Review of GOLE 10 Mini PC with 10.1″ Touchscreen Display – Part 2: Windows 10 Pro

Depending on your point of view, GOLE 10 is a mini PC with a touchscreen display, or a really thick tablet with an inclined display.  I’ve already received a sample, and had a look at the hardware in the first part of the review, so in the second I tested the performance and stability, and thought about and test some use cases for this type of products. GOLE 10 (aka F6) Setup and System Info There are various way to use the mini PC, either as a standalone screen without any peripheral connected using the touchscreen, or as a mini PC with USB keyboard and mouse and potential other accessories, or in a dual display setup with the device connected to an HDMI TV or monitor. I decided to connect it to my “test” TV, add a USB 3.0 drive, USB keyboard and mouse, Ethernet cable, and of course the […]

GPD WIN 2 is a Handheld Game Console Powered by an Intel Core m3-7Y30 Processor (Crowdfunding)

GPD Win was a Windows 10 portable game console powered by an Intel Cherry Trail processor launched in Indiegogo in early 2016, that managed to raise over $700,000 from nearly 2,300 backers. The company has been teasing an update for a while now, powered by an Intel Core m3-7Y30 processor with 8GB RAM, a 128GB M.2 SSD, and has just launched it on Indiegogo where it has raised close to $600,000 from almost 1,000 backers in the first few hours. GPD WIN 2 external design has gone through some tweaks, but it’s mostly the same as the first model except it’s larger with a 6″ instead of 5.5″ and some buttons have been moved around, but the real differences can be found under the hood: SoC – Intel Core m3-7Y30 dual core quad thread Kaby Lake processor @ 1.00/2.60 GHz (burst frequency) with 24EU Intel HD graphics 615 @ up […]

ECS LIVA Z2, LIVA Q2 & LIVA One SoC Gemini Lake Mini PCs Introduced at CES 2018

ECS (Elitegroup Computer Systems) was another company introducing their Gemini Lake mini PC at CES 2018, or as they call them “ultra-compact form-factor” (UCFF)  PCs. They had three models with two upgrade from Apollo Lake systems: LIVA Z2 & LIVA Q2, and another system called “LIVA One SoC” which instead offers an entry-level version of their barebone LIVA One mini PC based on Core i3/i5/i7 processors. ECS LIVA Z2 LIVA Z2 specifications: SoC – Intel Gemini Lake processor System Memory – 2x DDR4 SO-DIMM slots Storage – 32 or 64GB eMMC flash, 1x 2.5″ SSD/HDD bay Video Output – HDMI 2.0 and HDMI 1.4 ports (dual HDMI) Audio Output – Via HDMI, 3.5mm audio jack, digital microphone Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2 USB – 3x USB 3.0 ports, 2x USB 2.0 ports, 1x USB 3.0 type C port Misc – Power button, Kensington lock Power Supply – 19V/3.42A […]

MeLE PCG63-APL4 Fanless Gemini Lake Mini PC To Launch in Q2 2018

Gemini Lake mini PCs are being announced at CES 2018, and we can expect them to sell in Q2 2018 for a price similar to Apollo Lake models all other features being equal. We’ve already seen ZOTAC ZBOX PI226 & PI336, ASUS unveiled their PN40 mini PC with few details, and of course Intel’s own GLK NUCs should be brought to market soon enough. MeLE has made some decent Apollo Lake mini PCs in the past year with their PCG35 Apo and PCG03 Apo models, so it’s no surprise the company is now showcasing their upcoming PCG63-APL4 based on Gemini Lake processors at CES 2018.MeLE PCG63-APL4 specifications: SoC (one or the other) Intel Celeron J4005 dual core Gemini Lake processor up to 2.0/2.7 GHz with 12EU Intel UHD Graphics 600 @ up to 700 MHz; 10W TDP Intel Celeron J4105 quad core Gemini Lake processor up to 1.5/2.5 GHz with […]

Lenovo Miix 630 2-in-1 Detachable Runs Windows 10 S on Qualcomm Snapdragon 835

Lenovo Miix 630 is joining other Qualcomm 835 powered always-on always connected Windows 10 PCs such as HP Envy x2 2017, and ASUS Novago TP370. Like its peers, the 2-in-1 laptop supports both WiFi and LTE connectivity, and promises ultra-long battery life for example up to 20 hours of local video playback. The device also includes a digital pen with 1024 levels of sensitivity, and a backlit keyboard. Another similarity is a high price, as Miix 630 pricing with keyboard and  digital pen will start at $799.99 in Q2 2018. Lenovo Miix 630 preliminary specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor @ up to 2.6GHz with Adreno 540 GPU System memory – 4GB RAM Storage – 128GB UFS 2.0 storage Display – 12.3″ WUXGA (1920×1200) touchscreen display Audio – Speaker and microphone (support for Cortana) Backlit keyboard Connectivity – 4G LTE and WiFi Camera – Infrared camera compatible with Windows Hello […]

ZOTAC ZBOX PICO PI226 & PI336 Gemini Lake Mini PCs Unveiled with Celeron N4000/N4100 Processor

ZOTAC is now showcasing their first Gemini Lake based mini PCs at CES 2018 with ZBOX PICO PI226 & PI336 models powered respectively by an Intel Celeron N4000 dual core processor, and Intel Celeron N4100 quad core processor. ZBOX ZBOX PICO PI226 The model is similar to ZOTAC PI225 reviewed by Linuxium a few weeks ago, and the company had to disable turbo mode in PI225 in order to keep temperature under control. The company placed it in the VESA mount for the event, and at first I though it may help with cooling, but Linuxium (see comments) tried with PI225, and heat dissipation was not improved. ZOTAC PI226 specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N4000 dual core Gemini Lake processor up to 1.1/2.6 GHz with 12EU Intel UHD Graphics 600 @ up to 650 MHz; 6W TDP System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – 32GB eMMC flash, micro SD card […]

MINIX NEO N42C-4 Mini PC Review – Part 2: Windows 10 Pro

MINIX NEO N42C-4 is the first Apollo Lake mini PC from the company, which also happens to be their first one with a fan, using internal antennas for WiFi and Bluetooth, and offering user-upgradeable storage and memory thanks to M.2 and SO-DIMM slots. The device also features three video output via HDMI 2.0, mini DiplayPort, and USB Type C  ports supporting up to three independent display. I’ve received a sample and already checked the hardware, and showed how to install an M.2 SSD and SO-DIMM RAM to the device in the first part of the review entitled  MINIX NEO N42C-4 Triple Display Capable Mini PC Review – Part 1: Unboxing and Teardown, so I’ll report my experience with Windows 10 Pro in the second part of the review, and there should also be a third part specifically dealing with Linux support. MINIX NEO N42C-4 Setup, System Info, BIOS The device […]

Intel Apollo Lake Windows 10 Benchmarks Before and After Meltdown & Spectre Security Update

So this week, there’s been a fair amount of news about Meltdown & Spectre exploits, which affects all major processor vendors one way or another, but especially Intel, and whose mitigations require operating systems and in some case microcode updates that decrease performance for some specific tasks. Microsoft has now pushed an update for Windows 10, and since I’m reviewing MINIX NEO N42C-4 mini PC powered by an Intel Pentium N4200 “Apollo Lake” processor, and just happened to run benchmarks before the update, so I decided to run some of the benchmarks again to see if there was any significant difference before and after the security update. First I had to verify I had indeed received the update in the “installed update history”, and Windows 10 Pro was updated on January 5th with KB4056892, which is what we want, so let’s go ahead. Benchmarks before Update PCMark 10 is one […]

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