Video: ASUS N10 netbook gets hands-on treatment, plays COD4

We knew the ASUS N10 was a burly fellow when we took some street corner shots of it earlier this month, but we never even thought to toss Call of Duty 4 on there and waste away a solid 12 hours in online war zones. Thankfully, the blokes over at Mobile Computer did think to try that, and the results weren't half bad. 'Course, that discrete NVIDIA GeForce 9300M graphics set didn't hurt, and if you're sick enough to really buy a netbook for gaming, this one should probably be atop your list. At any rate, a rather in-depth hands-on video awaits you in the read link -- go in expecting keyboard impressions, disappointment with the glare, and a few good minutes with an FPS and you'll leave happy.

[Thanks, Rex]

[Joe @ Sep 27th 2008 10:31AM]

How 'bout that Gateway P-7811FX you reviewed a while back? Supports 2 internal hard drives in RAID0/1, nVIDIA GeForce 9800gts w/512MB discrete memory, 4GB DDR3... Likely beats the pants off most peoples' real gaming desktops.

[BullmunkyFX @ Sep 27th 2008 10:41AM]

lol I was just about to post something about my new FX and how much I don't care about this netbook

[Flashpoint @ Sep 27th 2008 11:26AM]

Playing Call of Duty 4 isn't so hard.

The key question is... (get those low rank buttons ready)


CAN IT RUN C R Y S I S


If a computer can run Crysis in VERY HIGH, I trust it to run basically everything else.
http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/ea_usa?registration_option_id=5610

[kaimonkey @ Sep 27th 2008 12:06PM]

umm flashpoint
why would you want a NETBOOK to run crysis ??

[Flashpoint @ Sep 27th 2008 12:41PM]

kaimonkey

The ability to run Crysis in VERY HIGH says alot about a computer. Automaticaly you know it has alot of memory, strong video drawing performance and meets a standard that not many programs being sold now even require.

that future proofs it for at least 2 or 3 years.

[Wolfticket @ Sep 27th 2008 2:24PM]

Something along the lines of 4+kg and missing the point.
I bet you thing e-ink is a rip off because you can read e-books on you phone.

[chibi @ Sep 27th 2008 2:39PM]

Flashpoint

Go drown yourself.

[irdepesca @ Sep 27th 2008 7:37PM]

Yeah, I have that Gateway laptop and it's great.

[DeaconGTG @ Sep 27th 2008 10:31AM]

Good lord, that Dell severed that poor guys left arm off completely!

[DeaconGTG @ Sep 27th 2008 10:32AM]

-1 For not realizing it was an ASUS, i'm ashamed

[Deeznuts420 @ Sep 29th 2008 8:28AM]

here's some more -1, courtesy of us.

[ArcticFox @ Sep 27th 2008 10:48AM]

Shame it doesnt have a netbook price, it costs as much as a full size laptop.

[kojo87 @ Sep 27th 2008 11:46AM]

if it can play CoD 4 i'm not calling it a netbook

[Mike @ Sep 27th 2008 10:57AM]

Um engadget.....


its not a netbook.

even you guys said so yourself



good day.

[Jeremy @ Sep 27th 2008 11:04AM]

You know, the Raon Digital Note has a discrete (ATI) graphics card, and is an actual netbook - actually, one of the smallest, with its 7" screen. The above machine is nice, but on the larger side - looking forward to seeing a gaming review on the Raon. I can already taste the mobile WoW, once it's tethered.

[CaramelZappa @ Sep 27th 2008 11:48AM]

The Raon DIgital note also has an MSRP of $900, and puts it more into UMPC pricing than netbook pricing.

[dzhiurgis @ Sep 27th 2008 11:42AM]

If you're sick enough for gaming... Than poor you are.

[CaramelZappa @ Sep 27th 2008 11:46AM]

I'd get one, at a $500 price point.

[HI @ Sep 27th 2008 11:50AM]

But can it play Crysis?

[thethirdmoose @ Sep 27th 2008 11:54AM]

But... why?
Why not just get a desktop that can play COD4 on high (costs $600-$700) and a netbook for $300?

[CaramelZappa @ Sep 27th 2008 11:58AM]

Because that would add $300 to the price?

I don't think the point of this is for your netbook to be your gaming pc, but say you have a desktop at home for gaming, and maybe you're a college student that needs a netbook for note-taking in class. A graphics card that can handle real games would be nice for semesters where you have a long gap in between classes or for days when you want to head to school early before traffic gets bad. Also great for plane rides. It's obviously not for everybody, but if you think about it there are still plenty of people who would enjoy having an N10.

[The Dude @ Sep 27th 2008 12:29PM]

Too bad it has an Atom in there, it'd probably do better at native resolution if it didn't. Maybe even a dual-core Diamondville Atom would do better? If I was to ever take the netbook or super-ultra-portable dive (not likely), I would definitely wait for that.

[crsh @ Sep 27th 2008 1:10PM]

A 9300M for gaming? Wow, just wow.

[Chin-Poh @ Sep 27th 2008 1:41PM]

Don't be foolish, that's quite good for this size of a notebook.

[Einhanderkiller @ Sep 27th 2008 1:56PM]

I watched the video and Call of Duty 4 was definitely not playable like he said. He needed to disable AA and maybe shadows and dynamic lights.

[raize221 @ Sep 28th 2008 3:53AM]

+1 just for your name...

Damn that was a good game, thank God for emulators...

[Ray @ Sep 27th 2008 2:16PM]

i really wonder why nvidia isnt working on shrinking the size of its mobile cards more, it seems like they just give em to manufacturers and say do what ever you can, this is really slowing down the market if you ask me. Why cant i have a 14 inch with +9600, i dont see a reason not. And dont say because people dont want a small gamertop, i got stuck with my asus f8 on the look for one and am unhappy about it being a 14 incher thats bigger than my less powerful 15.

[raging_hamsterx @ Sep 27th 2008 4:02PM]

The real question is: Will it run Mojave?

[JohnB @ Sep 27th 2008 4:35PM]

This is pretty close to my ideal "netbook". If they can go 1280x800 and dual-core without going up in size I would go for it. I am all for having a light weight GPU which gives us option to play some games at most unexpected times! (which happens to me more often than I expect!).

Turn GPU off when you need long battery. Turn it on when you need some gaming experiences. Why complain about this? Me thinks this is worth a bit of premium.

[Ashwin @ Sep 27th 2008 5:34PM]

Putting in a discrete graphics card already started taking it out of netbook territory. Now putting a dual core processor, and 1280x800 will really make it as expensive as a real notebook.

[iProd @ Sep 27th 2008 4:57PM]

Man, check out that guys 'stache in the reflection of the screen! I lol'd.

[albtms @ Sep 27th 2008 5:57PM]

1. This may "cost as much" as a full-sized laptop, but good luck trying to find a quality notebook in this size/weight category for a similar price.

2. The Raon Everun Note's GPU isn't quite discrete, and from what it looks like, is not much faster than a GMA x4500 or so. There's also the issue of those being recalled for heat and other issues, as well as being more expensive.

3. This review really should've:
a. caught their 1024x768 and 1024x600 resolution statements,
b. turned off AA completely on this type of computer,
c. specified WHAT kind of HD content they were playing in regards to bitrate, codec, etc.
d. touched upon heat issues using the discrete GPU.

Oh well, it does say they'll have a full review next week, so hopefully they'll comment on those things then... actually, I should drop them a note.