Sumvision are back with a new Mini PC!
The tiny little box packs in a 1.84Ghz Intel quad-core Atom X5 8300CPU, 2GB DDR 3 RAM, bluetooth 4, wireless 802.11 b/g/n, an ethernet port, 3 USB ports (2 USB 2 and 1 USB 3), SD memory card slot and two display ports (VGA and HDMI 1.4). Phew, that’s a lot of ports on such a small box!
The Mini PC 2 is fanless, the ‘dual cool’ heatsinks keep this running silently and make this an excellent choice for a media box. It has an external WiFi antenna which sticks up above the box, but if using this via a wired connection this can be hidden behind the Mini PC 2.
It comes with Windows 10 and setup is very easy. Plug the Mini PC 2 in, connect a screen/TV, power it up and follow the onscreen instructions. Windows 10 guides you through the setup process and will automatically download required updates. This process can take a while, so while this is happening it’s a good time to grab a drink.
You’ll need to provide your own keyboard and mouse, in the review video I’m using a Logitech combo that only takes up a single USB port, it’s worth noting Sumvision also do an excellent keyboard/airmouse that’s perfect for kit like this if you fancy a smaller solution.
Once up and running you have a full Windows 10 PC and all the benefits that come with it. Windows 10 works on TV far better than previous versions of Windows, if using this as a media box popping it into tablet mode gives you a nice clean interface that doesn’t make you click on small icons.
Windows to also gives you a lot more freedom than an Android box, for example you can run full fat Office rather than a cut down mobile/tablet version allowing this to be a mini work PC. You’re also not restricted to the Windows app store, being a full PC means you’ve access to all your favourite software packages, very useful if you want to install something like Kodi.
Mixed news for those interested in gaming, this little box, on it’s own, isn’t great at gaming. In the review video below you’ll see Asphalt 8 running, a staple of both Windows and Android app stores this game can run really well on some low cost mobile phones but was rather choppy on the Mini PC 2. The experience was similar with Steam games, playable, but not that good.
Now for the good news, the Mini PC 2 is really good at streaming games, so if you have a decent PC and a large Steam library you can stream games from your more powerful PC to this mini box. The streaming fun doesn’t end there, Windows 10 has introduced the ability to stream games from your Xbox One and again the Mini PC works really well, so if you’ve either a more powerful PC or an Xbox One in one room and the Mini PC 2 in another you’ve lots of options as to where to play games (very handy if someone wants to watch TV but you’re not ready to put down the Xbox One pad just yet!).
And with access to apps and the internet it means this is a great all round streaming box, Netflix, Plex, Kodi, iPlayer etc all run really well. The fanless design means this runs silently and it has a very low power usage so is a much better option as media streamer as it’s more economical to run than a desktop PC.
There are lots of streaming boxes available, including the excellent Steam Link, however the Sumvision Cyclone Mini PC 2 differentiates itself by offering a full Windows 10 experience. Keep in mind gamers will need this and something else (PC or Xbox One), but for those who want the freedom of a PC in the compact box of an Android box this is an excellent option.
The Sumvision Mini PC 2 is available from Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/1OCASoB
One response to “Sumvision Cyclone Windows 10 Mini PC 2 Review”
This excellent little box tends to get ignored. But plugged into TV via HDMI makes great video player and since you can install the Windows version of Kodi you can play with that also. It will easily out perform android tv boxes. A cheap wireless mini keyboard off ebay etc makes a great controller. Potentially you can do anything a , fairly well specified laptop can do of course.