS panel. It covers 72% of the sRGB and 55% of Adobe RGB standards, which is not bad, but not impressive either. It has good viewing angles and the average DeltaE for the uncalibrated panel is 1.99, with the Blues and the Reds more aggressively skewed than the others.

More details are available below (I’m using a Datacolor Spyder4 Elite colorimeter for the measurements):

  • measured gamma: 2.3 ;
  • max brightness in the middle of the screen: 254 cd/m2 on power;
  • contrast at max brightness: 630:1;
  • white point: 7200 K;
  • black on max brightness: 0.40 cd/m2;
  • average DeltaE: 1.99 uncalibrated, 1.55 calibrated .

The White point is rather cold, but the panel is bright enough and offers decent contrast. On top of that, the Brightness distribution is really good. The picture included is a bit skewed, as there was just not enough room to place the Spyder on the lower third of the screen, which resulted in what I consider inaccurate results for that area of the screen.

Of course, the display is glossy on this device and if you plan to use it outside, reflections and glare are going to be a problem.

Hardware and daily use experience

Hardware wise, the T200 shares the same platform as the T100: an Intel Atom BayTrail-T Z3775 processor with 2 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal eMMC storage and a 500 GB HDD in the dock, for this tested version. Roughly 35 GB are available for your own content on that internal flash, with a fresh Windows 8.1 install. In time, this space will diminish.

The Hynix made eMMC is not a lot faster than a regular HDD, but at least it’s silent. And the fact that this laptop only comes with 2 GB of RAM will probably disappoint some of you, especially since those cannot be upgraded and the Atom platform supports up to 4 GB of memory. However, if Asus went for 4 GB of RAM on this one, they also would have had to get the 64bit version of the OS preinstalled, and these two would have once again affected the price.

And as James added in the comments section: “Besides cost, 4GB LP-DDR3 RAM is also still not a common option for mobile range devices and the Bay Trail T is using the same mobile LP-DDR3 RAM used in many ARM based devices. So the increase cost would be greater than it would be for the Bay Trail M and D series that support DDR3L RAM that can be readily found in higher capacities.

The hardware is not upgradeable and in fact accessing it is not an easy endeavor, as it requires to remove the slate’s back cover. There is however a HDD in the dock, a Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A on our unit, which is a 7 mm drive . I can’t confirm whether 9 mm drive will work or not, but you can be safe as go with 7 mm ones.

The Atom platform is meant to be primarily efficient, so it’s not a power-horse, but is capable of handling well most everyday activities, from browsing to chatting, from editing texts to watching all sorts of video content, listening to music and even playing older games or the touch-optimized titles in Microsoft’s Store. Just don’t over push it and don’t try to multitask between many apps opened at the same time, cause if you do, you’ll end up with a choppy experience.

I had no problems running high-bitrate 1080p mkvs on this T200 or streaming 1080p content from Youtube, in which case the Wireless module proved fast and reliable (a Broadcom 802.11 bgn chip). There’s also a Fast Ethernet Realtek adapter, in case you need to go the wired route.

The speakers are not bad either, loud and punchy, and definitely help with the overall multimedia experience, but the slate’s shell tends to vibrate when pumping up the volume, which is not going to be a problem when using this T200 in laptop mode, but could be when holding it as a tablet.

The computer also runs cool, as you can see from the pictures below and the case barely gets warm under load. On top of that, this thing is almost completely noiseless, if not for the occasional cranking of the spinning hard-drive. Otherwise, the platform is fan-less, thus dead-quiet.

Battery Life

The T200 is capable of going for up to 8 hours of daily use, with Wi-Fi ON and the screen at 50%, while performing a mix of the activities mentioned above, with the dock attached all of the time. And that’s not bad at all.

The tablet can also go for about 11 hours when left idle, with the screen completely dimmed down. At the same time, it will run out of juice in under 5 hours of full-load with the screen at max brightness.

Keep in mind that this particular version of the T200 comes with the HDD inside the dock and that’s going to have an impact on final numbers. If you’ll go for the versions without the HDD, your T200 will last somewhat longer each charge. It’s also worth noting here that there’s no extra battery inside the dock.

