Windows 8.1 Tablet Gaming Results |OT|

[Eel O'Brian]

I know that several of us now own Windows tablets like the Dell V8P or the Asus T100, so I thought it would be nice to have a catchall thread where we can post Steam/GOG/ETC PC games that we've tried, and the results.

I guess list what tablet you're using, the game title, the settings, links to any mods you downloaded for performance boosts, and the average fps you're getting. If you've discovered performance differences in where they are installed (external flash/HDD, SD card, internal storage), list that as well.  I'll make a separate post with instructions for each game I tried that required extensive tweaking (so I can just directly link the post for anyone asking), and collective posts for games that run fine without adjustments.

Here are the ones I've tried so far that don't require any outside tinkering. I use Razer Gamebooster on occasion, will note where it made any sort of difference.

Tools:
Razer Gamebooster - http://www.razerzone.com/gamebooster
Fraps - http://www.fraps.com/

Tablet: Asus T100

Games

1. Fallout & Fallout 2 (GOG versions): these both run without issues. Installed on internal memory. Framerate on both is in the 120s, lol

2. Age of Empires II HD: Turned off Vsync, antialias shadows, and render 3D water. Game runs at around 50 fps full screen. I assume at the full 1366x768 resolution, as there are no resolution options. Installed on internal memory.

3. Shadowrun Returns: Full screen, Full 1366x768 resolution, HD textures on. Runs at 30fps, dips into the 20s on occasion.  With HD textures off stays at a fairly steady 30 fps. TBH, I didn't notice much difference so I left it off. Installed on external USB 3.0 HDD.

4. Aliens vs Predator Classic 2000: Full screen, Full 1366x768 resolution, all video effects maxed. Runs at a locked 60 fps. Installed on microSD card.

5. Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition: Full screen, Full 1366x768 resolution, all effects on, Vsync on. Runs at upwards of 200+ fps lol (you can set max fps lower).  Installed on microSD card.

6. Shadow Warrior Classic Redux: Full screen, Full 1366x768 resolution, all effects on, Vsync on. Runs at upwards of 150+ fps lol (you can set max fps lower).  Installed on microSD card.

7. Flatout: Full screen, Full 1366x768 resolution, all effects on, antialising off. Runs at 45-60 fps.  Installed on external USB 3.0 HDD.

8. Flatout 2: Full screen, Full 1366x768 resolution, all effects on, antialising off.  Runs at 38-50 fps.  Installed on external USB 3.0 HDD.

9. Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition: Not many options here, so I left it as-is. Runs at 29/30 fps. Installed on internal memory.

10. Call of Juarez: Played on 1280x720 resolution in DX9 mode. Used "Best Performance" settings. Framerate was 35-40, dipped into the 20s on occasion for a couple of seconds. Installed on USB 3.0 external HDD. Initial loading time took foreeeeever (like, 3 minutes).

That's everything I haven't had to tweak so far. I'll post what I used to get Fallout 3, Fallout: NV, and Oblivion running well (or "okay") later on.

[bork]

Did you have to do anything to format the Micro SD card for installs?  I'd love to use that for more games if possible, but am worried about performance.  Have you noticed any real differences with that Game Booster app?  I remember reading that they were pretty much bullshit, although that was an application from another dev who went from freeware to a crappy pay model.

[Eel O'Brian]

Tablet: Asus T100

Game: Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood

Results: No matter what I did here, I couldn't get the fps above the 15-20 range. I even went into the .scr file and turned it down to 800x600, turned off a lot of effects, and it had no discernible impact. You can technically play it, but it moves like molasses.

Verdict: unplayable.

[Eel O'Brian]

Did you have to do anything to format the Micro SD card for installs?  I'd love to use that for more games if possible, but am worried about performance.  Have you noticed any real differences with that Game Booster app?  I remember reading that they were pretty much bullshit, although that was an application from another dev who went from freeware to a crappy pay model.

I formatted the SD to NTFS so it can handle larger files. Game Booster is largely crap, but it does add a few frames in certain games just by automatically  turning off a bunch of background processes.

[bork]

Haven't tried too much on my ASUS T100, nor do I have FRAPS on there, but-

-Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition: With the resolution set to the lowest possible (640x400 IIRC), the benchmarks rates the game an "A" and it runs at 60 FPS or higher, making it 100% playable.  Although the resolution may be low, you can set all the other effects/detail settings to medium and high, and the end result looks really good on the small tablet screen.  The low resolution doesn't affect the game at all!  Psyched to have a portable USF4 when that launches this summer.

