Asus EEE Box

All told, we don't recommend this product at all. Considering that you'd need to add a display panel to make this device functional, for the same price one can easily assemble a low-cost desktop – or go in for a netbook. Not only do netbooks offer...

The Eee Box offers solid Web surfing, e-mail, and document processing in sleek, space-efficient package. But is it worth $349? It depends on your priorities.

Clever, compact design ; Low price

No optical drive ; Lackluster performance

Well-designed, ultra-small desktop serves as a viable option for basic computing, but don't expect much in the way of performance.

Design ; Quiet operation ; Price

Lacklustre performance ; Small hard drive ; Can't play 1080p Full HD video

Conclusion The Eee Box is rather a mixed bag. It's not powerful enough to challenge the vast majority of desktops on the market and, as a Media Center PC, it's only mediocre. Despite this, we think it's worthy of consideration -- particularly because...

The Asus Eee Box is a great value PC that's geared toward students, as well as home and small-office users. That the system comes with Windows XP Home, Microsoft Works, and Sun StarOffice only sweetens the deal.

Small design may have some aesthetic appeal ; Integrated Draft-N Wi-Fi ; Pre-Windows ExpressGate OS lets you browse and do other basics seconds after turning on the power

Terrible performance and features compared with standard budget desktops ; A cheap notebook will offer similar capability, space savings and portability

Small size ; Attractive design ; Low sound ; Low power consumption ; Overclockable, if only by a tiny amount

Not enough grunt for video approaching 720p or above ; No optical drive ; Splashtop limited to 1440x1050

We've got mixed feelings about the Eee Box, and nettops in general. While we're particularly taken with netbooks, we also understand because of size, battery life and usage patterns there are certain concessions that need to be made in regards to...

A ludicrously low price! It's tiny

No optical drive. No dedicated GPU. Average specs

There's nothing groundbreaking about the Asus Eee Box... apart from that amazing price! Welcome to bargain city!

First things first, this costs just £200! That’s a bargain in anyone’s book, especially as it runs pretty fast for such a basic machine. That’s largely down to a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor. Rounding up the rest of the spec, you get 1GB of memory, an...

So why the low price? Well, there's no mouse, keyboard or monitor for a start. The lack of optical drive could also prove a problem for some people. Graphics too, aren’t much cop, mainly because there’s no dedicated GPU inside. And as for looks......

Not quite as ground-breaking as Asus's Eee PC notebook, but the B202 is more than capable of performing basic PC tasks, and all for a double ton. Nice.

The Eee Box is a great value that's geared toward students, as well as home and small-office users. Even with its internal fan it's practically silent and consumes little power, making it easy to recommend as the start of a budget or second PC system.