Some people love a clean, tidy and clutter-free working space more than anything. If you're one of them and you do most of your work on the same desk every day, using a big desktop PC, you might want to consider the idea of buying an all-in-one or a mini PC to unclutter your space. The good news is that there are many options available on the market. One of the smallest devices is called ASUS VivoMini UN65U. It's a mini PC that doesn't compromise on performance, design or connectivity options. We used for an entire week, and today we'd like to share with you, our opinions about it. Read our review, and you'll know if it fits your needs and wishes:
Unboxing the ASUS VivoMini UN65U
The ASUS VivoMini UN65U comes in a premium black box made from high-quality cardboard. On one of its sides, it has a small plastic handle which makes it easy to carry, like a suitcase. There's not much information printed on the box: just the ASUS logo and the company motto.
Inside the box, you'll find the ASUS VivoMini UN65U computer, its power adaptor, a VESA mount kit and all the usual documentation: the user manual and the warranty card.
The ASUS VivoMini UN65U arrives in a package with a minimalist design, which looks good and it is pleasant to unbox.
Hardware specifications
ASUS VivoMini UN65U PC is available in multiple hardware configurations. For starters, you can choose between three different processors, all based on an Intel Kaby Lake chipset, generation 7. From low-end to high-end, you can buy this mini PC with an Intel Core i7-7500U processor, an Intel Core i5-7200U processor, or an Intel Core i3-7100U processor. The version we tested came with the most powerful of the lot - the Intel Core i7-7500U processor, running at a base frequency of 2.70 GHz and up to 3.50 GHz in turbo mode. It's worth noting that this processor has two physical cores and four threads.
All the processors available for the ASUS VivoMini UN65U PC include the same graphics chip: Intel HD Graphics 620, which offers support for 4K resolutions, up to a maximum of 4096 x 2304 pixels at a refresh rate of 60 Hz. This chip won't be of help in playing any modern video games, but this mini PC wasn't designed for that.
Regarding memory, the ASUS VivoMini UN65U PC can be equipped with as little as 4 GB up to 32 GB of DDR4 RAM memory, working in Dual Channel mode at a frequency of 2133 MHz. The model we tested had 16GB of RAM memory installed.
As for the storage options you get, on the ASUS VivoMini UN65U, you can mount a 2.5" hard drive of 500GB up to 1TB, and an M.2 SSD drive of 32GB up to 256 GB. If you're wondering, yes, you can mount both at the same time: although the ASUS VivoMini UN65U PC is tiny, it still has space to accommodate both a hard drive and an SSD. The model we tested came with a 256GB solid-state drive from Intel, and a 1TB hard disk drive from HGST, a subsidiary of Western Digital.
To connect to the world, the ASUS VivoMini UN65U PC comes with a wired Ethernet card, as well as a wireless network card. You can't choose the Ethernet network card you'll get, but you can choose the Wi-Fi network card: a wireless network card with support for 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth V4.1, or a network card with support for 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth V4.0. Our recommendation is to go with the wireless card that offers support for the 802.11ac wireless standard because it will offer higher connection speeds. The model we tested came with the wireless network card with support for the 802.11ac standard.
Although it's a small device, the ASUS VivoMini UN65U also offers a wealth of ports. You'll get four USB 3.0 ports with fast charging, an HDMI port and a DisplayPort, one RJ45 LAN port for connecting to wired Ethernet networks, one audio jack, one Kensington lock, and one 4-in-1 SD card reader. Another plus is that this device includes a TPM chip for BitLocker encryption.
ASUS VivoMini UN65U is a small PC, designed for businesses where work space matters, but also for people who want to work on their computers in a tidy, clutter-free, and quiet environment. It is only 5.15 inches (131 mm) in width and depth, and 2.05 inches (52mm) in height. And it weighs a mere 1.54 lb or 0.7 kg.
As for the operating system, you can buy the ASUS VivoMini UN65U mini PC with Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro installed. The model we reviewed had Windows 10 Home installed on it.
You can find the official hardware specifications, here: VivoMini UN65U (commercial) - Specifications.
Using the ASUS VivoMini UN65U
The ASUS VivoMini UN65U is designed to be as small as possible, while at the same time packing some serious hardware. During our testing, we used it daily for all kinds of computing activities. For instance, this review was written on the ASUS VivoMini UN65U. We also used it for browsing the web, writing documents, chatting on Slack and Skype, watching videos and movies, and even for playing a few less demanding video games.
