Asus EeeBox PC EB1501 Review

The Asus Eee Top is another member of the Eee family. This range of computing devices was built around three basic and relevant rules, “Easy to learn, Easy to play and Easy to work.” It couldn’t be simpler.

The atom-powered nettop PC, simply a netbook disguised in desktop PC clothing the Eee Box EB1501 with the help of the Atom dual core processor, Windows 7 Home Premium and even a DVD writer has ensured it is a cut above all of its predecessors.

Design-wise, well you can look for yourself. The boring, squared, box looks of the original models has disappeared. Instead, curved, appealing links have ensured the EB1501 is an attractive little devil. A silver base holds the Eee Box at an angle ensuring you have easy access to two of the six usb ports, a memory card reader, the microphone and headphone sockets as well as the slot-loading DVD-writer.

The dual core Atom 330 processor is backed up by 2GB of RAM and the 250GB hard drive is more than adequate considering the size and price of this miniature PC. However, you’ll notice, just as we did, that the machine is slightly slow. Well simply because the processor cannot handle it and furthermore the 2GB of RAM is not sufficient for the processor and the integrated graphics card to both share.

Putting the qualms of the EB1501s performance aside we can see that it has plenty to offer as a compact PC. The plethora of ports at the front are matched at the back by the other four usb ports, an eSata port, a Gigabit Ethernet port as well as both VGA and HDMI ports. Along with this, as standard, comes 802.11n wireless networking. More than enough – right?

The Nvidia’s Ion GPU comes close to rescuing the EB1501 from the clutches of crashing out at a all time low rating of 5 out of 10. Even though it leaves GPU heavy games such as Crysis in an unplayable state it certainly does run older titles such as Doom 4 or the classic Heretic.

With the ability to mount your new friend to the back of your HDTV or monitor thanks to a VESA bracket as well as having the option to stand it neatly and smartly on your desk with the standard issue stand, it certainly looks the part.

With minimal power usage, its neat size and the capability to stream via wireless of Ethernet the EB1501 is ideal for a little media centre but will certainly struggle under any hard usage such as GPU heavy games.