There’s supposedly a 37 Wh battery inside the slate, although HWInfo and other similar software only show an 18.5 Wh one on my test unit, but also abnormally small average consumption, which makes me think the apps are only reporting on half of the battery, but the entire one is actually in use.

The laptop comes with a 33Wh power-brick and a complete charge takes around 2 hours (with light use during this time). It no longer charges via the microUSB port, like the T100 model, but through a dedicated charging pin.

The T200 charges fast

The T200 charges fast

Pricing and conclusions

Now, to wrap this up, the T200 sure offers a lot for the money: an interesting hardware platform, long battery life, a nice screen, plenty of ports and a surprisingly good typing experience. It does sacrifice portability, as it is bulky and heavy for an 11 incher.

It’s also not meant for heavy use, but can handle well the daily chores. Last but not least, it’s built entirely out of plastic and some of you might have expected a higher resolution screen and better hardware configurations, with 4 GB of RAM and extra storage space, but those would have driven the prices up.

Asus chose to keep the prices down instead, as the T200 starts at $399 for the 32 GB version (follow this link for the updated price). There will be a couple of different other models available as well, including one with 64 GB of SSD storage, 4 GB of RAM and one with a HDD included in the dock. Personally, I’d buy the 64 GB variant and add a storage unit of my own licking in the dock later on, preferably an SSD, in order to keep this thing completely noiseless, as this is after all one of the Atom’s platform selling points.

I’ll update this section with prices and configurations as soon as the T200 becomes available in stores.

Update: the 32 GB model is available in UK at various stores, Including Argos, for £349 (Thanks Alan).

Update2: The $399 model, with 32 GB of storage, 2 GB of RAM and no HDD in the dock, seems to be BestBuy exclusive in the US right now. Other shops, including Amazon or B&H or Newegg list a $499 version, which bundles a higher clocked Intel Z3795 processor, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage and Windows 8.1 64-bit. There’s not Office license included with this model (or with the cheaper base version either) from what I can tell, unlike with the smaller T100TA and T100TAM 2-in-1s.

While not without flaws, the Asus Transformer Book T200TA sure offers a lot for the money

While not without flaws, the Asus Transformer Book T200TA sure offers a lot for the money

At the end of the day, the Transformer Book T200 hits the sweet-spot and I believe it’s going to be one of the most popular inexpensive 2-in-1s of this year. It’s not the ideal option for everyone and it might not be what you want, in which case you should check out my list of recommended 11 inchers available here on the site, and also some of the other Asus Transformer Books, the portable and cheap T100, or the premium looking T300, with a 13 inch screen, Intel Core hardware and a sleek metallic body.

Either way, that’s about it for this review. Let me know what you think about the Asus Transformer Book T200TA in the comments section below, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask, I and the other readers will be around to reply.

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Andrei Girbea, Editor-in-Chief at TLBHD.com. This project was born as part of my search for capable mini-laptops that I could easily lug around to work, and still provide the performance that I'd need on a daily basis. I'm primarily using such ultracompact devices and have been testing them since 2006.

135 Comments

  1. Mesh

    September 28, 2014 at 4:12 pm

    Hi,
    I got problem, I can’t decide between t200 with z3775, 2gb ram and pavilion 11×2 with n3510, 4gb ram 64 bit windows. Can somebody give me advice which one will be better to work and play primary games and why ?
    Greets

    • Andrei Girbea

      September 30, 2014 at 1:34 pm

      That platform in the HP is faster and you get more RAM, but as the same time the battery life suffers. While the T200 can go for 8+ hours on a charge, the Pavilion will probably settle at half that.

      Not sure what games are you planning on running on these. If you’re talking about Windows touchscreen optimized titles from the Store, both should handle them fine. If you want Full PG games, then neither is actually powerful enough to cope with them

      • Mesh

        September 30, 2014 at 4:57 pm

        Thanks for reply

  2. Alan

    September 29, 2014 at 7:09 pm

    I can confirm my UK T200 came with a trial version of office.

