I've already reviewed quite a few Windows mini PCs.
But then I came across a relatively inexpensive option and decided to see what mini PCs at the lower end of the price range are like.
As usual, though, this turned into an inspection, tests, teardown, modifications, setup, and more tests.
The title gives the sale price. As soon as I find out the regular price, I'll update it. If I'm not mistaken, it's around $83–85.
I haven't come across anything cheaper. That was one of the reasons I ordered it for review.
I've run into all sorts of quirks and fine points in products from Chinese engineers more than once, so I was expecting a few “surprises.” But I'll go in order, starting with the packaging.
The computer comes in this rather plain, but fairly large box.
There's a list of available versions on the bottom, but none of them was marked.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCThe computer itself is tiny. I was a little surprised by the size of the box compared with the computer.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCSince nothing was marked on the box, here are the specifications in text form.
Operating system: Windows 10
Processor: Intel Cherry Trail X5-Z8300
Graphics: Intel® HD Graphics (8th generation)
Memory: 2GB RAM (DDR3L-1333) + 32GB ROM
Wireless: 802.11b/g/n WiFi 2.4GHz
Ethernet — 100Mbit
Bluetooth: BT 4.0
Audio output — 3.5mm audio jack
Display: HDMI output, 1080P
External interfaces: 1x USB 3.0, 1x microUSB 2.0 + 1x microUSB 2.0
Memory card support: 1 microSD slot, max. 64GB (some sources say up to 128)
Dimensions: 98 x 98 x 20 mm
Weight: 250g (180g actual)
What caught my eye in this list?
First of all, USB 3.0. And the analog audio output and wired Ethernet are welcome too, since I try not to use WiFi in everyday life.
The package is modest:
Mini PC
Power supply
HDMI cable
Manual
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCThe manual is very simple; you could say it's almost entirely made up of pictures.
Though, to be fair, there's not much useful information in it, and it's hard to get confused by just a few ports.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCAn HDMI cable is also included.
I probably wouldn't have given it a second look—it's just a cable—but then I noticed something odd: the right
tail plug is longer. Why? That's a mystery.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCBy chance, I ordered the computer with a power supply that has a non-European plug.
The sales rep didn't notice, and I didn't think to check.
The link in the title goes to the version of the computer with a standard power supply, at the same price.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCThe power supply is rated at 5 V, 3 A.
The connector is a little unusual, 4x1.5mm. The more common size is 5.5x2.1, but this connector looks pretty well made. I've seen ones like it on branded power supplies.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCThe power supply is designed to be taken apart, so naturally I couldn't resist opening it up. Many of you know how much I like poking around inside power supplies :)
It looks, let's say, average, although the transformer looks about right for 15 W.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10Inside, I found a PWM controller,
CR5228, rated for a maximum power of 18 W. The power supply is specified at 15 W, so there's not much headroom, but there is some.
By the way, the power supply runs silently; I tried it in several operating modes.
The input circuitry looks a bit sad: there's no filter (though there's room for one), and the diode bridge looks like it was soldered by a chicken using its left foot. But at least there's a fuse, which is something.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10The input capacitor is 22 µF, which is quite enough for a 198–242 V supply. No complaints there.
They even fitted a proper interference-suppression capacitor, not just a high-voltage one, which is surprising given how much they cut costs elsewhere.
The output diodes are SR560, rated at 5 A and 60 V, with two connected in parallel. That's not a bad setup, but in this configuration 3 A is the maximum for continuous operation.
The output capacitors aren't great, of course: a pair rated at 470 µF each. There's even an output inductor, but the capacitor quality is disappointing. If I were modifying this power supply, replacing them would be my first priority.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10The PCB and component layout are single-sided, and the soldering quality is quite good.
Overall, the power supply left me with mixed feelings. They clearly cut costs, but they didn't skimp too much on the specs. For example, it would have been worse if they'd fitted an input filter but skimped on the transformer power rating.
