Chuwi’s first mini PC isn’t a bad attempt, it’s the revised Atom X5 Z8350, 4GB of RAM and dual OS. Runs both Windows 10 Home and Android 5.1 which is getting a little old now. The mini PC has 3 USB ports, one of which is USB 3.0, they can all power external hard drives and that USB 3.0 port runs at proper USB 3.0 speeds.
It also supports a mini remote which also has an air mouse function that works similar to that of an LG magic remote for their smart TV’s or the Wii remote. Its build quality is good and the remote works in both Windows 10 and Android without a need of additional drivers.
Thermals are a little on the warm side, 84 degrees on the CPU when pushed hard gaming, but it never runs into thermal throttling which would lower its performance. Surface temps of the device get up to around 35 degrees so warm to the touch but nothing alarming.
Overall for the price of $130 USD (With Coupon GBCWH) I find this to be a great little PC, Android performance is the best part of it playing even the most demanding games with playable frame rates (as per my video review) and the fast bloat-free ROM. However if you plan on using the internal mics just be aware that my unit (first batch) has an issue with the two internal mics, recording audio resulted in nothing but an awful static noise. It seems they aren’t connected or working on my unit, so you’ll have to use an external mic.
Indra XL
Hi, I’m planning to buy this box, but one question, is there a maximum capacity for the external HDD enclosure for this box ?
Because I would like to hook up my 4 TB external HDD but wonder if this box can recognise it or not.
r0b0c0p
I received mine today and it seems fine in all areas except one, Windows shows a message saying the USB 3.00 port does not supply enough power for my external hard drive enclosure. It should be pointed out that this enclosure contains two 2.5 inch drives in RAID 1 mirrored config so it has higher power requirements than a single ext drive, but it works fine on my HP laptop USB3 port. I can use it fine in one of the Chuwi’s USB2 ports though. I have ordered a USB power meter to compare the USB3 outputs of my laptop and Chuwi HiBox to see how they both rate compared to standards. I’ll report back later.
Chris G
Okay not good, something I would miss as I only test 1 x 2.5″ HDDs and it’s fine powering that. I don’t have a RAID 1 or dual HDD enclosure.
r0b0c0p
Just in case you are interested here’s my review of the device in question https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxmBotyu5nA
r0b0c0p
Thanks for this review! I just ordered one, for price and features it’s exactly what I was waiting for as an always-on lounge TV PC/media center/downloader. I don’t really care about the mic but i’ll let you know what mine is like just out of interest! I ordered it straight after your initial unboxing so it’s likely to be the same batch I guess.
Chris G
It seems Mic’s have now been dropped from the design. Cost saving?
r0b0c0p
My mic is unusable. It just gives static with a weird rhythmic pulse every couple of seconds. Totally useless so now disabled. It’s not a concern to me – I don’t need an internal mic at all.
Malksharan
Exactly the same mic problem with my unit… Disapointed ! not tested on android though…
What do you think is the small hole on the remote control ? (also a mic maybe ?)
Malk
Chris G
Could be that hole, but it seems to also do nothing? have you tried it?
Malksharan
Nope
Blackburn
Looks great for the price, can it do 4k streaming?
foop
I don’t get the use case for these things. They’re never much cheaper than a tablet, why not just use one.
Chris G
They are good for a TV media box. My LG smart TV has a crappy dual core 1Ghz CPU with like 512mb of RAM and is painfully slow. This works much better.
richie
hmm .. that’s fine, but also supports HDMI CEC?