Asus Eee PC 1201PN user reviews (silver)

4.5 stars

"sumpreme performance in a netbook" on July 29, 2010 by swiftgoose

Pros: Tough casing, superior motherboard/components typical of ASUS construction superior to Dell or HP. Pinetrail sips power, activating super hybrid engine provides decent gaming performance. Crunches powerpoint, office aps. Very light for a 12" netbook.

Cons: Shiny surface shows fingerprints. Underpowered webcam.

Summary: It?s a quick little machine. Not sure if CNet activated the superhybrid engine for gaming. When I did, Unreal ran just fine and streaming from youtube to t.v. was smooth. Runs far cooler than its 1201N cousin; you can place it on your lap without difficulty, and that alone makes the PN worth it. I was able to open an run several programs, including a graphics laden PowerPoint presentation, with little difficulty. Not as good for gaming as compared to the Mx11, but the Mx11 is over $300 cheaper, so it's to be expected that it would be a step down ? if you want a gaming machine, might as well buy an ASUS Republic of Gamers laptop for $800. Battery life ran at about 6 hours using office in with wireless on in power saving mode, with little effect on performance except for a dim screen. The 12 inch screen and pinch/zoom tech is a blessing when viewing small text, as is the Bluetooth. I really didn't want to spend more than $500, and this seemed better value than a cheap, shoddily constructed laptop. The only thing I would have liked to see is a better webcam to take advantage of the nice video streaming. This is a super light netbook for a 12 inch, weighing about as much as a typical 10 inch. Overall, now that I?ve bought this for my wife, I think I will go out and get one.