Hi everyone, Mike here and in this video we’re going to talk about the Asus EeeBook X205TA / X205, which is a brand new compact laptop selling for only $199 (actually, it’s even cheaper now than initially announced).
There are a few other notebooks that go for around the same amount of money these days, like the 11 inch Acer Chromebooks. But this one comes with Windows 8.1 and that allows it to run most of the software you’re already familiar with from your other computers.
Well, at least to some extent, as the X205 is not a power-horse, not by far. But we’ll get to that in a few second.
First though, check out the specs sheet, so you’ll know what to expect from this laptop, and also the video review, if you don’t feel like reading the block of text (however, some details are not included in the video).
Later update: Asus have recently launched updated EeeBooks and a handful of other ultra-compact laptops, which we’ve covered in these follow-up articles: this one about sub-12-inch mini laptops, this one about modern ultrabooks, and this one about modern and affordable ChromeBooks.
The Asus EeeBook X205TA is a compact and affordable Windows laptop
The X205TA is not yet available in stores at the time of this post, but the unit I’ve tested is pretty much identical to what you’ll be able to buy in a few weeks.
| Asus EeeBook X205TA spec sheet | |
| Screen | 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 px, TN |
| Hardware | Intel Atom BayTrail-T Z3745D CPU and Intel HD graphics |
| Memory | 2 GB RAM |
| Storage | 32 GB flash-storage |
| Connectivity | Wireless N, Bluetooth |
| Ports | 2x USB, micro-HDMI, microSD card reader, proprietary PSU, headphone jack |
| Battery | 38 Wh |
| OS | Windows 8.1 |
| Size | 288 mm or 11.3 in (L) x 196 mm or 7.7 in (W) x 18 mm or 0.70 in (H) |
| Weight | 954 g (2.10 lbs) |
| Others | stereo speakers, available in several colors, webcam |
The Video Review
Hardware and daily use
The EeeBook X205TA is primarily meant for light everyday activities. It can then handle browsing between a couple of different tabs, watching video content and listening to music, editing some texts and maybe some pictures as well. It can run Microsoft’s Office suite (does come with a Trial version of Office that requires activation and the final release versions will include a 12 month Office 365 Personal license) and software like Adobe Photoshop if you want to, just make sure you’re not going to ask too much out of it, as it will choke easily if pushed.
And that’s because this EeeBook is built on an low-power high-efficiency hardware platform, with an Intel Z3745D processor, bundled with 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, which can actually become a problem quite fast. Both the RAM and eMMC storage are soldered and NOT upgradeable.
The thing is you’re not left with a lot of spare space after having Windows installed (roughly 14 GB), so Asus definitely had to cut a corner here to meet the low price tag. And that leaves you with two options: either use the included cloud space offered for free in Asus’s WebStorage environment, or expand the storage space with the help of a microSD card.
To be frank, I was a bit disappointed this laptop does not support standard sized SD cards, that would have been useful for downloading pictures from my cameras while on the go, but that’s probably not such a big deal for most potential buyers.
Overall though, the X205 is a fairly capable little fellow and it can do a lot of things for you.
The daily experience is enhanced by the loud and punchy speakers placed on the belly, but towards the front of the chassis and by the fact that this runs completely noiseless, since it houses no fans and no moving parts inside.
The EeeBook X205TA is the modern netbook: faster, thinner, lighter than before, and at the same time noiseless
The Wi-Fi chip is fairly capable of well. It can’t match my Internet speed, going to only about 30 Mbps near the router, but at least the speed and signal strength don’t drop away fast as you step a bit further. I was able to stream 1080p video content with no buffering and download all sorts of things of the Internet without feeling slow, and in my book that’s good enough for a computer that only sells for $199.
The laptop’s belly has no cooling cuts in it, and none are in fact needed, which leads to a simple and beautiful design. You can take it apart by unscrewing the 12 or so regular Philips screws that hold in place and that gives you access to the internals.
However, it won’t help much, as everything seems to be soldered on the motherboard. In fact, you can see how small the MB is and how most of this laptop is occupied by the battery, which is also hold in place by a few screws and could be replaced down the line, if needed (and if Asus or third parties will provide replacements).
