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United States of America, Kansas City
1 Level
691 Review
45 Karma

Review on πŸ’» Idearace Intel i5 Fanless Mini PC with 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Intel HD Graphics 4400, 6xCOM RS232, 4xUSB 3.0, 2xNICs, 2xHD, Wi-Fi by Mike Dart

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Powerful for easy use with network or media center

The first thing I would like to say about this mini pc is that it is quite a small computer. You cannot install additional hardware such as B. a low-profile graphics card or another slightly more powerful computer processor. However, you can increase the amount of RAM and disk space if needed, but you need to make sure you get the right RAM and disk. As far as I can tell, it only has one slot for one RAM (8GB is standard). This works on older DDR3 RAM (a bit disappointing). The hard drive used looks like an mSata drive, not an M2 drive, which makes the upgrade a bit more difficult since msata isn't exactly new. Regardless, the system performs quite well for a mini PC. It has six serial ports, four USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports (why not all 3.0?), and two audio jacks. There are also two Wi-Fi antennas on the back that pop out and you'll need to make sure they don't bend or break as they're difficult to replace. It comes with 8GB of DDR3 RAM, which is upgradeable, but I'm not sure how much. It will be at least 16GB, but I don't have more than 16GB for a single flash drive to test this theory. There are only two HDMI ports for video output, so you can run a multi-screen build with this unit. I tried it and everything went fine. It could do your basic tasks and watch a 4K movie on another screen. There's no display port or DVI connector, which is a bit of a shame. At the same time, you get decent video quality through the HDMI port. When I opened it I saw that it has no fan and doesn't get very hot. It gets quite warm even when I squeeze the computer. I thought it was a pretty decent design. It's an all-metal construction, so heat can be well distributed throughout the computer. You cannot install a 3.5 or 2.5 drive in it because this device has no power or data connectors. While you can use this computer as a media center, it works best with networks and servers since you can connect your network devices through the serial ports on the back. You can easily access this device remotely whenever you need it. There are no internal built-in speakers, so if you're using it as a desktop I'd recommend getting a monitor with built-in speakers to keep clutter to a minimum. The device feels a bit sluggish with the drive it's running on. There is built-in Wi-Fi at 2.4 or 5 GHz. I'd say it has enough USB to support a mouse, keyboard, and a few other things (probably a printer or webcam). If you want more, you need an adapter. The mini PC is not too heavy because it is passively cooled. Can it run games? It can run basic games like Minecraft, but it's not exactly designed for heavy gaming. I tried your base games and they got really hot on PC but not too dangerous. I also played some videos from my TV there and everything worked fine. It comes with Windows 10 already installed, so you don't need to buy your own copy. It has malware installed that is really slowing down startup and I needed to get rid of it. Overall I think it's a good size for a mini PC, but I feel like it slows down performance because it doesn't want to overheat the system. I also believe it should have all USB 3.0 ports for now. If you are looking for a really quiet PC for everyday use, then this is the one for you. However, note that it runs on an old technology and you cannot make major upgrades to it.

Pros
  • Two year guarantee. Lifetime Customer Service Guarantee.
Cons
  • Not sure