Higole PC Stick review: The world's smallest PC stick has an Intel Celeron J4125, 8 GB RAM and a 128 GB SSD
The system's manufacturer is planning to launch the Higole PC Stick as the world's smallest PC stick via the platform Indiegogo. In this review, we will be taking a look at a pre-production model, which can basically already be seen as a final product in terms of the device's design and build. The PC stick is already available for purchase via the crowdfunding platform. At $149, our test configuration doesn't come in at too high a price. The mini PC has an Intel Celeron J4125, 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage. A model based on an Intel Celeron N4000 with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage space is available for $98, and the PC stick with an Intel Celeron J4125, 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage comes in in the middle at $129. Nevertheless, we were able to see a clear advantage in the device with 8 GB RAM when using Microsoft Windows 11 as an operating system. Alternatively, they support Linux - which should also perform well on the model with 4 GB of RAM due to the operating system's more undemanding nature.
Possible competitors compared
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57.2 % v7 (old) | 04 / 2023 | Higole PC Stick-J4125 Celeron J4125, UHD Graphics 600 | 108 g | 0.99 mm | |
v (old) | 07 / 2022 | Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico Celeron N6211, UHD Graphics (Elkhart Lake 16 EU) | 293 g | 20.7 mm | |
v (old) | 08 / 2021 | AC6-M Mini-PC Celeron J4125, UHD Graphics 600 | 58 mm | ||
v (old) | 02 / 2022 | Newsmay AC8 N6005 Pentium N6005, UHD Graphics (Jasper Lake 32 EU) | 534 g | 48 mm | |
| 65.9 % v7 (old) | 01 / 2023 | Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro Celeron N5095, UHD Graphics (Jasper Lake 16 EU) | 209 g | 43.5 mm | |
| 68.2 % v7 (old) | 03 / 2023 | Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95 N95, UHD Graphics 24EUs (Alder Lake-N) | 381 g | 47 mm |
The Higole PC Stick in detail
Case and features
The Higole PC Stick is indeed tiny, which makes it a clear winner when it comes to size. Weighing in at just a little over 100 grams, it is also very light. Its power adapter adds another 175 grams onto the scale - but still, very light in comparison. In its current state, the Higole PC Stick's build is good. Although upon further inspection, its surface isn't completely uniform. The device is made primarily of plastic. Both the front and back of the PC have a grooved structure in order to raise the amount of surface area the device has - which in turn helps to dissipate any heat coming off the SoC.
Connectivity
When it comes to external ports, the Hogole PC Stick is at a clear disadvantage. Even so, it still has 3 USB ports, which means that you can connect all the accessories you will likely need for everyday use. Unlike its competitors, this mini PC's HDMI port is a plug and not a socket, which means the PC stick can be plugged directly into the HDMI port of a monitor. Furthermore, it does have a card reader, but it can only be used with microSD cards. In our test, the connection only worked with USB 2.0 speed. Although, the comparison devices - with the exception of the Zotac ZBOX PI336 - didn't perform any better.
SD card reader
| SD Card Reader | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Average of class Mini PC (15.1 - 214, n=26, last 2 years) | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico (AV PRO MICROSD V60) | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125 (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| AC6-M Mini-PC (AV PRO MICROSD V60) | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| Average of class Mini PC (18.2 - 221, n=26, last 2 years) | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico (AV PRO MICROSD V60) | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125 (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| AC6-M Mini-PC (AV PRO MICROSD V60) | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
Communication
The Higole PC Stick is fitted with a Realtek Wi-Fi module. In our test, the wireless module performed well. However, it didn't quite achieve the results which are normally average with this module, according to previous tests in our database. We used an Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 as a test router for this test. Alternatively, you can also connect via Ethernet. Then, speeds of up to 1 GBit/s can be achieved.
Accessories
The PC comes with a USB-C power cable and a small HDMI adapter - in case you don't have the space to connect the device directly into your monitor's HDMI port. Unfortunately, this proved not to work very well in our test, as the cable was far too short. We decided to use our own HDMI adapter with two ports so we could use a regular HDMI cable. It would definitely make sense for an adapter like this to be included with the PC stick.
Performance
The Higole PC Stick's Intel Celeron J4125 is quite an economical SoC and is equipped with a passive cooling system. The mini PC also has 8 GB RAM and a 128 GB SSD.
Testing conditions
We left the system in its delivered state for all performance tests. We didn't make any changes to the SoC's power limits.
Processor
The Higole PC Stick is a relatively simple office PC and as a result of the performance on offer, can be recommended for undemanding, everyday tasks. The Intel Celeron J4125 is no longer classed as an up-to-date processor and this becomes apparent when you compare it to newer models' performances. Nevertheless, the SoC has four native processing cores with a clock rate of 2 GHz and offers the same performance as the Zotac ZBOX PI336. Compared to Newsmay's AC6-M, our test sample lost out by only 7%. In contrast, we saw a much bigger gap when comparing it to the NiPoGi GK3PLUS.
