Using a PC STICK in 202X! | ASUS QM1 Z8300 gaming and self-hosting

[@SummonerArthur]

I've used to live the idea behind these. I knew they sucked even back then, but the idea that a thumb drive sized pc could do most basic things was mindblowing for me.

[@dyXurChannel]

Absolutely! It's probably one of my favorite "formats" out there.

[@alexga23113]

Same brother.

[@nickjones1609]

They still make these guys! mostly using N100s

[@w00dani]

I've got one of these that I've been trying to find a project for.

[@momomaz2516]

U could try making a game server

[@wikwayer]

Retro tv station

[@balkloth]

Tails OS

[@assacarnes.]

this thing is as powerful as my netbook 😭

[@dyXurChannel]

@@assacarnes. Netbooks were great, but sadly just as obsolete as the QM1

[@assacarnes.]

@@dyXurChannel mines running fedora, but im going to change for something lighter bc its not running as well as i want it to

[@assacarnes.]

@@dyXurChannel also, if u want to know, its a multilaser legacy pc105 (i think, theres also the 101 and the 107 that are the same thing)

[@dyXurChannel]

@@assacarnes. The best thing about fedora is compatability. Which DE are you currently using? Lighter ones like XFCE, LXDE might help. Or something Like AntiX that uses IceWM.

[@assacarnes.]

@@dyXurChannel im using gnome on it still

[@Lorfarius]

have a couple of older ones of these that have Windows 8 on, had them for well over a decade and they really are awesome bits of kit for the right job. We just have them loading presentations and streaming audio.

[@EVOTech1]

I remember when these were more common. those old Z series Atoms were such a pain to do anything with. I had a cheap windows tablet I got for 60 bucks that had a Atom Z8350 and 4GB of RAM. you couldn't do anything at all on it do to the CPU being at 100% load doing pretty much anything on windows 10. because it was a tablet with only a micro USB port, it was far too much effort to try and get anything else installed on it like a linux distro. Funny to think now that this form factor is more viable, it's less common but it seems like mini PCs kinda just filled the gap left there. at some point, things getting smaller stops mattering once you can just throw the computer box behind the monitor and forget about it. I do wonder how it would do at being a client for steam in home streaming or a moonlight/suinshine setup. absolutely fantastic video!

[@dyXurChannel]

Yeah these Tablets were pretty much e-waste the moment they were produced. Especially once a bigger windows update came out and the 32GB of internal storage was not big enough to have the update installed. I did manage to get Fedora onto one, but it was a pain to get it working. In the consumer space the regular 2 sizes of Mini PCs have taken a much bigger hold, but also when you need space something like a Pi Zero is also often already enough for many tasks. The game streaming thing might be something I'll check out.

[@sevenredundent7256]

What about turning that thing into a Steam Link/moonlight-box & streaming your games? It may not have much power but it'd be interesting to see if it's got enough performance to make that an enjoyable experience, WiFi permitting.

[@nickjones1609]

You can with the ones with N100 cpus

[@dyXurChannel]

This idea was mentioned before. I might see if that is something that works well enough. The WiFi in these sticks is usually not the best though.

[@sevenredundent7256]

@@dyXurChannel as janky as it maybe, if the thing has any type of USB ports, maybe you could get an Ethernet to USB dongle (or even better WiFi) and wire the thing in with that? IDK if any of those ports on that thing carry data though. Neat video though, it seems like all they're good for is digital signage like you said.

[@dyXurChannel]

@@sevenredundent7256 The problem with the USB port, is that it's USB 2.0, so it might be too slow to make a difference. I will test that out though!

[@elu9780]

If the issue is overheating, I'm wondering if the plastic case can be modified, and a custom heatsink clamped around the thing. Giving it even that little thermal mass plus access to air may just fix the turbo boosting not really working. Sure, the thing will still be mostly crap, but I imagine it would perform better anyway.

[@dyXurChannel]

I opened it up to see, if I could to exactly that, but it doesn't seem to be revertible, which is why I didn't do it in the end.

[@insainllama]

I have a Lenovo stick that runs good enough for basic tasks. Its WiFi chip is absolutely horrible though.

[@dyXurChannel]

@@insainllama Is it the "Ideacentre Stick 300" with the Intel Atom Z3735F?

[@wikwayer]

Can you run xp ?

[@dyXurChannel]

@@wikwayer Maybe? The problem would be the lack of security and drivers for this stick. Also I don't really know where to get a clean copy of XP.

[@wikwayer]

@dyXurChannel maybe 🤔 Linux

[@dyXurChannel]

@@wikwayer The OSs used in the video alreafy were Linux. I'm also right now trying steam link, which was suggested and a normal distro with a DE is not a smooth experience so far

[@wikwayer]

@@dyXurChannel I was thinking about full desktop Linux not retro games emulator

[@dyXurChannel]

@@wikwayer I'm currently working on an update, since some have suggested to try steam link. With that I also install a full distro and the experience heavily depends on what I do so far.

[@xxxent]

not being able to run SNES flawlessly is crazy, my 30€ miyoo mini+ can easily do that 😭😭

[@ThaexakaMavro]

yeah windows is the issue installing linux on it would fix the issue

[@dyXurChannel]

@@ThaexakaMavro It doesn't. Lakka, which I used in the video is Linux.

[@dyXurChannel]

@@xxxent It's very likely a combination of heat and GPU. Also ARM (like in the MM+) is just more effecient.

[@frankwong9486]

2024 : plan to buy a pc stick from Minisforum which using n100

[@dyXurChannel]

@@frankwong9486 Recently checke Minisforum, but didn't see any sticks. Do you have one? I do have normal mini PC with a N100 in it though, so that test is still on the plate.