The power supply ran warm even with an external hard drive connected, so I can say it will definitely deliver 2.5 A. It probably won't sustain 3 A for very long, but it can do it.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10And here it is in all its glory: black and compact. The top is matte, while the sides are glossy.
Gloss looks nice, but it's not very practical. I'd have preferred a fully matte case.
Overall, though, it looks neat. There's a power button on the front, and a blue LED is installed inside the case (actually, blue and red); it glows softly.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10The first time I picked up this little box, the first thing I noticed was how heavy it was, especially considering that the case is plastic.
I don't usually weigh stationary objects, but I couldn't resist this time: 180 g.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10The USB ports are on the left side of the case. The USB 3.0 port isn't marked as such anywhere on the case except by the color of the connector itself—and it's even labeled USB 2 :)
A little farther to the right and lower down is a slot for a MicroSD memory card.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10All the other connectors are on the back, in this order:
Audio output
Ethernet
HDMI
MicroUSB 2.0
Power
Using a micro connector for one of the USB ports seems a little odd, although I have come across this before.
But in earlier devices, this connector was used both as a port and for power. Here, it is just an interface connector, and you can't power the device through it. The most likely reason for using such a small connector is a lack of space.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10There's nothing interesting on the bottom. The case looks very much like those used for common Android TV boxes.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10A user account was already set up in the operating system, so I didn't have to enter anything during the initial setup. Though I would have preferred to configure it from scratch.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10That wraps up the external inspection. Let's move on to the software.
When the desktop loaded, I couldn't help reacting like this: O_O.
A completely black, almost empty desktop. There used to be some kind of wallpaper.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10The computer has 32 GB of soldered flash storage. Let's just say that's the bare minimum for running Windows. There are versions with more storage, but not at this price :(
There's about 19 GB free, which is a bit low; I more often came across versions with 20–21 GB free.
But you can immediately subtract 2–3 GB from that 19 GB for updates the OS will download once it's connected to the internet and activated.
Another surprise was that it has a 64-bit OS. I don't really see the point of that here; it's probably why the user has less free storage, too. The memory card slot is perhaps the only thing that makes it a little less concerning.
Since this processor has been on the market for about six months, I don't have much new to say. The only difference is the manufacturer of the board's BIOS. All the previous computers had an AMI BIOS, but here the manufacturer chose to remain unknown.
Although the processor has been around for quite a while, I'll still run some tests.
I was especially interested in two tests: USB 3.0 and temperature.
Some of the screenshots turned out very small, so a reminder: all images in my reviews are clickable.
First, I tested USB 3.0.
Previously, I had problems getting this port to work in Windows 10.
For the test, I connected an external hard drive (powered by the mini PC).
What can I say? The port works great, and the speed is in line with USB 3.0.
The built-in flash storage was disappointing, though. I can accept 130 MB/s in read mode as normal, but 37 MB/s write speed was a letdown.
For comparison, here are flash memory speed test results from other computers.
So far, PIPO computers with Samsung memory are in the lead.
MeeGoPad T03
Pipo X9
Pipo X7
Pipo X7S
Teclast X98 Pro
MeeGoPad T02
Pocket P1
Vensmile W10
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an affordable mini PC running Windows 10The first test, which also gave us a look at performance, was 3DMark 2006, a heat test.
The result isn't too bad, but it's noticeably lower than the
MeeGoPad T03, which has the same processor.
The MeeGo scored 2281, while this one managed just 1838, and had already reached 85 degrees.
So, yes, it overheats, although this only affects performance; there were no freezes.
Cinebench showed better CPU performance than the MeeGoPad, but it got thoroughly beaten in the graphics test.
The problem is that the processor heats up more when the GPU is working and less during regular mathematical calculations.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an affordable mini PC running Windows 10I ran the 7-Zip test just for the stats. It's a short test, so there's hardly any heat buildup.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an affordable mini PC running Windows 10And now for my main overheating test: LinX.
