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

Following their previous, and first, Windows Mini PC, Minix decided to release something different than other ones, a device that can be easily considered as an HTPC, considering its hardware. This is an huge upgrade from the Z64-Windows, with an entire components upgrade and much more.

This is the Minix NGC-1

Unboxing

Packaging comes with: 1x HDMI Cable, 1x Power Supply (12V/3A), 2x Wi-Fi Antennas, 1x Multi-Language Setup Guide, 1x Products Brochure and the Mini PC (of course).

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

Device

As always, Minix’s design is unbeatable, and this time they decided to go even further by using a Metal Chassis (just like the Mac Mini) that allows an excellent heat dissipation, while keeping the whole design clean and stylish. Well Done Minix!

It is just 13.8x13.9x2.8cm, pretty compact and it is also lightweight enough (probably because it is made of plastic).

On the upper side only there is only Brand Logo with a dark-grey background, the whole chassis is dark-grey.

On the front side there is only Power LED, it turns Blue when the device is running and Green when the device in on Sleep/Standby state.

On the left, there are 2x Wi-Fi Antenna Connectors (even if the Wi-Fi Adapter supports maximum 1x1 RX/TX) and 1x Kensington Lock.

On the right, there are 3x Standard USB 3.0 Ports and a Power Button.

USB Ports are well designed here, you won’t have any kind of problem even with big USB Sticks. Again, Well Done Minix!

The rear features 1x Headphone/Microphone Jack (like Smartphones), 1x DisplayPort Connector, 1x HDMI port, 1x SPDIF port, 1x LAN 10/100/1000 port (Yes, Gigabit Ethernet), and 1x 5.5mm DC in.

On the lower side there isn’t anything important at all, absolutely clean. (there is a small hole, probably for Reset but I still have to investigate on it)

Testing (Windows)

First of all, it boots pretty fast (ready in ~ 15 sec) thanks to Windows 10 Fast Startup and the built-in SSD, much faster faster than conventional HDDs & eMMCs. Even if the internal SSD isn’t blazing fast, it still helps as regards performance.

Minix provides a pre-installed, and genuine, Windows 10 Home distribution on this device, and on first boot you’ll need to configure everything just like a clean installation of Windows. No Third-Party apps are installed, completely clean.

I don’t know why Minix choose to use the slower Intel Celeron N3150 instead of the Pentium N3700, it would have provided a nice performance boost, but this doesn’t mean that the device isn’t fast enough. This CPU, based on the Braswell architecture, combined with its 12 EUs GPU, provides enough performance for almost every task, only gaming performance suffers a bit. Follow my next paragraph to know more.

It comes with a decent Wi-Fi card (Intel Dual Band AC-3165) that supports 2.4/5.0GHz Networks at a maximum speed of 433 Mbps. As regards its performance, it behaves quite well, it almost reaches my LAN connection, the only limit is related to the 1x1 RX/TX configuration. Unfortunately this is a WiFi Module limit, but it should be replaceable (PCI-EX slot) without any issue so, if you want, you can replace it with a more powerful one.

Built-in RAM is made by Samsung, with a single channel configuration (1x 4GB DDR3L Module). This is replaceable, so you can increase RAM to 8GB (remember that there is only one slot) or replace it with a faster one.

The 128GB SSD (M.2 variant) seems to be made by Corsair, but others say that it is made by Toshiba, so i’m not sure about its brand. I’ll open the Mini PC as soon as possible to check it. Anyway, it isn’t extremely fast, not like other SSDs, but still pretty good.

USB 3.0 Performance is excellent, my Sandisk Ultra 64GB got maximum R/W speed, probably the only Mini PC where I managed to get this speed. Awesome!

Testing (Linux)

Linux runs perfectly on this device, I have tried OpenELEC (mainly for Video Playback capabilities) and BBQLinux (my preferred Linux Distro), and both worked without any issue at all. There are no hardware incompatibilites at all, except Bluetooth on OpenELEC. (probably just a little bug)

Unlike Cherry Trail Mini PCs, there is a Realtek Sound Card (ALC662) that works on Linux, everything is recognized as should.

As you can see, OpenELEC says that Bluetooth is disabled, but it doesn’t even provide a switch to turn it on so there is probably a little software bug.

While Wi-Fi works absolutely fine.

Benchmarks

I have used PCMark 8 (Home, Creative, Work, Storage), GeekBench 3 Pro (64-bit), CrystalDiskMark x64 (benchmark provided before) and SiSoft Sandra to stress the device in the most complete way.

PCMark 8

PCMark tests are the most complete ones, and their score is decent. All tests have been run using the OpenCL acceleration so that the whole hardware capabilities have been used.

Creative

Home

Storage

Work

GeekBench – CPU Performance is similar to the Atom x7-z8700.

https://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/6947863

SiSoft Sandra – Comparing the score with Core M-5Y10c and Pentium N3700 devices, it is clearly noticeable that the latter beats both CPUs, while the former seems to have similar performance.

Summarazing all Benchmark Results, it is clear to say that this isn’t a device made for Gaming, but every other task is handled without any single issue.

Also, I have recorded Chassis temperature while running all benchmarks. (Ambient Temperature 28°C)

Video Playback

I have tested the common Big Buck Bunny videos, that are available on every different format so that the device can be tested completely. I have used KODI (on both OS platform, Windows and Linux) to play these videos.

Conclusions

Being the first superb Mini PC by Minix, I never expected it to be so good, but I was wrong. This Mini PC, considering its ultra-small factor, is a nice beast. It has almost everything that an Home users search in a PC or, HTPC, and I find it to be ideal also for Business usage. Minix should have choosen to include the faster CPU (N3700 instead of N3150) to reach maximum performance, but they probably had to do it in order to reduce its price (that isn’t low, but if you try to build a PC using the same components you’ll reach the same price).

So….do I recommend it? If you need a small, and powerful enough, PC that is able to handle everything except Games, then this is something I can recommend. Light Gaming can be handled too, but do not expect high frame-rate. Maybe it needs some GPU Drivers improvements by Intel in order to improve Video Playback performance (for 4K 3D videos), but, in my opinion, nothing else needs to be improved.

Specs

Rating: 8.9

Packaging and Accessories: 7.5

Design and Materials: 10

Performance and Heat Dissipation: 9

Software: 10

Price: 8 (based on Amazon price)

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

Official Website: http://minix.com.hk/en/products/ngc-1

You can buy it on many online shops.​