The Asus Eee PC 8G is the top of the range 7″ model in the Asus Eee PC range. What it offers is a little more memory and a little more storage space. No extreme differences, but just adding a little more of the important stuff.

Like the other models, the screen size is 7″, which keeps the price down but has been a complaint, and that for a laptop, it’s just a little too small. The Asustek Eee PC 8G comes with the custom Linux install, aimed to put the most important applications within easy reach, but there is also a Windows XP option for those more familiar with Windows.

Here are some of the main features of this lightweight laptop.

• Intel Mobile CPU and chipset
• 8 GB SSD
• 1.0 GB DDR2 memory
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
• Built-in camera, speakers and microphone
• Up to 3.5 hrs battery life

The Intel mobile processor and chipset that feature in the cheap asus laptops do the trick for day-to-day applications. Their primary feature is low power operation, ensuring longer battery life, and therefore longer time between charges. The top of the range Asus EeePC models feature the Intel Atom processor and battery life up to 7 hours or so. The longer battery life is both a combination of the more modern Atom processor, that is more power efficient and a 6 cell battery, as opposed to the 4 cell battery on the Asus Eee PC 8G.

The 1.0 GB of memory will make the biggest difference to those who choose to run Windows on their little Eee computer. As opposed to the custom Linux install, Windows is a fully featured operating system. If you intend to install a full version of Linux, like Ubuntu, you would also do well to choose the 1.0 GB of memory. The difference will be noticeable when running multiple applications.

8.0 GB of disk space gives a little more room for bigger file storage, but not much more. The Asus EeePC 8G is not intended to be a massive storage solution. My recommendation for those who need more space is to invest in an external hard drive that can either be taken along with the computer, but reducing portability, or kept for when you need to dump some extra data. Another option is to use online storage. Online storage just means that your data is uploaded to somewhere on the Internet as opposed to your computer, this option is very portable, but upload and download speeds makes larger file transfers quite a painful experience. My favorite option is to have a small network attached server (NAS) at home (or elsewhere). These little computers offer features like RAID, to protect your data, aren’t too expensive anymore, and allow uploads and downloads at home over the network, balancing speed and storage capacity.

The 7 inch monitor is a little small, and web pages and documents will need to be carefully centered to view their full width. All things considered, I wouldn’t count that against the Asus EeePC. The 8.9 inch model was designed to address this very issue, but it costs more. The custom Linux that is installed as standard, is very compact, and doesn’t suffer because of the small screen size.

Finally the Asus Eee PC 8G only comes with pure white and galaxy black as color options. Wouldn’t want to make a faster computer too cool would you?

Share This