  3. Mari

    October 1, 2014 at 1:49 pm

    has this model Lte? And can i use enternet modem on tablet without doc?

  4. anonymous

    October 6, 2014 at 5:43 pm

    Very nice review, temperatures and all :). There is a 4 GB Z3795 variant of the T200ta (T200TA-C1 I believe). Could you please do a performance and battery test on that too! Thanks!

  5. Hywel

    October 7, 2014 at 12:58 am

    I am really anxious for the T200 to come out as I need a replacement for my Toshiba NB 505. I need to replace it fairly quickly and can get my hands on a T100 here at a local store. However, I like the looks and specs of the T200 and am hoping it will be for sale in the U.S. shortly. Does anyone know the release date for it in the U.S.??

  6. Simon

    October 7, 2014 at 11:02 pm

    You already can buy it from TigerDirect.com and Amazon.com. You also can pre-order it from NewEgg.com

  7. Berkes Attila

    October 11, 2014 at 8:55 pm

    Thank you for the review.
    My question: does it have GPS indeed ?
    /it is mentioned in the connectiviy section
    of the specifications/
    Regards.

    • Andrei Girbea

      October 12, 2014 at 1:19 pm

      The 4G/LTE model does have GPS. The Wi-Fi model, I’m not entirely sure to be frank, that’s something I forgot to check out 🙁 SOme listings say that it does include GPS, but maybe some of those who already bought it could help out with clarifications.

    • Edro

      October 22, 2014 at 11:24 pm

      Yep it has the GPS Broadcom in the $499 version I have

  8. Hakan Srk

    October 13, 2014 at 3:01 am

    İf we use this tablets without docks, how much time battery life on maxiumum load? Without hdd

  9. Ray

    October 14, 2014 at 9:25 am

    Hi. Nice review. Can you tell me, the T100 comes complete with MS Office. Does the T200 come with same? Thanks

    • Andrei Girbea

      October 14, 2014 at 11:27 pm

      This might differ from region to region, but Alan and a few other UK commenters reported that their units did not come with Office preinstalled. See the comments section at the end of the post.

  10. Stephanie

    October 14, 2014 at 9:25 pm

    I’m trying to decide about the new T200 or the T300. To get the higher configuration with 4 GB RAM and 64 SSD, it looks like the cost is around $499. On the microsoft site, they have the T300 on sale for $599 (though currently out of stock) with the i5 processor and 128 SSG. The screen is better resolution on the T300, but it appears to be quite a bit heavier–and I have seen some complaints about having to charge the keyboard separately and the inability to open the angle of the computer enough when using as a laptop. I use my computer mostly for web surfing and email, sometimes for microsoft word, though not too much heavy computing. I do store pictures and emails from outlook. Which Asus transformer do you recommend and why? Thanks!

    • Andrei Girbea

      October 16, 2014 at 5:55 pm

      That’s how I’d look at these two:

      T200: made of plastic, somewhat smaller, lower power hardware, FANLESS (thus, noiseless), longer battery life, somewhat cheaper
      T300: made of metal, a tad bigger, much faster hardware and increased storage space, has a spinning fan, shorter battery life.

      Both include the docks, right? If that’s the case, I’d probably get the T300 for $599. But if it’s out of stock, than the whole comparison is in vain. No matter how good the other option is, if you can’t buy it, you’re left with the T200. Which will handle basic tasks fine. But is definitely slower than the i5 T300.

  11. Adrian

    October 14, 2014 at 11:46 pm

    Got my T200 from argos UK. They have a trial version of office installed. So it’s a technicality if it’s advertised as having it installed. It’s not the full version.

  12. SMB

    October 15, 2014 at 1:18 pm

    I would just like to add that all specs I have read, including from Asus website that the T200 acutally has 4gb or RAM. I don’t have one, can you verify that your’s only has 2gb?

    • Andrei Girbea

      October 16, 2014 at 5:23 pm

      Check the HWInfo picture, my unit came with only 2 GB of RAM. However, the Z3775 processor can be paired with 4 GB of RAM, so maybe the versions available in your country will come with 4 GB. Can you leave here one of those links you mentioned. Assu website mentioned only 2 GB: asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/ASUS_Transformer_Book_T200TA/specifications/ . We are talking about the T200 here and not the T300, right?

