Usually, people have to connect an external disk drive via USB if they want to see a movie from a DVD on this type of device, but with the EB1501P, Asus eliminated the “middle man” and delivers a complete entertainment solution for your living room. The computer, like other nettops out there, is small, makes almost no noise and can be mounted on the back of a TV or everywhere you can find some free space.

The EB1501P has a dual core, Intel Atom D525 processor, with a clock speed of 1.8 GHZ. The CPU is designed to waste as little energy as possible, with the circuitry having a tweaked architecture that eliminates power wastes. Also, the processor has above the line graphics capabilities, in comparison with other Intel Atom processors.

The nettop comes with a built in DVD drive

The system has 2 GB of DDR3 RAM and a 320 GB hard disk drive. The system can support up to 4 GB of RAM, but the nettop has only one slot, so you’ll have to buy a 4 GB module if you want to upgrade. Also, there’s the NVIDIA ION graphics card with 512 MB of dedicated VRAM. The video card is good enough for full HD, 1080p playback and some light gaming. It comes with full support for Direct X 10.1 and Flash 10.1, which are two technologies widely used by game manufacturers and website developers for newer and visually richer applications.

The EB1501P also has a DVD drive, which is great if you just want to relax and pop in a DVD in the drive. This is a strange addition on a computer this size, considering that most manufacturers try to design computers to be as small as possible. But Asus decided to squeeze a disk drive in and this was made with users in mind. People don’t want to connect additional devices to a nettop and fill their living rooms with cables and stuff.

The nettop also has two USB 3.0 ports, which allows for transfer speeds ten times faster than on USB 2.0 drives. You’ll be able to watch a 1080p video directly from a USB drive or transfer a big file in no time. Other ports include a 5 in 1 card reader, with support for SD, SDHC, MS, MS Pro, MMC, a HDMI port for connecting the nettop to a big screen TV, 4 USB 2.0 ports, mic, headphone jack and a D-sub port.

The EB1501P has 2 USB 3.0 ports for high speed transfers

The computer is the size of a paper back novel and can be setup on the back of a HDTV, as it comes with a VESA stand for a very easy setup. The computer has a Green Star 5.0 label, which means that it requires with up to 70% less energy to function than a normal desktop PC. For connecting to the internet, there’s WiFi, so no blue tooth or 3G.

The EB1501P costs $504 on Amazon and is a very good solution for watching HD movies, browsing the web and enjoying pictures on a large HD TV with family and friends. More, you’ve got an incorporated DVD drive, so it will be very easy to enjoy all your favorite movies on a single Home Theater PC. Finally, for maximum comfort and enjoyment, Asus throws in the mix a wireless keyboard and mouse, as well as a remote control.

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Nettops are small and energy efficient desktop replacements, that can deliver good performance without the hassle of a big, tower desktop computer. Nettops such as the EB1012P are usually as big as a book and can be installed on the back of a TV or kept on a small desk or commode.

Nettops are usually very quiet and don’t produce too much heat in comparison with bigger computers. But you should know that a nettop doesn’t offer the same type of performance as a normal PC.

As users tend to split their digital needs on several devices (consoles for gaming, tablets for communication, laptops for working), nettops are usually aimed at offering a good Home Theater experience and overall be an entertainment center for casual users.

The nettop is slim and compact, being the size of a book

It’s also the case with the EB1012P, which is good enough for watching videos and browsing the web, but couldn’t really deal with HD gaming and demanding multitasking. But let’s take it slow. The EB1012P is black and is as big as a router, just to give a reasonable comparison. It has a bunch of ports in front, while on the back it has a wireless antenna and the rest of the ports.

The nettop comes with its own stand, but you can easily set it up on the back of a big TV or anywhere you can find some free space. Also, Asus threw in the mix a wireless keyboard and mouse combo, so setting up the mini computer will be a breeze and you won’t have to buy any additional accessories for it. Inside, the EB1012P is powered by a Intel Atom dual core D510 processor, which we usually see on netbooks or some notebooks.

Nevertheless, the CPU is able to deliver very good video performance and you will be able to watch 1080p videos without a problem. Actually, for this you’ll have to bow more to the NVIDIA ION graphics chip, that comes with 512 MB of dedicated VRAM and that delivers above average nettop video performance. In terms of system memory, you get 2 GB of RAM, which is also the maximum amount you can install on it.

Part of the ports and power button are in front

The dual core processor and dedicated video card form a pretty decent entertainment machine and that will rarely get jammed…well, if you don’t feed it too many things at once. Also, there’s a 320 GB hard disk drive, that should be enough for keeping your videos and photos in one place, as well as saving your favourite TV shows in HD format.

The nettop comes, of course, with a HDMI connector for linking the machine with a HD capable TV, but you also get a VGA port for setting it up with a more standard display. There are a couple of USB 3.0 ports, which have speeds 10 times higher than USB 2.0, so watching a high bit rate movie directly from a USB drive is very easy. Sure, you still get traditional USB 2.0 ports, which are very useful if you want to connect an external optical drive (as the EB1012P doesn’t have one) or other peripherals.

When it comes to connectivity, you have both WiFi and Ethernet, so unfortunate no 3G- but maybe that would have been too much on a computer that it’s not dealing mainly with video playback and (very) light gaming. The EB1012P is now available from Amazon for just $382.20, and for that price you get also the wireless mouse and keyboard, as well as the VESA mount for easy install on a TV.

most of the connectors and ports are on the back

The machine runs on Windows 7 Home Premium and can have more than one uses in your living room. Besides streaming content, you can use it as a server, as one happy Amazon customer stated. You can leave it on at all times, as in sleep mode, the nettop will consume so little power and let it synch and download content for your entire home network.

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