I know quite a few people who would like to replace their desktop with a small mini PC. They want to browse the internet, watch movies on a big TV, and still be able to use it like a regular computer, albeit a small one.
So, let me introduce you to a mini PC running Windows 8.1
There are a huge number of Android TV boxes, while Windows is only just starting to make inroads into this market.
Many people are familiar with similar devices, more commonly known by the acronym HTPC, or home theater PC.
Of course, big, powerful computers have their place, but you don't always want to fire up a large computer (which also consumes quite a lot of power) just to browse the internet and watch videos.
Some of my acquaintances were also looking for a small computer for office work.
Model — Pipo X7
Available case colors — black, silver.
Operating system — Windows 8.1 (upgradeable to 10)
Processor — Intel Baytrail T Z3736F
Graphics — Intel HD Graphics
RAM — 2GB DDR3
Flash storage — 32GB Samsung
Maximum microSD card capacity — 32GB (though I think this is a mistake, since tablets with similar hardware support up to 128GB)
WiFi — IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth — Bluetooth 4.0
Ethernet — 100 Mb/s
Power supply — 12 V, 2.4 A
USB — 4 internal USB 2.0 ports (two on the front and two on the back)
Video output — full-size HDMI port
Audio output — 3.5 mm jack on the front panel
Dimensions — 188x123x25 mm
Weight without power supply — 400 g
Package contents — TV box, power supply, adapter for European-style outlets, warranty card.
But we'll get to that a little later. For now, let's start with the usual introduction.
The fairly large white box, with a little color printing, arrived without any problems.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.Everything inside the box was neatly packed; the power supply adapter was in a separate compartment.
By the way, for some reason they made the box open the other way around, so you have to turn it until the writing is upside down. Strange :)
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.The package contents are very basic; the remaining space is empty.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.The back lists the TV box's specs, even in Russian. It's a small touch, but a nice one.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.And that's everything in the box.
TV box
Power supply
Warranty card
Adapter for our outlets.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.And here is the star of this review. It comes in two colors, black and silver; I chose black.
The side has ventilation holes covered with a metal mesh.
Overall, it felt really nice to hold. The case is metal with a matte finish, and it looks quite solid.
The design is simple, but very neat.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.The power button is on the front (hold it down for about 1 second to turn the device on; a quick press won't do it).
Power indicator LED.
Two USB ports.
Output for connecting headphones or an amplifier.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.The rear has:
WiFi antenna (it swivels, but isn't removable)
microSD card slot (the stated maximum is 32 GB, but there's reason to believe it can actually handle up to 128 GB)
Two USB ports.
HDMI output for connecting a TV or monitor.
Ethernet port.
Power connector.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.The bottom is covered with ventilation holes.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.Just in case, here's a closer look at the rear panel.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.And the front. By the way, the power LED is mounted perpendicular to the opening, so it's easy to see, but it also shines right in your eyes. The LED is red (finally, they've stopped using super-bright blue ones).
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.To give you an idea of how big this mini PC is, I took a photo next to what is probably the most familiar device to many computer enthusiasts: a standard 3.5-inch hard drive.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.Okay, that's it for the exterior. Time to take a look inside :)
Grab a screwdriver, remove the four screws at the corners of the bottom, and take off the cover.
When putting the cover back on (if you take it apart), insert one short side first. Then press the cover down firmly and run your fingers along one long side, then the other. It takes quite a bit of force to get the cover back on.
Inside is a small circuit board. It's hard to believe this is essentially a computer motherboard, with a processor, all the necessary peripherals, memory (RAM and ROM), WiFi and Bluetooth.
The front-panel board is separate.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.Excellent build quality, at least on this side of the board.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.A closer look at the back of the board.
You can see unpopulated component footprints and some pads for connecting something external, but I’ll share my thoughts on that later.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that could easily replace a small computer.The other side of the board is much more densely populated.
The processor is covered by a metal shield, and a piece of aluminum foil is also stuck on top of it (I don’t understand the point of this).
At first I thought it was self-adhesive foil that you could stick a heatsink to, with a protective film on top. But on closer inspection, the film turned out to be between the foil and the metal shield.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that could easily replace a small computer.Next I removed the shield. Inside, you can see two thermal pads that transfer heat from the processor and power controller to the shield, which also acts as a heatsink.
