Last year, I reviewed MeLE PCG03 mini PC with Windows 8.1. and later upgraded it to Windows 10, but the company has now started to launch Ubuntu based TV sticks and mini PCs, under their new Star Cloud brand, with for example Star Cloud PCG02U TV stick, and now they’ve just launched Star Cloud PCG03U running Ubuntu 14.04 for $89.59 shipped on Aliexpress.
Star Cloud PCG03U specifications:
- SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz / 1.83 GHz) with Intel HD graphics
- System Memory – 2 GB DDR3L
- Storage – 64 GB eMMC + SD card slot (up to 512 GB)
- Video Output – HDMI 1.4, and VGA
- Audio I/F – HDMI, 3.5mm earphone jack
- Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi up to 300 Mbps
, and Bluetooth 4.0 - USB – 3x USB 2.0 host ports (The specs mention 1x USB 3.0 port, but it should be impossible since Z3735F does not support USB 3.0)
- Misc – Power Button, power LED, Kensington security lock
- Power Supply – 12V/1A (12W max)
- Dimensions – 150 x 120 x 40 mm
- Weight – 360 grams
The mini PC will ship with a 12V power supply and internal plug adapters, as well as a Quick Start Guide. Compared to the windows version (PCG03), the storage has been upgraded to 64GB (was 32 GB), and Bluetooth has been dropped, probably because of drivers issues… The specs on AliexpressThe latter also explains why it’s running Ubuntu 14.04, and not Ubuntu 16.04, which require a more recent Linux kernel, and has not been found to be that stable on Bay Trail and Cherry Trail platforms. If you want a system that works well with the latest Ubuntu 16.04 version, you may need to wait for their Start Cloud PCG61U Braswell mini PC.
They appear to have used the same case and cooling solution, which I found to be of excellent, so the $90 price is pretty good for this machine, and they probable sell it with little margins. For comparison, MeLE PCG03 is now sold for $159.99.
Via AndroidPC.es
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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Too bad there is no SATA.
@zoobab
No support in the SoC
@zoobab
We should wait for the PCG61U to have internal sata-bay. Hopefully not to long.
What are they thinking? https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=109051
If I have my own copy of windows can I install it instead of the Ubuntu that comes with the device?
Bay Trail Atoms have a never-ending major Kernel FAIL in Linux. Perhaps this box works, for now because they come with some sort of Kernel patch. But don’t expect it to work later if you do an Ubuntu update.
See the comments in this page:
http://liliputing.com/2016/07/star-cloud-pcg03u-compact-ubuntu-pc-90.html
See here too:
https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=109051
Cnx-Software, you should KNOW about this and warn your readers!
@Drone
The author does point out the issues with Linux on BayTrail. In fact the author states the reason it ships with Ubuntu 14.04 is due to issues newer kernels have with BayTrail. You obviously need to re-read the second to last paragraph of the article.
Orange on the back because of Ubuntu … ? If so: cool!
Thank you! Need.some PCs for work and these ones are great!
@Drone
I’ve never experienced major issues with Bay Trail processors running Linux, except when going with Linux 4.x kernels.
@Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) The issues begin with 3.16 which so happens to be the current Debian stable release. Ben Hutchings is expected to maintain the kernel until 2020 but the audio, wifi and bluetooth drivers aren’t backported. Most people are using older development version of drivers that are littered with security holes and memory overflows due to not being able to use the current drivers since they’re targeting newer kernel APIs. More over, the power management in the 3.16 kernel doesn’t turbo-boost and has an unoptimized governor state switching so it’s running at 60% power efficiency and 80% performance. A… Read more »