ASUS extends the Eee brand to include desktops with the new Eee Box PC. It measures in at 7-by-1.2-by-8.8-inch, though the height is actually 8.8 inches with the stand. It comes with a mounting bolt that can take advantage of the VESA mounting points on many LCD monitors, giving it an all-in-one look. The Eee Box comes with a quick-boot environment called Express Gate that lets you do specific tasks without having to boot into your OS, such as surf the Web or use Skype. Despite an encouraging 1GB of RAM, the reviewer stated that performance is horrible. The Photoshop CS3 test took almost 3 minutes to finish. The Window Media Encoder test cannot even be started and its 3DMark06 score is abysmal. Despite the very low scores, the Eee Box was able to do its primary task: surf the Web. Web sites came up in a reasonable time, and YouTube videos displayed as expected. Most HTML sites came up quickly in either browser, and Flash support was fine out of the box. It doesn’t have a DVD or CD drive, though the reviewer noted that you can easily pop one in using the USB port. For a cheap, compact, and energy efficient computer that you’d mainly use for Web browsing, the Eee Box PC is hard to beat.

From the company that literally created a whole new laptop category comes another product that will redefine the term “bare essentials” - the Eee Box. It comes in a shiny plastic white or black chassis, a blue power light, as well as a door which covers the front ports. The Eee Box lacks an optical drive, so the user would have to shell out for more just to install software or watch DVD movies. The most unique feature of the Eee is the “instant on” operating system, the ExpressGate. It comes pre-installed with Windows XP. Users have the option of just using any of the 5 ExpressGate applications without booting into Windows. However, use of the ExpressGate is very limited. The user cannot access the drives, update the preinstalled programs, and the resolution is limited to just 1440 x 1050. Performance test results were mixed. Applications opened quickly, though speed tests showed mediocre results. Even at low resolutions, graphic performance benchmark scores were poor and video playback was jerky. The Eee Box uses only 20 watts of power, though the reviewer noted that the net savings isn’t enough to make a dent in your wallet. While the Eee Box is a big space saver, those who want more from their cash might want to look elsewhere.