[kilimanjaro]

found this
http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Ha...5.1.Rxb9ar
looks like a clone of the HP 260 G1 (paypal accepted )




Mini PC Main Info
VHW10-2957U is an industrial Celeron 2957U fanless mini pc based on Haswell platform. The Haswell family features a new CPU core, new graphics and Series Lynx Point chipsets. There are substantial changes to the platform in terms of memory and power delivery and power management. Because of the low power consumption 2957U and the aluminium case, this mini pc is designed to be fanless.
This mini pc features full HD 1080p playback using hardware acceleration and the ability of running dual independent displays through 2 hdmi ports.This fanless mini computer has 1* SO-DIMM slot for memory up to 8GB, 1*SATA3.0, and expansion slots 2 mini PCIe. In addition, this Celeron 2957U based mini pc is also equipped with 2 X LAN, 2 x USB3.0, 4 x USB2.0, 1 x COM RS232 for wide applications. Its 190*150*25mm figure can be applied to any space-conservative environment. These combined features makes this mini PC an ideal for a range of applications like POS, digital signage, industrial automation, network security and so on. This Haswell based fanless mini PC system is designed to be high performance, reliable, secure and easy to manage.
Mini PC Features

Developed around Haswell Celeron 2957U
1*SO-DIMM slot for memory up to 8GB
HD 1080P playback and dual independent displays via 2 HDMI ports
Rich I/O ports: 2*USB3.0, 4*USB2.0, 2*LAN, 1*COM
Supports PXE, Wake On LAN, Auto Power On Function
Aluminium case
Fanless mini pc with a figure of 190 x 150 x 25mm

price is $130 (assuming the cheaper price of $110 is for bulk purchase?) that equates to around £85(irony?), this is also open to the world (not just the UK as the HP 260 G1) so its not bad, I don't know if theres shpping involved.

PROS AGAINST THE HP 260 G1
2 HDMI

2 LAN - there arn't many options for hardware that support this, one comes to mind is from hardkernal.

Dimensions of this unit are 190mm x150mm x 25mm 0.8kg
Dimensions of HP 260 G1 Width 175mm/Depth 177mm/Height 34mm/Weight 0.7kg
so its wider from the front,considerably shorter in depth and boy its slim!

leading on from the dimensions, comes the next pro! ITS FANLESS! dam seriously thats friggin awesome, this is due to "this mini pc is designed to be fanless" and the fact the case is made from aluminium. (thats also the reason why its so slim because it doesn't need height for the fan.) I think this feature gets me really excited!

already has everything for SATA 3 drive, no need to purchase cable or screws, should save around £12!

2x mini-PCIe (the HP has one for wifi/bt), so you can install the same mini express card in this unit to get internal wifi, and you will have one more free!

1 x COM RS232 for wide applications (I have no idea what that is)

Supports PXE (also known as Pre-Execution Environment; sometimes pronounced "pixie") is an environment to boot computers using a network interface independently of data storage devices (like hard disks) or installed operating systems)

can attach 2 hdmi screens

CONS AGAINST THE HP 260 G1
this is barebone, no keyboard&mouse(not really needed for htpc?), no ram/storage/OS
2GB Ram is £10 (so you could say it compensates for having the cable/screws for sata drive)
you'll need to source your own storage, but really I don't see this as a show stopper because most will already have some, and prices for storage are plummeting.

no Windows 8.1 with Bing licence, the fact the HP came with a windows license was a bonus, can't think of any other haswell proccessor that comes ships with free windows license, but this is a negative if you was looking to get the HP for amazon (through windows)

definetly one of the biggest negative is that it doesn't include the turn on from remote function

has only 1*SO-DIMM slot for memory up to 8GB (but for htpc use case and the fact you might consider installing openelec, this is a small issue?)

although this unit has the same amount of usb ports as the HP (6 in total) we have only 2 of which are USB 3 (4 on the HP), again for HTPC use case this isn't that big of an issue

does not have M.2 sata

HP looks so much sexier! lol, but what do you expect from a clone.

