Should you buy a Chuwi PC? My week with the Corebox…

After seeing my laptop review, Chuwi sent over the latest mini desktop PC. I've been using it for a few weeks now, and want to share my thoughts.
0:00 Unboxing, Specs, CPU Performance
2:29 Gaming Performance
5:22 Noise
Chuwi Corebox 5th:
store.chuwi.com/products/core...
Thanks for watching :)

[@EnglishGamer2019]

Who else thought that the case was bigger than it actually is? It took me a while to realize that the stickers and USB ports weren’t scaling properly as usual

[@Waldherz]

Same here. I thought that it was a full height, but slimmer profile ATX tower.

[@pietmyvrou8149]

Kinda like those 90's toy ads that I fell for

[@pptemplar5840]

It's because it's oriented vertically like a normal PC case in the thumbnail. Our eyes play tricks on us.

[@BeB02090]

Such a tiny thing. I really like the look of this mini.

[@bligh1156]

I did. My GPU is bigger than that PC.

[@optimisticgambler3616]

0:45 Giant hand! Oh...never mind.

[@iitzfizz]

right lol

[@NurmYokai]

Land of the Giants (1968-1970) ...

[@TheGreenReaper]

Oh no! Anyway...

[@DeadPixel1105]

0:44 When the hand comes into view, I was shocked. The PC looks full-size, then the hand comes in and reveals just how mini the PC actually is.

[@DarioDarrow]

Thumbnail fooled me 😆

[@spookytofu2078]

judging by the second fan inlet, maybe they have a higher tier model with a dedicated gpu built in with its own cooling, would be nice to see

[@tylerkidby8991]

They are good but I would always advise wiping and then re-installing Windows from the official .iso before using any of the Chinese/not well known brands. Miners and spyware are pretty common on those machines. Have bought some myself in the past and do that every time.

[@ariavachier-lagravech.6910]

Yea, you could never trust the Chinese.

[@mrman6035]

Unless it's also in the motherboard as well

[@samholdsworth420]

​@@mrman6035😣

[@jeyendeoso]

Not to mention its usually some cracked/grey market windows key and when you reinstall, its not activated anymore. And windows can't find drivers, and when you manage to scrounge drivers from the internet, its a dodgy google drive with random drivers. It sucks. I wish more mini-pc reviewers looked at more aspects like these, instead of just "plug it in, it works, plays games, reccomended!".

[@samholdsworth420]

@@mrman6035 🤔😣

[@Holycurative9610]

I got a small Chuwi notebook and their 10" tablet and have no complaints at all with them. I sold both on to my neighbour after a year or so and they've been using them for a while and like them well enough. These are good entry level machines with good attention to detail, what's more important is that they haven't gone wrong..

[@danal8246]

Good start to the day seeing a new Randomgaming video uploaded. Common win.

[@tonybaloney8987]

All these mini pcs take me back to the days of Shuttle PCs. I ran one with an Athlon for years. It was a loud, beautiful tiny beast. And yeah, you paid extra for the small form factor but I got back so much desk space that I didn't mind.

[@Taorakis]

I still have my Pentium4 Shuttle at home, they look so sleek!

[@LitteralBeans]

Looks interesting, cant wait to see what it can do

[@TrusteftTech]

It looks cute. Now imagine it with the addition of a mobile version of a RTX card.

[@romanlewandowski6131]

It would make it perfect

[@TrusteftTech]

@@romanlewandowski6131 Almost perfect. It would need to be orange or chrome orange to be perfect, but yes.

[@jesseomollo9405]

wish you could try this system with those laptop e gpu docks

[@Boogie_the_cat]

I think that is ultra cute, to have a small form factor standard tower design. 😻

[@evo271]

Everytime i see this brand name, i read it as Chewy and then i make the Chewbacca noise.

[@brando3342]

It would be REALLY cool if you tried to cram a liquid cooled GPU in that box, and bolt the radiator to the outside of the box. You could add significant power with little additional space requirement.

[@oscarfiala2104]

Recently saw video on some mini PCs that had accidentally preinstalled malware. Maybe worth a try to run a scan?

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Ah I did run a scan now that you mention it haha. All clear!

[@randomgaminginfullhd7347]

@@RandomGaminginHD If it's in the firmware (rootkit) your network is f'd.

[@federicocatelli8785]

It would be nice if you could purchase them barebone. If you want to do a fresh w11 installation do you need to get any driver from their website?

[@knifemind]

Chuwi is pretty well established, and while you should always verify, I wouldn't be concerned buying their products. It's the weird noname clone PCs that you really gotta watch out for.

[@hrq007]

Always good to keep an eye out for that kind of stuff but pretty unlikely to happen on a Chuwi. They've been around for ages and have had a pretty good track record as far as I know.

[@blooder81]

wholesome mini pc!

