Notebookcheck Logo

Chuwi GBox CWI560 (Celeron N4100) Mini PC Review

Affordable streamer. A no-hassle Windows 10 mini PC ready to stream out-of-the-box for $200 USD. The Chuwi GBox is equipped with all the basics and more to fit in any home theater setup on a budget.
Top: Nvidia Shield TV, Bottom: Chuwi GBox with remote
Top: Nvidia Shield TV, Bottom: Chuwi GBox with remote

Chuwi has been making ground worldwide by offering laptops and tablets that are significantly cheaper than more popular brands while still looking sleek and attractive. The Chuwi LapBook Air notebook and Hi10 Pro tablet are the two latest examples retailing for just $380 USD and $210 USD, respectively.

The newest product to make thee list is the Chuwi GBox Windows mini PC. The system competes directly against other HTPCs including the Intel NUC, Gigabyte Brix, Zotac ZBox, and more. By extension, it also competes against streaming devices like the popular Nvidia Shield TV or Amazon Fire TV Stick.

The GBox is currently available in just one configuration at Amazon to keep costs low at just $200 USD retail. It sports a Celeron N4100 SoC with integrated UHD Graphics 600, 4 GB of LPDDR4 RAM, and a 64 GB eMMC to be comparable to alternatives like the Intel NUC BOXNUC7CJYH1 or Zotac ZBox CI329. Processor performance is of interest as Gemini Lake CPUs are relatively new and uncommon on mobile products.

More Chuwi reviews:

Chuwi GBox CWI560
Processor
Intel Celeron N4100 4 x 1.1 - 2.4 GHz, Gemini Lake
Graphics adapter
Intel UHD Graphics 600, Core: 300 MHz, 23.20.16.4973
Memory
4 GB 
, LPDDR4
Mainboard
Gemini Lake
Storage
SanDisk DA4064, 64 GB 
Soundcard
Intel Gemini Lake SoC - High Definition Audio Controller
Connections
2 USB 2.0, 3 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 VGA, 1 HDMI, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm earphones, Card Reader: MicroSD
Networking
Realtek RTL8168/8111 Gigabit-LAN (10/100/1000MBit/s), Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165 (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.2
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 37.3 x 187.6 x 138.3 ( = 1.47 x 7.39 x 5.44 in)
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
Additional features
Mounting bracket, Remote, User's Guide, Warranty card, 12 Months Warranty
Weight
558 g ( = 19.68 oz / 1.23 pounds), Power Supply: 165 g ( = 5.82 oz / 0.36 pounds)
Price
200 USD
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case

At 0.97 L, the GBox is small as one would expect for a HTPC. Relative to other streaming boxes like the Nvidia Shield TV or more powerful Intel Skull Canyon, however, the GBox is larger in volume without necessarily being heavier for a hollow first impression not unlike the ZBox CI660. Fortunately, surfaces are rigid all around with no flexing or creaking when applying pressure. Its gamer-like design stands out from a growing crowd of boxy "me too" HTPCs from a large variety of OEMs.

A small caveat to the design is that the system has no vertical stand options. The red trims on top are simply plastic with no LEDs or other functions.

204 mm / 8.03 inch 129 mm / 5.08 inch 68 mm / 2.68 inch 1.1 kg2.52 lbs211.1 mm / 8.31 inch 116.1 mm / 4.57 inch 27.9 mm / 1.098 inch 623 g1.373 lbs210 mm / 8.27 inch 130 mm / 5.12 inch 25 mm / 0.984 inch 654 g1.442 lbs187.6 mm / 7.39 inch 138.3 mm / 5.44 inch 37.3 mm / 1.469 inch 558 g1.23 lbs115 mm / 4.53 inch 111 mm / 4.37 inch 51 mm / 2.01 inch 577 g1.272 lbs297 mm / 11.7 inch 210 mm / 8.27 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 5.7 g0.01257 lbs

Connectivity

A healthy number of ports are available and distributed evenly across the front and back sides of the unit. The most notable are the HDMI 2.0 and VGA ports to support 4K60 output and legacy displays, respectively. The latter in particular is a rare find on newer mini PCs.

A few omissions include DisplayPort, DisplayPort over USB Type-C, Kensington Lock, IR receiver, and Thunderbolt 3 likely to save on costs. Users who wish to output to multiple displays may need a VGA to DVI adapter.

