ASUS EEE 904HA – REVIEW (warning, biggg! review)
The competition in the netbooks is getting fiercer and fiercer everyday. Everyday or so, we hear new computer manufactures jumping into the Netbook battle ground. ASUS, being the most experienced company has remained the leader so far in the netbook business. It’s new netbook, the EEE 904HA promises to give user excellent features at quite affordable price. Has it been able to impress us? Read the review to find out!
Unboxing
The ASUS has comes in a small box. The contents of the ASUS EEE 904HA are 100% same as 1000H, which includes the following:
- EEE 904HA (what else, Beyonce?)
- AC adapter/charger
- Restore XP CD
- 6600mAh battery
- Silicon Case
- Soft cleaning cloth
- Few documents
I received the ASUS EEE 904HA with 160GB HDD and not 80GB HDD like some EEEs. The extra space is always welcomed.
Bootup
The bootup times is quite fast thanks to the boot-booster which does not displays the splash screen upon hard boot. The XP Home which comes with the EEE 904HA loads up pretty quickly. It also seems that ASUS has tweaked the XP quite a bit to the EEE’s hardware. Also, it comes with hard disk and not SSD which also boosts up the boot times. Generally, the SSD that comes with the EEE is quite slow, which results in longer boot timings. the EEE 904HA has fast Seagate HDD of which we will learn about later in this review
Exterior, Size
The ASUS EEE 904HA adopts the shell/casing of the EEE 1000 series, though there are few differences too, which you will learn later in this review.
The EEE 904HA has shiny exterior, which looks very sleek. Currently, almost every netbook in the market comes with shiny exterior and 904HA is no exception. But, shiny exterior means that it also catches fingerprints easily. This may be another reason, why ASUS included cleaning cloth in the package.
On the left side of the unit, you will find the familiar ETHERNET port, a USB port, microphone and earphone jack. Note that it does not have Dolby Digital support.
On the other(right) side, you will find the VGA output port, AC adapter port and 2 USB 2.0 ports. You will also find the MMC/SD card reader, which is integrated into the unit. It is SDHC compatible meaning that it can read/write all those high-capacity SD cards in the market. The capacity of these cards go upto 32GB.
MMC/SD slot
Unlike ASUS EEE 1000H, it has matte, grainy interior. I like matte interior over the shiny black interior of EEE 1000 series. This makes it not to catch the fingerprints. It also prevents you palm slipping away from the keyboard while you type. Nice touch ASUS!
Keyboard
This is the best part of the EEE 904HA. It is just fabulous. You can type on it just the way you type on any normal laptop keyboard. ASUS claims it to be 95% of the usual laptop keyboard. This makes typing on it a no-learner job. Anyone can just start typing on it without making any adjustments. This is a great news for those people who work or blog on the go. Since the size of the EEE 904HA is smaller than the conventional laptop, it makes it an ideal companion for everyone who do a lot of input and are always on the move.
The keyboard is big and it is spacious!
Screen, Resolution
The ASUS EEE 904HA comes with a 1024 x 600 resolution, which is definitely better than the shabby resolution of the EEE 700 series (800 x 480). The screen of the ASUS 904HA is nice and bright. The text is easy to read on it. The images looks crisp. You can work on this netbook for an hour and your eyes won’t feel tired at all. Webpages, office documents all look fine and you won’t find yourself scrolling like you had to do in EEE 700 series. The speakers surround the screen just like they did on EEE 700 series. I personally like the front facing speakers as the sound does not get muffled when you are using the netbook on your lap.
notice the 1.3MP camera on the bezel
Battery, Battery life
The EEE 904HA comes with a big 6 cell battery which promises really nice run times. It is 6600mAh and is exactly the same as the one used in 1000H. I tested its battery in 1000H and vice-versa and it worked fine in both cases. In auto-powersaving mode and normal brightness, I got nearly 5 hours with wifi on. In power saving mode, you may be able to squeeze out even more.
SHE (Super Hybrid Engine) – The actual player behind the great battery performance
All credits to its awesome battery life goes to the SHE. It gives you to underclock the EEE when you feel that you don’t need all the horsepower. The result: long runtimes. You would absolutely love this feature. You can toggle between: power-saving, auto power-saving, high performance, auto high performance and super performance modes with a touch of a button. By default, it is assigned to the 3rd button from the left in the top row.