It’s worth noting that when the processor is loaded to 100% (for example, in a game that puts a load on both the processor and its graphics core), it can get quite hot.
As I understand it, the developers designed this TV box for workloads that are rarely this heavy or sustained, so they probably cut costs. Even a small heatsink would have easily solved the problem.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that could easily replace a small computer.A closer look at the board as a whole.
In the lower-left corner there’s a footprint for some kind of connector, very much like a microUSB port.
The designers apparently decided that four full-size ports were enough for the user. They’re right in a way, of course, but they could have added a fifth one too.
There’s also a footprint for another power inductor; more on that later.
The board is marked for a Z3735F processor, although the actual chip is a Z3736F.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that could easily replace a small computer.The front-panel board has far fewer components.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that could easily replace a small computer.I didn’t see anything interesting on the back.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that could easily replace a small computer.There’s a sticker on the board indicating the type of processor installed.
It says Z3736F, which is also what the system reports.
Although, to be honest, I didn’t notice any performance gain from the turbo mode, which runs 300 MHz faster than the lower-end version. Apparently, the processor doesn’t think it has any reason to run at full speed.
Still, performance is more than adequate.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that could easily replace a small computer.And here I'll move on to describing what all this is «made of».
What it's all built aroundI'll start with the processor. There's no explicit
Z3736F marking on the processor, but the software identifies it quite accurately as a Z3736F.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.The board has Samsung DDR3 RAM installed, part number
K4B4G0846Q.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.The eMMC flash memory (the computer's hard drive, so to speak) is also from Samsung, marked
klmbg4geac-b001
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.And this is what I referred to earlier.
The power management controller, which is also a multi-channel voltage regulator.
Above, I mentioned that the board has unpopulated pads for connecting something external, as well as a spot for a power inductor.
As I understand it from the datasheet, this controller supports an external battery (charging and monitoring), but those components aren't installed.
I'm thinking of revisiting this later and building a mini PC with a UPS inside.
The controller is an
AXP288. The photo clearly shows the tiny inductors; the chip generates a whole bunch of supply voltages.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.There's also a USB 2.0 hub inside, built around a
gl850g chip.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are handled by a Realtek RTL8723BS controller.
Reception is average at best, comparable to the tablet I reviewed earlier. But given that this one has an external antenna, I expected better.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.The audio section is also built around a Realtek chip, the fairly well-known ALC5640.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.Ethernet, on the other hand, uses a different controller, from Davicom Semiconductor. I'd never come across this company before.
It's a 10/100 Mbps USB-Ethernet controller, the
dm9621.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.The BIOS is stored in a 64-Mbit (8 MB) Winbond
25Q64 memory chip.
I had to scrape off the paint someone had inexplicably applied on top.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.There are a few more chips on the back of the board.
atmlh 348 or atmlh 340—I couldn't make it out, but probably the former. EEPROM for the network card.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.There is also one unidentified chip and a few other small components.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.The package includes a power supply, unfortunately with a non-European plug; an adapter was included.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.The power supply has an output voltage of 12 V, which is somewhat unusual for TV boxes.
The power supply is rated for a maximum current of 2.4 A and has the manufacturer's branding.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.Naturally, I also measured the current draw in different operating modes.
In standby mode, the current draw is 20 mA.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.On the desktop, with no other load but Wi-Fi enabled, the current draw is around 0.25–0.35 A, or 3–4 W.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.Under load, the current draw rises to about 0.5 A, or 6 W.
In my opinion, that's a very good performance-to-power ratio.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.After all that disassembly and reassembly, I moved on to testing the device.
In general, judging by the information online, the performance difference between the Z3736F and Z3735F processors is so small that it makes you wonder why they even made two versions.
In sustained workloads, their benchmark performance is practically identical. The Z3736F only pulls ahead under peak loads, where its turbo frequency is higher.
Since there are a lot of screenshots, I decided to hide them under a spoiler as well.
First, some information about the system.
As you can see, the TV box comes with an English-language version of the system, so let me digress briefly.