-Skullgirls: Turn off the 3D background option and you can run this at 1366x768 and 60 FPS.  Looks absolutely gorgeous.

-Pac-Man CE DX: Runs perfectly at 1366x768.  Offers touch controls, too.

-The King Of Fighters XIII: Couldn't get this to run at a playable speed, even after the patch hit that allowed for resolution changes.

-Trackmania II Valley: Only tried this briefly, but it ran great on medium-high settings and 1366x768 IIRC.

-Ducktales Remastered: Runs great at 1366x768.

-Double Dragon Neon: Ran before, but is now running behind the Steam window and I can't see anything.   

[bork]

Tried launching DD from the desktop...same problem.  I can hear the game running, but can't see anything.  Bizarre.

Did you have to do anything to format the Micro SD card for installs?  I'd love to use that for more games if possible, but am worried about performance.  Have you noticed any real differences with that Game Booster app?  I remember reading that they were pretty much bullshit, although that was an application from another dev who went from freeware to a crappy pay model.

I formatted the SD to NTFS so it can handle larger files. Game Booster is largely crap, but it does add a few frames in certain games just by automatically  turning off a bunch of background processes.

Will leave Game Booster off then.  No bloatware for me.

Is there any downside to doing that to SD cards?

[Eel O'Brian]

None that I can tell so far. Running games off it will probably shorten the lifespan, though, with the constant accessing. I don't care, sd cards are cheap

Was thinking about getting a USB 3.0 flash drive at some point. They're still kinda pricey for 64gb ones, though.

[bork]

Well, that's it for DD Neon.  Restarted, tried reinstalling...same problem.  The only thing that's changed was a recent Windows update.  Weird.

[Eel O'Brian]

Tablet: Asus T100

Game: Fallout 3 GOTY (Steam version)

Okay, I had to do some work here, and so should you if you want a better experience. You'd think Bethesda might want to update one of their flagship games so people don't have to jump through hoops to get them to work, but nope. Anyway, first thing you're gonna want to do (or not want to do, but you should) is download and install the latest version of GFWL here:

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/pc/downloadclient

Then, you're going to want to download the Fallout Script Extender (FOSE) here:

http://fose.silverlock.org/

Follow the directions in the read me.

Then, get the Intel HD graphics Bypass package:

http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/17209/?

Then, get Fallout Stutter Remover off the Nexus mods site:

http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/8886/?

Install using the directions in the read me.

Then, go ahead and download the Nexus Mod Manager and make an account here, because it really simplifies things:

http://www.nexusmods.com/games/?

Install, and then download the following mods for better performance:

1. Low Res Textures:  http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/5123/?

(On a 10 inch screen, you won't notice this too much)

2. Better Game Performance:  http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/13520/?

3. Clean Deluxe GOTY: http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/17115/?

(This mod gets rid of a lot of cans, loose rocks, etc. You won't miss them)

4.  Reduced Dust Particles - http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/12310/?

5. Fog Remover - http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/18457/?

Install using the NMM.

Here are my results using all of the above, on Low settings:

1366x768 resolution:  22-30 fps, mostly around 25 fps.
1280x720 resolution:  25-35 fps, mostly hovers in the 30 range.
1024x768 resolution: 30-40 fps, mostly hovering around 33-35 fps.
800x600 resolution:  35-50 fps, mostly hovering around 40-45 fps.

This is out exploring the area right around DC, in the open world of the game. Framerates will go higher in smaller spaces. Now, at certain points, it will dip into the teens at any resolution. This will happen during "kill" cinematics, and weird places in the world (like certain spots inside Craterside Supply building). But it's very playable at any resolution, as long as you stick to Low settings.

Verdict: Runs Great (after some work)

[bork]

Pretty impressive results!

[Fifstar]

Eel, can you try one of the Civ games? Maybe 4 if 5 is too taxing?

[Eel O'Brian]

okay, i will try both sometime this week

right now i am more interested in testing games than actually playing them

Oh, btw, according to MWC news, 64-bit Win8 tablets coming starting in spring - 4GB RAM, faster atom processors, higher-res screens

so if you're considering a tablet, unless you run across a crazy deal i'd wait a couple months before laying out for one - i'll probably flip the t100 this Summer and upgrade to one myself, 4 GB ram and even a slight proc boost would make some of these games i try run way better

[Fifstar]

Nice

[Eel O'Brian]

Tablet: Asus T100

Game: Fallout New Vegas (Steam version)

I didn't have to do nearly as much work to get this one running well.

