Versatile and tiny. Great casual use PC for mom/dad, but not any heavy lifting
Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2020 7:27 am
Just going to throw this out there right off the bat: This machine is definitely not going to be winning any speed records. It's running an older Celeron processor and the eMMC is going to be a bit of a bottleneck (running an SSD in the main compartment might fix that). The Intel HD 500 graphics can technically do h265 HEVC (so it does 4K) but from research I was doing, it allegedly might not handle Netflix 4K content due to the older graphics. I have this hooked up to a 1080p display so I cannot speak to its 4K capabilities anyway. That said, it's half the price of a cheapo Dell Outlet PC and is great for casual use or for a library/school computer lab。
A few other nice things of note:
* It runs an actual system BIOS so I was able to configure it to auto boot after a power outage. Much nicer than having to Wake-On-LAN after finding out it's been offline for 5 hours.
* Install Intel Driver Support Assistant to keep your drivers up to date. Since Intel supplies the chipset, Wi-Fi, *and* Bluetooth, it's pretty handy.
One thing not covered in the (rather pointless, imo) instructions:
* The listing says the extra HDD would go in the bottom; it goes in the top. To pop the latch, hold the PC so you're looking at the back with the HDMI/etc ports. Remove the screw that prevents the latch switch from sliding all the way. *Then* the cover opens when you slide the latch.
Things I didn't like:
* The fan can be a bit loud under high load. While it's nothing compared to my i7, it's not silent. That's a definite con of active cooling, but it's not so loud to be distracting.
* I hate hate HATE wall-wart power adapters. It's small (1.5"x2.5"x1.5") but still far more of a pain in the butt than the C7 (figure 8) type. Much more difficult to fit into a tight power strip.
Specs:
Here's a full breakdown using the CPU-Z validator if you want to know everything: [URL had to be removed to pass Amazon's filters, but if you Google Search "cpu-z validator v73uq5" it's the first result and has the page title "Intel Celeron J3455 @ 2195.25 MHz - CPU-Z VALIDATOR"]
Otherwise, here are the basics:
* Ships with Win10 Pro 1809 (the Amazon product description incorrectly says Win10 Home)
* The SSD HDD is a Samsung CJNB4R which is decent; I was expecting a much crappier eMMC soldered on! Still not comparable to a proper SSD, but that's what the upgrade bay is for.
* Network: Realtek 100/1000 Ethernet and Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165. Bluetooth
* Intel HD 500 graphics (supports HEVC / h265 at the hardware level)
I'll update this in 6 months or so (if I remember) for those curious if it's still ticking in a 24/7 environment.
A few other nice things of note:
* It runs an actual system BIOS so I was able to configure it to auto boot after a power outage. Much nicer than having to Wake-On-LAN after finding out it's been offline for 5 hours.
* Install Intel Driver Support Assistant to keep your drivers up to date. Since Intel supplies the chipset, Wi-Fi, *and* Bluetooth, it's pretty handy.
One thing not covered in the (rather pointless, imo) instructions:
* The listing says the extra HDD would go in the bottom; it goes in the top. To pop the latch, hold the PC so you're looking at the back with the HDMI/etc ports. Remove the screw that prevents the latch switch from sliding all the way. *Then* the cover opens when you slide the latch.
Things I didn't like:
* The fan can be a bit loud under high load. While it's nothing compared to my i7, it's not silent. That's a definite con of active cooling, but it's not so loud to be distracting.
* I hate hate HATE wall-wart power adapters. It's small (1.5"x2.5"x1.5") but still far more of a pain in the butt than the C7 (figure 8) type. Much more difficult to fit into a tight power strip.
Specs:
Here's a full breakdown using the CPU-Z validator if you want to know everything: [URL had to be removed to pass Amazon's filters, but if you Google Search "cpu-z validator v73uq5" it's the first result and has the page title "Intel Celeron J3455 @ 2195.25 MHz - CPU-Z VALIDATOR"]
Otherwise, here are the basics:
* Ships with Win10 Pro 1809 (the Amazon product description incorrectly says Win10 Home)
* The SSD HDD is a Samsung CJNB4R which is decent; I was expecting a much crappier eMMC soldered on! Still not comparable to a proper SSD, but that's what the upgrade bay is for.
* Network: Realtek 100/1000 Ethernet and Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165. Bluetooth
* Intel HD 500 graphics (supports HEVC / h265 at the hardware level)
I'll update this in 6 months or so (if I remember) for those curious if it's still ticking in a 24/7 environment.