I ran the test some time after the others, so the computer had cooled down a little.
The first three runs looked pretty good, on par with the MeeGoPad.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an affordable mini PC running Windows 10But when I ran the test again, this is what I saw.
Performance dropped noticeably as the computer warmed up.
It's worth noting that the temperature rises fairly gradually, and I'm testing it under pretty heavy loads.
Normal use—browsing, watching movies, Odnoklassniki, Skype, and so on—doesn't put it under this kind of load.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an affordable mini PC running Windows 10That's enough about heat; let's move on to Wi-Fi.
The computer has a module that only works in the 2.4 GHz band.
When I turned it on, it found several nearby access points, including mine, which is 12 meters away and separated from the computer by several reinforced-concrete walls.
But the reality was less encouraging: when it connected, the link speed was 5.5 Mbps.
That's basically normal for an access point that far away with obstacles in the way; I wasn't expecting anything better.
What was disappointing, though, was that even after moving the computer somewhere with fewer obstacles, the signal was only slightly better.
Next, the Speedtest results.
In order:
1. Test with fewer obstacles (the second location where I tested the connection, shown in the screenshot above).
2. I moved the computer even closer.
3. Test in the same room as the router, but in opposite corners (about 6 m with a clear line of sight).
The only consolation is that the computer has a full-size LAN port.
You can use a wireless connection, but forget about getting high speeds.
Of course, it could just be a fluke, but I'm testing the unit I received.
Since the tests showed that the computer gets too hot under heavy, sustained loads, I decided to make some improvements.
And if I was going to modify it, I might as well open it up and see what this device is actually built around.
The computer is very easy to open: just pry up the bottom cover a little and pull it out of the case.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCApart from the flash memory chip, the underside of the board has only passive components.
The flash memory was moved to the underside, presumably to save space, but I see this as a good thing for another reason too: the memory will run cooler and should be more reliable.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCThere’s also an interesting connector. I’d venture to guess it’s something like an LVDS connector, i.e. for connecting a display.
There are lots of empty component pads nearby.
I think the board was designed to be universal. I’ve seen something similar in PIPO computers from the X7–X9 series.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCUndo the four small screws and take the board out of the case.
Now it’s clear where all that weight comes from.
Inside, there’s not only a fairly large heatsink, but also a steel plate attached to the top cover.
The heatsink contacts the plate through a couple of pieces of thermal pad. That’s what makes the temperature rise so slowly.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCI have to admit, the engineers did think things through before building it.
I spent a long time complaining that the heatsinks in earlier BayTrail-based computers were invariably just thin sheet-metal plates that heated up in seconds, so I’d attach an extra heatsink to them.
Here, though, the heatsink is quite large.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCRemove the heatsink.
Warning: the heatsink is quite difficult to remove. It uses the same mounting principle as graphics card and chipset heatsinks, but the clips are noticeably tighter, and the holes are just barely large enough for them.
What’s more, there are several tiny components next to one of the mounts that can easily get knocked off!
It’s good to see that although the heatsink presses against the processor through a fairly thick thermal pad (1.5 mm thick), there are no other layers in between.
The board has markings for a noticeably smaller heatsink. Apparently the results weren’t good enough, so the developers installed a larger one.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PC
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCThe board also has:
1. Another unidentified connector, with a spot for a two-pin connector nearby, presumably to power the display backlight.
2. A bunch more empty component pads. Now I’m curious to see what this manufacturer comes out with next.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCLet's go over the components installed on the board.
1. Intel Cherry Trail X5-Z8300 processor
2. RAM, surprisingly, from Kingston.
3. Flash memory made by Foresee. I've come across this memory before; I like Samsung better.
4. A classic: the AXP288 multichannel power management and battery charging controller.
This controller is installed in the vast majority of mini PCs.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive mini PC running Windows 101. Wireless interface module,
AP6212. Besides Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, it also supports NFC, though that feature isn't used here.
