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[jmone]

Intel recently announced their 2016 Compute Stick with the newer Atom X5-Z8300 Processor and better WiFi is now shipping.  Lets see if it is any better than the flawed 2015 Version!  Basic Specs for the STK1AW32SC that I have picked up are:
- Bigger than the 2015 Stick, about the size of a small remote control
- HDMI for Audio and Sound (just plug it into your TV or Screen)
- 2GB of RAM & 32GB GM of storage + a SDXC V3 MicroSD Slot so you can "add another drive"
- Dual Band Wifi with AC and Blutooth 4.0
- Two Full sized USB Ports (1 x USB3 and 1x USB 2 Ports), and a Micro USB for power (note: this adds an additional USB port from the 2015 model)
- I paid about US$120 / A$185 and it includes Windows 10

Install:  See attached pics for what came in the Box
- HW (5 Min) : Oddly for a device sold in Australia it came with power plugs for the US, EU and UK so the supplied PS is useless to me.  No worries, plugged it into an un-powered USB Hub and I had trouble booting Windows, it would get past POST then reboot in a loop.  Powered up my Hub and it was all fine.  I also had to use a RF Keyboard/Mouse for the setup as there seems to be no way to pair a BT Keyboard/Mouse combo at this point of the setup (plus you will need this if you ever need to go to the BIOS)

- Updating Win10  (15 Mins) : All fine.  Windows did the usual critical updates during the initial setup but nothing unusual (and Device Manager does not report any missing drivers).  Ran Windows Update and it updated a few more things.  Paired with all in one BT Keyboard/Mouse

- Updating Drivers / BIOS (20 Minutes) : It came with the latest BIOS already installed.  The BIOS is pretty dull with few options and I've left it as is.  One thing I've noticed is that it can take longer than other PC's to show post / boot after a power cycle.  Intel's site also had what looked like later drivers for the BT (turned out be be the same), and WiFi (did update).  Finding the latest Intel HD Graphics drivers was impossible, but using the Device Manager --> Update Driver did get a later version dated 2015/08/03 (10.18.15.4263)

- Initial MC Install (5 Mins) : Painless to set up as a Library Server Client

Tweaks / Other:  TBA

Results:  Here is what I've found so far:
- Wifi:  The 2015 model maxed out at 40mbps and this was a deal breaker as it was not capable of streaming BD quality video.  This is fixed in the 2016 model with the move to a AC7265 Wifi Module.  I've have no problems connecting with AC and had no issues in streaming BD.  See the following posts for more discussion on this.

- Video: I can not believe it, but both RO Std and RO HQ (madVR with default settings) work.  I tested standard BD content (both 264 and VC1) and it worked not only with 1080/24p but also with interlaced (50i / 60i) material that the 2015 model could not do.  Quick test of other formats showed it was also fine with H265 at 1080p but was stuttery on a 100mbps 4K clip even when played off its internal storage (note: I don't have a 4K screen).  All the MC Video goodies such as Auto Frame Rate Switching and Video Clock worked without issue.

- Audio: No problems with decoding Audio over HDMI for all formats including up to 192K / 24-Bit when using WASAPI Exclusive.  Interestingly, in "shared mode" the implementation only supports 16 Bit with Multi Channel Audio (or 24-Bit when in 2Ch).  Also the Bitstream'ers will not be happy as it appears to be limited to DD, DD+, DTS - no DTS-MA, TrueHD.

- Power:  You're going to have issues powering this from many USB Connectors on devices like PC, TV, AVR etc.  According to the specs (and that on the wall wart) you need a 5v/3amp power supply.  I had to use a Wall Wart or Powered USB hub to get it to work.  More on power requirement testing in the following posts as this requirement is a little flexible.  The good news is the BIOS is set to turn on when powered up.  So if it is plugged in behind a screen it will boot up when power is restored (no fiddling around try to feel for the power button).

- Storage Space:  Of the 32GB it comes with, I have 17.8GB free of 27.8GB total

- Noise: It does get hot and while it has a fan I've not noticed it yet in my testing unless it was under stress and you sat close to it (it then sounded like a little rattle/buzz).

- Other: No IR, so you are going to have to control this over BT or WiFi.  

