[Android Stick & Console Intel based Computers] Alberto96:
Introduction​

Tronsmart is a well known brand specialized in TV Boxes/Sticks, and this time they decided to release an Intel Cherry Trail (x5-z8300) based Mini PC (or TV Box/HTPC, choose the word that you prefer). Precisely this is an upgrade of their previous, and now discontinued, device named Tronsmart Ara X5, which shares almost the same hardware except WiFi Adapter & Antenna, Sound Card, and some minor components.

This is the Tronsmart Ara X5 Plus Mini PC

Unboxing

Packaging comes with an HDMI Cable, a Power Supply (5V/3A), a Wi-Fi Antenna (pretty nice design), an English Quick Start Guide and the Mini PC (of course).

No Air Mouse/Keyboard is included, neither the device has an IR Receiver so it can be only powered on using the physical power button, located on the front side.

Device

Tronsmart has focused its attention on the design. Its chassis is plastic made (good quality) but if you are worried about heat dissipation, just take a look at my tests in the next paragraph.

It is just 11.5x11.0x2.5cm, pretty compact and it is also lightweight enough (probably because it is made of plastic).

There is a Matte Surface on the upper side where the Brand Logo and the White Power LED are located while all the rest is black-grey. This makes the device look Premium, and I find it pretty nice.

There are 2x Plastic Films already applied.

As you can see, there is a second Plastic Film. It is a fingerprint magnet so I recommend to remove it.

This is the Matte Surface without any Plastic Film applied.

It attracts dust pretty easily but it seems to have some kind of Oleophobic coating so, if you prefer dust (or if you live in a dust-free room) then remove both films, if you prefer fingerprints then remove only the first plastic film.

On the front side there are 2x Standard USB 2.0 ports, 1x Headphone/Microphone Jack (just like smartphones) and a physical Power Button.

USB Ports doesn’t have too much space between each other, so you might experience issues (like me) with the usage of not-so-small USB Stick or Accessories. Compact USB Sticks fit just fine.

On the left, there is just 1x Wi-Fi Antenna Connector because the Wi-Fi card is only 1x1 (TX/RX). The right side is completely clean.

The rear features 1x 5.5mm DC in, 1x LAN 10/100 port, 1x HDMI port, 1x Standard USB 3.0 port and 1x micro SD card slot.

Unfortunately also the rear USB Port doesn’t have too much available space, so I recommend you to use an HDMI Cable that has compact plugs or use an USB Extension.

On the lower side there is just a Reset Button that has been added to this upgraded version.

Testing

First of all, it boots pretty fast (ready in ~ 20 sec) considering that it doesn’t have a SSD but just an eMMC, usually just a bit faster than conventional HDDs. This is something that I have really appreciated because it means that the BIOS has been properly optimized.

On first boot, you’ll be asked to configure the OS with your own language, keyboard layout, Microsoft Account settings...similar to a clean installation of Windows 10.

After the whole configuration process, the desktop will be completely empty, without any third-party software installed except one (THD Controller) probably made to be used with Tronsmart’s Air Mouse/Keyboard (not included).

It comes with Windows 10 Home, properly Activated (no KMS or any other hack used). If yours isn’t activated, just reboot and be sure that it is connected to the internet otherwise it won’t be able to verify activation.

Unlike previous version, this one comes with a decent Wi-Fi card (Intel Dual Band AC-3160) that supports 2.4/5GHz Networks at a maximum speed of 433 Mbps.

Also, instead of the standard Realtek Sound Card that isn’t compatible yet with Linux, there is a C-Media HS-100B Sound Card that doesn’t create any kind of compatibility issue.

Intel VM-x has been enabled by default, useful if you plan to use any kind of Virtual Machine.

Benchmarks

Comparing some other Intel x5-z8300 devices, it seems that this is one of the fastest ones.​

I have used Passmark PerformanceTest, FutureMark 3DMark (Sky Diver) & PCMark 8 (Home, Creative & Work), GeekBench 3 Pro (64-bit) and CrystalDiskMark x64 to stress the device in the most complete way. I won’t test Games or Video Playback because there are already some related tests included in these Benchmark suites.

CrystalDiskMark - Internal eMMC is fast enough for daily tasks, better than HDDs, but worse than SSDs.

PassMark’s average score is pretty low, in every single test except Storage so this benchmark is probably poorly optimized to work on Atom CPUs.

GeekBench - CPU performance seems to be mediocre, but in line with other x5-z8300 CPUs. Focusing on temperatures, you can see that it doesn’t overheat at all under heavy usage. This means that Tronsmart did a good job regarding heat dissipation.

https://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/6011299

I managed to get the highest MultiCore score with this CPU.

Well done Tronsmart!

Nothing to say about 3DMark Sky Diver test.

PCMark 8

Home: http://www.3dmark.com/pcm8/11585069

Creative: http://www.3dmark.com/pcm8/11592443

Work: http://www.3dmark.com/pcm8/11593416

PCMark tests are the most complete ones, and their score is pretty high. Especially the “Work” test score left me impressed. This means that this device can be used for daily tasks without any issue at all.

Summarazing all Benchmark Results, I can say that this is one of the fastest Intel Atom x5-z8300 Mini PC available on the market.

About Wi-Fi/LAN Networks tests, it highly depends on your router and internet connection so I can just say that i’m able to obtain the same performance that I get using my Workstation. No lags at all neither I have noticed any kind of performance drop.

Compatibility​

Linux doesn’t like a lot Cherry Trail CPUs, especially because their additional hardware is usually poorly designed or unsupported by the Linux Kernel. Tronsmart, on this upgraded version, decided to avoid all issues by introducing a different Wi-Fi card, that is now connected to the PCI-Ex bus (instead of the slow SDIO bus) and a different Sound Card, that is connected to the USB bus and is well supported by the Linux Kernel.

This is the Result

Everything is working on Linux. I have tested BBQLinux with Linux Kernel 4.1.6. I find it much faster than Windows, even if used from a USB Stick, so I really recommend it if you are familiar with the Linux Environment.

About Android, (Android-x86 6.0 Testing) it is a whole different story. It doesn’t support Intel Wi-Fi cards, neither it supports this Sound Card, so you’ll need to wait a new update if you plan to use Android on this device.

Conclusions​

Thanks to its well choosen hardware, this Mini PC makes every single task possible. This is a great upgrade to the previous Ara X5, I just don’t like that it can’t be turned on with a Remote Control. In my opinion, almost eveything else is perfect. LAN is limited to 100MBps, all USB Ports aren’t well designed and CPU isn’t extremely powerful, but it can be used without any issue as a Media Center or even as an Office Mini PC.

So, if you need a complete Mini PC that is able to handle basic daily tasks and that can be used without any issue for Multimedia stuff, then this is the right choice.

Official Specs

Rating: 8.8

Packaging and Accessories: 7.5

Design and Materials: 9

Performance and Heat Dissipation: 8.5

Software: 10

Price: 9 (based on Amazon.com price)

You can find full-res images (I know, Quality isn't excellent) here: http://imgur.com/a/SPuNq

Official Website: http://www.tronsmart.com/products/tronsmart-ara-x5-plus

You can buy it on many online shops.​