Multitouch Touchpad
The touchpad of the EEE 904HA supports multi-touch. You can use various gestures like moving your fingers apart at the same times will trigger zoom in in a webpage or image and bringing your fingers together will zoom out. In a web browser, you can use two fingers to scroll up and down. Three finger tap to a right click and so on. The touchpad is also much more comfortable when compared to many of its rival netbooks like Lenovo Ideapad S10, S9 or its little brother ASUS EEE 700 series.
Basic tests of applications
I loaded up the following applications and they all ran fine.
- Office 2007: runs flawless
- Visual Studio 2005: runs great and EEE 904HA can be a huge asset for programmers
- Firefox
- Opera
- klite codec
- Microsoft Activesync: to sync with my windows mobile device
Size Comparisons
This is the part I like to most: comparing it to other gadgets.
EEE 1000H and EEE 904HA
EEE 1000H, EEE 701 and EEE 904HA
Thickness comparison of the ASUS EEE 701 and EEE 904HA
Keyboard comparison: I would like to reiterate the fact the EEE 904HA is perfect for typing making it great for businessmen who work on the spreadsheets and office documents; perfect for the students and programmers who would appreciate it nice size.
like the wallpaper of my EEE 701? ;)
Ability to upgrade? = Yeah!
You can easily upgrade the RAM module and HDD of the EEE 904HA. You have to unscrew the backdoor panel of the EEE 904HA to gain access to the RAM module and HDD.
Take extra care of the ‘holders’ of the RAM chip and take the RAM module out.
The HDD is fast @ 5400rpm and has 160GB storage capacity. You need to unscrew the 6 screws to take the HDD out. Now since it is the normal 2.5″ HDD, you can also swap-in a 2.5″ SSD in the future.
Here is the RAM module that came with EEE 904HA. As you can see, it came with 1GB DDR2 RAM.
I took the 2G Transcend RAM @ 667Mhz bus speed out from my EEE 701 and swapped it in to the EEE 904HA. It worked fine. Note that if you don’t go into the BIOS, your device won’t recognize the newly added 2G RAM as the boot booster is enabled by-default. Infact, it will still think that only 1GB RAM module is there. To enter into the BIOS, repeatedly press F2 immediately after hitting the power button. Then, you must press F10 to save the changes. After that, your device should be able to use the full 2GB RAM.
Final Verdict
It is around 100gm lighter than the 1000H and has front facing speakers. It has the same resolution as the EEE 1000H. The difference of screen size is just 1.3″, which is just not noticeable to me as I was using both the devices at the same time. It is also around $50-80 cheaper depending upon from where you buy it. But to me, the front facing speakers and lighter weight wins the battle over 1000H.
Thanks to the ASUS for the review unit!
Sponsor Love
Give protection to your ASUS EEE 904HA. Get yourself PDAir protection for just $60
Here are some bigger pictures of the ones used in the review. It also includes some which were not used in the review at all. Click on the thumbails too the bigger pictures:
Read these reviews too:
Aspire One D150 Netbook review
ASUS EEE 1002HA review
Lenovo S10 review
No related posts.
Sign up to the Gadgetmix Newsletter (free) for news and reviews mailed directly to your mailbox CLICK HERE
This Netbook is a godsend, bought a 2gb kingston ram on sale on newegg, and going to try windows 7 beta on it, vista and xp run with xp driver very well, aero performs nicely with intels drivers. Ill post back results from windows 7 once it gets done downloaing from microsoft.
[...] Primera revisión que localizo del Asus Eee PC 904HA, un dispositivo que básicamente es un 1000H con pantalla de 9 pulgadas, sin N en la wifi y sin Bluetooth (y por tanto, más barato). También podríamos decir que es un 904HD con Intel Atom. [...]
Kamal, or whoever else may know . . .
Can you tell me, or tell me where to find, the specifics of how to go into the bios so that it will recognize the additional RAM when I upgrade from the factory 1Gb to a 2Gb stick?
Also, echoing Chris S. previous question as to any reccomondations of 2Gb ram.
Thnx,
Koobten
Just keep pressing f2 key immediately you have pressed the power button to enter the BIOS
Regarding RAM, I tried kingston 2GB ram module and it worked fine
Just wondering how this compares to the 900HA as I was looking for a smaller notebook. hope most of the functions are the same but smaller size. guess nothing compares to the sony but ffor the price these are the best
900HA is definitely smaller than the 904HA. However, you loose the excellent keyboard of 904HA then.