[@Trick-Framed]

I really like the look and size.

[@shaneeslick]

G'day Han, Looks like Chuwi would be a great companion for Core Heavy tasks or Adobe as intel always is

[@kalark]

i wish mini pc makers would make something like this but also feature a pcie slot for a low profile card, look at the corebox as an example probably has enough room for a tiny riser and room for an rx 6400 or something along those lines

[@jrose-xp6tf]

It's adorable.

[@TheSpotify95]

Not bad for a little PC! I think this thing even has a SATA port inside it for a 2.5in HDD or SSD. of course, I would also be changing the RAM to dual channel as a matter of urgency. Never single channel memory!

[@KazunaiOwO]

looks good.

[@cappuccino-1721]

3:23 damn, crazy how it looks like a game from 2006 on the lowest settings!

[@Haddley333]

I’m playing this game with everything maxes and it still looks like a 2006 games in areas, esp the npcs walking on the street

[@DenKulesteSomFins]

​@@Haddley333no it doesn't

[@Chill_Mode_JD]

@@Haddley333get a better monitor choom

[@Haddley333]

@@Chill_Mode_JD i have the best of the best. If you don't have good eyesight then you won't pick up on the details and just look at the shiny car.

[@Chill_Mode_JD]

@@Haddley333 get glasses then homie

[@jeyendeoso]

Can I reccomend something you can try to review that would be very informative for watchers? Do a full drive scan to check for malwares or miners. Preferably removing the drive as it comes from the factory and plugging in another machine to scan it. How is windows activated? can you reinstall windows from an original ISO and will it activate? Is it using a greymarket windows key? Is it in Bios? Will windows reactivate itself after? If it doesn't, will minisforum give me another? Can you download drivers from an official website? Or are they from a dodgy Google Drive from a random account? After reinstalling windows, can windows find all the correct drivers? Just a few suggestions that would make your video *much* more informative for consumers.

[@Trick-Framed]

I pulled this from the Intel site as I could not understand why it said Iris Xe eligible. Seems that when this iGPU only has 1 stick of memory (Single channel mode) it defaults to less than the 80EUs it has available to it. In theory this means, when you put that extra stick in it should be a bit faster in the iGPU side of things... The processors in single-channel memory configurations will default to less than 80 EUs, in alignment with Intel® UHD Graphics branding. To use the Intel® Iris® Xe brand, the system must be populated with 128-bit (dual channel) memory. Otherwise, it will use the Intel® UHD brand. I see it says branding so I wonder how this company managed that? Does it have a full 80 EUs? Or less? I don't remember seeing so far in this video...

[@dave4shmups]

Great video! The only problem with Chuwi is that they don’t have any offices outside of China, so you’re on your own if you have any problems with it. At least, that’s what I’ve heard. Otherwise, I think this is a neat mini PC.

[@JP-rz2pp]

They have, in Spain. But don’t expect any repairs, they not only won’t fix it but won’t return your item.

[@TheTryingDutchman]

Does an Rtx 3050 6gb low profile card fit in the case?

[@Technocrat.]

If they added a PCIe slot, they could sell a lot more of them, would have to be a bigger case.

[@2003AudiS3]

Could you do a review on the rx 640?

[@cordlesswire]

this need a pcie slot for a… id say single slot, but it would be awesome if it could fit a double slot gpu, like nvidia a2000. i would not mind if it was larger.

[@anicloudsmedia]

you can try adding a discrete GPU using exp gdc by replacing the pcie wifi card and using ethernet as the internet connection

[@rikifps]

Will you be doing a review of the 7600xt?

[@federicocatelli8785]

Is it possibile to purchase barebone ? I'm not confident using pc with preinstalled os on them

[@JynxedKoma]

Chewie is such a pal. I'll be putting a good word about him to Han Solo.

[@reaper352c5]

it seems like that pc could be a great emulation machine for older games. its specs aren't to bad.

[@Rmm1722]

Cool

[@bigtime7983]

Any chance we can see this hooked up to a eGPU?

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

For that price, you can add 100 more and build a 12700H system inside a Jonsbo N3 case, which leaves you room for up to 8 full size HDDs. And you have 14c/20t in this CPU with 6 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores.

[@rometherevenant8749]

Damn, I thought it was a modern Mac Pro using the cheese grater case on the thumbnail

[@willm5032]

I'd love one of these with the grunt to run AAA games on medium settings or so as a console replacement, big turnoff for me about big desktop towers is form factor as I want something minimal and small in my living room rather than a Big ol honking RGB tower with glass panels and that

[@paulosborne1409]

Ali Express has a sale on until 1st of May have you tested much stuff from them? just want to know if it's worth buying from them.

