Today, we’re going to look at a mini PC from AYANEO, the AM01S. This is what it looks like. The box shows the exterior of the AM01S. Without further ado, let’s get right into the unboxing.
Unboxing and First Look
Okay, let’s take a look. Here is a user manual, which explains some precautions for disassembly. Oh, I see the main unit.
Let’s see what kind of power adapter is included this time. Let’s check the wattage. 120W. 120 watts. For a 120W adapter, the size is quite acceptable. Oh, there’s more stuff underneath. There are quite a lot of accessories this time, a very generous set. Let’s look at them one by one. This is a disassembly toolkit. An HDMI cable. This should be the power cord we use, which plugs into this. There are also a few M.2 mounting screws, just for M.2 drives. And here’s a replaceable logo. You can just click, click, and it attaches magnetically. It feels pretty good. I can customize it with this logo.
This is the AYANEO AM01S. The screen and its four bezels don’t seem to be perfectly flush; there’s a noticeable raised edge. Let me show you the machine up close. Surprisingly, the hinge has excellent damping; it’s a stepless adjustment. I guess this area is also for heat dissipation, given the large vent holes. Oh, the raised design is mainly for cooling. You can use it for cooling, and even with the cover on, it still dissipates heat. That seems pretty effective. And this is an SD card slot.
Ports and Connectivity
Alright, let’s look at the ports. On the front, this should be the power switch. Over here is a modern rainbow-colored button. If it were Apple, it would probably be a rainbow Apple logo, but since they can’t use that, it looks like this. The front has a decorative cover. This can actually be removed. The front has four USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, and this is a 3.5mm audio jack.
This piece is magnetic, so it just snaps on magnetically like this. It feels pretty good, and you can even slide it left and right. You can just pop it off like this. Oh, there are the ports. When you’re not using them, just snap the cover on. It adds a lot to the aesthetic.
As you can see, this area is almost entirely air intake vents. I guess cooling is a real challenge for small PCs, so having more vents helps with better heat dissipation. Now let’s look at the back, which has the most comprehensive set of ports.
There’s a DC power input, a Type-C port, an HDMI port, and symmetrically, another HDMI and Type-C port—quite symmetrical. In the middle, there are two 2.5G wired network ports, which you can use for a soft router or a NAS. I believe you can also install a hard drive inside. There are also two more USB ports, one USB 3 and one USB 2.0. That’s about it. The bottom also has air intake vents and some rubber feet.
Setup and Secondary Screen
Let me show you the overall effect. This is basically it. I put the machine underneath, which I find to be a more convenient setup. With the screen placed here, I can switch between the top and bottom seamlessly. It’s quite convenient to use.
Alright, let’s look at the most unique feature of this machine: the secondary screen. As you can see, by default, it shows this interface. You can see the game’s frame rate, TDP, fan speed, disk usage, as well as our CPU frequency and temperature, and GPU frequency and temperature. It’s a fairly detailed monitoring display. Right now, I only have a web page open, so it shows 30 FPS, which is normal. It won’t display a high frame rate, but it can show higher rates.
By tapping here, you can adjust the performance mode. There’s Extreme and Balanced. Balanced is more power-efficient. Extreme unleashes more performance. Then there are the fans. “Wild” mode runs at around 3000 RPM. “Quiet” mode is quieter. I personally prefer “Quiet” or “Balanced,” as “Wild” mode can be a bit loud. This screen is a touch screen, which is quite nice overall. Later, we can try using this secondary screen to see if we can browse websites. I think using this screen for browsing would be quite interesting, almost like using a notebook, right?
Standalone Screen Functionality
Okay, let me show you this. Right now, I’ve unplugged the HDMI cable. The entire host is now connected only by the power cord. I have no other cables. Does this not count as a computer? A laptop without a battery. The screen… You can even touch it. We can watch videos normally. We can browse Bilibili without any issues. It’s pretty nice. If you want to slack off and watch some anime, you can have it running at the bottom. It’s a bit small, but it’s watchable.
Performance and Specifications
The unit I have is equipped with an 8845HS processor. You are all familiar with this one; it’s a rebadged version of the 7840HS. It has 8 cores and 16 threads. For today’s standards, it’s generally sufficient for office work and daily use. You can even play some games on it. It can handle 1080p at low settings and basically achieve a smooth 60 FPS. It’s essentially at the level of a handheld gaming console. Whatever games an AYANEO handheld can play, this can too.
This unit has 32GB of RAM. I think 32GB is necessary; 16GB isn’t really enough anymore. The hard drive is from Lexar. The network card is a Wi-Fi 6E card, the AX210, which is pretty good. The graphics card is the integrated 780M. This integrated GPU is generally fine for playing mobile games. It should be able to run Genshin Impact. For PC games, 2D games are no problem at all. It’s perfectly fine for office work or entertainment.
Conclusion
So, what do you all think of this machine so far? Would you choose a mini PC with such a retro, high-value design? Okay, I’ve basically finished experiencing this machine. The overall system fluency and performance are solid. It’s perfectly fine for office work and daily use, and you can even play some small games. 2D games run without issue, and even for 3D games, if you lower the settings, you can still get 45 to 60 frames. So, if you really want to game, it’s possible.
I think the biggest selling point of this machine is its appearance. The aesthetic and design are excellent, especially with this small screen. You can use it to play videos like we did, or monitor system parameters, which is pretty cool. You could even run small games or desktop widgets on it.
