EC DREAM A9 Chocolate TV Stick Intel Apollo Lake N3350 2GB/32GB 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 1x1mimo Bluetooth 4.0 USB 3.0

[trebor]

Specification

General	Item name:A9 TV-Stick Model: A9 Quantity: 1 Piece Color:Black
Hardware	CPU: Intel® Apollo Lake N3350 : up to 2.2Ghz, 1/2 Quad Core14nm = 2 L2 Cache: Supports Intel® Burst Technology, Supports 2MB of L2 Cache Operation System: Supports Windows 10 Processor Base Frequency: 1.1GHz Burst Frequency: 2.4GHz Instruction Set: 64 bit Grpahics Processor: Intel® HD Graphics 500 Grpahics Base Frequency: 200 MHz Grpahics Burst Frequency: 700 MHz SDRAM Memory: LPDDR3-1600MHz, up to 1867MHz 2GB EMMC:32GB
Communication	Wireless /Bluetooth: Intel Stone Peak AC3165 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 1x1 MIMO and Bluetooth 4.0 Combo Module
Interface	Micro USB Port: 1 for power supply USB A type: 2 x USB 3.0 Port HDMI Output: 1*HDMI 1.4 Micro SD Slot: Yes HDMI Cable: Standard port
Other Features	Silent Cooling Fan: Yes Intel Wireless Display: Yes Power Adpater: 100~240V, 50/60Hz,5V/3A
Dimension & Weight	Product size 125*58*16mm Product weight: 230g
Package Contents	1 x TVstick 1 x HDMI cable 1 x Power adapter(A right AC Adapter will be sent according to your shipping country) 1 x User manual

Geekbuying

[Gormar]

Small correction. This is Intel N3350 SoC which is dual core.

[trebor]

Let's have a closer look at the
ECDREAM A9 TV Stick Intel Apollo Lake N3350 2GB/32GB 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 1x1mimo Bluetooth 4.0 USB 3.0
As seen else where a full and Indepth review in this thread, We will continue on with the overview.

For a stick it is chunky/big Weight close to 100 grams, 130 x 60 x 15mm so not sure how well that will hang out of a HDMI port.
supplied with a small male female HDMI cable as shown 100mm, as mentioned some place maybe a female HDMI on stick would have been better
Also supplied with a 3 Amp 5volt usb power pack, so no using the USB on the telly as most are only rated 1 Amp or so.

What's In the Box as mentioend.

Top Side

Bottom Side

Power Button, Reset, USb Power 5v 3 Amps, USB 3

USB 3, TF Card

HDMI Port

And what I just mentioned Sheet

Ok to the power up etc...

Unit was using 1~2 watts idle not switched on
So far has peaked to about 11 watts presently 6 ~ 8 watts fan cutting in and out.

An attempt to plug Stick into HDMI ports failed due to other HDMI ports in use.
I Used a Long HDMI cable and on the bench, short cable would have been fine behind TV and dangle,
Wanted to see and hear in case of melt down etc.

Powered up few seconds starts the boot...
Get to Windows, setup language, and locale
Uncheck as in switch off all the info MS$ wants(even tho there is more), give it a name, Cortana pops in ok.
And Into Windows...

Now to Cleanup and remove all junk from start, set dark themes, setup network easy and quick,
Login into MS account go for insides, activate windows
Logout login, start the update, with defender, turn UAC off and smart screen,
Load a few basic apps to get things started, and finally will do the update and then in for some testing etc.

Fan was silent for awhile then this little screamer started and it is loud.
Unit warm to handle will check temps etc a little later currently cutting in and out while updating

So the startup up so far all good no major hiccups.
Do a scan to keep defender happy and continue with updates then we will start

More to come

[Gormar]

There might be two versions of this stick PC. Which one did you get: N3350 (dual core) or N3450 (quad core)?
I haven't seen second option anywhere.

Test of N3350 model.