      Update: I did notice that a higher end version with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage is available in the US for $499. But I tested the base models, which seems to be exclusive on Bestbuy for $399.

      • Kristen

        October 18, 2014 at 5:15 am

        Hello there, I just brought the best buy version for $ 399. and I was just wondering if I can add a HDD or an SSD to the dock part of (U.S. version T200TA with MS office 2013) to increase the storage because after the updates for this 2 in 1 i’ll will have very little storage left. here’s a link to the US version below

        bestbuy.com/site/asus-2-in-1-tablet-11-6-intel-atom-32gb-with-keyboard-blue/7583004.p?id=1219279718638&skuId=7583004

        P.S. one more question, can you watch hd 1080p-1440p youtube videos with this version?

      • Andrei Girbea

        October 18, 2014 at 11:48 am

        1080p yes, but higher bitrates might get choppy. 1440p no.

        From what I know, all T200TA ship with the right connectors in the dock, thus you can add a storage drive there by your own. Can’t say if this BestBuy model is any different and it probably isn’t. BUt you could give them a call and ask about that. just ot be sure.

  13. Timothy

    October 24, 2014 at 3:23 am

    Did your battery have any wear on it first day?

  14. Howard

    November 3, 2014 at 4:52 am

    Hi Andrei, First thank you for the review!
    I have a question in regard to the display..
    It seems like the IPS screen on the T200TA is average at best.. Color Accuracy is quite important to me as I do use it to do photography editing..
    Would you happen to know how the screen compares to a Nexus 2013 ? (Which supposedly has very accurate colors) I currently have a Nexus 7 2013 but I’m looking for a replacement windows tablet for office work and light photo editing/ movie watching..

    • Andrei Girbea

      November 3, 2014 at 5:05 pm

      Hmmm, it’s not as accurate as the screen on the Nexus 2013, but it’s not much worse. If you’ll calibrate it with a proper tool, it should be OK for ocasional photo editing. But this does not have the power or the screen quality to be your main computer used for this task.

  15. Mirko

    November 4, 2014 at 12:56 pm

    Hi Andrei,

    congratulations for the excellent explanation. In your opinion, at this time there is a PC that costs as the t200ta but is best?

    • Andrei Girbea

      November 4, 2014 at 4:49 pm

      Depends how you define better. You can find similar sized and more powerfull laptops, Asus have some 11 inchers with Intel Core I3 Haswell processors and Acer have some as well for about 400 euro/USD. They might not be avialable worldwide though. But those don’t have the screen, the battery life or the form factor of this Transformer Book. You might also want to check out the Acer Aspire Switch 11, as a direct competitor with similar features.

  16. Kevin

    November 8, 2014 at 4:16 pm

    Hello Andrei. I’m trying to decide between the T200TA (with the higher clocked Intel Z3795 processor, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage and Windows 8.1 64-bit), the TP500 with the i3 processor, 6GB RAM, and 500 GB drive, or the TP500 (with the i5 processor, 8GB RAM, and 1TB drive. It would be mostly for general use and video watching. What is your opinion? Would it be better to go with the TP500 with the i5 because of the 1920×1080 FHD screen, even though it’s TN? Or is the T200TA screen better because it’s IPS, even thought it’s only 1366×768 HD? Thanks for the help.

  17. Austin

    December 3, 2014 at 10:44 am

    Hello Andrei, thanks for the review! I am trying to decide between the T100 and the T200. What would be some main advantages of buying a T200 instead of a T100 in your opinion?

  18. JohnB

    December 3, 2014 at 7:36 pm

    Can anyone tell me if the keyboard dock will charge the tablet’s battery when docked?

    thanks,
    JohnB

    • Andrei Girbea

      December 6, 2014 at 7:24 pm

      the dock does NOT have a battery, the only one is placed inside the tablet

  19. Rose

    December 12, 2014 at 5:31 am

    Hello, i was just wondering if it is possible to charge just the tablet part with out the dock?