I don't think I've come across this module before.
2. Ethernet controller
RTL8152. I hadn't seen this one before either. It's a USB-LAN controller, but since USB is faster than 100 Mbps Ethernet, that's not a problem.
3. Audio is handled by the
ES8316 from Everest—another new chip, and once again on the USB bus.
4. The BIOS is stored in a
25Q64FWSIG memory chip with a capacity of 64 Mbit. At least this one is familiar :)
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive mini PC running Windows 101. USB 2.0 hub built around the well-known and very popular
FE1.1S chip
2. There's an unidentified component in one corner of the board, most likely a power switch, apparently with a current-sense resistor. It may be for the USB ports.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10The Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antenna and the battery are mounted separately.
The battery and antenna are stuck to the top cover, but the battery has a connector while the antenna is soldered in place.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10That's the internals covered, but that wasn't the only reason I opened it up. I also wanted to improve the cooling.
For the modification, I used a few things.
1. 1.5 mm-thick thermal pad
2. A piece of brass sheet, 1 mm thick and about 15 × 15 mm
3. KPT-8 thermal paste
The thermal pad isn't really necessary; you can use a piece cut from the steel plate instead.
It's best to use a 1.2–1.3 mm-thick brass (or, better yet, copper) plate, but I didn't have one.
Since I didn't have a 1.2–1.3 mm plate, I used KPT-8 instead of KPT-19 paste, as the former seemed a little thicker to me.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10Remove the pad from the processor, apply some paste, place the brass plate on top, then apply another layer of paste.
The paste needs to be thick because I wanted to add about 0.2–0.3 mm of thickness, so I applied a fairly thick layer.
While inspecting the board, I noticed that the power controller doesn't make contact with the heatsink, even though it gets hot during operation. At least in all the other computers I've inspected, it was always in contact with the heatsink.
I cut a small piece of 1.5 mm-thick thermal pad. As I mentioned above, you can use a piece that transfers heat from the heatsink to the steel plate.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10Carefully put the heatsink back in place.
Since I had a fairly large piece of thermal pad left over, I moved it to the steel plate to improve heat transfer to the plate a little.
That's it.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10Well, I did what I could to improve it, and now it's time to see whether the changes helped.
First, ten passes of LinX.
Not bad, very good, in fact. Maximum temperature: 71 degrees.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCLet's run 3DMark.
Also a good result, though right on the limit: 79 degrees.
Well, let's run 3DMark again.
Here you can see that the computer has “warmed up”; the temperature reached 81 degrees.
The thing is, the heatsink is inside an almost completely enclosed case, so heat can only escape through the plastic.
I improved the heat transfer from the processor to the heatsink, and from the heatsink to the steel plate. This improved heat dissipation a little and noticeably increased thermal inertia: the computer takes much longer to “warm up,” but I didn't eliminate overheating completely.
That's because I always try to make modifications in a way that leaves the exterior unchanged. Ventilation holes would have made a big difference; even just turning the computer on its side lowered the temperature. But I didn't want to spoil its appearance.
But then another tricky issue came up.
Once the computer warmed up, the system automatically throttled performance to 30%.
Performance only returned to its previous level after the computer cooled down.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCAs you can imagine, I wasn't at all happy with this, so I started investigating the problem.
First, I found a power limit option in the power settings, but in practice it does nothing.
There are five values to choose from; I tested three of them.
The screenshot below shows the performance difference in modes 3 (the default), 1, and 5.
Performance changed very little, and it had no effect at all on the CPU frequency throttling.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCAfter playing around with the modifications and getting a somewhat unexpected result, I started poking around in the BIOS.
From the start, I had a slight suspicion about this unfamiliar BIOS from an unknown manufacturer.
As it turned out, my suspicions weren't unfounded.
