Netbook Choice » 1000HV

Asus’ Super Hybrid Engine new High Definition mode explained

Jet Sun — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:15:33 +0000

Asus quietly launched the new Eee PC 1000HV netbook in Italy recently. This was the first Eee PC to sport discrete graphics in the form of ATI Radeon HD 3450 graphics with 256MB of dedicated memory. Whilst the benchmarks were expectedly better than most other 10-inch netbooks, another point that caught the eye was a mystery ‘High Definition’ mode in Asus’ Super Hybrid Engine utility.

This utility allows you to overclock (or underclock) the Atom CPU depending on your usage. As things stand (version 5), the Super Hybrid Engine has three different modes. The Power Saving mode underclocks the CPU to a minimum 750MHz on the N280 Atom CPU. The High Performance mode is the standard speed of the chip (1.66GHz for the N280) whilst the Super High Performance mode overclocks this to 1.75GHz.

Notebook Italia analysed version 6 of the Super Hybrid Engine which adds the fourth clocking mode called the ‘High Definition’ mode. They found that Asus has reduced the overclock in the Super High Performance mode from 1.75GHz to 1.70GHz and created the new High Definition mode which has a 1.80GHz overclock.

This overclock comes at the expense of heat and battery life though. Measurements conducted saw heat creep up to 75 degrees in High Definition mode. Whilst it’s probably not recommended to always run a netbook at this speed setting, it provides a welcome 8 percent boost if needed.

Thanks Marco!

Asus Eee PC 1000HV benched: discrete graphics make a big difference?

Jet Sun — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:57:43 +0000

The Asus Eee PC 1000HV was first spotted last week and it looks like this model is already hitting retail in Italy. One of the users of EeePC.it, managed to get hold of one and has given an indication as to what this new Eee PC is capable of.

As a quick recap, the 1000HV is very similar in terms of specs to the Eee PC 1000HE. However, one of the key areas in which it differs is that it packs discrete graphics with an ATi Radeon HD 3450 GPU with 256MB memory. This should, in theory, give it a significant boost when watching HD content or playing games.

The benchmarks show that the 1000HV really does deliver a significant improvement in performance when you compare it to most current netbooks. The CrystalMark benchmark gave a score of 37,430 for the 1000HV compared to 28,923 for the 1000HE. The 1000HV also bettered the Super Pi score by just under three seconds.

However, it’s when you look at the Open GL scores that you can see how much of a difference the Radeon graphics makes. The 1000HV scored 10,564 in Open GL compared to a rough average of 700 for other netbooks (1000HE was 714). This performance does come at the expense of battery life, with it expected to last around 5 hours on the 6-cell battery.

Interestingly, a new mode in the Super Hybrid Engine was also spotted. This app allows Eee users to overclock or underclock the processor depending on usage. On most models it tops out at ‘Super Performance Mode’ which overclocks the CPU to 1.75GHz. However, it seems that the 1000HV goes one step higher at ‘High Definition Mode’ (the speed is unknown). Benchmarking under this mode improved the Super Pi score by 5 seconds.

Asus Eee PC 1000HV makes a reappearance with ATi graphics

Jet Sun — Fri, 22 May 2009 08:35:51 +0000

The Asus Eee PC 1000HV was first revealed as part of the Eee PC roadmap back in July last year. No features were announced, but according to the leaked slide (below), it was to fit in a ‘Pro Fashion category’ next to the 1002HA and T101. Nothing had been heard since that leak, but fast forward 10 months and the model has now been spotted for pre-order at an online retailer.

The good thing is that a full set of specifications have been listed alongside it too. The most interesting point is that it will pack discrete graphics with an ATi Radeon HD 3450 GPU with 256MB memory. Apart from that, it appears to be very similar to the 1000HE. The 1000HV has a 10-inch (1024 x 600) display powered by a 1.66GHz N280 Atom CPU, 1GB RAM and a 160GB HDD.

Other features include Wi-Fi (draft-N), Bluetooth 2.0, 3-in-1 card reader, three USB ports and a 1.3MP webcam. Despite the discrete graphics, there is only a VGA port for video (no HDMI). The standard 6-cell battery should be good for 5 hours of battery life. Dimensions are 26.6 x 19.12 x 3.8 cm.

There has been no official confirmation from Asus yet regarding this model, although the drivers are listed on the Asus support site. The retailer only has a blue model listed right now at a pre-order price of €449. More information on this as we have it.

Update: Marco from Notebook Italia has been in touch to say that Asus Italy representatives have confirmed that the 1000HV is a special configuration that will ship in Computer Discount stores.

Via EeePC.it [via Slashgear].