Face Off: Asus EeeBook X205TA vs. Lenovo S20 vs. Acer Aspire ES1

Matte plastic is used across the board for our three devices. The build quality of the EeeBook X205TA base is acceptable with moderate amounts of twists and depressions as expected on cheap netbooks. Its lid, however, feels weaker, can creak, and warps too easily for our liking.

The Lenovo S20 feels more rigid from top to bottom and its manufacturing shows no defects around edges and corners. The normal weak spots on notebooks, such as the center of the keyboard and outer lid, are still susceptible to warping from applied force. Overall, the case is good considering the size and price.

The Aspire ES1 is similar with no manufacturing flaws and is quite resistant to warping and pressure. its embedded SSD also makes it less susceptible to shocka compared to the Lenovo and its internal HDD.

In terms of size, the Acer is the thickest while the Lenovo is the largest when taking into account the length and width. The EeeBook is the smallest, but users will be sacrificing build quality along the way. Their respective weights correspond well to their sizes: The small X205TA is the lightest (0.98 kg), followed by the larger Acer (1.09 kg) and the even larger Lenovo S20 (1.30 kg).

We find the Acer notebook to offer the best balance between size and weight.

Winner: Acer Aspire ES1-131

A fair number of ports are available on each of the notebooks. The Asus, however, lacks USB 3.0 and a full-size HDMI port. Meanwhile, the Acer does not have expandable storage though it is the only model with Gigabit Ethernet. Lenovo offers the best of both worlds with its accessible 2.5-inch SATA bay and 10/100 RJ-45 port. In comparison, we found the maintenance panel on the EeeBook to be very difficult to remove.

Winner: Lenovo S20-30

Starting from the bottom, the Acer ES1 is equipped with the poorest keyboard out of the three. The keys are spongy and even wobbly for a cheap impression. The next step up is the Lenovo S20 whose keys provide clearer feedback. Nonetheless, travel is very short. The keyboard on the Asus X205TA has the most distinct feedback and is the most comfortable for typing.

It should be noted, however, that all these keyboards tend to warp towards the center. Users are encouraged to type lightly for a more comfortable experience. Larger hands will thus have a tougher time on the already small surface area.

As for the touchpads, the Asus is the only one that does not support multi-touch gestures. It does, however, respond reliably with a smooth glide for basic commands and its integrated keys offer distinct feedback. The Lenovo touchpad is the only one with dedicated mouse keys at the cost of a smaller touchpad. Lastly, the Acer touchpad is more similar to the one on the Asus in terms of size and feel, but we find it to be the least reliable out of the three.

While we like the size of the touchpad on the Asus, its lack of multi-touch is an impending headache for those inevitable moments where it could come in handy. The smaller touchpad and dedicated mouse keys on the Lenovo is the preferable choice.

Winner: Keyboard -- Asus EeeBook X205TA

              Touchpad -- Lenovo S20-30

The EeeBook X205TA and Lenovo S20-30 share the same integrated HD Bay Trail graphics despite having different CPUs. Thus, while Asus may have the faster CPU performance, its GPU performance is on par with the Lenovo according to 3DMark.

Acer's solution utilizes the faster integrated HD Braswell GPU and achieves nearly twice the raw performance according to both 3DMark 11 and 3DMark Cloud Gate. Its GPU, after all, is based on the more advanced Broadwell architecture compared to the older Ivy Bridge-based HD Bay Trail graphics. This brings the Acer closer to HD 5300 levels, though still not quite fast enough to play most of today's 3D titles on even the lowest settings.

See our dedicated GPU pages on the HD Graphics Bay Trail and HD Graphics Braswell for more technical information and gaming benchmarks.

System Noise & Temperature

The X205TA and Aspire ES1 are fanless designs and so emit no unwanted sounds at all during operation. There are not even hard drive noises since both systems have integrated SSDs.

On the other end of the spectrum is the Lenovo S20, whose single system fan never idles even when sitting at the desktop screen on Power Saver mode. Both its fan and mechanical hard drive are noticeable when working in a quiet room. This isn't to say that the notebook is loud, but it certainly surprises us that there is no built-in option to disable the fan if desired.

Average surface temperatures are lowest on the Lenovo by up to 5 C compared to the other notebooks when under stressful conditions. Even so, all systems share similar surface temperatures under low loads despite the persistent fan on the Lenovo.

It should be noted that heat development is higher and more concentrated on the rear corner of the Asus compared to the Acer when under load. The shallower temperature gradient of the Aspire ES1 gives Acer the slight edge.

Winner: Acer Aspire ES1-131

Battery capacities are essentially identical between the notebooks. The Lenovo S20, however, is the only one with an easily removable and replaceable module. The Li-Ion polymer modules on the Asus and Acer are placed behind the maintenance panel.

Runtimes are longest on the Acer notebook at over 9 hours of constant WiFi usage. Our latest WiFi test loops various webpages every 40 seconds and is more intensive than our older WiFi test used for the Asus and Lenovo. Users can still expect relatively long runtimes from the Asus, though the Lenovo S20 falls further behind in third place.

Winner: Acer Aspire ES1-131