[MediaPi]

Exterior same as the HP 260 G1 (Haswell 2957U) but has 4GB ram with 500 GB HDD (therefore must include the SATA cable) and has
Intel® Pentium® Processor 3558U

https://www.alternate.co.uk/Hewlett-Pack...ent=search

Basically its this model here
http://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Produc...GwodLswLUg

RRP £270
I think theres a mistake on alternate site since HP is listing this model as only 2 USB2 and 2 USB3 ports

They accept Paypal, not sure what delivery on this will be
I think if its real then its a worthy upgrade no. Sata cable is £16, screws are worth £7, 500 HDD (7200) is £40 2GB ram is another £12
so if you minuses all the extra thats £97 (I've taken all the extras to compare to the HP 260 G1 celeron version) , the celeron version is going for £90 thats great.
How does the 3558U compare to 2957U? what can the pentium do with Kodi that the celeron haswell can't?

Technical details
HP 260 G1 Desktop Mini PC

Supported Operating Systems
Operating system
Windows 7 Professional 64 (available through downgrade rights from Windows 8.1 Pro)
Operating system note
This system is preinstalled with Windows 7 Professional software and also comes with a license and media for Windows 8.1 Pro software. You may only use one version of the Windows software at a time. Switching between versions will require you to uninstall one version and install the other version. You must back up all data (files, photos, etc.) before uninstalling and installing operating systems to avoid loss of your data.
Processor
Chipset
Chipset integrated on processor
Processor family
Intel® Pentium® processor
Processor
Intel® Pentium® 3558U with Intel HD Graphics (1.7 GHz, 2 MB cache, 2 cores)
Memory
Memory, standard
4 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 SDRAM (1 x 4 GB)
Memory slots
2 SODIMM
Drives
Hard drive description
500 GB 7200 rpm SATA
Internal drive bays
One 2.5"
Graphic Subsystem
Graphics
Intel HD Graphics
Graphic card note
Integrated graphics will depend on processor
Multimedia
Audio
DTS Sound+™. HD audio with Realtek ALC221 codec (all ports are stereo), microphone and headphone front ports, audio line-out rear ports, multi-streaming capable, internal speaker
Input devices
Keyboard
HP USB Keyboard
Pointing device
HP USB Mouse
Battery and Power
Power
65 W 89% efficient, active PFC (external)
Weights
Weight
0.7 kg
System Components
Form factor
Mini
Security Management
Security management
Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2
Security Loop
HP UltraSlim Cable Lock (optional)
Kensington lock (optional)
Software and Applications
Software
Absolute Persistence module
HP business PCs are shipped with a variety of software titles including: HP Touchpoint Manager, HP Support Assistant, HP PageLift, HP ePrint Driver, Cyberlink Power DVD, Foxit Phantom PDF Express, Microsoft Security Essentials (Windows 7). Please refer to this product's quick spec document for a full list of preinstalled software.
Software footnote number
[10,11,12,14]
Connectivity and Communications Network interface
Integrated Realtek RTL8151GH-CB GbE
Ports
2 USB 3.0
1 headset
1 microphone/headphone jack
Expansion slots
1 mini PCIe
I/O Port location
Front
Ports
2 USB 2.0
2 USB 3.0
1 audio line out
1 VGA
1 DisplayPort
1 RJ-45
I/O Port location
Back
Dimensions
Minimum dimensions (W x D x H)
17.5 x 17.7 x 3.4 cm
Warranty
Warranty
On-site warranty: One-year (1-1-1) limited warranty delivers one year of on-site, next business day service for parts and labor and includes free telephone support 24 x 7. One-year onsite and labor are not available in all countries. Service offers terms up to 5 years by choosing a Care Pack. To choose the right level of service for your HP product, visit HP Care Pack Central: www.hp.com/go/cpc

[MediaPi]

found the same unit from a german company that delivers to UK (might also deliver to US?)

http://www.computeruniverse.net/en/produ...8l22ea.asp
paying by paypal and dhl delivery came to
€173.92 (£123.35)
it says (No additional national taxes or custom fees will apply for shipments in the EU!)

should have security by paying with paypal right.

