Asus Eee PC Lamborghini VX6

Lamborghini has come together with Asus to launch the Eee PC VX6. Just in case you were wondering, we are talking a netbook here, not a sports car and there's no endorsement from KP! It measures 12.1 inches (1366 x 768 pixels) and runs on an economical dual-core processor accompanied by NVIDIA's new 16-core ION chipset.

Hardware, design and build: the good and the not so good

The VX6's hood has the sort of lines you'd generally expect to see on gamer models, giving it a more in-your-face feel. The top of the hood is in off-white plastic. Although it's glossy, it doesn't pick up fingermarks. Unfortunately you can't say the same for the glossy black screen surround. In any case, it's well finished on the whole, with good quality materials.
 

The keyboard has separated keys and takes up almost the entire width of the computer. Keying is quiet. The keys are well-proportioned and those who touch type shouldn't have any problems here. The wrist rest is nice and soft to the touch.

The multi-touch touchpad didn't leave a particularly good impression however. After less than a minute's use, its glossy black coating already looks grubby and, to make matters worse, your finger sticks to it slightly. It's precise enough however.

The webcam is no model to follow. Movements lack fluidity and though it'll do as a fallback solution, it may well be worth your while getting an external model if you're going to be using it intensively.

Underneath, a panel gives access to the RAM. you can add an additional bar without violating the guarantee.

The connectivity is pretty standard. On the left, you'll find the power supply socket, the VGA and HDMI outs, a USB 2.0 port and a card reader. On the right you'll find the RJ45, two USB 3.0 connectors and the mic and headphones sockets.

The VX6 makes no sound at all when processing office documents and although when you ask it for a bit more, the fan does become audible, this is pretty much lost under the sound of the film you're watching or game you're playing.

Processor power: office documents and Internet

The Intel Atom D525, dual-core processor, usually used in nettops/mini-PCs, offers good multi-tasking responsiveness with Windows 7 Premium (32-bit) pre-installed. It's much better than the Intel N450 CPU used on a good few netbooks. The CPU index on this model is 30, compared to 100 for our reference machine, the Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Xi3650 (equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo T9400).

The Intel Atom D525 unfortunately can 't decode HD 1080p (equivalent to Blu-ray films). Fortunately however, the NVIDIA ION chipset is there to take on this task and free up the processor for other work. You'll need to activate hardware acceleration with compatible software such as PowerDVD 9, Media Player Classic Home Cinema or VLC in order to benefit from the excellent video decoding capacities of the ION chipset. CPU occupation then drops to under 10% and fluidity is perfect.

Start-up time: the VX6 takes 46 seconds to get to the desktop and 15 to shut down. Note that there's a second OS available, Express Gate, which is lighter than Windows. It's based on a Linux kernel, is designed mainly for allowing you to browse the Internet and launches in under ten seconds.

Although the VX6 isn't unique in offering such a service, Asus has been clever in not imposing Express Gate at start-up. It launches from a dedicated button at the top left of the casing.

Limiting graphics settings to gain fluidity

In spite of the new NVIDIA ION chipset with 16 CUDA units - twice as many as on the first generation Asus Eee PC 1201N - performance is still too limited to make this netbook a veritable gamer PC.
You'll have to forget most recent games if you want good fluidity at native resolution. Titles such as Starcraft 2 are only just playable at no more than 20 fps.

It is however possible to play older titles and/or more demanding games if you're reasonable in terms of your graphics settings: Half-Life 2, Counter Strike Source, Warcraft 3, World of Warcraft, and so on...

Audio: Bang & Olufsen

Nothing special to report here. The headphones out is clean and functional with plenty of boost. It's based on a standard Readltek HD chipset, coupled with a "high-end" B&O system. In practice, we've heard worse but we've also heard better.

Easily transportable, with decent battery life.

With a battery life of 4h30 (wi-fi deactivated, headphones plugged in and brightness at 100 cd/m²), the VX6 is somewhere in the middle for its class. The Toshiba NB200 (6H10) and Wind U115 (from 7H to 9H52) do a good deal better. The VX6 allows you to watch 2 or 3 films before you need to localise a socket. As word processing puts lower demands on the battery than watching a video, a student, for example, should be able to take notes on it throughout the day, or at least a good part of it.

With battery, the VX6 weighs in at 1.5 Kg. Although you will find lighter, this 12.1-inch is still very easily transportable. It's not particularly slim - between 19 and 35 mm - but it'll slide into your rucksack easily. Its mini transformer is also easily tucked away. At just 85 x 35 x 26 mm, it doesn't take up much space.