One noteworthy annoyance is that the front USB ports are upside-down while the back USB ports are right-side up. It's a minor detail that owners will surely disapprove.

(Source: Chuwi)
(Source: Chuwi)

SD Card Reader

Transfer rates from the spring-loaded MicroSD reader are slow at about 21 MB/s. Moving 1 GB worth of photos from our UHS-II test card to desktop takes almost 55 seconds compared to just 6 or 7 seconds on the Dell XPS 13. Speeds are sufficient for movie and music playback, but expect a long wait if transferring files.

SD Card Reader
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs)
Dell XPS 13 9370 i7 UHD
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro UHS-II)
156.4 MB/s +736%
Zotac ZBOX-CI660 Nano
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
35 MB/s +87%
Chuwi GBox CWI560
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II)
18.7 MB/s
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB)
Dell XPS 13 9370 i7 UHD
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro UHS-II)
207.2 MB/s +896%
Zotac ZBOX-CI660 Nano
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
37.73 MB/s +81%
Chuwi GBox CWI560
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II)
20.8 MB/s

Communication

Much like the Zotac ZBox series of mini PCs, the GBox utilizes a 1x1 Intel 3165 module for wireless speeds of up to 433 Mbps and Bluetooth 4.2. We experienced no connectivity or range issues during our time with the unit. Most Ultrabooks offer up to double the wireless speeds with faster Intel 8260 or Killer 1535 modules.

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Dell XPS 13 9370 i7 UHD
Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1435 Wireless Network Adapter
504 MBit/s +122%
Chuwi GBox CWI560
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165
227 MBit/s
Zotac ZBOX-CI660 Nano
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165
218 MBit/s -4%
iperf3 receive AX12
Dell XPS 13 9370 i7 UHD
Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1435 Wireless Network Adapter
665 MBit/s +104%
Chuwi GBox CWI560
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165
326 MBit/s
Zotac ZBOX-CI660 Nano
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165
301 MBit/s -8%

Accessories

Included extras are a User's Guide, warranty card, remote (2x AAA batteries not included), and an 75 mm/100 mm mounting bracket. The OEM never mentions the word "VESA" in the user guide, but we can confirm that the GBox is compatible with VESA mounts nonetheless.

The simple remote works surprisingly well with no additional setup required. Buttons have a firm click when pressed for satisfactory feedback. We only wish that its buttons could be more easily customized to perform user-defined functions. For general multimedia navigation through Windows, however, mice and keyboards still work best.

Maintenance

Removing the six Philips head screws from the bottom panel reveals an easily accessible 2.5-inch SATA III bay with support for up to 9.5 mm drives. Additional disassembly is required to access the rest of the system.

Bottom panel comes off easily with a screwdriver
Bottom panel comes off easily with a screwdriver
Expandable storage underneath the bottom panel
Expandable storage underneath the bottom panel

Warranty

The standard one-year manufacturer limited warranty applies. Keep in mind, however, that the buyer must pay for shipping and handling should any repairs be necessary. Please see our Guarantees, Return policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Performance

 

Processor

The new Gemini Lake Celeron N4100 is roughly 22 percent and 28 percent faster than the Celeron J4005 and Celeron N4000, respectively. The performance delta is much wider when compared to the popular Cherry Trail Atom x5-Z8350 found on very inexpensive netbooks and it even marginally outperforms the Pentium Gold 4415Y in the Microsoft Surface Go. It's too bad that Chuwi doesn't offer configurations with the faster Pentium Silver N5000 for a potential 35 percent boost in performance over the N4100.

Raw processing power is still significantly slower than the common ULV 15 W Core U-series. The last generation Core i5-7200U, for example, is almost 90 percent faster than our Celeron N4100 in both single- and multi-threaded workloads. Performance over time is nonetheless consistent on the GBox as shown by our CineBench loop test results below.

See our dedicated page on the Celeron N4100 for more technical details and benchmarks.

