ASUS C90: the most “future-proof” notebook yet

Posted June 20, 2007 at 05:02 AM by Darrick Rochili

Section: Computers, Laptops, Gaming

Here’s another notebook for you gaming fans out there, the ASUS C90. Set to hit the market sometime soon, with some pre-orders available on Ebay (use caution please!), it’s considered to be the first truly, easily upgradeable gaming notebook available.

By simply opening a panel with 4 screws, you’ll have direct access to most of the regularly upgraded components such as CPU, GPU, RAM, HD and optical drive. ASUS will be offering this notebook as a bare bone model, allowing users to pick and choose what components they want in it.

Here are the major specifications and capabilities for this machine: CPU support up to Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800, 2.93 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB, 4MB L2 cache Up to 3 GB Dual channel DDR2 800 MHz RAM GPU support up to NVidia GeForce Go8600M GT 256MB/512MB onboard RAM, Mobile PCI Express Module (MXM) WSXGA+ (1650x1050) resolution in a 15.4” Color Shine display E-SATA connector HDMI Choice of HD-DVD/Blu-ray optical drive or standard DVD 2.0 MP camera with face tracking function Finger print recognition WiFi (802.11 a/b/g/n) Bluetooth 2.0+EDR TV-Tuner Glossy finish

ASUS claims that by using their TurboGear software, users would be able to gain a 20% performance increase by overclocking. Their GPU slot will accept graphic cards which sport the MXM form, which is the standard for modular cards that will allow platform compatibility with future GPUs.

Looking at some images at the various sites, ASUS seems to have thought this out quite well, with plenty of vents (including that humongous one at the rear end) to alleviate the massive amounts of heat this is sure to generate and amazingly localized placement of all the major components for easy access. It does weight quite a bit (3.1 kg with a 6 cell battery) and I’m not sure how battery life will go with such a machine, but if there’s such a thing as a “future-proof” notebook, this sure fits the bill damn close and should be a very popular machine within the next few months.

Via [PcLaunches] ProductPage [ASUS]