First, download the New Vegas Script Extender (NVSE) here:

http://nvse.silverlock.org/

Follow the directions in the read me.

Then, get New Vegas Stutter Remover off the Nexus mods site:

http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/34832/?

Install using the directions in the read me.

If you haven't already, download the Nexus Mod Manager and make an account there, because it really simplifies things:

http://www.nexusmods.com/games/?

Install the NMM, then download and install the following mod for better performance:

Performance of the Gods:

http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/45475/?

That's all I did. There are other performance-enhancing mods out there you can use, but I was satisfied just using the above. Results below, using Low settings.

1366x768 resolution:  20-30 fps, mostly around the 20-25 range.
1280x720 resolution:  25-35 fps, mostly hovers in the 28-30 range. In Primm I got 35-40 fps at times.
1024x768 resolution: 30-45 fps, mostly hovering between 30-35 fps.
800x600 resolution:  30-60 fps, mostly hovering between 35-40 fps.

This is out exploring the Goodsprings area and around Primm, in the open world part of the game. Framerates will go higher in smaller spaces. At certain points it will dip into the teens at any resolution, just like Fallout 3. This will happen during "kill" cinematics, and weird places in the world (certain isolated spots in caves, buildings, etc). But it plays smoother than FO3 at any resolution. I think the stutter remover is doing a much better job here.

Verdict: Runs Great

[bork]

Oh, btw, according to MWC news, 64-bit Win8 tablets coming starting in spring - 4GB RAM, faster atom processors, higher-res screens

Got a link?

[Eel O'Brian]

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2100541/hp-ships-first-64bit-windows-81-tablets-with-intel-atom.html

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57619311-75/first-of-64-bit-windows-8.1-tablets-arrives-this-one-from-hp/

http://www.winbeta.org/news/hp-unveils-propad-600-and-elitepad-100-tablets-business-users

[bork]

Nice, but-

The ElitePad will be priced at $739.99 and ship worldwide in March.

The whole reason I got the T100 was because it was a cheap tablet/laptop hybrid.  I don't want to spend that much on something like this-- that's more than double the price.  But prices will inevitably fall, I suppose.

[Eel O'Brian]

Well, that's the business class version with aluminum body, pen support, etc. They have the "ProPad 600" version which will have the same guts and screen, but will have the plastic body and no pen support. I'd imagine that will be much cheaper (they haven't announced a price). And they're just one manufacturer. I'm sure the usual suspects like Dell/Lenovo/Acer will get in on 64 bit tabs before the end of the year, and they're bound to be much cheaper.

[DCharlieJP]

i am totally in love with my t100 - upgrading from it would feel like cheating

[Eel O'Brian]

Tablet: Asus T100

Game: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Steam version)

I haven't messed around with this too much, but here's what little I did

First, download the Oblivion Script Extender (OBSE) here:

http://obse.silverlock.org/

Follow the directions in the read me.

Then, get Oblivion Stutter Remover off the Nexus mods site:

http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/23208

Install using the directions in the read me.

If you haven't already, download the Nexus Mod Manager and make an account there, because it really simplifies things:

http://www.nexusmods.com/games/?

Install the NMM, then download and install the following mod for better performance:

Streamline:

http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/10400/?

That's all I did. There are other performance-enhancing mods out there you can use, but I was satisfied just using the above. Results below, using Low settings with distant buildings/trees/landscape turned on.

1366x768 resolution:  All over the place from 20 to 60 fps (in isolated spots), mostly around the 20-30 range outdoors and the 25-30 range indoors. You can set the max framerate in the Stutter Remover to 30 for smoother play.
1280x720 resolution:  same as above, mostly hovers in the 25-30 range outdoors and the 40 range indoors.
1024x768 resolution: 30-60 fps, mostly hovering around 30 fps outdoors and 40 fps indoors.
800x600 resolution:  30-60 fps, mostly hovering between 30-40 fps outdoors and 45-60 indoors.
640x480: 30-60 fps, mostly hovering between 35-40 fps outdoors and 50-60 indoors.

It dips around 20 in certain spots (cities) no matter the resolution, but never into the teens as far as I've seen.