For further comparisons and benchmarks, take a look at our CPU comparison table.
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
| Performance Rating | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro | |
| AC6-M Mini-PC | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125 | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95 | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro | |
| AC6-M Mini-PC | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125 | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95 | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro | |
| AC6-M Mini-PC | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125 | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95 | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro | |
| AC6-M Mini-PC | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125 | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95 | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125 | |
| AC6-M Mini-PC | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95 | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
| AC6-M Mini-PC | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125 | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95 | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro | |
| AC6-M Mini-PC | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125 | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95 | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro | |
| AC6-M Mini-PC | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125 | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95 | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125 | |
| AC6-M Mini-PC | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95 | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro | |
| AC6-M Mini-PC | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125 | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95 | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro | |
| AC6-M Mini-PC | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125 | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95 | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
The Higole PC Stick in the Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
The passive cooling system was able to keep the Intel Celeron J4125 well under control during the Cinebench R15 loop and delivered a stable performance. However, a closer look revealed that the base clock rate of 2 GHz was only reached at the beginning. During the rest of the test, the SoC only had a clock rate of slightly more than 1.15 GHz.
System performance
The installed SoC's age became really apparent in the system benchmarks. Furthermore, the passive cooling system meant the Intel Celeron J4125 wasn't able to perform optimally. As a result, you shouldn't demand too much from the Higole PC Stick in everyday use - we wouldn't recommend multi-tasking. Nevertheless, the device's 8 GB RAM was well chosen.
| Performance Rating | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95, Intel Processor N95 | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro, Intel Celeron N5095 | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125, Intel Celeron J4125 | |
| CrossMark / Overall | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95, Intel Processor N95 | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro, Intel Celeron N5095 | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125, Intel Celeron J4125 | |
| CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95, Intel Processor N95 | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro, Intel Celeron N5095 | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125, Intel Celeron J4125 | |
| CrossMark / Creativity | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95, Intel Processor N95 | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro, Intel Celeron N5095 | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125, Intel Celeron J4125 | |
| CrossMark / Productivity | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95, Intel Processor N95 | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro, Intel Celeron N5095 | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125, Intel Celeron J4125 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
| Average of class Mini PC (8377 - 89287, n=113, last 2 years) | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| AC6-M Mini-PC | |
| Average Intel Celeron J4125 (12604 - 13833, n=4) | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125 | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95 | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
| Average of class Mini PC (8974 - 100086, n=113, last 2 years) | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125 | |
| AC6-M Mini-PC | |
| Average Intel Celeron J4125 (9928 - 10248, n=4) | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95 | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
| Average of class Mini PC (8762 - 100538, n=113, last 2 years) | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125 | |
| Average Intel Celeron J4125 (10347 - 10627, n=4) | |
| AC6-M Mini-PC | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95 | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125 | |
| Average of class Mini PC (44.9 - 184.8, n=113, last 2 years) | |
| AC6-M Mini-PC | |
| Average Intel Celeron J4125 (73.2 - 93.2, n=4) | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro | |
* ... smaller is better
DPC latency
We already saw increased latencies when opening several tabs using Edge browser. When playing the 4K YouTube test video, these latencies increased slightly again and we noticed that the SoC reached its limits during playback.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro, Intel Celeron N5095 | |
| AC6-M Mini-PC, Intel Celeron J4125 | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95, Intel Processor N95 | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005, Intel Pentium Silver N6005 | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125, Intel Celeron J4125 | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico, Intel Celeron N6211 | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage devices
Our review sample is equipped with an unknown storage device. We assume that the installed 128 GB is an EMMC storage. In the test, this provided adequate performance for everyday use. However, the Higole PC Stick was clearly unable to perform as well as its competitors. Only the Zotac ZBOX PI336 did slightly worse.
For further comparisons and benchmarks, take a look at our comparison table.
| Drive Performance Rating - Percent | |
| AC6-M Mini-PC | |
| Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95 | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125 | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
* ... smaller is better
Reading continuous performance: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
Graphics card
The integrated graphics unit in the Higole PC Stick is an Intel UHD Graphics 600, which is only really suitable for simple image output. The iGPU is not suitable for 3D applications. You can only really expect the simplest casual gaming from the iGPU.
More benchmarks for the Intel UHD Graphics 600 can be found here.
| 3DMark 05 Standard | 6084 points | |
| 3DMark 06 Standard Score | 3052 points | |
| 3DMark Vantage P Result | 1856 points | |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 632 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 13913 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 1932 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 277 points | |
Help | ||
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 37.5 | 9.7 | 5.5 | 5.2 |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 6.74 | 3.44 | 3.37 |
Emissions - silent and warm
Noise emissions
The Higole PC Stick is equipped with a passive cooling unit and uses the case's surface to cool the SoC. Thus, the device operates silently at all times.
