Would this computer be worth buying?

[BillyBobThai]

I saw this today on Gizmag and thought it looks great. My current hard drive noise drives me nuts, this little jewel has no fan and a solid state drive and only pulls 4 watts. Sounds too good to be true.

What do you guys think?

http://www.shuttle.eu/products/arm/dsa2ls/

Shuttle’s latest effort, the DSA2LS distinguishes itself by opting for Google’s Android operating system, while providing low-end specs and good connectivity.

You won’t find any high-end components here, but that’s not what the DSA2LS is about. Shuttle’s new machine revels in its low-end specs, running on a 1 GHz dual core ARM Cortex A9 processor, backed up by 1 GB of RAM and only 4 GB of internal storage. Luckily, there is an SD card slot on the front of the system allowing for expansion up to 64 GB. The card slot is sealed away behind a screw-locked panel for security.

While the system isn’t going to break any computing speed records, it is completely fanless, with an ambient temperature range of 0-45° C (113° F) and an idle power consumption of just 4 watts, making it ideal for 24/7 operation. Shuttle suggests that the system would make a good always-on media center, as well as a good fit for digital signage, point-of-sale, automation, monitoring and thin client/remote access applications.

The machine is also very small, with a thickness of just 35 mm (1.4 in) and a footprint of 142 mm (5.6 in) x 190 mm (7.5 in). There’s a VESA mount included in the box, and an Always-ON switch can be activated, allowing the system to turn on as soon as it’s plugged in.

The DSA2LS doesn’t run the latest version of the OS, instead making do with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. It does pack a competent selection of ports, offering four USB 2.0 on the front, an R232 serial port, VGA and HDMI, as well as Gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity. The system will output at 1,920 x 1,080 resolution to a single monitor, but will automatically switch to 720p when both outputs are in use.

You can pick up Shuttle’s new barebones desktop right now from specialist retailers for €131 (US$173) excluding VAT.

[innerspace]

Running android it wont compare to a normal computer.

More like a tablet without a touchscreen....

Personally I wouldnt consider it to replace a pc, but if you just want internet and or media then maybe. For some uses this looks very good.

If you just want a quieter pc then buy a solid state drive, replace any graphics cards using fans with passive ones, replace cpu cooler, replace power supply and replace case fans.

You could do all of that for the same price and have a pc 10x faster, almost as quiet although using more electricity.

[JSixpack]

^This. Good for digital signage etc. no doubt. You wanna lil' media player, buy that, much cheaper. Wanna cheap netbook, buy a Chromebook and run ChrUbuntu. Otherwise upgrade your PC as suggested above. Probably just need an SSD and maybe a quieter case fan.

[BillyBobThai]

Pretty much all I do now days is surf the internet, MS Word and MS Excel. I do not need anything fast, just something reliable and simple to use. How many watts does a typical pc use? Can any Windows programs run under Android?

[KhunBENQ]

Can any Windows programs run under Android?

Absolutely not.

[Killian30]

Better to buy a new hard drive for your current PC as it will be probable faster than this pc above.

Anyway if your hard drive is making that much noise its probable a sign the hard drive is failing and you might the dreaded "Blue screen of death" soon.

The android PC above will cause you a lot of problems with software etc.

[BillyBobThai]

Thanks to all.

[innerspace]

Microsoft have recently launched office for android but it is no match for the windows version. If you rely on word and excel this is not the machine for you.

A low spec or power efficient pc will use 250+watts, plus the screen probably.

Android is great for certain uses but is not in any shape a pc replacement.

All that said, I may be highlighting some of the negatives but this does look like a great piece of kit, for very specific uses. I am considering getting some for a brewing new business idea.

[SongSomSoda]

I own the Intel NUC i5 (D54250WYK) with 224 GB Crucial SSD and 8GB (2x4GB) Kingston RAM.

That thing is FAST and it´s using 11-20 Watts I hear no noise when i lower the Fan Settings little bit.

There are also Fan-Less Cases and the Intel i3 NUC Kit not even has a fan.

Windows 8.1 64bit is starting in 5.6 Seconds.

Edited September 2, 2014 by SongSomSoda

[aarn]

<<I own the Intel NUC i5 (D54250WYK) with 224 GB Crucial SSD and 8GB (2x4GB) Kingston RAM.

That thing is FAST and it´s using 11-20 Watts I hear no noise when i lower the Fan Settings little bit.

There are also Fan-Less Cases and the Intel i3 NUC Kit not even has a fan.>>

I think the OP may be very interested in SongSomSoda's post. Mini-computers are good but DON'T buy a bottom-end one.

I stupidly bought a DN2820FYKH from lazada.co.th (~ 6,000B). Insufficient usb ports, lack of VGA/VGI port grrrrr... am still sourcing connectors and adapters to get the fawker going. AA

[lostinisaan]

Thanks to all.

You could try "hard drive sentinel", a program that shows you the health of your hard drive. Hard drives aren't that expensive.....

[keeniau96]

The Android device will be only adequate for minimal tasks: email, surf the web, maybe some light writing, better to avoid this one. Best first step is to replace your HDD with a SSD, you will be shocked at the silence and the speed you will see in any computer task. Make it a decent size SSD, say 256GB or larger (my new Crucial MX100 500GB SSD cost US$220) and you can use that in one of those super small computers that are commonly sold "barebones", without HDD/SSD or memory. Do the latter and you will be good for the next three-five years.

Edited September 3, 2014 by keeniau96