Testing methodology
Comparison Systems |
| System Name |
Asus VivoMini UN42 |
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i5RYH |
Intel Compute Stick STCK1A32WFC |
Intel NUC D54250WYK |
Zotac Zbox Sphere OI520 |
| CPU |
Intel Celeron 2957U @ up to 1.4GHz. |
Intel Core i5-5250U @ up to 2.7GHz |
Intel Atom Z3735F @ up to 1.88GHz |
Intel Core i5-4250U @ up to 2.6GHz |
Intel Core i5-4200U @ up to 2.6GHz |
| CPU Cores / Threads |
2 / 2 |
2 / 4 |
4 / 4 |
2 / 4 |
2 / 4 |
| CPU TDP |
15W |
15W |
4W (approx) |
15W |
15W |
| CPU Cooler |
ASUS VivoMini |
Intel NUC reference |
Intel Compute Stick reference |
Intel NUC reference |
Zotac Zbox Sphere reference |
| Motherboard |
ASUS UN42 |
Intel NUC5i5RYB |
Intel Compute Stick reference |
NUC QS87 reference |
Zotac reference |
| Memory |
Hynix 2GB DDR3 (1x2GB) |
Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR3 (2x8GB) (added) |
Soldered 2GB DDR3 (1x2GB) |
Corsair 8GB DDR3 (2x4GB) (added) |
Crucial 4GB DDR3 (1x4GB) |
| Memory Speed |
11-11-11-28-1T @ 1,600MHz |
9-9-9-24-1T @ 1,600MHz |
9-9-9-24-1T @ 1,333MHz |
11-13-13-30-2T @ 1,600MHz |
11-11-11-28-1T @ 1,600MHz |
| Integrated Graphics |
Intel HD Graphics |
Intel HD 6000 |
Intel HD Graphics |
Intel HD 5000 |
Intel HD 4400 |
| Dedicated Graphics |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Sound Card |
Onboard audio |
Onboard audio |
Onboard audio |
Onboard audio |
Onboard audio |
| Primary Storage |
32GB SK hynix |
240GB Crucial M500 SSD (added) |
32GB eMMC |
128GB Plextor M5M mSATA SSD (added) |
500GB Samsung ST500LM012 HDD |
| Secondary Storage |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Optical Drive |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| PSU |
ASUS (65W, external) |
Intel NUC (65W, external) |
Asian Power Devices (10W, external) |
Intel NUC (65W, external) |
Delta Electronics (65W, external) |
| Chassis |
ASUS VivoMini |
Intel NUC |
Intel NUC |
Zotac Zbox Sphere |
| Operating System |
Windows 8.1 (64-bit) |
Windows 8.1 (64-bit, added) |
Windows 8.1 (32-bit) |
Windows 8.1 (64-bit, added) |
Windows 8.1 (64-bit, added) |
| Standard Warranty |
One year |
Two years |
Two years |
Two years |
Two years |
| Approx. Build Cost |
£190 |
£535 |
£130 |
£450 |
£420 |
CPU Benchmarks |
| HEXUS PiFast |
Our number-crunching PiFast test is used to benchmark the computational power of each system's CPU. |
| HandBrake |
Free-to-use video encoder that stresses all CPU cores. |
Memory and Storage Benchmarks |
| AIDA64 |
Benchmark that analyses memory bandwidth and latency. |
| CrystalDiskMark |
Popular free-to-use storage benchmark, used to gauge sequential performance and aggregated 4K QD32 speeds. |
System Benchmarks |
| PCMark 8 |
System-wide examination that uses the Home preset, run with OpenCL acceleration. |
Miscellaneous Benchmarks |
| Power Consumption |
Noted for system idling, and using Handbrake video encoding for system load. |
| Temperature |
Noted for CPU idling, and using Handbrake video encoding for system load. |
Notes
The purpose of the Intel Compute Stick is not to replace your traditional computer but to provide enough performance to sustain a usable PC experience. We'll focus on the experience part in due course yet feel it's worth examining the intrinsic quality of the hardware by running a subset of benchmarks.
