The Intel Compute Stick: A Tiny PC in a Plastic Enclosure

Hello everyone, Marco Chapeta here from Hot Hardware. Today, we're going to show you the Intel Compute Stick, an entire PC shoved into an enclosure not much bigger than a high-performance thumb drive. As you can see, inside this plastic enclosure is a quad-core Intel Atom Z3735F processor that runs at 1.33 GHz base clock, along with 2 GB of RAM that's soldered on board in a single-channel configuration.

The compute stick also comes with built-in Intel HD graphics and 32 gigs of internal storage. This particular version is running Windows 8.1 with Bing, but there's also an Ubuntu version available with 1 gig of RAM and 8 gigs of internal storage on the way. Not much is happening on the outside of the compute stick, so we've got this large Intel Inside logo here flanked by a few air vents. There's also a power LED indicator right up here on the bottom, an HDMI connector, and another air vent.

The compute stick is meant to plug right into a display and turn it into a basic PC. On the other side, we have another air vent and a Micro SD expansion slot. Although there's 32 gigs of internal storage, this slot supports expansion cards up to 128 gigs. The bottom just has a couple of stickers, while on the other side, we have a security port, a full-sized USB port, another air vent, and the power button.

It's worth noting that the micro USB port is for power only and does not connect peripherals. However, the compute stick connects right to a display through HDMI and does not get power through this port. Instead, it needs power supplied through the micro USB connector to function. With that in mind, the compute stick comes with a handful of accessories included, such as a short HDMI extension cable and a basic USB power adapter. There's also a full-size USB-to-micro USB cable and various connectors for this power adapter to support different regions around the world.

Now, let's take a look at how well the compute stick performs in real-world scenarios. As you can see, scrolling on the device and browsing the web is no problem at all, even with a tiny handheld HTPC keyboard. However, it's not the speediest little device by any means. Nevertheless, for basic tasks like browsing the web, it does just fine.

We also tried playing back some 1080p video on the compute stick, and I have to say that it still looks quite smooth. The Star Wars Battlefront trailer is a great example of this. As you can see here, we're streaming in 1080p from the web without any issues at all. We've also tried playing back local content and streaming from our network with no problems whatsoever.

Furthermore, the compute stick even supports remote desktoping into other PCs and has been successfully tested with Steam's in-home streaming feature. However, it's worth noting that the built-in wireless isn't ideal for Steam in-home streaming, so you're probably better off using a wired USB dongle or getting an 802.11 AC adapter.

