This review is for the 16GB, 512 SSD with the Celeron N5105 and Windows 11. Purchased to replace a 14 year old Windows 7 PC.
We bought this PC for running several on-line business functions, the occasional use of Office 365 Excel or Word, and for wasting time on Youtube, a bit of social media and web browsing.
The PC boots up in about 30 seconds, which is about 5 minutes faster than my old PC. I’m using the 14 year old HP USB mouse and USB keyboard from the old PD, and a 8 year old Samsung 22″ monitor. I had to buy an HDMI – DVI adapter, $8 on Amazon for the monitor.
Pros:
No bloatware.
Takes up no space.
Windows already installed, just needed to log in with Microsoft account (or create one).
Windows 11 comes with “Windows Defender” which is virus checking/internet safety. No need to buy a security program.
Plenty of USB ports.
Fantastic price.
Wifi found my router with no hassle.
Room to add a second SDD drive.
Cons:
No drivers available for my old HP 1020 laser printer.
One tip when setting up the PC: When you are doing the windows registration, it will ask you to connect to the network. The last instruction in the tiny manual is to skip that step for later, otherwise your setup will be delayed half an hour while Microsoft updates your windows files. I followed that suggestion and was using the computer within 10 minutes of plugging it in. As soon as I connected to the wifi, it did its Windows update in the background while I was able to use the PC.
I’m going to load a couple of games to see what happens. If I find anything useful, I’ll add it to my review. Otherwise, I’d go with appears to be the common knowledge here that this is not a gaming machine. I doubt if it has enough graphics processing power.
Follow Up 3/29/23
We just had our internet service upgraded to Optimum 500Mbps. My iPhone 12 tests out between 395-470 Mbps on speedtest.net, so I know the new modem/router works. This PC tested between 32Mbps and 40Mbps. My assumption is that the wifi chip in it is not exactly state of the art, but it is still fine for our purposes here in the office. Netflix says you need 25Mbps to stream video, so the PC should still be okay as a TV type media server.
As a comparison, I have an older Surface Pro 6, and I get between 150Mbps & 175 Mbps, so to take advantage of the higher internet speeds available today, you need good, modern hardware.
