Normally, I wouldnt care what my mini PC looks like.
Its just the box I stick next to my monitor for on-the-go computing needs.
At least, thats how I originally felt about your average NUC.
Taking the Ayaneo Mini PC AM01 on the road for the Christmas break proved more than enough for my daily writing and computing tasks.Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Its not the smallest, nor the largest model on the market.
Its not packing the best specs, nor is it the most expensive.
But in my mind, its the cutest version of the NUC design Ive seen yet.
The AM01 comes with a range of stickers to personalize that fake black plastic screen on the front of the NUC along with mounts for a 2.5-inch SSD.Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
I have to ask: why?
It has a fake, black plastic screen and a magnetically attached rainbow icon reminiscent of early Apple hardware.
I was born a decade after Steve Jobs and his company first put the Macintosh 128K on the market.
It’s a NUC. That’s all you really need to know.Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
I keep calling it my Little Mac, and Im not about to stop any time soon.
I also appreciate how most of the ports are all located on one side of the case.
Theres an HDMI 2.0 input, a DisplayPort 1.4, three USB-A 3.2 Gen2, and one USB-A 2.0.
The bottom of the gear is the fan intake, and the hot air blows out the right vents.
It would have been nice if you could have controlled a few other hardware tweaks through AYASpace instead.
I never felt the unit growing too hot to handle even after running several benchmark tests in succession.
Ayaneos version also weighs more than a pound less than Apples high-powered mini PC.
This is no more than a means of quickly accessing games and a bare few equipment controls.
Its also important to note what you get for the different specs.
The less powerful version running a 3200U only goes up to WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2.
Either way, the Mini PC should support monitors at 60Hz at 4K resolution.
The 5700U is an 8-core, 16-thread processor with a max 4.3Ghz frequency.
It supports the Vega 8 integrated graphics, which all together is good enough for your average computer tasks.
As far as gaming goes, the AM01 is more than enough for emulation or some more mainstream gaming.
Cyberpunk: 2077 wouldnt break past 20 FPS on low or mobile-optimized Steam Deck options.
They include a bracket for expanding into a 2.5-inch hard drive.
But in the end, youre not buying Ayaneos Mini PC to play Cyberpunk at high prefs.
A NUC doesnt need much to stand out so long as it meets power and performance expectations.
It may be why Intel seems to beon the way outof the NUC business altogether.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
The Framework 13 now feels like a laptop that’s more than a modular, repairable novelty.
It’s now a gear that’s a joy to both build and use.
