Azulle Access 4 Fanless Mini PC Stick Review & Comments

Regarding:

Our first issue when we came to use the Access 4 is that it only has 1 Type-A USB port. Setting it up is quite a challenge when you have to keep swapping the keyboard and mouse to do anything. Either a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse or wireless set working off the single USB port is essential here to prevent the Access 4 being anything other than annoying to use.

Isn't that what USB hubs like this are for?

Amazon product ASIN B07YWWZJ65
And, as far as I can tell, that plugs into the USB-C port.

I've possibly missed something.
 
Wonder if this will run Roon
 
For those interested in this sort of thing,this might be worth looking at:.
Still sounds a tad disappointing,maybe acceptable performance Windows 10 fanless PCs just aren't possible in this form factor.
I'd like to think that doubling ram and storage it would be better than it appears to be,unless something in this form can achieve a decent user experience,I can't really see the point.
Using an Intel NUC i3 8th gen as my daily driver so my expectations aren't very high.
 
For those interested in this sort of thing,this might be worth looking at:.
Still sounds a tad disappointing,maybe acceptable performance Windows 10 fanless PCs just aren't possible in this form factor.


It's more price than form factor. These are all using Intel's budget CPUs. Fit it with the low power version of the mainstream CPUs (which are rated for the same heat output), decent RAM and a high quality NAND flash (or even Octane) SSD instead of cheap eMMC drive and it'd be perfectly good.

Intel's compute stick did try that at one point, coming with an m5 processor as they were branded at the time. It cost £300 or so though.
 
Could be a good HTPC but it doesn't do AV1 codec which is the latest YouTube streaming codec. Not sure if it can do HDR output which is a must for UHD nowadays.

The USB port is cool if it supports a 5TB portable HDD which is near silent.

Fanless is always a winner, fans drive me nuts, I have a semi-passive gaming HTPC except for the stock Ryzen processor which is annoying me no end sounding like a mini motorbike, need to get a solution for this as I refrain from using the thing due to this noise.
 
While the size and price of the Azulle Access PC make it very appealing (and it is amazing what they can fit into such a tiny form factor), I think ultimately this is going to under perform in most situation where a Windows PC is a requirement.

If you need a proper PC, rather than a dedicated streaming device or other type of AV device, it usually means you want to do more intensive compute tasks with it - and anyone who has used a low-end (under performing) PC knows how frustrating this can be.

Previously, I've used Fujitsu laptops in the living room, home cinema room etc., for streaming, web browsing, Foobar (FLAC playback via external DACs) etc. But I've recently purchased a couple of the following computers:

Lenovo ThinkCenter M715q (2nd Gen) - UK part no: 10VG001CUK

1608148065401.png


They cost £520 each (not cheap) - this is over twice the cost of the Azulle Access PC, but you get a fully spec'ed, pretty highend PC in tiny desktop form factor. They are not silent, but I have one in the main bedroom which runs 24/7, and we (girlfriend and I) never hear it. The fan only kicks in if it's doing something CPU intensive.

While not as small as the Azulle Access PC, the Lenovo M715q (Gen 2) is a very small PC, as you can see from the photo and you get 6 x USB ports, an HDMI port, two DisplayPort interfaces, Gigabit RJ45 Ethernet interface, a 3.5" headphone jack and Wi-Fi built-in. It has an external power brick (which comes with it).

Spec:

AMD Ryzen 3 2200GE (4 Core) 3.2 GHz
AMD RX Vega 8 Graphics (fully supported with latest (generic) AMD Adrenalin drivers)
8 GB RAM (expandable)
256 GB SSD
6 x USB
1 x HDMI (full size)
2 x DisplayPort (full size)
1 x 3.5" headphone jack
1 x RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet port
Built-in Wi-fi
Windows 10 Pro

There's a little bit of crapware (modern Apps) bundled with it, but not much and it's very easy to remove.

I've been very impressed with the two I've purchased.


Regards,
James.
 
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