Verdict: Runs Great

[bork]

Eel, have you checked out transformerforums.com?  They have a thread with game testing too.

i am totally in love with my t100 - upgrading from it would feel like cheating

Don't think I'd upgrade until a T100 successor comes out.  That said, I've had good experiences with HP 'notbooks', but I like ASUS a lot, even with the T100's battery drain issues (mine is fine when off, but if I don't put it in airplane mode before closing that lid or putting it in sleep mode, it's a total drain).

Also major power drain when streaming video, but I assume that's normal.

[Eel O'Brian]

Tablet: Asus T100

Game: Civ IV

Results: 1368x768 native res, high-resolution landscape textures on.  30 fps zoomed in, 60 zoomed out. This is at the very beginning of the game, so I don't know how it will handle a late-game scenario. If someone wants to upload and link a late game save I will test it out. Evidently there is some baked-in Vsync, but there is no setting for turning it off, so I don't know what the fps would be if it were.

Verdict: Plays Great

[Eel O'Brian]

Tablet: Asus T100

Game: Call of Duty 2

Results (used optimal settings preset, then turned Dynamic Lights off and set Textures to Medium, turned Sound Quality to Medium):

1368x768 resolution:  25-45 fps, dips around 20 when there is a ton of stuff going on, mostly hovers between 25-30
1280x720 resolution:  30-50 fps, dips into the 20s when there is a ton of stuff going on, mostly hovers around 30-35
1024x768 resolution:  35-60 fps, dipped into the 20s once or twice, mostly hovers around 35-40
800x600   resolution:  45-75 fps, dips around 30 when there is a ton of stuff going on, mostly hovers between 45-50

You can go lower with settings and res but it's not necessary imo, even when it dips it still plays pretty smoothly

Verdict: Plays Great

[Pringo]

Have any of you guys tried Steam in-home streaming on a Windows tablet? I'd be interested in seeing how well that works.

[Eel O'Brian]

Yeah, I tried it. My 460 seems to be too weak to properly decode and stream, plus I was getting WiFi drops.

[bork]

Never played any CoD games pre-Modern Warfare.  Does CoD2 play like CoD4 and is there still an active online community?

[Eel O'Brian]

It follows a similar structure, jumping between different groups (Russians, British, US). Gunplay is the same, but you don't get the variety of weapons.

I dunno about online, didn't try it.

[bork]

South Park runs pretty much perfect on the T100 at 1366x768.

[Eel O'Brian]

That's surprising!

[bork]

The minimum requirements are on the lower side and it's not exactly a graphical powerhouse of a game.   

I want to see if someone comes up with a touch screen control overlay via Gestureworks; this might be one game I play with touch controls.

[Eel O'Brian]

Tablet: Asus T100

Game: Eschalon Book one installed on internal memory

Results: 800x600 resolution (high as it goes), full screen, all settings high. On Direct X this gave weird results in the teens, I turned it to OpenGL and it gave a solid 60 fps.

Verdict: Plays Great

***

Game: Eschalon Book Two installed on internal memory

Results: 1024x768 resolution (high as it goes), full screen, all settings high. This was the reverse. On OpenGL it stuttered around in the 30s, while on DirectX it gave a solid 60 fps.

Verdict: Plays Great

[Eel O'Brian]

Tablet: Asus T100

Game: Half-Life installed on internal memory

Results: 1368x768 native resolution full screen, all settings high. FPS was all over the place, from the 30s to the 100s. I turned off Vsync and the performance smoothed out somewhat.  Turn on lower video settings and it smooths out further. It really didn't matter what resolution settings I used, the fps jumped around no matter what. Weird.


Verdict: Plays...Okay

[Eel O'Brian]

Tablet: Asus T100

Game: Spelunky installed on internal memory

Results: 1368x768 native resolution full screen, all settings high. FPS 30-60, mostly around 60. Tried it on 1280x720 with lowered settings and got worse results But it plays pretty smoothly at full settings, there isn't any stuttering.


Verdict: Plays Great

[Eel O'Brian]

Tablet: Asus T100

Game: Half-Life 2 installed on USB 3.0 HDD

Results: This was the first game that I can truly say impressed me with the performance. I set it to 1368x768 native res, and used the settings in the screenshot below:



With these settings, I'm getting 30-90 fps, mostly hanging around the 50 fps range on average (and in some areas a steady 60+). When I first stepped out into City 17, it dipped into the 20s for about 10 seconds, but after that jumped back up to the 40s. I played up until the point Gordon gets his suit, so I don't know how it'll handle some of the crazier moments later on, but still.  Crazy.

