Today, the selection includes 3 models of mini-computers or they can also be called TV set-top boxes. The first participant - BEELINK BT3 is a mini-computer based on Intel Cherry Trail X5-Z8300, which runs under Windows control 10 64bit. Among the features of this device, it is worth noting a 64GB (probably 64GB NAND flash or SSD) drive, divided into two parts of 40 and 20 GB, as well as two USB 2.0 interfaces and one USB 3.0 port.
OS: Windows 10 64Bit
CPU: Intel Cherry Trail X5-Z8300 Quad Core
Graphic arts: 8th generation Intel® HD Graphics
Memory: 2GB RAM (DDR3L-1333) + 64GB ROM + SD slot
WLAN: 802.11b/g/n WiFi(2.4G/5G)
Bluetooth: BT 4.0
LAN: Gigabit LAN
Screen: HDMI output 1080p
External interfaces: 1x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0
Memory card support: 1 SD slot max 128 GB
Sound: 3.5 mm jack
Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 24 mm
Weight: 450 g
Equipment: TV box (mini PC), power supply, instructions.
Mini PC Beelink Intel BT3 It has small dimensions - 12 x 12 x 2.4 cm, and has 2 GB of RAM. The two sections I wrote about above are divided into system disk Windows (C:) and local disk(D:). Inner memory can be expanded using an additional SD slot that supports cards up to 128 GB. The mini-PC has the following network and wireless interfaces: Gigabit Ethernet, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0.
Mini-computer Beelink Intel BT3
1 of 2
Order
You can order the BEELINK BT3 mini-computer at a special price of $129 in the GearBest online store using a promo code GBBT3.
Voyo offers a V3 mini-computer (nettop) with a 14nm Cherry Trail generation Atom x7-Z8700 processor with a base clock speed of 1.6 GHz and a turbo speed of up to 2.4 GHz. It is especially noteworthy that the body of the gadget is made of glass and metal. It is impossible not to notice that the device is very productive, with 8th generation Intel graphics and a 2-channel memory controller on board - LPDDR3. The nettop runs on the 64-bit Windows 10 operating system.
Voyo V3 mini computer
1 of 3
Voyo V3 is equipped with 4 gigabytes of RAM and an internal flash drive of 128 GB. Plus, you can additionally get a similar volume thanks to the ability to use microSD. In the nettop's arsenal you will find a wireless WLAN adapter 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, as well as two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 connector, a new symmetrical USB Type-C port and an HDMI interface. Voyo V3 has modest dimensions - 130 × 130 × 9.9 mm, and low weight - about 200 g.
Order
You can order the VOYO V3 mini-computer at a special price of $209.99 in the GearBest online store using the promo code GBV3.
Meegopad T03 PRO is a logical continuation of the previous version of the mini-PC – MeeGoPad T02. The device is a media player with an HDMI interface that is inserted directly into the HDMI input of a TV or monitor.
Unlike the previous model, Meegopad T03 PRO is equipped with a new Intel Cherry Trail X5-Z8300 Quad Core processor, and also has a USB 3.0 connector. This device has active cooling, since the previous model had problems with overheating.
Mini computer Meegopad T03
1 of 3
Small computers are not yet very popular, but I am sure that many users will appreciate them. Personally, I had previously looked at small computers, but at that time there was no mini Windows computer on sale that could replace a desktop computer.
Of course, there are laptops that are compact and versatile, and they can replace the system unit. But for me in inexpensive laptops there are 2 serious disadvantages:
- Laptops have a small screen diagonal and low resolution. The quality of the display is very low; if you deviate from a right angle, the image fades.
- Inexpensive laptops do not have SSDs, and this is a serious disadvantage for performance.
Of course, a laptop is not replaceable when traveling, and I have a laptop that I take with me, but when it comes to using it at home, for me personally, a monitor with a large diagonal, high resolution and an IPS matrix is better. These are the reasons why I chose a mini PC.
Let's talk about everything in order, today we are talking about a silent small computer that can replace the system unit:
The mini computer comes in a small box,
Package Included:
1 - the computer itself
2 - power supply
3 - 220V cable
4 - two Wi-Fi antennas, mounting screws. Separately, from the same seller I bought a VESA mount for the monitor.
5 - mounting screws
6 — VESA mount (not included, must be ordered separately)
Dimensions
As you have already noticed, the dimensions of the computer are very compact 14 x 11 x 3.5 cm, the dimensions are comparable to the dimensions of 3.5″ hard drive for desktop computer:
Specifications
In general, you can buy this small computer in different configurations, I will provide links to them below. In the meantime, we will talk about this specific instance.
External connectors
All connectors are located on two opposite ends.
