5 Best Stick PCs: USB Computers in the Pocket

Introduction to Stick PC

Nowadays, people require PC to be lighter and lighter for portability. Then, manufacturers put forward stick PC (also called PC stick, computer stick, and USB computer). As the name implies, it’s a PC on a stick.

It’s a single-board computer in a small elongated casing resembling a stick, that can usually be plugged directly (without an HDMI cable) into an HDMI video port (although it’s called USB computer, its plug is not a USB plug, but a HDMI plug). A PC stick is like the following picture:

The stick PC is bigger and heavier than the real USB stick. Usually, it is as large as a mouse.

Some people may have made a Win-to-Go hard drive as a portable computer. But when you want to boot the Win-to-Go hard drive, you still need a computer. Unlike the Win-to-Go portable computer, the stick PC just needs a peripheral device such as a monitor, TV, or kiosk display.

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That’s because it has all components that a computer needs, for example, a CPU card, a GPU card, a RAM bar, a storage drive, a network card, a HDMI port for transferring videos and audios, etc. With the computer stick, you can run all software designed for PC, except for those resource intensive programs.

If you have some knowledge of portable computer or single-board computer, you may think of Raspberry Pi, which is a famous brand for single-board computer. Is there any difference between a stick PC and a Raspberry Pi single-board computer?

Actually, the two devices have no obvious difference. But some people may think that stick PCs are more expensive than the Raspberry Pi single-board computers. I think this depends on the configuration. In general, stick PCs usually offer higher hardware configuration. In addition, they usually come with the official Windows system. That’s why PC sticks are more expensive.

The other defect of the computer stick is that its components can’t be replaced at will, because they are soldered onto the board for portability. In this respect, Raspberry Pi gives users more freedom. But also due to this, a Raspberry Pi single-board computer is not as portable as a stick PC.

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5 Best Stick PCs

Do you want to get the best PC on a stick? In this part, I will introduce 5 best stick PCs to you and you can choose one of them according to your needs.

1. Intel Compute Stick

Intel has ever released several types of stick PCs. They are called Intel Compute Stick. Although these products are discontinued now, comparing to other USB computers, they still have good hardware configuration. If you can find a reliable purchase channel, they are still worth buying.

Intel Compute Stick may come with Intel Atom CPUs or the 6th gen Intel Core CPUs. Comparing the two series, Intel Compute Sticks with Intel Core CPUs are better, not only because the Intel Core CPUs are better, but also because the computer sticks with Intel Core CPUs usually have larger main memory (4GB LPDDR3) and larger storage (64GB eMMC).

Intel Compute Sticks with Core CPUs can have the performance close to that of a normal desktop or laptop computer. Therefore, it not only can play high-quality images, but also can cope with difficult computing tasks such as editing articles with embedded pictures.

On the contrary, Intel Compute Sticks with Intel Atom CPUs just have the performance close to that of tablet computers and low-end computers. It can only handle simple computer operations such as browsing the web and sending and receiving emails.

Since the CPU and memory of most computer sticks cannot be upgraded or modified, you should pay more attention to these two parts.

Intel Compute Sticks with Core CPUs include 3 models: Intel Compute Stick CS535 (STK2mv64CC), Intel Compute Stick CS325 (STK2m3W64CC), and Intel Compute Stick STK2m364CC. They are the same, except for the different CPUs.

All of them support HDMI 1.4b, micro SDXC with UHS-I (allowing you to expand storage up to 128GB), USB 3.0, and Intel Wireless-AC 8260 + Bluetooth 4.2.

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2. Terryza W5 Pro

This stick PC is equipped with Quad-core Intel X5-Z8350 Processor with a base frequency of 1.44 GHz and up to 1.92 GHz in burst mode. The integrated Intel HD graphics allows you to play 4K HD streaming and video, bringing you more visual feast.

This stick PC offers you two model options: 4GB DDR3 memory + 64GB eMMC, and 8GB DDR3 memory + 120GB eMMC. In addition, it offers a USB 2.0 port, a USB 3.0 port supporting read speed up to 100M/s, a HDMI port, a micro SDXC Card Slot (supporting up to 128GB), a DC Power Port, and Dual Band Wi-Fi 802.11 ac + Bluetooth 4.2.

