Asus 1015PEM reviewed – a winner with N550 and good price

I’ve been waiting to see the expected Asus EEE PC 1015PEM reviewed for a while and now it finally was. This is the first 10 incher from Asus to bring the dual-core N550 processor, so I had high expectations, as it was the first revolution to happen for 10 inch netbooks in a long time. But let’s see if this EEE PC is as good as expected or not.

First, do not get yourself over carried by the wave, this is still an Atom powered machine with integrated GMA 3150 graphics. So, with the dual-core CPU, we should see improvements in everyday performance, especially in multitasking, but not more. And these without sacrificing battery life.

The guys at Laptopmag.com managed to get their hands on one of these new Asus 1015PEM and give it a spin. Let’s take a look at the specs for the tested unit:

• 10 inch 1024 x 600 px non-glare display
• N550 1.5 GHz dual-core CPU + GMA 3150 graphics
• 1 GB of DDR3 memory
• 250 GB HDD
• Wi-Fi N + Bluetooth 3.0 + USB 2.0 slots
• 6 Cell 66 Wh battery
• Windows 7 Starter

So, the 1015PEM is nearly identical with the mainstream Asus 1015PED. It comes with the same body, same matte finishing and color options, same chiclet keyboard/trackpad and almost the same specs, except for the CPU of course. Thus, it would be great to see how the two perform in comparison. Unfortunately, it seems that almost nobody tested the N475 equipped Asus 1015PED so far, so we hardly have any benchmark results.

However, we found some, and what’s important is that the 1015PED managed to score 1559 points in PCMark05 (source), while the 1015PEM scored 1729 (according to laptopmag). In comparison, the older generation 1015PEM with N450 processor only managed around 1400 points. This means that the 1015PEM is slightly better in this CPU synthetic tests, but how is this translated in everyday performance? Well, there is certainly an improvement.

Everyday use will be snappier, especially when running multiple applications at once. If 10 inch netbooks with single core CPUs choked when running a browser with a couple of TABs, text editor, chatting software and music player simultaneously, the 1015PEM will chuck less often and will perform smoother. However, do not expect wonders. Although the N550 dual-core processor is definitely superior to any Atom single core CPU, differences between them are still small.

Asus 1015PEM - with non glare screen, matte exterior available in different colors and overall more powerful than the standard 10 incher

Of course, graphics and games are still a no no for the Asus 1015PEM, although it will be able to run properly 720p self stored content with proper codecs on board. But that’s about all it would. For more, you should see the expected Asus 1015PN, with N550 + ION graphics.

What’s cool is that the 1015PEM equipped with the N550 processor managed to score more than 8 hours of life on a single charge. And this result is on real life tests and not on paper (where Asus claims up to 13 hours). So very good autonomy, managing to beat most 10 inch mini laptops on the market (but not the 1015PED or the previous generation 1015 PEM).

Another strong point for the Asus 1015PEM is it’s price. At $369 with Shipping included within US borders, it is actually only 10 bucks more expensive than the top 1015PED. And it is snappier, even though not by much, but at this level, every bit extra performance counts.

All in all, the Asus 1015PEM manages to meet my expectations. I was expecting it to be the fastest 10 inch mini laptop and it is. I was not dreaming for insane performance boosts, but I wanted an affordable device, snappier than average in everyday tasks and with good battery life. And this is exactly what the Asus EEE PC 1015PEM offers. That’s why this notebook is now a part of my list of recommended 10 inchers and I consider it the best option for a mini netbook available right now on the market.

Tags: 10" netbook, Asus, Asus netbooks, Intel Atom N550, powerful netbooks

Last updated: March 30, 2012 | Published: September 27th, 2010 | See the comments or add yours!