I bought exactly the same version of the mini PC with the intention of watching movies (torrents), I am very satisfied, I connected External hard disk I am very satisfied $200 Very quiet Windows 11 Pro Thanks for the review
im glad i watched this. i was about to buy this one but its looking like the trigkey green is an overall better option. not that im lookign for this to do much. im just wanting a separate pc for basic internet browsing and youtube stuff like that. no gaming.
Thanks. Exactly the info I was looking for. I just ordered one on Amazon for $149. My PC is on 24/7 because it is also my only source of TV and video. I decided I don't need a Ryzen 7/3080 running all the time when 99% of the time, I'm just watching RUclips. Let's save it for gaming and editing. This mini will save a lot of wear and tear and electric use. I already have an auto switch box so the change between gaming rig and media viewer should be seamless. Same mouse and keyboard. Same monitors. Same speakers. There's even a HDD dock on the switch box with 8TB of storage the mini can share but I don't think that will be needed. Will be handy for downloaded media I guess. Will be accessible to whichever machine is running. Anywho, thanks again. Seems like this mini will do the job. I'll know for sure tomorrow ;)
Wow, at 105C that is a cooker. My sample only got up to 77C. Maybe I won the silicon lottery on that one. I run Cinebench R23 so I can't directly compare to yours. Good review though, thanks for sharing parts on gaming I don't cover.
Nice review Rob. I was pleased when you started opening the bottom and it seemed so easy to do with none of those stupid rubber feet to pull off, and then.... There they were! It's like one of those horror movies when you think you've escaped The Evil Creature (of whatever ilk) and are almost safely home, and then, There it is! Actually, my favorite part is that pathetic cooler, along with enough paste on the CPU to handle at least 3 systems. For those interested, in the US (on Jan 12th), Amazon has it for $250 (for the 8GB RAM) with a $50 discount for Prime, while the 16GB/256GB is $400. That's almost funny given that for $400 you can still get a pretty decent Beelink. SER5 Ryzen 5th gen, which Rob reviewed last year.
I just got one for $149 on Amazon. Seems like a no brainer for that price. It's just for video viewing. I have used my gaming rig for years and only recently started thinking about the unnecessary power consumption and wear and tear on a $2000 PC. It runs 24/7 now. I'm using a KVM switch so all the peripherals at my desk will just work with whatever PC is powered on or manually switch between if both are on for some reason. I looked at the Ryzen minis but decided to go with the $149 option to test the waters. If it's as handy as I hope, I'll get a Ryzen mini and give this one to my 9 year old Grandpunk for her RUclips "bideos". lol
Got mine today. Already took it back to UPS for return. It was just awful for watching video or running Chrome. Even Microsoft Edge struggled. The video and sound were never in sync and it buffered all the time. It wanted to play video at 480p on a wired 1Gb fiber connection. I know it takes time for a PC to settle in and train memory but I could tell it was never going to be good. Then, it wasn't powerful enough to even reset itself. I had to manually delete anything associated with me. I hated to return it without being able to wipe it but I was stuck. I had to return it. Conclusion... It's terrible.
@@Robtech Your info is valid. I didn't mean to say I blame you for anything. It's probably good enough for most people in the market. I still appreciate your video. I even used another of your videos to order the replacement. The AMD SER5 with the Ryzen 5 CPU. I got it for $320 and I expect it to be more like what I want. Thanks again.
Thanks for review. I'm planning to install Centos 7 and a PBX system on it. I will use it in a small office. I mean system load will not be heavy. But I doubt about temperature after your review. I will locate it in a cabinet that inside temperature around 30 Celcius (86 Fahrenheit). What do you think? Thanks in advance.
Hi I have just purchased this unit and very pleased with the performance however I would like to boot from USB, I have been into the BIOS and things have changed a lot (it has been years since I have been there) and the option to enable USB and put it first in the boot list is not there could you possible send me instructions or point me to where I could find them to setup up boot from USB, Many thanks David
Sorry, I don't have this mini anymore. The USB should show up in the boot tab of the BIOS. An easy way to boot off the USB from Windows is to click the Window icon > Click Power > Hold Shift key while clicking Restart > Use a device and then select the USB drive. If it's not showing up in the BIOS or Windows, it might not be properly bootable and needs to be remade. Rufus is one of the best for making bootable drives.
So, I’m pretty much a tech idiot, when it comes to gaming stuff. I heard him mention Dolphin, Dreamcast and Wii, but I’m curious, can this run a PS2 emulator? I have a computer that I use for retro emulators, but I guess the graphics card is just too weak, because I can load a game, and it will play, but the display is messed up, so I’m looking for something, as affordable as possible, to run a PS2 and GameCube emulator
It is Direct Die, it uses thermal Paste. The worst one I know. Came from 83°C in R23 and 61°C IDLE, Repasted with MX4 now I'm on 68°C in R23 and 38°C IDLE. What's wrong with all the OEMs using the cheapest but most bad thermal paste available?.. @Robtech I think your 103°C would be much lower if you Repaste. If you havn't returned your Unit
thank you for that indepth review, I'm from Europe so this device has different branding around here. I was looking at a model with the same chassis and an Intel Celeron N5105. The thermal solution was the final nail in the coffin. Do you happen to know if the ram was running in dual or single channel?
