Asus unveils three ‘New Generation’ notebooks

Asus’s 1201PN, 1018P and 1016P, feature some of the latest notebook technology, such as ION 2, USB 3.0 and Bluetooth v3.0

The 1201PN contains NVIDIA’s ION 2 GPU

The 1018P features USB 3.0

The 1016P supports Bluetooth v3.0

Asus has unveiled three 'New Generation' notebooks, called Eee PC 1201PN, 1018P and 1016P. Photographs of the new machines, along with their basic specifications surfaced recently. The 1201PN and 1016P both contain an Intel Atom N450 processor, and the 1016P can be upgraded with an Intel Atom N455. The 1018P can be fitted with an Intel Atom N455 or N475. The N450, N455 and N475 each contain an Intel GMA 3150 GPU, and an integrated memory controller within one package. The 1201PN stands out in particular, as it will contain NVIDIA’s latest notebook GPU, the ION 2. It has the largest display of the three, measuring 12.1” and it can reproduce HD content at a native resolution of 1366 x 768, or at 1080p via the HDMI port. It has 1GB of DDR2 SDRAM, a 160GB hard drive, and supports 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR.

The 1018P and 1016P have 10.1” displays, 160GB or 250GB hard drives, and 1GB of memory each. It’s not clear if the 1016P shares the 1018P’s tiny height of 0.71”, but this is likely. They both feature an integrated 3G modem, although this may be an upgrade option. The 1018P is rumoured to support USB 3.0, and the 1016P will supposedly support Bluetooth v3.0. In one sense, these notebooks are part of a new generation of notebooks, as they contain some of the latest developments in notebook technology. However, the processing power they offer is not particularly strong and isn’t indicative of a leap from one generation of processor to the next.

Intel’s Atom N450, N455 and N475 processors

Processing HD content, undertaking moderate multitasking and gaming, will all strain the N450 and GMA 3150. Like the N450, the N455 is clocked at 1.66GHz, has a 533MHz FSB, 512KB of L2 cache and has a low TDP of 5.5W; consequently, it has the same performance potential as the N450. The notable difference is that it has an integrated DDR3 memory controller inside its package, as opposed to the N450's DDR2 controller. To see how the N455 compares with the rest of the Atom range, please click here.

The N475 is clocked at 1.83GHz and will only provide a slight performance improvement over the N450 and N455. Like its cousin, the N455, the N475 has an integrated DDR3 memory controller. You can read more about the N475 here. Whether Asus has fitted the 1018P and 1016P with DDR3 is another matter, although it's likely that upgrading to DDR3 will be possible. DDR3 RAM is more energy efficient than DDR2, and its lower power consumption, combined with the low 6.5W TDP of the CPU package, should provide users of the 1018P and 1016P with an exceptionally long battery life.  

NVIDIA’s ION 2 GPU

In terms of graphical processing power, the 1201PN has the advantage over the 1018P and 1016P’s rather weak GMA 3150, which is ranked 213 on our GPU benchmark list. It’s not clear whether Asus has used NVIDIA’s Optimus technology in the 1201PN, although it’s a possibility, considering the presence of an ION 2 card. NVIDIA’s next generation of switchable graphics technology significantly decreases the power consumption of its host system, through dynamic and intelligent utilization of either an integrated GPU or discrete GPU. To find out more about Optimus, please read our recent hands-on review.

After a lengthy period of speculation, NVIDIA has finally displaced rumors by announcing the ION 2 GPU officially. The ION 2 is a discrete GPU and is more capable than Intel’s 3150, although it is a little disappointing in some respects. It’s based on the GT218 chip, which was used in the GeForce 305M, 310M and G210M. Whilst NVIDIA’s website keeps details to a minimum, it has been revealed that the ION 2 is clocked at 535MHz, and has 16 cores, with 10” notebooks receiving an 8 core version. All versions are fitted with 512MB of DDR3 memory. Previous GT218-based GPUs are able to play modern games at the lowest settings quite fluently. This supports NVIDIA’s statement that ION 2 systems will be able to play popular games such as World of Warcraft and Spore.

More demanding games will undoubtedly push the 1201PN too far, with framerates dropping to single digit numbers. Unfortunately, placing an ION 2 GPU inside a Pinetrail machine reduces its maximum performance potential, as it can only be connected by the PCIe 2.0 1x slot provided by the Intel NM10 chipset. The inhibitive nature of the PCIe 2.0 1x bus on the ION 2 GPU was demonstrated by Netbooknews.de's recent 3DMark03 test, which was performed on an Acer Aspire One 532G; it scored only 3000 points. If you have an interest in gaming, please take a look at our GPU gaming list to see which games are playable on notebook graphics cards.

Asus’ three new notebooks are likely to be highly mobile and should offer great battery life, due to the host of energy-saving features granted by their components. Their recent appearance implies an imminent release date, and Asus’ prices are likely to be very low.

Specifications