I was hoping to be able to upgrade the storage, but there seem to be no dedicated storage stick like on some of the other mini-laptops I’ve tested, so there’s no way to up the 32 GBs through a hardware upgrade. At least none that I can tell of, and that’s a bit annoying, as the 32 GB of space is hardly sufficient for a Windows 8.1 laptop. You could try to go the Linux road. I planed to try Ubuntu or Mint on this myself, but my Linux knowledge is virtually null and I did not have the time to do it this time. Hopefully in the next few weeks.
One final thing I was looking to mention here are temperatures and performance under load. The X205’s case remains cool under light use and the temperatures won’t reach for the stars when running the Prime95+Furmark stress-test either. You can see the numbers in the pictures below.
It could be worth mentioning that the internals get to about 80 C under stress and both the CPU and the GPU run and sub-default frequencies (around 900 Mhz for the CPU and 300 Mhz for the GPU), but these should not matter much for the average buyer Asus targets with this laptop, who should understand from starters the the X205 is meant for light casual activities, and not serious chores or multitasking.
Keyboard and trackpad
The typing experience is not bad on the X205 and is helped by a fairly good keyboard and a nice typing position, thanks to the roomy palm-rest and the laptop’s low profile.
The keys are firm and offer decent travel and feedback, for this size range of course, but they do feel a bit cheap to touch, plasticky. And besides these, the layout is vertically cramped, as Asus opted for shorter rectangular keys and not the square keys I was expecting, and the arrow keys are small, just like on the older Asus EeeBooks launched a few years ago.
The shorter keys do leave room for the spacious palm-rest mentioned before and an oversized trackpad, which I do appreciate. In everyday use though, the latter proved occasionally erratic and moody, although it worked alright most of the time. But sometimes ti double clicks all by itself or sends the cursor flying to the edges, and these mostly happen when you put the computer under a heavier loud than it can handle.
Even so, this is one of the few aspects where the X205 needs extra tweaking. Luckily, the jumpy cursor is usually a software problem and could, at least in theory, be addressed by future drivers updates. We should hold our judgement for further reviews, just keep the potential issues in mind.
Design and build quality
Now, let’s take a few steps back and have a wider look at this thing. The EeeBook weighs just under 1 kilo, which is about 2.1 pounds. It’s also thin and has a compact footprint, so it will easily fit in a backpack or even a bag. And besides these, it’s fairly tough and definitely doesn’t look bad either. If you’ll grab it firmly and squeeze it, you’ll heard the creaks associated with cheap plastic machines, but judging by how much this thing cost, I’d say it’s more than adequately built and finished.
The entire case is made out of soft matte plastic that spreads across the lid, the interior and the belly, with the screen’s bezel being the only black element on this laptop, and Asus will offer the X205 in a few different colors. The materials feel nice to the touch and there’s little to complain about the finishing quality.
However, If we’re to get picky, I do have two nits to mention: first of all, the case catches smudges and finger oil easily, which are especially visible on this dark blue version, and second, the lid-cover does flex a little bit, but that doesn’t seem to affect the screen’s integrity in any way, although pressing the lid hard does translate in ripples on the screen, so you might want to get a sleeve for this thing when carrying it in your backpack and be careful not to have many heavy objects sitting on it.
And there is one other thing that I’ve noticed: the laptop’s rubber feet seem poorly made and I fear they are going to wear off easily. Time will tell, but again, a minor aspect.
Display
There’s an 11.6 inch display on this laptop, with 1366 x 768 px resolution, a glossy finishing and a TN panel. The latter translates in rather poor vertical viewing angles, with the Costner and colors quickly fading away, which is characteristic for low priced screens, but even so, as long as you get to look at it heads-on, this aspect shouldn’t bother you much.
The screen leans back to about 130-140 degrees, which is not perfect, but will do, and actually lifts itself up on two small plastic feet, which leaves more space underneath the laptop (better cooling) and slightly raises the keyboard (better typing position). I just hope these feet won’t break in time, but they seem solid, so there’s no reason to worry much.