Can you tell me what hard drive this mini PC has? For some reason, I bought this PC a year ago and now I cannot get any picture on my screens anymore. I would be happy if I could at least removed the hard drive and get access to my data again.
Too bad for the cooling because otherwise it looks like a nice, cheap and silent, machine for basic operations for non-enthusiasts. (This is the kind of machines I'm buying for people who have very few IT needs. Upgrability is irrelevant to them. Power consumption, space and noise are more important.
I love the "no-BS reviews", cheers!
I bought exactly the same version of the mini PC with the intention of watching movies (torrents), I am very satisfied, I connected
External hard disk I am very satisfied
$200
Very quiet Windows 11 Pro
Thanks for the review
That detachable bottom is a fun idea. Maybe a stackable fan module would have been more useful given the temps.
I ordered one and have a perfect blower for just such a mod. Thanks for the idea.
im glad i watched this. i was about to buy this one but its looking like the trigkey green is an overall better option. not that im lookign for this to do much. im just wanting a separate pc for basic internet browsing and youtube stuff like that. no gaming.
My current top 5 here ruclips.net/video/3hJ0nhGdOkQ/видео.html
Thanks. Exactly the info I was looking for. I just ordered one on Amazon for $149. My PC is on 24/7 because it is also my only source of TV and video. I decided I don't need a Ryzen 7/3080 running all the time when 99% of the time, I'm just watching RUclips. Let's save it for gaming and editing. This mini will save a lot of wear and tear and electric use. I already have an auto switch box so the change between gaming rig and media viewer should be seamless. Same mouse and keyboard. Same monitors. Same speakers. There's even a HDD dock on the switch box with 8TB of storage the mini can share but I don't think that will be needed. Will be handy for downloaded media I guess. Will be accessible to whichever machine is running. Anywho, thanks again. Seems like this mini will do the job. I'll know for sure tomorrow ;)
Excellent review!
very good thorough review thanks, gave me good insight on this machine good luck
Wow, at 105C that is a cooker. My sample only got up to 77C. Maybe I won the silicon lottery on that one. I run Cinebench R23 so I can't directly compare to yours. Good review though, thanks for sharing parts on gaming I don't cover.
I have the ace magician with i5 1135g7 but here the heat go on the back with the same system cooling, very good performance with it ! 😄
Nice reviews thanks.
Nice review Rob. I was pleased when you started opening the bottom and it seemed so easy to do with none of those stupid rubber feet to pull off, and then.... There they were! It's like one of those horror movies when you think you've escaped The Evil Creature (of whatever ilk) and are almost safely home, and then, There it is! Actually, my favorite part is that pathetic cooler, along with enough paste on the CPU to handle at least 3 systems. For those interested, in the US (on Jan 12th), Amazon has it for $250 (for the 8GB RAM) with a $50 discount for Prime, while the 16GB/256GB is $400. That's almost funny given that for $400 you can still get a pretty decent Beelink. SER5 Ryzen 5th gen, which Rob reviewed last year.
Looks like the introductory price has been removed. Oh well.
I just got one for $149 on Amazon. Seems like a no brainer for that price. It's just for video viewing. I have used my gaming rig for years and only recently started thinking about the unnecessary power consumption and wear and tear on a $2000 PC. It runs 24/7 now. I'm using a KVM switch so all the peripherals at my desk will just work with whatever PC is powered on or manually switch between if both are on for some reason. I looked at the Ryzen minis but decided to go with the $149 option to test the waters. If it's as handy as I hope, I'll get a Ryzen mini and give this one to my 9 year old Grandpunk for her RUclips "bideos". lol
Got mine today. Already took it back to UPS for return. It was just awful for watching video or running Chrome. Even Microsoft Edge struggled. The video and sound were never in sync and it buffered all the time. It wanted to play video at 480p on a wired 1Gb fiber connection. I know it takes time for a PC to settle in and train memory but I could tell it was never going to be good. Then, it wasn't powerful enough to even reset itself. I had to manually delete anything associated with me. I hated to return it without being able to wipe it but I was stuck. I had to return it.
Conclusion... It's terrible.
There was no recommendation here. Plenty of better units for the price. Wouldn't get it based on the cooling solution alone.
@@Robtech Your info is valid. I didn't mean to say I blame you for anything. It's probably good enough for most people in the market. I still appreciate your video. I even used another of your videos to order the replacement. The AMD SER5 with the Ryzen 5 CPU. I got it for $320 and I expect it to be more like what I want. Thanks again.