Before testing, I decided to switch this TV box to Russian. This is much simpler here: the system initially has only English installed.
Select Add language, then choose Russian (or whichever language you prefer).
Unlike the tablet I reviewed earlier, nothing needs to be downloaded here; the manufacturer has already taken care of that.
After adding the language, it will simply ask you to restart. Go ahead and do so.
After restarting, open the region and language settings and select the primary location.
It will ask you to restart again.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.Then open the regional settings and select the current system language.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.All that's left is to apply these settings to all user accounts.
This is what you'll see when you open this menu.
Check the two boxes at the bottom and restart. That's it.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.And that's it—the English is gone.
The first test was the built-in benchmark in WinRAR.
It scored 1706.
The Z3735F tablet scored just a little less in this test: 1685.
Next, I tested the speed of the built-in flash storage.
First, a screenshot of Disk Management.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.Speed test in HD Tune.
CrystalDiskMark test.
The result is very good. In general, the OS feels quite responsive in everyday use.
It's more comfortable to use than a computer with a regular hard drive.
The processor clock speed is adjusted according to the load; the minimum is the same as on the tablet, around 500 MHz.
The maximum is 1598 (the tablet reached 1563); the processor manufacturer specifies a turbo-mode clock speed of around 2.16 GHz. I saw it reach that speed only a couple of times, but didn't manage to take a screenshot because it only appeared briefly.
I think the difference in turbo-mode clock speeds matters more for short bursts of activity. Under sustained load, the speed is lower, as shown in the screenshot.
The BIOS is from AMI (American Megatrends Inc), a familiar name to many PC users.
The computer has 2 GB of DDR3 1333 memory installed.
Unfortunately, that's the maximum amount this processor can support.
And of course, the well-known 3DMark benchmark.
The result is very good—not that it's on par with modern discrete graphics cards, of course.
But I was able to play Far Cry 2 without any problems, and Far Cry 1 ran great (at medium quality and 1920x1200 resolution).
This benchmark is fairly new to me; I hadn't used it before. Still, the result is very good for a device that draws just 6 W at full load (about what a hard drive consumes).
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.Processor temperature measured after running the stress test.
Intel specifies a maximum temperature of 105 degrees.
As I mentioned above, this TV box uses a fairly standard AMI BIOS.
I'm thinking of trying to install the more familiar-to-me Windows 7 on it.
There are quite a lot of settings, including battery-related options, right down to setting the threshold voltage in mV and monitoring the charger temperature. So there's a good chance of success if I modify it to run autonomously from a battery (incidentally, the BIOS threshold is 3.7 V, which clearly suggests operation from a single battery).
There are loads of menus, so I'll show only the main BIOS screens.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.To make this device more reliable, I decided to make a few modifications.
Seeing how high the processor temperature was (in my opinion), I decided to tweak this mini PC a little.
Back in the day, I was taught that electronic components shouldn't get too hot, and if they burn your hand, that's definitely not good.
Using imported components did change my mind a little, but I still try to make sure nothing overheats.
There are several ways to improve things (at least three).
The simplest option is to just peel off the aluminum foil. It's attached with double-sided tape, which does nothing to improve cooling.
While I was at it, I noticed that the thermal pads weren't making very good contact with the metal shield, which also serves as a heatsink.
I can't say for sure whether it was like this from the start or happened after I took the device apart, but I have a feeling the processor ran cooler before I disassembled it.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.I cleaned off the remaining tape residue with alcohol. You'll see why in a moment.
This modification lowered the temperature by about 5 degrees (though it's hard to say for sure, since the difference isn't very large).
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.I decided not to stop there and moved on to further improvements.
I found an old GeForce MX400 graphics card in my stash. It might even still work, but since it's nothing special, I don't mind breaking it.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.I applied thermal paste to the heatsink—our own, ordinary KPT-8.
Don't worry that it looks a bit messy; the paste is quite soft and will spread evenly when installed.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.The heatsink measures 45x45 mm. That's the maximum size; I even had to file it down a little to make it fit. But you can easily use a much smaller heatsink, such as ones for motherboard chipsets or graphics cards, sold separately in Chinese online stores.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.Although the heatsink is held in place quite well by the paste, and sits on top of the board in the normal orientation, I decided to play it safe.