The screen lifts up on two small plastic feet
In fact, I for one was fairly happy with the display. If you’ll look at the numbers below you might say otherwise. The measured contrast is appalling, the screen having trouble displaying accurate blacks at high brightness. The colors might sound awful as well and the laptop does have a very cool (as in blueish) glow, which could be addressed with the included Splendid app if you enjoy warmer images. But the truth is, when you’re actually using this thing in practice, it’s not going to be that bad as the numbers are suggesting.
- Panel HardwareID: AU Optronics AUO235C;
- Coverage: sRGB 58% , NTSC 41%, SdobeRGB 43%;
- measured gamma: 2.3 ;
- max brightness in the middle of the screen: 247 cd/m2 on power;
- contrast at max brightness: 90:1 (?);
- white point: 7900 K;
- black on max brightness: 2.78 cd/m2;
- average DeltaE: 8.48 uncalibrated, 4.37 calibrated .
Asus could have gone with a matte finishing, since this is not a touchscreen anyway, but they decided instead, which is going to affect bright-light legibility. They’re using the same approach on the C200 Chromebook, with whom the x205 might actually share the screen.
The screen is a notch better than what’s you’re getting on another $200 computer, the Acer C720
Battery Life
I did mention earlier that the EeeBook X205 does last for a long while on a charge, and that was no underestimation.
There’s a 38 Wh battery inside this laptop and paired with the efficient hardware, this translated for me in about 10 hours of daily use, that includes browsing through a few different tabs, writing several thousand words, watching a few Youtube clips once in a while and occasionally listening to some music, with Wi-Fi ON, screen at about 60% and the default Power profile (you don’t have Power Modes on this platform). I was also able to loop a 720p .mkv file for about 9 hours in WMP-HC and stream the Big Bunny HD 1080p clip from Youtube for nearly 8 hours.
On top of that, the laptop can last in stand-by for weeks and Intel’s Always Connected ability will make sure that all your updates and emails are waiting for you the moment you decide to bring this one out of sleep.
It comes with a very compact 10Wh brick and a long cable. Charging the battery from 5 to 99% takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes, providing you’re not doing anything on it during this time.
Big battery, compact charger with a long cable – a winning combo
Pricing and availability
Update: The X205TA is now available in the US and it’s actually cheaper than initially predicted. See this link for details.
$199 in the US/CA , 199 euro across the pond and £169.99 in the UK. That’s how much you’ll have to pay for the EeeBook X205TA , starting October 14th, when this little fellow will start shipping. That that was bogus. I can’t say for sure when this thing will actually hit the stores. My Asus contact said (in the first part oc October) that “it’s not coming anytime soon”, but couldn’t provide even a rough estimate. However, it might reach other countries sooner.
Wrap-up
At the end of the day, Asus actually did a great job with the EeeBook X205TA, which checks most of the right boxes.
After using it for the last week, there’s a single thing that really annoyed me, albeit only occasionally: the trackpad. I was also not happy with the microSD and microHDMI slots (would have preferred full-size versions) or the fingerprint magnet case, but these are definitely not deal-breakers. The limited storage space could be though, you’ll really need to properly organize your content and leave the included partition for Windows, if you don’t want to have to reinstall it fresh once every couple of months.
But that’s about it, there’s only that little to complain about on a 200 bucks laptop. That’s why I believe this thing can be a solid travel companion, especially since it’s light, sturdy and lasts for a long while on each charge. It will also do good as a laptop for kids and school, because it’s so affordable that you won’t mind as much if it gets dropped or it breaks. And last but not least, it could be an option for anyone looking for a small inexpensive computer that runs Windows and all the compatible software.
There’s not much to complain about the X205TA, that’s why this could be a great Windows-running mini-laptop if you’re on a very tight budget
Just make sure you understand what the Atom platform inside this X205 can do and what it can’t and adjust your expectations accordingly. Otherwise, it might prove too slow, but if you do plan on using it for light daily tasks, there’s imh no other more capable mini-laptop you can buy brand-new for $200 these days. Not even a Chromebook. But I’m confident Asus won’t be running free in this segment for long. HP already announced their Stream notebooks for the end of the year, and the other manufacturers will soon follow, which is great for us, the average consumers.
