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
Power Consumption and Thermal Performance
The power consumption at the wall was measured with a 1080p display being driven through the HDMI port. In the graphs below, we compare the idle and load power of the Intel Core m3-6Y30 Compute Stick with other low power PCs evaluated before. For load power consumption, we ran Furmark 1.15.0 and Prime95 v28.7 together.
Compared to the Bay Trail and Cherry Trail Compute Sticks, the Core M one has higher idle and load power consumption numbers. Given the upgraded Wi-Fi and the presence of a Core-series CPU, the idle number can probably be justified. The load numbers point to the Core m3-6Y30 being operated in the cTDP-up mode.
Our thermal stress routine starts with the system at idle, followed by 30 minutes of pure CPU loading. This is followed by another 30 minutes of both CPU and GPU being loaded simultaneously. After this, the CPU load gets removed, allowing the GPU to be loaded alone for another 30 minutes. The various clocks in the system as well as the temperatures within the unit are presented below.
According to the official specifications, the junction temperature of the Core m3-6Y30 is 100C. The fan is able to keep it well below that temperature. The system essentially seems limited by the package power. We find that it is only able to sustain 6W for extended time durations, though we do see it spike up higher in the beginning.
Another important aspect to keep note of while evaluating PCs with such a small form factor is the chassis temperature. Using the Android version of the FLIR One thermal imager, we observed the chassis temperature after the CPU package temperature reached the steady state value in the above graph.
We have additional thermal images in the gallery below.
On the whole, the thermals don't give us much cause for concern, though the idling temperature of around 60C for the CPU package seems a little bit too high. It is possible that altering the the default BIOS options may help in improving this aspect.
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bill.rookard - Monday, June 27, 2016 - link
That's somewhat debatable IMHO. If there's one thing that's usually true: people never complain about having too much power, proper thermal and power management usually keeps that all under control. They always complain though if it's not powerful enough.Notmyusualid - Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - link
I have a use case for one of these...At home I have a Samsung 3D TV that I paid a fortune for, and other than the software / online side to the device, I'm very happy with. The issue is - after 4yrs, Samsung no longer updates their smart TV, and thus I cannot even finish a single episode of anything on iPlayer, without it rebooting. And the smart TV interface is painful to use.
I think this device would bridge the gap, and allow me to keep this TV another 4 years.
But that price...it won't convert well when it hits the UK shores...
felang - Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - link
Seems like a $50 Roku Stick might be just what you need.BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - link
I hear that a lot. People jumped on the 3D TV and smart TV fads which are both are rapidly deflating markets making them unprofitable to continue to support from an OEM perspective. You're probably better off using a Roku or some other similar set top box. A compute stick seems like overkill for your usage scenario.Notmyusualid - Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - link
Thanks for all your answers.However, I don't stream Hulu, or Netflix, but only from the BBCs iPlayer, in accordance with my non-license-paying laws.
But I DO use Youtube, and have hated most every linux interface I've seen, so I really Need / Want a Windows user environment.
At $200 this would be an insta-buy. At $300, I dunno, I guess I'd have to be stateside to really decide, but when it lands at 299 GBP, they can stuff it. (that is my price GUESS).
I'll certainly be adding it to my Ebay 2nd hand search, just in case a fool dumps one cheaply...
erple2 - Wednesday, July 6, 2016 - link
Sounds like a Chromecast might work, too. BBC suggests that it should just work if you use the iPlayer app on your Android or iPhone.JackNSally - Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - link
I currently have an Amazon Firestick.It works really good for Netflix, Hulu, etc.
You can also put Kodi on it. It's not the most polished interface and experience but it does work.
I think you can do more with it too, I just haven't figured it all out.
Gunbuster - Monday, June 27, 2016 - link
My takeaway is that 2in1's have the potential to not suck if Intel would make Core-M pricing reasonable.TheinsanegamerN - Monday, June 27, 2016 - link
Yes, but this is intel we are talking about here.bill.rookard - Monday, June 27, 2016 - link
If Zen comes through with good cores at low enough power usage, we might see that pricing adjust somewhat.