Temperature
The Higole PC Stick's case heats up significantly due to its passive cooling method, which dissipates heat via the grooves in its case. However, a closer look at the SoC's temperature sensors during the stress test showed that this cooling was only partly sufficient at controlling the SoC. With a maximum temperature of 104 °C, the device reached very high temperatures and had to be throttled to avoid thermal damage. However, this high temperature was only reached at the beginning. On average, we noted much more comfortable temperatures of 86 °C. However, the SoC also only operates at 1.4 GHz.
Power consumption
In turn, the device's minimal cooling performance led to lower power consumption, as the mini PC was unable to work at full performance. Even at no load, the device only had a power consumption of 1.9 - 3.2 watts. This makes the Higole PC Stick much more economical than its competitors. At load, its power consumption was a little higher, but it only peaked at a mere 18.1 watts. On average, this small PC only uses about 11.3 watts. Its small power connector, which is able to deliver up to 36 watts, didn't struggle at any point.
| Off / Standby |   0.6 / 0.5 Watt |
| Idle |  1.9 / 1.9 / 3.2 Watt |
| Load |
11.3 / 18.1 Watt |
    
| |
Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Metrahit Energy | |
| Higole PC Stick-J4125 Celeron J4125, UHD Graphics 600 | Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico Celeron N6211, UHD Graphics (Elkhart Lake 16 EU) | Minipc Union Ace Magician T8Pro Celeron N5095, UHD Graphics (Jasper Lake 16 EU) | Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95 N95, UHD Graphics 24EUs (Alder Lake-N) | Average Intel UHD Graphics 600 | Average of class Mini PC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | -86% | -204% | -151% | -83% | -433% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 1.9 | 5.4 -184% | 8.4 -342% | 6.1 -221% | 3.47 ? -83% | 9.54 ? -402% |
| Idle Average * | 1.9 | 5.5 -189% | 8.4 -342% | 6.9 -263% | 5.61 ? -195% | 11.7 ? -516% |
| Idle Maximum * | 3.2 | 6.2 -94% | 11.1 -247% | 8.9 -178% | 6.6 ? -106% | 15.1 ? -372% |
| Load Average * | 11.3 | 11.3 -0% | 16.5 -46% | 20 -77% | 13.6 ? -20% | 59.1 ? -423% |
| Load Maximum * | 18.1 | 11.8 35% | 26.3 -45% | 21.1 -17% | 20.2 ? -12% | 100.3 ? -454% |
* ... smaller is better
Power consumption with external monitor
Pros
Cons
Verdict - an extremely compact PC for easy, everyday tasks
The Higole PC Stick is an extremely compact PC fitted with a quad-core SoC using an Intel Celeron J4125 - which is well suited for simple applications. With 8 GB RAM, we were able to take a look at the compact computing powerhouse in its best configuration. Even though the SoC doesn't have large performance reserves, we welcomed the step to install 8 GB of RAM. The Zotac ZBOX PI336I only has 4 GB of RAM, which will likely become noticeable in everyday use. The advantages of its compactness are clear - although other mini PCs also deliver adequate performance and can also be attached to a screen via a VESA mount. So, those who are wanting to buy a PC stick are likely wanting to use it for a specific purpose. The Higole PC Stick also has very low power consumption. However, we don't really see it being suitable for streaming, as its DPC latencies are simply too high. The mini PC also reaches its limits when playing 4K content, which means you will have to be content with Full HD or HD videos.
On the other hand, its connectivity is good, but it is still much more limited than its competitors due to its compact size. Its wireless connection rates also didn't set any new records, but the Higole PC Stick still did well in comparison. Its SSD unfortunately proves to be a bit of a let-down that you will have to live with, because 128 GB is not much and it can't be expanded either. In view of this, we would recommend the Higole PC Stick as seen in our test configuration. We are a little critical of its alternative configurations with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage space - especially if Windows is used as the operating system.
The Higole PC Stick is an extremely compact mini PC. Drawbacks include its weak cooling system, which leads to the SoC performing somewhat poorly.
We have not yet tested direct competitors with the same construction. An alternative choice would be the Morefine M1K. It offers similar features and the price is similar to that of the Higole PC Stick. The Newsmay AC6-M is also a good alternative based on the same SoC due to its extremely compact design.
Price and availability
Currently, you can only purchase the Higole PC Stick via Indiegogo. The version we tested can be had for $149.
Transparency
The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was given to the author by the manufacturer free of charge for the purposes of review. There was no third-party influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. We never accept compensation or payment in return for our reviews. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
This is how Notebookcheck is testing
Every year, Notebookcheck independently reviews hundreds of laptops and smartphones using standardized procedures to ensure that all results are comparable. We have continuously developed our test methods for around 20 years and set industry standards in the process. In our test labs, high-quality measuring equipment is utilized by experienced technicians and editors. These tests involve a multi-stage validation process. Our complex rating system is based on hundreds of well-founded measurements and benchmarks, which maintains objectivity. Further information on our test methods can be found here.
Higole PC Stick-J4125
- 04/19/2023 v7 (old)
Sebastian Bade
