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Asus 1215N review – powerful EEE PC in a compact sleek body

By Andrei Girbea , updated on November 8, 2013

Asus 1215N review summary

Netbooks are usually compact machines, great to have when traveling. Unfortunately, most of them offer poor performances. That’s not the case with this Asus 1215N we have here, a 12 incher boosting new generation dual-core Atom processor and the latest Nvidia ION with Optimus.

These specs make it a compact multimedia machine, capable of running all kinds of video content, output it on a bigger screen or play some of the modern games.

I must say that the 1215N EEE PC is the most impressive netbook I’ve seen so far. Besides the extra performances, there are some improvements on the exterior also. And all these with a decent price of around $500 in the US.

Pros:

  • Very good overall build quality
  • new materials used for the exterior casing, with a smooth matte plastic for the lid cover and a textured plastic for the bottom part
  • great hardware: Intel Atom D525 1.8 GHz dual core processor, nVIDIA Ion graphics, 4 GB of memory, 320 GB storage
  • nice Full-size chiclet keyboard, although it has some layout problems
  • wider trackpad with multi-touch gestures, now separated by the rest of the palm rest
  • palm rest area is now matte too
  • display is OK, with good viewing angles and decent brightness
  • sound quality is very good for a netbook
  • pretty light (around 2.9 pounds)
  • offers Windows 7 Home Premium as standard
  • final versions will offer 2xUSB 3.0 slots
  • battery life is good considering the performances: around 4-5 hours on a daily basis use
  • price is good (around $500) for what it has to offer

Cons:

  • display and the area around it are still glossy
  • screen only tilts back to about 120 degrees
  • keyboard has some flex and some poor picks in terms of layout (only for the European version, US version will be OK)
  • trackpad’s click button is awful

Conclusion:

If i were to go for a compact computer with good multimedia performances, the Asus 1215N would be that one. It is good looking, well built and powerful, so definitely a good pick. It is true that for about the same price you can get laptops with ULV hardware; those will be faster in everyday tasks, because of the better processors, but will not be a match for this one in terms of graphics.

Asus 1215N mini laptop - powerful and good looking

Asus 1215N mini laptop - powerful and good looking

Overall, the Asus 1215N is one of the best netbooks you can get these days and definitely the snappiest of all the others I’ve tried in the past. Differences from the older 1201N are there and since this one sells for the same price as its predecessor, there’s no reason not to choose the 1215N.

Prices, versions and where to buy

Like I’ve said before, Asus announced that the 1215N will be available in stores for $499. For this kind of money, you will get all the features and specs listed below, but only 2 GB of memory, not 4 like this test version offers.

Update: You’ll hardly find the 1215N in stores anymore these days, as it is after all a 2 years old machine. However, Asus has the 1225B, not really the same in terms of hardware specs, but overall faster and better looking, starting at around $430. See this link for my full review of the Asus 1225B series.

The Asus 1215N is one of the most awaited mini laptops of 2010, mainly because it promises way better performances than regular netbooks can offer. I had the chance to get my hands on one of these devices a couple of weeks before it actually became available in stores. You can read the detailed review bellow.

The version tested is in fact similar to the one that will hit the stores later this summer, but it comes with extra memory (4 GB instead of 2 GB).

Specs:

In terms of specs, there’s almost nothing you could ask more from the Asus EEE PC 1215N. Here’s what this test version has to offer:

  • Intel Atom N525 processor, clocked at 1.80 GHz, with 2x512KB cache L2 and 800 Mhz FSB
  • Nvidia ION graphics: Intel GMA 3150 + Nvidia GT218 dedicated chip (Managed by Nvidia’s Optimus technology)
  • 4 GB DDR3 memory
  • 320 GB storage drive + EEE storage space available online
  • 12.1 inch glossy display, 1366 x 768 px
  • decent connectivity: Wi-Fi N , fast Ethernet, but no Bluetooth
  • chiclet keyboard and wide multi-touch trackpad
  • Webcam, 3xUSB slots (this test version came with 3xUSB 2.0 slots, but the finalr elease will have 1xUSB 2.0 and 2xUSB 3.0), mic and audio out, card-reader, HDMI and VGA outputs
  • 6 Cell 5200 mAh 56 Wh battery
  • Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit

So, there’s actually nothing missing, but Bluetooth connectivity (final release version will actually come with Bluetooth 3.0 as an option).

