MINIX NGC-1 Intel Braswell-Based Silent, SFF Mini PC Review

Name: MINIX NGC-1
Brand: MINIX

by Marco Chiappetta — Thursday, February 18, 2016, 12:00 PM EDT

The MINIX NGC-1 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 11 Running On The MINIX NGC-1 @ 4K

Based on our experience with the Compute Stick we weren't expecting any issues, but we can report that the MINIX NGC-1 worked perfectly using Windows' built-in Remote Desktop tool and other remote support tools like TeamViewer. Accessing a higher-end system remotely from the MINIX NGC-1 shouldn't be a problem at all. In this scenario, the MINIX NGC-1 is connected to a 4K display and remotely connected to another PC, which is connected to a much lower resolution display -- hence the full resolution / desktop in a relatively small window.

We also tested the MINIX NGC-1 with Steam’s in-home streaming with good results. At resolutions up to 1080P, the MINIX NGC-1 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. The MINIX NGC-1 may not have the juice to natively run today's latest games, but it can stream them from a more-powerful via via Steam's in-home streaming.

We also have some power consumption numbers to share. We monitored power consumption in a variety of scenarios and saw the MINIX NGC-1 use between 6 and 11 watts of power.

Normally at this stage of a review we'd also talk about noise, but the MINIX NGC-1 has no moving parts and is completely silent, which is another huge plus for those looking for a quiet HTPC or media streamer.

Tags: Intel, SFF, mini-PC, silent, Minix, braswell

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