Mini-computers are a new standard in the field. As people are working from home, security and desk space are at a premium. As we have moved from offices to home offices, the massive box PCs where tech guys could upgrade them for 25 years are a thing of the past. Companies (and personal users) want small, compact PCs that are affordable, plug and play, and can be jacked into the company’s system with ease. The Ace Magician Mini-PC delivers on all of these elements, at a very affordable price. (Check out their early access Black Friday sale for an even better price.)
Market
Good news for people who are looking for a computer that works in the PC space, the space that almost all businesses wroth with: The Ace Magician CK10 runs on Windows 11. While you can love or hate Windows 11, it is the business standard. It is also the standard in education, so that means this computer is great for home or for work. Legitimately anyone can use this; whether you want it as a home computer or a travel machine you can hook into most hotel TVs, this computer has what you need. This has a wide market 9 of 10.
Ease of Use
Plug and play, literally. You take the CK10 out of the box and plug it into a couple of monitors and an interface, and you are good to go. I have had laptops with set up more difficult than this. Whether this is for an office or for the home, you can set it up quickly and easily. Even if you are setting this up for people who are less tech savvy (such as for a video call machine for grandma) this is a great computer. 10 of 10.
Specs
The CK10 is one of AceMagics entry level mini-PCs, but do not let that fool you. With an Intel Core i7-10710U (6 Cores, 12 Threads, 12M Cache, up to 4.7 GHz) you are going to be good to go on most common or advanced tasks that regular users want a PC to do. Even if you want to game and stream at the same time, this computer should be able to handle most of what you are throwing at it. As noted, it starts with Windows 11 Pro, which is a nice touch in the OS area. The RAM is DDR4, it comes with 16BG but you can expand up to 64GB depending on your needs. Likewise, the HD is expandable – it comes with 512 GB but has room for another. Also, it is running your WIFI out of the box. For the price ($285 on the website with free shipping), this is a nice machine. 7 of 10.
Features/Utility
What can I do with it out of the box? Well, I thought you would never ask. First of all, it runs three screens with up to 4k video – so right there is some good news. While the specs are not quite as high as my gaming computer I do my work on, it still runs better graphics and that is right out of the box. The three screens did not slow it down at all. There are two HDMI ports and one VGA. There are 4 USB regular ports (USB 3). There is also a USB C ports. There are also the standard LAN port and the audio port (headset).
If you pop it open, you can expand the RAM up to 64GB, which is great in this small amount of space (DDR4). The box comes with the cord to add to the hard drive as well, though the 512 GB hard drive is nothing to shake a stick at to start with. Unfortunately, as it is a mini-PC, there is not room to add anything else inside. I did hook up a couple of optical drives via the USB ports and they worked fine. 7.5 of 10.
Cool Factor
Is this an item that is going to sit on your desk and blow people’s minds? No. It is a non-descript computer that is going to do what you need it to do. However, there is a lot to be said for that. In the computer – which is the size of about 4 decks of playing cards – you have something you can take with you wherever you go (though you may want to take a longer HDMI cord) and use a full-power machine where others are using laptops. If you stream for business or gaming, this gives you the ability to use an entry level host machine anywhere. You can also mount the unit under a desk, which allows you to keep it out of site, which is great if you have little hands around the house or do not want people to see your setup (once again, the ample USB ports allow for you wireless control). Overall, it is a workhorse with all that you will need for most business and personal uses. 7 of 10.
Overall
When I look at mini-PCs, I do not expect the performance this machine gives. A $5000 gaming PC it is not, but it will play most games. If you want it for multi-screen graphic design or research, this will have more power than you ever need. The ability to process 4K video allows you to have some high quality video for online meetings. This is an excellent little machine and its score of 40.5 makes this a monster of the modern era; its price of $285 makes it even better as something that companies can afford to send to their workers without worrying about losing an expensive machine. Ace Magician has really hit on something special here and this is a great PC for the holiday season.
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