Design and build quality

The Asus EEE PC 1215N is part of the famous Seashell line. Thus, it brings the same design of its predecessors, from whom it also inherits the solid build quality and attention to details.

But there are some changes from the 1201N model. First, the exterior in no longer glossy, but matte. The lid case was replaced with a new one, made from a smooth and silky matte plastic. The bottom part is also made of plastic, but it’s not the rugged and ugly one used before, but one with a nice dimpled texture. Layout of the bottom part is changed too, with a new design for cooling vents.

There’s also a new side-port layout. Details bellow.

Matte plastic lid cover

Matte plastic lid cover

Left side - headphone, mic, 2xUSB ports, LAN and Kensington Lock

Left side - headphone, mic, 2xUSB ports, LAN and Kensington Lock

Only the battery and the hinges on the back

Only the battery and the hinges on the back

Right side - DC-in, VGA, HDMI, USB, Cooling vent and card-reader

Right side - DC-in, VGA, HDMI, USB, Cooling vent and card-reader

Bottom with a new layout and materials

Bottom with a new layout and materials

Although the device is matte, it still catches fingerprints and smudges like crazy. They are bothering on the Black finish but almost invisible on the Silver one, so right now, if I were to pick between one of them, i would definitely go for the second.

Available in Silver or Black

Available in Silver or Black

Details on looks and build quality are also available in the clip below.

Sry for the rubbish video quality, had some problems with my HD camera and had to shoot regular content this time.

Keyboard + Touchpad

The keyboard is more or less the same on the 1215N and 1201N. In fact, the layout on this test model is somewhat different, but I’m pretty sure this is an European version and the one available in the States will come with an identical layout as the 1201N had.

Now, I particularly don’t like the row of keys on the right that will take some time getting used to. When trying to hit BackSpace or Enter you might end up hitting Home or PgUP/PgDN and this is frustrating. Even worse is the small Left Shift key: you’ll surely end up pressing the “\” next to it when trying to capitalize some letters.

Keyboard is good, but has some layout problems

Keyboard is good, but has some layout problems

Besides these problems, the keyboard on this device is a good one, with chiclet design and nicely spaced keys. It is Full-size and you won’t have problems with it if you have bigger fingers, but it also comes with some disturbing flex.

Now, it is important to know that the version I reviewed is the one meant for European market. The one that will land in the States will have the classic keyboard, with a smaller Enter and the bigger left Shift. Other things will remain the same.

The trackpad on the other hand is completely redesigned on this one. Comes with a smooth finish and is pretty snappy and accurate. It is separated from the rest of the palm rest (which is also matte) by two silver bars and it is also slightly positioned towards the left of the device, like on the Vaios or on some Toshibas.

New trackpad is wider and better positioned, but click button is awful

New trackpad is wider and better positioned, but click button is awful

The single-press click button though is rubbish: very stiff and hard to press. It might get better in time though, but a solution with individual click buttons would have been a lot better for sure.

Display

There’s not much i can say about the screen on this 1215N. It’s a standard 12.1 inch 1366 x 768 LED display, with good viewing angles and brightness. And it’s also glossy, like displays on most Asus laptops, which makes it useful only as a mirror in strong light conditions. But as long as you don’t plan on watching movies or playing games outside, you should be fine with it.

Software and performance

Like I’ve said above, this Asus runs Windows 7 Home Premium OS, the 32-bit version, with the latest drivers available right now. However, since this laptop is not yet available in stores, i would expect improvements in terms of drivers in the near future, which might boost performances even more.

Now, we know that most netbooks can’t properly multitask, because of their low-performance single-core processors. The 1215N EEE PC does boost a dual-core ATOM processor, with HT, so it can actually run decently a couple of different applications. If a browser with a couple of tabs, an instant messaging program, a music player and a text-editor managed to make N450 powered computers sluggish, that’s not the case here. And I’m not saying this is a power-horse, but it will be able to run your daily applications nicely.

