Running a couple of games on Asus EEE PC 1215N
Ok, I’ve tried to run a couple of more games on the Asus 1215N today and you can find results below.
First, I have to tell you that this is an Atom powered machine, with a dual core D525 1.8 GHz processor, 4 GB of DDR3 memory and the new Nvidia ION graphics (16 Cores, with Optimus). These specs make it the most powerful Atom powered mini laptop on the market and the Nvidia chip used for graphics can even run some games. See the Asus 1215N EEE PC review for more details.
Now, there’s a problem here: because ION2 machines are so new, there aren’t proper drivers for them, that’s why I expect gaming and multimedia performances to improve in the next months, once we get updates from Nvidia. For now, all the tests are based on the 257.41 drivers release, which is the latest I managed to get working on this notebook.
First, here’s the clip with StarCraft 2: you get around 15-20 fps on average (1280 x 720 px with Medium details), which makes the game playable in a 2 vs 2 game, but quite not enough for those fast multiplayer matches between strong players.
Then, on the other clip below, you get the following:
- Anno 1404, which for those not familiar with the series, is a magnificent RTS city-builder game. You get like 10-18 fps on average in the game, but these will get lower once game progresses and more islands are colonized. So, once again playable, on medium resolution and medium details. Too bad you can’t enjoy this one on high, there are so many things wonderfully detailed in this game, from a tree falling, to a whale swimming or birds flying over the islands.
- Then, there’s FIFA 2010, which is a football game (soccer as you call it in the States). Runs fairly well, around 20 fps, on lowest resolution and lowest details. Still, when sending a long pass or trying to fast dribble, there will be some bothering sluggishness and lag.
- And there’s Battlefield: Bad Company 2, one of the best shooters of this year. Unfortunately, this one lags a lot: 10-15 fps is all you can hope and they drop under 10 for heavy combat scenes. Plus, since the first mission takes place during the night, I really had a hard time playing this game, as the 1215N does come with an ultra-glossy screen, like most other Asus notebooks do.
And there’s more: the famous Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 . See the video below. I’ve only shot scenes from the first campaign training mission. Things look OK as long as there aren’t many characters in the scenes, with 30+ fps, but as soon as something happens, they’ll easily drop to 15-10 or below. And for those of you who played this game, you know that in later campaign missions and multiplayer games there are many situations with 10+ players shooting at you. I doubt you could get more than sideshows on the 1215N in those cases, at least for now.
Bottom line, most of these games are playable on low details and low resolutions (1024 x 768). Now, all the games I’ve tested are very new, from 2010. And some, like MW2 do require true gaming rigs to run properly, so there’s actually no wonder this crippled (by faulty drivers) 1215N could not really be a match for them.
Still, with better drivers that should be available in the next months and as long as you’re planning to run older titles, this EEE PC should do fine for gaming. However, I would not call it a gaming machine, but more a powerful mini laptop with light gaming affinities (in fact, that’s all you could expect from a gaming netbook). For more, you’d better get some extra cash and look for a true gaming laptop.
Popularity: 5% [?]
Tags: dual core ATOM, gaming netbook, most powerful netbooks, Nvidia Ion, powerful netbooks
Last updated: January 7, 2011 | Published: August 21st, 2010 | See the comments or add yours!
Author: Mike - wrote 636 posts - see all posts by Mike
Andrei Girbea, aka "Mike", is the Owner and Editor in Chief at netbooklive.com . He's been dealing with gadgets and writing about them for years and now focuses more on portable computers, like netbooks, mini laptops and touchscreen tablets. You can follow him on Twitter.
Similar articles you might be interested in:
Reviewed the Asus EEE Pad Transformer today and played some games on it 
Asus 1215N review – powerful EEE PC in a compact sleek body 
Asus 1215N vs 1215B. Which 12 inch EEE PC should I choose? 
Asus 1215N EEE PC spoted on Amazon.com Then please help us out by subscribing to our RSS or Newsletter, Follow us on Twitter or at least like us on Facebook. This would be much appreciated and would helps us continue our work and help you guys and in the end.
