MINIX NEO Z83-4 Pro, Intel Cherry Trail Fanless Mini PC Windows 10 Pro (64-bit) [Intel X5-Z8350/4GB/32GB/Dual-Band Wi-Fi/Gigabit Ethernet/Dual Output/4K] (4G+32G with Windows Remote)

Comment

I must confess: I am biased against Microsoft Windows. I switched to Mac 10 years ago and never went back. And I love Chrome. But I had to replace my mac desktop. I tried the Apple Mac mini, 1.4GHz Intel Core i5 Dual Core, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, Mac OS, Silver, MGEM2LL/A (Newest Version) but it was a huge let down: it didn’t feel particularly snappy for a $500 investment. I briefly considered a chromebox (this ASUS CHROMEBOX-M004U Desktop is the top seller, and only $150), but I couldn’t get over the impossibility to run the very few desktop apps still not on ChromeOS. Then I stumbled upon this $200 PC. After reading the reviews, I decided to give it a try. I have now been using it for a week and I LOVE it. Other reviews give a lot of specifics already, so Ill focus on my perspective as a user: + It is “snappy enough”: I can do everything I want (web browsing and youtube, sometimes light image editing), without feeling that I have to wait for the computer to catch up. + The design is clean and simple + This computer doesn’t come with much “crapware” pre-installed. That was my biggest fear moving off of MacOS, but I was happily surprised. Microsoft asks you several times when you decide to break up with its recommended defaults, but after a few “are you sure?” pop ups, understands that “no means no”. + Most of my work is in a web browser, and I use Chrome, but at least this way I have the option to try Firefox or Microsoft Edge (competition is good). Here a few things to note: +/- 4GB RAM seems to be minimum to have a “snappy enough” Windows 10 experience. +/- Cortana is annoying, but you can disable her +/- The 32GB of Hard drive really is 16GB of “usable space”. Win10 is that storage-hungry. You can always add a ultra micro sd card to expand storage Why not a 5.0 rating? Windows can still be annoying sometimes, and it is not the snappiest (but for the price...). I’ll update this review as time passes, but for now, I highly recommend. This desktop is right for me, but is it right for you: the kind of user I am - I live in the cloud. I love Google services (and Amazon’s too!). I appreciate Apple’s “less is more” design principles and the superb quality and durability of their products, but I don’t like that it is often “their way or no way”. - I have been using a Chromebook as my primary laptop computer for about 4 years now. I currently use the Samsung Chromebook Plus Convertible Touch Laptop (XE513C24-K01US) - I am “cheap” (or to put it nicely: “savvy”). I don’t like to pay for the brand premium or the fanciness I don’t need. I am fine paying for quality or “fair trade / eco friendliness”, but I have found that “high quality on the basics” and “inexpensive” actually align. - Oh, and I know a thing or 2 about consumer electronics from a past job.

Show more

Comment

Huge issues. This computer will not take on Windows 10 updates because its storage capacity is only slightly above whats occupied by the operating system. I learned the hard way. Ive been trying and trying to force the latest update thru, and even talked to Microsoft about it. Now, Im facing the fact that I bought the wrong computer. (Z83-4 Pro), which offered just 32GB of internal storage, not enough to house the OS and deal with Windows updates, too. So, now my computer sits without updates. As a writer, I use my computer all the time. Im looking to Minix to solve the problem. Fast.

Show more

Comment

I bought this for my daughter when she started 6th grade. I love the fact that it has Windows 10 64 Pro, which made it easy to connect to my home network. I took this out of the box, hooked it up to an old screen, set up the wireless keyboard and mouse, connected it to the home network, downloaded an open source office suite, and voilà, she had a fully functioning desktop for school for under $250. As a business owner (law firm), I can really see the brilliance in this sort of device. The storage wouldnt be enough to run my office. However, it would work just fine as a workstation with network access to the main hard drive. For a small business, you could set up a high capacity desktop computer and then get a few of these, tied into the main hard drive on the network, and save yourself a bundle in computer costs over time. These beat laptops hands down because you can use screens and keyboards you already have lying around - very cheap. Mostly we are using computers for actual work - office software, etc... We are not playing games or watching videos. These are absolutely perfect for cash conscious computer users who use their computers for productivity. I have a feeling Im going to be buying more of these for the firm once our current suite of desktops starts needing to be replaced.

Show more

Comment

I purchased this for use within a rack-mount server center. It serves as my "test pc" for all the user functions of my network. I chose it for three reasons: 1. Its tiny -- i velcro-mounted it to the inside of the cabinet (power cord is tiny too -- ive seen others with big/cumbersome power blocks) 2. There are no moving parts -- less chance of failure 3. It had Windows 10 Pro installed (many others have Windows 10 Home, which doesnt work in a business setting with servers/etc)

Show more

Comment

OK, first to dispel the rumor that you can not upgrade this to the spring creators update (2018). Yes you can, you just have to do a bit more work to make it happen. The process is simple in that you download the microsoft media creator tool, and use that to create an iso image on a USB stick attached to the device. Then double click on the iso, and run the setup. This saves a ton of space on the download and removes the issue. You can then use the normal update procedure after that. Now on to the more interesting stuff. First, it sips power.... I hitched it up to a power meter and it draws around 1.5w at idle. Under about 50% CPU load, it draws around 2.5w. To put that in perspective that is less than a quarter watt under some reasonable load. I bought this for being a Blue Iris security software server for my off grid cabin, so this is perfect. Given that it also comes with Windows Pro, and I can RDP into it, this is amazing. Second, I am using it to run Blue Iris, and it has no problem with a couple of HD cameras doing motion detection, and running the built in web server interface. I am not going to say this thing is a powerhouse, or anything, but it adequately handles the task and runs on so little power, I couldnt ask for more. The auto power on feature is absolutely critical for me, and one of the reasons I chose this device. I am pairing it with a remote controlled relay, such that absolute worse case, while away from my cabin, I can power cycle the device from anywhere in the world and reboot it. My current server experienced a crash and I could not remotely recover it, so with this option I should be covered. I did not buy this for its media capabilities, but can say that it seems to be pretty darn snappy for what it is. Overall, I am impressed with the construction, capabilities, and overall suitability to task. Is this a desktop replacement? Well no, beyond a simple single task computer like a web browser or media player. This is due to the very limited storage, and why I gave it one star off. But this very limited storage is also why you get a windows pro license for almost nothing....