I’ve said before this is a mini-multimedia device, because of the Nvidia graphics it brings. In practice this means it can run all kind of content, including 1080p self-stored or Flash clips, plus all kind of Flash games. You can see proofs in the video below.

10180p clips are a breeze if you have the right codecs

10180p clips are a breeze if you have the right codecs

However, I have to say I’ve initially had some problems running 1080p self-stored content. I’ve tried playing it with VLC Player, KMPlayer and Windows Media Player Classic and it lagged, until I’ve installed the codecs pack from CoreAVC (they are not free, but only cost $9.99, money well worth spending). After that, everything went smoothly. I’m not saying 1080p will only work with these codecs, I’m just saying that was the solution I’ve adopted.

Having Optimus on-board means the system actually changes between the two graphic solutions instantly and seamlessly. The same video will show you how fast and invisible the process actually is.

The computer will also manage to play some games. I for one tried Fifa 10, a modern football (soccer) game, and you get playable fps on 1024 x 768 with medium details. Other games should run OK too. I’ve also tried Sims3 and Anno 1404 (this one is kind of sluggish). Online games like Wow will work OK too. Of course, the 1215N is not a gaming mini laptop like the M11x from Alienware, but it can run some games if you want to have fun from time to time, as long as you’re willing to cut off details and use a lower than standard resolution.

Since this is the first laptop equipped with dual-core Atom D525 GHz processor and Nvidia ION, I’ve run some benchmarks and you can see the results in the pics below. They mostly say this CPU is better then the last-generation dual core Atom D330 and way superior to the N450. Graphics performance are better than on the previous generation ION too.

WPrime 32 results

WPrime 32 results

Super PI

Super PI

PCMark 2005

PCMark 2005

3DMark 2006

3DMark 2006

Sisoftware Sandra

Sisoftware Sandra

An article compering the performances of this configuration with the ones of Atom D330 and Atom N450 powered devices will follow in the next days can be found right here: Asus 1201N vs 1215N .

Also, Ive’ tried a couple of extra games, including StarCraft 2, Anno 1404, Bad Company and Modern Warfare 2 in this other post.

In terms of Software, you will find the usual bloatware preinstalled on this netbook, like all kind of applications from Asus and some trial software. The first thing I would advice you to do is get rid of them and then install a proper antivirus (I for one use the Free Avast version and am satisfied with it). Still, the amount of crappy software you’ll get on a Asus is way less than on others, including the Acers or the Sony Vaios, so it should not take you more than an hour to clean it out.

Battery life

This Asus comes with a 6 Cell 5200mAh 56Wh battery. Now, depending on what you’re going to do with it, you would get an autonomy of around 2.5 to 6 hours, although on paper Asus will claim more. Here are some details:

  • playing an 1080p HD clip with screen brightness set to 100%, High performance Mode, maximum speaker volume and Wi-fi On will get you around 2.5 hours of life
  • playing a 720p HD clip with screen brightness around 70%, Wi-Fi Off, balanced Mode and while using headphones will get around 3.5-4 hours of battery life
  • surfing via Wi-Fi while listening to music, editing texts and some photos and with YM on and screen brightness to around 70% will get you around 4.5 hours of life (you should know that having Yahoo Messenger on automatically starts the Nvidia graphic chip)
  • using it in office mode with Wi-Fi Off and screen brightness to 50%, with a couple of applications opened but no music, will take you up to 6 hours of battery life

In the end, having Optimus on this Asus does help increase autonomy, but only if you don’t run applications that will turn the Nvidia chip on. So as long as you use the device for basic stuff, you will have decent battery life.

Decent battery life for the performances and price

Decent battery life for the performances and price

Now, for using it daily, an autonomy of around 4-4.30 hours is what you should expect. Other netbooks will offer more, but considering the capabilities of this mini laptop and its price, I declare myself satisfied with what it can provide here.

Other things

This device runs pretty cool most of the time, even in games or when playing HD movies. There is some warm air coming from the left cooling grill and processor’s cooler do starts from time to time, but there’s nothing disturbing in terms of heat or noise. I don’t know if that has anything to do with the new cooling vents layout.

