Overview of the compact silent minicomputer LXBOX 3
In the modern world of "iron" a lot solves the compactness and noiselessness. If the device is not visible and not audible, but at the same time it works properly, then the situation is close to perfect. Once again, let me remind you that the separation of content generators and consumers is becoming more and more obvious. For consumers, the device must have sufficient power to view audio and video information. Intel launched the ultra-compact solutions to the market, but they are not alone. The fanless compact computer of the new generation (that's what the manufacturer calls it) based on the AMD processor got into my tenacious paws. The device is called LXBOX 3 and, as it should be an alternative option, it works on a free Linux Mint operating system. Produced by the Russian manufacturer TONK together with the German company GSN. What can this baby - I will tell under the cut.
Externally, the LXBOX 3 looks like a brutal industrial computer (IPC - inspires reliability).
The black aluminum radiator case hides in itself all the stuffing, at the same time cooling it. The machine can stand on a table, and it can be screwed to the back of a monitor or TV using a VESA mount (included).
Contents of delivery:
- Device
- 36 watt power supply
- remote control to control the media center
- HDMI cable to connect to a TV or monitor
- VESA mount
- cool guarantee in the form of a plastic card, which gives the right to a three-year warranty after registering the product on the site
- brief instructions with specifications and addresses of useful websites
')
At the front: logo, two USB 2.0 ports, IR receiver, headphone jack, microphone jack, power button
On the tail: two more USB 2.0 (no USB 3.0), VGA port, HDMI port, DisplayPort port, Wi-Fi antenna, two network ports (why two? Apparently, for work in heterogeneous environments), a socket for connecting the power supply and eSATA port.
Inside:
Processor: AMD G-T56N, 1.6 GHz dual-core processor (18-watt heat dissipation, Bobcat architecture, announced in January 2011, single-channel memory controller)
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD6310 integrated into the processor
RAM: 4 GB DDR3
Hard disk: 16 GB SSD (installed DOM) - initially the user has about 6.5 GB available (considering all the installed software, so an external hard disk will be required for it anyway)
Sound Card: Realtek Azalia ALC662
Operation “Opening” showed the following things:
Inside there are two boards: a black motherboard and a green expansion card, with which the Display Port and the second Ethernet port are implemented.
A microscopic APU and a larger chip compared to it are closed with a single aluminum radiator, which, in turn, is glued to the top cover of a compact computer.
Quite a regular 1600 MHz DDR3L memory module made by Samsung is installed in a single slot.
An unmarked WiFi module (according to the manufacturer’s specifications of the 802.11n standard) is installed in the miniPCI-E slot using an adapter.
Of particular interest is the SATA drive - this is the DOM from Hyperdisk.
It uses a Silicon Motion SM2244LT controller (which supports only SATA2), the read / write speed of the drives on such a controller is usually about 210/80 MB / s, that is, it is not an exorbitant indicator for the current times, but it is able to provide average user tasks.
The technology miracle weighs a little - only 700 grams.
As mentioned above, Linux Mint is installed on the LXBOX. After switching on, the MATE shell automatically starts and the default user logs in with the password 111111 (this is indicated in the manual). Immediately after loading the desktop in the center of the screen, a huge green light comes on - this is a link to the electronic version of the user's guide in the package - the same 4 pages and nothing concrete about the Linux system.
What is proposed to use:
For audio-video: Audacious, Audacity, Avidemux, Brasero, Cheese, EasyTAG, GNOME ALSA Mixer, GNOME Mplayer, Handbrake, Minitube, OpenShot VideoEditor, RecordMyDesktop, SMPlayer, SMPlayer YouTubeBrowser, XBMC Media Player, stock video player, using whiteboard, XBMC Media Player; .
For working with graphics: Blender, Darktable, Dia, DjView4, gscan2pdf, gThumb, Image Viewer, Inkscape, LibreCAD, Pinta, Scribus, Shotwell, XSane Image Scanning, GIMP
Games: Swell Foop, Kvadrapasel, Klotzki, Mahjong, Eisleriot Solitaire, Solitaire Free Cell, Robots, Minesweeper, Sudoku, Tali, Tetravex, Carcass Light, Colored Lines, Little Worm, Four-in-a-row, Chess, Yagno
Internet: Citrix receiver, GNOME PPP (a program for a modem connection? Apparently, the manufacturer forgot to cut it out of its assembly), GNOME PPPon, Linphone, LinuxDC ++, Midori, Opera, ponoff, Remmina, Skype, Transmission, VMWare View Client, vpnpptp, Xchat IRC, Chromium, Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird.
Educational programs: Klavaro
Office software: FBReader and full LibreOffice package
Everything else relates to the folders Standard, System and Administration.
A large set of software is certainly pleasant, but some programs are clearly duplicated, for example, several players and browsers.
Of course, XBMC is installed on the device. Where without him, beloved. In order to get into it, you need to do a non-trivial procedure. First log out, then select the XBMC session, then enter the username user, then the password, and only then get into the shell.
