After installing Windows XP Professional on my Asus Eee PC 900, I could finally play some games!
Isn’t it amazing, that all these games, requiring quite good computers, run on a laptop with really spare hardware?
Processor: Intel(R) Celeron(R) M processor 900MHz
Memory: 1 GB DDR2-400 DDR2 SDRAM
Graphics: Mobile Intel(R) 915GM/GMS,910GML Express Chipset 64 MB
Hard Disc: ASUS-PHISON OB SSD, 4GB + 16GB
Click here for Full Asus Eee PC 900 Hardware Report
That so many games are running is due to the fact, that the Asus hardware isn’t as weak as it seems. Normal game requirements are optimized for a Intel Pentium 4 processor, but the Celeron is a lot more powerful, so even games requiring 1.2 GHz on a P4 can run on a 900 MHz Celeron.
Then the graphics card is also quite good, just the texture memory with 64MB is a little bit short. The supported vertex and pixel shaders (V 2.0) are enough for many games, and the 4 pixel pipelines with a 300 MHz processing unit can render a lot.
See proof in the videos below (Here a playlist with all the videos on YouTube).
Garry’s Mod 9 (Half Life 2 mod):
To get it running smoothly, you should add a parameter in the launch options to use only DirectX 7.0 support: “-dxlevel 70″
Switch the resolution to 800×600, and all the other things to low. The graphics will still look quite nice, and it runs fine!
Call of Duty:
This game runs without any special change of settings.
Dawn of War – Winter Assault:
This game runs without any special change of settings.
Heroes of Might and Magic V:
This game runs without any special change of settings.
Grand Theft Auto (GTA) Vice City:
This game runs without any special change of settings.
You can find all the videos also here.
August 21st, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Fajna stronka, bede tu wpadal czesciej, pozdro
August 21st, 2008 at 9:48 pm
English please
August 23rd, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Hi…
I couldnt play the Heroes of Might and Magic V on my acer aspire 4315 laptop with spec.:
Intel Celeron 2.13 GHz
Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
1.5 GB RAM
It crashed after i created a game (single or campaign), just when the game begin… if you know something, please help…
Best Regards,
Irwan
August 23rd, 2008 at 2:03 pm
do you have windows xp or vista? vista sometimes makes problems. your hardware should be enough. do you get any error message?
September 20th, 2008 at 3:29 am
can you tell me if i can play star wars knights of the old republic on a asus eee pc 900????
pleeease ;~~
September 20th, 2008 at 8:07 am
I never tried it, perhaps i gonna download it soon and see… wait a few days ok?
September 20th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
take your time, and thanks x)~~
if KotOR words fine, i’ll buy eee pc 900 as soon as possible
thank you again o/\o
September 20th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
* “…works fine…”
September 20th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
you tested it? great!
September 21st, 2008 at 12:31 am
no no no :p
i was only correcting my typing error
i wrote “if KotOR WORDS fine, i’ll buy eee pc 900 as soon as possible”
but i meant “if KotOR WORKS fine, i’ll buy eee pc 900 as soon as possible”
:p
September 21st, 2008 at 10:06 am
ok ok, you want the first game, not Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II The Sith Lords, right? i gonna get it now…
September 21st, 2008 at 4:09 pm
yeah, that’s right
in fact, i want the two games, but don’t worry, only one of them is fine
you are really helping me, thank you o/
September 21st, 2008 at 10:16 pm
okay, got the game and tested… its kinda running, just sometimes in the battles it lags. perhaps you find a way to lower the graphics settings, then it will run fine for sure!
i hope that helped you, youtube video will follow in a few minutes…
September 21st, 2008 at 10:26 pm
here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCulVGIkf6M
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:09 am
it runs much better than i expected
it’s really playable, with just a few lag, like you said
you helped me a lot, thank you
i just have one more question, about this:
“Graphics: Mobile Intel(R) 915GM/GMS,910GML Express Chipset 64 MB”
the 64 MB memory for video is permanent?
can i upgrade it by sharing RAM memory for video in the BIOS?
September 22nd, 2008 at 4:32 am
sorry for my bad english :p
i’m brazilian and english isn’t my native language
i hope you can understand me
September 22nd, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Nope, there is no option in the bios to upgrade it. I think it doesnt support shared memory.
but most games dont need that much memory, since its only there to store textures. the texturing doesnt need that much time, its rather lighting and rendering the vertices that makes your game run slowly.
September 22nd, 2008 at 1:57 pm
hmmm, so, in the end, do you recomend eee pc 900 as a good gamimg hardware? by now, i think it is above DS and PSP, as a portable. (i have a DS)
i stiil don’t know if i buy a eee pc 900 or a msi wind
is atom 1.6 really better than celeron 900?