Show more

Comment

From the time I cut the tape on the box until I was doing "work" was less than 15 minutes. It comes with an HDMI cable and the mount to attach it to the back of your monitor. The speed is comparable to my Surface. I had backed up my old PC onto a 64Gb thumb drive and Ive left it in this new PC as another drive. The video is wonderful and the sound is good. Speaking of sound, its almost creepy how quiet my office is now without a noisy tower PC buzzing. If you already have a desktop setup (monitor, keyboard/mouse), this is a no-brainer if you are a typical home office user considering a PC upgrade.

Show more

Comment

When my dual-monitor laptop docking station failed, I went looking for a cheap dumb-terminal alternative. Enter the MiniX Neo Z83-4 Pro. 4K video, dual-monitor capable, solid-state drive, built-in WiFi, and Windows 10 Pro license, all for under $200? Too good to be true? Yes. :-( PROS: 1. Cheap. 2. Small. 3. Quiet. 4. Can run Linux (requires some hacking to get everything working, notably WiFi). 5. Dual-monitor capable. CONS: Everything else. The 4K claims that I read are total lies. I tried using the Z83-4 to remote desktop to other computers. Unfortunately, it couldnt handle my dual monitors, which are large (2560x1600 and 1200x1600) but combined are still smaller than 4K. It was so choppy that it was unusable. My previous 10-year-old laptop handled this fine. Next, I tried converting it to an HTPC for my 1080p TV, which is just a fraction of the Z83-4s supposed 4K capability. Using Emby, my 1080p content was choppy, and even some of my 720p was choppy. (I dont have 4K content.) The problem is its WiFi adapter, which apparently offloads functions to the CPU and bogs it down. Switching to a wired LAN connection and VLC produced much better results, but even that skipped on some videos. This supposedly 4K-capable device cannot deliver even 1080p. So next I tried installing Linux. This is when I discovered the only USB 3.0 port on the device doesnt work with most of my USB 3.0 thumbdrives. I had plug them into the slow USB 2.0 ports or use a powered USB 3.0 hub to get the Z83-4 to see my USB sticks. These are just thumbdrives, not high-power spindled hard disks. Maybe a bad port? Linux is officially unsupported and requires some hacking to get WiFi/Bluetooth and audio working. However, solutions are available in the MiniX community forums with threads dedicated to installing Linux. Eventually, I got Ubuntu 18.04 and later Kali Linux 2018.1 installed and fully functional. I was hoping the Linux performance would be better, but alas, Linux on the Z83-4 is as lackluster as Windows. So now Im back to Windows 10. Ill probably shove this in the back of some clients server closet to be a tiny admin PC with a low-res monitor so it can serve some purpose other than a paperweight. TL;DR $200 underpowered paperweight incapable of handing even 1080p video, and certainly not 4K.

Show more

Comment

An excellent mini-pc with high performance. It can easily drive a 4K monitor. We are using two of these for digital picture frames where we show network images and video clips in a continuous slide show. They are noiseless and are essentially invisible either behind the monitor (VESA) or right below it on a stand. There are multiple high quality video connections available and numerous USB ports. Slightly tricky to update to win 10 fall creators update (1709) to avoid running out of space during the install. Using an external USB flash drive took care of the problem.

Show more

Comment

I have to admit, I was skeptical at first. I mean what kind of a computer are you going to get for $199...really! Turns out you can get a great one! Ive graduated from "skeptic" to "Huge Fan" of the MINIX NEO Z 83-4 Pro. My order arrived on time, I had it out of the box, set it up with dual monitors, loaded up my software and was off and running in less than 15 minutes. SUPER Simple! SUPER Small, and SUPER Powerful. Ive been using it heavily for the past several days and I couldnt be happier. Im still blown away at how small this thing is. Its a desktop PC the size of a sandwich. Ive demod it to a couple of my friends and theyve already order them. Loving it!

Show more

Comment

I bought this PC to run as a kitchen touchscreen computer, serving as a kind of calendar, photo frame, and recipe browser. It does the job, but has been more trouble than I wanted to deal with. Pros: - booted up fine - detected touchscreen and auto-installed drivers - auto-power-on setting works great for my purpose - doesnt come with junk and bloatware Cons: - not enough space to run the full Windows feature upgrade. Had to download and re-install Windows and all the drivers from a flash drive. Was a bit tricky to find the drivers on their website and get them installed correctly. - I wanted to switch to using a microSD card as the boot device, but the drivers are flaky and the microSD wont stay mounted. Company claims it is not their problem in the support forums. - Im using a USB drive as external storage. About once a week the USB drive "disappears" (is unmounted) and I have to unplug and replug it. Seems to be a driver problem, because a reboot also recovers it. - Connecting to Wi-Fi using 5.8 GHz, the drivers frequently crash (they are specifically identified in the Windows Event Log) and a reboot is required before Wi-Fi works again. I had to create a 2.4GHz ssid and connect to that. At least that connection is stable. Summary: if you are willing to do quite a bit of manual tinkering, and live with the limitations, the PC does the job. If I have to replace it, I will be looking at other vendors first.

Show more