Talking about the advantages of the shell itself is probably not worth it, for all fans of free software, its capabilities are well known.
In addition to XBMC and MATE, several other shells are shipped on the LXBOX 3, the user can download any of them.
What and how to test?
Honestly, I absolutely did not want to roll Windows, and there was no need.
Therefore, I evaluated the performance, so to speak, “by eye”. It was important for me: comfortable work with large (really large) Excel tables, playing BDRemux video files and the ability to play Assassin`s Creed IV: Black Flag.
For those who thought I was joking about games: the Steam home mode allows you to do this. Of course, this is not about processing graphics on the device, but about comfortable reproduction of the Internet broadcast and an acceptable control response.
According to the results: a table with 49659 rows and 450 columns is processed and opened very slowly, which indicates the need to choose a different device for such non-child tasks. However, hardly anyone can consider the LXBOX as the main device for serious office tasks, and most importantly, for advanced Excel users, in any case, its counterpart in the form of LibreOffice Calc will not work due to the lack of compatibility with pivot tables.
Steam was established after dancing with a tambourine, with settings aimed at optimizing the broadcast speed, the game started and you could even play: the reaction to the mouse movements came with a very small lag, everything else was fine.
Video playback leaves a dual impression. LXBOX 3 quite hard reproduces BDRemux 1080p over WiFi. The video noticeably slowed down. BDRip 720p is played without any difficulty.
I talked to the producers about the video braking question and the collective mind prompted the following decision:
p.1 Be sure to use a player with hardware decoding support: for example, a pre-installed XBMC shell (I worked with it).
Clause 2 should be carefully considered with my Wi-Fi network (I used the ASUS RT-AC66U router and there was no bandwidth problem on any other device on my network)
p.3 If it still does not work over WiFi - connect via Ethernet - and all problems will disappear.
The final impressions of the LXBOX 3 are quite mixed: I adequately understand that this compact computer with passive cooling and a free operating system is quite suitable for home use and work with simple tasks. For example, as a student’s workplace in a small apartment, it will be much more practical than even a laptop, which occupies almost the entire table, makes noise, heats and clogs. If you mount the LXBOX on the monitor, then the entire table is free, the wireless keyboard and mouse are easily removed. And Linux will give freedom from viruses and ample opportunities for experiments with the OS.
On the other hand, the small amount of storage and the inability to play high-quality 1080p video do not allow to speak of it as an ideal home media player for advanced lovers of high-quality images.
The retail price of the device is 13,470 rubles, which cannot be called a super offer, surely the majority of habrauys already have a more powerful configuration in their head, even with fans (I’m not talking about software, it’s free and easy to install). LXBOX ultimately seems to be a niche product, designed for users who understand very well why they need just such a compact, average-power, compact Linux computer. For those who attach more importance to security and freedom from viruses, than to games and comfortable work in the Microsoft Office and can spend money on the yet unaccustomed form factor of a “compact computer”.
Externally, the LXBOX 3 looks like a brutal industrial computer (IPC - inspires reliability).
The black aluminum radiator case hides in itself all the stuffing, at the same time cooling it. The machine can stand on a table, and it can be screwed to the back of a monitor or TV using a VESA mount (included).
Contents of delivery:
- Device
- 36 watt power supply
- remote control to control the media center
- HDMI cable to connect to a TV or monitor
- VESA mount
- cool guarantee in the form of a plastic card, which gives the right to a three-year warranty after registering the product on the site
- brief instructions with specifications and addresses of useful websites
')
At the front: logo, two USB 2.0 ports, IR receiver, headphone jack, microphone jack, power button
On the tail: two more USB 2.0 (no USB 3.0), VGA port, HDMI port, DisplayPort port, Wi-Fi antenna, two network ports (why two? Apparently, for work in heterogeneous environments), a socket for connecting the power supply and eSATA port.
Inside:
Processor: AMD G-T56N, 1.6 GHz dual-core processor (18-watt heat dissipation, Bobcat architecture, announced in January 2011, single-channel memory controller)
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD6310 integrated into the processor
RAM: 4 GB DDR3
Hard disk: 16 GB SSD (installed DOM) - initially the user has about 6.5 GB available (considering all the installed software, so an external hard disk will be required for it anyway)
Sound Card: Realtek Azalia ALC662
Operation “Opening” showed the following things:
Inside there are two boards: a black motherboard and a green expansion card, with which the Display Port and the second Ethernet port are implemented.
A microscopic APU and a larger chip compared to it are closed with a single aluminum radiator, which, in turn, is glued to the top cover of a compact computer.
Quite a regular 1600 MHz DDR3L memory module made by Samsung is installed in a single slot.
An unmarked WiFi module (according to the manufacturer’s specifications of the 802.11n standard) is installed in the miniPCI-E slot using an adapter.
Of particular interest is the SATA drive - this is the DOM from Hyperdisk.
It uses a Silicon Motion SM2244LT controller (which supports only SATA2), the read / write speed of the drives on such a controller is usually about 210/80 MB / s, that is, it is not an exorbitant indicator for the current times, but it is able to provide average user tasks.