On the one side
- power button
- power supply connector
- 1 USB 3.0 port
- 4 USB 2.0 ports
From the other side
- 2 antenna connectors
- 3.5″ audio output
- 3.5″ microphone jack
- RJ-45 network adapter
- HDMI output
- VGA output
What is inside
If we look inside the mini computer, we will see that everything inside is compact. Here you can see 1 SO-DIMM slot with a memory module, an mSATA connector with an inserted SSD drive, a Mini PCIE connector into which a Wi-Fi module is inserted.
There is also a SATA connector for connecting a hard drive, and a non-standard power connector for the hard drive. I didn't try to connect an additional drive because there was no power cable. And to be honest, I doubt that it can fit in this case, at least there are no fastenings for it.
Cooling
The cooling system here is passive, that is, in this computer there are no fans, and the ribbed body of a small computer is responsible for heat dissipation. Given the stated requirements for processor heat dissipation - TDP 7.5W, the case copes with heat dissipation quite well. As for overheating, so far I have not encountered it; the computer has not frozen or turned off in 2 months.
Temperature measurements were made using the sensor built into the processor during all tests, this is approximately 80 minutes. As can be seen from the measurements:
- minimum temperature was 40°C
- Maximum temperature was 50°C
Wherein margin to critical temperature was 50°C from the maximum.
The absence of a fan and a classic hard drive means a complete absence of noise, for me this is a big plus.
operating system
The computer came with English Windows 7 pre-installed, the copy was not licensed. I immediately installed Windows 8.1 x64 drivers, everything was installed, the only thing I did was update them.
Linux systems work on this baby, the Ubuntu Live CD started without problems. I think all other distributions will work just as well.
The computer's specifications state that it supports the good old Windows XP, but I did not install this system, so I cannot say exactly how correctly it works, and how things are with the drivers.
Performance
I'll tell you right away Gamers - this computer is not for you! As I already wrote about the graphics here, Intel HD Graphics, built into the processor, unfortunately it won’t run modern games. But for some games it is quite enough.
If you choose a computer that would take up little space for surfing the Internet, for working in office applications, for watching videos and listening to music, for working in Photoshop and other graphic editors - then you can rest assured that this baby will easily cope with everything these tasks!
Performance test
To measure performance, we used the PerfomanceTest 8 test, you can download it on this page of the website www.passmark.com, in this test:
- Overall score computer 680.4-709.0
- CPU showed a result 30% lower than Core2Duo E8400
- Graphic arts, as expected, weak, about 2 times slower than the Radeon 6450
- According to memory test lag behind DDR2 - 16%, from DDR3 - more than 37%
- Disk showed results 2.5 times faster than conventional drives and 38% slower than other SSD drives
Detailed test results:
2D graphics:
3D graphics:
CPU:
Memory:
Disk:
Final result:
We bring to your attention - A brief overview of five mini-computers running Windows 10: Beelink BT7, Mini PC I5, Vensmile i8, Pipo X1S and Nexbox T10, two of which can fit in your pocket. As a bonus, there are coupons from the GearBest online store that give a good discount on the purchase of these gadgets.
Beelink BT7
The low power consumption of the Intel Cherry Trail platform has made it possible to create mini-PCs with a low body height while maintaining fairly efficient cooling. The mini-PC received a 4-core Atom Z8700 X7 processor with a frequency of 1.6-2.4 GHz, 4 GB of RAM, flash memory capacity of 64 GB or 128 GB, 320 GB SSD, depending on the model. This device runs on Windows 10 OS. Cooling in Beelink BT7 is entrusted to a flat radiator with thermal pads and a fan with a rotation speed of 4500-5000 rpm.
As for other characteristics, the mini-PCs include a dual-band Wi-Fi adapter, 1 Gigabit Ethernet port, an SD memory card slot (up to 128 GB), three USB 3.0 ports and Bluetooth 4.0. The Beelink BT7 aluminum case has dimensions of 119.5 x 119.5 x 22.5 mm, external power supply (12 V, 2 A).
Mini PC I5
From the name, you might think that the device has a Core i5 series processor on board. But in fact, the Mini PC I5 is equipped with a Bay Trail generation Atom Z3735F processor. This is a 4-core chip with a maximum clock frequency of 1.83 GHz, and has an Intel HD Graphics graphics chip on board. The mini PC also has 2 GB of RAM, DDR3L type. To store your data, 32 GB of flash memory is available, which can be expanded using a microSD card.
As for network capabilities, there are on board: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0, and an Ethernet connector for connecting a cable. There are also 2 USB 2.0 ports, 1 Micro-USB connector and HDMI.
