The age of bulky tower PC cases has long gone except for some gamers who want to build powerful machines. Nowadays, most people are happy with their laptops and actually, there is another choice. That is mini desktop PC and we are checking out the Azulle Byte3 in this post.
Unboxing Video
Design & Features
The Byte3 is actually more compact than laptops and very easy to carry around. However, notice that this is a processing unit only and it doesn’t have a screen, a mouse, or keyboard. It comes with just an IR remote control but it is so inconvenient to do tasks with that remote. Therefore, the tiny computer is designed as an alternative to traditional tower computer, rather than being a portable solution. It is designed for home use and you use can use it in your home entertainment system. You can plug it to your TV and browse web or watch movies on the big screen.
In terms of connectivity, the PC has an SD card reader, a USB 3.0 port and a USB 2.0 port on the right side. On the back, we have two more USB 3.0 ports, a USB-C port, an Ethernet port, an HDMI port, a VGA port, and an audio jack.
The Azulle Byte3 has some different configurations; My review unit features an Intel Celeron Apollo Lake J3455 Quad-Core processor, Intel HD Graphics 500 GPU, Windows 10 Pro, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage. The built-in storage has very low capacity, fortunately, you can upgrade it easily by installing a 2.5″ SSD SATA up to 512 GB or M.2 2280 SATA up to 320 GB.
Performance
Obviously, the Byte3 is not built for gamers since it uses on-board GPU and the J3455 CPU is not recommended for gaming. It is suitable for average consumers who use computers to study, write documents in Microsoft Word, read news, check Facebook, or watch movies. I connected it to my 4K TV and monitor during the test and it worked pretty well.
Besides, I really love the fanless design of the product. The Byte3 can get a little warm but I hear no annoying fan sound during operation. Everything is silent and it doesn’t distract me from works.
Of course, the operation is not as smooth as my Windows laptop which is powered by Intel Core i7-8565U CPU and GTX 1080 GPU. There is a noticeable delay when I start a software or open media-heavy websites, however, it is acceptable for a computer at this size. I used the PC as a replacement for my TV box and it did a great job. I could watch 4K movies on Youtube and Netflix without any problem. Especially, PC versions of web browsers are still much better than any other version on smart TVs.
Conclusion
Pros
- Compact and lightweight
- Can stream 4K movies
- Quiet operation
Cons
- Expensive as compared to laptops or tower PC case
- Average performance
The Byte3 is a versatile mini computer that can satisfy most average users. However, if you need a more powerful machine for gaming or image/video editing, this is not really a good choice.
Buy Azulle Byte3 Fanless Mini Desktop PC on Amazon
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