CineBench R10 32-bit
CineBench R10 32-bit
CineBench R11.5 64-bit
CineBench R11.5 64-bit
CineBench R15
CineBench R15
CPU activity while streaming 4K UHD content on YouTube at 60 FPS
CPU activity while streaming 4K UHD content on YouTube at 60 FPS
0102030405060708090100110120130140150160170180190Tooltip
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit
Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
Zotac ZBOX-CI660 Nano
Intel Core i7-8550U
156 Points +129%
Intel Skull Canyon NUC6i7KYK
Intel Core i7-6770HQ
139 Points +104%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320s-14IKB
Intel Core i5-7200U
128 Points +88%
Intel NUC7CJYH
Intel Celeron J4005
77 Points +13%
Acer Swift 1 SF114-32-P8GG
Intel Pentium Silver N5000
73 Points +7%
Chuwi LapBook SE
Intel Celeron N4100
69.8 Points +3%
Chuwi GBox CWI560
Intel Celeron N4100
68 Points
Lenovo Flex 6-11IGM
Intel Celeron N4000
65 Points -4%
Microsoft Surface Go MHN-00003
Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y
65 Points -4%
Trekstor Primebook C13
Intel Celeron N3350
45 Points -34%
Chuwi Hi12
Intel Atom x5-Z8300
31 Points -54%
Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 320-10ICR Pro LTE
Intel Atom x5-Z8350
28 Points -59%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Intel Skull Canyon NUC6i7KYK
Intel Core i7-6770HQ
711 Points +278%
Zotac ZBOX-CI660 Nano
Intel Core i7-8550U
702 Points +273%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320s-14IKB
Intel Core i5-7200U
331 Points +76%
Acer Swift 1 SF114-32-P8GG
Intel Pentium Silver N5000
236 Points +26%
Chuwi GBox CWI560
Intel Celeron N4100
188 Points
Microsoft Surface Go MHN-00003
Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y
164 Points -13%
Chuwi LapBook SE
Intel Celeron N4100
161 (150.45min - 161.13max) Points -14%
Intel NUC7CJYH
Intel Celeron J4005
144 Points -23%
Lenovo Flex 6-11IGM
Intel Celeron N4000
138 Points -27%
Chuwi Hi12
Intel Atom x5-Z8300
99 Points -47%
Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 320-10ICR Pro LTE
Intel Atom x5-Z8350
92 Points -51%
Trekstor Primebook C13
Intel Celeron N3350
88 Points -53%
Chuwi Hi10 Pro
Intel Atom x5-Z8300
85 Points -55%
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
5102
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
2049
Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
3549
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
2.18 Points
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
7.95 fps
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
0.83 Points
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
97.8 %
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
10.61 fps
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
188 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
68 Points
Help

System Performance

PCMark benchmarks are comparable to other Chuwi devices like the LapBook SE and LapBook 12.3 since they all run on low-power Celeron CPUs. Mini PCs with the more common Core i5-8250U or i7-8550U, like the ZBox CI660, are more powerful and costlier. Subjectively, the GBox is a tad slower when launching applications. The delays become noticeably longer when multi-tasking and we therefore recommend closing background applications for smoother navigation and streaming.

Interestingly, Windows Updates would fail to install on our unit. Installing the latest updates before benchmarking is common procedure for our reviews, but this was impossible due to installation errors for whatever reason.

PCMark 8 Home Accelerated
PCMark 8 Home Accelerated
PCMark 10
PCMark 10
PCMark 10 - Score
Zotac ZBOX-CI660 Nano
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, OCZ Vertex OCZSSD2-1VTX120G
3837 Points +131%
Dell XPS 13 9370 i7 UHD
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G
3728 Points +125%
Chuwi GBox CWI560
UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4100, SanDisk DA4064
1658 Points
Chuwi LapBook SE
UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4100, SanDisk DF4032
1502 Points -9%
Chuwi Lapbook 12.3
HD Graphics 500, Celeron N3450, 64 GB eMMC Flash
1269 (1261min - 1270max) Points -23%
Intel NUC7CJYH
UHD Graphics 600, Celeron J4005, SanDisk Ultra II
1136 Points -31%
PCMark 8 - Home Score Accelerated v2
Zotac ZBOX-CI660 Nano
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, OCZ Vertex OCZSSD2-1VTX120G
3594 Points +74%
Dell XPS 13 9370 i7 UHD
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G
3371 Points +63%
Intel NUC7CJYH
UHD Graphics 600, Celeron J4005, SanDisk Ultra II
2084 Points +1%
Chuwi GBox CWI560
UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4100, SanDisk DA4064
2062 Points
Chuwi Lapbook 12.3
HD Graphics 500, Celeron N3450, 64 GB eMMC Flash
1461 (1450min - 1461max) Points -29%
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
2062 points
PCMark 10 Score
1658 points
Help

