Using the Asus eeePC - it works!

[cgbraggjr]

Having just converted my little Asus eeePC model 701-4G (4GB solid state HD, 500MB RAM) to Windoze XP SP3, I thought what the heck, let's run a PTE.exe show on it and see just how badly it does, or even watch it crash under the processor load. After all, it's only using a Celeron-M processor running at 900Mhz (6/27 - actually I think there's a speed limiter inside that restricts it to 600Mhz; whatever). Much to my surprise, everything worked.

This is a vanilla eee - no overclocking, no fancy drivers. It's just the straight XP installation. I don't know if the driver can go better than 1024x768 on the external monitor, but I do know that my HP Pavilion 6000 with a fast AMD processor was a little jerky on a long pan in one of the shows. The Asus panned perfectly smoothly. Go figure. I suppose a really intense show with really large pictures might cause trouble, but I'm amazed already.

So, if you need to run your show on a computer roughly half the size of a sheet of letter paper and 1 1/2 inches thick, it can be done. (And the battery is good for 3+ hours, so you don't need to bring the wall wart with you.)

[LumenLux]

Your experience is a pleasant surprise.

Several months ago I had wondered about the little units' ability with the PTE graphics. I don't remember now the details, but I had concluded the O&A of PTE Version 5 would be beyond the Asus power. I wonder now if other PTE users have tried it? Thanks for sharing your experience.

[cottage]

I've had great success running PTE shows on my 16 gig Eee PC 900 (Windows XP). I have 1 gig RAM and an additional 16 gig SDHC card for further disk storage. I have yet to hook up an external monitor though. Will try and give feedback later. Wonderful machine !

Regards,

Bill

[LumenLux]

Thanks Bill for your experience. I have not pursued the matter but continue to follow with interest. Experience with an external monitor will also be helpful. Have you thought of trying the early jigsaw puzzles that Lin Evans did with PTE V5 betas? He made two versions - one with high graphic demands, the other with lower. They seem to make a simple narrow test quite easy and useful.

[cottage]

Thanks Bill for your experience. I have not pursued the matter but continue to follow with interest. Experience with an external monitor will also be helpful. Have you thought of trying the early jigsaw puzzles that Lin Evans did with PTE V5 betas? He made two versions - one with high graphic demands, the other with lower. They seem to make a simple narrow test quite easy and useful.

I didn't have a copy of Lin's jigsaw show. However I downloaded his "kachinazoom" test which ran perfectly on my Eee 900. That's with the PC running off battery only and the wireless up and running as well. Pretty cool PC. I'll have to do a larger monitor test next. Stay tuned.

Bill

[cottage]

Have you thought of trying the early jigsaw puzzles that Lin Evans did with PTE V5 betas? He made two versions - one with high graphic demands, the other with lower. They seem to make a simple narrow test quite easy and useful.

Ken sent me a link to Lin's jigsaw puzzles. I tried both versions today on my Eee 900. The smaller version ran find. However the larger version's audio sounded good but the actual puzzle appeared to complete in about 8 frames rather than running smoothly like it does on my desktop. Of course we both know the Eee 900 was built for smaller jobs and to conserve battery life while on the road. For us, it should be perfect for our travels. Large monitor test still ahead!

Bill