ASUS gets official with Atom-powered Eee Box

Well, what do you know? Those rumored specifications for ASUS' not-secret-at-all Eee Box were spot on. The outfit has just now gotten around to getting official with said mini PC, which checks in with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, an 80GB hard drive, multicard reader, 802.11n WiFi and gigabit Ethernet. As predicted, you'll find Windows XP Home running the show, and ASUS is spicing things up by tossing its newly unveiled Express Gate fast boot technology on here too. There's nary a mention of a price or release date, but that's pretty much par for the course with this company.

[cy21 @ Jun 20th 2008 1:31PM]

how much is one of those again???

[Danakin @ Jun 20th 2008 1:33PM]

TBA (To Be Announced)

my estimates would put it in the $200-$400 range

[Flashpoint @ Jun 20th 2008 1:39PM]

But, if it can't play CRYSIS what is the point?????

;P

[giantenemycrab @ Jun 20th 2008 4:08PM]

Knowing Asus, it'll only be $999!

[Christy McGrory @ Jun 20th 2008 4:26PM]

Look, if you REALLY want to play Crysis, invest in a desktop. Yes yes I get the meme, but still...

[Cal @ Jun 20th 2008 9:18PM]

Why would you want to play Crysis though? It's more of a tech demo than a game (ie it looks good but isn't fun)

[cy21 @ Jun 20th 2008 1:31PM]

ow.. sorry.... no price yet... if anyone knows anything though.. pls reply

[JayC @ Jun 20th 2008 1:32PM]

does it have enough power to playback 1080p ?

[Wolfticket @ Jun 20th 2008 1:48PM]

http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=3321
"Without hardware decode assist for any of the HD video codecs the Eee Box’s Atom processor is left to do all decoding on its own, and unfortunately it’s not fast enough to decode any high bitrate HD video. In our testing we found that the 1.6GHz Atom was fast enough to decode a 4.5Mbps 720p H.264 stream at around 90% CPU utilization; anything more complex and we started seeing dropped frames. 1080p HD movies are completely out of the question. The CPU is fast enough to play 720p XviD/DivX however."

[Danakin @ Jun 20th 2008 2:01PM]

I doubt it.

[nDee @ Jun 20th 2008 10:51PM]

I dont really expect that to happen
Just like Wii
UNless they put AMD's latest CINEMA series on it
But it would become
$1999

[iHoppipolla @ Jun 20th 2008 1:32PM]

Dell Hybrid mini or Asus Eee Box or the vaporous updated Mac mini?

[Wolfticket @ Jun 20th 2008 1:53PM]

Also, by-the-by, it would seem the clock speed of the atom is rather misleading in real world performance terms, relative to current desktop and mobile processors.

[iHoppipolla @ Jun 20th 2008 1:57PM]

Oh, that was for the general populous:)

I'll hold onto the Mac mini vapor as long as I can...

[Benson @ Jun 20th 2008 4:47PM]

@Wolfticket:

No, the clock speed is not "misleading"; it's exactly the speed the clock runs at, and everything that actually implies is pretty much as follows from it.

The assumption many people make (that all computers accomplish the same throughput per clock) _is_ misleading. But that's their own fault, of course. TANSTAAFL; did anyone really think that the lowered power consumption would not come at a performance cost? Wishfully thinking optimists get mislead by themselves a lot, I guess.

[Wolfticket @ Jun 20th 2008 6:16PM]

@Benson

I didn't say the clock speed was in any way inaccurate.
Just that since many sellers advertise the clock speed of their processors with equal prominence in both their atom and other lines, it would not be unreasonable to assume the numbers a comparable in real world performance terms.
Which is clearly not the case.

[KarlW @ Jun 20th 2008 1:38PM]

Nice. It's thinner than a desktop, yet thicker than a thin-client. This could really take off in the corporate space (especially since it runs XP. Now dongrading costs! yay!)

[Low Ranked @ Jun 20th 2008 2:53PM]

"Now dongrading costs! yay!)"

I cannot for the life of me, figure out how your 'w' got shifted 3 spaces to the left....

[phanbouy @ Jun 20th 2008 4:59PM]

he likes to grade dongs. give him a break.

[KarlW @ Jun 20th 2008 1:40PM]

The mini has a Core2Duo. Atom is fast, all right, but it's not that fast. Depending on the price, the mini might be a better buy (and you can run XP on it)

[KarlW @ Jun 20th 2008 1:40PM]

The mini has a Core2Duo. Atom is fast, all right, but it's not that fast. Depending on the price, the mini might be a better buy (and you can run XP on it)

[Low Ranked @ Jun 20th 2008 1:42PM]

If you're having trouble finding a Wii for your 4 year old this holiday season, this WeeeBox may just fool them long enough to extend your search.

[ds @ Jun 20th 2008 1:46PM]

< $300 seems reasonable

[Michael Scrip @ Jun 20th 2008 2:32PM]

Until you realize you can get a Dell for $379 with a DVD burner, 250GB hard drive, video card expandability, etc.

As much as I want to like these tiny machines... I would just spend the same money on a big computer.

[Paul @ Jun 20th 2008 4:53PM]

I'd say $249 or less would be the magic price point. These things should be very low power appliances that you can use for whatever. Honestly, I'm more excited by the CherryPal with a 2W power draw than I am by this (though admittedly I'd love to see it with 802.11n). However, the Atom is a more capable processor, so this may be more appropriate for many situations. Let's just hope the power consumption is < 10W, though "90% less" may translate to around 30W.