    • Andrei Girbea

      December 13, 2014 at 11:21 pm

      Yes, it is. In fact, you only charge the tablet, the dock does not contain any battery. The charging Pin is placed on the tablet.

  20. Tom

    December 25, 2014 at 3:43 pm

    HI there,

    Thanks for the excellent review!

    I see that the T200-C1-BL, with faster chip and 4GB RAM, is now available in the US. Does anyone have any idea when it might be available in the UK? Or where Asus would publish such details?

    Cheers, Tom.

    • Janet

      January 24, 2015 at 2:04 pm

      I’m trying to find out the same thing! As far as I can see, it is only available in the US (none of the US suppliers will ship to the UK, I assume for legal reasons). Just found it on amazon.de, don’t know if they will ship to the UK, but presumably there is also a problem that the software etc would be in German? Frustrating…

      Janet

      • Tom

        January 26, 2015 at 10:13 pm

        I discovered exactly the same thing. The other potential problem with a German machine would be the keyboard…

        You can get eBay units from the states, and in the end that is what I did. Mine has arrived in the uk, but I haven’t picked it up yet. You pay import taxes, but all in it was only a shade over £400.

        I will report back here once I have my hands on the computer!

  21. Retzel

    December 27, 2014 at 11:47 am

    Great review Andrei, well done.

  22. Andrew

    December 28, 2014 at 6:32 am

    Ok i am in the process of importing the 4gb 64gb ssd version of the t200ta what i am wondering is if the tablets ssd can be upgraded as it is a real ssd not an emmc which is soldered to the motherboard and cannot be replaced.

    Surely if the 4g versionof the t200 has a 64gb ssd then it should be ugradable?

    • Andrei Girbea

      January 3, 2015 at 12:26 pm

      it’s an eMMC and cannot be upgraded.

    • Carlos Sousa

      March 31, 2015 at 5:07 pm

      There SSD and SSD Micro, I think they have yes. When referring to eMMC ram I think it MicroSSD. The Samsung and Dell Venue use Micro SSD. It is possible to clone the full system to an external disk (preferecia will said Micro SSD) and then switch and activate. All this implies external boot support for it to be done. It is also true that anyone who sells tablets with Windows system under 64gb should be prosecuted for deception, serious fraud. as everyone knows the windows occupies a certain space also needs some space to work, and one for later for updates, to fill the gaps of Microsoft. Where is this space for systems with 32gb and the 64gb. Microsoft at least should provide access to Office 365 free Msoft who buy these tablets. Because there is no space for installation.

  23. anino41

    January 5, 2015 at 12:30 pm

    Hi there. I’ve recently swapped out the 500GB Hard Disk Drive with an SSD and everything appeared to be working. But when I opened the Optimize Drives app in Windows 8.1, it says that the Medium Type is a Hard Disk Drive. Since it performs optimizations (e.g. defragmenting) on schedule, would that affect the heath of my SSD? Is there a workaround for this? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

    • Andrei Girbea

      January 5, 2015 at 2:51 pm

      SSDs don’t neet to be defragmented. There’s a general agreement that defraging an SSD is bad, but I have no experience with this. Try to find some articles on this topic and just to be safe, see how you can turn off those optimizations. Which app is performing them? There should be a away to disable the defragmenting.

      • anino41

        January 5, 2015 at 11:45 pm

        Thanks for responding. I think it’s a problem with the Optimize Drives app—included with Windows—since it can’t tell that it’s an SSD and instead thinks that it’s a Hard Disk Drive, therefore defragmenting it. But it does perform optimizations (TRIM) on the eMMC instead of defragmenting it. For now I’ve disabled performing further optimizations on the SSD.

        Thanks again.

  24. Laurent

    February 13, 2015 at 3:52 pm

    Thanks for the nice review !
    I just bought the 4Gb memory/32Gb storage version… and 32Gb storage is definitely too short. There is a recovery partition of 10Gb which you can’t remove, and this leaves you with only about 19Gb storage… Windows 8.1 + MSOffice can be installed, but WindowsUpdate will not be able to install all necessray updates in such a small space… I had to reformat the disk in order to remove this recovery partition and reinstall Windows8.1 and MSOffice… The are only 8 Gb left on the orginal storage…
    The 64Gb storage is the minimum version you will need… otherwise, it’s a great machine !

