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                        | HotHardware's Mobile Test Systems | 
                     
                    
                        | Covering
                        the bases | 
                     
                
             
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             Asus Eee PC 1215N 
             
            Intel Atom D525 
            (1.8GHz) 
             
            2GB DDR3 
             
            Intel GMA HD  
            (Pineview) +  
            NVIDIA Ion 2 
             
            On-Board Ethernet 
            On-Board Audio 
             
            1x250GB Hard Drive           
            5400 RPM SATA 
             
            Windows 7  
            Home Premium (64-bit) 
             
            12" LED LCD Display 
            (native 1366x768) | 
            Lenovo ThinkPad X100e 
             
            AMD Athlon Neo
            (MV-40) 
            (1.66GHz) 
             
            2GB DDR2 
             
            Radeon HD 3200 IGP 
             
            On-Board Ethernet 
            On-Board Audio 
             
            1x250GB Hard Drive            
            5400 RPM SATA 
             
            Windows 7  
            Professional (32-bit) 
             
            11.6" LED LCD Display 
            (native 1366x768) | 
            HP Mini 311 
             
            Intel Atom N270 
            (1.6GHz) 
             
            2GB DDR2 
             
            NVIDIA
            Ion GPU  
            (Based on 9400M) 
             
            On-Board Ethernet 
            On-Board Audio 
             
            1x250GB
            Hard Drive            
            5400 RPM SATA 
             
            Windows 7 Home 
            Premium (32-bit) 
             
            11.6" LED LCD Display 
            (native 1366x768) | 
            Asus Eee PC 1201N 
             
            Intel Atom 330 
            (1.6GHz) 
             
            2GB DDR2 
             
            NVIDIA Ion GPU  
            (Based on 9400M) 
             
            On-Board Ethernet 
            On-Board Audio 
             
            1x250GB Hard Drive            
            5400 RPM SATA 
             
            Windows 7 Home 
            Premium SP1 (32-bit) 
             
            12.1" LED LCD Display 
            (native 1366x768) 
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                        |  Performance
                        Comparisons with 3DMark06 | 
                     
                    
                        |  Details:
                        http://www.futuremark.com/products/3dmark06/ | 
                     
                
             
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The Futuremark
3DMark06 CPU benchmark consists of tests that use the CPU to render 3D
scenes, rather than the GPU. It runs several threads simultaneously and
is designed to utilize multiple processor cores. 
When looking at the 3D Mark 06 scores, we see a more notable increase in performance. And with an Ion 2 at the helm, we aren't surprised. We're still not to the point where a netbook can be considered for serious gaming, but users will have an easier time playing the moderately impressive titles of last year, at near-native resolutions with this machine, versus the Eee PC 1201N, or particularly any netbook prior to that one. 
Asus Eee PC 1215N 3DMark
06 Score
 
    
        
              
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                        |  Performance
                        Comparisons with Futuremark PCMark Vantage | 
                     
                    
                        |  Details:
                        http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks/pcmarkvantage/introduction/ | 
                     
                
             
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We ran the system through Futuremark’s
latest system performance metric PCMark Vantage. This benchmark suite
creates a host of different usage scenarios to simulate different types
of workloads including High Definition video and movie playback and
manipulation, gaming, image editing and manipulation, music compression,
communications, and productivity. We like the fact that most of the
tests are multi-threaded as well, in order to exploit the additional
resources offered by multi-core processors. 
As you can see here, the Eee PC 1215N performed better under the pressure of this rigorous benchmark as compared to its contemporaries. Not a quantum leap or anything, but a suitable increase. It's certainly evolutionary (rather than revolutionary), but coming from months of seeing near-identical scores from machines that were supposed to be more powerful and weren't really, this is a breath of fresh air.