The MINIX Neo N42C 4 is driven by a quad core, Apollo Lake based Intel Pentium N4200 processor with an on die Intel HD Graphics 505 GPU....
Included with the box along with the device is a minix n42c vesa mount . Also included are some simple written materials, a mini HDMI cable, a strength adapter (with suggestions for different areas across the world), along with a VESA bracket (pictured here). The included bracket is going to allow subscribers to mount the MINIX Neo N42C 4 to the rear of a screen or even to practically a surface for that situation. After the mount is protected in place, the program simply snaps right in.
The MINIX Neo N42C-4 is certainly not the smallest PC we've analyzed, though it's miniscule by nearly all existing standards. It's around 5.5" square and also aproximatelly 1.25" high, although its corners are actually rounded that make it show up a little smaller. With the exception on the accommodations for the various ports it houses, the MINIX Neo N42C 4 also includes a totally sealed enclosure with several perforations for ventialtion. The enclosure has a really dark grey, basically matte black finish, using the MINIX logo etched straight into the lid and the only color contrast coming from the azure USB ports as well as the power LED.
Because the quad core Intel Pentium N4200 and some other parts inside the Neo N42C 4 are relatively far more effective than several of MINIX's previous mini devices, this one is not passively cooled and relies on a single inner fan that to help cool the internal elements. Fortunately though, it remains largely silent. Even if this does spin up, it is really quiet and hard to hear.
The Intel Pentium N4200 CPU within the unit has a baseline clock speed of 1.1GHz, turboed to 2.5GHz, two MB of L2 cache, along with a TDP of just 6W. Graphics is packaged by method of an incorporated Intel HD Graphics 505 motor with 18EUs, as well as foundation / burst wavelengths of 200MHz / 7500MHz, respectively. There is also a single channel of 4GB of DDR3L 1600 Memory within, together with 32GB of Samsung eMMC SSD. Though, there's an open SO DIMM slot inside for dual channel operation, which would improve performance somewhat. Additionally, this small form factor package also offers an available SATA M.2 slot within that supports drives as big as 512GB.
Connectivity-wise, there is rather a bit going on with these devices. On the front side of the unit, there are actually 3 full sized USB 3.0 ports as well as a power button. The right side is largely blank, except for a small blue power LED. The back side has a concealed reset button as well as lock port. And the left side is housing to the power port, a RJ 45 Ethernet port, a mini DisplayPort connector, an HDMI port, an USB C port, along with a 3.5mm headphone jack. Internally, there is the additional Intel wireless controller with 802.11ac dual band Bluetooth and WiFi 4.1 support.
Overall, the MINIX Neo N42C-4's style is actually attractive and modern, and really very understated. Aditionally the bottom part of the unit is fairly clean, except for decals and its 4 rubber feet along with the inevitable Windows logo as well as serial information and model number.
The MINIX Neo N42C 4 also comes with a complete 64 bit edition of Win 10 Pro, pre installed. Almost all other devices in this category come with Win 10 Pro Home, but MINIX went with Pro on this particular unit in response to those buyers that wanted SFF devices that can sign up to a domain. Like earlier MINIX machines, setting the device up was as easy as connecting a monitor, input devices, and power, transforming it on, entering some fundamental user info for Windows login applications, and then allowing the OS to run through a number of updates. There is no bloatware or other vendor included applications to talk of - the system is as clean as might be when first run up.
One potential trouble with the paltry 32GB of inner storage space is actually that soon after updating Windows and installing small things as Kodi, there is only aproximatelly 15GB left available. That is okay for an HTPC that'll stream coming from the web or a NAS, and this may be quickly (and cheaply) widened with USB or perhaps the inner M.2 slot. But as time passes, as Windows gets constantly updated, several maintenance and file decluttering is going to be expected to keep sufficient space totally free because of its solid state storage to function well.
It might technically be a quad core PC, nevertheless the MINIX Neo N42C 4 is not intended for high performance computing applications. This printer is actually created for basic computing and media consumption requirements and is actually outfitted with the type of hardware you would ordinarily see in tablet type mobile form factors.
Streaming HD and SD videos from YouTube worked really well. The picture above is actually from a 1080P edition of the Ant Man two trailer, scaled to total display and linked to the MINIX Neo N42C 4 via mini DP. It played lag free using just the built in WiFi to hook up to the internet. No matter the resolution, this particular clip played back properly, and as you are able to see in the picture, CPU utilization remained comparatively small throughout.
Along with streaming from the net, we additionally had an assortment of AVI files, MP4, 1080p MKV, or UHD , grabbed coming from a NAS connected to the nearby community or even copied to the MINIX Neo Z83 4 itself. Most of them played back completely.
All of the articles we chucked with the MINIX N42C-4 worked fine, in an assortment of players, like Windows Media Player, Windows 10's Video app, as well as Kodi, making use of either the wired or maybe wireless network connection. The low power Wi-Fi and SoC network connection had been highly taxed with 4K channels though, thus, if 4K is the goal of yours with this particular device, you'll want to enjoy it back locally or perhaps over a wired link for the most desirable experience. And also be sure there is nothing else happening in the background.
The MINIX Neo N42C-4 is intended for media usage, basic desktop computing use cases, and thin client applications. MINIX's focus with this particular package is actually on commercial and industrial uses where the Win 10 Pro OS will permit the device to hook up to a domain, but its greater performance distant relative to MINIX's sleek design and other machines make it a suitable choice for HTPC and essential desktop computing use cases also.
The N42C-4 is actually a well designed, feature packed mini PC which provides a healthy mix of low power, expandability, and fresh looks. The quad core Pentium N 4200 processor, 4GB of 32GB, or RAM of eMMC storage provides users ample breathing room for HTPC along with essential desktop use cases, particularly if nearly all of their media is actually saved on a NAS device or perhaps streamed from the net. At any rate, should much more storage be required this particular machine has an M.2 slot too. Performance versus much more powerful mini PCs, like a lot of Intel's NUCs, or perhaps maybe even versus basic, full sized desktop methods is not likely to knock your socks off, but at just less than $300 you should not be wanting a world beater anyway.
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