The Asus 1215N comes with a 1.3 Mpx webcam, not the best you can get, but decent for Skype or other similar messaging software. Haven’t given it much thought as that’s not something i really care about on a computer.

Webcam with privacy cover

Webcam with privacy cover

Also, speakers on this device are good, like on most Seashells and definitely better than what I’ve seen on other netbooks, including all the Acers and Toshibas. Still, that doesn’t mean I’m going to give away my headphones for them.

Prices and where to buy

As you’ve seen in the rows above, the 1215N EEE PC is an interesting device. Packs good hardware inside a 12.1 inch form factor, but also decent looks and build quality. All these for around $500, which is the same as its predecessor sells these days.

This Asus will be available in stores in the United States from the end of this summer. It will be available in Black and Silver and you will be able to preorder the device if you want to get it just in time for this year’s school debut.

Update: You won’t find the Asus 1215N in stores anymore, but you’ll find the 1225B, a close and modern successor, with better hardware, features and a redesigned body. The thorough review for the 1225B EEE PC should tell you more about this one.

Bottoms up

In the end, I can say  I like this Asus mini laptop. I particularly like that it manages to pack some power, enough for it to act snappy in everyday tasks and run fine my daily applications. Plus, it can handle all kind of video content, self stored or Flash and a bunch of modern games. Thus, the 1215N is a compact, light and affordable multimedia notebook.

Asus 1215N - a good pick

Asus 1215N EEE PC - a good pick

It is true that for $500 bucks you can get devices boosting Intel’s ULV platform, which will bring faster processors, but graphic experience won’t be as good. Also, you might even find some decent full-size laptops within this price range.

In the end it’s up to you to choose from these options. The 1215N definitely has its strong points and is definitely a solid pick. But that doesn’t make it automatically the best for each one of us.

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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.

131 Comments

  1. John Hui

    August 18, 2010 at 2:11 pm

    This is crazy but I’m wondering if 1215n can run starcraft 2… in low/medium setting?

    • Andrei Girbea

      August 19, 2010 at 1:42 am

      Not sure what to say, yet. I might have the chance to give it a try

  2. Peter

    August 18, 2010 at 2:21 pm

    Hey Mike,

    I noticed that you updated the release date to the end of September. I have been patiently waiting to purchase this laptop for grad school but the end of September is too late. How sure are you about the release date? Did it come direct from ASUS?

    • Andrei Girbea

      August 19, 2010 at 1:41 am

      No Peter, nobody can be sure, but there are lots of rumors predicting that date (nothing official). the 1215N already is available in Europe in some countries and hopefully will be in US soon. We should know more on IFA, in early September.

  3. TareX

    August 23, 2010 at 12:25 pm

    I have to say I’m very concerned with AnandTech’s review of the ION2 concluding that it plays games worse, and performs poorly with Flash 10.1… I was wondering if NVIDIA ever released that software patch.

  4. DeathDemon

    August 25, 2010 at 9:54 am

    Hey … Any Idea Why Excalliber Pc Has Hiked The Price up by 50 USD ??????

  5. DeathDemon

    August 25, 2010 at 2:24 pm

    Ok My Doubt is cleared … Brian commented saying that he spoke to the ppl at excalliber and they said tht they were forced into doing this as asus Increased their Prices

  6. Mikaelf

    August 28, 2010 at 3:00 am

    Mike, I’m planning to switch my 1201N for a 1215N, because of the constant noise from the fan. In your review you said “processor’s cooler do starts from time to time”. Is it the same level of noise as in the 1201N?

    • Andrei Girbea

      August 28, 2010 at 2:09 pm

      Sry Mikaelf, I did not test the 1201N. I would reckon they are pretty much the same, but I can’t offer an exact answer…

  7. Maryam

    August 28, 2010 at 11:53 am

    Hi, Mike!

    Thank you so much for making everything much clearer about netbooks, because there are so many to choose from!

    So, I’ve got 1008HA myself (bought it last year and love it)

    I’m going to buy a netbook for my brother, but I’m stuck. I’ve got these options:

    Asus 1018P
    1215N
    1218 Eee PC (No reviews of it yet?)