WRT to the mini being the better option, perhaps again in certain situations, however, I'm guessing that this will be less than half the price and aimed at a different market. The mini could conceivably be a desktop for all but gamers (especially the vaporous upgraded model with upgraded graphics). This would be pushing it for most even quasi-powerusers.

[Eddie W @ Jun 20th 2008 1:50PM]

If it had Linux and would work for living room applications I would buy one... with XP and the inability to play HD, I'll have to pass. It's a shame, it seemed like ASUS was going to define itself by going in the direction of open source (with splashtop and using Linux with the initial eee pc). I was hoping for this to be a little more innovative, the form factor is nice, but this appears to be all it has going for it (maybe price when that's announced).

[Neeko @ Jun 20th 2008 1:57PM]

Itll play 720 MKV files so HTPC is a go. Now whats the max RAM?

[Kamokazi @ Jun 20th 2008 2:06PM]

Any self-respecting linux geek should be able to install their own copy of Linux. This still is quite a defining product for Asus, you're just bitter they're not helping to further your desktop Linux agenda and general hatred of Microsoft.

[matt @ Jun 20th 2008 2:44PM]

@kamo - No I think Linux users are more annoyed at the MSFT tax being included in the price and no guarantee of decent Linux support. Why would I buy a product from ASUS when I could build a machine with a similar form factor using an Atom based PC/104 SBC that includes Linux support and not have to pay the MSFT tax? Yeah, I guess the really pretty case makes it such a defining product for any manufacturer.

[Eric @ Jun 20th 2008 2:57PM]

Well, there are plenty of uses for this machine. I'm looking at it for a cheap file server/gateway/vpn box to replace my Linksys NAS200 (junk) and my old gateway. I'd rather not use an old PC due to the noise and power consumption (right now my network is solar powered and I'd like to keep it that way). If it is cheap enough, that is. Anything less than $300 would be a great price, and I thought they already said they'd have a Linux version available.

[Eddie W @ Jun 20th 2008 3:13PM]

Exactly. Why should I pay for XP when I'm just going to remove it? I was interested in this product initially because it was going to be offered with Linux, which is what the initial reports suggested (as well as its tie to eeepc which also ran Linux). Just because I can install Linux myself doesn't mean I shouldn't be disappointed at this switch.

@Kamokazi - My initial post wasn't anti MS. Why do Windows fans always suggest that just because someone is a Linux user they must hate MS? And what's wrong with me having an agenda for Linux on the desktop? I happen to be a Linux user and the more people who use it the better the OS becomes. It's not like I went around criticizing all of the people who wanted XP on the eee pc when it came out - it's just a preference.

[Benson @ Jun 20th 2008 4:53PM]

Eddie W:
"It's a shame, it seemed like ASUS was going to define itself by going in the direction of open source ..."

Kamokazi:
"... you're just bitter they're not helping to further your desktop Linux agenda and general hatred of Microsoft."

Somehow I don't catch that there's anything "wrong with [you] having an agenda for Linux on the desktop"; it seems like a rather plain statement of what _you_ said, with only the added assumption that you hate Microsoft; an assumption that's certainly as reasonable as your characterization of Kamokazi as a Windows fan.

[ilh @ Jun 20th 2008 6:44PM]

It's already been confirmed a number of times that a Linux version is coming and with better specs.
Unfortunately reg has just reported that the Linux version will be out after XP but at least we have a date (for the UK)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/06/19/eee_box_uk_date/

[Ettore @ Jun 21st 2008 4:07AM]

But if you install Linux and throw away Windows, then you don't want to pay for Windows...

[TNP @ Jun 21st 2008 8:05PM]

Absolutely. I have become very disillusioned by Asus's moves over the last two months or so: getting into bed with M$ and their insane belief they now have an apple-like aura that justifies overpricing their wares.

It is my fervent hope that the EU (as the US DOJ is now just a corporate tool) will look into these sweetheart (or perhaps blackmail) deals of M$ offering XP for SFF computers on the cheap and re-nail their nuts to their forehead.

[initialxy @ Jun 20th 2008 1:51PM]

i dont quite like that stand. hope its removable.

[Lowest Ranked @ Jun 20th 2008 6:10PM]

I think it looks perfect for hanging it on a wall; looks like a door knocker.

[digitallysick @ Jun 20th 2008 1:59PM]

If they can do it for $400.00 or less it will be the perfect osx86 box for leopard! Its cheaper than i could build one with newegg parts.

[kwjayhawk @ Jun 20th 2008 2:04PM]

Looks like a wii

[Jamus @ Jun 20th 2008 2:18PM]

The last time I checked, the GMA950 graphics chip on this little beasty could only do 1600x1200. I really wish it was able to do 1920 so it could do native rez on a 1080p HDTV. That would make a sweeeeet little media center. HD footage would be choppy, but stills and music would rock.

[Jake @ Jun 20th 2008 4:09PM]

http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/02/final-specifications-revealed-for-asus-eee-box-b202/comments/12433900/

-jp

[Jamus @ Jun 20th 2008 4:34PM]

"2048x1536"! Excelllllent. Thanks Jake.

[mycintosh @ Jun 20th 2008 3:26PM]

Somehow it looks like a child from Father Mac mini and Mother Wii

[Jeremy Applebaum @ Jun 20th 2008 5:24PM]

That looks a Wii bit like something familiar...

[Joshua Walters @ Jun 21st 2008 11:57AM]

Throw a 1tb hdd in there, and that would make a nice looking home server/media center PC.

Of course, it would still be missing a nice video card, and a BlueRay drive, but whatever, close enough.