Gaming on Acer Aspire Revo
The Aspire Revo is a well 'spec-ed' machine; decent Atom CPU, plenty of RAM and the brilliant nVidia ION chip. So you would think I should be able to play some modern-day games, so I did.
First up is a Diablo-like RPG called Torchlight. The game is designed to run on low spec computers (it has a 'Netbook Mode'), but can be up-scaled to very good graphics for more powerful computers. The game ran very well on the Revo, with the high graphics option.
Next, I wanted to push the Revo to its limits, and try an RTS. Company of Heroes was the candidate, a modern RTS which can push even the high-end computers to their limits. The game automatically selected medium to high graphics, thanks to the powerful ION chip. Frames per seconds (FPS) varied from 25 down to 5. Even when I lowered the graphic settings down, it was still same story. The game was very dependent of the CPU, and the Atom not up to the job of running a RTS.
My next games were both Source games. Counter Strike Source selected my graphic settings to high, and the game performed well, with fps between 30 to 60. Left 4 Dead was more of a challenge, its more modern game with alot of action on screen. It selected low graphics, and my fps ranged from 35 to 20. First Person Shooters are more suited on the Revo, since the CPU is required less.
I wasn't expecting it to work, but I gave BioShock ago. To my amazement, it played fine on high graphics, though I did turn the settings down to medium to get a better FPS. Again, a First-Person shooter which doesn't require alot from the CPU.
Fallout 3 is a demanding game, and did cause problems on the revo. It ran very well, with graphics at medium settings. However, the game was unstable on the revo, and crashed often. Likely to be the Atom slow things down.
QuakeLive was my final test, obviously it was no trouble on the Revo. Its just Quake 3, full graphics running at over 100fps!
There was no point testing out old games, since they will run after testing these demanding modern games. The Revo performed well, mainly thanks to ION chip. The Atom CPU is a let down in these tests, since it is not powerful enough to cope with these games, especially RTS. It does appear that if you have 'Net Top' with an ION chip, avoid RTS games.
nVidia ION is Brilliant!
Have been playing around with the capabilities of my Acer Aspire Revo. I have tried out some 1080p HD videos and 3D games, and it has coped with the issues what so ever!
1080p videos played perfectly, no shutter at all! The CPU usage sits at 7%, while playing these videos. 3D games have played fine, still keen to try out a few Source games and Company of Heroes! All this is possible, thanks to the nVidia ION, you have to remember that all the ION is a GeForce 9400 card, so it is very powerful.
To show you how brilliant the ION is, this video shows you the ION playing a 1080p video and Call of Duty 4 at 30-40fps!
Got a Acer Aspire Revo!
Not going to be a review, more about my Revo. It is a brilliant computer! It does have a Intel Atom cpu, but combined with the nVidia ION graphics chip, it is
The Acer Aspire Revo! (click to enlarge)
blazing quick. Its pretty amazing, the ION is very small and designed for low cost/low power computers, but deliveries full HD 1080p playback and DX10 gaming! The computer is very good looking, very "Mac-Mini look-a-like", so small.
It cost me £140 for the Revo R3600 from Ebuyer.com. Intel Atom 230 (1.6Ghz), 1GB DDR2 RAM, nVidia ION, 160GB HDD. Comes with Linux, but was quickly removed for Ubuntu and Windows XP (only installed to use Access for my course). Dual boot worked fine, only issues was getting the Windows XP to install. Had a struggle with putting XP on a flash drive, I used a piece of software called WinToFlash. Next I had an issue, trying to get it to boot off the flash drive, I had to set the SATA controller to use IDE emulation. Final hurdle was finding the drivers for XP, they can all be found here. As always, Ubuntu had no trouble installing and setting up, 'It Just Worked!'
The Revo R3600 is brilliant piece of kit, very fast, thanks to nVidia's ION chip and so cheap to buy!
Me!
Ed Hewitt, 19, Studying @ Derby Uni, Blogger, Ubuntu user, Columnist & Podcaster for FCM, Gamer, Admin on Gfire.- Spotify is saved. Usa by the end of the year!
- Back home from work. 2:30am, time for IT crowd!
- Half way through my shift. Time for a double expesso.
