Intel sticks: Atom & Core-M

[Kaido]

http://liliputing.com/2016/01/intel...tick-with-atom-x5-cherry-trail-processor.html

&

http://liliputing.com/2016/01/intels-new-compute-stick-is-a-core-m-skylake-powered-pc-stick.html

If you like Atom, but want Ethernet, check out the Zotac model:

http://liliputing.com/2016/01/zotac-pc-stick-is-a-cherry-trail-computer-on-a-stick.html

 

[malabo]

Nice to see core m, the atom ones appeared to be a total fail performance wise but the concept is awesome.They should stop worrying about size and just build something that has decent performance

 

[Kaido]

Nice to see core m, the atom ones appeared to be a total fail performance wise but the concept is awesome.They should stop worrying about size and just build something that has decent performance

imo we need another generation or two to shrink the hardware down to the point where (1) they don't need fans, and (2) they don't overheat without active cooling. It's a cool concept, it just needs a few more iterations to get it right. Neat that they are moving in this direction tho!

 

[Face2Face]

I'm glad they're putting a a decent wireless chip in all of the models now. The wireless chip in the OG compute stick is embarrassingly bad.

$400 and $500 on the Core M3 and M5 models is terrible... prices per Windows central. I'm sure the Cherry Trail part is much cheaper, but I'm more concerned with TDP and/or thermal throttling on both models. The Bay Trail model never thermally throttled (In power mode) with the tasks I threw at it - Even demanding apps like gaming (Portal 2, DOTA 2, L4D 2)

 

[Kaido]

I'm glad they're putting a a decent wireless chip in all of the models now. The wireless chip in the OG compute stick is embarrassingly bad.

$400 and $500 on the Core M3 and M5 models is terrible... prices per Windows central. I'm sure the Cherry Trail part is much cheaper, but I'm more concerned with TDP and/or thermal throttling on both models. The Bay Trail model never thermally throttled (In power mode) with the tasks I threw at it - Even demanding apps like gaming (Portal 2, DOTA 2, L4D 2)

Well, tray price on either chip is $281, and considering I've seen the Atom HDMI sticks going for under $149...yeah. They are expensive. But it looks like it's getting full 4K support with the enhanced Intel HD 515 graphics, so that's pretty cool. And those Core-M chips are 14nm, so I think this space will really start taking off when we see the 9/10nm stuff.

 

[Raduque]

I'm excited about these. Perfect little carry around computers, throw it in your pocket with one of those tiny kb/trackpad BT combo devices, and boom your computer anywhere there's an open HDMI plug.

I have a Surface 3 (Cherry Trail Atom X7, 4gb ram) and since I just returned my Asus G501 and bought a G751, I've been using it as my main with external mouse and the Type Cover, and it's quite good enough for every day use. It does Netflix and browsing in Edge at the same time, and that's really all you need 😉

Edit: I think I read somewhere the tray price on an Atom X7 is ~$28 or maybe $38.

 

[Kaido]

I'm excited about these. Perfect little carry around computers, throw it in your pocket with one of those tiny kb/trackpad BT combo devices, and boom your computer anywhere there's an open HDMI plug.

I have a Surface 3 (Cherry Trail Atom X7, 4gb ram) and since I just returned my Asus G501 and bought a G751, I've been using it as my main with external mouse and the Type Cover, and it's quite good enough for every day use. It does Netflix and browsing in Edge at the same time, and that's really all you need 😉

Edit: I think I read somewhere the tray price on an Atom X7 is ~$28 or maybe $38.

$27 Atom X5
$37 Atom X7
$281 Core-M3
$281 Core-M5

Oddly enough, both Core-M chips are the same price. Huge price difference between them & the Atoms though!

 

[you2]

One of the problems with atom was the limit of 2GB memory. The core-m versions have 4GB; though in theory they could have 8GB or 16GB. Bit disappointed they have hdmi 1.4 instead of hdmi 2.0. Better would be display port (though tv's have not adopted display ports). Still a step in the right direction ('cept price 🙂 )

 

[Face2Face]

Well, tray price on either chip is $281, and considering I've seen the Atom HDMI sticks going for under $149...yeah. They are expensive. But it looks like it's getting full 4K support with the enhanced Intel HD 515 graphics, so that's pretty cool. And those Core-M chips are 14nm, so I think this space will really start taking off when we see the 9/10nm stuff.

Yeah I was hoping that Intel would start bringing down the price of their Core M series. I mean the A9 in my iPhone 6s + isn't that far off performance wise to a throttling Core M. I know it's hard to directly compare ARM architecture to X86, but I feel low wattage X86 parts have been extremely stagnant performance wise. ARM is catching up and in some ways surpassing low wattage X86.

 

[ultimatebob]

I want to know who in their right mind would be crazy enough to buy the stick with a 32 GB SSD and Windows 10 pre installed. I'd bet that you only have about 15 GB of storage leftover once you've installed all of the Windows updates.