    It’s important for him that it’s light, have a long battery-life and great performance. He wishes to play some games on it as well; some of the newer games on the market.
    What do you think? You are also welcomed to suggest another one 🙂

    • Andrei Girbea

      August 28, 2010 at 2:12 pm

      If you want some games, than the 1018P and 1218 are out of the question. The 1218 is not yet available, not even for tests, hence there are no reviews.

      You could also take a look at AMD powered machines, like the Lenovo x100s with dual-core AMD.

  8. Maryam

    August 28, 2010 at 6:01 pm

    So what you’re suggesting is the 1215n? Sorry, I’m a little confused.
    But I cannot seem to find any review on Lenovo x100s 🙁 .. Which is weird..

  9. John

    August 29, 2010 at 2:02 am

    I had the 1201n for a few days and I liked it alot but battery life was unacceptable so I ended up exchanging it for an Acer as1551-5448. The 1551 has an 11.6″ display and comes with an AMD k625 cpu, ATI 4225 graphics, 4GB of DDR3 and a 320GB hdd for $549 same as the 1215n.

    I ran these same benchmarks as the article for the hell of it to see how the 1551 compares to the 1215n.

    Superpi 1M: Asus 1215n – 1M 21S
    Acer 1554 – 49s

    Superpi 2M: Asus 1215n – 2M 59S
    Acer 1551 – 1M 53S

    WPrime 32M: Asus 1215n – 83.549S
    Acer 1551 – 52.913S

    PCMark 05: Asus 1215n – 2336 PCMarks
    Acer 1551 – 3539 PCMarks

    3DMark 06: Asus 1215n – 2676 3DMarks
    Acer 1551 – 1522 3DMarks

    Sisoft CPU arythmetic: Asus 1215n – Aggregate 8.15 GOPS
    Drystone 8.71 GIPS
    Whetstone 7.6 GFLOPS

    Acer 1551 – Aggregate 9.5 GOPS
    Drystone 10.5 GIPS
    Wetstone 8.63 GFLOPS

    The K625 clobbers the D525 but the ION clobbers the Radeon although HD video and flash performance with the 4225 is flawless. The Acer also works great with my Hauppauge HDPVR for both viewing and recording. Since the 4225 is just a clocked down 3450 so the drivers are very mature and stable.

    • Andrei Girbea

      August 29, 2010 at 5:11 am

      Yea, that AMD config outperforms the Atom in terms of CPU, but it’s overall poorer in terms of graphics. PLus, drivers for the new ION are not mature…

  10. Mikaelf

    August 29, 2010 at 7:21 am

    Mike, thanks for your rapid answer yesterday. Could you elaborate on “processor’s cooler do starts from time to time”: please give me an indicative percentage of cooler working when you are 1) working with MS office program, 2) listening to mp3 music and 3) watching film in HD quality. The 1201N’s cooler is running non stop.

    • Andrei Girbea

      August 29, 2010 at 7:45 am

      Well, I’d say the fan will be silent in MS and when listening to music. Of course, if you have MS, music, browser and others, will kick on from time to time.

      As for watching HD movies and playing, it will run most of the time (if not all of the time) in such activities. Still, I can’t say it’s noisy. I’ve seen other Asus machines a lot worse and even my Acer 1825PT is louder too. Of course, than doesn’t mean this machine is completely silent, not at all.

      In fact, the test model I had came with a cranky HDD, so i can say that in terms of sound, that was a bigger problem than the fan.

  11. DeathDemon

    August 29, 2010 at 1:13 pm

    Erm Mike …. AnyIdea How Noisy the 1215N would be in comparison to the Samsung N140

    • Andrei Girbea

      August 30, 2010 at 12:11 pm

      @DeathDemon Haven’t tried that Samsung

      @Miakelf If you want noise free, you will have to go for a fanless architecture. The Z5x0 Arom series is one of those, and the new to come Z6x0 . However, those are meant for ultra portable devices and are quite poor in terms of performances. So no, you won’t find a noise free 12 incher, at least not now (And i’d say nor in the near future)

  12. Mikaelf

    August 29, 2010 at 3:10 pm

    Thanks again. Is there, in your opinion, a 12 inch, W7 with working hdmi, that is in fact noisefree?