[@ash36230]

First thing I'd do with that is reinstall the OS from scratch. I also thought it was bigger than it is for a case that copies the classic Mac design XD

[@romanlewandowski6131]

Love it. Too bad there's no monitor mount tho (

[@NovaTurtlez]

Do you test Fortnite with the pre-downloaded shaders or are you streaming in everything as you play? Theres an additional download in the Epic Games launcher that can really impact those .1% & 1% lows.

[@Takashita_Sukakoki]

Seems to me that most mini pc hate adding HDMI 2.1. Some higher end amd ones do most intel based one never have it.

[@fracturedlife1393]

Would be nice if it had a pcie x16 so you could mount it to your 4090

[@pasqualedimariano2759]

I had two of their products. A mini laptop which was pretty basic but quite ok and a Dual Boot tablet which was well built but with really crappy components (64 GB of HHD for two OSs not to mention a ridiculous Intel Atom X5 Z8350 as CPU ) on top of that the Android version was 5.1 (tablet came out in 2017, so already a couple of years too old).

[@napalmarsch]

a bit beefier steam deck mini pc aka steam machine v2 is still a dream for me

[@gamingboi_7730]

Could this mini pc do 4k120? I mean i've heard that mobile intel cpu's from 11'th gen or Higher support HDMI 2.1.

[@MyNameIsBucket]

In counterstrike maybe

[@justinpatterson5291]

How you make little case look big?

[@kriscortez4624]

Hi can you please add Warframe to your benchmarking?

[@timetobargeinandgivemyopin7260]

how come you haven't made a video on the 5800x3d/7800x3d?

[@Kraven83]

DDR5 single stick in dual channel mode? How can it be?

[@jothain]

If they'd do these with dual 2,5gig NIC's and place for like 4 SATA drives and couple M.2 slots, they'd sell insanely much if priced right.

[@Treynath84]

For the price, that isn't too bad. Throw a cheap external GPU in and it'd be a decent enough PC for fairly cheap. I'd imagine CPU heavy tasks like emulation would probably run decently on there.

[@gametime2473]

So this was tested with one stick of ram? That's cutting RAM speed in half. Would have been nice to see it with dual channel ram. Crazy that Chuwi would even send it in that state. They should know better than anyone the performance hit a single RAM stick causes. Maybe it doesn't make a difference with this low end of a system but it would be nice to know.

[@sunnygalaxy8794]

Chuwi is from Shenzhen, China... not a brand devoted to quality yet. the biggest question is how long would it last before problems arise. the second biggest question is customer service, no service in UK... what's the service turn around time?

[@stargeezer8427]

Sorry but how exactly does a single DIMM run in dual channel mode? 🤣

[@MrSnapy1]

In the thumb nail this thing looked huge lol Great for many things just not gaming. Intel needs to make apu type chips like the Iris they had.They are loosing ground on laptops and mini pcs.

[@cptwhite]

0:41 I'm going with the belief this is a compact desktop and you have giant hands.

[@tubularmonkeymaniac]

Can memory be expanded?

[@ShawnMeira]

Remember to scrub these before installing any personal stuff as sometimes these have come pre-installed with malware

[@jiggle_counter]

I've wanted to get a bunch of Chuwi products, but the lack of options in BIOS and lack of BIOS updates urks me Still cheap as chips though, cheaper than Beelink's products, but I guess you get what you pay for

[@xilix]

mafia 2 was lightening in a bottle

[@burrfoottopknot]

Malware on Chuwi still or has that been sorted out?

[@j.w.techchannel]

I think that PC is quite impressive, especially for £400.

[@keithmiller9665]

£400? Nope, can do better for the money. I bought a Chuwi mini / NUC type PC last year that was covered in a plastic case with minimal ventilation. Put me off for good.

[@IDONOTKNOWANYMORELMFAOO]

you know, cyberpunk runs really well for this little guy, definitely playable

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Yeah really surprised me that result

[@EastAngliaUK]

is it ps4 pro graphics?

[@michaelbuddy]

The mini chuwi laptop I had was a disaster in terms of battery. I wouldn't get anything from them without a warranty with local repair or replacement. Quality seemed good on the outside, but it was a disaster and their service was not good.

[@andyshtroymish4997]

Unfortunately IGPU lacks performance still. 400 pounds for a CPU power only sounds unjustifiable. That's none of Chuwi's fault in any means, of course 😊

[@michaelduffek2866]

PUNCH IT CHUWI

[@MyNameIsBucket]

Mrrrrraaaawrer

[@mirk125]

do they make ryzen models?