WRAP UP
when the HP 260 G1 first came out it was priced @£100 which needed a HDMI adaptor for £4, total cost £104, this unit for £95 (£10 for Ram) is very competitive, don't forget the HP has RRP of £202.
this also has two lan which would interest alot of people, which so far only had an arm solution(hardkernal). The fact that this offer is open to all the world will have a wider appeal im guessing and allow everyone a chance to get something similar to HP 260 G1

but one of the biggest thing that excites me on this box is that its fanless, though the HP I've heard is really quiet.

all we need now is for the first person to buy one lol, i'm sure the floodgates will open after that.
link to HP 260 G1 thread
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=229668

[kilimanjaro]

There are pcitures on the first link I posted, but I found some more pics here
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/DIY-Mini-...14732.html
(for those that are interested this unit is $271.98 (£176.71) has Win 7 HTPC 2G RAM 500G HDD also has wifi)

another place where you can buy it
http://www.dhgate.com/product/mini-itx-f...38856.html

slightly cheaper

I take it back about the looks of this unit, I think it looks sleek and minimilistic, also have a look at the "thermal conductivity aluminium block" a reason why they were able to make it fanless?







some more pics, but this version is the broadwell celeron 3205U, same company but I woudn't be surprised if it had the exact same case, what were they thinking with the yellow logo?
http://datangpc.en.alibaba.com/product/6...nless.html

also at first I thought the front of the unit was where you have the usb 3 ports (along with the mic in etc) but having a look at this pic



I'm not sure, so I'm guessing that the usb 3 are on the side and the front is this plain look, which I perfer
EDIT: yes they are on the side, have a look at the internal pic and you'll notice that the mic input is on the left side (in the picture, right in real life)

what are community members opinons? Matt Devo your the expert on 2957U, what do you think?

P.S. my other account is MediaPi

[noggin]

THINGS THAT THEY HAVE IN COMMON
"Auto Power On Function"!!!!! what else can this be than the power on from remote function on the HP? thats pretty awesome if true!

"Auto Power On" usually means something very different in a BIOS. It means that the PC powers up as soon as mains power is connected, rather than waiting for someone to press the on button on the front. This is needed in situations where you want something to cope with a power cut. (So it switches back on when the power returns)

It strikes me that this device could be designed to act as a firewall-type device as well (though the dual HDMI would be redundant, the dual LAN and Mini-PCI-e would allow for WiFi and WWAN cards) which could well benefit from Auto Power On, if it was booting from a small CF+SATA, or SD+SATA, or USB boot disk with a RAM filing system (so power down without a clean shutdown not catastrophic) RS232 console access might also be useful in this scenario.

The other factor to consider is the lack of a Windows 8.1 with Bing licence. For a PC like this that is not a free bit of software (only low-end tablets get that free from MS) If OpenElec is all you need that's fine, but if you want Netflix, Amazon etc. easily then it is a factor.

[kilimanjaro]

thanks noggin, thats a shame it doesn't have that feature.
what do you think though? if you can get it for £85

edit: I think its also worth enquiring, what they mean by auto power on, though it makes sense with how you explained it that it means what you said, but since the HP has a similar function, it might be a duplicate of that function? its still a possibility

[kilimanjaro]

I wonder what the max resolution this unit will support? I'm guessing it won't be as high as the
HP 260 G1
all it mentions is 1080P

[kilimanjaro]

The other factor to consider is the lack of a Windows 8.1 with Bing licence. For a PC like this that is not a free bit of software (only low-end tablets get that free from MS) If OpenElec is all you need that's fine, but if you want Netflix, Amazon etc. easily then it is a factor.

true but then again how many boxes do user want that they just add openelec? (i'm guessing a high percentage)the HP was almost unique that it offered haswell cpu with windows, if the HP was still around then this isn't as good a choice, but the fact that the HP has been discontinued then this seems like an amazing choice. and its fanless

[kilimanjaro]

had an amazing thought, someone pm them as ask to send them a unit to Matt Devo
they would sell bucket loads after Matt has a smile on his face

[kilimanjaro]

noggin you was right about the firewall thing
heres another similar board (from same company) that is advertised as "firewall board", pretty much same board
http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Ce...5.1.PHB3DP

also found another post about the box and the company
http://androidtvbox.eu/maxtang-vhw-10-ul...rocessors/

company seems legit

found a website about the company
http://www.datangpc.com/en/

[noggin]

I wonder what the max resolution this unit will support? I'm guessing it won't be as high as the
HP 260 G1
all it mentions is 1080P

Would expect it to be the same as the Chromebox via HDMI or HP 260 G1 via DP to HDMI - which would be 2160/30p or 1080/60p? Might not be - but I wouldn't be surprised if it were.