This stick PC comes with Windows 10 Pro 64Bit and can complete tasks like online homework, class work, word processing, internet suffering, online shopping, video streaming, etc.

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3. Azulle Access4 Mini PC

This stick PC is equipped with Gemini Lake N4020 / N4120 / J4025 / J4125 CPU. The Gemini Lake series of processors are low-power entry-level SoC processor launched by Intel.

They use 14nm manufacturing process, support DDR4 or LPDDR4-2400 memory, use a dual-core or quad-core design, and operate at only 1.x~2. xGHz, but the highest frequency will not exceed 2.8GHz. The integrated UHD Graphics 600 or 605 series can support 4K video playback.

The Azulle Access4 Mini PC comes with Windows 10 Pro/ IOT 2019 OS, 4GB LPDDR4 memory, 64 GB / 128 GB storage, integrated Intel HD Graphic 600, a USB 3.0 port, a USB-C port, a micro SDXC card slot (supporting up to 512GB), a 3.5mm Audio Jack, an Ethernet port supporting up to Gigabit, and an HD 2.0 port for transferring 4K videos at 60FPS.

In addition, it also supports Intel AC3165 Dual Band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2.

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4. AWOW Mini PC Stick

AWOW Mini PC Stick has three models: AWOW Fanless Mini PC Stick NV41S, AWOW Mini PC Stick AR40S, and AWOW Fanless Mini PC Stick NJ41S. The 3 models have no big differences, but the second model has fans to dissipate heat. As for the fanless models, they use special material to dissipate heat, making them keep quiet when in use.

Because the former two models have been sold out, I will mainly introduce AWOW Fanless Mini PC Stick NJ41S to you. This stick PC comes with Intel Celeron J4105, which is a quad-core CPU with 4 MB cache, 1.50 GHz base frequency, and 2.50 GHz burst frequency.

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 600 chip co-operates the Mini DP and HDMI 2.0 port can support for real ultra HD 4K resolution playback at 60Hz. In addition, this computer stick has 4GB DDR memory, 64GB eMMC storage, 2 USB 3.0 ports, a USB 3.0 Type-C port, and a micro SD slot.

This PC stick has Windows 10 pre-installed and can run Office, Design, Entertainment and Game, etc. very smoothly. In addition, the 802.11 b/g/n/ac 5.8G+2.4G Dual Band WiFi, BT 4.2, and external gain antenna make it very convenient to connect other devices to the mini compute stick.

5. AIOEXPC Mini Computer Stick

This stick PC comes with Intel Atom X5-Z8350 CPU, which is a quad-cord CPU with integrated Intel HD Graphics 400, 2 MB cache, 1.44 GHz base frequency, and 1.92 GHz burst frequency. In addition, this PC stick offers 2 model options: 4GB DDR3 + 64GB storage, and 4GB DDR3 + 128GB storage.

This stick PC also supports expanding storage up to 128GB by inserting a TF card. In addition, it is also shipped with Windows 10 Pro 64-bit OS, offers a USB 3.0 port and a USB 2.0 port.

The dual band Wi-Fi (2.4G&5G) + Bluetooth 4.2 support offers stronger and More stable Wi-Fi wireless signal, making everything like online homework, class work, word processing, internet surfing, online Shopping, streaming and video much smoother.

Manage Storage with MiniTool Partition Wizard

In most cases, the stick PC comes with Windows OS. To manage the storage better or free up storage, MiniTool Partition Wizard is recommended.

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This tool can help you format the hard drive, resize the partition, and delete junk files. If you need a disk management program, you can try it.

Here is a post talking about what the stick PC is. If you are interested in this little device and want to try it, this post also recommends 5 best computer sticks to you.Click to Tweet

Bottom Line

Is this post helpful to you? Do you have other recommendations about the best PC on a stick? Please leave a comment in the following zone. In addition, if you have difficulty in freeing up disk, resizing or formatting partition, please contact us via [email protected]. We will get back to you as soon as possible.

Stick PC FAQ