In conclusion, the Intel Compute Stick is an interesting concept that brings PC functionality to a tiny form factor. It may not be the speediest device out there, but it's capable of handling basic tasks and streaming video content without any issues. The compute stick will be available for $149, with a Linux version with less storage available for around $100. If you're interested in learning more about this innovative PC, please stop by Hot Hardware for our full review.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhello everyone Marco chapeta 4 hot Hardware here to show you the Intel compute stick if you're unfamiliar with the compute stick it's basically an entire PC shoved into an enclosure not much bigger than a high performance thumb drive so inside this plastic enclosure is a quad core Intel atom z3735f quad core processor runs at 1.33 GHz base clock 2 GB of RAM that's soldered on board in a single Channel configuration it's got built-in Intel HD graphics and 32 gigs of internal storage now this particular version is running Windows 81 with Bing but there's also an Ubuntu version with 1 gig of RAM and 8 gigs of internal storage on the way there's not much happening on the outside of the compute stick so we've got this large Intel Inside logo here flanked by a few air vents there's a power LED indicator right up here on the bottom is an HDMI connector now the compute stick is meant to plug right into a display and turn it into a basic PC on this side we have another air vent and a Micro SD expansion slot although there's 32 gigs of internal storage this slot supports expansion cards up to 128 gigs nothing happening here the bottom just has a couple of stickers and on this side we have a security port a full-sized USB port another air vent and the power button this micro USB port here we should mention is for power this is not for connecting peripherals although the compute stick connects right to a display through HDMI it does not get power through this port it needs power to be supplied through this micro USB connector to function there are a handful of accessories included with the comput as well so if the device's enclosure is too wide to fit into the HDMI port on your display there's a short HDMI extension cable included you've got a basic USB power adapter here a full size USB to micro USB cable and these are a bunch of different connectors for this power adapter to support different regions around the world the version of the compute stick we're looking at is running Windows 81 with being so we thought you show you around for just a moment it's basically like any other PC performance is a little lower cuz it's running only in Atom quadcore Processor and 2 gigs of RAM but let me jump to the desktop here bring up the hot Hardware site so scrolling on the device and browsing the web is no problem at all forgive me if I'm a little slow I'm using a tiny handheld htpc keyboard here let me click a story so as you can see not the speediest little device but not bad at all for browsing the web and here's a quick shot of some 1080p video playing back on the Intel compute stick so let me start this up this is the Star Wars Battlefront trailer and I will expand it to full screen and turn up the audio off come on push up is incoming so as you can see 1080p video streamed from the web we also tried a bunch of local content and streaming from a Naz on our local network absolutely no problems at all playing back on the device here's a bit more video playing back on the Intel compute stick now this is the Age of Ultron trailer in 4k playing on a 1080p television just scaled to full screen so as you can see still smooth no problems let me turn the volume up again Tangled in strings so we also tried remote desk topping into other PCS and even tried steam's inhome streaming streaming games from a gaming PC and it all worked without a problem on the compute stick we should mention though the built-in Wireless isn't ideal for steam in home streaming so you're probably better off using a wired USB doggle or getting a 802.11 AC adapter we hope you've enjoyed this quick look at the Intel compute stick this particular version running Windows 81 is going to be available for 149 the Linux version with Less storage in Ram should be available for for about a 100 bucks if you want more information please stop by hot hardware for the full review and once again this is Marco chapeta for hot Hardware thanks for stopping byhello everyone Marco chapeta 4 hot Hardware here to show you the Intel compute stick if you're unfamiliar with the compute stick it's basically an entire PC shoved into an enclosure not much bigger than a high performance thumb drive so inside this plastic enclosure is a quad core Intel atom z3735f quad core processor runs at 1.33 GHz base clock 2 GB of RAM that's soldered on board in a single Channel configuration it's got built-in Intel HD graphics and 32 gigs of internal storage now this particular version is running Windows 81 with Bing but there's also an Ubuntu version with 1 gig of RAM and 8 gigs of internal storage on the way there's not much happening on the outside of the compute stick so we've got this large Intel Inside logo here flanked by a few air vents there's a power LED indicator right up here on the bottom is an HDMI connector now the compute stick is meant to plug right into a display and turn it into a basic PC on this side we have another air vent and a Micro SD expansion slot although there's 32 gigs of internal storage this slot supports expansion cards up to 128 gigs nothing happening here the bottom just has a couple of stickers and on this side we have a security port a full-sized USB port another air vent and the power button this micro USB port here we should mention is for power this is not for connecting peripherals although the compute stick connects right to a display through HDMI it does not get power through this port it needs power to be supplied through this micro USB connector to function there are a handful of accessories included with the comput as well so if the device's enclosure is too wide to fit into the HDMI port on your display there's a short HDMI extension cable included you've got a basic USB power adapter here a full size USB to micro USB cable and these are a bunch of different connectors for this power adapter to support different regions around the world the version of the compute stick we're looking at is running Windows 81 with being so we thought you show you around for just a moment it's basically like any other PC performance is a little lower cuz it's running only in Atom quadcore Processor and 2 gigs of RAM but let me jump to the desktop here bring up the hot Hardware site so scrolling on the device and browsing the web is no problem at all forgive me if I'm a little slow I'm using a tiny handheld htpc keyboard here let me click a story so as you can see not the speediest little device but not bad at all for browsing the web and here's a quick shot of some 1080p video playing back on the Intel compute stick so let me start this up this is the Star Wars Battlefront trailer and I will expand it to full screen and turn up the audio off come on push up is incoming so as you can see 1080p video streamed from the web we also tried a bunch of local content and streaming from a Naz on our local network absolutely no problems at all playing back on the device here's a bit more video playing back on the Intel compute stick now this is the Age of Ultron trailer in 4k playing on a 1080p television just scaled to full screen so as you can see still smooth no problems let me turn the volume up again Tangled in strings so we also tried remote desk topping into other PCS and even tried steam's inhome streaming streaming games from a gaming PC and it all worked without a problem on the compute stick we should mention though the built-in Wireless isn't ideal for steam in home streaming so you're probably better off using a wired USB doggle or getting a 802.11 AC adapter we hope you've enjoyed this quick look at the Intel compute stick this particular version running Windows 81 is going to be available for 149 the Linux version with Less storage in Ram should be available for for about a 100 bucks if you want more information please stop by hot hardware for the full review and once again this is Marco chapeta for hot Hardware thanks for stopping by\n"