Conclusion / Initial Rating: 8/10 Well what a difference a year makes!  My first impression is that this is a great general MC Library Server Stick.  It's not all perfect but for the price this is what these sticks promise:

The Good:
- WiFi works
- It can run RO HQ (madVR)
- It worked out of the box for all std media types
- You get an additional USB Port

The stuff to figure out:
- Audio Support, I'm not sure if this can be tweaked to support bitstreaming DTS-MA / TrueHD, or 24 Bit Multi Channel Audio in Shared Mode (not that either impact me)

The Bad
- Power Supply requirements, you're just not running this from most USB ports - you'll need something with at least 2amps for best performance.

[jmone]

Here is the MC Benchmark, at 1031 it is 35% faster than the 2015 Model (but still no speed demon!)

=== Running Benchmarks (please do not interrupt) ===

Running 'Math' benchmark...
    Single-threaded integer math... 11.040 seconds
    Single-threaded floating point math... 5.792 seconds
    Multi-threaded integer math... 6.821 seconds
    Multi-threaded mixed math... 3.639 seconds
Score: 696

Running 'Image' benchmark...
    Image creation / destruction... 0.928 seconds
    Flood filling... 1.363 seconds
    Direct copying... 2.372 seconds
    Small renders... 6.196 seconds
    Bilinear rendering... 4.287 seconds
    Bicubic rendering... 3.007 seconds
Score: 1212

Running 'Database' benchmark...
    Create database... 0.981 seconds
    Populate database... 5.111 seconds
    Save database... 1.337 seconds
    Reload database... 0.189 seconds
    Search database... 4.351 seconds
    Sort database... 3.951 seconds
    Group database... 2.213 seconds
Score: 1186

JRMark (version 21.0.37): 1031

[jmone]

Finished updating the review in the OP.

madVR:  This Stick can just keep up with madVR on default settings, though will start to drop frames when you do other things (like bring up the OSD).  I've not yet played with any tweaks, but it was more from curiosity more than a desire to run madVR on this stick.  Intel have done a great job with the new Atom X5-Z8300 and has somehow squeezed enough performance out of it to play mainstream video smoothly.

The HD Graphics (Cherry Trail) is based on the Intel Gen8 architecture, which supports DirectX 11.2 and is also found in the Broadwell series (e.g. HD Graphics 5300). With 12 EUs (Execution Units) and a clock speed of up to 500 MHz, the GPU is significantly faster as the HD Graphics (Bay Trail) and can handle at least some older and less demandig Windows games in very low settings. The GPU also supports 4K/H.265 video acceleration.

[Hilton]

Nice one! Time to replace the noisy hot IBM Tiny PC in the lounge!

[mwillems]

I'm confused by a couple points in your review.  I thought the device shipped with AC wifi and part of your post mentions AC wifi, but the top of your post says N wifi?

Also you mention getting throughputs between 40-90Mbps, but in the next paragraph say that it maxes out at 40Mbps which is a dealbreaker?

Sorry if I'm being dense, but the wifi issue is obviously of acute interest to me in considering these things (as it was to you with the original model).

- Wifi (N @ 2.4GHZ) and Blutooth 4.0
[...]
Results:  Here is what I've found so far:
- Wifi:  I have no problems connecting with AC (300mbps) and a real throughput in the range of 40-90mbps, so it is fine for streaming BD. The 2015 model maxed out at 40mbps and this is the minimum I've seen on the 2016 model - problem was solved by moving to the AC7265 wifi chip!
- Video: I can not believe it, but both RO Std and RO HQ (madVR with default settings) work.  I tested standard BD content (both 264 and VC1) and it worked not only 1080/24p but also with interlaced (50i / 60i) material that the 2015 model could not do.  Quick test of other formats showed it was also fine with H265 at 1080p but was stuttery on a 100mbps 4K clip even when played off its internal storage (note: I don't have a 4K screen).  All the MC Video goodies such as Auto Frame Rate Switching and Video Clock worked without issue. There is a playback issue as the WiFi adapter maxs out at 40Mbps, so I can not play my high bitrate 1080/50 or 60i BD material without stuttering and audio sync issues.  This is a deal breaker for me.