Cheap windows laptops are coming back. Netbooks are coming back, only better than before. Are they something many will be interested in? Perhaps, perhaps not… We’ll see.
Anyway, there you have it, these were my impressions on the Asus EeeBook X205TA. Let me know what you think about it in the comments section below and post your questions as well, if any, I’ll be around to reply. And if you’re in the market for an affordable and compact laptop, you should definitely check out this post as well.
Jo
November 28, 2014 at 4:12 am
Does the X205TA run online and downloadable games well? Sims, roller coaster tycoon etc.
Andrei Girbea
November 28, 2014 at 12:49 pm
Very old PC games, maybe. But it’s not made for games
Lloyd G LeCain
November 28, 2014 at 5:25 am
Could you upgrade to 8.1 pro? Can you use a mouse with it?
Andrei Girbea
November 28, 2014 at 12:49 pm
Yes and Yes
CS
November 28, 2014 at 9:48 am
Hi, may I know, if this x205 comes with Office365 Personal free? I read from another blog, which mentioned that there is Office365 Personal.
Andrei Girbea
November 28, 2014 at 12:51 pm
It doesn’t from what I know. The HP Stream 11 is another $199 laptop that does though
Moety
November 28, 2014 at 1:43 pm
I purchased this as a early black friday deal without reading the specifications. However after using this laptop much to my surprise it worked well. The size is small but it works great for traveling, this will replace the tablet just due to the keyboard. Value for regular use is awesome. Your review was very detailed and the pro’s were enough for me to purchase two. Thanks.
Courtney
November 29, 2014 at 6:06 pm
Hello
As far as printing docs, how does that work? I was considering a chrome book, but printing seemed complicated( I am less tech savvy and will use better if it’s wireless or “cord” printer).
I also needed skype or tango and the chrome book did not have that either.
Second question: is it possible to “lock” screens so my 13 month old can “play” without deleting something
Courtney
November 29, 2014 at 6:22 pm
I thought of another question-
How can I upload pictures from smartphone and camera?
Skylar
November 29, 2014 at 7:19 pm
I think the sale is over, but I picked this up in Canada from the Microsoft store for $179CDN (205CDN/$180USD after tax+shipping). I popped in a 64gb microSD for another $25. I then redirected my basic folders (documents, pictures downloads, etc.) to go to the SD card to leave the HD available for program files and such.
I’ve been running Outlook, OneNote, Word, 15 tabs in Chrome, and paint.Net simultaneously before getting a memory error (once I push up to 25 tabs in Chrome that happens).
I also clocked a full 12 hours of battery life with this sort of use. At the size, weight, battery life, and full laptop functionality, this has definitely killed my use of tablets.
humming bird
November 29, 2014 at 9:13 pm
I got it yesterday for 179.99 from best buy. I think I was a bit frustrated for a while but I could def use this for quite sometime. great review! I have smudges all over mine after a night of use. lol
Courtney
November 30, 2014 at 7:12 am
Hello
I am not very tech savvy. Can you let me know how printing docs works on this laptop? I was considering a chrome book, but heard of having to use external ports to print( sounded confusing); I need ability to print wirelessly or from a “plugged in” printer
Skype or tango use is important, can the asus do that ?
Lastly, I liked that you could ” secure” the chrome book, so my 1 year can ” play” on laptop without me worrying he deleted or accessed important content. Can ASus do this?
Thanks for dealing with my “elementary PC language and knowledge”, I appreciate it!
Ryu
December 3, 2014 at 1:32 am
Hi, I recently picked this up for $99. I discovered that there was an 8 gb recovery partition made that I cannot delete or even use. I tried deleting it thru dishonest means, and it crashed. Upon reboot, I was greeted by the message that my PC needs to be repaired, due to error 0xc0000225. I can only get the UEFI Firmware Settings to start up, along with Startup settings.
Is there any way to restore this system to factory settings? The old videos about disabling boot booster and mashing on the F9 key etc don’t apply here, because there IS no boot booster. (And I just have no idea what the hell I’m talking about.)
MAIN THING: Can someone help me restore this laptop before I head to Staples for an exchange/refund?
