[Temujin]

Finally ordered mine, will report back when I get it.

[teki4u]

great. hope you can figure it out about the 2.5" hdd

[DocG]

I've just ordered two from Amazon, seeing these popped up there, though it'll be a couple of weeks as I chose the Free Shipping option to my forwarder. As for 2.5" hdd, isn't it more or less clear that it would fit, but that there is no esata port? I'd be more interested in the max length of the M.2 ssd, as I couldn't quite make it out from the video. Guess I'll just have to wait till I get mine.

[jmphx]

There's a new (Feb 15, 2015) detailed review of these boxes on Arstechnica. It covers a lot of the questions and details of upgrading that I have seen in this thread. Worth checking out.

For instance, the max length of the M.2 drive slot is 42mm, for anyone looking to find a replacement.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/02/c...-reviewed/

[Stereodude]

There's a new (Feb 15, 2015) detailed review of these boxes on Arstechnica. It covers a lot of the questions and details of upgrading that I have seen in this thread. Worth checking out.

For instance, the max length of the M.2 drive slot is 42mm, for anyone looking to find a replacement.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/02/c...-reviewed/

So you need a special adapter cable to plug in a 2.5" SATA drive. The few pictures I've seen of the $180 Stream Mini opened up don't show it as included. I wonder how hard it will be to source one.

[DocG]

There's a new (Feb 15, 2015) detailed review of these boxes on Arstechnica. It covers a lot of the questions and details of upgrading that I have seen in this thread. Worth checking out.

For instance, the max length of the M.2 drive slot is 42mm, for anyone looking to find a replacement.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/02/c...-reviewed/

Thanks for the link, answers quite a few of the questions I had. So still 2242 for the M.2, just like the Chromebox.

So you need a special adapter cable to plug in a 2.5" SATA drive. The few pictures I've seen of the $180 Stream Mini opened up don't show it as included. I wonder how hard it will be to source one.

It actually does state that the proprietary adapter is not included with the Stream Mini, and you'll have to wait until adapters show up for sale, either at HP stores or elsewhere.

[DocG]

Well, that was a rather expensive, and never to be repeated, exercise. Those boxes are HUGE!! The two I had ordered arrived at my forwarder and I was quite shocked when I saw the oversized warning and the US $140+ shipping costs. Let this be a warning to everyone overseas who may be considering this option.

I had them repackage it with some smaller stuff I had still sitting there and it came down to $120, where those two boxes took up more than 90% of the space. Not quite sure why these are so massive but I guess I'll see on Monday, when delivery is expected. I've shipped heavier boxes before for much less.

Definitely not recommended for overseas buyers!!

[kdnoel]

Well, that was a rather expensive, and never to be repeated, exercise. Those boxes are HUGE!! The two I had ordered arrived at my forwarder and I was quite shocked when I saw the oversized warning and the US $140+ shipping costs. Let this be a warning to everyone overseas who may be considering this option.

I had them repackage it with some smaller stuff I had still sitting there and it came down to $120, where those two boxes took up more than 90% of the space. Not quite sure why these are so massive but I guess I'll see on Monday, when delivery is expected. I've shipped heavier boxes before for much less.

Definitely not recommended for overseas buyers!!

Interesting!
The largest piece is the keyboard so please update us after you actually get it so all will know

[hdmkv]

So, just to confirm, this box can do Kodi with hd audio under Windows 8 w/Bing as installed? Any idea about using PowerDVD or TMT as external player for 3D ISO's?

[DocG]

The largest piece is the keyboard so please update us after you actually get it so all will know

I'll report back with some pictures next week. If one of these wasn't bought as a present for somebody else I'd have been tempted to given my forwarder the instruction to take out the unit only, safely wrap and repackage it and then discard the rest.

So, just to confirm, this box can do Kodi with hd audio under Windows 8 w/Bing as installed?

According to specs, yes.

[cncb]

Any idea about using PowerDVD or TMT as external player for 3D ISO's?

I don't think so, I tried the Zotac BI320 with the same CPU, and it doesn't support full (MVC) 3D output.

[agender]

Is the gpu and cpu performance that much better on the Pentium model to justify the extra $120 or so(its $320 right?)? Sure it has 4gb of ram(shouldn't be hard to upgrade the base to 4gb or even 6gb for cheap) and 500gb(7200) HDD(which I prefer), but it's the cpu/gpu combo I am not sure of. Or is there something better(in the same form factor) out there at that similar price range?

[Stereodude]

Any idea about using PowerDVD or TMT as external player for 3D ISO's?

That's not gonna happen. Intel gimped the Haswell Pentium and Celeron chips. You need an i3 or better.

[Methanoid]

I'll report back with some pictures next week. If one of these wasn't bought as a present for somebody else I'd have been tempted to given my forwarder the instruction to take out the unit only, safely wrap and repackage it and then discard the rest.

Thanks for the info. I guess I will have to look for a forwarder too. I'll definitely be junking KB and unnecessary junk. A KB is cheap locally!

[kdnoel]

The HP Stream is now available from Staples.ca