Storage Devices

CDM 5
CDM 5

The soldered SanDisk DA4064 eMMC returns SATA II-like sequential transfer rates in the mid 200 MB/s range. Inexpensive netbooks like the Lenovo Flex 6 and Teclast Tbook 16 also utilize very similar SanDisk eMMC solutions. It's a cost-saving measure that fortunately has minimal impact for streaming and low-power tasks.

See our table of SSDs and HDDs for more benchmark comparisons.

Chuwi GBox CWI560
SanDisk DA4064
Intel NUC7CJYH
SanDisk Ultra II
Lenovo Flex 6-11IGM
SanDisk DF4064
Teclast Tbook 16 Power
64 GB eMMC Flash
Trekstor Primebook C13
SanDisk DF4064
CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6
121%
-30%
-81%
-36%
Write 4K
38
61.1
61%
14.29
-62%
1.95
-95%
13.16
-65%
Read 4K
23.84
31.99
34%
13.12
-45%
7.77
-67%
5.04
-79%
Write Seq
226.7
421.7
86%
117.9
-48%
27.89
-88%
117
-48%
Read Seq
271.8
427.4
57%
295.7
9%
74.7
-73%
264.7
-3%
Write 4K Q32T1
44.74
97
117%
13.82
-69%
2.17
-95%
16.58
-63%
Read 4K Q32T1
53.2
121.9
129%
37.36
-30%
11.62
-78%
33.3
-37%
Write Seq Q32T1
129.4
504
289%
105.5
-18%
18.4
-86%
111.2
-14%
Read Seq Q32T1
189.4
551
191%
240.7
27%
68.9
-64%
226.3
19%
Write 4K Q8T8
183.1
Read 4K Q8T8
221.3
SanDisk DA4064
CDM 5/6 Read Seq Q32T1: 189.4 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Write Seq Q32T1: 129.4 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Read 4K Q32T1: 53.2 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Write 4K Q32T1: 44.74 MB/s
CDM 5 Read Seq: 271.8 MB/s
CDM 5 Write Seq: 226.7 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Read 4K: 23.84 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Write 4K: 38 MB/s

GPU Performance

3DMark 11
3DMark 11

Graphics performance from the integrated UHD Graphics 600 is unsurprisingly poor since this mini PC is not built for gaming. The UHD Graphics 620 as found on most modern Ultrabooks is significantly faster by at least 2 to 3 times. There appears to be no raw GPU performance advantages when compared to the last generation HD Graphics 500, either.

See our page on the UHD Graphics 600 for more technical information and benchmarks.

3DMark 11
1280x720 Performance GPU
Intel Skull Canyon NUC6i7KYK
Intel Iris Pro Graphics 580, 6770HQ
3220 Points +565%
Lenovo IdeaPad 330-15ARR 81D2005CUS
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), R5 2500U
2294 Points +374%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320s-14IKB
NVIDIA GeForce 920MX, i5-7200U
1887 Points +290%
Zotac ZBOX-CI660 Nano
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U
1769 Points +265%
Microsoft Surface Go MHN-00003
Intel UHD Graphics 615, Pentium 4415Y
1257 Points +160%
Chuwi Lapbook 12.3
Intel HD Graphics 500, Celeron N3450
584 Points +21%
Intel NUC7CJYH
Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron J4005
579 Points +20%
Average Intel UHD Graphics 600
  (410 - 854, n=27)
558 Points +15%
Trekstor Primebook C13
Intel HD Graphics 500, Celeron N3350
543 Points +12%
Lenovo Flex 6-11IGM
Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4000
513 Points +6%
Chuwi GBox CWI560
Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4100
484 Points
Teclast Tbook 16 Power
Intel HD Graphics 405 (Braswell), Z8750
408 Points -16%
Chuwi Hi12
Intel HD Graphics (Cherry Trail), Z8300
299 Points -38%
Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 320-10ICR Pro LTE
Intel HD Graphics 400 (Braswell), Z8350
297 Points -39%
1280x720 Performance Combined
Intel Skull Canyon NUC6i7KYK
Intel Iris Pro Graphics 580, 6770HQ
2784 Points +526%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320s-14IKB
NVIDIA GeForce 920MX, i5-7200U
2224 Points +400%
Zotac ZBOX-CI660 Nano
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U
1410 Points +217%
Lenovo IdeaPad 330-15ARR 81D2005CUS
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), R5 2500U
1232 Points +177%
Microsoft Surface Go MHN-00003
Intel UHD Graphics 615, Pentium 4415Y
1134 Points +155%
Intel NUC7CJYH
Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron J4005
593 Points +33%
Trekstor Primebook C13
Intel HD Graphics 500, Celeron N3350
571 Points +28%
Chuwi Lapbook 12.3
Intel HD Graphics 500, Celeron N3450
570 Points +28%
Average Intel UHD Graphics 600
  (362 - 983, n=27)
552 Points +24%
Lenovo Flex 6-11IGM
Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4000
521 Points +17%
Chuwi GBox CWI560
Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4100
445 Points
Teclast Tbook 16 Power
Intel HD Graphics 405 (Braswell), Z8750
363 Points -18%
Chuwi Hi12
Intel HD Graphics (Cherry Trail), Z8300
360 Points -19%
Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 320-10ICR Pro LTE
Intel HD Graphics 400 (Braswell), Z8350
357 Points -20%
3DMark 11 Performance
542 points
Help