[bluesmanuk]

There might be two versions of this stick PC. Which one did you get: N3350 (dual core) or N3450 (quad core)?
I haven't seen second option anywhere.

Test of N3350 model.

All of the review sites are stating N3350, including the recent one on CNX.

The official EC Dream site states N3450.

So right now it would appear that the manufacturer themselves doesn't know their own product, which would, on the surface seem like an epic fail, or a con.

Either way, until somebody has their hands on an N3450 model, all descriptions should reflect what is actually available.

[trebor]

This is a Dual Core, 3350 not sure if just a typo error in description, as we know can happen a lot.
But I will say for a 2/32 and Windows it does do it rather well, the fan being on the same bench as me has that new fan scream, the ears tune it out or I am going deaf.
I think at a distance behind a TV may not be so annoying.
Test up soon for a stick I like it.

[trebor]

I gave the EC Dream a good 10 hours yesterday non stop, and seem to do as expected well.
Performance was good I thought for a 2/32, bench test show there are not WOW look at that ( for what they are worth), and it was never going to happen. Is what it is.

As mentioned all activated and updated to the latest, Win10
I dropped the insider's update and just let it be Windows for now.

Netflix I did for a few hours nice and easy, installed Plex also easy.
WiFi speeds no problems, did well.
Used a Logitech K400 easy, into the 4k Telly Sony and it was all very smooth, Unlike the early days of these Intel devices. it all seemed to work OK..

Now down to the Business end ot the deal













The Last test done was with CrystalDiskMark Image test Windows store version of the program.
You can notice the difference in performance reading from the first C:drive as compared to Last C:drive.

[trebor]

And a little bit more....
Passmark Performance test Ok




Torture Time 12 minutes In Not much happening taking it well

Click for larger Image

17 minutes not much of a change, well think that's enough.
Fairly Quick recovery time.

Click for larger image

An Overview of the EC DREAM A9 N3350 2GB/32GB 802.11 Bluetooth 4.0 USB 3.0

Test show that its OK, works and performs and that is most of the battle over.
I think the tests shows it's a capable unit.

The Cmos is a mind field of settings and as mentioned in another review easy to make a brick if you don't know what the deal is.
Simple rule Not broken Don't fix it..

Good little unit for a first time PC user to get started, handle Office, Internet, and Basic Gaming,
Carry around it your pocket just need a HDMI Port and a power socket and you away.

Netflix easy as alway on Windows, and should deal with most people's Video habits.

Will plug directly into a HDMI port maybe a little double sided tape to support if needed.

More testing and fiddling as time permits, and the fan, well small fan small space.

Thanks to Geekbuying for the opportunity for a bit of show and tell.

[trebor]

Forgot to Mention as you .....
Connected to BT speaker easy and a bit of YouTube 4k
Fan gets annoying, easy pump up the volume

[trebor]

Bit more to do thought I would get creative and do the Windows Creators Update
we will see how that goes in awhile



Bit of a coupon from Geekbuying
GKBECDA9. and the final price should be be $113.99.

[trebor]

After the Creators Update you will notice that the remaining space on the C: Drive will be down to about 6gig free only but don't Panic there is an easy solution.


Disk Cleanup is your friend as the Creators update is pretty solid and will not give you any grief,
You can removed the Previous install of Windows or Old windows

Goto Disk Cleanup the Click on Cleanup system Files and select all.
as seen by above we are back to about 14GB free...

This works well for the current Creators Update for Window 10, but in saying that, have a good fiddle with you system before you delete Old Windows
Also make sure you backup you windows key many apps to be found to find your key, there is a one listed here in Freaktab I recall.
Should not need to worry about backing up drivers etc WIN10 Is pretty good of late and finds it all, but again in the mentioned link there are tools mentioned to backup drivers.

Also to get a little more performance for these smaller units.
Goto System Properties, Performance, check custom, and disable the lot except smooth edge on screen fonts,
stops a lot of the unnecessary things from wasting resources.