SOLVED: What is An Intel Compute Stick & What Can You Do With It?

Netbooks! Remember them?  Well Intel does and they have stripped out the screen, keyboard and miniaturized the balance of parts into a USB sized stick that plugs directly into an HDMI port.  They preloaded Windows 10 onto very slow SSD with a small amount of RAM and are charging between $120 to $300 depending on specs.

Here is a 1 minute video from Intel explaining the first generation sticks:

Compute Sticks are not new.  They have been around since mid-2015 when the first iterations only had USB 2 on them!

NUMBER	CODE NAME	OS	SYSTEM ON A CHIP	GRAPHICS	USB	# USB PORTS	RAM	FIRST SHIPPED
STCK1A32WFC	Falls City	Windows 8.1	Intel® Atom™ Z3735F	Intel® HD Graphics	2	1	2 GB	2015 Q2
STCK1A32WFCR	Falls City	Windows 8.2	Intel® Atom™ Z3735F	Intel® HD Graphics	2	1	2 GB
STCK1A32WFCL	Falls City	Windows 10	Intel® Atom™ Z3735F	Intel® HD Graphics	2	1	2 GB	2015 Q4
STCK1A8LFC	Falls City	Ubuntu 14.04	Intel® Atom™ Z3735F	Intel® HD Graphics	2	1	1 GB	2015 Q2
STK2MV64CC (CS525)	Cedar City	none	Intel® Core™ m5	Intel® HD Graphics	3	3	4 GB	2016 Q1
STK2M364CC	Cedar City	none	Intel® Core™ m3	Intel® HD Graphics	3	4	4 GB	2016 Q1
STK2M3W64CC (CS325)	Cedar City	Windows 10	Intel® Core™ m4	Intel® HD Graphics	3	5	4 GB	2016 Q1
STK1AW32SC (CS125)	Sterling City	Windows 10	Intel® Atom™ x5-Z8300	Intel® HD Graphics	3.0+2.0	2	2 GB	2016 Q1
STK1A32SC	Sterling City	none	Intel® Atom™ x5-Z8301	Intel® HD Graphics	3.0+2.1	3	2 GB	2016 Q1

 

However, most Compute Sticks are being branded and sold by other companies:

Product	Part number, if known
ASUS VivoStick*	TS10
Azulle Quantum Access LAN PC Stick*	FBA_A-1054-QALAN
ESense Mini PC Stick	D1
Intel PC On A Stick*	SC1-INTB-W10
Intel PC Stick*
Intel Pocket PC* by Ideapro	LYSB01B2LYP3I-ELECTRNCS
Lenovo Ideacentre* Stick 300	90F20000US
MeeGOpad Mini Computers
Morefine M1S Mini Computer
Smart* Station Thin Client Solution
TVolution* by PLDT
W5 Mini PC* by ACEPC	B076D79KKN
W5 Pro Mini PC by Aoxune	B07PXRTSC7
W5 PC Stick Z8350 by Terryza	B07MB9TC33

We just completed a full unboxing, setup benchmarking and review video of the Terryza Intel Compute Stick and we have been asked, if it is so low power what can you do with it?

Well it turns out that if you spend about $100 more than we did you can get an Compute Stick with 128GB SSD, 8GBof RAM and a much more powerful Intel Core M CPU that supports THREE 4K screens:

This means that an Intel Compute Stick can handle lots of minor tasks and that there is a low cost, easy to manage version for:

1. Boardroom Computer: Capable of high end 4K video conferencing and running all standard applications
2. Digital Signage: If you need a PowerPoint or Website to run on a lobby or reception a Compute Stick is your solution
3. Kiosks: If you need to run an app like a digital map at a mall store finder, or a health care application in your dentists office, or a set of presentations at a TradeShow, or you need to run a library system that should only be used for surfing the internet, reading PDF’s, printing and searching, the Compute Stick is your answer
4. Low Demand Staff: If you have a call center, receptionist or courier desk position that needs basic functionality, the compute stick is for you
5. Control Systems: If you need a PC to work in tight spaces and monitor pumps or other systems, a Compute stick is something to look at
6. Secure Remote Access: If you have staff or contractors that need remote access to your networks it may be comforting to hand them an Intel Compute Stick that is on your Active Directory Domain and runs your companies monitoring software before users VPN in
7. Home Theaters: If you want to run a projector or big screen TV with content on your PC home network or hanging off a USB drive, a Compute Stick is the answer
8. Childrens’ PC’s: If you want to give your kids access to a few locally installed applications, potentially the Internet and your home network but don’t want them blowing their brains out on first person shooter games, an Intel Compute Stick may be just the thing

We could go on and create an even longer list, but we hope you get the idea that an Intel Compute Stick is a versatile, tiny, solid state, full computer.