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The ACEMAGIC S1 is a small desktop computer with a few unusual features including a small display on the front of the case that can display system information including CPU power consumption and temperature, fan speed, or memory usage. There’s also an RGB light strip on the front of the case for some reason.

When the ACEMAGIC S1 first launched last fall, it was powered by an Intel Processor N95 chip. But shortly after launch the company added an Intel Processor N97 option. And now you can also pick up a model with an Intel N100 chip. So what’s the difference between those processors?

In some ways… not much. They’re all 4-core, 4-thread processors based on Intel’s Alder Lake-N architecture, which means they have the same Efficiency cores as other 12th-gen chips based on Intel’s Alder Lake-U architecture, but lack any Performance processors.

ChipCoresThreadsBase / Boost freqL3 CacheGPUPower
Intel Processor N10044Up to 3.4 GHz6MBIntel UHD (24EU / up to 750 MHz)6W
Intel Processor N9744Up to 3.6 GHz6MBIntel UHD (24EU / up to 1.2 GHz12W
Intel Processor N9544Up to 3.4 GHz6MBIntel UHD (16EU / up to 1.2 GHz15W

But the Intel N100 processor is a more energy-efficient chip with a 6 watt processor base power, while the N97 chip is a 12 watt processor and the N95 is a 15-watt chip.

In synthetic benchmark tests, the Intel N100 tends to come out a few percentage points ahead of the others in most CPU performance tests. But things get more complicated if you look at graphics performance.

That’s because all four chips feature Intel UHD integrated graphics, but the Intel N95 and N97 graphics processors support speeds up to 1.2 GHz, while the Intel N100 tops out at 750 MHz. But things are a little more complicated because the N97 and N100 have 24 GPU execution units, while the N95 has just 16.

Long story short? The Intel N100 is the best of the three when it comes to CPU performance… but the worst when it comes to graphics. The N97 is probably your best bet for graphics, but keep in mind that none of these processors is really designed for gaming. They’re low-cost, low-power chips designed for inexpensive computers.

Fortunately, the ACEMAGIC S1 fits the bill. Prices at Amazon start below $200 for models with Intel N95 processors, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. Versions with N97 chips don’t cost much more. And the new N100 variant is available from the ACEMAGIC website for $299.

An identical computer called the Chatreey S1 is available from AliExpress for even less, with prices starting as low as $169 for an Intel N95/8GB/128GB configuration or $173 for an N100/8GB/128GB version and topping out at $241 for a model with an N100 processor, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.

Aside from the low-power processor, the ACEMAGIC and Chatreey S1 feature two Gigabit Ethernet ports, two HDMI ports, four USB ports (two USB 3.0 Type-A and two USB 2.0 Type-A), support for WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2, a fan for active cooling, and easy upgrades thanks to a magnetic side panel that can be removed to access the computer’s single DDR4 SODIMM slot and dual M.2 2280 slots.

via AndroidPC.es

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  1. Aceamagic machines have spyware on them that gathers all your personal data and sends it back to China. DO NOT BUY!

  2. With a factory-corrupt UEFI BIOS, the Chinese (Pooh-Bear) SpyWare will still be there![1][2] C’mon all you China Bot-Trolls – let it out…

    Winnie-the-Pooh – Comparison to Xi Jinping

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnie-the-Pooh#Comparison_to_Xi_Jinping

    [This goes waaay back to 2018] Fancy Bear LoJax campaign reveals first documented use of UEFI rootkit in the wild [and it still lives today].

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/fancy-bear-lojax-campaign-reveals-first-documented-use-of-uefi-rootkit-in-the-wild/

  3. AceMagic, a Chinese company, has been caught installing spyware in their computers on numerous occasions. Why does Liliputing promote such a disreputable company?

  4. Wow. Do people not bother reading? There are 6 comments regarding the spyware. Yes, we get it. STOP.

    If the price falls because of that I’ll grab one. I always wipe and install Linux.

    1. Despite what I said earlier, thinking it over, it’s worth considering at least that if ACEMAGIC was willing to put spyware into the pre-installed operating system, there isn’t really any reason to suppose they don’t have the will to insert malicious code into the firmware.
      I’m not all that familiar with UEFI’s limitations, but some attack vectors don’t seem physically impossible, but a few would be hard to do with any subtlety.
      It is, I suppose, possible to do by mistake, if the computer used to create the windows installation media had undetected viral malware on it, but that doesn’t seem as likely as doing it on purpose to me, and you have to trust them when they say they didn’t do it on purpose.
      [rant]
      And, as annoying as the repeating comments are, I find it kind of sad that so many people are complaining about this now that some sufficiently uncontroverial youtuber looked at it, when before that point even suspecting such a thing would have gotten you called “paranoid”, and accused of allegiance to political groups. So is he a bad person for even looking into this, even though he ended up being right? What gave him the right to suspect them at all? Perhaps the only way this could be permissible by current social standards is if one tested every single mini-pc, but that’s not what Jon the Net Guy does.
      In short, the apparent social norm as informed by internet comments is hypocritical (even if the people complaining about paranoia aren’t the ones complaining about malware when found). Which is really just another reason the internet and its consequences have been a disaster for mankind.
      [/rant]

  5. I miss my Kangaroo Mini PC. It was the size of a smartphone and had a full version of Windows 10. It ran Titan Quest and a fair amount of indie games. Don’t remember the specs. They don’t make them anymore but it definitely serves its purpose while I had it.

  6. This Acemagic brand needs to be investigated to be banned, for pre-installed malwares.

    Your life saving could be drained, your identity could be compromised for buying and using this PC brand.

  7. Look at you tube reviews of mini PCs. AceMagic is known to ship PCs with malware preintalled.

  8. Never run the OS shipped with these PCs. Either wipe the entire drive and install a known good copy of Windows on first boot, or install a flavor of Linux.

    1. It’s a good idea to do that on principle. In fact certain cybersecurity standards require it.
      I have to wonder how well that status screen works on a “clean” install without their software.

  9. I am really glad that I chose to spend more on Prime Day and got a 5800u 4×4 ($300 for 16GB ram and 512GB ssd). n100 is just too low of a spec to spend $300. Increase your budget to $400 and you can get a system with twice the performance.