ASUS U2E: Form vs. Function

Benchmark Setup

Since this is an ultraportable, we dispensed with testing performance in any games. Besides, most of the games we now test with won't even run on the Intel GMA X3100 integrated graphics. We did run 3DMark03, 05, and 06 for those that want some basic indication of graphics performance. That's not to say that you can't play games on this laptop; crank down the detail levels to low and run at a low resolution, and a fair number of games may approach playable frame rates. Our primary focus will be on the mobility aspects, but we'll include some other general performance tests just for good measure.

Note that the test system we received for review comes equipped with 2.5GB of memory. Final shipping versions will apparently include 3GB of RAM, though we don't expect that would actually improve performance in any of our benchmarks. Also, the test laptop came with Vista Ultimate 32-bit installed, while the shipping laptops include Vista Business 32-bit. Again, that should not affect performance in any of our tests; you merely lose a few features relative to Ultimate... features that 99.9% of users never need.