Except for games, the performance you get from the Intel Core i7 processor is very impressive. And even more so if you add the 16 GB of RAM memory that handles any multitasking situation with ease, and the fast SSD that offers fast access times and data reading speeds. The result is a small yet powerful computer that will have no problem in doing anything you'll ask. However, if that means playing games, don't expect it to play modern games at high settings. To do its job, this mini PC relies solely on the integrated graphics chip. It's powerful enough to let you play less demanding games at normal or low settings, but it won't be able to run any new modern games decently. Out of curiosity, I did play League of Legends on it at medium-high settings, without any stuttering. That's a pretty impressive achievement for an integrated video chip!
One other thing that impressed me quite a bit is how beautiful the design of the ASUS VivoMini UN65U is. It's a small, simple and stylish device, with no hard edges, only rounded corners, a textured top cover with the company's logo embossed in the middle, and well-placed ports on all sides. If you look at it from the front, you'll see the storage drives LED light, the power button, and two USB 3.0 ports for easy access.
On its right side, there's the Kensington Lock, and on the left side, there's the SD card reader. The bulk of the ports is found on the back: the power port, the HDMI and the DisplayPort ports, the other two USB 3.0 ports, the Ethernet port, and the audio jack.
The ASUS VivoMini UN65U is a great where working space matters a lot and it's a perfect fit for small desks.
The ASUS VivoMini UN65U is also VESA-mount compatible. That means that you can stick it to the back of a monitor and create your own all-in-one PC. This is great because you get to choose your monitor and you can replace it anytime you want. That's not something you can change in a true all-in-one PC. Here's what the ASUS VivoMini UN65U looks like on the back of one of our monitors:
By the way, you can attach this mini PC to the back of a TV too. Consider the fact that it's also powerful enough to play 4K content, and you'll see why it's also an excellent choice if you want to create a home theater setup.
The ASUS VivoMini UN65U is a mini PC that looks good and works great. It was a pleasure to work on it, and it managed to impress in more than one way. The high performance, the small size, the solid design and build quality, the placement of the ports and the fact that you can mount it on the back of a display, these are all things that are worth appreciating.
On the next page of this review, you can find out more about the apps bundled with the ASUS VivoMini UN65U, the performance we measured in various benchmarks, and our final verdict.
Apps bundled with the ASUS VivoMini UN65U
The ASUS VivoMini UN65U mini PC comes with just a few bundled apps, pre-installed by default. Here's the list:
- ASUS AudioWizard - is a small tool that lets you choose from a set of audio presets that control the way sounds are played on your mini PC.
- ASUS Manager - acts as a central point for managing your mini PC. Some of the most useful tools and functions it offers are related to managing the power saving modes, updating drivers and the BIOS, cleaning your mini PC by deleting unneeded files, accessing support options and more.
- ASUS Media Streamer - lets you stream media content, like music or videos, from your ASUS VivoMini UN65U mini PC to a smart TV.
- ASUS USB Charger Plus - a tool that lets you charge devices using the USB ports, even when the mini PC is in sleep mode.
- ASUS WebStorage - a proprietary cloud service, courtesy of ASUS, offering 5 GB of free cloud storage space.
- McAfee LiveSafe - the trial of an antivirus that we don't recommend even if you would get it for free; you should uninstall it and replace it with another better security solution.
- Microsoft Office - a trial version that you can use for 30 days before buying or registering your license.
ASUS chose to keep things simple with the ASUS VivoMini UN65U and didn't bundle too many apps on it. However, although many of the pre-installed apps will probably be useful for their users, there are also a few that probably won't. Both the antivirus and the Office apps are just trials.
Performance in benchmarks
Sharing information about the hardware and software specs, and talking about the way it looks and feels is one thing, and running benchmarks is another. Benchmarks are how you get a more "scientific" opinion on how well a device performs. Let's see how the ASUS VivoMini UN65U performed in our tests:
We began by measuring the boot time of this mini PC, with Bootracer. The average result we recorded was 28 seconds, which is rather fast. It's a device that will always be up and ready to go in just a couple of moments after you press its power button.
Then we checked how well the ASUS VivoMini UN65U performs in regular home computing activities like when you browse the internet, write documents or create spreadsheets, make video calls, edit pictures and play a casual game. To get a performance score for all of this, we used PCMark 8 and ran its Home accelerated tests. The mini PC got 2790 points - a result which shows that this mini PC will have absolutely no trouble in doing any of the activities we mentioned earlier.