  13. Yanni

    August 29, 2010 at 7:25 pm

    When picking between the 1215N and the UL20FT which would you go for?
    In differences all I can see are the graphics and the processors.

    • Andrei Girbea

      August 30, 2010 at 12:08 pm

      @Yanni It’s up to what you need. UL20FT way better processor so snappier experience in everyday tasks, but poorer graphics (will handle HD content but not games). 1215N is better in terms of graphics and way cheaper. I would also add the UL20FT is better built and more solid. IF I were to choose between them, I would go for the UL20, as i don’t play that much. But you might have other priorities 🙂

  14. DeathDemon

    August 30, 2010 at 1:03 pm

    @mike .. thnx neways

  15. DeathDemon

    August 31, 2010 at 7:05 am

    Hey Mike … Just today i read reviews about the 1215N and 90% of the sites are saying tht the asus does not feature 2 USB 3.0 ports.
    Any Idea if this is the US version or European Version …..
    Also could you pleasr tell me the m,ajor diff btween the US and European Version..

    Which would you consider a bettet buy . the asus 1215n or the Acer as1551-5448

    Thanx in advance

    • Andrei Girbea

      August 31, 2010 at 12:38 pm

      @DeathDemon I don’t know what o sayabout those USb 3.0 ports. They said it will have them, but it seems right now that it won’t . As for difs in European/US version, i would say the only one would be in terms of keyboard layout, but that’s yet to be seen

      As for which is a better buy, that’s not something for me to decide but for you, according to your needs 🙂 I can only say what would be better for me 🙂

  16. DXVA

    August 31, 2010 at 1:02 pm

    Bad review, especially when it comes to HD video playback. You do know MPC-HC supports DXVA GPU hardware accelerated playback for FREE and you don’t need to pay for overrated, crappy CoreAVC.

    • Andrei Girbea

      August 31, 2010 at 1:27 pm

      Oh well, i just said what i used, and not that there aren’t any options. if you say it’s bad because i used those, well, that’s you opinion and i respect it 🙂 And btw, i did use MPC and at that time and on that version i tested, 1080p did not work properly.

  17. qace

    August 31, 2010 at 7:38 pm

    Getting so tired of waiting for this :(((((

  18. Yanni

    September 2, 2010 at 11:19 am

    Thank you mike! I did end up getting the UL20ft, and I love it. Gaming just wasn’t my priority. 🙂
    thanks for your excellent reviews!

  19. Matthew

    September 3, 2010 at 11:37 am

    Hey just want to say that ExcaliburPC has the 1215n in stock

  20. Rob

    September 4, 2010 at 12:25 pm

    After comparing the overall specs between the 1201n and 1215n and considering all the good stuff that was supposed to be in it that is not and never will be, I see that there is virtually NO IMPROVEMENT whatsoever in the newer version considering that most people will be using it for videos or light gaming there will be virtually NO IMPROVEMENT in battery life either since they will have the gpu going at most times. And to tout a 500 point better 3d mark is totally ridiculous, 500 points is nothing in 3d marks. The 1201n is by far the better buy.

  21. Chris

    September 5, 2010 at 4:41 pm

    @Rob i dont think you know that much about computers, because there is going to be a good improvement. In the reviews, on medium settings, starcraft 2 was playable, on the 1201n, starcraft 2 is barely playable on the lowest settings. Plus, the 1201n does not have dedicated video memory whereas the 1215n does, and doesnt have optimus, so the times when just watching 720p and standard movies (which im sure the gamers will probably do as well), then battery life will be much better. So learn a little more about computers before you post.

  22. Alan Banks

    September 10, 2010 at 11:49 am

    Is it good to have the CoreAVC codec pack? I usually use K-Lite codec pack, and I was wondering if I should get both or that’s not recommended.

    • Andrei Girbea

      September 10, 2010 at 11:54 am

      Alan, from hat I know, K-lite codecs are free, right? So, you can try to use those: if they work, great, no need for CoreAVC.