[jmone]

Sorry - too much cut and paste from last year... changed and fixed the wording in these areas, does that makes more sense

eg;
2016 Model: I saw throughputs between 40-90Mbps (no probs streaming media)
2015 Model: I saw a MAX throughput of 40Mbps (this was a deal breaker as you could not reliably stream a BD quality video)

Thanks
Nathan

[Hendrik]

I assume you actually have a "ac" compatible wifi access point? I would've hoped for a bit more over an ac network.
300mbps could still be dual-band N afterall.

[jmone]

I've not tried any tweaks yet but FYI it is definitely AC (see pic - not: there is a bit of time difference between the screen shots at the Stick and the WAP).  Happy to test any suggestions.

Edit: I'm running HT40 not HT80 on my 5ghz band (as I have multi AP's).

[jmone]

Also here is a test copy a large file just on the it's own internal "Drive". 

[jmone]

And here it is using HT80 on the Router (now up to about 20MB/s real throughput)

[Hendrik]

~12MB/s is 100mbps raw throughput, up to ~180 at HT80, that seems higher than your original estimates which sounded like it varied a lot only peeking up to 90 or so.

[jmone]

Could be - I'm just reporting casual observations from watching the MS Copy Dialogue box stats on a large file copy over the network and how it changed (then I'm multiplying by 8 and rounding to a near multiple of 10).  eg, on HT40 at no point did it drop below 40 or above 90mbps and most of the time it was near the 90mbps mark.  Likewise on HT80 you can see it was mostly around 160mbps but the start was a lot lower as it "warmed up".  For all I know, it could also be due to other things on the NW, my HDD read on the Server, or the performance of the Sticks HDD..... or just with Wifi being Wifi and that the wind changed. 

The good news is that unlike the 2015 model, the WiFi is now strong enough to stream BD content.

If you want me to check out anything or do some more stringent or other tests let me know.

[mwillems]

Where is the stick in proximity to the router?  That's the single biggest bandwidth determiner in my house.  I've got an AC rated access point that can easily do 500Mbps in the same room, but dips down below 200Mbps with the exact same device one room away, and even less two rooms away.  If you're seeing 90Mbps in the same room, I'd be worried; if you're seeing that in the next room, it may just be wi-fi being wi-fi.

[jmone]

Here is a more "professional" measure of the WiFi Speed using:
- LAN Speed Test Server running on the Stick
- LAN Speed Test Client running on my Main PC (using 10x100MB Packets)
- Router is in the same room but in a cupboard behind a wooden door

Results (see pics)
- Connected using AC HT80 = 200Mbps (using 10x100MB Packets)
- Connected using AC HT40 = 140Mbps

I also tested smaller packets on the AC HT40 setting and got around (ave of the Upload and Download):
- 125Mbps using 100x10MB Packets
- 120Mbps using 1,000 x 1MB Packets

Note: Download from the Stick was always a bit faster that the upload especially as the packet sized decreased.  On the 1,000 x 1MB Packets I got 105 To the Stick and 133Mbps Down From the Stick

Anyway - should be more than enough bandwidth to stream media HD Video.  I think 100Mbps 4K Stuff is going to be out of it's league.  

Thanks
Nathan

[jmone]

And here is the Internal Drive performance

[JimH]

I've not tried any tweaks yet but FYI it is definitely AC (see pic - not: there is a bit of time difference between the screen shots at the Stick and the WAP).  Happy to test any suggestions.

OK, WAP must be Wireless Access Point, but what is AC?

[jmone]

Yup, Wireless Access Point - and AC is 802.11ac the latest WiFi Std and should be on most of the newer devices.  It can be faster than 802.11n but as it only runs on the higher frequency 5GHz spectrum it's range and in building penetration suffers compared to 2.4GHz.  The 5GHz spectrum is less crowded and has more "channels" so you tends to be a good choice if you can get a solid connection with either N or AC on 5GHz.

[jmone]

Also in my testing on AC, I was using terms for channel width where you have potentially HT20, HT40, and HT80 MHz of spectum to use.  The wider the better for potential data throughput BUT only if it is not congested and don't overlap.  Here is a pic of what this looks like for the typical 2.4GHz spectum with HT20 widths that gives non overlapping channels on 1, 6, and 11 only.  If you increase your width (say to HT40) then you are down to two non overlapping channels.