Ryu
December 3, 2014 at 1:35 am
I also need to add that the error involves a file halmacpi.dll
Michelle
December 5, 2014 at 7:20 pm
Do you know I’d this would run Minecraft? Or a game like Sims 4? I am looking at this for my boys, who also like Facebook, faceboook games, YouTube, and Netflix. Thanks for your review!
Brenden
December 6, 2014 at 10:53 am
Do you have a shot of where/how the display panel ribbon connects to the mother board? Thanks!
Andrei Girbea
December 6, 2014 at 7:24 pm
I do not, sry
GabsJL
December 7, 2014 at 1:36 am
Thanks for the excellent review. I just ordered 1 from Staples online for $149 since I will be in the US in about a week or so. Here in France, it’s available for about 254€ (wtf !!) on Amazon, or else in 1 or 2 electronics shops for 219€, which is still about 100€ more than Staples. Doesn’t seem to be available anywhere else. Why such an enormous difference in price???
Tobbe
December 15, 2014 at 9:13 pm
Yeah, the European price is ridiculous compared to what it sells for in the US. Too bad the US keyboard has one less key than most European keyboards 🙁 Makes it that much harder to use for us with alphabets with more characters than in the English alphabet.
GabsJL
December 18, 2014 at 2:49 pm
Yes, you’re right about the keyboard. I probably won’t be using it for long texts or emails in French, Spanish or Italian, but for web browsing, Short emails, watching films…it should be fine. Will love the look on people’s faces when I say how much I paid for it though lol !
Brenden
December 7, 2014 at 5:14 pm
I see 3 open connectors on the motherboard. Two to the right of the wifi card, and the third one on the top right below the lcd screen connection. 3-5 inches from the other two connectors.
Any idea what they could be for? Do you have higher resolution images of the motherboard, or a PN for the motherboard. Should be on the white sticker in the right hand side of the motherboard shots.
Thanks again!
robert
December 13, 2014 at 7:40 pm
Will the asus X205TA run dj program? Even if i add the SD card storage
traktor pro 2
Windows 7 or 8 (latest Service Pack, 32/64 Bit), 2.0 GHz Intel Core i5 or AMD A-Series, 4 GB RAM
SUPPORTED DRIVERS
ASIO
Core Audio
DirectSound
WASAPI
Alain
December 13, 2014 at 10:01 pm
I see some people mentioning a touch screen. I bought last one (store demo) at Best Buy for $89 model X205T, no “a” at the end. Is there a touch version of this laptop?
Ramses Salcedo
December 17, 2014 at 3:00 am
Where can I find the white version?
Teresa
December 23, 2014 at 6:28 am
Does it come with anti virus?
Beherid
January 23, 2015 at 10:51 am
You can download free antivirus by AVG or Avast.
David
December 24, 2014 at 1:32 am
I also purchased this for $99 @ Best Buy. I couldn’t buy it during the sale as they were sold out (world wide, so they told me), but was able to buy the demo model the morning after the sale ended. I bought a 64gb micro SD card, and all is well. I had some issues with my wifi and downloaded their latest patch, BAD idea, now I can’t connect that to any wireless. Fortunately, I had a mini usb wifi adapter that works fine, but with the wireless mouse, I’m out of ports. Any idea on the location of the original drivers? I’ve emailed ASUS, and got a reply from them with tomorrow’s date. Guess I’ve crossed the date line overseas.
Thank you
Beherid
January 23, 2015 at 10:45 am
Added all the updates and no problems. The Wi-Fi is great, it rarely drops, if at all.
Dennis
December 25, 2014 at 7:56 pm
Andrei Girbea, great review. I am wondering why there is no premium model. Here are some drawbacks, both Intel and Asus fault.
This is what I want in a premium version of this laptop.
1. A 64Gb eMMC
2. 4Gb memory (in memory slot), with 32bit you only get about 3.4Gb of memory you can use, but it is a must to have 4Gb of memory with Win7, Win8
2. Standard HDMI-port
3. Separate headphone and mic jacks
4. Stanard SD and Micro SD slot (128Gb support if possible).
5. Option to install a mSSD card in the unit. (I have been wondering why this is not possible for a long time, in tablets and other units. This could remove the need for large SD-card storage.
