Asus Eee Top ET2203T review

It's not that Asus has crammed ridiculously overpowered components into the ET2203T, either. The Core 2 Duo T6500 is nowhere near high-end, but it and the ATI Radeon HD 4570 graphics keep Windows 7 feeling exceptionally light on its feet. Our benchmarks don't run quite as quickly as they do under Windows Vista but an overall score of 1.03 is still good.

With Asus upgrading final review models to the slightly faster T6600 processor, it won't be until you move into the realm of seriously heavy multi-tasking or video encoding that you'll begin to wish for anything faster, and, frankly, that's not what the ET2203T is designed for.

Stick to the ET2203T's strengths, though - music, movies, TV, internet and even a bit of gaming for good measure - and it's in its element. The ATI Radeon HD 4570 graphics chipset doesn't have enough poke to manage Crysis at Full HD, and at a lower 1,280 x 1,024 and medium settings, a result of 15fps still isn't quite playable - you'll need to lower a few effects. It's not just there for gaming purposes, however; it also steps in to relieve the processor when it comes to Blu-ray decoding duties.

Take your eye off the astoundingly glossy screen and the ET2203T has a few other tricks up its sleeve. Wireless networking stretches to 802.11n speeds, USB ports are plentiful, with two at the side and another four around the back, and there's a 3-in-1 card reader too. You even get an HDMI input at the rear so you can take advantage of the Asus' display with an external source such as a games console.

With the likes of HP and Medion readying multi-touch capable All-in-one PCs for the launch of Windows 7, Asus's single-touch ET2203T might sound a little behind the times. Look at the price, though, and all is forgiven. Blu-ray, a 21.6in Full HD touchscreen and gaming-capable graphics are an alluring combination, and when you factor in the ET2203T's subtle, stylish charm, the asking price of just £703 begins to sound rather reasonable.

Author: Sasha Muller