Normally , I would n’t care what my mini PC see like . Why would I ? It ’s just the box seat I vex next to my varan for on - the - go computing needs . It does n’t need all the flashing light and LEDs of an ultimate gambling cheat , it just ask to officiate . At least , that ’s how I to begin with feel about your average NUC . Then I unboxedAyaneo ’s Mini PC AM01for the first time , and I could n’t assist but inquire why I cogitate other producer could get away with the same old , same old for so long .
you’re able to already order just by the scene that the AM01 looks like an one-time Macintosh . No , there ’s no in - built screen ( I imagine modders are already champ at the bit to cling one in ) , but along with the common slate of USB and HDMI port that you ’d find on any one-time NUC , the box also comes stacked with an array of stickers meant to further personalize the short , faux - Macintosh sit on your desk . The lilliputian rainbow emblem is magnetized and you may trade it out for other icons that amount in the boxful .
Ayaneo ’s AM01 is a beauty , but it can still take the air the walk in term of its base specs ( so long as you prefer for a microcomputer packing 16 GB or more memory and a higher - end CPU ) . It ’s sluttish and portable enough for you to slip into your packsack or luggage , so long as you know there ’s a monitoring machine , keyboard , and mouse setup waiting for you once you get to wherever you ’re going . It ’s not the smallest , nor the tumid manikin on the market . It ’s not packing the best specification , nor is it the most expensive . But in my judgment , it ’s the cutest version of the NUC design I ’ve figure yet .
Taking the Ayaneo Mini PC AM01 on the road for the Christmas break proved more than enough for my daily writing and computing tasks.Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
I have n’t put the Mini PC through its full paces , but with theIndiegogofor the AM01 winding down , I want to deal a few of my opinion having taken the gimmick on the route for the holiday . I gazump it up to a random admonisher , keyboard , and mouse I base in my Father of the Church ’s office and found myself right at rest home , though you should n’t have a bun in the oven the seamless performance of a consecrate work laptop or the video recording power of a full play microcomputer — or even a handheld console table .
Ayaneo Mini PC AM01 Design and Specs
The Retro Design is the Mini PC’s Biggest Boon
I do n’t usually smile at a piece of tech sitting on my desk , but for some odd understanding , I ca n’t help myself looking at the tan , pliant brick that is the Ayaneo Mini microcomputer AM01 . I have to ask : why ? The gadget resembles the old 1984 Macintosh , though when you look at both side - by - side they ’re not quite the same silhouette . It has a fake , black plastic screen and a magnetically attached rainbow icon resonant of former Apple computer hardware . I was born a X after Steve Jobs and his company first put the Macintosh 128 K on the market . And yet , every meter I depend at it , I ca n’t assist but think “ damn , that ’s a cute , little PC . ” I keep calling it my “ Little Mac , ” and I ’m not about to stop any time before long .
The 5 - by-5 - in brick is a little more than 2 inches tall , meaning it needed a fair bit of dedicated way in my baggage . It also count just a little over 1 Ezra Pound , so it ’s not that big of a haulage if you ignore how you ’ll involve to persuade around your power cable or any other computer peripheral or chords . It ’s just about criterion for this variety of invention , and as far as I could tell the build quality is pretty smirch on . I also appreciate how most of the ports are all located on one side of the font . There ’s an HDMI 2.0 input , a DisplayPort 1.4 , three USB - A 3.2 Gen2 , and one USB - A 2.0 . There ’s your regular ethernet port and might connector in addition to a USB - cytosine ( used for information transfer of training only ) and a 3.5 millimeter headphone old salt place at the other destruction . If you require your Mini PC to expect like an literal Macintosh resist vertically , you ’ll neglect out on your pumped up headphone connectivity .
The bottom of the gadget is the fan ingestion , and the raging breeze blow out the right vents . The buff can go reasonably heavily , especially if you adjudicate to plunge into your Steam program library or run some other intensive package . I do n’t have much problem with the buzzing of the fan , but the sound could be distracting for some if you have it sitting straight in front of your monitor . If you want to change up the buff , you ’ll have to plunge directly into the BIOS and mess with the sports fan controls . It would have been nice if you could have controlled a few other hardware preferences through AYASpace rather . I never felt the twist growing too hot to manage even after incline several benchmark test in ecological succession .
