Minisforum U820 Mini PC Intel Core i5-8279U 4C/8T Windows 10 Desktop Computer, 16GB DDR4 + 512GB SSD, HDMI/DP/USB-C 4K@60Hz Output, 2X RJ45 Port, 4X USB3.0 Port, Dual WiFi

…Mini Intel Core i5-8279U pc from Minisforum with 16Gb of DDR4 memory [2x8Gb] and a 256Gb M.2 2280 NVME SSD.Add to this the fact it has the latest v6 WiFi and v5.1 Bluetooth coupled with a USB Type C port on the front panel and 4 USB3 ports [2 on the front panel and 2 on the rear] plus mounted on the rear panel are 2 RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet ports [1 is a 2.5 Gigabit] an HDMI 4K@30Hz and a DP 4K@60Hz outlets it all adds up to a very capable Mini pc.Power input is provided through a separate transformer [240V AC to 19V DC] and lead which is connected at the rear panel to a USB Type C port socket.I have not noticed any heat issues and from time to time I am aware that the fan is working but not to the extent that it is in any way intrusive and only kicks-in when under fairly intensive loads on the CPU.The Intel Core i5-8279U Processor with 4 Cores/8 Threads has a 6Mb cache and can ‘boost’ up to 4.10 GHz. There is a good deal of confusion surrounding the various Intel processor attributes and picking your way through the minefield of them is not always a case of the higher the iX number the better the processor at all tasks. This i5-8279U is a high-end of the i5 [Laptop/Mini] range and an excellent article on the various differences between i3 to i9 can be found in an article written by Andrew Williams for Trusted Reviews[dot]com.Expansion is simple and I have added a 1TB SSD to the U820 via the ‘pop up’ lid and simply plugging it in to the provided connector and formatting it in the normal manner through Windows Disk Management. This allows me to keep the original NVME SSD as clean as possible with only Windows and a few absolutely essential hardware/software drivers and files stored on it. Boot time is around 20 seconds and I do tend to keep the Registry and ‘Start-Up’ folders as clean/clear as possible.I have a number of Mini pc devices running Windows 10 [this comes with W 10 Pro] and they are all used for specific tasks plus they have a variety of processors. This Minisforum U820 is used for my photographic work running Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom together with some other photo selection software [it also runs Microsoft Office Word/Excel & Outlook] and since a normal assignment can produce a few thousand shots it is imperative that this Minisforum can ‘rattle through’ the downloading and selection process – and it does.Accepting that it does not have a separate ‘high end’ video card I have not found that a problem in editing as the Intel Iris Plus 655 ‘on board’ Graphics GPU is, once again, extremely capable.Please note – I do not work with video editing so cannot comment on this but I can say that I have not experienced any buffering/lag issues when running downloaded video information and/or looking at YouTube for example – yes I do sometimes have to look up how to do things better/differently etc.This Mini pc was first launched in January 2021 and since that time Intel have launched a number of new CPUs but performance for price I believe this Mini pc represents excellent value and it is a lot quicker at the tasks I need done than my big black box with an older i5 and 2 Nvidia cards which I built a few years ago.As I have a Logitech multi-device keyboard I have both my old black box and my Mini pc both connected to my 2 displays which have both been calibrated to each input device and it all works perfectly – I seem to be using the Mini pc more and more for my work and leaving the black box to Google and the more mundane tasks. If you needed to have 3 screens you could run the third screen via the front panel USB Type C outlet.As you may have guessed - I commend this item and believe it to be excellent value and am also pleased to report that it works perfectly well for me and on that basis I am very happy to recommend it to you.Thank you for your time in reading my feedback/review – I hope it may have helped you in your own buying decision.If this feedback/review has helped in any way please be kind enough to click on 'Helpful'.

I have so much more desk space since buying this computer and it works so quickly and quietly.

It's been a few days now since my U820 mini PC was delivered and so far it's been a great experience. Setup was quick and easy straight out of the box and Windows 10 Pro has made it very easy to use.Power - the mini PC is powered via a USB-C socket unlike most others and it's 19v, that means with any compatible 12v laptop car charger, this PC can be run while out and about. This means it's ideal for use on my narrowboat which doesn't have mains power.Storage - the internal NVME drive is Kingston branded so not a cheap or poor quality drive, speed tests using Samsung's Magician software show read speeds of 3120 MB/s and write speeds of 1266 MB/s.Expandable storage - this for me was one of the best features. The top of the case just pops open which I wasn't expecting, no screwdriver required. Once open the cover reveals space for 2 SSD drives complete with cables ready to connect the drives. This mean I could easily add my Samsung EVO drives quickly and load them in Windows.Double ethernet - I'll be honest before purchasing this device I'd have never heard of 2.5 gigabit ethernet but this device appears to have one compatible port. The main advantage this device offered for me though was being able to bond the ethernet ports giving me 2Gbps anyways in normal ways...ideal for CCTV, streaming etc.WiFi connectivity - this is one of the things I haven't tested much but so far WiFi speeds have been great. The integrated bluetooth also means I can sit there at night listening to music on my headphones without disturbing anyone.Software - I've so far only really tried this with Adobe Lightroom Classic and I must say this performs much faster than on my 2020 MacBook Pro which cost £2,000. Lightroom is well known for being difficult to run with very poor performance...not on this machine.Box contents - the computer comes complete with the usual manual, tv mount bracket and some screws. My drive didn't like the screws but it was nice to have them anyway. The mounting bracket should come in useful for hiding the computer out of sight, not that it doesn't look bad working away on the worktop. The box itself appears to be decent enough quality and looks well packaged.In general there are plenty of ports so I don't think I'll run out soon, the computer has been very stable since we set it up and so far its been a great experience. Got to say with the expandable storage, dual gigabit ethernet and dual display this is going to make an excellent CCTV server for my boats security, maybe even a streaming server too.

small its a good thing...just slow though even with only afew things running

Neat and small. Easy to set up,very quick loading. And set up for Windows 11

Very nice machine, fast and quiet, a good choice.