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

Performance Summary: If you took the time to look through the benchmarks and various screenshots on the preceeding pages, you'll know that the MINIX Neo Z83-4 in no speed demon, but with a low-power, passively-cooled Cherry Trail-based processor, it wasn’t meant to be. However, the MINIX Neo Z83-4 is a full-featured, silent, ultra-small form factor PC, that does what it's designed to do well.

This mini-machine is meant for media consumption, basic desktop computing use-cases, and thin-client applications. MINIX’s focus is on entertainment and media though -- in fact, the company calls the Neo Z83-4 a "media hub" on its website. With that in mind, the Neo Z83-4 seems wells suited to the job. And due to the fact that this machine runs a full-blown, 64-bit edition of Windows 10, there’s a plethora of software available to playback virtually any file type. Our testing showed that the system was perfectly capable of local playback and streaming of all types of media, even up to 4K resolutions. With that said, some content will stress the low-power processor in the system, so performing multiple tasks when playing back more demanding files (like high bitrate 4K UHD media) is going to detract from the experience.

Find The MINIX Neo Z83-4 Silent Mini PC @ Amazon.Com

The MINIX Neo Z83-4 is a well designed, feature-rich mini PC that offers a good mix of capabilities for its intended applications. The quad-core Atom processor, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of eMMC storage should give users enough breathing room for HTPC use, especially if most of their media is stored on a NAS device or streamed from the web. With Kodi and some streaming apps from the Windows Store installed on the MINIX Neo Z83-4, you'll have a completely silent HTPC setup with access to a ton of media for minimal cost. This little system can be found for under $180 at the moment, and that price includes a fully licensed copy of Windows 10. You'll still need some input devices, but wireless keyboards for HTPC use can be found on the cheap as well.

When all is said and done though, if you’re looking for a sleek, affordable, dead-silent, small form factor system for home theater applications, the MINIX Neo Z83-4 is a contender. The MINIX Neo Z83-4 is an attractive mini-PC that’s well-equipped and performs its intended computing tasks without breaking the bank.


Attractive, Small, Silent Chassis 802.11ac, BT, And Wired Ethernet 4K Support 4 USB Ports, MicroSD Card Reader 4GB of RAM 64-Bit Windows 10 Affordable Very Low Power	Relatively Low General Purpose Performance Unsightly External Antenna

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