      Like I said before, I use CoreAVC and they worked on all devices I’ve tried them. Some of you guys might accuse me of over promoting those, that’s not the case. Although there might be other solutions (some of them free), nothing I’ve tried before worked except these codecs. And I can say I’ve tried quiet a few…

  23. Alan Banks

    September 10, 2010 at 1:29 pm

    What codecs does CoreAVC leave out? Is it for all video file types? I’m wondering if it leaves out audio codecs my netbook will have them built in, so maybe they aren’t needed.

    • Andrei Girbea

      September 10, 2010 at 1:52 pm

      Alan, see on their site. Just search for CoreAVC 2.0 on Google and it should be the first result

  24. john

    September 13, 2010 at 5:33 am

    i almost got the 1201 but settled with the 1215 after waiting for 2 days. i got the red one. i firmly believe no other netbook can match the 1215 overall. best buy for a netbook. more power to you mike, your reviews are highly appreciated

  25. farang_jai_dee

    September 13, 2010 at 8:16 am

    John, what is your impression of the keyboard and touchpad controls? Thank You

  26. john

    September 13, 2010 at 5:26 pm

    i did get the normal keyboard different from what is shown above. it does a little bouncing specially in the middle. but nothing significant to worry about

  27. Alan Banks

    September 15, 2010 at 1:30 pm

    Hi Mike, I recently seen a question on here that I believe was never answered. The question was if you can have the ability to turn on/off the nVidia Ion graphics. I can see this as a benefit if you want to have it on all the time when plugged in.

    • Andrei Girbea

      September 15, 2010 at 6:35 pm

      Alan, not from what i’m aware of. However, what’s the point? The system does the switching for you when needed, why would you want to do it manually?

      However, when connecting something via HDMI, the Nvidia card will take over permanently, because of the way this platform is built. So this is a way to always have ION ON…

  28. Alan Banks

    September 16, 2010 at 2:02 pm

    Hi Mike. To answer my question and Adrian’s question I got the answer from an Amazon reviewer. T. Usrey says:
    “Yes, you can easily switch Nvidia to always run, only run during peak performance demands, or never run. There is an Nvidia settings icon in the task bar that can alternate user settings as needed.”

    • Andrei Girbea

      September 16, 2010 at 5:55 pm

      Hmmm, I won’t believe it till I see it myself. Will take a look 😛

  29. Charles

    September 17, 2010 at 3:23 pm

    I bought the 1215N from Amazon.com and have yet to un-box it wondering if I made the right choice or not. I didn’t like hearing about the PCI-e x1 connecting the Ion2. The Ion2 boasts on nVidias site it is 10x more powerful than integrated graphics, but with this bottleneck will netbooks with ATI graphics using shared memory be as good or better?

    How much difference is there between the Athlon neo II dual core vs the Atom dual core on the 1215n? (the netbooks I looked at with the Athlon Neo dual Core were slower clock speeds like 1.3GHz and one with 1.5GHz)? I looked at the Toshiba Satellite T215D-S1150 TruBrite 11.6-Inch Laptop (1.3 GHz AMD Athlon II Neo dual-core [2mb L2 cache??], 2 GB DDR3 RAM, 320 GB SATA hard drive, 11.6-inch HD LED-Backlit Display, ATI Radeon HD 4225 Graphics, Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit, Hard Drive Impact Sensor [nice]. and the Acer Aspire AS1551-4755 11.6-Inch Laptop, 1.3 GHz AMD Athlon II Neo dual-core, 3 GB of installed DDR3 RAM, ATI Radeon HD 4225 [ now Amazon lists as shared vram in one spot and as ATI Radeon HD 4225 Graphics with 384MB of dedicated system memory in another].

    No matter what I still will have my main desktop that handles anything I need.

    I was only looking on Amazon.com because I had $310 credit given to me because of a major screw up/mix up not too long ago.

  30. Charles

    September 17, 2010 at 3:39 pm

    Also things like this make me wonder if the Neo is better or not: http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptop/asus-eee-pc-1215n.aspx?page=2

    In PCMark Vantage, which measures overall system performance, the 1215N scored 1,921, which is about 600 points higher than the 1201PN, and 700 points above the netbook average. It even compares favorably with the Toshiba T215D, whose 1.7-GHz AMD Athlon II Neo Processor K125 managed a score of 1,938.

