Last year, we were promised dual boot mini PC based on Intel that would run Windows 8.1 or Android 4.4, but finally companies decided against shipping a dual boot firmware, and simply loaded Windows 8.1 on their machines. Kingnovel sent me their K8 mini PC, better known as Wintel W8, based on Intel Atom Z3735F, and that can dual boot Windows 8.1 with Bing or Android 4.4. Today, I’ll go through the specs first, take some pictures of the device, and tear it down to have a closer look at the hardware, and in a separate post I’ll quickly check out Windows 8.1, before spending a bit more time on Android 4.4 to see how well or bad Android runs on Intel platforms.
Kingnovel K8 / Wintel W8 specifications
Hardware-wise the box has mostly the same boring specifications as almost any other Intel Atom Z3735F products on the market:
- SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz (Burst freq: 1.83 GHz) with Intel HD graphics
- System Memory – 2 GB DDR3L
- Storage – 32 GB eMMC (16, 64 and 128GB as options) + micro SD card slot
- Video Output – HDMI 1.4
- Audio I/F – HDMI, 3.5mm earphone jack
- Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0 (RTL8723BS or AP6330)
- USB – 2x USB 2.0 host, 1x micro USB OTG port
- Misc – Power Button, power LED, small battery for RTC, IR receiver
- Power Supply – 5V/3A
- Dimensions – 98 x 98 x 22.4 mm
- Weight – 190 grams
One noticeable difference is the presence of an IR receiver which can be used in Android, but not in Windows… The Android firmware includes the Google Play Store and Kodi 15 alpha.
Wintel W8 Pictures
Kingnovel sent me the parcel with DHL, and I received in a simple cardbox marked with “Wintel Box”.
Most of the times Intel mini PC only come with the power supply, but the package also included an HDMI cable.
The power supply included takes 100 ~ 240V 50/60 Hz input, and outputs up to 5V/3A.
The power button and IR receiver are on the front panel, two USB ports and a micro SD slot can be found on the side, with the rear panel featuring an headphone jack, the Ethernet port, HDMI output, a micro USB port, and the power jack.
Wintel W8 Tear-down
You’ll need a small plastic tool to unclip the bottom of the case, which comes out rather easily.
We’ll find a battery for RTC as well as the 32GB FORESEE NCEFEH58-32G eMMC flash on the bottom of the board. There are also a few through holes on the bottom right, and an unused 10-pin connector on the left of the board, but I can’t really guess what these are for. The Wi-Fi antenna can be seen on the left of the enclosure.
You’ll need to remove four small screws to completely take out the board from the case. There’s a heatisnk on the Intel processor, as well as another metallic plate for cooling fastened to the top of the plastic enclosure.
Four SK Hynix H5TC4G63AFR DDR3L chips are used to get 2GB RAM, Genesis Logic GL852G USB hub is for the USB ports, and the Wi-Fi module used in this board is Realtek RTL8723BS. The IR receiver / LED is located on the top left of the picture, and we can find the recovery switch right behind the headphone jack.
Kingnovel can provide their K8 box to resellers and wholesalers, and if you’d like to purchase in quantities you could contact them via their Kingnovel K8 product page. Individuals can pre-order Wintel W8, which should feature the same dual boot firmware, on Geekbuying for $126. A model called Wintel CX-W8 is also available on Aliexpress for just under $100, but with Windows 8.1 only, and most probably without a proper Windows license.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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Nice box and heatsink is good but FORESEE eMMC maybe slowly than Samsung eMMC in Pipo X7
is there enough space for an 2,5 or 1,8 HDD?
@TC
My 2.5″ SSD is a little longer than the width/length of the box, so definitely no for 2.5″.
There’s no SATA port, so I guess it would also be difficult to connect and fit a 1.8″ drive inside with the extra USB to SATA board required, and that setup might get pretty hot…
I have the original W8 box. Wonder if the BIOS and an image of the eMMC is all that is needed to “upgrade” to dual boot? Just need to find someone with the box 😉
@Jim
Looks like the PCB is different so I wonder if something else has changed?
@cnxsoft ah, woo bad
i really hope they someday make a cheap Bay/Cherry Trail Box with HDD
@TC
There’s Beelink mini PC -> http://www.cnx-software.com/2015/02/04/beelink-introduces-tv-sticks-and-mini-pcs-powered-by-intel-atom-z3735f-processor/ , but it’s not for sale yet.
MeLE PCG09 is available, but at $229, it’s not that cheap anymore. http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/MeLE-PCG09-Quad-Core-Mini-PC-Intel-Z3735F-2G-DDR-32G-eMMC-2-5-SATA-HDD/715968_32296927152.html
Better go with VX2, as it’s less than $200 includes a 500GB drive, and a more powerful “Bay Trail” J1800 or 1900 processor -> http://www.cnx-software.com/2015/04/08/vx2-celeron-j1800-j1900-mini-pcs-with-500gb-hard-drive-sell-for-180-and-up-promo/
@cnxsoft
Some shops have the Beelink ones listed now:
http://www.gearbest.com/tv-box/pp_147603.html
http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Beelink-Pocket-P1-Windows-Mini-PC-Quad-Core-Intel-Z3735F-1-8GHz-2G-RAM-32G-ROM-2-4G-5G-WIFI-Bluetooth-Silver-342700.html
@onebir
That’s the Pocket version, no SATA here.