Verdict: Plays Great

[Eel O'Brian]

Tablet: Asus T100

Game: Freedom Force installed on internal memory

Results: 1368x768 resolution, full screen, all settings high. 40-60 fps, mostly 60.

Verdict: Plays Great

***

Game: Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich installed on internal memory

Results: 1368x768 resolution, full screen, all settings high. 30-60 fps, mostly in the 40s.

Verdict: Plays Great

[Eel O'Brian]

Eel, have you checked out transformerforums.com?  They have a thread with game testing too.

Sorry, I just now noticed this. I saw that thread, and let's just say some of the results posted were...overly optimistic. Like "Skyrim is playable" type optimistic (15 fps max). I'd gone on that forum before because I was having some pretty bad wifi issues (still am) where I get a "limited" message until it finally decides to connect upwards of five minutes later.  The official verdict from the majority of posters who responded (there are a couple who were helpful) was that it's somehow my fault, even though literally every other wifi-enabled device in this house connects just fine. Solutions offered involve shit like going into command prompt and fucking around with the system. Because, you know, it's my fault. I don't know what response I was expecting from people with user names like ASUSFAN0001 or whatever. "Official" forums are full of cheerleaders. There are other general tablet boards out there with Asus subforums, I'll stick to those.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

How are these Windows 8.1 tablets in comparison to the Surface 2 Pros?

[Eel O'Brian]

Surface 2 Pro is gonna blow them out of the water, performance-wise. But for $400 and under tablets, these give really impressive results. Just a year ago you wouldn't have been able to even boot up Fallout 3 on an Atom tablet.

Now, when I had a Dell Venue 8 Pro, even though it has practically the same internals as the Asus, I was getting worse performance in some of these same games I've been testing. I think it might be because the DV8P uses single-channel memory, and a lot of it has to do with CPU throttling. Since the Dell is a solid, compact tablet, there isn't any room for the heat to go, so the Atom chip throttles it back when it hits a certain temp. On the Asus, you can thump the back and it feels a little hollow. There's room for the heat to disperse, and they probably have a better spreader inside.

[Eel O'Brian]

Posted a thread to GAF:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=781685

[Eel O'Brian]

Tablet: Asus T100 (Atom Z3740 processor, 2GB RAM)

Games:

1. Call of Duty & United Offensive installed on external USB 3.0 Flash Drive

Results (using optimal settings preset):

1024x768 resolution: 35-60 fps, occasionally dips into the 20s when there is a ton of stuff going on, mostly hovers around 50-60fps

Verdict: Plays Great


2. Half Life 2: Episodes 1 & 2 installed on external USB 3.0 Flash Drive

(using "recommended for your system" settings:

Episode One (using "recommended for your system" settings):

1368x768 resolution: 30-50 fps, dips into 20s at times, mostly hangs around the 35 range 
1280x720 resolution: 35-60 fps, dips into the 20s when there is a ton of stuff going on, mostly hovers around 40-45

Episode Two (turned off HDR and Windows Aero effects):

1368x768 resolution: 25-6o fps (dips into teens during "cutscenes," mostly hangs around the 25-30 range  outside and 40s inside)
1280x720 resolution: 35-60 fps (dips into 20s during "cutscenes," mostly hangs around the 30-35 range outside and 50s inside)

Verdict: Plays Great


3. Left 4 Dead installed on external USB 3.0 Flash Drive

Results (used recommended settings):

1368x768 resolution: 25-50 fps, mid-20s during crescendo events and at the finales when there is a ton of stuff going on, mostly hovers around 30-35 fps
1280x720 resolution: 35-60 fps, mid-20s during crescendo events and at the finales when there is a ton of stuff going on, mostly hovers around 40 fps

Verdict: Plays Great

[Eel O'Brian]

Tablet: Asus T100 (Atom Z3740 processor, 2GB RAM)

Games:

1. FTL Enhanced Edition installed on internal memory

Results: Full screen. 70-80 fps.

Verdict: Plays great.


2. Medal of Honor War Chest (GOG version) installed on external USB 3.0 Flash Drive

Results: 1024x768 resolution, all effects maxed, textures set to highest. 30-90 fps, mainly hovering in the 40-50 fps range.

Verdict: Plays great.


3. Silent Storm Gold Edition (GOG version) installed on external USB 3.0 Flash Drive

Results: 1024x768 resolution, default settings. 30-40 fps zoomed out, 60 fps zoomed in.

Verdict: Plays great.


4. Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box installed on external USB 3.0 Flash Drive

Results: 1368x768 resolution, Low settings, standard textures. 35-50 fps, mostly in the 40-45 range. Drops to 30 on crash cinematics.

Verdict: Plays great.


5. Eldritch installed on internal memory

Results: 1366x768 resolution, full settings. 30-40 fps in the dungeons, 50-60 fps in the library.

Verdict: Plays great.


6. Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 & Earned in Blood installed on external USB 3.0 Flash Drive

Results: Kinda disappointed with the performance here, especially after the results in other, newer games. They're really only playable at 800x600 and 640x480, but at those resolutions you can bump up the settings. 25-40 fps at either resolution. Any higher res dips into the teens quite often.

Verdict: Passable at lower resolutions.

[Human Snorenado]

I figured this would be a good thread to get someone's (cough Eel cough) feedback on what a decent tablet would be if I wanted to sit on my ass and play Steam games during the afternoon.

Is the Venue 8 still a good option? Was looking at this guy.

http://www.dell.com/us/p/dell-venue-8-pro/pd?oc=fncwv8p03&model_id=dell-venue-8-pro

[Eel O'Brian]

Depends on the game, really. I got much better results from the Asus T100 even though it has the same processor, because of heat throttling on the DV8.

[Eel O'Brian]

Lighter stuff and older games will run just fine, though.

[bork]

T100.  Get the 64GB+500GB keyboard dock model.

I wish Asus sold that dock separately. 

[Bebpo]

What I get my T100, the only gaming I really want to try on it is like 2d GOG.com games.  Stuff from the 90s, 2d PnC adventure games, isometric rpgs, puzzle games.  Maybe install MAME and try to run classic arcade stuff.  If it can handle all that smoothly in addition to video watching and microsoft word, I'm set.

[Eel O'Brian]

You're set.

[DCharlieJP]

and because of the tablet nature of it, the screen can be easily switched to vert for all those lovely shmups

[Eel O'Brian]

I'm selling my T100. Buying Prole's old SP2 when his i7 model SP3 comes out in August, so I won't have a need for it anymore. If anyone's interested, I'm asking $235 for Borians (the odd $10 covers US shipping). It's the model without the 500GB keyboard dock (just has the regular keyboard dock, I think you have to import the 500GB models unless they've released them here recently - EDIT: I see they have, for $437 on Amazon, yikes). You can just slap a microSD or Flash Drive on there and install Steam games/etc. and be good to go, I had a ton of steam games installed on a 128GB USB 3.0 flash drive. Doesn't come with the Office 2013 license, I already used that key.  Excellent like-new shape with all the packaging/manuals, never left the house with it.

[Human Snorenado]

Ah, boo. I'd probably be interested but would need Office.

[Bebpo]

Got my T100 and the tablet part is fine, but the keyboard dock/500gb hdd rattles like there's a loose screw in it.  Everything is working fine but probably need to send it back just in case :\

[Bebpo]

Playing games locally is eh, but wow Steam streaming from my desktop to playing any game smoothly on my T100 in my bedroom is pretty sweet!  Some games seem to work better with the network quality of my place.  Like Point & Click games run really well, Broforce runs great but has random lag skips occasionally and I tried Gone Home and it ran like a slideshow.  Will experiment more, but pretty nice.  Probably won't install games locally from steam unless I'm going on a trip.  Even if streaming has a pop of lag every 2 mins, I'd rather play a nice looking 60fps quality game with those lag pops then a lowest settings, 20-30fps struggling game locally.

[Bebpo]

Ok, I think I made a mistake buying this.  It's ok, but everything useful that you can do with it, you need the keyboard dock attached.  Like pretty much every single videogame I've tried, when I pull the tablet screen off, since the games weren't made for tablet touchscreens, the touch controls fail to emulate mouse controls.  Like every click and point I try when I touch the mouse cursor appears somewhere else on the screen.  Even if you're going to use an external mouse/X360 controller, you need something to keep the screen up since you have your hands full and so naturally it's in the keyboard dock.

I guess it's because I never tried the netbook genre of hardware.  The last laptop I had was 7 years ago when they were still big and bulky.  I really like this Asus T100, but everything I like it for is simply because it's a small laptop/netbook.  It's nice being able to play Steam streaming games in another room.  It's nice being able to watch tv shows and stuff away from the tv.  It's nice being able to run anything you can run on a desktop.  But...a netbook could have done all this!  And if I had just gotten a small laptop/netbook it'd probably have been even faster so I could play stuff locally instead of relying on streaming.


