The Asus Eee PC 1015PN is one of the most powerful netbooks on the market today, if that’s not an oxymoron. Sure, it doesn’t come close to matching a notebook with a Core i-series CPU, but this 10 inch netbook has a dual core 1.5GHz Intel Atom N550 chip and the latest generation of NVIDIA ION graphics, which make it a tad faster than most Atom-powered netbooks. It’s also capable of handling 1080p HD video playback and some gaming.
There’s just one problem. The model that’s available in the US comes with Windows 7 Starter Edition — which requires you to reboot the computer every time you want to switch between NVIDIA ION and Intel dedicated graphics. You could just leave ION enabled all the time, but in my testing, the computer gets about 60 to 90 minutes of extra battery life when it’s using integrated graphics, so you kind of have to decide whether you value HD graphics or battery life more.
Or you can upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium, which does support NVIDIA Optimus technology, which automatically shifts between the integrated and dedicated graphics depending on what you’re doing with the computer. If you’re just surfing the web, integrated graphics should do the trick. Want to watch an HD Flash video? ION graphics will kick in until it’s done and then switch back off.
Asus has started to offer the Eee PC 1015PN with Windows 7 Starter and support for automatic graphics switching in Germany. The laptop runs about 449 Euros with Windows 7 Home Premium. That’s about 70 Euros more than the laptop costs with Windows 7 Starter Edition.
I checked in with Asus North America today and I was told that the company has no plans to offer the netbook with Windows 7 Home Premium in this region because it would drive up the cost. So if you want automatic graphics switching, it looks like you’re going to have to upgrade the laptop yourself.
via Eee PC News
Sometimes I wonder about Asus. What they fail to realize is that a lot of consumers will buy this thinking it has Optimus. It’s not a simple explanation for most people when they try to grasp the concept of Optimus being locked and how to unlock it and the whole thing about manual graphic swapping. Pretty lame imo. The actual mistake was releasing this with Win 7 Starter in the first place. It should have been kept as a premium netbook. Manual graphics swapping via power down is incredibly backassward.
Speaking of the 1015PN, yours is still collecting dust. You getting lazy? Lets hear the bad news about battery life when only using ION.
It’s nice of you to clarify with Asus North America about their plans with the Win 7 Prem model. Appreciate that info.
I’m guessing the first few thousand buyers who complain will …err convince Asus to switch to Win 7 Home Premium soon enough.
If you pop over to the online retailer that starts with an ‘A’ you will see customer complaints about the inclusion of Win 7 Starter. I expect this to boil over after a few more weeks with Asus capitulating.
…and still no high rez screen??? I give up.
Who wants higher res on a 10″ screen! You have microscopic vision?