mini pc News - Page 79 of 138 - CNX Software

July 11, 2016July 11, 2016 by Karl Johnson - 11 Comments

Morefine M1+ Review – A Dual Boot Windows and Android TV Stick

Karl here and I will be reviewing the Morefine M1+. It is an Intel based stick PC with an Intel Atom x5-Z8300 processor with 2GB RAM and 64 GB of storage. It dual boots Windows 10 Home 32 bit and Android 5.1. In this review, I won’t be doing many benchmarks because they have been done a lot in the past. Be careful when researching this product because there are 2 devices with same name with different specs. The other one has an Intel Atom z3735 and only 32GB storage and Android 4.4. The box came expertly wrapped and I have never seen a package delivered and protected so well. In the box was the stick, short HDMI extension, power cable, and instruction manual. No micro USB OTG cable is included. I didn’t find this an issue because I had several already. Specs OS Version: OS Windows 10 (Trial Version) […]

July 8, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Star Cloud PCG03U Bay Trail Ubuntu mini PC with 2GB RAM, 64GB Storage Sells for $90

Last year, I reviewed MeLE PCG03 mini PC with Windows 8.1. and later upgraded it to Windows 10, but the company has now started to launch Ubuntu based TV sticks and mini PCs, under their new Star Cloud brand, with for example Star Cloud PCG02U TV stick, and now they’ve just launched Star Cloud PCG03U running Ubuntu 14.04 for $89.59 shipped on Aliexpress. Star Cloud PCG03U specifications: SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz / 1.83 GHz) with Intel HD graphics System Memory – 2 GB DDR3L Storage – 64 GB eMMC + SD card slot (up to 512 GB) Video Output – HDMI 1.4, and VGA Audio I/F – HDMI, 3.5mm earphone jack Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi up to 300 Mbps, and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 3x USB 2.0 host ports (The specs mention 1x USB 3.0 port, but it […]

July 4, 2016July 4, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 39 Comments

Have US Customs Declared War on TV Boxes (and mini PCs)?

Customs are useful to make sure illegal or dangerous goods don’t reach customers, and they also “protect jobs” or “special interests” by applying tariffs to imports. If you’ve ever purchased goods out of your country or economic zone, the experience can range from flawless (no duties), to annoying (paying some taxes), up to really frustrating and depressing, if customs decide to have a closer look to your imported item. Most the time I don’t have any problems, especially since I try to be careful to stay below the limit (~$30 here) sometimes splitting my orders, a few times I have to pay custom duties and VAT, and once I got a call from UPS telling me my $100 mini PC was kept by customs (not sure why), and that the total cost to it get was unknown, but it will be at least $150 for handling and taxes, and sending […]

July 4, 2016July 4, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Compulab Fitlet-RM is a Rugged Wide Temperature Fanless mini PC based on AMD A10 Micro-6700T Processor

Among the many Intel Cherry Trail and Braswell mini PCs, it’s nice to see an alternative with AMD processor, and after their Fitlet-H and Fitlet-iA10 mini PCs powered by AMD A10 Micro-6700T quad core processor, Compulab is back with two rugged models based on the processor, and supporting a wide temperature range, with namely Fitlet-RM-iA10 and Fitlet-RM-XA10 LAN mini PCs. Fitlet-RM specifications: SoC – AMD A10 Micro-6700T 64 bit quad-core processor up to 2.2 GHz with AMD Radeon R6 Graphics (4.5 W TDP) System Memory – Up to 8 GB DDR3-1333 (1x SODIMM) Storage – mSATA up to 1 TB (SATA 3.0 6 Gbps); micro SD/SDXC slot up to 25 MB/s Display – 2x HDMI 1.4a ports Audio – S/PDIF 7.1+2 channels in/out + stereo line-out/line-in/mic + HDMI audio Connectivity Fitlet-RM-XA10 LAN – 4x Gigabit Ethernet ports (Intel I211), 802.11 b/g/n WiFi Fitlet-RM-iA10 – 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports, 802.11 b/g/n/ac […]

July 2, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 40 Comments

Review of Vorke V1 mini PC Powered by Intel Celeron J3160 Processor

After checking out Vorke V1 mini PC hardware in the first part of the review, it’s now time to publish the review starting with system information, benchmarks, and user testing. The device competes with similarly priced devices based on Intel Atom x7 processor such as Voyo V3 and Beelink BT7, so I’ll also include some comparisons to those in the review. Setup and System Information I connected USB keyboard and mouse, an Ethernet cable, HDMI and VGA cables to check dual display support, as well as the power supply. I did not connect my USB 3.0 hard drive since, I’ve already fitted the mini PC with an internal 1TB hard drive. Pressing on the large power button on the top of the device will boot it, and after a few seconds, you’ll get to go through Windows 10 setup by first accepting the EULA. The next steps are Custom or […]

July 1, 2016July 2, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Stress Testing Windows mini PCs with OCCT Overclock Checking Tool

I’m mostly a Linux user, but the marketplace has chosen Windows 10 as its preferred operating systems for mini PCs, so I’ve been reviewing fanless (or not) mini PCs running Windows 10 for around two years since Intel decided to provide low cost and low power processors. I normally run some benchmarks such as PCMark 8 or 3DMark, as well as typical user tasks, while monitoring CPU temperature and throttling using HWInfo64 utility, but those benchmarks are not really pushing the device to its limits. However, I’ve just learned out about OCCT “Overclock Checking Tool” that’s just doing that, and installed OCCT 4.4.2 on Vorke V1 to check it out. The tool has four taps: CPU: OCCT, CPU: Linpack, GPU: 3D, and Power Supply to stress test different part of the system. I just let it run for over 3 hours after pressing the ON buttons, and you can see […]

June 30, 2016May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 26 Comments

Open Source, Modular and Upgradeable EOMA68 CPU Card, Laptop and Micro Desktop Launched (Crowdfunding)

Rhombus Tech has been working on EOMA68 standard for CPU modules based on PCMCIA at least since 2012, and after previous difficulties, they showcased a laptop prototype taking OEMA68 CPU cards at the beginning of the year, and they’ve now launched a CrowdSupply campaign selling an EOMA68 CPU card based on Allwinner A20 processor, as well as corresponding laptop and micro desktop housings that are both open source, and upgradeable with faster EOMA68 CPU card once/if they become available. Current EOMA68 CPU card specifications: SoC – Allwinner A20 dual core ARM Cortex A7 processor @ 1.2 GHz with Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 8GB NAND flash + micro SD slot Video Output – micro HDMI Interface (for 2nd monitor) USB – micro USB OTG port Compliant with EOMA68 standard Two versions of the CPU card are offered with different pre-installed firmware: “Libre Tea Computer Card” […]

June 29, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Diginnos Docking Station Adds USB Ports and Ethernet to HDMI TV Sticks

Android, Windows, and/or Linux based HDMI TV sticks are great, except they usually come with few USB ports, and lack wired connectivity. A couple of years ago, Measy created a dock adding USB ports and an SD card slot with their Measy U2C Android TV box mostly to allow user to used the built-in camera, but a Japanese company has now released another docking station for TV sticks adding USB ports and Ethernet. Diginnos DG-STKLC docking station specifications: Video output – HDMI Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet port (RJ45) USB – 3x USB 2.0 ports, 1x micro USB port for power Misc – Integrated cables to connect to TV stick micro’s USB power port, USB host port, and HDMI Power Supply – 5V via micro USB port Dimensions – 128 x 60 x 57 mm Weight – 157grams The docking station has been designed to work with Diginnos own TV sticks, but […]