The ASUS VivoMini UN65U is a mini PC that's clearly a good choice for workspaces and business professionals in general, so we also thought it's a good idea to measure its performance in work scenarios. To get a score, we ran PCMark 8's Work accelerated tests. The mini PC got a final score of 5019 points, which is a very high score. Office work that involves web browsing, document writing, working with spreadsheets or making Skype calls are very easy things for the ASUS VivoMini UN65U.
If both home activities and office activities are a breeze for the ASUS VivoMini UN65U, will creative activities be the same? That's what we asked ourselves, so we also ran the Creative accelerated test from PC Mark 8. These tests assess the device's performance when it has to perform more demanding tasks, like video group chatting, batch photo editing, video editing, and mainstream gaming. In these tests, the ASUS VivoMini UN65U mini PC managed to get 2856 points, which is a good result.
The ASUS VivoMini UN65U doesn't have a dedicated video card inside it and relies only on the graphics power supplied by the Intel HD Graphics 620 video chip integrated on its Intel 7th generation Core i7-7500U processor. However, although it offers support for DirectX 12, it's not something built for gamers. To confirm that, check the very low score this mini PC got in 3D Mark's Time Spy benchmark.
If it's not a device that is designed to run modern games flawlessly, that doesn't mean that it cannot run any game at all. We also tested ASUS VivoMini UN65U with 3D Mark's Cloud Gate benchmark, which is a benchmark designed to assess the gaming performance of basic notebooks and home computers. The mini PC managed to obtain a score of 4439 points. It's not a high rating, but it shows that the ASUS VivoMini UN65U is still capable of running less demanding games.
Next, we ran a couple of storage benchmarks. The ASUS VivoMini UN65U mini PC can be equipped with a 2.5 inches hard drive of 500GB up to 1TB and an M.2 SSD drive of 32GB up to 256GB. The model which we reviewed was equipped with a 256GB solid-state drive and a 1TB hard disk drive. To test their performance, we used CrystalDiskMark, a well-known disk benchmarking software. The solid-state drive is manufactured by Intel and offers excellent transfer speeds both for reading data and writing data.
The 1 TB hard disk drive is made by HGST, a subsidiary of Western Digital, and doesn't impress with its reading or writing speeds. However, being fast is not the HDD's purpose - you have the SSD for speed. The hard disk is here only for its large storage capacity.
Finally, we also checked whether the cooling system built by ASUS on the ASUS VivoMini UN65U mini PC is up for its task. To do the measurements, we used Prime95 to stress this small machine, and HWMonitor to check the temperatures of the processor. After running at full load for over an hour, the processor didn't get hotter than 173 degrees Fahrenheit (78 degrees Celsius).
The ASUS VivoMini UN65U mini PC is a small yet very powerful computing machine. The benchmarks we ran show that it will have no problem in performing any home or office task on it. And, although it's not a gaming rig, it does have enough processing power to let you play less demanding games if that's what you want.
Pros and cons
There are quite a few good things to say about the ASUS VivoMini UN65U:
- It's small, beautiful and it has a good design and build quality
- The performance it offers is top-notch
- It comes in very flexible configurations, with lots of storage space
- Its pricing is very flexible, depending on the specs that you choose
- You can buy this mini PC without RAM memory and an SSD or HDD drive, making it even more flexible and affordable
- It can connect to both wired and wireless networks
- It has many various connection ports, including HDMI and four USB 3.0 ports
- You can mount it on the back of any VESA-compatible display
On the not-so-positive side of things, here's what we have to say about the ASUS VivoMini UN65U:
- If you choose the best possible hardware configuration, this device can get quite pricey
Verdict
The ASUS VivoMini UN65U is a great mini PC, with many features that could convince you to buy it. Because of its small size and the option to mount it on the back of your monitor, it's an excellent choice if you care about your workspace and want it to be as tidy and uncluttered as possible. For the same reasons, plus the fact that it can play 4K videos, it's also a great option if you want to make your own Home Theater PC, to use with your living room TV for multimedia and entertainment. The ASUS VivoMini UN65U has more than enough processing power to handle with ease any regular computing activity, ranging from browsing the web to writing documents, running Excel spreadsheets or watching movies. It will even play some older games if you don't care about graphics quality too much. Taking into consideration the fact that you can also customize some of the hardware inside and thus make it more affordable, we believe that the ASUS VivoMini UN65U is a great buy for anyone who lingers for a small PC to replace their old bulky desktop PC.
Discussion (0)
Be the first to comment.