[@RandomGaminginHD]

I’ve seen an older Ryzen model but worth a look on the site

[@ivanlimzg]

I know its essentially a laptop in a case, but this could pass off as a desktop in a sff case

[@rafradeki]

True, its way too big, they could literally cut the space in half and keep perfromance

[@KenzertYT]

@@rafradeki It doesn't need to be smaller, and part of the sale is the way it looks. It looks "desktop" like versus being a "nettop" for example

[@BRIGS21]

not gonna lie for that price personally id buy a used more capable full size pc with a gpu a 1650 or 580 maybe 20 series if i scrap around,but thats just me

[@ErikTheHalibut]

First 🎉 (not a bot)

[@RandomGaminginHD]

😁

[@ErikTheHalibut]

​@@RandomGaminginHDI enjoy watching these SFF style devices find some use. Outside of being an office computer, they make for great media servers to setup in the living room.

[@YTKeepsDeletingAllMyComments]

Took a bite of this PC and it is definitely not Chuwi.

[@dannygc1205]

just a slight correction. the pc has 2 dimm slots and thus can run in dual channel, however, as there was only 1 ram slot populated, it was running in single channel mode.

[@dannygc1205]

@@HernasRoom the ram inside the dimm itself is tecnically dual channel as a ddr5 dimm is 2x32 bit memory, however it is still not dual channel in the overall scheme of the PC as it is only 1 single dimm at 2x32bit width. a single ddr4 stick would be 1x64bit meaning its essentially the same width. in actual dual channel operation you would need AT LEAST 2 dimms (4x32bit ddr5 or 2x64bit ddr4) totalling 128bit width.

[@dannygc1205]

@@HernasRoom like i said before, inside the ddr5 dimm is two 32bit channels, but that still only adds up to 64bit. to get the full 128bit width you still need 2 sticks. and dual channel as everyone refers to it, is 128 bit, since a single ddr5 stick is dual 32bit, you still need two sticks for EFFECTIVE dual channel and full 128bit

[@ProDaddy]

can you please add Valorant too ? in your gaming benchmarks

[@orca3744]

How TF GTA RUNS on that 😂

[@2048Megabytes.]

Looks a bit like a Mac Pro if you think about it

[@antonn.ivanovic]

how can a single stick ram run in dual channel mode?

[@RandomGaminginHD]

With ddr5 it works differently apparently. I’m ashamed to say it’s the first I’ve heard of it haha

[@jonpeley]

This system hasn't decided yet if it wants no be a mini PC o an SFF desktop. It's none of them.

[@baggiesjoe1608]

I reckon Han Solo would like this pc 😂

[@Prellium]

Why these small form factor PCs keep using intel is weird. Ryzen intergrated graphics beat them hands down and are cheaper.

[@zzavatski]

If only Chuwi used all the empty space inside for beefier coolling.

[@richardmcgowan1651]

Unless you have a closed off network separate from your full network. These should always be wiped with an install of Linux from new.

[@radeksparowski7174]

meh...it is pretty meh....it has no killer utilisation to go for, maybe except native 4 monitor support, I would love it if they add usb4 ports, or faster network, or more storage possibilities, or do it with passive cooling, it would be an ok office system with multiple monitors support for som photo and video editing, or they should switch to ryzen and a good apu for some fine fhd gaming, but it is just meh, put all the current mini pcs in one pool and pick one randomly, it will be more or less like this.... make it somehow special to wake interest, otherwise it is on par with any n100 based cheapo mini pc with just a bit better cpu...and nothing YEAH to go for....

[@rzkrdn8650]

Perf, price, upgradibility. It's losing on all front compared to oldschool pc. Atleast let me have 1 or 2. No, portability is not a plus for a pc.

[@GeForce210]

hd 630 vs gt 710

[@retropcscotland4645]

Must just be me who hates winblows 11.

[@paul119]

I would go for amd version ,intel is just meh ,making more heat , and igp is crap

[@MrChriss000]

400 eh? Suit my dad to the ground, the folks love little boxes. Looks more poshh.

[@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716]

Now put in a rtx 4090 asus strix card into this pc

[@LukeTheJoker]

0:27 Single stick of RAM running in dual channel mode? Am I missing something or just a small mistake and meant single channel?

[@tyrkukulkan]

Yes, that will definitely be an oversight. Cannot run in dual channel with only one channel populated.

[@minerva474]

DDR5 modules have two indepedent sub-channels

[@one_step_sideways]

That's how it works, yes. And LPDDR5 works in quad-channel at 3200MHz, which gets you 6400MT/s but in quad channel

[@faisalbinmahfoudh5913]

For the price, you could build a mini server with it. Proxmox 👍

[@RandomGaminginHD]

I must try that one day!

[@phreapersoonlijk]

Wait, is this full on ad? Put that info in the title of the video. The title in no way suggests this is a fully sponsored video, with a sponsored review. C'mon, you know better.

[@iiisaac1312]

Chuwi? I'm pretty sure you'd chip your tooth on that 🤔

[@CantankerousDave]

Everyone else is mispronouncing ethernet as "either-net," and this iconoclast mispronounces it in an entirely new way. Color me impressed.