The same concept goes for 5GHz but it is complicated that there are various regulations around the world on some parts of the frequency as they are used by Radar.  The wider the channel allocation, the less overlapping channels you have


I currently use a managed Wifi setup with 7 x WAP (all Unifi) and try to map which ones are on what part of the spectrum to minimise interference.  I use HT20 on 2.4Ghz and HT40 on 5GHz.  Thankfully there is not a lot of interference from the neighbours.  I'd hate to see what it is like in apartment blocks.

[stevemac]

Thanks for writing this up.

What's the response like in Theatre View?  I have a Z3735 Windows 10 Mini PC running MC 21 and it is just OK in standard view, but cannot cope with theatre view

thx,

Steve

[jmone]

No probs with TheaterView, all nice and fluid.

[jmone]

I got a USB Volt and Current tester to see what this device actually pulls.  When connected to a good quality Wall Wart with a decent cable, it pulled a max of 1.8watts.  I also tested it on a USB2 powered hub.  On this hub the Stick only pulled a max of 0.7watts (and the voltage supplied started to drop) but the little fan kicked in and the video performance suffered with some dropped frames on more challenging material (eg 28mbps 1080/50p AVC footage), but more "std" video was still fine.  

FYI the USB power specs are:
- 0.5 A (USB 2.0)
- 0.9 A (USB 3.0 & 3.1)
- 1.5 A (USB BC 1.2)
- 3 A (USB Type-C)
- Up to 5 A (USB-PD)

I still see no way you are reliably running this off most USB ports that TV/AVR/Monitors are equipped with, but YMMV by device.  It is interesting that it would at least run on my USB 2 powered hub but cut it's draw and must throttle some of it's processing power to suit the available current.

[Hilton]

Also interesting to note that the higher group of channels from 149 to 165 on 5GHz are double the output power on my Netgear R6300 and D6300. (1W as opposed to .5W)

[imugli]

If I could run TV tuners through MC on Linux, I'd get a USB > 3.5mm sound card and be on this like flies on you-know-what!

[dmarkovi]

Thanks for the review!

I've very curious about the x265 performance. I noticed you stated it played an x265 1080p video well, but was it 8bit or 10bit? Can you try whichever you haven't attempted yet. TIA

[jmone]

It was a 8-Bit.  If you have links to any particular demo clips you want me to try I'll give them ago.... but keep in mind this really is an entry level device.

[dmarkovi]

I went ahead and purchased a Teclast x80 plus (cherry trail version). It was cheaper than a mini stick, comes with a screen, and has hdmi output. I need something to replace the amazon fire stick because my pc can't handle the transcoding.

[jmone]

Interesting looking device and I'd be interested to hear what you think of it (in particular the WiFi performance as I could not find what chipset it is using but... given it is 2.4hz only it may be the same poorly performing Realtek RTL8723 that the 2015 Stick had)

[dmarkovi]

I'll update when I receive it, it usually takes a while to come in when I order from geekbuying. If there is any wifi test you want me to run let me know. I plan on wiping it when i get it and doing a clean install of windows 10.

[jmone]

Sounds good.  If you just copy a large file over the WiFi network and see what MS copy box reports is the easiest way.  In my test I also used LAN Speed Test to do some more thorough testing but that costs US$11 for the Client/Server package.

[dmarkovi]

I'm attempting to cancel the order now. I read some reviews which stated the wifi on it is terrible past 10-15 meters.

I can't find the compute stick for sale anywhere, so I'm thinking of picking up the Infocus Kangaroo for $100.

[mwillems]

I'm attempting to cancel the order now. I read some reviews which stated the wifi on it is terrible past 10-15 meters.

I can't find the compute stick for sale anywhere, so I'm thinking of picking up the Infocus Kangaroo for $100.

I have one of those Kangaroos; I've been impressed with the wifi (although I'm running linux on it which is a different kettle of fish).

[newsposter]

can the 2016 stick do MHL-style power over HDMI?

[jmone]

If you mean can you power this over HDMI the answer is No.  Not enough current in any of the stds, but I read they are looking at a "new" power of HDMI std for such things.

[zydeco]

Great review. Have you tried using a USB-to-ethernet adapter? [I'm reticent to rely on wireless given an old house with double-brick walls.]