Press Escape while the computer is starting up to enter the BIOS.
The BIOS looks a lot like the AMI BIOS I'm used to. It has plenty of settings, and even an Android option, so there will almost certainly be (or perhaps already are) dual-boot versions.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCWhile browsing the settings, I found a menu with a familiar word: thermal.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCAt first I ended up in the wrong place, even though I thought I'd selected the right option.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, an inexpensive Windows 10 mini PCWe need the option highlighted in white at the very top of this photo.
Here we can see the settings: Critical — 85
Passive — 60
The first sets the temperature at which the processor starts reducing its clock speed, and the second sets the temperature at which it returns to normal operation.
So the clock speed drops at 85 degrees (the processor didn't get any hotter than that in the tests), and returns to its normal level once the temperature falls to 60 degrees.
Since I increased the thermal inertia of the cooling system during the modification, I inadvertently stepped right into a trap. The processor took a long time to heat up, but it also took a long time to cool down, so its clock speed wouldn't increase until it had cooled below 60 degrees.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10The fix is simple: raise the limit to 75 degrees. Nothing bad will happen to the processor at that temperature, and it will run faster.
That's it.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10While I was at it, I took a look at the boot settings menu.
Warning!Above, I showed which setting to change. Don't change any of the others: experience has shown that the wrong settings can easily leave you with a “brick” instead of a working computer.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10After running a few tests and making some further adjustments, I decided to see whether they had helped.
First, I warmed up the computer a couple of times with 3DMark, then ran LinX.
The screenshot clearly shows that after overheating, the automatic controls reduced the clock speed to 80% of its nominal value, but periodically raise it back to 100%.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10Performance has improved, and the automatic temperature monitoring and processor clock-speed control are working much more reliably.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10Graphics performance in the Cinebench test is now normal for this processor, while performance in the math test predictably remained unchanged.
Wintel Pro CX-W8, inexpensive mini PC running Windows 10Even when run on a “warm” computer, 3DMark produced a normal score, with the temperature reaching 81 degrees.
I think that's a pretty good result for a little piece of brass plate used in the modification. :)
So, here's what we're left with.
First, the pros and cons of this computer.
ProsCompact size and neat appearance
Z8300 Cherry Trail processor.
USB 3.0 port works properly
Heatsink included
Analog audio output.
Ethernet port
Price
ConsWeak Wi-Fi
Overheating
Low write speed of the built-in flash memory
My take. First, let's talk about the stumbling block for many Chinese TV boxes: overheating.
You can see that the engineers did try to lower the processor temperature, and they almost succeeded. In previous reviews, I kept asking: why not use a heatsink instead of a piece of sheet metal? They did, which is great, but crammed it all into a small, unventilated case. Fortunately, you can improve things quite easily with just one small plate of copper (brass or aluminum) and a little thermal paste. Adding ventilation holes would have reduced the heat noticeably, but I didn't want to spoil the appearance. Besides, overheating now only shows up under sustained full load; in normal use, you probably wouldn't notice it.
My second comment is about Wi-Fi. I don't even know what to say here. Does it really work this strangely, or was I just “lucky”? I don't know. I don't usually use this kind of connection; I prefer wired, and it's good that they included a proper port. In my opinion, having an Ethernet port is a plus.
Although the manufacturer installed the flash memory in the right place, where it gets less hot, they used slow memory, which somewhat reduces performance. Too bad—the flash memory from Samsung would have been better.
At last, they got the USB 3.0 port right: it now works as it should, not in 2.0 mode.
I didn't test any games, since I already did that in my previous
review of a computer with this processor, and it performed quite well.
And one of the pros is the price. As far as I know, this is currently the cheapest Windows box.
If you're able to make a few modifications to this computer and Wi-Fi speed isn't critical, it's a very good option, since there are no other serious issues.
I hope you find this review useful. As always, I look forward to your questions and additions in the comments.
The product was provided by the store for review.