The technology miracle weighs a little - only 700 grams.
As mentioned above, Linux Mint is installed on the LXBOX. After switching on, the MATE shell automatically starts and the default user logs in with the password 111111 (this is indicated in the manual). Immediately after loading the desktop in the center of the screen, a huge green light comes on - this is a link to the electronic version of the user's guide in the package - the same 4 pages and nothing concrete about the Linux system.
What is proposed to use:
For audio-video: Audacious, Audacity, Avidemux, Brasero, Cheese, EasyTAG, GNOME ALSA Mixer, GNOME Mplayer, Handbrake, Minitube, OpenShot VideoEditor, RecordMyDesktop, SMPlayer, SMPlayer YouTubeBrowser, XBMC Media Player, stock video player, using whiteboard, XBMC Media Player; .
For working with graphics: Blender, Darktable, Dia, DjView4, gscan2pdf, gThumb, Image Viewer, Inkscape, LibreCAD, Pinta, Scribus, Shotwell, XSane Image Scanning, GIMP
Games: Swell Foop, Kvadrapasel, Klotzki, Mahjong, Eisleriot Solitaire, Solitaire Free Cell, Robots, Minesweeper, Sudoku, Tali, Tetravex, Carcass Light, Colored Lines, Little Worm, Four-in-a-row, Chess, Yagno
Internet: Citrix receiver, GNOME PPP (a program for a modem connection? Apparently, the manufacturer forgot to cut it out of its assembly), GNOME PPPon, Linphone, LinuxDC ++, Midori, Opera, ponoff, Remmina, Skype, Transmission, VMWare View Client, vpnpptp, Xchat IRC, Chromium, Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird.
Educational programs: Klavaro
Office software: FBReader and full LibreOffice package
Everything else relates to the folders Standard, System and Administration.
A large set of software is certainly pleasant, but some programs are clearly duplicated, for example, several players and browsers.
Of course, XBMC is installed on the device. Where without him, beloved. In order to get into it, you need to do a non-trivial procedure. First log out, then select the XBMC session, then enter the username user, then the password, and only then get into the shell.
Talking about the advantages of the shell itself is probably not worth it, for all fans of free software, its capabilities are well known.
In addition to XBMC and MATE, several other shells are shipped on the LXBOX 3, the user can download any of them.
What and how to test?
Honestly, I absolutely did not want to roll Windows, and there was no need.
Therefore, I evaluated the performance, so to speak, “by eye”. It was important for me: comfortable work with large (really large) Excel tables, playing BDRemux video files and the ability to play Assassin`s Creed IV: Black Flag.
For those who thought I was joking about games: the Steam home mode allows you to do this. Of course, this is not about processing graphics on the device, but about comfortable reproduction of the Internet broadcast and an acceptable control response.
According to the results: a table with 49659 rows and 450 columns is processed and opened very slowly, which indicates the need to choose a different device for such non-child tasks. However, hardly anyone can consider the LXBOX as the main device for serious office tasks, and most importantly, for advanced Excel users, in any case, its counterpart in the form of LibreOffice Calc will not work due to the lack of compatibility with pivot tables.
Steam was established after dancing with a tambourine, with settings aimed at optimizing the broadcast speed, the game started and you could even play: the reaction to the mouse movements came with a very small lag, everything else was fine.
Video playback leaves a dual impression. LXBOX 3 quite hard reproduces BDRemux 1080p over WiFi. The video noticeably slowed down. BDRip 720p is played without any difficulty.
I talked to the producers about the video braking question and the collective mind prompted the following decision:
p.1 Be sure to use a player with hardware decoding support: for example, a pre-installed XBMC shell (I worked with it).
Clause 2 should be carefully considered with my Wi-Fi network (I used the ASUS RT-AC66U router and there was no bandwidth problem on any other device on my network)
p.3 If it still does not work over WiFi - connect via Ethernet - and all problems will disappear.
The final impressions of the LXBOX 3 are quite mixed: I adequately understand that this compact computer with passive cooling and a free operating system is quite suitable for home use and work with simple tasks. For example, as a student’s workplace in a small apartment, it will be much more practical than even a laptop, which occupies almost the entire table, makes noise, heats and clogs. If you mount the LXBOX on the monitor, then the entire table is free, the wireless keyboard and mouse are easily removed. And Linux will give freedom from viruses and ample opportunities for experiments with the OS.
On the other hand, the small amount of storage and the inability to play high-quality 1080p video do not allow to speak of it as an ideal home media player for advanced lovers of high-quality images.
The retail price of the device is 13,470 rubles, which cannot be called a super offer, surely the majority of habrauys already have a more powerful configuration in their head, even with fans (I’m not talking about software, it’s free and easy to install). LXBOX ultimately seems to be a niche product, designed for users who understand very well why they need just such a compact, average-power, compact Linux computer. For those who attach more importance to security and freedom from viruses, than to games and comfortable work in the Microsoft Office and can spend money on the yet unaccustomed form factor of a “compact computer”.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/362479/
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