Drive Space and Memory Utilization
The "512MB" sticker on the box looks as if it was added as an afterthought, so perhaps ASUS decided to upgrade the unit after initial feedback.
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There's nothing sinister underneath, though. Also, note the 2G Surf does not have an access panel for the memory.
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Drive Space
One question that has been asked repeatedly is: How much of the 2GB storage space is left for the user?
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The answer is, not much. There are ways around the storage constraints, of course, based on your type of usage. Flash drives, online storage, and even external hard drives are all possibilities. For a more permanent solution, many users have been leaving high capacity (8GB and up) SDHC cards installed in the unit's memory card reader.
Memory Usage
A quick look at memory usage in Task Manager makes it apparent why 512MB is important, even for the Linux distro. Close to 256MB is being consumed just at the desktop.
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So how does it do when loaded?
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This screenshot was taken while running Firefox (3 tabs), Skype, Pidgin (Messenger), OpenOffice Spreadsheets, File Manager, and Media Player playing back an Xvid file. The usability of each application was marginal, with significant slowdowns noticeable. Closing Media Player was enough to alleviate the problem and allow reasonable use.
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LEKO - Friday, January 4, 2008 - link
And the funny thing about the panel, is that a widescreen display would fit in, there is a lot of empty space on both side of the current model. Is there a company that makes a widescreen LCD panel of this size (small enough)?rqle - Friday, January 4, 2008 - link
Is there still anyway to upgrade the memory in the 2G model since it doesn't have an access memory panel? Can you open the back manually? Is there any slots?BladeVenom - Friday, January 4, 2008 - link
I heard it's soldered on in the 2G.Matt Campbell - Friday, January 4, 2008 - link
I've seen several reports that the memory is indeed soldered on in the 2G, and also lacks the Mini PCIe socket. I haven't yet cracked it open myself. Some users are reporting the 4G Surf, though also lacking an access panel, *does* have socketed memory that can be upgraded (though disassembly is not for the faint of heart).Some users in the eeeuser forums have also reported the 2G unit has a slower CPU than the 4G: an 800 MHz Celeron clocked at 571 MHz. I created an nLite install last night, and a Win XP install is on my to-do list.
http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=6170">http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=6170