Question 1

My trusty ASUS Model CS5111 with Vista 7 crashed. Need to replace it for home office use for blogging, Word, and MS Access use. I'm so lost! Would this one be comparable? Don't need gaming options.

Accepted Answer

Mine does all that and then some.  I popped in another 4GB stick (which was incredibly easy) right away, and I upgraded the Win 8 that came with it right away to Win 10.

I love this machine!  It's small and it looks cool on my desk.  It runs MS Office 360, multiple browser windows, Pandora in the background, and lots of other processes that I usually have going at once, and does so very well.

I use Process Explorer, from systeminternals dot com, to monitor things, and the only limits you will have will be the speed at which programs open and start working, including browsers.  With the Celeron processors (two of them, dual core), they max out when you first open something, but then quickly handle it and you are on your way.  I don't need gaming level response times either (when I pop Pandora open, it takes a second or two longer to start than on my i5 machine at work), so I don't care about that for the low low price of this unit.

Another bug, that isn't the fault of Asus either, is called TiWorker.exe.  This is a Windows background process that handles Windows updates (and god knows what else).  It can peg your processors at 100%, and keep them there for quite some time until it is done.  During that time you won't be able to do anything, unless you already have Process Explorer running, and can lower TiWorker.exe's priority down to "background".

*There is also a bug (that I have read about on other forums as well) where the machine will not fully power off.  You "shut down" the machine, but it still stays active inside, and then will not start (the next day for example) using the start button, without holding the butting in for 10 seconds.  Alternatively, you simply unplug then replug the thing, and that effectively shuts it down.  I have all the power options set (and you have to dig into multiple parts of Win 10 to do this AND set the bios the way you want it) and still the problem remains.  Asus is no help, nor are any of the boards (so far)...

Question 2

Two questions: 
1. Is it fan less?
2. Is the OS really 64 bit?

Accepted Answer

Yes and yes.   The reboot is the loudest this things gets, and you can barely hear that standing directly over this little silver beauty.   I litterally have to put my eare against the top to hear whether it is on and running.  I'm still amazed by what ASUS did with the VM42

Question 3

How many Sata hard drive and power connectors are available inside the box?

Accepted Answer

I saw two sata ports on the motherboard when I opened it up.  Saw only one cable that was used by the included HD.

Read in a forum that ASUS's two drive version of this model also used one sata port, but the cable had two HD connectors.  I think the dual version came with 2.5" drives instead of 3.5".  I believe the cable is a sata power connector -- I did not see a separate power connection.

Question 4

Does this unit have wi-fi built in or do I have to run a cable to it?

Accepted Answer

Mine has wi-fi built in as well as Bluetooth, and they work great.  I also have it connected via network cable, which of course works too.

Question 5

I wish to upgrade the RAM and HDD what options are available for me to do this?

Accepted Answer

As far as upgrading goes, it's pretty easy. Getting to the components is fairly simple. Theres a lock button on the back and you just slide the cover off. Mine came with 4GB of memory and I added a 4GB stick for a total of 8GB, but you could upgrade it up to 16GB (according to the ASUS website). It was super easy. You can upgrade up to a 1TB hard drive or a 128GB to 256GB SSD. You'll just need to check and make sure you get the right type of connector on your new drive (check your documentation or the ASUS support website). Again, super easy to upgrade. The old one slides out and the new one slides right in.

Question 6

how loud is it?

Accepted Answer

Not very loud at all.  Didn't even really hear it running.

Question 7

What is the power consumption in Amps? What is the DC input voltage?

Accepted Answer

The power supply is 65W: 
AC - (110V .6A)
DC - (19V 3.42A

Actual power consumption will be much lower (around 10W nominal).  Power consumption is not constant.

Question 8

Could I install SQL Express on this machine?

And is it windows 8.1 pro ?

Accepted Answer

I performed a complimentary windows 10 upgrade, then did a downgrade two weeks later.  Just too frustrating an experience with driver issues.    Just remember that Microsoft has designed Windows 10 to only be reversible within 30 days of upgrade.  So make your decision quickly to either stay with 10 or revert.   Another suggestion is to create a virgin image of your Vivo PC OS, right after configuring it for the first time.  That was my fallback in case the Windows 10 "backout" failed.

Question 9

Can this PC be upgraded to Windows 10?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely! The complete upgrade took approximately 90 minutes.

Harnessing the ASUS Mini PC most powerful feature (Wireless AC) through a solid ISP broadband connection, downloading files for and during the upgrade were impressively fast.

During the upgrade, copying and installing made up the most of time for the upgrade process, taking to account the CPU specs, this was to be expected.

Now I am pleased to say that Windows 10 has been running stable. 
Aside from the attractive new look, I've notice an increase in the PC's performance, as if Win 10 is operating using less resources.

Be sure to upgrade the PC's firmware to latest if available using the EZ Update, then, install all available recommended Windows updates.

After the updates are completed, restart your Mini PC and you should find Windows 10 icon at bottom right side of the taskbar. Click on the icon to proceed, be sure to read and follow the directions exactly.

You'll be ask to reserve an upgrade first and then you'll be notified once it's ready. Or you can download the "Media Creation Tool" from the Microsoft website if you are eager to explore Win10 and prefer to upgrade immediately. The steps are quite simple and require a zero technical knowledge, just download the correct architecture (in this case 64-bit), then when prompt click on run to start the install.

In conclusion, have at it, and enjoy the new world of Windows 10.

Question 10

Does this computer ship with a mounting kit?  If not, is there a mounting kit that would work for this machine? I am interested in buying two to mount on the back of TV's.

Accepted Answer

Hi,

I returned the pc bc I could not get win7 onto it. I don't think it had a mounting bracket in the box.

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