6. IPS screen display
7. All the port should be up where screen is and not so close to where you have your hands when using the computer.
It is nice to see that finaly some small netbooks are comming back. Tablets are fine but it they are not for everyone, I like small computers like my asus eee PC 102b that has worked wonders. It is old, slow but has everything I need in a small portable computer.
As of now, the Acer Aspire E-11/ E3-111 option is better for me, just add more ram and a SSD and you have Macbook Air 11 but far cheaper and running full windows.
To bad this computer is low budget, would love to see this one in a more premium version as it would be the perfect replacement for a tablet.
Great review !
Audrey
December 31, 2014 at 11:22 am
Hi there!
After reading about possible different Watt-Versions (33W vs. 38W) – I just bought the 2 versions (by name) of this little fellow to find a difference: Asus F205T and Asus X205T. Still on battery load but, so far there is none. Both have the exact same specs on the package. Really odd that is…
Ron
January 3, 2015 at 10:53 am
Thanks for the comprehensive review Andrei. I bought one today based one your review.
Also to my surprise the machine came with a 1 year Office 365 subscription which is an absolute bonus!
CS
January 4, 2015 at 6:42 am
Avoid this computer. If the charger breaks (It’s flimsy), then you will not be able to find a replacement. Yep. There is no replacement charger. Google it and see for yourself. If your charger breaks then the only way to get a replacement is to buy another computer. Well Done, Asus!
Beherid
January 23, 2015 at 10:42 am
Just charge via USB.
Geek
March 29, 2015 at 2:50 pm
You can’t just use USB, it isn’t a standard USB charge connector.
Manthan
April 26, 2015 at 10:01 am
There are cables available for this type of port. Just use that cable to connect on end of ur asus and other end to a 5V charger. As simple as that!
Bill
August 29, 2015 at 12:04 am
amazon.com/DFL-X205TA-DH01-HATM0103-Computers-universal/dp/B013I43G6E/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1440795504&sr=8-16&keywords=asus+x205ta+charger
Replacement charger, 29.00 plus shipping. Same specs as original.
Steve
January 8, 2015 at 5:16 am
Andrei or anyone. My Asus x205t does not turn on. Of the three light, the left and mid lights are lit green. When I press the power button, I get no reponse. There is no reboot file etc. as far as I know. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Andrei Girbea
January 11, 2015 at 11:08 pm
Hmmm, weird. Try pluging it in. Press and keep pressed the power buton for several seconds (up to 10). Do the same thing 2-3 times if it doesn’t boot up after the first try.
As a side note, is there any sound coming out of the laptop when those lights are lit? Put you ear next to the back and tell me if you hear anything at all? I wonder if the laptop actually boots but the screen isn’t disconnected, thus there’s nothing diplayed.
Either way, if the computer doesn’t start after these, you should get in touch with the shop. You might have been sent a defective unit 🙁
some dude
March 22, 2015 at 11:31 pm
curious as to what sound you would expect a machine with no hard drive and no fan to be emitting during bootup…
anonCA
April 9, 2015 at 6:57 pm
@some dude – You would hear the high pitch frequencies of an active processor. Not an obvious sound from normal distance, but you can definitely hear something going on with an ear pressed against the laptop.
dhruv
June 13, 2015 at 2:38 pm
Hey I’m having the same issue with mine. Any luck figuring it out? Cheers
manpreet
January 27, 2015 at 12:55 pm
can it handle the 3.0 hard disk?would it get slow after attaching a 3.0 usb HD to it?
Morry Lauder
August 2, 2015 at 5:28 am
Not starting is a common problem with the X205T. Fix is simple. Just hold the start button down for 20 seconds or so. Then it will start. Something wrong with the sleep/hibernation feature. Doesn’t happen that often, though.
ASUS tech support at 877-339-2787 was easy to get through to and very supportive. However I bet they are getting busy with a lot of people worrying about installing Win 10 on the little hard drive.
Anmol
January 27, 2015 at 3:10 pm
Will it support external hard disk of 1TB??