It really seems like the whole appeal of the T100 is you get a netbook (cool) + a Windows tablet.  But I already have an ipad 2 and I'm not sure what the point of the windows 8.1 tablet is for me.  Like...I can't find a single thing to do on it in Win 8 APP mode.  Even the Kindle app for Win 8 is busted and won't let you play local files, so I end up using the Win 7 version in desktop mode.  The only thing I really can do with it (since I can't game in tablet mode because the controls don't seem to work) is watch movies/tv shows while holding the screen closer to my face then if it was on the keyboard dock.  This is nice, yeah.  But it's also kind of heavy and I wonder if I'll end up just watching everything while it rests on the keyboard dock and put it right in front of me.

tl;dr Asus T100 is cool, but that's because it's a cool laptop and the tablet part is pretty useless if you have any other tablet around already.


Actually I think one of the only gaming devices will be hooking up a PS2/PS3 controller through the micro-usb port and turning it vertical to play shmups on mame while putting it up against a pillow or something to support it.  That should be fun.

[bork]

I thought the main reason that you were interested in buying one was to watch streaming/local media that your iPad 2 can't handle?

There is a program you can get that will allow you to create and map your own touch screen controls, BTW.  I believe it's called Gestureworks.  Can't tell you how it is because I'm not sure why, apart from point n' click games, you would want to use touch controls over a controller or mouse/KB.     That said, I would like to try Outrun 2006 C2C this way.  That might be doable.

The only game I've played with touch controls is Pac-Man CE DX, which actually works great -the game recognizes that you're using a tablet and gives you touch control options- so no keyboard or game pad is no issue on that title.

But please tell me the touch control stuff you tried wasn't via streaming from your PC.  Lag could certainly cause a problem.

[Bebpo]

Nah, was local.  But didn't notice any real lag on steam streaming.  Thing works great.  Was getting 60fps on most games with like 1.6ms lag, which is fine since I'm not playing fighting games or anything.


The reason to use touch controls over mouse & keyboard is just convenience of just being able to sit in bed and playing point & click adventure games or isometric rpgs by pointing and clicking with your finger.  I've tried some virtual touch controls but they don't really work the way a native touch game works.  Oh well.


Yeah, the media is the main reason I got it, but I'm just saying I don't need a 2 in 1 tablet/netbook to do that.  Could've just gotten a netbook to do it!  They're small enough I can just put the netbook on the bed next to my head and watch stuff.


Oh, I have a more real problem with the T100 though:  The sound is REALLY F-ING LOW on gaming.  On videos and stuff it's fine.  Sounds about medium at max audio from the speakers, but with headphones it gets LOUD if you want it, so that's fine.  But like I tried playing Dragon Age and Banner Saga and with audio on 100...I couldn't hear almost anything from the speakers.  If people were talking in dragon age I couldn't make out what they were saying.  With headphones I can hear in those two games but at audio on 100 it sounds like maybe halfway on my desktop.  Not sure why the audio is so quiet in some games on this transformer.

[bork]

Well, this way you get a tablet to use when it's more comfortable to do so.  Best of both worlds.  With games, those titles optimized for touch screens are going to work great (like Pac-Man), so that is a disadvantage to using full-on Windows versus iOS and Android.

Dunno on the sound thing.  Never had a problem with it. 

I'd like to try stuff like Dragon-Age too, but since I'm getting a 13" gaming laptop tomorrow I guess there's no point.  BTW if you haven't already played it and are interested in it, South Park runs amazingly well on the T100 at 720P.

[Bebpo]

Welp, after 2 days my T100 broke.  It wouldn't let me pick "shut computer down" and I was forced to pick "do updates and shut computer down."  When it booted it took 10 mins to install updates then said it was unable to install updates and is removing files and it's stuck like this and windows won't boot.

Tried every safe mode, startup recovery, refresh, etc... And they all try to run win to start and get stuck on that unable to complete updates screen forever.  Googled and found this has happened to a lot of people and for some system restore completely works, for others it's junk and has to go back.

Doing a full system restore now.  If this doesn't work it's going back.  People have also had problems post-system restore with programs crashing and it not working right.  If that happens it's going back.

I wonder if I can just get a refund on this lemon and buy the dell venue pro 11 or surface 2 as they seem a lot better quality and more stable than this cheap piece of junk.  Almost nothing but problems since I've got it

[bork]

Eh, it sounds like you just got a lemon.  Surface Pro would certainly be better but the price is gonna be higher. 

