Top 10 Best Stick PCs – bring the PC to the living room

Samuel J Tan Gadgets, Hardware, Technology 0

For years, we have been enticed with the idea of bringing the PC to the living room. As early as 2002, Microsoft has been tempting us with the living room domination idea with Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. Today, PC sticks are making this a reality.

The Media Center software included Microsoft’s digital video recorder and media player and was available in all Windows Operating System until Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Earlier operating systems also have a dedicated component for storing and streaming media called the Media Server for Windows Server 2008 and 2012 with Windows Media Services and Windows Windows Server Essentials Media Pack respectively.

In Windows 10 however, the Media Center has been removed in favour of a more integrated media services and approach to handling content such as music, movies and TV show as well as access to music and video streaming apps. You can also switch between tablet mode or desktop mode with the tablet mode being the favourite for the big screen.

The idea of a media center lives on, through a more compact dongle that you plug behind your big screen TV that gives you access to the Apps and Streaming Media as well as for browsing the Internet, checking emails and running some basic applications that do not require lots of memory or processing power.

These low powered Stick PCs do not replace your desktop computer, you can find more powerful compact PCs in our article on Mini PCs.

Table of Contents

What Do You Need to Get Started

Enter the Stick PCs, small dongles only slightly bigger than a high capacity USB flash memory or a small chocolate bar packed with all the components to support a full version of Windows 10 (or Windows 8 on some models with upgrade path). Think of it as a tablet without the bulky battery and touch screen. All you need to do is to connect it to a HDMI port on a big screen TV or monitor and boot it up.

This profile is similar to the Roku Streaming Stick and Amazon Fire TV Stick for streaming music and video directly to the TV except there is no supplied remote. You will need an Android app from Intel that turns your tablet or smartphone into a touch pad and keyboard for their Compute Stick and NUC miniature PCs or get a physical Bluetooth keyboard, trackpad or mouse to work with it.

While the device requires only a small footprint, if the HDMI ports are placed near one another on the pack of the TV or facing back instead of side ways, you will need a separate HDMI male to female cable or more room towards the back of your TV. While there is no real need to access the device if you keep it powered on and use only sleep mode or the occasional reboot, you might want to consider acesss to the device should you need to power it on via the power button.

The other thing to note is that as there is no power source on the HDMI interface, so the PC will need to be powered by a separate USB port or an adapter.

TV or monitor with HDMI port
Bluetooth keyboard and pointing device (trackpad or mouse)
Wireless Connection to the Internet
Spare USB port for power or wall plug for adapter
App to remotely control the PC (with some make)
Access to the power button

Top 10 Best Stick PCs

Major manufacturers have such as Intel, Lenovo, Asus, DELL, Archos as well as other lesser known manufacturers have jump into the Stick PC game with their own take on the PC format. Here is an overview of the best stick PCs.

A Closer Look

Although from different manufacturers, most of the Stick PC executions are the same using the same CPU and offer the same amount of memory and storage. You will find that some manufacturer Let’s take a closer look at each of these Stick PCs.

1. Sumvision Cyclone Micro PC Stick

CPU: Intel Atom Bay Trial (Quad-core) processor Z3735F 1.33GHz with Burst Frequency up to1.83GHz and
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics Card (gen 7) for Full HD 1080p video playback
RAM: 2GB of DDR3 RAM, and
Storage: 32GB of eMMc onboard storage
Connectivity: HDMI port, Bluetooth 4.0, IEEE802.11 bgn WiFi, 1 x USB port, 1 x microUSB port
OS: Windows 8.1

2. JUSTOP G-PC iA8 Dongle Windows & Android – DUAL BOOT

CPU: Intel Bay Trail Atom CR,Z3735F quad-core 1.33GHz processor with Burst Frequency up to1.83GHz
RAM: 2GB DDR3 RAM memory
Storage: 32GB ROM eMMC storage, WIFI + Bluetooth 4.0
Connectivity: Built in 802.11BGN WIFi adapter, Bluetooth 4.0 module, HDMI full HD output, 2 x USB port and micro SD card reader.
OS: Windows® 8.1 OS and Android KitKat dual boot – DUAL BOOT

