Chuwi 2023 HeroBox Unbox and Teardown

Hey guys, I picked up a new mini PC that I will be using in my work area where I record. It's replacing my old NUC6 i3 machine. Hope you guys enjoy the unboxing and teardown
---------- Equipment Used ----------
Sony CX-675
iFixit Tool Kit (Manta and Mako)
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[@sprinkles_091]

Thank you so much! Bought the herobox 2021 & it only had a heat sink & no fan or vent holes. Butned out the wifi adapter & bubbled the inside of the case within a month. It just forgot it has wifi then forgot it had any of my files✌🏻🪦bought this 2023 version bc i love the convenience of how small it is has a FAN! & i can just put it back in its box at the end of the day.

[@Lemerex]

Awesome! Glad you enjoyed the teardown video!

[@user-oo5lg5up3j]

Thank you very much for the explanation in your video, I am buying the computer, thank you

[@Lemerex]

You are very welcome

[@jeffsim1987]

Thanks so much sorry late to the video do you know if we can uograde the m.2ssd or is that also to 2tb I can't find any info on the m.2ssd upgrade

[@Lemerex]

You can buy a higher storage nvme, you will have to download windows and create a bootable drive so you can re-install the OS

[@lylluzzos]

Any opinion on this device after using it for some days? I'm gonna buy it to replace a very old PC used in a little office.

[@Lemerex]

Im actually very happy with it. Its perfect for office work. Only thing I wish it had, not that it really needs it in my case, but just a bit more ram would be nice. But being DDR5, it is crazy fast even for being 8GB. Definitely recommend it for sure for office work.

[@lylluzzos]

Thanks also for the disassembly. I've already replaced another old PC with a Blackview mini PC with Intel N97 and DDR5 and that little box was fast (even more after replacing Win11 with Win10, in the 2D benchmarks I got a ~30% improvements). Now I need this model because the office has a basic monitor with only one VGA port, and this Herobox seems to be the best mini PC with a VGA port.

[@valdolandar534]

Can boot from SSD ?

[@Lemerex]

I mean, you could? Need a bit more information as to what you are asking for. The unit comes with a nvme pre installed.

[@valdolandar534]

@@Lemerex , I can not boot from SSD added, I have try selecting the first boot by hard disk or SD, but impossible, there are not option clear that means boot from "SSD". All the tries failed, changing from others SSD too. I want to use the boot from SSD, I know the nvme is more fast but Ï have a lot of of SSD for use in a way to security, cloning it.

[@Lemerex]

The M.2 slot is designed for nvme. You should be able to go into bios and change to boot from ssd instead

[@valdolandar534]

@@Lemerex , have you tested it ? I have tested in another mini PC, the Beelink mini S 12, and not, does not works. I like the HeroBox, this is the reason to make the question clearly, one thing is in theory and another in practice (sadly).

[@Lemerex]

New video will be up soon showing that it can be done on a 2.5" SSD without an M.2 drive installed. It will go live on 5/14.

[@bestonyoutube]

what wifi card / chip is installed on it?

[@Lemerex]

CPU is an Intel 12th gen N100. Wi-Fi card is an Intel ax101

[@bestonyoutube]

@@Lemerex thanks. isnt the Intel ax101 really bad, I just looked into it and it just seems to have one antenna and no 2x2 support. how reliable is the Intel ax101 latency wise? also how is the fan is it annoying? does the audio jacket support mic in with an adapter? could you in theory just disconnect the fan? it seems to have a passive cooling plate which mostly will be enough.

[@Lemerex]

I mean for what I use it for, the latency isn't as big of a deal due to just being used at the when I am working on projects. The fan does rattle a bit while it is running. I have a new video coming up in a couple of days that will show the fan a bit more audible. The headphone jack on the back is just designed for speakers, no mic input. I haven't ran it without the fan, so I don't know how passive cooling will be done. The plate is a bit on the thin side. Even just at idle, it sits around 35C-38C. As far as the fan noise, its not too bad once you get used to it. It basically just sounds like a laptop fan just running at like 70%.

[@bestonyoutube]

@@Lemerex I was about to buy the box actually but that sounds concerning. Rattling fan is nothing I would like to have. I was hoping maybe you could distach the fan cable and just keep it passive cooled. Also that the headphone jack is not dual both audio out/in is another set back. Most laptops with a single audio jacket have dual mic in audio out jacket.

[@Lemerex]

@bestonyoutube no worries…if you want, the rattling isnt really bad…just a bit audible. It doesnt really bother me and you dont hear the rattle when the pc is assembled…the fan can be detached, but the heatsink isnt as thick to be considered for passive cooling…as far as the mic issue, yeah its a bummer, might want to try a usb mic perhaps?