My Sager laptop came in and is awesome, blah blah blah.  It's 13.3" but still feels HUGE next to the T100.   

[Bebpo]

Well, the system restore seems to have worked though I lost everything installed so had to spend another hour after fixing the computer installing stuff again.  This time I told it to NEVER EVER DOWNLOAD UPDATES OR INSTALL THEM.  Gonna treat this like a tablet, aka it was built very specifically for working with a certain version of windows, and not fucking upgrading it ever because who knows what will be compatible and what won't.  I'm not expecting to use it as a primary laptop anyhow for the price, just for a few years and then maybe I'll get a new laptop more powerful.

The T100 is just ok for gaming tbh.  I tried playing Divinity OS today and it ran well but with rpgs there's so much tiny text everywhere it's just unreadable and hard on the eyes to play it.  Plus not very comfortable since rpgs need a bunch of button shortcuts.  I think the T100 will be good primarily for streaming point n' click simple one button adventure games while in bed and maybe the occasional other stuff that's not too text heavy or control-heavy.  Kind of annoyed that a lot of games use the "Z" button and I keep hitting the windows key right below it and alt-tabbing back to metro because the keyboard is so small >_<

The T100 is GREAT for e-book reading.  Holy shit, my book finishing intake is going to go up 5-10x with this.  I'd seen a review mention how it was so much better than a tablet or dedicated e-reader for e-books simply because the keyboard dock and size makes it perfect to put in horizontal 2-page mode with slightly big font and rest the keyboard dock on your lap and read comfortably while laying down.  Blew through a bunch of Dr. Sleep, aka. The Shining 2 since last night and this morning reading like this.  Will be using the T100 for e-book reading A LOT.

The T100 is ok for comic book reading.  The screen size is too wide honestly.  It's hard to get a good ratio where it looks good, big and you can read the text well.  Comics are perfect on my iPad2, on this to get a full comic page on screen at once in accurate ratio it only takes up about 66% of the 10" screen which makes it more like 6" which is kind of small.  And then you have stuff like From Hell (from the recent e-book humble bundle) which is all Alan Moore dialogue in tiny tiny scribbles so I have to maximize and just scroll down each single page 1/3rd page at a time, which is waaay more inconvenient than just reading a paperback.  Luckily since I still will be using my ipad2 for some stuff, I'll stick to ipad for comic book reading.

The T100 is GREAT for moving watching/anime watching/netflix watching.  It's a nice sized, good tablet that's easy to move files onto and runs 1080p stuff no problem.  And if you wanna get more comfortable sometimes you can use the keyboard dock to keep it propped up and the dock doesn't get warm at all.

The T100 is GOOD for Metro apps.  For some stuff I'm definitely perferring the tablet app form of programs (even though they cost money as apps versus usually freeware on PC side).  E-readers, Comic Book Readers, Facebook, they all have nice interfaces on the APP version that work great for a 10" screen and control quite well.  If only the Win 8 App store had the iOS apps, it'd be an insanely useful device to have a tablet/laptop combination.  But since even if apple makes one of these combo units that did have iPad tablet, the PC side would be a Mac, which is not that useful for Windows peeps.

The T100 is OK for web browsing.  IE is eh, Firefox is eh, Chrome apparently doesn't run well on it (haven't tried).  The Metro APP version of the IE browser is a little bigger looking and easier to navigate but compared to the browser on my iPad2 it's not particularly great.  Will stick to iPad for web browsing but use T100 for web browsing when it's more convenient.

That's pretty much all I use my computers/tablets for, so overall the T100 definitely has its uses.  It's just not a one perfect device for everything.  T100 + a good iPad is a good combo though that let's you do pretty much everything except have a good game playing machine (though you get iOS game machine instead).  But that's why you have PSP/3ds/Vitas.

[Bebpo]

Ok, so on my T100 the "Windows Button" on the left side below the volume button doesn't work after 5 days.  I can push it in and it clicks but it doesn't do anything anymore.  Then again I can't think of when I would ever need to use it because I can just swipe right for the sidebar with the "start" blue windows icon to take me to the home screen.  Wondering if it's worth the hassle of returning the T100.  I definitely agree with most of the reviews I read about the T100, that you get a ton of stuff for a dirt cheap price but the quality gives what you pay for.  It definitely feels really really cheap and flimsy.