Review on 🖥️ Vnopn Fanless Mini PC AMD A6 1450 (up to 1.4GHz) - Windows 10 Pro License, 8GB DDR3/128GB SSD Industrial Small Computer with Dual Display, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth, Auto Power On, Wake On LAN by Ben Chase

I bought two such devices with a difference of about 2 weeks. The first device I bought was a 4GB/128GB model and the second was an 8GB/128GB model. Both models were one of the few configurations available through Revain Prime, so I didn't have to wait a month and pay nearly $30 for shipping. The first device I received was a 4GB/128GB model that is used outside of the office for storage for surveillance video from cameras and for remote backup of files from my main house. The second I use as a small utility PC when I need to do things like diagnosing, testing and cloning hard drives (I'm an IT consultant), and possibly as a backup Plex client. I'm going to add a couple of tiny 256GB miniature USB 3 drives to store the first device. I installed Ubuntu Server 64 18.04.2 LTS on both devices and everything works fine. He found drivers for the WLAN card, so that part also worked perfectly. Having read about devices getting hot, I tested both devices and couldn't get the internal temperature reported by the sensors to exceed 49C. The outer case felt warm, but not hot. When I had small sticks in the USB 3 slots during testing, they got hotter than the case, but not so hot that I couldn't touch them. I also tested the Wake-on-LAN feature and a BIOS setting that causes the device to turn itself on again after a power failure. Both functions worked correctly. The processors seem acceptable for the price of these devices and they have an AES instruction set to speed up encryption and decryption. I use Veracrypt to encrypt my remote backups and in my testing it worked well and didn't tax the CPU to the point where they couldn't handle about 100Mbps of incoming data to encrypt, which is about the Speed of downloading from the Internet corresponds to backing up the website. When I tested using the browser from a local i3 window manager session, Firefox was horrifically slow, so slow that it could be considered unusable. However, when I tested Chrome, it wasn't fast by any means, but it was serviceable. However, I did this through the window manager over an ethernet connection, not a keyboard and monitor. Although it was a local connection, that may have slowed things down a bit. However, my tests show that these devices will not be good replacements for desktops, but seem more than suitable for non-demanding applications. Performance was acceptable when running other light graphical applications like xfe or gparted under the i3 window manager. Now for what I consider inferior for these devices, even in their price range, and that is Wi-Fi. I have had mixed experiences with the two devices. Wi-Fi in the first device, a 4GB/128GB device, seemed to work fine, but I was never able to connect it at 802.11n speeds. It turns out to connect at a max speed of around 50Mbps, which indicates an 802.11g connection. I was able to transfer files at around 50Mbps over a Ubiquity hotspot about 20 feet away. I tested transferring a 30GB file and made sure the checksum on the receiving end matched the checksum on the sending end. The only odd thing was that the Wavemon app in Ubuntu kept reporting a lot of retries, although this didn't seem to affect throughput. Also note that both devices were shipped with only one antenna. The second device had more problems with WiFi. It also won't connect at more than 50Mbps, but this device loses its Wi-Fi connection several times an hour. The connection will reestablish itself automatically, but should not be disconnected within 20 feet of the access point with no obstacles in between. Also, Ubiquity hotspots are very stable and good hotspots, and I've never had a problem with them being finicky about dropping connections. After reading another review where a reviewer talked about a Wi-Fi card with two antenna ports but only one connected, I decided to take apart the second unit (which suffered from disconnects) to see what was up was in it. The two attached photos show what the case looks like open (note that the heatsink is glued to the case from the outside and is only attached to the processor with screws), and then the motherboard close-up. When I looked at the Wi-Fi board, it actually had a second antenna connector with nothing connected to it. The board is a Ralink RT3090BC4 model. I didn't disassemble the first block, but it's interesting to note that the cases are slightly different. One came with a metal Vesa mount and rubber feet attached, the other came with a plastic Vesa mount and no feet (the plastic mount was a challenge to remove without damaging it). In the end I ordered another set of antennas. for the second unit. This kit looks identical to the antenna that comes with the cables. I couldn't find an antenna with a cable so I had to order this kit. It was about $10 so it's not that big of a deal. I also ordered more thermal paste as what was inside didn't look good. I have to say I'm disappointed that the manufacturer decided to save money and forego a second antenna. At the moment I suspect that the lack of a second antenna will cause disconnects and possibly retries on the first device. I was going to give these devices at least 4 stars until I opened the box and realized they just didn't bother to include a second antenna so the rating dropped to 3 stars. The point is I like her. units and I think they are a good buy for certain specific uses. I like the fact that they don't have a fan to degrade, which is important when used unattended in off-site locations. The processor is sufficient for light to medium workloads, but it probably won't be enough to replace a regular desktop if users regularly open and close many applications. The big downside, however, is the Wi-Fi performance and I wouldn't recommend buying one of these if you expect the primary means of communication to be over Wi-Fi unless you buy an additional USB Wi-Fi Fi device to use instead what comes with it. I also give the manufacturer some credit for not spending a few extra bucks to install a second antenna that might solve the Wi-Fi issues. I will add an update once I have the second antenna and check the Wi-Fi performance. with two antennas. Updated 04/22/19: OK. I figured out why they don't include dual antennas even though the Wi-Fi adapter has dual antenna connectors. This is due to a design flaw in the case! I added a second antenna to the Wi-Fi adapter and routed the second antenna connector through the second hole in the side of the case. Everything looked fine until I assembled the unit and attempted to screw on the real antennas. It turns out that they placed the holes for the antenna connectors too close together and you can't screw on both antennas. If you try, the second antenna you want to screw in will hook into the handle threads of the first on the base and they work like little gears where trying to screw in the second unscrews the first when you try to turn it unscrew . do him. So unless you add an extension to one of the antenna connectors, which I'm not sure if you have the hardware for, you can only use one antenna. I have uploaded two more pictures to show the problem. I've also found that, as another poster has suggested, it seems to matter which antenna connector on the Wi-Fi card you plug into the only antenna you can use. If I only use the second antenna, which looks identical to the one supplied with the device, and is connected to the second port of the WLAN adapter, according to wavemon and the controller software, I get a significantly better WLAN signal Universal WLAN hotspot. I'm currently running tests again to see if the connection drops every hour or so like it used to. This is really disappointing. Instead of fixing a design flaw in the case that would only require redesigning the single end piece where the antenna holes are located and moving them no more than 1/4 inch apart, they simply outfitted the device with a single antenna. Update 06/23/2019: The manufacturer sent me two new Mini PCI WLAN adapters (RTL8821AE) to replace the two devices I had bought. They work best with just one connectable antenna and support 802.11ac. With them, WLAN access has improved and does not break down, although only one antenna can be used. So I'm increasing my rating from three to four stars. If you're interested in buying one of these and intend to use Wi-Fi, I highly recommend contacting the manufacturer first and making sure you get the version of Wi-Fi adapter they ended up giving me sent, not the one that arrived. with this. I am uploading a picture of the new wireless adapter so you can see what it is.