MINIX Neo N42C-4 Mini-PC Review: A Palm-Sized Quad-Core With Windows 10 Pro
The MINIX Neo N42C-4 With Windows 10 Pro
MINIX offers a wide assortment of ultra small form factor (SFF) systems targeting an array of use cases, from home theater PCs and digital signage to other industrial applications. Despite their diminutive size, the machines are typically full-featured and come with memory, storage, and an operating system – either Windows or Android depending on the model. The new MINIX Neo N42C-4 we’ll be showing you here today is a Windows-based system, but unlike previous models in its class this one includes Windows 10 Professional, rather than the more common Windows 10 Home. The Window 10 Pro upgrade will allow the machine to join a domain and offer Group Policy Management, Bitlocker, and a handful of other features. The Neo N42C-4 is also actively cooled and offers a couple of expansion options that some of the other machines in MINIX’s line-up don’t, like an M.2 slot and additional SO-DIMM slot, for example.
Take a look at the MINIX Neo N42C-4’s main features and specifications below, then we’ll dive in and take a closer look at the machine and see how it handles with a variety of benchmarks and real-world tests…
The MINIX Neo N42C-4 is powered by a quad-core, Apollo Lake-based Intel Pentium N4200 processor with an on-die Intel HD Graphics 505 GPU. 4GB of DDR RAM is included, but the machine has a pair of SO-DIMM slots inside, which support sticks of up to 8GB each, for a max of 16GB. There is 32GB eMMC 5.1 inside (ours used Samsung NAND), but storage can be expanded via an M.2 gumstick as well. The machine has 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1 built-in, along with an array of display outputs, Ethernet, audio, and USB ports, including USB-C.
Included with the machines itself you’ll find some basic written materials, a short HDMI cable, a power adapter (with tips for various regions around the world), and a VESA bracket (pictured here). The included bracket will allow users to mount the MINIX Neo N42C-4 right to the back of a display or to virtually any surface for that matter. Once the mount is secured in place, the system just snaps right in.
Take a look at the MINIX Neo N42C-4’s main features and specifications below, then we’ll dive in and take a closer look at the machine and see how it handles with a variety of benchmarks and real-world tests…
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The MINIX Neo N42C-4 is powered by a quad-core, Apollo Lake-based Intel Pentium N4200 processor with an on-die Intel HD Graphics 505 GPU. 4GB of DDR RAM is included, but the machine has a pair of SO-DIMM slots inside, which support sticks of up to 8GB each, for a max of 16GB. There is 32GB eMMC 5.1 inside (ours used Samsung NAND), but storage can be expanded via an M.2 gumstick as well. The machine has 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1 built-in, along with an array of display outputs, Ethernet, audio, and USB ports, including USB-C.