The AM01 comes with a range of stickers to personalize that fake black plastic screen on the front of the NUC along with mounts for a 2.5-inch SSD.Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
There ’s a part of me that wish the phoney disc drive on the front of the AM01 accepted South Dakota cards as a nod to the old days of physical media , but we can only like for so much out of a five - in PC . An M2 - powered Mac Mini , for instance , is about 2 column inch wider and longer , though it ’s a fair bit more squat . Ayaneo ’s version also press more than a Cypriot pound less than Apple ’s high - powered mini PC . you’re able to bump other NUCs that are more or less smaller than Ayaneos , but none have the same pizazz as this “ Little Mac . ”
Ayaneo Mini PC AM01 Performance
Power Enough for Your Base Tasks, With Upgradable Options
When you first reboot up the AM01 , it get you to Ayaneo ’s AYASpace port . This is no more than a means of quickly accessing games and a unembellished few twist controls . You do n’t need it at inauguration , and after the initial update , it ’s moderately sluttish to release off so you ’re just left with a PC running Windows 11 Home , at least for those who prefer for a standard rather than a au naturel system . The default Windows wallpaper is reminiscent of Apple ’s original desktop , and I liked it enough that I did n’t even bother to change it .
It ’s also of import to note what you get for the dissimilar eyeglasses . I have an AM01 packed with an AMD Ryzen 7 5700U , 1 TB SSD , and 32 GB of RAM , which supports WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 . The less muscular edition running a 3200U only goes up to WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2 . Either way , the Mini personal computer should support monitors at 60Hz at 4 K solving .
If you ’ve had any experience with AMD ’s mobile central processor , then you ’ll have a somewhat good impression of what kind of performance you ’ll get from the AM01 . The Ayaneo Mini PC comes with either an AMD Ryzen 3 3200U or a Ryzen 7 5700U , with RAM alternative between 8 , 16 GB , and 32 GB on the more expensive edition .
It’s a NUC. That’s all you really need to know.Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Putting it through a few bench mark , it ’s remove the Mini PC is quite capable for its size of it and price , but it ’s nothing special either . The 5700U is an 8 - core , 16 - thread processor with a max 4.3Ghz frequence . It sustain the Vega 8 incorporate artwork , which all together is good enough for your average data processor tasks . It mark moderately well on Cinebench for artwork rendition , but you ’re not going to do any real gruelling - duty video version on the AM01 .
As far as gaming goes , the AM01 is more than enough for emulation or some more mainstream gaming . It ’ll undertake indie claim like Hades with no issues , but 3D secret plan will still shinny to work at higher resolutions and refresh rate . I had to figure out hard to get Halo : Infinite running at 30 FPS with a 27 - in 60 Hz admonisher , but there were still dip , particularly in declamatory scene of action . Cyberpunk : 2077 would n’t break in past 20 FPS on low or mobile - optimized “ Steam Deck ” setting . You ’ll scramble to run some popular multiplayer game like The Finals on the lowest stage setting and even some game like Fortnite at their high .
My review edition was priced at about $ 461 MSRP ( though it ’s currently sitting at a reduced price on Indiegogo ) . At that price , it ’s very comparable to other current - gen Intel NUCs running a Core i5 - 1135G7 ( though you might get more or less better performance out of the Core i5 than Ryzen 7 ) . If you were only looking for a gambling twist , you could nab one of the non - OLED Steam Decks for that same Leontyne Price . The AM01 might show better benchmark scores than the Deck , but low - ability , mobile - concentrate CPUs will have a hard time maintaining framerates on larger monitor at higher resolve than they would on small-scale 8 - inch CRT screen of yourusual handheld consoleor even a smartphone . At just under $ 700 you could opt for anAsus ROG Allyrunning an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme that handily beat the 5700U on much all benchmark .
Along with your Mini PC , you also get a few odds and ends that might make upgrade the internals a fair bit easier down the road . They include a angle bracket for expanding into a 2.5 - in hard drive . Plus , there ’s always an alternative of promote memory up to 64 GB ( this is limited to 32 GB on the cheaper Ryzen 3 3200 version ) . With a few upgrades , you might be capable to eke out a few more frames on some more recent graphically intensive titles . But in the end , you ’re not buying Ayaneo ’s Mini PC to play Cyberpunk at mellow background .
A NUC does n’t need much to stand up out so long as it meets big businessman and functioning expectations . It may be why Intel seems to beon the way outof the NUC business wholly . The AM01 bank intemperately on the esthetic of the retro design philosophy without making any real instauration to the Mini PC , but it ’s impossible to claim it ’s not a playfulness - wait equipment that ’s a good pick if you ’re all too bored with every other black brick NUC out there .
Daily Newsletter
Get the best tech , skill , and culture news in your inbox day by day .
News from the future , delivered to your nowadays .
You May Also Like