No worries. I saw you posted you had already bought this one so it was too late to offer an alternative. SER5 is good
what is that game you were playing around 5:08? It would be really helpful if you put the game titles on screen
Hades
My old laptop just died. Im looking to get something small like this as a replacement.
ruclips.net/video/hhym_WsQO2w/видео.html
Thanks for review. I'm planning to install Centos 7 and a PBX system on it. I will use it in a small office. I mean system load will not be heavy. But I doubt about temperature after your review. I will locate it in a cabinet that inside temperature around 30 Celcius (86 Fahrenheit). What do you think? Thanks in advance.
ruclips.net/video/3hJ0nhGdOkQ/видео.html
@@Robtech Thanks.
They sell mini itx boards of these chips too for 100 euro, much better deal if you already own a small itx case, plus you get dual channel memory.
Forgot to mention, but the soldered memory is running in dual channel mode on this mini for once (so the 3DMark score holds up).
I just got this for Christmas it looks like it runs well!
Hi I have just purchased this unit and very pleased with the performance however I would like to boot from USB, I have been into the BIOS and things have changed a lot (it has been years since I have been there) and the option to enable USB and put it first in the boot list is not there could you possible send me instructions or point me to where I could find them to setup up boot from USB, Many thanks David
Sorry, I don't have this mini anymore. The USB should show up in the boot tab of the BIOS. An easy way to boot off the USB from Windows is to click the Window icon > Click Power > Hold Shift key while clicking Restart > Use a device and then select the USB drive. If it's not showing up in the BIOS or Windows, it might not be properly bootable and needs to be remade. Rufus is one of the best for making bootable drives.
So, I’m pretty much a tech idiot, when it comes to gaming stuff. I heard him mention Dolphin, Dreamcast and Wii, but I’m curious, can this run a PS2 emulator? I have a computer that I use for retro emulators, but I guess the graphics card is just too weak, because I can load a game, and it will play, but the display is messed up, so I’m looking for something, as affordable as possible, to run a PS2 and GameCube emulator
ruclips.net/video/3hJ0nhGdOkQ/видео.html
if the Heatsink is Removed, is there a Direct DIE or a chip with an IHS? Do you know? i cant find any information on this.
It is Direct Die, it uses thermal Paste. The worst one I know.
Came from 83°C in R23 and 61°C IDLE,
Repasted with MX4 now I'm on 68°C in R23 and 38°C IDLE.
What's wrong with all the OEMs using the cheapest but most bad thermal paste available?..
@Robtech I think your 103°C would be much lower if you Repaste. If you havn't returned your Unit
thank you for that indepth review, I'm from Europe so this device has different branding around here. I was looking at a model with the same chassis and an Intel Celeron N5105. The thermal solution was the final nail in the coffin.
Do you happen to know if the ram was running in dual or single channel?
It was dual, but plenty of other better options around. Including the next unit I'll be reviewing, which is miles ahead.
@@Robtech Looking forward to that review, I just subbed your channel! :) Would the next unit be in the same ballpark price wise?
Around $200USD for the N5105 8GB/256GB, plus they gave me some coupons for my viewers which takes off $10.
Is this unit good for streaming video? Reviews always cover gaming but I'm not a gamer in the slightest.
My next video is top 5 budget mini PCs for 2023. They'll do the job.
@@Robtech Thanks heaps mate 👍🏼👍🏼
Can you tell me what hard drive this mini PC has? For some reason, I bought this PC a year ago and now I cannot get any picture on my screens anymore. I would be happy if I could at least removed the hard drive and get access to my data again.
M.2 2280 SATA SSD
These mini PCs are basically x86 CPU based SBCs.. like a raspberry pi..
How do you get the sound to work everything looks good with the software but i can't get any sound out to my headphones
Click the audio icon in the bottom right of the screen and choose headphones as the source. Probably set to HDMI at the moment
Good Video Rob. I have a black view of this unit after seeing that heatsink. Engineering team at xmas lunch…let the intern work it out.
Can I play MTG Arena on this PC? Excellent review!
Yes, but go for a mini with the newer Intel N100 for around the same price.
Too bad for the cooling because otherwise it looks like a nice, cheap and silent, machine for basic operations for non-enthusiasts. (This is the kind of machines I'm buying for people who have very few IT needs. Upgrability is irrelevant to them. Power consumption, space and noise are more important.
Yep, many people just needing something for web browsing and simple tasks would be well served with a budget mini pc
It won't let me put my password in help please
Can I play fivem on this?
I got as far as soldered on memory, and it's a big pass no matter how cheap it is.
This or the chuwi larkbox
ruclips.net/video/3hJ0nhGdOkQ/видео.html
Can it run gta
Too expensive for a non upgradable device, we can get used intel devices for the same price that are better.
What's the point of it?
its a pc, what do you mean lol.
:D@@budgetking2591
Can it run fortnite
No