[dmarkovi]

Got my kangaroo in but not too happy with it at the moment. I tried streaming a 1080p h.265 video and it was stuttering and out of sync. Not sure if its not powerful enough or wifi is letting me down. Windows task manager shows MC20 pulling down ~30Mbps when streaming and cpu usage at around ~75%.

Its on Windows 10 which i'm pretty sure will load all the latest drivers, but i'll check to see if there are newer ones. I'll also check up on my access point to make sure the kangaroo is receiving an 802.11ac signal.

[JimH]

Did you try Red October Standard as the video setting?

[dmarkovi]

Is that the default standard? i took a glance and i think i recall that being selected. I didn't change any settings for video.

[mwillems]

Got my kangaroo in but not too happy with it at the moment. I tried streaming a 1080p h.265 video and it was stuttering and out of sync. Not sure if its not powerful enough or wifi is letting me down. Windows task manager shows MC20 pulling down ~30Mbps when streaming and cpu usage at around ~75%.

Its on Windows 10 which i'm pretty sure will load all the latest drivers, but i'll check to see if there are newer ones. I'll also check up on my access point to make sure the kangaroo is receiving an 802.11ac signal.

Based on your description, I would bet it's a wifi problem.  I have a NUC with dualband ac wi-fi, and I get the same kind of de-sync stuttering you're describing whenever the device connects on the lower bandwidth 2.4GHz band rather than the 5GHz band.  It will often start fine, but stutter/desync within 30 seconds or so.  My solution was to separate the NIC's for my 2.4 GHZ and 5GHz bands at the router and not give the NUC the password for the 2.4GHz band to force it to connect only to the 5Ghz band.

To be clear when I started getting the issue, I tried a wide variety of changes in video settings and none solved the issue, which is why I investigated the wi-fi issue.  It's most acute on my setup when watching recorded television, but I could occasionally reproduce it with high bandwidth covnentional video.

[dmarkovi]

Thanks.

I found a "band steering" option under my Access Point settings, so hopefully this helps the situation. It should push any capable devices to 5Ghz

[dmarkovi]

Can you run a HEVC benchmark that I found on reddit? I'd like to compare my score.

https://www.reddit.com/r/htpc/comments/31gw0u/can_we_all_share_hevc_h265_benchmark_results_for/

[Hendrik]

Can you run a HEVC benchmark that I found on reddit? I'd like to compare my score.

https://www.reddit.com/r/htpc/comments/31gw0u/can_we_all_share_hevc_h265_benchmark_results_for/

This app tests software decoding only, which is not something the stick will ever be able to do at any decent speed.

[dmarkovi]

I figured out my issue today. I played an 8bit x265 video through jriver, cpu usage went up to 100% and stuttered.. I then played the exact same video through the built in video player in windows 10 and cpu usage was less than 10% and it ran smooth as butter.

Windows 10 movie player will use the intergrated graphics (with hevc decoder) to play the video whereas jriver will not. Thats my issue.

[Ferdi]

Great write up, encouraging too!
How does the Stick compare to the NUC-based Id, other than available storage and operating system? I can see the Stick USB connected to my NAS, plugged into TV and controlled with JRemote. Would not require much of a WiFi range. Any catches?

[dmarkovi]

I figured out my issue today. I played an 8bit x265 video through jriver, cpu usage went up to 100% and stuttered.. I then played the exact same video through the built in video player in windows 10 and cpu usage was less than 10% and it ran smooth as butter.

Windows 10 movie player will use the intergrated graphics (with hevc decoder) to play the video whereas jriver will not. Thats my issue.

Thought I would update...i bought a MC22 license so i went ahead and installed mc21 (previously on mc20) until mc22 is released. Now hardware acceleration works for hevc files so i'm back to using jriver to play all my files. Cpu usage on the kangaroo is about 10-15% on red october standard. it goes up to 30-35% on red october HQ but it stutters a bit, i'm fine with standard though. This is with 1080p x265 files btw.

[altsouza]

Hello,

I am planning to buy a Intel 2016 stick cs125 model, use it for audio only, using the ac power adaptor.

Regarding power from its usb port:
1. Does it come with ac power adaptor?
2. Does usb port suport 4tb usb samsung m3 2.5 external hdd??
3. Does usb power suport usb Dac (audio engine or dsd nano) (using the stick with its ac adaptor)??

Any help is welcome

Thanks

Antonio