3. InFocus Kangaroo Mini PC – MOBILE PC

CPU: Intel Atom x5 Z8500 Processor 1.44 GHz with Turbo Boost Technology up to 2.24 GHz
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics
RAM: 2GB LP DDR3
Storage: 32GB eMMC and 3-in-1 card reader (MicroSDSC/MicroSDHC/MicroSDXC) – DOUBLE STORAGE
Connectivity: 802.11 A/C, Bluetooth, USB, HDMI output
Dimensions: 6.20 x 3.16 x 0.50 in (157.70 x 80.50 x 12.90 mm)
OS: Windows 10 Home
Battery Life: 4 hours with built-in Lithium Polymer battery

4. Azulle Quantum Access LAN PC Stick

CPU: Intel Atom (Quad-core) 1.33 GHZ Z3735F Processor
RAM: 2GB DDR2L RAM
Storage: 32GB ROM with micro SD slot – DOUBLE STORAGE
Connectivity: Built in 802.11bgn WIFi adapter with antenna, Bluetooth 4.0 module, HDMI full HD output, 1 x USB port, 1 x micro USB and micro SD card reader.
Dimensions: 4.33 X 1.02 X 0.45 inches (11 x 1.2 x 3.9 cm)
OS: Windows 8.1

5. Asus Chromebit – CHROME OS

The Asus Chromebit CS10 is ideal for surfing the web on the big screen, keeping up with friends and family on social media, and streaming HD entertainment content. It runs Google’s Chrome OS, and features automatic updates and anti-virus software for a smart and secure digital environment. Access all your favourite Google apps, Gmail, Calendar, Maps, Google Search, YouTube, Chrome browser and thousands of apps from the Chrome Web Store with some that works offline. The company is also pushing Chromebit as a digital signage, kiosk display and education solution.

CPU: Rockchip 3288-C
RAM: 2GB RAM,
Storage: 16GB eMMC
Connectivity: Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, USB port, HDMI connector, with 100GB of Google Drive space free for 2 years
Dimensions: 12cm long
OS: Chrome OS

6. Intel Compute Stick

CPU: Intel Atom Z3735F Processor 1.33GHz with Burst Frequency up to 1.83GHz
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics
RAM: 2GB DDR3L RAM memory
Storage: 32GB eMMC, Micro SDXC slot – DOUBLE STORAGE
Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 1 x USB 2.0 slot, Bluetoooth 4.0, HDMI out
Dimensions: 103 x 38 x 13mm
OS: Windows 10 / Windows 8.1 / Ubuntu

7. Hanspree Micro

CPU: Intel Atom Z3735F
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 32GB eMMC – DOUBLE STORAGE
Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 1 USB 2.0 slot, 1 Micro USB, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI out
Dimensions: 110 x 38 x 10mm
OS: Insyde 8MB UEFI / Windows 8.1/10

8. Archos PC Stick

CPU: Intel Atom Z3735F
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 32GB eMMC, MicroSD – DOUBLE STORAGE
Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 1 x USB 2, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI out
Dimensions: 113 x 37 x 14mm
OS: Windows 10

9. Lenovo Ideacentre Stick 300

CPU: Intel Atom Z3735F
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 32GB eMMC, Micro SDXC – DOUBLE STORAGE
Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 1 x USB 2, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI out
Dimensions: 100 x 38 x 15mm
OS: Windows 8.1

10. Modecom FreePC

CPU: Intel Atom Z3735F
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 16GB eMMC and MicroSD reader
Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 1 x Mini USB 2, 2 x Micro USB, MicroSD reader, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI out
Dimensions: 99 x 38 x 10mm
OS: Insyde 8MB UEFI / Windows 8.1/10

BONUS: IDEAPRO Computer Stick with Windows 10 and Android 4.4 – DUAL BOOT

CPU: :Intel Z3735 Quad Core 1.8GHz Burst Frequency Processor
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics (7th Generation)
RAM: 2GB DDR3L
Storage: 32GB eMMC storage and microSD reader (max 128GB)
Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 bgn, 2 x USB ports, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI out, Security Slot
Dimensions:
OS: Windows 10 and Android 4.4 dual boot.