Andrei Girbea
January 27, 2015 at 7:04 pm
haven’t tried one that big, but I don’t see why not. It worked well with other smaller ones
tmbrtn
April 29, 2015 at 8:11 pm
I use a 1TB 3.0 HD on my computer everyday for downloading 5 hours a day 7days a week. Works perfect. I also use a VPN/proxy service with it just fine.
I love this little computer-the settings were easy to adjust for the touch pad but I use a mouse also.
Ashu
January 29, 2015 at 9:19 pm
does this supports small games like IGI or counter strike or earlier versions of gta.
please give a gaming review
.
Tim Burton
February 6, 2015 at 6:55 am
Very good review. I purchased this and I’m happy with it. I’m on a search for a 1 TB ext hard drive. I’m looking for recommendations.
Thanks,
Max
February 27, 2015 at 1:31 pm
re Steve’s problem – when mine wouldn’t turn on, I phoned ASUS; turned out the trick was to hold the power button down for a full 30 seconds (maybe that turns it fully off when it’s in a confused coma, after which it can be started normally). This isn’t mentioned in the manual. The service rep was polite, but took 15 minutes to reveal this solution.
Two-finger “SmartGesture” scrolling on the trackpad stops working; rebooting reactivates it for me, but someone said ending this process in Task Manager worked for them.
I still don’t know how to stop the cursor from flying to random spots at times while I’m trying to type, but I suspect it comes from accidentally brushing the trackpad. If so, the solution may be to plug in a mouse and disable the trackpad.
Sydney
April 17, 2015 at 2:54 am
Thank you so much! I was having the same problem and this worked perfectly.
Mike
May 1, 2015 at 5:36 am
Thanks for the info on the boot issue. I was about to call support myself. I think mine ran out of juice while in sleep mode, which might be what caused this. Anyhow, Thanks!
Hariharan
March 5, 2015 at 12:05 pm
Can i use an external hard disk for storage of my files ?? Rather than a 128gb micro SD card ?? Will it support a 1 TB external HDD ?
Vishwa Nath
March 13, 2015 at 2:44 pm
yes it does support 1 TB HDD. I have used it to play movies
Paul Grayson
April 4, 2015 at 12:49 pm
I need to know if it will charge via usb for use in my Motor home, I’m only buying it for use on the road to begin with?
Rob
August 16, 2015 at 10:32 pm
I don’t think it can be powered via USB. You need a wall plug… sorry bud.
Matt
October 31, 2015 at 4:06 am
You would need to buy a “DC Power Inverter”. You can get them as low as $20 at various places. It basically uses the cigarette lighter port in your car and makes it a regular 2 prong socket like in your house (while converting the power from DC=/=AC appropriately of course).
I have one in my truck I mainly use to charge my cell phone while driving and man it blows a regular car cell charger completely out of the water. My buddie joking around hooked up a Xbox 360 and a 24″ 1080P HDTV and we played games off it for about 3 hours.
They’re nice to have for sure.
John
April 30, 2015 at 11:53 pm
Mine would not turn off after updating. Any help on how to fix that?
Scott
May 4, 2015 at 5:58 pm
Great laptop for the price, all the concerns have work-arounds and gamers can rejoice – The Half-Life 2 Source engine works fine on this machine and from there you can imagine what else is possible on this laptop, so for 200 you wont be playing any call of duty titles but you can play the hell out of classic modern steam titles and that’s all I need. I got myself a mini-HDMI to HDMI adapter and plug this laptop into my HDTV and party like it’s 2007. I never expected to play games on this machine but for a millennial my age it’s just fine.
rich
June 5, 2015 at 1:23 pm
how can i reset the bios
Brigette
June 9, 2015 at 1:22 am
I’ve had this laptop for a few months and my usb ports no longer work. Anyone else experienced this?
mafalda
June 10, 2015 at 10:56 pm
It does not turn on. Was working yesterday, charged during the night but this morning does not turn on. The only light on is the switch on one! Any help?
Brian Bollman
June 15, 2015 at 7:05 am
Looking for a charger an ASUS X205T
19V 1.75A 33W Retangler end
Zvi
August 26, 2015 at 5:07 pm
Does it have built in Bluetooth !?!?
Nikhil
August 30, 2015 at 4:40 pm
Can this device support Ubuntu or mint 32/64 bit os.