    I almost bought a Toshiba with AMD Phenom Triple core, ATI graphics with shared vram, DVD super multi-drive etc. for only about $15 more;+
    but not sure if I want a 14″ laptop or not and heard it was very noisy with the fan almost always on.

  31. Alan Banks

    September 18, 2010 at 9:30 am

    Hi Charles, I read that entire LaptopMag review that you mentioned about the 1215n, and the comparisons showed that the AMD Athlon II Neo had better CPU performance while the nVidia Ion 2 had better GPU performance. So I think it’s a trade off. Both are capable of doing HD video well. I’m going with the one I like better, which is the 1215n. I’ve read somewhere, maybe it was in that review, that since Intel only allowed the new Ion to be PCI-e x1, nVidia decided to optimize the hardware in the Ion so that it performs better while being at PCI-e x1 speed. I think if you want something like the nVidia 335m you’ll have to pay $200-300 more. I guess it comes down to what you want.

    • Andrei Girbea

      September 18, 2010 at 9:34 am

      Yeah, Alan is right. Better GPU perf for IOn + Atom , better CPU perf for AMD. And you also get poorer battery life with AMD, plus increased temperatures and noise. But that of course it’s not the case for each particular device, there are exceptions.

      I’m looking forward for some Core i3 + ION (or something like this) on an 11.6 incher. that would be the machine for me 😀

  32. Charles

    September 18, 2010 at 12:50 pm

    Thanks, maybe I’ll just hold onto the 1215N then. some people say you get no recovery disk or windows disk and have to get one from ASUS, can you get one or make one or download the files then convert to USB somehow so as not to need an ext. drive for recovery? Anyone know what your options are here? I would love something with a Corei3 + ION too (but cant wait forever to get something for now)I usually only keep laptop/netbooks for 2 years or maybe even less then sell it and upgrade anyway if something better comes out I really want.

    Thanks

  33. DeathDemon

    September 19, 2010 at 12:12 am

    Hey … Can sOMEONE PLS DO AN UNBOKING OF THIS DEVICE PLSS tHNX IN ADVANCE

  34. DeathDemon

    September 20, 2010 at 4:58 am

    @Mike and Charles …. Could You Please tell me Weather ASUS provided you with a CD/DVD with all the software and windows 7 ??
    Thanks 🙂

  35. DeathDemon

    September 20, 2010 at 1:07 pm

    OK thanks 🙁

  36. Bomb23

    September 24, 2010 at 2:00 am

    Hey mike, thanks for the review, I have been following your review for a while now, and this review have made me decide that 1215n is for me.

    I was wondering what is the program you use to check if the ION or the intel graphic is being used. The program is in your performance video, but I can’t figure out what the name of the the program is from the video, due to youtube video quality

    Thanks in advance.

  37. Bomb23

    September 25, 2010 at 10:20 pm

    Thank you very much ^^

    btw, I click the Notify me of followup comments via email, and it didn’t seems to notify me.

    Just to let you know, or maybe its just me.

  38. Anthonius

    September 27, 2010 at 10:37 am

    I bought recently an ASUS 1201N with Windows 7 Home Premium, installed Norton 2010 (subscription, Livemail. When trying to use Skype, the message was given that computer was running too slow for decent Skype. Technician at shop unable to fix the problem, to I returned the Asus (against reimbursement) and are looking now for proper equivalent. Your suggestion, please?

    • Andrei Girbea

      September 27, 2010 at 11:18 am

      Do not use Norton. It is known to ask for tons of resources. For most users, Windows Essentials should be enough and that pack is free. Not saying this is for sure the problem here, but you should consider this

  39. DeathDemon

    September 27, 2010 at 11:57 am

    Can You please let me know on what trustable Canadian website i can purchase this model from and for approximately what price

  40. Anthonius

    September 28, 2010 at 10:23 am

    Thank you for your quick reaction yesterday. I forgot to tell you that on my old Asus A3N, with Windows XP, I run Skype without difficulties, even with Norton and Livemail active. So, the slowness of the 1201N is due to what? I think it is the processor.

    • Andrei Girbea

      September 28, 2010 at 11:24 am

      probably. You should try what i recommended nonetheless though

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