Grungehead
Im updating my review (for the 2nd time) now that Ive had nearly 2 months of actual user time with this mini pc. Ive knocked it down to 3 stars because it simply does not handle 4k resolutions very well, and thats the main reason I bought it. It is simply under powered (memory, graphics card and processor) when it comes to streaming in 4K. When I change the settings from 4k to 1080p resolution it is very competent in all aspects. Luckily I can stream most of my content directly through the apps on my 4k TV but Im now wishing I would have "bitten the bullet" and upgraded to a more powerful desktop or laptop with a faster processor, more memory and a more powerful graphics card. If viewing 4k content is not your top priority then I think this mini pc will fit your needs nicely. Ive got a really nice Asus desktop that is still serving me well (i7 processor, Windows 7, 16GB DDR3, nVidia GT620 with 2GB dedicated, two 1TB internal HDDs, etc.), but its showing its age as the GT620 cant handle 4k resolutions. I dropped cable TV last year and stream everything and I just bought my first 4k TV. I realized I was going to have to shell out some more money to upgrade the graphics card or buy a new pc. I was looking at budget towers and laptops and the Beeline mini pcs came up and I was intrigued. The N41 seemed like a perfect solution as I can have it as a dedicated device for my new TV and also have a backup in case the old Asus finally kicks the bucket (its 7 years old). The N41 was delivered yesterday and setup was a breeze. Some have complained about the slow Windows update but it only took about 15 minutes from start to finish for me (I have a 200Mbps download connection for reference). After the updates Windows 10 is "only" taking up 21GB of space on the SSD so theres plenty of room and everything is running pretty quickly. I would have given this 5 stars but I took 1/2 star away for the "user manual" which was pretty useless and just showed the same diagrams that are in the description of this page. There was no mention of what the max capacity is for SD card expansion (found out its 128GB). I also took 1/2 star away for the smell. I do realize that its not that uncommon for a new device like this to give off a smell as it breaks in but its pretty strong. If it dissipates within a few days Ill come back and update and bump this up to 5 stars. Likewise if the strong smell persists I will update as well. Im sure some of it has to do with the size and the fact that it gets pretty warm, but I wont be too happy if it doesnt improve significantly as Im sitting 10 feet away from it for several hours a day. ***Edited to bump this up to 5 stars. Ive been using the N41 for 3 days now and the smell is no longer an issue. I can still smell it a little when Im pushing it hard but I think the smell was mostly just from "breaking in". So far I have an external 5TB HDD hooked up via USB (with its own external power supply) and wireless keyboard and mouse. Ive got a 128GB SD card and a HDMI 2.2 cable coming as all of my current HDMI cables are ancient. I havent had time to watch much 4K content yet, but I did watch a couple of short 4K YouTube videos to test it out and it did a great job with them. I still think they need to up improve their user manual to give more tech specs and upgrade capabilities, but that is a very minor complaint and overall I am very pleased with how well this little box performs. I thought I was just going to use it for 4K streaming and as a backup to my Asus, but so far Im finding that it would work just fine as a home desktop replacement for my needs (not a hardcore gamer).
