MINIX NEO Z83-4 Fanless Mini PC Review: Affordable, Dead-Silent Media Streaming

Name: MINIX NEO Z83-4
Brand: MINIX

by Marco Chiappetta — Thursday, June 08, 2017, 10:17 AM EDT

The MINIX Neo Z83-4 is also a good candidate for thin-client applications, or for remote controlling other systems, or even streaming games from another PC using Steam In-Home Streaming.

TeamViewer 12 Running On The MINIX Neo Z83-4 @ 4K

Based on our experience with the Intel Compute Stick, which features similar low-power hardware, we weren't expecting any issues. But we can report that the MINIX Neo Z83-4 worked perfectly using Windows' built-in Remote Desktop tool and other remote support tools like TeamViewer 12. Accessing a higher-end system remotely from the MINIX Neo Z83-4 shouldn't be a problem at all. In this scenario pictured above, the MINIX Neo Z83-4 is connected to a 4K display and remotely connected to another PC, which is connected to a 1440p display. This setup worked perfectly, without issues.

We also tested the MINIX Neo Z83-4 with Steam’s in-home streaming with decent results. At resolutions up to 1080P, the MINIX Neo Z83-4 had no trouble streaming games to an HDTV, while it was roughly 15-feet away from a Netgear Nighthawk X6 router, connected wirelessly via 802.11ac. Using a wired connection improved the consistency and input lag noticeably, however. The MINIX Neo Z83-4 may not have the horsepower to natively run today's latest games, but it can stream them from a more-powerful system via via Steam's in-home streaming, if you're so inclined.

We also have some power consumption numbers to share. We monitored power consumption in a variety of scenarios and saw the MINIX Neo Z83-4 use between 2 and 6 watts of power. The low-power hardware in this device virtually sips electricity -- 6W under load is a very low number.

Normally at this stage of a system review we'd also talk about noise, but the MINIX Neo Z83-4 has no moving parts whatsoever and is completely silent, which is another huge plus for those looking for a quiet HTPC or media streamer.

Tags: Intel, SFF, Atom, HTPC, Minix, media-player

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com