More and more companies are opting for laptops, thin clients, or mini-PCs instead of bulky desktops. The latter can even be mounted on the back of a monitor to make the workspace look as neat as possible. Usually, mini-PCs also have a built-in wireless module, so only two cables are needed for operation: one for powering the computer and one for connecting the system to the monitor.

This review will introduce such a solution. We will talk about the Vinga Mini BOX B300. Its supply to the Ukrainian market is scheduled for January 2019. In addition to functioning as a mini-PC, the novelty can operate as a thin client (in terminal mode). This will be useful for larger organizations, allowing significant savings in the future due to the lack of need to upgrade employee terminals.

Specification

Packaging and Delivery Set

The Vinga Mini BOX B300 mini-PC comes in a small long package made of standard dense cardboard with simple but attractive dark-toned printing. On the top side of the box, there is an image of the device, its name, and the Vinga company logo. The back side provides brief technical specifications and some of the main advantages.

On one of the sides, there is a sticker indicating the warranty period and a list of additional specifications.

In the box with the Vinga Mini BOX B300, we found a power supply unit, a user manual, and a bracket for mounting the device behind a monitor or TV.

Appearance and Element Layout

The case of the Vinga Mini BOX B300 is made of black matte plastic, but it is quite prone to smudges and easily collects fingerprints and dust. It is very easy to scratch with careless handling, so the case requires careful maintenance to preserve its presentable appearance.

The top panel is completely devoid of significant elements except for the Vinga company logo.

The bottom cover is secured with four screws. Here is also a sticker with technical data and a slot for attaching the included bracket. Additionally, there are four small rubber feet at the edges of the case, which improve grip on the surface when placed on a table and will also dampen possible vibrations if you install a 2.5-inch hard drive inside.

The front and rear sides are allocated for various interfaces. The front has three USB ports, a card reader for microSD memory cards, a power button, and an LED indicator.

The remaining connectors are concentrated on the rear panel. Here you will find: a Reset button hole, a power connector, HDMI and D-Sub, an RJ45 network interface, two USB 2.0 ports, and a combined audio jack for headphones and a microphone.

The sides are allocated for ventilation holes, which are necessary for better air circulation inside such a compact case.

Internal Structure and Hardware Platform

By removing the bottom cover of the case, you can access the internal components. Right underneath it is a slot for a 2.5-inch drive and a SATA 6 Gbps port for connecting it.

The case can also be disassembled from the opposite side, as the top cover is secured with regular plastic clips.

Inside is a green printed circuit board with an aluminum heatsink for the cooling system.

A pleasant bonus is the ability to expand permanent memory using an M.2 drive. 

For network connections, there is a gigabit LAN controller Realtek RTL8111G.

The audio subsystem is based on the Realtek ALC269 audio codec.

Special mention should be made of the Intel Wireless-AC 3165 wireless module supporting Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 4.0 standards.

On the bottom of the case, on the inner side, the antennas for wireless interfaces are installed.

The 4-core 4-thread Intel Pentium N4200 processor used in the Vinga Mini BOX B300 is built on the 14nm Intel Goldmont microarchitecture and belongs to the Intel Apollo Lake series. The base speed is 1.1 GHz, but it can dynamically increase to 2.5 GHz.

As for RAM, one DDR3-1600 MHz module with a capacity of 4 GB is installed.

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 505 core consists of 18 execution units (EU). The base clock speed is 200 MHz, and the dynamic can increase up to 750 MHz.

The disk subsystem is represented by a 64 GB eMMC drive FORESEE NCEMASLD. At the first start of the mini-PC, about 43 GB was free, which is quite enough for installing the necessary software.

Testing

The average read speed of the built-in drive in CristalDiskMark tends to 152 MB/s, and the write speed reaches 122 MB/s. These are typical indicators for eMMC memory. If higher performance is needed, a solid-state drive should be installed.

As competitors for comparison, we chose previously reviewed models of mini-PCs ASUS Mini PC PN40 and Mini PC PB40 with different amounts of RAM and Intel Celeron N4000 processor, as well as the Vinga Twizzle J116 laptop based on the Intel Pentium Silver N5000 processor (4/4 x 1.1 - 2.7 GHz) and 4 GB of RAM in dual-channel mode.

In almost all tests, the laptop predictably leads, while the three mini-PCs compete in their sandbox. Overall, the performance level of the novelty is low, but it is sufficient for running basic everyday applications, working with office documents, searching for information on the network, and running multimedia.

There will be no problems with playing streaming video in 4K Ultra HD format, so the Vinga Mini BOX B300 is excellent as a home media center, office, or educational PC, especially if you don't want children and employees to be distracted by games.

Cooling system and power supply

In idle mode, the temperatures of key nodes did not exceed 50°C. Running stress tests heats the processor cores up to 67°C, and the iGPU up to 62°C. The system operated stably, without performance drops and processor throttling. There was no noise since the mini-PC uses a passive cooling system. It may only appear after installing a hard drive.

The Vinga Mini BOX B300 is powered by an external 24-watt VINGA VPA-1202004 power supply with a fixed cable. The input signal parameters are 100 - 240 V at a current of 0.8 A and a frequency of 50 - 60 Hz. The output is 12 V at 2 A.

During operation, we measured power consumption and obtained very modest results, which were even lower than those of recently tested models from ASUS:

• idle - 4.7 W;
• FPU stress test AIDA64 - 8.5 W;
• GPU stress test AIDA64 - 7.6 W;
• FPU + GPU stress test AIDA64 - 8 W.

Conclusions

Overall, Vinga Mini BOX B300 is an interesting option for purchase in several scenarios. Firstly, it can be used as a home multimedia center, after installing a capacious 2.5-inch hard drive for convenient content storage. Mounting the device on the back of a monitor or TV will also not be a problem thanks to the supply kit. The passive cooling system and a good set of network modules and external interfaces ensure quiet and comfortable operation.

The second scenario for the Vinga Mini BOX B300 is a home PC for a child if you don't want them to be distracted from studying by games. In this case, they can play Solitaire or very simple casual projects.

The third scenario is for organizing a workplace. In small companies, all software can be installed on the internal drive, and the Vinga Mini BOX B300 can be used as a mini-PC. In large companies, it can operate in terminal mode (thin client), where all the load is on the server, so there is no need to update its hardware platform over time.

Let's highlight two points separately. Firstly, the mini-PC will be available in two versions: without a pre-installed operating system and with one. Secondly, an M.2 drive can be additionally installed at the service center to avoid voiding the warranty from self-opening the case.

As a result, the Vinga Mini BOX B300 turned out to be quite a versatile system, but not without reservations, so its success in the market will directly depend on smart pricing positioning.

Advantages:

• energy-efficient 4-core Intel Pentium N4200 processor;
• strict design;
• compact size;
• possibility to install two drives;
• 64 GB eMMC drive installed;
• mounting included;
• good set of external interfaces;
• 4 GB of RAM;
• ability to work as a thin client (terminal mode);
• silent passive cooling system;
• support for wireless interfaces 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.

Disadvantages:

• smudge-prone case;
• absence of Kensington lock.

Author: Kostyantyn Shorokhov
Translation: Liliya Masyuk

We express our gratitude to BRAIN Computers, the official representative of Vinga, for providing the mini-PC for testing.