Mini PC Vensmile i8
This small device has on board a 4-core Intel Z8300 1.8 GHz processor, 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory. This device runs on Windows 10 OS, has a Wi-Fi module that supports IEEE 802.11b/g/n standards, and Bluetooth 4.0. To connect various devices, there are 2 USB ports (one standard 3.0). The device's performance is enough even to play 4K video. Operating device running Windows system 10.
Pipo X1S
The new model Pipo X1S is based on the Intel Cherry platform. In particular, the Trail Z8300 processor is used, which has four computing cores with a nominal clock frequency of 1.84 GHz and an Intel HD Graphics graphics controller.
The miniPC is equipped with 2 GB of RAM and a flash module with a capacity of 32 GB, which can be supplemented with a microSD card. The Micro-USB port provides power supply, and the full-size USB 3.0 port can be used to connect any peripheral device, say, a keyboard or mouse. The mini-computer is equipped with Wi-Fi 802.11n and Bluetooth wireless adapters. Pipo X1S runs on 32 bit operating system Windows 10
NEXBOX T10
NEXBOX T10 has a more familiar case design, and has quite good characteristics for its price. Like all 4 previous devices, the NEXBOX T10 TV set-top box runs on Windows 10 OS. The performance of the device is driven by a 4-core Intel Z8300 chip, 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory. Mini PC has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 modules for connecting various equipment and accessing the Internet. The set-top box supports decoding of the latest H.265 video codec, meaning the T10 can play 4K UHD video. The device has 3 USB 2.0 ports and 1 USB 3.0.
You have finally decided to become the owner of a Smart TV and transform your TV into a multimedia and entertainment center, and now you are faced with the task of which one to buy: with operating Android system or Windows.
Comparison of Android Smart TV and Windows mini pc
Let's make a comparison Android consoles and Windows. The characteristics of most are not inferior to mini PCs. But there are still minor differences in their work. Windows is a more cumbersome OS designed for office and gaming PCs, while the Android operating system is more mobile for smartphones and tablets. This option will be easier and more convenient. Thanks to Google Play You can download any application, and the system will install it. It will not be difficult to find any video, as well as wirelessly synchronize with a smartphone or tablet, watch TV online, and use other widgets. To watch the movie you will need to download it to a flash drive. It should be noted that smart TV gadgets based on Microsoft products are full-fledged computers, since the platform is not mobile, you can easily install your usual office programs, players, and games. The advantage for gamers is that sitting comfortably in a chair, armed with joysticks, you can enjoy your favorite game. Typically, a mini PC is equipped with processors and graphics accelerators, which will be a plus for this console.
Windows mini pc Z83
Just a few years ago, the favorite would have been a mini computer on the Windows platform, the interface of which was quite familiar. These days almost everyone has mobile device with Android, which makes this OS one of the most popular. If you want to have a fast mini pc, with which you can access the Internet from the TV, and then quickly switch to TV again, then your choice is a product with Android. And, if you like Windows applications and, in addition, you are an avid gamer, then do not hesitate and make a choice in favor of a mini pc. The characteristics of the devices reviewed are slightly similar. Both are equipped with four to eight core processors, 1-2 GB RAM, and a card reader with which you can read information from a phone’s memory card or video card, without the need to transfer it to a flash drive. Both representatives have small body sizes (in the form of a stick, box). Android ones run on Rockchip, Amlogic and Allwinner processors, for those with Dual OS and Windows - Intel. Most Smart TV devices are similar in appearance, may only differ in the presence of a built-in camera, antenna, audio output, network input, and remote control.
Android TV box X92
Advantages of Android TV:
- it will be appreciated by those who are used to using and downloading from Google Play; in addition, the applications are adapted for the big screen. Many of them are absolutely free to download; it is possible to install others besides Google Play;
- there is a large collection of games;
- Google Cast support – broadcasting content to TV with one touch;
- easy connection to TV via HDMI and settings home network. A USB port, network adapter, and built-in Wi-Fi are provided for data exchange;
- supports 4k and Blue-ray video format;
- low cost.
Advantages of Windows mini PC:
- programs are installed and uninstalled in the usual way, as on a computer;
- you can use office programs, music players, Google, Yandex maps, watch via IPTV without connecting to cable TV;
- access the Internet using any browser convenient for you;
- use online cinemas on the Internet by subscribing to the newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest cinema releases;
- some models connect an analog output “tulip” or like a monitor, but it is better to use HDMI;
- in set-top boxes with Windows 8.1, 10 (devices with Dual OS), two Android and Windows systems are installed simultaneously, and it can also be connected to any monitor
- can be used as an office PC for simple tasks.