ASUSVivoMini UN42-M023M Barebones Desktop (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

This is a nice unit.What comes with the unit:1) Barebones computer base (no RAM, no HD, no WiFi/Bluetooth card)2) Power supply (large square box that plugs directly into the AC wall receptacle).3) VESA mounting plate4) Hardware for mounting RAM/SSD/Wifi cards)5) Rubber plugs to cover the enclosure screws.6) Various disks, instructions, manuals.External connectors/controls (read the specs for more detailed info).1) Front side - power button (with LED), HD LED2) Left side - two USB ports, multi-format card reader, (Kensington?) lock port3) Back side - power jack, two USB ports, full-size HDMI port, SATA connector, Ethernet Jack, Audio Jack.4) Right side - blank.There are air vents along the back and bottom of the unit.I installed a 2Gb memory module and a 64GB mSATA SDD card (no WiFi/Bluetooth card, though), and that all went quite easily. I installed the FreeBSD-9.3 operating system, which again went quite smoothly after changing the boot settings in the BIOS/UEFI menus. My usage so far has been fairly light, with the heaviest task being compiling Firefox and parts of the operating system. Under this load the external case became hotter than the room temperature, but nowhere near what I would call 'hot'.The unit that I purchased appears to me to be defective, though, in that every few hours it puts up a message indicating that there is an 'internal parity error' in the CPU. This did not stop the computer from functioning, but it indicates to me that the particular CPU in that unit is a bit marginal, and I suspect that the situation will get worse and start to cause real problems over time (this is why I gave it four stars instead of five). Anyway, the computer is nice enough for my purposes that I'm having it replaced rather than just outright returned.Edits:I'm no longer sure what type of connector the 'SATA' connector is.Also, the replacement unit comes up with the same CPU parity errors as the first one, although I'm keeping the replacement unit and leaving my review as '4-Stars'.

Configuration: I purchased two of these VivoMini UN42-M023 units, along with two MyDigitalSSD 128GB mSATA SSD, Crucial 8GB x 2 DDR3 1600 SODIMM notebook memory sticks, and two Intel Ultimate-N 6300AGN half-size PCI-e cards (802.11 a/b/g/n, 2.4GHz + 5.0GHz). Although the VivoMini can hold two (2) sticks of DRAM, I only needed one per unit (leaving 1 DRAM slot free).Installation: I downloaded the FreeBSD 10.2-REL memory stick image (memstick) onto my PC and burned it onto a USB 3.0 flash drive (else the install takes longer if you use a USB 2.0 flash drive). For those who are wondering, I did not bother with the UEFI memstick image... I used the plain bios version of the memstick image. I then booted the VivoMini using the USB stick, and installed FreeBSD on it.Result: I am happy to report that, as of FreeBSD 10.2-REL, all devices are recognized... including the built-in 6300AGN half-size PCI-e wifi card! This is a tremendous asset to me... not having to port and rewrite device drivers to get a stock VivoMini working with FreeBSD! These machines will be used as data aggregators (one per floor) for tablet-based apps, with the results uploaded to a master server (also FreeBSD).I am tremendously pleased with the speed of these units, the quiet factor (imperceptible fan noise), the looks, the included mounting bracket (for VESA monitor mounting - though I use the bracket for wall-mounting inside a cabinet), and the low power consumption.

Did not work. Can not get anything out of the hdmi port

A very nice computer. I added an Adata Premier Pro SP310 SATA 6Gb/s mSATA Solid State Drive and an Kingston HyperX Impact Black 8GB Kit (2x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3L CL9 SODIMM 1.35V Laptop Memory and I am very pleased with its performance, running Linux Mint 17.3 Cinnamon and Ubuntu 15.10 (both are the 64 versions and set up to dual-boot). My only complaint was that it does not have an external SATA port as was advertised.

As the responsible person for IT at work I thought I will give this a try. Bought the barebones desktop and some ram and hard drive. Installed Windows 8 and MS office. I am now using this for a remote login for an offsite employee to access our accounting system. Very small footprint and rather quick. Highly recommended.

Great barebones desktop PC. Fast, exactly what I needed.

Great little box. Using as a OpenElec Kodi box. Plenty of horsepower.

Its a great! Exept im bad at hardware engineering :( so i have to return it i didnt read the barebones i thought it was missing parts until i read it once more. But im returning.sorry

El producto llegó muy rápido, excelente calidad, excelente precio. Llegó antes de lo esperado. Altamente recomendable !!! Excelente !!! .