[MediaPi]

the computeruniverse stock has r
un out but says "available on short notice"
found another company (german)
http://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.p...98479.html

€148.97(+€29.99 shipping)=€178.97 which is roughly equivalent to £124.98

if you research the ompany abit they are one of the biggest that deal with electronics in Europe, shame I can't find an english version of the site

(I used google translate to get this url
http://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.p...98479.html)

If you plan on solely to run kodi with openelec, this seems like a better deal. you'll get the Sata cable and screws with a decent 500gb hdd (always can upgrade to ssd later)
the ram is double but shame its not 2 single dimms, because you could have sold one for £10 since openelec should be fine on 2
and pentium should be 10% faster

I found a french video review on this unit, who does a complete tear down to
http://www.minimachines.net/a-la-une/dec...uite-32057



if you notice in the video the m.2 sata on this module is missing the m.2 ngff connector
(something like this
http://www.tme.eu/en/details/123a-42ba0-...wgodLjUPgQ)

so you don't have the option of installing an m.2 sata but they seem cheap enough, really not sure how you would attach it though, I think most would prefer a full sata connection anyway.

right now flubit offer is ranging around £89.
this deal is pretty amazing if you plan on getting sata cable and screws (another £16+£9=£25 total £114)

no one tempted in the slightest to get this over the celeron version?
any kodi members shopped in mindfactory.de ?

(wonder if mondfactory will give free shipping on second unit in same order, then a user can easily sell one unit for around £180, and the first unit should cost about £50 , you can even sell the hdd for around £35 and get the first unit for £15 :o)

[oWarchild]

Tempting...

How does the 3558U compare to 2957U?

In Intel ARK the only difference seems to be an extra 0.3GHz and in https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php...cmp[]=2293 is 266 points, should feel snappier, I guess.

[Mike_Doc]

Sounds interesting but the alternate link is showing it @ 172.9 GBP? dabs want 266.30 GBP. If this was available from a UK seller I think I'd get it if going for 125 GBP and replace the one I've just got.

[MediaPi]

yes the alternate link is the first site I found that sold this unit.

the posts afterwards shows two more sellers.
computerwise
http://www.computeruniverse.net/en/produ...8l22ea.asp
and mindfactory
http://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.p...98479.html

both these shops are not in the uk but in the Europe, mindfactory is in germany

the computerwise had stock in when I posted, they sold about 5 or so, good thing about them was that they had an english site and the process was simpler, also you can order through paypal and basically gave alot of protection, you can still order from computerwise but it says "available on short notice"

mindfactory, if you do some research are well known for electronics, and I've seen many posts about folks from uk buying and having no problems with delivery. Thats the thing with these units, you'll be ordering from europe, but once you've paid you will not have any more charges. but mindfactory is in german so you can order but you'll have to decipher the language lol

if this was available in the UK then I think most would buy this! I still think these units are worth taking a punt at, if I was to buy this or the ebuyer one, this would be better (if you don't plan on using windows)

[MediaPi]

thanks oWarchild about the information
according to cpuboss
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Pentium-35...eron-2957U

look at memory controller it says the pentium version supports more memory types
DDR3-1600
DDR3-1333
DDR3

for pentium

and only DDR3-1600 for celeron, is that true? can you install normall ddr3 on this and not just ddr3l

[Mike_Doc]

Yeah, good if you don't use windows, just checked those links and no OS. Would prefer to have an OS.

Thanks for the heads up MediaPi, I might get one to play around with Openelec or Linux, never used either as an OS and would keep the cost down although isn't Win 10 free so could I just not install that when it's available?

[MediaPi]

I believe microsoft backtracked on their promise. Windows 10 won't be free, but someone can confirm?

but yes, if you had a copy of any windows you should be able to install it, don't see any problem.
I'm guessing most will just use the celeron version for kodi only purposes anyway, so this with openelec is a BEAST.
LarrxX is from france and has got the exact unit, lucky git only paid 150 euros. he said its good and speedy, he should be able to answer questions on specific unit. If you do decide to buy post your results

[noggin]

I believe microsoft backtracked on their promise. Windows 10 won't be free, but someone can confirm?

I think initially everyone thought Windows 10 was going to be free if you were running the Windows 10 preview (with or without a licence) as well as a free upgrade to Win 7, 8 or 8.1. MS then backtracked and suggested it would only be a free upgrade, and those beta-testing without an existing Windows licence would have to pay. Think they have backtracked on that now as well - and are allowing long-term testers to continue. But we'll probably know more on the 29th.

Quite a few of my Win 7 installs are already offering the Win 10 upgrade thingy.

[MediaPi]

nice! thanks noggin! so can annyone get to run windows 10 preview? it'll be a steal to get windows on this unit

[missthebus]

The unit from MindFactory comes loaded with FreeDOS. Alternate is also a German company and if you look on Alternate.de, it is also listed with FreeDOS. So I would not be the least surprised if this got lost in translation, and the unit offered on Alternate.co.uk is also loaded with FreeDOS. Still a fine deal if you don't care about having windows.