Asus Eee PC 1215B Review
Asus Eee PC 1215B is first Asus netbook to feature the new AMD E350 / AMD C50 processor which is being used in many entry level netbooks and notebooks. I have personally loved these AMD Fusion netbooks and notebooks as they do not cost much and are able to handle 1080p video playback with ease. Specs of the 1215B look fantastic – you get a 12.1-inch netbook, AMD C50 processor, 250GB hard disk, 2GB of DDR3 RAM and Windows 7 Home Premium operating system.
Yes, it is infact an AMD C50 powered Asus 1215B!
Body of the Asus 1215B is same as 1215T and there is absolutely no difference between the two. The matte surface feels fantastic and gives it a sophisticated touch. TrackPad and palm rest are also matte. However, the area around display is glossy and easily catch smudges.
The display is one of the best we have seen on netbooks so far, only if you do not find the glare of the glossy 12.1-inch screen.
Expandability - For expanding the RAM, you get two RAM slots. The unit came with 2GB RAM which is more than enough for a machine of this size. Since there is one empty slot, you can upgrade it to up to 4GB DDR3 RAM. There are 3 USB 2.0, 1x VGA and 1x HDMI ports.
Keyboard has not undergone any change since 1215T and you get the same small right shift key. Other than that, the keyboard is excellent and has great feedback.
Touchpad is great to use thanks to the matte surface. Multi touch gestures like pinch to zoom and two finger scrolling worked like a charm. Mouse buttons were easy to press as well.
The performance of the Asus 1215B is pretty good. Asus makes an AMD E350 powered model as well which will deliver same performance as the Sony Vaio YB as they share similar configuration. I tried both 1080p YouTube as-well-as locally stored videos and experienced no lags. Thanks to the HDMI port, you can output it to an HDTV or bigger display, if you want.
Here is its Windows Experience Index:
* Processor: 2.8
* Memory: 4.5
* Graphics: 4.0
* Gaming Graphics: 5.5
* Hard disk drive: 5.6
It scored a good 34807 in CrystalMarkBench test (similar to Acer 522 which also get similar performance). In real life, the performance is somewhere between an single core Atom netbook and Core i3 processor which is exactly stated by the graph given below. I was able to play full HD videos (1080p) without any problem. The major contributor in the graphics department is the ATi Radeon HD 6250 GPU.
Here is how it comes to the AMD K125 (being used in Asus 1215T) and Atom N550 (being used in Asus 1215P):
Not impressed? Take a look at its GPU benchmarks (ATi Radeon HD 6250 vs ION2 vs ATi 4250)
Battery Life
I got 5 hours 30 minutes of runtime from it while doing wireless web surfing and brightness set to 50 percent. This is not bad, but not great too. For the records, this was with 6-cell 5200mAh battery I got with the unit.
Verdict – Asus has told me that it will be hitting the stores with a price tag of 450 dollars which is a fair price for a 12.1-inch netbook. The Asus 1215B is faster than 1215N and 1215T, thus a worthy successor. I recommend it. Asus is selling AMD E350 version of 1215B (which is much faster than the one tested by us) for 499 dollars here.
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Post a Comment
Jazz | Mar 24, 2011 | Reply
Update – Added Cinebench benchmarks
Jazz | Mar 24, 2011 | Reply
Benchmarks of other CPUs taken with permission from Kamal DS – NetbooksReview.net – Thank you so much!
Alex | Mar 25, 2011 | Reply
http://www.excaliberpc.com/603261/asus-eee-pc-1215b-320gb.html#TabSpecification
a few things…
This version comes with 1 USB 3.0,
is this confirmed or not?
The battery life then, for this version, you would think.. would it be closer to the 8.5 hours they state.
And last of all– that glare you speak of, is it reaallly bad? Or just that it sort of sucks but… not to big of a distraction when say, two people wanna watch a trailer or something?
thanks, Alex.
Jazz | Mar 25, 2011 | Reply
1x USB 3.0 port is there in the AMD E350 version. I can confirm you that AMD C50 version (the one reviewed above) does not come with one. All ports are USB 2.0.
Battery life stated by manufactures often overstated. In real world usage, you will be able to get a maximum of 6 hours (which is not bad by any means). If battery life is more important to you, I would suggest getting an Atom powered netbook (with GMA 3150 graphics).
Glare is not very bad – just like other glossy notebooks / netbooks. I wish it was matte. If you two people are watching a trailer in a room then it should be fine. However, watching it in direct sunlight would be terrible idea.
jr | Mar 28, 2011 | Reply
Does this have the asus hybrid utility that supports overclocking like the intel models?
Jazz | Mar 28, 2011 | Reply
Yes, it does.
jr | Mar 28, 2011 | Reply
How high was it able to overclock with the utility?
Jazz | Mar 29, 2011 | Reply
Super Performance Mode – 1049.83GHz
High Performance Mode – 1000.05GHz
Power Saving Mode – 1000.05GHz
Auto High Performance Mode – 1000.05GHz
Weird, I know. This processor just does not want to go below 1GHz. ^_^
mark | Apr 9, 2011 | Reply
I’m debating between the 1215b MU-17 and the PU-17. I don’t really care about the hard drive space. If I get the MU-17 with the AMD Brazos C50, then I’ll upgrade the RAM to 4gb. If you were given those two models, which one would you recommend?
Jazz | Apr 9, 2011 | Reply
I would go for the PU17 that comes with E350 processor.
mark | Apr 9, 2011 | Reply
Thanks, that’s what I was leaning to.
Mark | Apr 12, 2011 | Reply
what’s the speed of the ram in the PU-17?
unknown | Aug 22, 2011 | Reply
hey, why mine Eee laging when i watch hd 1080p films? :)
thx for reply ;D
wanda | Sep 2, 2011 | Reply
Does this have a cd player installed? I need this for college.
Jazz | Sep 2, 2011 | Reply
There is no DVD drive in it. However, you can always plugin one via USB port.
kaishe | Sep 17, 2011 | Reply
please advice why my laptop Asus Eee PC always do Configuration? even while at work, this machine execute the Configuration.
Jazz | Sep 17, 2011 | Reply
I did not get you. What configuration are you talking about?
hi Jazz | Sep 19, 2011 | Reply
i really dont know too, The configuration i mean it will run in the middle of os execution while im at work, while i working it will interrupt by configuring itself.
Jazz | Sep 19, 2011 | Reply
That is weird. I suggest reinstalling the OS by using recovery partition.
neal punsalan | Nov 28, 2011 | Reply
my eeepc 1215b gives me great pleasure to use, am on autocadd 2010 and doesnt hang up, im having the idea of upgrading to 4gb ram per this review… wud anyone recommend it. My EeePC 1215b is Black metalic as it turn heads while im in Star Bucks…More power ASUS