HP Stream 200-010 Mini Desktop
CUSTOMER REVIEW
I just got one of these Stream Mini PCs late last week. I'm giving it 5 stars because it does an extremely competent job for a $200 computer (and it comes with a keyboard and mouse!).
At this price point there are some "cons" of course. It ships with only 2GB of RAM, which does the job until you start doing any serious multi-tasking, and the SSD is only 32GB, part of which is taken up by the Windows 8.1 operating system. For about $30 I picked up another 2GB stick of RAM, and a 32GB SD card for additional storage. The RAM is easy to install (flip the Mini upside down, carefully pull up the rubber pad on the bottom, remove three screws, lift off the case, and remove four screws to get access to the RAM slot. Slide in new RAM stick and click into place, then close it up --- easy-peasy).
After playing with it for a while I tucked it below my TV to use as a media center for streaming Netflix, movies, etc. The reason I didn't get a bigger SD card is because I have the Mini networked to my primary desktop computer's media storage drive, so there was no need for more local storage. The onboard graphics card does a very good job of streaming video with no jitters or lag and the Mini never gets hot, and there are no cooling fans so it's silent. The Mini boots in seconds and I've got it set up to boot without a password just to make life easier. Rather than using the supplied keyboard and mouse while it's under the TV I'm using a Windows Media Center compatible remote I picked up from Amazon a few years ago, and the Modern UI in Windows 8.1 lends itself well to media center use (I have just a few icons pinned to it to keep it simple).
All in all this is a fun little computer. I don't see how you can go wrong with it as long as your expectations are realistic going in (and you don't mind blue --- there aren't any other color options).
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