I have been looking at netbooks for a while. After reading your extensive review, I have purchased this model. It is everything you stated. What a great little machine and got a super price from NewEgg…
Also installed 2GB of ram…
Thanks for the great work.
Thank you Kamal for your detailed review. If I wanted to downgrade to W2k SP4, do you know if and where I could find the SATA controller driver for the 904HA?
I’ve had my 904HA for about a week now and I would agree with the review as it being a great value for the money.
My two complaints: The right shift button is horrible, but they had to squeeze in the four arrow keys to keep the keyboard as small as possible, so they made the right shift key ultra small and too far to the outside. It’s very hard to use.
Also, although it does have a 160 gig hard drive, it is broken up into two partitions of 80gb and 61gb, which is odd, but not really a major problem.
Thanks a lot for this review Kamal! You answered all my questions about future 2 GB Ram and Harddrive upgrade questions. One question, can we use 4 GB Ram on it? Thanks again.
No. You are restricted to only 2GB RAM
Good review, but your information on the 904HA’s sound is off. I’ve read everywhere that the 904HA’s speakers are not front facing, that thats just plastic. The speakers are sadly on the underside. Listen to the sound carefully and tell me please. I’ll get this model though in a day and I will clarify if I’m right. Thanks.
I tested it, and the sound is from the underside.
hi, thanks for this review
I’d like to know if you’d recommend the 904HA over the 900HA – the only difference seems to be the battery and 1.3 vs 0.3 megapixel camera
904ha has bigger chasis and bigger keyboard. 900ha is much more compact but the keyboard is small as compared to 904ha
I just bought this, love it already. Runs quite cool compared to other laptops I have used! which i very nice.
I have heard some people say that their bezel speakers do not infact put out sound, I checked and mine bezel speakers DO emit sound :)
Very pleased with purchase! Thanks for the great review, it was very helpful.
My laptop arrived and loved it. The speakers by the screen (bezel speakers) does not emit sound but?? Should I return it or is it how it suppose to be? Thank you.
I purchased this unit prior to a flight from Calgary, AB Canada to New York City, NY (roughly ~4.5hrs). I used it for 30 minutes prior to my flight, and also for the entire flight watching Xvid/DivX encoded video. By the time my flight was over, the laptop still estimated just under an hour of battery time left. Wow, definitely impressed. The keyboard is big enough to be functional as stated… I’ve started carting this around with me for work instead of my work supplied HP/Compaq 6910p. The hard drive space is great as well… lots of room to load up with MP3′s and Videos for trips like mentioned.
Thanks for the outstanding review of a great product.
After reading this I purchased my 904HA from NewEgg for $319 and free shipping. Not only a super machine but a super price. Installed Microsoft Streets & Trips 2008 with GPS and it is really super. The omission oc an optical drive is mute in the world of 16-32 GB flash drives… Copy your disks to them on your desktop, plug into EEE and install. Works great…
I also added a 2GB strip of ram before machine was ever turned on. It runs beyond expectations.
Thanks again for you work….
This is a great review. I have benefited from this review a lot when I change my ram from 1gb to 2gb. Thanks so much. The machine works great!!!
Here is comparison list for all Asus Eee models
http://event.asus.com/eeepc/comparison/eeepc_comparison.htm
Hi,
I really tried to get the answer alone but I got lost …
Is there a fax/modem (rj11 slot)in the 904HA ?
It is quite important for me before I purchase this Eeepc.
Thanks in advance for your feedback
Frederic
@ Fred: No, there isn’t
Thank you very much Kamal DS.
What about what I just found on the following site ?
http://www.cyberindian.net/2008/11/16/asus-eee-pc-904ha-ultra-portable-netbook/
“In addition, Asus Eee PC 904HA also offers integrated 10/100 Mbit Ethernet LAN connection, an integrated 56kbps Modem/Fax connection and sports 3 USB v2.0 ports for wired connectivity.”
What do you think about this ? A mistake ?
Fred
yes, is is a mistake by that website
Kamal- Great review! It sounds fantastic, and I’m this close to picking one up, but I have one question: How do you think this thing will do at recording audio?
I don’t need multi-tracking or full duplex, just the ability to hook a microphone to it and record something (in 24 bit). I don’t even need to edit it. I’ll just bring it home to cut it together, but I do need it to record smoothly. Whattaya think?
loving my eee pc. I am a student, and must admit this is a great computer. I can type during class, and work on papers, without it being a huge interruption!