 

[ShintaiDK]

$27 Atom X5
$37 Atom X7
$281 Core-M3
$281 Core-M5

Oddly enough, both Core-M chips are the same price. Huge price difference between them & the Atoms though!

Its useless list prices tho. Because nobody pays that. They could just as well have been listed in bananas and tomatoes. 🙂

 

[Face2Face]

I want to know who in their right mind would be crazy enough to buy the stick with a 32 GB SSD and Windows 10 pre installed. I'd bet that you only have about 15 GB of storage leftover once you've installed all of the Windows updates.

It's not enough at all. I'll put it to you this way. When I upgraded my Compute Stick to Windows 10, I had to install a 16GB SD card just so could upgrade from 8.1 to 10, as there wasn't enough space on the eMMC in stock form.

 

[Kaido]

One of the problems with atom was the limit of 2GB memory. The core-m versions have 4GB; though in theory they could have 8GB or 16GB. Bit disappointed they have hdmi 1.4 instead of hdmi 2.0. Better would be display port (though tv's have not adopted display ports). Still a step in the right direction ('cept price 🙂 )

The newer Atom X7 chips can go up to 8GB as well.

 

[Raduque]

$27 Atom X5
$37 Atom X7
$281 Core-M3
$281 Core-M5

Oddly enough, both Core-M chips are the same price. Huge price difference between them & the Atoms though!

From what I'm finding, the Core M5 trounces the Atom X7 in single-core performance, but multi-core performance (due to X7 being a quad) is about 10% faster.

The M5's performance doesn't seem to be worth the ~$250 price premium!

 

[Kaido]

From what I'm finding, the Core M5 trounces the Atom X7 in single-core performance, but multi-core performance (due to X7 being a quad) is about 10% faster.

The M5's performance doesn't seem to be worth the ~$250 price premium!

Yeah, it's going to be a few generations before these really get going. For the $499 asking price of the M5 stick, I could buy a pretty nice NUC, you know? There aren't many situations where the stick would be so necessary that you couldn't just velcro a NUC onto the back of the screen or something if you really needed to...

 

[StrangerGuy]

The consumer electronics industry should just admit they ran out of ideas because everything is good enough and commoditized to death by now. This is just another sign of throwing random stuff on the wall and see what sticks.

 

[you2]

How does the video performance on the x7 compare to m5
-
I wonder if snapdragon 820 would be a better option than the x7 ('sp for us linux users)

 

[Raduque]

How does the video performance on the x7 compare to m5
-
I wonder if snapdragon 820 would be a better option than the x7 ('sp for us linux users)

What are you looking for WRT video performance? Video accelerated playback, or 3D performance?

 

[you2]

3D would be nice for simple games; though to be honest that would require intel architecture. Decent frame buffer for 4K@60hz would be a bonest.

 

[IronWing]

Pretty cool but I'm not coming up with a decent use case. Once one plugs in the power cord the coolness factor drops a couple notches. I don't see a mention of bluetooth. Do you have to hang dongles off it?

 

[Kaido]

Pretty cool but I'm not coming up with a decent use case. Once one plugs in the power cord the coolness factor drops a couple notches. I don't see a mention of bluetooth. Do you have to hang dongles off it?

So basically it's an HDMI stick with a Micro-USB port for power. You plug the stick into your TV or monitor, then loop the power into a USB port. Most new televisions and computer monitors have USB ports, so you just re-purpose one to give power to the stick. The HDMI port handles audio & video; wireless connections include WiFi & Bluetooth, and some models have an Ethernet port. Also a MicroSD slot if you need more local storage, like a 128-gig card. You can hook up a wireless keyboard & mouse via Bluetooth, or use a USB wireless model with an RF transmitter like the Logitech K400. If you need more ports, you can get a slim USB hub, but even a lot of printers are wireless now, so it's usually not such a big deal if you're using say a Bluetooth game controller & remote control.

While technically it can be a computer, it's more of a basic Internet surfer & media player than anything. I can see it being used in offices as simple workstations and for basic HTPC's. I have a first-generation model from Lemel and it gets waaaaaaay too hot for me to leave plugged in all the time. That was the first-generation product; the new Atom X5 & Core-M models are the second. It's going to take some more CPU shrinkage, probably to even under 10nm, because they start getting really good, I think. Atom graphics are starting to improve to the point where you can play basic games pretty nicely, so again, a few more generations and these things will be a lot more useful.

What it boils down to though is that it's more cool than anything. You can buy a NUC or a Baytrail-T or Atom box for cheap that uses minimal power, has more ports, and is hardly obtrusive at all (just velcro it to the back of the screen!). But like all new technologies, they have to start somewhere, and the first generation of a lot of tech is sometimes not super usable. Again, they work right now as basic computers, but eh...buy a MINIX and get more ports, haha.