[noggin]

noggin you was right about the firewall thing
heres another similar board (from same company) that is advertised as "firewall board", pretty much same board
http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Ce...5.1.PHB3DP

also found another post about the box and the company
http://androidtvbox.eu/maxtang-vhw-10-ul...rocessors/

company seems legit

found a website about the company
http://www.datangpc.com/en/

Yep - Firewall (2xLAN + Mini-PCI-e useful), Digital Signage (2xHDMI means you can feed two displays from a single box) and Point of Sale (RS232 useful for older barcode readers) all make sense as applications.

[noggin]

The other factor to consider is the lack of a Windows 8.1 with Bing licence. For a PC like this that is not a free bit of software (only low-end tablets get that free from MS) If OpenElec is all you need that's fine, but if you want Netflix, Amazon etc. easily then it is a factor.

true but then again how many boxes do user want that they just add openelec? (i'm guessing a high percentage)the HP was almost unique that it offered haswell cpu with windows, if the HP was still around then this isn't as good a choice, but the fact that the HP has been discontinued then this seems like an amazing choice. and its fanless

Yep - just pointing out that no Windows 8.1 with Bing was an additional con. That's about $30 of value (apparently)

[kilimanjaro]

thanks noggin, edited first post to reflect additional con and also the fact that it has no wake on remote
looking at the http://androidtvbox.eu/maxtang-vhw-10-ul...rocessors/

it says i7 4600U (3.3 GHz, dual core, TDP 15W) – $420
15W? can that be right? i7??

BTW I found the haswell i3 version from Maxtang (same company)
http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/4K...22597.html

it says FANLESS again, everything else pretty much the same. all for $250/£163
this is first I heard about i3 haswell that is fanless
price is incredible for what you'll be getting
this could be the i3 box to get if you need it, can it really be fanless?

[kilimanjaro]

I'm pretty sure that your correct about "auto power on function" since the board looks to be advertised for industrial use.
I'm guessing the square thing at the front is the power on button?

also I think the fact that you got two usb ports on the side can be advantageous for our htpc needs, you could stick a usb ir reader (flirc etc) on the side and have better range because it won't be at the back and still the front will be flush. if only we came across this board earlier.

I still think the 2957u will be relevant till kaby lake? comes out, even then it'll take time to wean out bugs etc, so this kind of unit will be appealing.
comparing to asus chromebox in the UK, this thing is looking like a good purchase.
how ironic it's you noggin again replying first on the thread lol noggin buy the board and say its magic again so everyone else buys it like before lol

[noggin]

thanks noggin
looking at the http://androidtvbox.eu/maxtang-vhw-10-ul...rocessors/

it says i7 4600U (3.3 GHz, dual core, TDP 15W) – $420
15W? can that be right? i7??

Yes. http://ark.intel.com/products/76616/Inte...o-3_30-GHz It's a Dual Core Laptop i7 - not a Quad Core Desktop i7...

The U-series are the ultra low power designs. They trade-off lower thermal dissipation for less grunt.

The i7-4600U has a passmark of 4148 (single thread 1721).
An i7-4770K has a passmark of 10188 (single thread 2263).

So the i7 in the maxtang is a lot less powerful, but the i7-4770k has a TDP of 84W, so a lot warmer running...

[kilimanjaro]

I think the i7 is to expensive but the i3 for £167, what will that be able to do that the celeron can't.
HEVC?

EDIT: out of curiosity, what will the i7 model be able to do? its also fanless, will that be able to do full HEVC in software decode? that will be pretty cool, might interest a few people