September 22nd, 2008 at 2:18 pm
the atom with 1.6ghz has worse benchmarks than the celeron with 900mhz. it has more gigahertz, but the architecture is different. the celeron 900 is based on the pentium 4 architecture, which is quite fast, but needs more power. atom is the cpu with lowest power consumption i think (2,5W), but hasnt got the speed for gaming. i would choose the asus.
there are some more advantages:
1. there are far more games for pcs than for psp or ds, you can play old ones like pacman or tetris or whatever
2. you can play cracked games
3. you can also surf internet with big screen and normal keyboard, write office documents, read your camera memory card, …
September 23rd, 2008 at 3:45 am
well, so the eee 900 has not only te best price against the msi wind, but the best hardware (more powerfull) for games too?
the specifications:
http://the-gadgeteer.com/review/msi_wind_netbook_review
do you see something in the msi wind hardware that is better than eee 900 for running games?
i believe in what you say man
if you tell me that eee 900 is better for games, you can be sure that i will buy it
thanks again, you are helping me a lot
(PS: tried some emulators like epsxe, project 64 or mame?)
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:30 pm
differences Asus Eee PC – MSI Wind Netbook:
- 120 GB HDD in MSI Wind, 20GB SDD in Eee PC (SDD’s are more resistant and a lot faster, but can’t store that much data)
- Intel GMA950 graphics in MSI Wind, Intel 915GM in Eee PC (dont ask me for the difference, but it cant be much)
- DDR2-677 RAM in MSI Wind, DDR2-400 in Eee PC (677 its slightly faster)
The MSI Wind is available at 500US$, the Eee PC 900 at 400US$. i think the different graphics and ram dont make much difference for gaming, so choose whatever you want, the price of the asus is definitely better. And i havent made any bad experiences with my asus yet (battery lasts for 3-4h, depending on your use, its very robust, …), so i would choose the asus.
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:46 pm
and regarding the emulators:
i tried Project64 1.6 with 2 games (Aerofighter’s Assault and Automobili Lamborghini), both seems to run in the beginning, but crash very soon. Is there some configuration i can do to make them run? i can see 3d graphics and hear the sound and even drive a few hundred meters, but then i get “Project64 has encountered a problem and must be closed”.
tried various sound and display plugins, but it always crashes. ideas?
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:31 pm
yeah, i got it to work! In Project64 1.6, you have to go Options -> Settings -> Video plugin: Jabo’s Direct3D6 1.5.2
Then it runs, with less FPS (around half, with the plugin V8 it was at 60FPS, now i get 30), but it runs! sound and input working fine, connected my USB game controller, and its fun pure!
video is uploading, i will post link when its there
September 24th, 2008 at 12:00 am
here the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-IkaxMNyK4
September 24th, 2008 at 12:56 am
i always download plugins here:
http://www.ngemu.com/n64/pj64.php?action=plugins
Aerofighters Assault(U) should work, see the compatibility list on NGEmu.com
great video \o/
can you try some “heavy” games like Perfect Dark and Zelda Majora’s Mask? from the PSX, games like Tekken 3, Gran Turismo 2 and Chrono Cross should be nice challenges too.
eee pc 900 is really a wonderful machine
September 24th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
can i play any games on the linux version of asus Eee pc 900 ?:)
September 24th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
well, not really. there are games included in the linux version, and if you unlock the console and synaptics, you can also add new games. But most 3D games are not running, since linux hasnt got anything like DirectX, but 2D games like worms or stuff work fine.
but here is an example how to install windows from USB thumbdrive:
Real performance is only there with Windows XP, thats why i installed it on my asus. Its slightly difficult because there is no CD drive
http://www.eeeguides.com/2007/11/installing-windows-xp-from-usb-thumb.html
September 24th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
are you using XP Service Pack 3?
September 25th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
yes, i’ve got service pack 3
October 4th, 2008 at 5:04 am
i’m still using xp service pack 1. i don’t like the SP2
but in the eee pc i’ll install SP3, i think
is SP3 faster? is it better for games?
October 4th, 2008 at 9:08 am
actually i dont know. SP3 includes all the updates made from the release of SP2 on, and some more security fixes. this security stuff is quite annoying i think, like your computer won’t copy files from other computers via network, because it “violates the security guidelines”.
better for games? no idea, really
October 4th, 2008 at 9:11 am
and would you mind to link me on your blog? i also put your link in my blogroll…
October 4th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
well, i’ll keep the SP1
it works fine, i don’t really need to change now
about the blog, i’m not the owner
but i’ll talk with the owner and ask him to link you :p
thanks again for everything
October 8th, 2008 at 5:11 am
the owner of the “my blog” said that we don’t have a blogroll o.o
but i’m going to write a full guide of the eee pc 900, and i’ll link your blog in the guide
i really thank you for all the help
October 8th, 2008 at 7:39 am
no problem, i help where i can…
October 12th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Hello.
“The birth took place at the couple’s home (just outside Oslo),” says the palace, adding mother and baby were both well.
Bye.
October 13th, 2008 at 9:35 am
I bookmarked your blog, thanks for sharing this very interesting post
October 19th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
@EletFralt:
…yea?
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:57 am
Nice blog, I was doing a little net browsing and stumbled onto your website, I used to be wondering if you knew your blog is rendering unusually within the K-mellon internet browser. I will see most of it however the graphics are somehow out of wallop. Probably not a big issue since hardly nobody utilizes it anymore however I am old school and still run it.