    • Carlos Sousa

      April 6, 2015 at 1:59 am

      I’m sorry but you are wrong. You can delete the recovery partition. You only have the problem then if you need to reset the system or drivers nothing. What compels you to have an External DVDRW that connect the USB and so you may install everything. If you are adventurous and you know how the matter. You can open the Tablet, withdrawest the micro SSD 32gb that there is shopping and a micro SSD size that you want. You put and have a asus with the ability that gives you way more. In place of the HDD attention. You can put any disk up to 1 TByte but must have a thickness of 7 mm. You can also put a more than 7 mm but do not place the stand. The cap will put pressure which causes the keyboard is with a slight bend but you have the ability. The model does not accept disks greater than 1 TByte. If you have money, buy a ‘Bplus SSDMR Dual Mini SATA ranges from $ 28 to $ 70. It may take 2 Micro SATA, can function as a disk, or as two individual or even as in RAID mode. Which spends far less than a normal SATA 5400 rpm and less than a 7200 rpm. Good Luck

      • Fiddle

        April 13, 2015 at 7:36 pm

        I’m sorry Carlos, but you in fact are wrong here. The recovery partition in the T200TA is not the recovery partition that comes with 99% of other Windows computers (not even the same one that comes with the T100).

        Notice how the person replied to you, Laurent, said that they had 19GB free on their device, but when they removed Windows 8 and reinstalled it, they only had 8GB? There is a VERY good reason why this is and it ties into that recovery partition that Laurent was so eager to remove.

        Starting with Windows 8.1 Update 1, OEMs can install a “compressed” version of Windows in their products. Google “WIMBoot” for more information. A compressed OS has most of the system files as a recovery partition and Windows uncompresses certain system files from the recovery partition on the fly when it needs to. This allows full-fat Windows for the first time in a long time to fit on storage below 16GB.

        Of course, what this means is that deleting the recovery partition is akin to deleting the Windows partition on any other computer, in which case you mustn’t do it! In any case, you will find it extraordinarily hard to do it anyway. Windows and recovery partition programs will flat out refuse to delete it. If you boot out of Windows, reformat it and reinstall Windows, suddenly you have no WIMBoot partition and as a result you lose a ton of space. Laurent, the poor chap, lost about 10GB when performing the reinstallation.

        In short, the T200TA recovery partition should be left alone!

        Fiddle

  25. sue

    March 30, 2015 at 5:56 pm

    I’m struggling to find anyone stocking 64gb version – does anyone know who DOES in the uk?

  26. Laurent

    April 14, 2015 at 2:20 pm

    Hi,

    actually, you can remove the recovery partition… You have to reinstall windows 8.1 from a USB stick and delete all partition on the T200. By doing this, you do have the 32 Gb available. You can place the recovery paritition on a USB disk before doing this… . I did it two months ago, and everything works fine.
    If I had not do this, I would have been unable update windows on the compute because of lack of disk space. The preinstalled windows 8.1 is not the “compressed” version… I would have preferred…

  27. saby

    May 29, 2015 at 6:13 pm

    Can I install manual os in this machine.? Say for example Ubuntu. I need Ubuntu for working over SQL server.

  28. Samantha

    June 10, 2015 at 2:40 am

    I am not very tech savy and having problems here. How exactly do I access my D drive that shows an extra 465 GB of space. I was left with next to nothing from when it was bought, as my C drive shows only 18.8 GB.

    I have this one > fnac.es/Portatil-convertible-Asus-Transformer-Book-T200TA-CP016H-Ordenador-portatil-PC-Portatil/a1054320?SID=2948d131-e51b-df23-bf39-342cd769f2a8&UID=0B06EE7DC-A7D2-4763-6BDE-F6BFBA69EFBD&Origin=fnac_google&OrderInSession=1&TTL=071220150138#ficheDt

    • Fiddle

      June 10, 2015 at 2:20 pm

      You access it by going to This PC and clicking on D: . Remember that the hard drive is in the keyboard – if you detach the keyboard from the tablet you will not be able to access the hard drive.