Can you replace the hard drive with a larger, standard hard drive? I am interested in using this to store large video and photo files and want to put a 500GB drive in it.
yes, you can
I was wondering if you could help me. I have this model and I upgraded to 2 gb of RAM. Upon doing so, i tried booting the machine and the power lights, etc. turn on but the screen stays black. I figure it must have something to do with the fact that i just put in new RAM but I don’t know. I tried putting the old RAM back in and I have the same problem.
Soooo… Any verdict on the audio? Does it have a sound card? Will it run Audition or something? 24 bit? Whattaya think? Sorry to bug you, but this is the main reason I need it. Thanks!
@ Fonce: I’m not experienced in this department. Although, if you tell me exactly what to check, I can do that for you. :)
Kamal, thanks. Any frustration you’re sensing is because of the complete lack of info about the sound capabilities of this machine, which leads me to believe that they’re minimal. Still, I don’t need THAT much from it.
I just need to know if you can hook a microphone to it and record audio, preferably at 24 bit. I’m kinda expecting the answer, “Yes, you can record audio, but not at 24 bit,” but I’d love to be pleasantly surprised.
Thanks for looking into it for me, and sorry again for the bugging, but it’s terribly important to me, and it’s the one aspect you didn’t hit in your very indepth review. :)
yes, I can attach microphone and can record audio. How do I test if it is 24bit?
Kamal- Just found this…
http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=46269
It discusses the 1000H, but did you say the 904HA is very similar? If so, this is essentially the answer to my question. Not about 24 bit, but about usability with audio programs, and they usually like 24 bit.
And this is a video of someone doing audio on a 900.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr076YFJjUA
Gonna find out how different they all are, but it’s looking promising for the 904HA!
Hardware-wise, yes. 1000h and 904HA are very similar. If it works on 1000h, it will work on 904ha too
Depending on the program you’re recording in, you’re usually able to change the recording bit depth, from 16 bit to 24 or 32 bit, but in the video he talks about hooking up an external ASIO USB thing, bypassing the internal card, which is really what I was planning!
So I think I’m okay now. If that video of the 900 is indicative of what the 904HA’ll do, I should be fine! (Let me know if it’s not!) Thanks you for your review and your patience! :D
Sage, any success here? I’ve got the same problem with the black screen and I didn’t add ram. I saw lots of post on the asus website regarding this. All suggestions – hold down start key, reset button, etc hasn’t helped. I’ve had my machine for 3 weeks which I noticed was consistent on the asus post for this problem.
Any news about this black screen… I’m waiting for any progress before buying one…
I just got one of these and it is working fine for me. XP did not recognize the 2GB RAM I added, but I went to the ASUS website to get the Bios updates & it worked great. This little thing does everything my 2 year old laptop does & more.
The update address for the BIOS is http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?model=EEE+PC+904HA%2fLINUX&f_name=1000h-asus-1305.zip&SLanguage=en-us
@koobies: after installing ram, you need to go to bios.
Sage, Susie: Did you resolve the black screen problem? I just added RAM and have the same exact problem. I have no clue as to what to do to resolve this. Do you have any ideas?
Thanks
Thanks for a great review, this made my mind up to buy this model. I installed a 2gigs of RAM too, but this was picked up automatically by the BIOS. This is a real productivity killer now.
Hi,
My netbook should be coming soon but im wondering can you answer my question about the black screen thing that fred forum and suise lad asked? BTW amazing review but you should point out what netbook is what when you compare them for us newbies =]
Thanks for the time of writing the review
Great review. Thanks! I’ve bought some of these for nurses at my business who are on the road a lot, and I’m thinking of buying myself one. However, I’ve been very impressed with Dell warranties. How does the Asus warranty compare?
I should say “warranty and service.” Dell has always treated me very well for service. I’d hate to buy an Asus and get a runaround when it needed repair.
ASUS service has always been great and prompt for me. I’d some problem with the keyboard of my EEE 701 and the service guys were very cooperative
Kamal great review sorry about that black scrren question as i see you answered it a while back.
STUPID ME!
I trying to chose between the white and black models. My concern deals with scratches. I heard that the black model has gets more finger prints but does it also pick up more scratches?
thanks 4 the revie it helped a ton im buying the 904 4 school i dont use book i type in lessons so this laptop,sorry net book should help…:):)