@cnxsoft
oh the J1900 are very nice. 10W idle consumption, tough…
hope the next generation will be more efficient and sub 5W
@TC
I don’t think the power consumption is 10W while idle. 10W is the maximum power dissipation of the processor.
@cnxsoft
Hardwareluxx guys achieved ~10W with picoPSU
these were J1900 ITX mainboards, tough
Can you make this item auto-power-on after power loss
@Mike
If I remember correctly the device will boot automatically as I plug the power supply, so I assume the answer is yes.
dose any one know how to root this box in android model ?
THx
Hi,
I managed to cut myself out of my wintel w8 by accidentally disabling the USB controller from the UEFI, do you know any way to reset it to the defaults without a keyboard?
I feel such an idiot right now.
Thanks
Can the original System Memory – 2 GB DDR3L be upgraded without problems. Also, is Windows 8.1 activated with product Key? and will you be offering Firmware updates especially when Windows 10 is released. Thank You. Respectfully, Ron
@Luca
You should be able to remove the battery on the main board for 10 seconds to an hour. Plug it back in and plug in the power adapter and start it up. It should reset the bios settings.
@Computergroove
I tried, I even left the battery unplugged for 12+ hours, but it looks like those settings are saved in some sort of non volatile memory 🙁
@Luca
I am new to the Win8. Unless I learn something differently, the only thing I can suggest is to try and contact whomever you purchased your unit from and see if they will step-up and help you with this! If they do, would you please post back so rest of us will know. Thanks.
@Ron Lewis
I did, they said the only thing is to send the unit back to them so they can reflash the bios directly to the chip. I’m guessing I could do the same if I had the programmer, but I can’t justify buying it.
@cnxsoft
I have ordered my W8 exactly same to this one and wondering if BIOS can be updated to 64bit from 32bit or vice verse.
Also, do you have basic driver for W8 motherboard.
Thanks for help.
Can we install the following pieces of software.
1. wirecast 6,
2. desktop presenter
3. chrome app, remote desktop manager
4 Microsoft life studio.
Thanks
Hello!
One week ago, i was installing office in my unit and when the process was running, it stops and the image was freezes. After a moment, I disconnected it and it never turned on again. There’s anyone that knows something about this problem? Or that have an idea of what could be happening?
I appreciated your help
Thanks
@Edwin
It looks like a “not-enough-power” issue. Are you using the included power source or a different one.
To others: were you able to connect the device to a PC using the mini-USB port? My PC can’t see it.
My device also came with un-activated Windows; I guess this is why it was sold at 90$ w.r.t. original 250$ price…. Maybe the Volume Licence expired.
I think the author mis-identified the upper-left LED: it’s not an IR receiver… it’s just the status LED!
For Android:
Is there a Way (in Android or Bios) to disable the intern Monitor an set the HDMI out as primary Monitor ?
For Windows is not Problem but Android is not rootable and many Aps dont playing.
The Hardware is from a Pipo with Display and this is not disabled.
Hi,
I have a WINTEL W8 box. I need to be able to set it to power back up on power loss on the windows side….I cant find it in the Bios…Please advise how I can achieve this. Anyone??
Thanks much.
Sharon
I have the same but i dont have the recovery switch next to jack. i need to restore bios default, no tv signal
Is there a Wintel box somewhere that has that option to boot up automatically? If you could send us the bios image of it! 🙂
My wintel can’ t show picture in wind os
Hi. I’d like to know whether it is possible to upgrade the ram to 4GB or not? If your answer is positive, what kind of ram model should I search for to substitute it?
Thanks a lot.
@Halil EROGLU
No, it’s not possible.
Win os then i’m set new resolution window no signal i can reset??
@cnxsoft
I am disappointed to hear that 🙁
can someone know hot to change resolution for android, from automatic to manual ???
I need specifig resolution and seems that android jums to full hd automatically
i need 1600×1200 permanently … ???
|Thanks
Hi!
how to go to bios on Wintel w8 and how to reset everything to default.
thanks
Hello,
I format all of my Wintel W8 dual OS and now I’m not able re-install Android.
I’m trying with Android Remix but can’t install because it have Efi 32bit, I’m trying with Android x86 and I can install it but the audio not working.
Someone can help me?
There is a image I can download?
Thanks
Fulvio
@Fulvio
You can’t simply download random images on the internet, and expect it to work.
Try that instead: http://blog.geekbuying.com/index.php/2016/06/27/wintel-w8-dual-boot-intel-mini-pc-firmware-20160627/
@cnxsoft
Hello,
thanks for the reply.
But I try install image of the links you recommended but it give me a error : “usage type x64 is not supported by this IA32 shell”
Some advice?
Thanks again
Fulvio
Hi,
I have wintel dual boot. In that system android is working fine but not windows. When i try to start windows, the system gets restarting. Can you tell me the solution to get out from this problem.
Ciao,
ho un problema…non riesco ad entrare in android..come faccio?
I need to reset, the box,
because doesn’t accept the password, what I need to do ?