After a long wait, my Nvidia Shield finally arrived... Pick whatever name you want for this thing—it’s basically a whole new breed of device in the TV box world. While Android TV boxes have been ruling the roost, they've now got some serious competition from a new wave of Intel Atom Bay Trail based devices priced around $100. It makes them pretty tempting for the average user—think stuff like the Android Tablet, Amazon Fire Tablet, Generic Mini PC, or Nvidia Shield... Microsoft deciding to slash the price of Windows 8.1 licenses for tablets and cheap laptops really just lit a fire under these new gadgets. I'd bet anything that Windows-based TV boxes and HDMI sticks are going to define the home gadget scene this year.
Before I dive in, a quick thanks to www.geekbuying.com for getting me in on the first batch. There was a bit of a hiccup due to massive demand and manufacturers struggling to keep up with all the retailers, but things seem to be stabilizing now, with units shipping out from overseas to the rest of the world.
I won't say too much about the manufacturer, Pipo. They've been around our market for years selling Android (and increasingly Windows) tablets. I've personally owned a few of their tablets, and they're solid, reliable pieces of gear. In fact, I still use a three-year-old Samsung Galaxy Tab for gaming and tinkering... it still works great, though the battery is definitely on its last legs.
Alright, let's get into the Nvidia Shield!
Box on the table, unboxing excitement:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn3Gk0eA1eE
1. The PackageStandard packaging, though the box was a bit bigger than I expected. It clearly took a bit of a beating during transit—slightly dented—but the contents were untouched. Inside, besides the glorious TV box itself, you just get a power adapter and a warranty card. No usual bells and whistles you'd expect from Chinese brands... not even a basic 8-inch HDMI cable. That initial disappointment fades pretty fast when I remember I paid exactly $95 for this little PC. Clearly, the maker wanted to stay under that $100 mark, so they cut out the extras we rarely use anyway. Everything needed to get running is there, minus the HDMI cable. So, if you're ordering one, just make sure you grab an HDMI cable too. And obviously, to actually use this thing, you'll need a wireless keyboard and mouse. Or, in my case, a Logitech K400... a slightly pricier choice, but much cleaner looking.
The power adapter is 12V 2.4A and looks a bit chunky. Maybe they should have built it into the chassis, but it's likely external to keep heat away from the unit, which relies on passive cooling through vents in the aluminum shell rather than a fan. I'm not a fan of how the charger came with a US plug and a US adapter instead of being native... feels a bit clunky, and I worry about it slipping out of the socket if I bump it. A bit of a sloppy fix, but manageable.
The aluminum casing feels high-quality, and the material should help pull heat away from the internals, so overheating shouldn't be much of an issue.
2. Nvidia Shield SpecsChipset: Intel Atom Bay Trail quad core processor with Intel HD graphics (Z3736F). I've been using a similar chip for a year in an Asus T100A hybrid, and I haven't had any complaints regarding speed or stability.
RAM... 2 GB of DDR3. Just like my first point—Windows 8.1 runs fine with 2GB of RAM, even when multitasking. Things like MS Word, Chrome, and Total Commander all run without any stuttering or lag... I haven't tried running AutoCAD or anything that heavy, obviously, but that’s not really what this box was built for. I'll try some Facebook stuff and a few basic 3D games later on—we'll see how it holds up then...
Storage... It’s got 32 GB of eMMC plus a micro SD slot that goes up to 32GB—though I've heard some people claim it can handle 64GB... After installing Windows 8.1 and running all the updates, you're left with about 16GB of free space, which should be plenty for basic stuff—especially if you toss in a microSD card for extra room. I didn't have a 64GB card on hand, just a 32GB one, so I can't personally vouch for whether the 64GB works like the reviews say it does. Did I mention Windows boots up in maybe 10 seconds?...
Video & audio output... It's got HDMI 1.4 and a 3.5mm jack. Since there's a standard HDMI output, finding a cable shouldn't be an issue—easy enough... As for the audio quality, I can't really say much—I don't have the gear to test it properly beyond just plugging it into the TV. Besides, I've never exactly had a golden ear for sound nuances...
Connectivity... It's got 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi (Realtek RTL8723BS), Bluetooth 4.0, and a 10/100 Ethernet port. I hooked mine up via Ethernet and didn't run into any of those Wi-Fi headaches... though I should mention the port only supports 10/100—no Gigabit support here...
It’s got four USB 2.0 ports—honestly, I really wish they'd thrown in at least one USB 3.0 port... But then again, whenever I start nitpicking this thing, I just have to remind myself of my own mantra from earlier: "This miracle device only costs 100 bucks." They had to cut corners somewhere...
Everything else... Power button... plus a one-year Office 365 subscription...
OS... It’s running Windows 8.1 with Bing—32-bit. It's actually activated... I heard some talk that the OS wouldn't come pre-activated, but I checked and it's all good. The price jumped about twenty bucks from the original $90, apparently because Microsoft wants an extra activation fee... since this specific device doesn't qualify for their usual free Windows activation.
The Amazon Fire Tablet—performance, apps, and the UI...The best part about booting up this Amazon Fire Tablet is honestly just how fast it hits the desktop—we’re talking maybe 10 seconds from hitting power to seeing the Windows 8.1 interface... If you're coming from a standard PC or laptop running a traditional hard drive, the speed jump is pretty massive. It’s all thanks to that eMMC storage where the OS lives. Think of eMMC as a slightly slower cousin to the SSDs everyone uses now—both rely on memory chips rather than spinning platters, if that makes any sense at all... 🙂
I'm still getting a kick out of how fast this Asus T100A boots up—even after a year of using it. Honestly, having a machine ready to go in about ten seconds is such a win... even those Android boxes can't really touch it.
I won't even bother mentioning the usual bloatware you get with these kinds of devices—you know, that typical Android mess... There's really nothing to say there. This just runs a clean Windows 8.1 OS with Bing as the search engine. And, naturally, it comes with a year-long trial of Microsoft Office 365...
First thing I did after all those updates was grab Kodi 14.1, VLC, Total Commander, and Chrome—my standard survival kit for any fresh Windows install... Everything went smoothly, though...
Kodi is running smooth—no stuttering or crashes so far. I'll share more once I get around to those video tests I've got planned for a few days from now...
I won't get too deep into the whole Metro interface debate—it’s one of those things where people either love it or hate it... To be honest, I never really saw the point of using it on a standard desktop or laptop. On tablets and smartphones, though? It's clearly the perfect design, and that's exactly where TV boxes are heading now. Those tiles look great on a big LED screen, making Windows much easier to navigate from the couch. That said, I did install Classic Shell just so I can still access the traditional desktop when I need to dig into system settings or install stuff. But for everyday use on my Amazon Fire Tablet as a media center, the Metro interface is just spot on...
5. PerformanceLike I mentioned before, everything runs smooth—no stuttering at all. Of course, you have to keep in mind what kind of device this actually is. The Amazon Fire Tablet is basically just a Roku Ultra meant for home entertainment... watching videos, listening to music, streaming, browsing, maybe some light gaming... nothing crazy.
I'll have more to say about heat once I run some actual game tests. So far, it feels slightly warm to the touch, but nothing close to overheating. Honestly, I don't get too hung up on benchmark scores—I care more about how things feel during everyday use...
When running Kodi, the Windows + Kodi combo seems a bit snappier—and more stable—than the Android + Kodi setup.
For the video test, I'll play a few 720p and 1080p clips. H265 decoding isn't working on this unit yet, looks like a driver issue... I'll run that test once I track down a sample file.
That Task Manager screenshot was taken right in the middle of installing a mountain of updates.