Stress Test

We stress the system with synthetic loads to identify for any potential throttling or stability issues. When running Prime95, the CPU can be observed operating at its maximum rated Turbo Boost of 2.3 GHz for the first few seconds before reaching a core temperature of 77 C and falling to 1.5 GHz thereafter to keep temperatures in check. When considering that the base clock rate of the Celeron N4100 is 1.1 GHz, the GBox is actually able to maintain a minor +400 MHz Turbo Boost even when under extreme CPU stress. Running both Prime95 and FurMark simultaneously will cause the core temperature to stabilize at a toasty 79 C with clock rates throttled even further.

System idle
System idle
Prime95 stress
Prime95 stress
FurMark stress
FurMark stress
Prime95+FurMark stress
Prime95+FurMark stress
CPU Clock (GHz) GPU Clock (MHz) Average CPU Temperature (°C)
System Idle -- -- 45
Prime95 Stress 1.5 -- 66
FurMark Stress -- 500 66
Prime95 + FurMark Stress 1.3 150 79

Emissions

System Noise

There is no noise since the GBox is a fanless mini PC for a completely silent streaming experience. Our unit exhibits no coil whine or electronic noise, either.

Temperature

Surface temperatures are warmest near the left corner of the unit at over 30 C when idling on desktop. This same spot can become as warm as 42 C during heavy loads like streaming or browsing. Results are cooler than on the more powerful ZBox CI660 Nano where temperatures can reach over 60 C. If you choose to stack DVDs or other items on top of the unit, just be aware that the they will warm up by quite a bit.

System idle (front)
System idle (front)
System idle (back)
System idle (back)
Maximum load (front)
Maximum load (front)
Maximum load (back)
Maximum load (back)

Energy Management

Power Consumption

The GBox is very power efficient consuming just 2 W to 3 W when idling on desktop compared to 9 W on the LapBook 12.3. When under extreme stress, we are able to record just under 14 W before falling and stabilizing at 7.7 W due to throttling as shown by our graph below. The results mirror our Prime95 stress test clock rates from above. Consumption is lower than even the Atom-powered Lenovo Ideapad Miix 320 since there is no display or keyboard.

The very small (~8.0 x 4.6 x 2.3 cm) 24 W AC adapter is more than sufficient for the GBox. It's a bit disappointing to not see the adapter integrated onto the unit itself for easier transporting.

