The Intel Compute Stick (Core m3-6Y30) Review
by Ganesh T S on June 27, 2016 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
- Intel
- Core M
- Skylake
- HDMI Stick
- Compute Stick
Miscellaneous Aspects and Concluding Remarks
Intel has also been putting some effort on the software side for the Compute Stick platform. One of the main problems with the platform is the limited availability of USB ports. This is somewhat alleviated in the Core M version, thanks to the two USB 3.0 ports in the power adapter. In certain situations (such as the 'entertainment' use-case), the consumer often has a second screen available (either a tablet or a smartphone). Intel has a free Android / iOS app - the Intel Remote Keyboard - to take advantage of the second screen.
The host application comes pre-installed on the Compute Stick and is active at startup as a service. Therefore, one can use it to even enter credentials for system login. It allows the second screen keyboard to act as the primary keyboard for the Compute Stick and the screen itself to act as a trackpad for the mouse pointer on the Compute Stick's display. In our evaluation, the app worked well. Our only wish is for the in-built keyboard in the app to have a 'Tab' key, and the keyboard to work properly when using a Powershell or Command Prompt window.
Moving on to the business end of the review, we complained in our previous Compute Stick reviews that 32GB of primary storage does not cut it on any computing device other than a tablet or smartphone. Fortunately, the Core m3-6Y30 Compute Stick solves that problem. The two USB 3.0 ports on the power adapter are very welcome. The Wi-Fi solution (2x2 AC8260 802.11ac PCIe WLAN) is also top-notch. The system is also able to bitstream HD audio for HTPC applications. BIOS options t have fine-grained control over the fans is also a nice aspect. Performance-wise, it is hard to find faults when keeping the form factor in mind.
The only complaint we have is the $390 price point. Even though that price includes the OS license, we find it difficult to recommend it in the home PC market - the Cherry Trail Compute Stick and the other sub-$150 Compute Sticks look to be a better option.
However, the SMB / enterprise market might find the Core M Compute Sticks more to their liking. Price is not such a huge deterrent in that market. The availability of vPro features (in the Core m5 model) and TPM (trusted platform module) shows that Intel intends these systems to be primarily adopted in that market segment.
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Murloc - Monday, June 27, 2016 - link
irrelevant, video cards are one of the product categories that generate the most hype, if the reviewer isn't able to deliver anymore he could ship the card to somebody else.Still, if people come visit the site regardless of timely delivery of video card reviews, then it's not worth the effort.
prisonerX - Monday, June 27, 2016 - link
They cancelled it due to the childish whining.Ryan Smith - Monday, June 27, 2016 - link
It'll be a little bit longer, but it is coming.I have no excuses (none that would interest you guys, at least). But it is still a critical article, and one I intend to deliver soon.
In the meantime I have a request: could you guys please stop asking reviewers who aren't me where the 1080 review is? This is entirely my own doing, and harassing them isn't going to make it appear any sooner. In the meantime it's distracting from articles such as these, where the comments are supposed to be about the product.
Agent Smith - Wednesday, June 29, 2016 - link
Ryan, will your upcoming reviews of both the 1080 and 480 GPU's include their encode and decode capabilities?If so, will they include HVEC results?
Thanks!
Agent Smith - Wednesday, June 29, 2016 - link
Typo: meant HEVC (H.265)zlandar - Monday, June 27, 2016 - link
I've been wondering the same thing. There have been multiple articles on niche products which the vast majority of people could care less about yet a major video card launch goes unnoticed.Vorl - Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - link
Yeah, sadly, this has been going on for a while...There never was a review of the gtx 960, just a launch announcement. When I commented about it earlier this year I was told "it's coming" and here we are, waiting for the 1080 series...
I don't know what is happening with the video card reviews, but they sure aren't what they used to be or even remotely timely.
Anandtech used to release them the day of launch with full reviews, now it's weeks/months late, and sometimes never.
Michael Bay - Wednesday, June 29, 2016 - link
Well, maybe AT is just not a GPU site anymore.Furunomoe - Wednesday, June 29, 2016 - link
Nowadays, I only visit AnandTech to read about interesting gadgets. I have TPU for all of my PC hardware needs now.more-or-less - Wednesday, June 29, 2016 - link
It will come when it will come!They are short-stuffed, and that's obvious. Also the level of technical detail require time to write.