Asus Nova P22 review (black)

You can see from our performance charts that the Asus Nova P22 is not a strong performer compared with the Mac Mini, or any other desktop comparable by either size or price. The only system that came close is the eMachines T3642, a budget midtower PC with a single-core CPU that goes for $350, or less than half as much. We should point out, since both the eMachines and the Nova P22 are Vista systems with only 1GB of RAM, their Photoshop scores are significantly slower than either the Mac OS X-based Mac Mini, or any of the Vista 2GB systems. That laggard performance makes the lack of easy upgrading especially painful.

The Asus Nova P22 has a limited number of ports on it, including DVI, USB inputs, and various audio ports.

Aside from the aforementioned specs, the Mac Mini and the Asus Nova P22 are very similar. Each has a limited number of ports on the back side, including DVI only for video, a handful of USB inputs, and various audio inputs and outputs. Both also have built-in Bluetooth capability. However, the Nova P22 has a slight edge with a built-in speaker that outputs serviceable audio. The Nova P22 also has a docking station input on the underside, although we have no information on what a docking station might entail for this system. The Asus manual alludes only to "future upgrades."

The manual itself is simple and points out the basic external features of the Nova P22. The system has little in the way of digital help, although you do get a software upgrade utility. The default warranty provides you with two years of parts and labor coverage (provided you don't violate it by opening the case), and Asus also has a toll-free support line. Online resources are sparse, including only driver downloads and basic information.

Find out more about how we test desktop systems.

System configurations:

Apple Mac Mini
Apple OS X; 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo; 1GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 64MB (shared) Intel GMA 950 graphics chip; 120GB 5,400rpm Hitachi hard drive

Asus Nova P22
Windows Vista Home Premium; 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6320; 1GB DDR2 1,066Hz SDRAM; 256MB (shared) Intel GMA 3000 graphics chip; 160GB 5,400 rpm hard drive

eMachines T3642
Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.6GHz AMD Athlon 64 4000+; 1GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 128MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 6100 graphics chip; 160GB 7,200 rpm Western Digital hard drive

HP Pavilion SlimLine S3200t
Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E4500; 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT graphics chip; 500GB 7,200rpm Samsung hard drive

Sony VAIO TP25
Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T8100; 3GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 8400M GT graphics chip; 500GB 7,200 rpm Western Digital hard drive