  29. Javier

    June 10, 2015 at 3:26 pm

    hay algun modelo asus t200ta que tenga ranura para tarjeta microsim para wifi???otras marcas???

  30. Javier

    June 10, 2015 at 3:33 pm

    Do you know any model Asus t200ta with microsim card opening for wifi connection?
    Other type and/or models?

  31. Marcus

    September 8, 2015 at 12:55 pm

    Hello.
    Does anayone upgraded its T200TA to windows 10?
    Just wondering if it was OK, because I tried with my other Laptop (Asus UL80VT) and had a major problem (black screen, nothing possible) and had to downgrade to windows 7 with diffculity.

  32. Mike Gantos

    November 25, 2015 at 9:22 pm

    Hi add new kids 8204 maybe something that might have a better screen resolution for a cold one. I don’t mind spending 600 dollars for the device and I would like the fact that it was a tablet what speeds to the vices I’m in real estate using spreadsheets web searches processing power would be good I did have to 100 ta but the screen cracked and I now need to upgrade. Would you recommend this is a good device or would you go with more of the 13 inch Dell or other i3 processor and like the quad core and I want to have speed good speed. I mostly use it as a laptop so maybe getting the two and one isn’t the right choice versus getting the tablet separate and just having a laptop for every dedicated use. I do do QuickBooks on for my business with the devices as well.

    Let me.know your thoughts and reccommendations. I have read all the reviews but I can’t seem to determine what would be best.

    Mike

    • Andrei Girbea

      November 29, 2015 at 7:00 pm

      HI Mike, I think I already replied on your comment on ultrabookreview.com . I”d personally look at a 2-in-1 laptop, something like the Lenovo Yoga 3 11 will be a good fit, light, fanless, compact and decently fast for what you need.

  33. B Tandjung

    December 6, 2015 at 4:50 pm

    Big disappointment with this tablet. First 2-3 months was OK, works like a charm. Afterward, problems start to appear with no solutions. First of all, the Broadcom wireless network driver crashed. I’ve been searching for updates and other solutions and wasn’t successful. There were couple times suddenly the wireless connection re-appear. But after I shut down and turn it back on, the connection was gone again. So annoying that finally I have to use USB external device to connect wirelessly. And that means the tablet need to be attached to the base since the USB slot is located at the base.
    Then another annoying problem came with the power button that does not always respond immediately. Lots of time I need to keep pressing the button to start up the tablet. 3-4 out of 10 start ups, the screen comes up with error message that will require a re-start and some system corrections.
    The windows system also gives a glitch notably the shutdown icon button on top right corner that keeps missing from time to time.
    I also have issues with the ‘Sleep’ mode. Apparently in sleeping mode, this unit still consumes much power from the battery. I notice in sleep mode, the battery will be drained in a couple of hours, That’s why I need to make sure to shut down most of the time so I won’t get caught in surprise in the next start up with no juice in the battery.

  34. Gaea

    December 31, 2015 at 1:19 am

    Hello,

    I’m 0% techie and just tried to install office 365 on this transformer book, which they sold me as a 4Gigabyte Ram (online italian shop). So I tried to upgrade to win 10 out of the box, was warned i needed to free space, reinstalled win 8 when i tried to install office 365 and was told there was no space for that. What am I doing wrong? Should I conclude the unit is faulty? Should I add cards or other stuff I’m missing?
    The thing came with a sticker saying optimized for Windows 10…which it tells me it cant load…reckon I ought to return it?

    Thank you for your help to the truly incompetent yours truly!

  35. ofelia rose

    May 23, 2016 at 10:14 am

    Nice post . I Appreciate the analysis – Does someone know where my assistant can get a blank SSA-3288 form to use ?

  36. Eddie

    March 12, 2017 at 3:30 am

    My friend has an Asus t200ta computer. It is fully charged, but the screen won't come on. It was fine an hour earlier. What could be the problem?

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