Prime95 initiated at 20s mark. Note that consumption is highest for the first few seconds before falling and stabilizing
Prime95 initiated at 20s mark. Note that consumption is highest for the first few seconds before falling and stabilizing
Power consumption when running 3DMark 06
Power consumption when running 3DMark 06
Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.21 / 0.37 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 1.9 / 2 / 2.9 Watt
Load midlight 8.6 / 9.5 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
Chuwi GBox CWI560
Celeron N4100, UHD Graphics 600, SanDisk DA4064, , x,
Chuwi Lapbook 12.3
Celeron N3450, HD Graphics 500, 64 GB eMMC Flash, IPS, 2736x1824, 12.30
Chuwi Hi12
Z8300, HD Graphics (Cherry Trail), Hynix HCG8E 64 GB, IPS, 2160x1440, 12.00
NVIDIA Shield Android TV
X1, Tegra X1 Maxwell GPU, 16 GB iNAND Flash, , 1920x1080, 0.00
Intel Skull Canyon NUC6i7KYK
6770HQ, Iris Pro Graphics 580, Samsung SSD 850 EVO m.2 120GB, , x, 0.00
Zotac ZBOX-CI660 Nano
i5-8550U, UHD Graphics 620, OCZ Vertex OCZSSD2-1VTX120G, , x,
Lenovo Flex 6-11IGM
Celeron N4000, UHD Graphics 600, SanDisk DF4064, TN LED, 1366x768, 11.60
Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 320-10ICR Pro LTE
Z8350, HD Graphics 400 (Braswell), SanDisk DF4128, IPS, 1920x1200, 10.10
Power Consumption
-191%
1%
-67%
-570%
-435%
-87%
-77%
Idle Minimum *
1.9
5.9
-211%
1.7
11%
3.6
-89%
14.8
-679%
9.7
-411%
2.7
-42%
3
-58%
Idle Average *
2
7.7
-285%
1.7
15%
4.4
-120%
15.7
-685%
9.8
-390%
4.5
-125%
5.3
-165%
Idle Maximum *
2.9
8.6
-197%
3.3
-14%
4.6
-59%
15.8
-445%
11.8
-307%
5.7
-97%
6.4
-121%
Load Average *
8.6
18.2
-112%
7.9
8%
10
-16%
62.7
-629%
51.6
-500%
13.7
-59%
10.9
-27%
Load Maximum *
9.5
23.6
-148%
10.8
-14%
14.5
-53%
48.5
-411%
63.2
-565%
20.3
-114%
11
-16%

* ... smaller is better

Pros

+ able to sustain marginal Turbo Boost clock rates
+ expandable MicroSD and SATA storage
+ smooth 4K streaming
+ integrated VGA port
+ very power efficient
+ attractive design
+ firm build quality
+ remote included
+ inexpensive
+ fanless

Cons

- no Thunderbolt 3, DisplayPort, or optical-out
- MicroSD reader only - no full-size SD reader
- buyer pays for warranty shipping
- Windows Updates fail to install
- limited CPU and GPU power
- no vertical stand options
- could be smaller in size
- 1x1 WLAN

Verdict

In review: Chuwi GBox CWI560. Test model provided by Chuwi
In review: Chuwi GBox CWI560. Test model provided by Chuwi

For $200 USD, the Chuwi GBox nets you a fair amount of hardware. The system comes packed with soldered RAM, expandable storage, pre-installed Windows 10 Home, a remote, and Intel's new Gemini Lake platform for users who don't want to fiddle with barebone mini PCs. The Intel NUC, Zotac ZBox, and Gigabyte Brix series are often sold as barebone kits with higher price points once RAM, storage, and Windows are accounted for. Meanwhile, streaming devices like the Nvidia Shield lose out on the versatility of a Windows/Linux OS.

The most notable drawback of the GBox is similar to other Chuwi devices like the LapBook or Hi10 tablet. Processor performance is not as snappy as what users are accustomed to on desktops and most modern Ultrabooks. This is a machine for streaming, browsing, or word processing and not much else as any sort of light-to-moderate multi-tasking will result in skipped frames and noticeably slower loading.

Should there ever be a second-generation GBox, we'd hope for an integrated PSU with a USB Type-C charging adapter, a full-size SD reader, and a vertical orientation option.

For hassle-free home theater setups on a budget. If Android TV is unappealing, then the Chuwi GBox can get the job done as a basic Windows 10 HTPC. The low-power Celeron CPU limits multi-tasking performance to light loads only.

Pricecompare

Read all 2 comments / answer
static version load dynamic
Loading Comments
Comment on this article
Please share our article, every link counts!
> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Chuwi GBox CWI560 (Celeron N4100) Mini PC Review
Allen Ngo, 2018-09-25 (Update: 2019-02-27)