ASUS C9. 0S, a review of the ASUS C9. SPart of the ASUS family of customizable notebooks, the C9. S can hardly be considered a bare- bones system. This full- featured gaming laptop lets users easily upgrade vital hardware such as the CPU and graphics card, as well as other components. The idea behind ASUS' Barebone notebook line is to enable users to update components that were previously considered non- upgradable. Our configuration didn't provide much in the way of 3.
D muscle, but we were generally pleased with its performance and liked the concept behind this system. Priced at $1,4. 99, our C9. S review unit arrived in a piano- black chassis sporting an embedded wave- type pattern, similar to HP's latest designs. The system measures 1.
Protruding from the rear of the notebook is an enclosure housing four fans, two USB ports, and a power jack. The fans were whisper- quiet and did a good job of dissipating interior heat. The left side of the system is loaded with connections, including gigabit Ethernet and modem jacks, an additional USB port, a Fire. Wire port, an e- SATA (external serial ATA) port, and an Express. Card slot. The silver keyboard deck looks bland and boring, and the black keys with sea- foam green accents seem odd.
But the full- sized keyboard is well spaced and responsive, although touch typists may find the L- shaped Enter key a bit too large. The scrolling touchpad and two- button mouse provided just the right amount of sensitivity. The system lacks dedicated multimedia keys but comes with buttons for accessing the Web, opening e- mail, enabling and disabling the touchpad, and entering a display power- saving mode, which lowers the screen's contrast and brightness settings. A fingerprint reader is sandwiched between the two mouse buttons. You'll also find a nice selection of A/V connections such as VGA, S- Video, TV tuner, and HDMI ports, as well as microphone and headphone jacks.
An 8- in- 1 card reader and an IR sensor adorn the front bezel, and a removable optical drive resides on the right side of the notebook. ASUS claims that a DVD- RW drive is standard equipment on this system, but our review unit was equipped with just a CD- RW/DVD- ROM drive. Fans of high- def will be pleased to learn that ASUS offers Blu- ray (an extra $7. HD- DVD ($3. 80) drives as an option.
Laptop Magazine reviews the ASUS C90S, a versatile gaming notebook is user-upgradable and can be easily over-clocked for added performance. The Asus C90S is a portable 15.4' high performance notebook with desktop CPU, overclocking functionality and a fair price tag. Find out more about the downsides in our comprehensive test.
As a courtesy to our Asus C90S parts laptop and notebook clients, listed below are links to valuable 3rd party resources (some are free of charge and others may charge a small fee) that offer hard to find Asus C90S drivers, driver downloads, user manuals, service manuals, disassembly Instructions, downloadable recovery CD's, and much more.
Under the lid sits a glossy 1. The brightly lit screen delivered a very clear image with good color quality and a wide viewing angle, which made watching DVDs a pleasure. As is the case with most laptops, the C9. S' underpowered speakers produced mediocre audio output.
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- We hoped Asus’s C90S would provide all this with its use of a desktop Core 2 Duo socket. That LGA775 socket gives the C90S a big price advantage over other laptops; a desktop 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo E6600 will set you back about $200. Asus C90S: CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 (2.66GHz overclocked to 2.93GHz) RAM: 2GB Patriot DDR2/667 (two 1GB sticks) LAN: 802.11G/Gigabit: HARD DRIVE.
- Free download of Asus C90S User Manual. Troubleshooting help from experts and users. Ask our large community for support.
- Drivers and firmware for Asus C90S downloads. User Manual - Page 24. Notebook PC, it will first run through a series of software-controlled diagnostic tests called the Power-On Self Test (POST).
- ASUS is a leading company driven by innovation and commitment to quality for products that include notebooks, netbooks, motherboards, graphics cards, displays, desktop PCs, servers, wireless solutions, mobile phones and networking devices. ASUS ranks among BusinessWeek’s InfoTech 100 for 12 consecutive years.
A rotating two- megapixel webcam and two small microphones are integrated into the screen's top bezel, and the notebook comes with a camera utility for capturing still images and setting up image filters. The camera's image quality was slightly better than the typical 1. MP variety and is fine for video chats, but still images looked somewhat grainy. Our review system was equipped with a 1. GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6. Conroe- based desktop processor) and 2.
GB of DDR2 RAM. The system's FSB (front side bus) runs at 1,0. MHz rather than the typical 8. MHz notebook clock speed. What makes the C9. S stand out is that you can easily change out the processor without sending the unit into a service center. In fact, gaining access to the notebook's innards is simply a matter of removing four screws and a cover. The system will accept CPU models up to and including Intel's Core 2 Extreme X6.
GHz). Also, the Nvidia Ge. Force 8. 60. 0 graphics adapter uses the MXM (Mobile PCI Express Module) interface, which lets you easily upgrade to newer, more powerful versions as they become available. According to ASUS, you can buy the components at third- party e- tailers, such as Newegg.
Tiger. Direct. com. While we didn't find anything for the C9. S specifically, we saw that a 2.
GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7. Newegg. com. The C9.
S was equipped with an 8. As with all notebooks, you can also upgrade the system memory, but only to 3. GB (we would have preferred 4. GB). Bundled with the C9. S is a utility called Turbo Gear, which lets you change processor and FSB frequencies on the fly from within Windows.
Turbo Gear has four settings: Power- Saving (7. MHz FSB, 1- GHz CPU), Standard (default), Gaming (boosts CPU and FSB by 1. Overclocking (boosts CPU and FSB by 1. We found the utility a bit buggy, however; on several occasions the Overclocking and Gaming modes were inaccessible, but rebooting the system seemed to fix the problem each time.
Advanced users can also tweak clock speeds via the BIOS, but make sure you know what you're doing to avoid overheating or frying your components. The C9. 0S turned in mixed results on our benchmark tests. The PCMark. 05 score of 4,0. DMark. 03 score of 9,1.
Our F. E. A. R. gaming tests resulted in an impressive frame rate of 6. Those users will want to upgrade the graphics card, pronto, presuming they can find one. Nevertheless, the system handled Vista's Aero interface smoothly, and we played a DVD movie while running a full background virus scan without experiencing any choppiness or stuttering. Wireless throughput was quite good, averaging 2.
Mbps while positioned 5. The battery lasted a disappointing 1 hour and 2. DVD rundown test. ASUS covers the C9. S with a standard one- year warranty and will pay two- way shipping if the unit needs to be shipped to a repair center during the warranty period. Telephone support is available 2.
All in all, the ASUS C9. S is a capable performer that lets you future- proof your purchase. We think performance hounds will appreciate the ability to take advantage of new processors, graphics solutions, and wireless technologies as they come along. Suggested Stories: Is Gadget Insurance Really Worth the Money? We investigate whether insurance or an extended warranty is the best method to protect your mobile gear.
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