To keep the heatsink from going anywhere and press it slightly against the metal shield, I used self-adhesive rubber pads (available at furniture stores for next to nothing).
I needed 8 pads in total.
The distance from the board to the case is 18 mm, the cover is 2 mm thick, and the heatsink is 11 mm thick, leaving 18-2-11=5 mm.
Each pad is about 3 mm thick when uncompressed, so I used two together to get 6 mm.
When the board is put back in place, the pads press the heatsink down slightly.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.The heatsink turned out to be a little larger than necessary, so I had to file a small notch for the crystal oscillator.
In the end, everything worked out great. The processor temperature dropped by about 15 degrees, which I consider a pretty good result. Performance didn't change much; the processor wasn't throttling before (the manufacturer specifies a maximum operating temperature of 105 degrees)), but that could easily have happened in the summer heat.
By the way, I tried installing a program to detect when the processor switches to frequency-limiting mode, but it wouldn't work.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.I put everything back together, and in the process came up with a third cooling method—the simplest one.
Since the case is made of metal, the logical solution was to transfer heat from the back of the circuit board. All you need to do is buy a piece of thermally conductive rubber and place it between the board and the bottom cover. There are no components under the processor or power controller, so you can use a fairly large piece of rubber.
Of course, it's better to transfer the heat to the top cover, but the bottom one should work too, since it has a fairly large surface area.
I couldn't test this method because I didn't have any of that thermally conductive rubber.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.Summary.
ProsNeat construction.
Four USB ports.
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, as well as a wired connection.
A full-fledged Windows 8.1 computer, upgradeable to Windows 10.
Low power consumption.
Price—you'd be hard-pressed to find a computer with similar performance for this money.
ConsThe processor gets noticeably hot under a heavy, sustained load.
The temperature doesn't reach the maximum, of course, but it would be better if it were lower.
My opinion. There are plenty of places where this mini PC could be put to use, and not just for the purposes the manufacturer had in mind. For example, it could easily serve as a home or office computer, or even be used as an embedded system. At least four people I know are already interested in one, for watching movies, browsing the internet, working with office and accounting documents, and even playing a few games. I would really like to add a SATA port, but unfortunately, that's not possible.
I was a little disappointed by the processor's high temperature, but that's easy to fix.
The mini computer for this review was provided by the gearbest store.
But I'll digress here: this device is no longer being manufactured. As far as I know, the manufacturer doesn't have an Intel license to use its processors (I'm checking on this).
So the heading just links to the store page with various TV boxes, that's all.
If you liked it, I think you can still buy one elsewhere.
At least, I'll be looking—I want to buy a few more.
I really hope that this time nobody accuses me of trying to promote a product, since it's no longer for sale.
I actually planned to publish this review much earlier, but circumstances beyond my control mean I'm only posting it now, even though many of my friends have been waiting for it for a long time.
I hope the information in this review will be useful.
I'm almost certain that owners of powerful computers with top-of-the-line i7s and a pair of GTX980s will say this is a toy. And they'd be right, to some extent. But there's room under the sun for every toy.
I'm sure someone will also ask whether I've seen computers more powerful than my old E7500.
I assure you, I have, and I work with them from time to time :))
For example, here's one of the computers currently running tests at my place.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.A modest little server: inside is a Xeon with 8 GB of memory and four Seagate Cheetah 15K drives in RAID 10.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.I bought this mini PC to replace another computer, which was also mini, but now looks gigantic.
That computer ran for 5 years. I cleaned the dust out once and replaced the CPU fan.
Now it will take the place of its older brother and serve as a home server; the only change will be an increase in hard drive capacity.
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.As you can see, it was built into the case from an old TV tuner. It's a shame the new one doesn't have a COM port, since the old one had it in use. :((
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.And here's the inside. It has an Atom with 2+2 cores, 2 GB of RAM, and a 160 GB hard drive. Pretty modest overall.
I wonder if anyone can guess who made the power supply?
PIPO X7, a Windows 8.1 TV box that can easily replace a small computer.
