Skip to main content

Windows PC on a stick? Intel suggests it’s possible, and coming soon to a store near you

intel teases mysterious stick pc for 2015 launch usb
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Mobile phone manufacturers might still support the bigger is better motto, but in the PC world, things seem to be evolving the other way around. Desktops shrink by the day, all-in-ones are a popular thing, and mini-PCs from Maingear, GigabyteZotac, and others somehow keep evolving in performance while shrinking faster than your favorite shirt in a dryer.

There’s ridiculous and then there’s outrageous, however. Computer World reports that during its latest Santa Clara investor conference, Intel brought an innocent-looking flash drive on stage that aims to “borrow” the ingenious concepts behind Amazon’s Fire TV Stick or Google’s Chromecast — and take them to the next level.

Recommended Videos

At the moment, Intel’s “stick PC” is probably very much a work in progress. Otherwise, the processor maker would have detailed it a little instead of just revealing vague features and capabilities. But it could definitely see daylight in 2015, and accommodate Windows in the tiniest package ever.

Could it be a Windows PC in a stick, however? We’re speculating, of course, as Intel senior VP Kirk Skaugen merely compared the prototype with Dell’s Wyse Cloud Connect, saying it would plug into the HDMI port of a TV or monitor “and bring intelligence to that.” Surely, Intel isn’t thinking of flashing Android onto the stick PC, as Dell did with the Cloud Connect? Probably. Hopefully not, though. Don’t do it, Intel, it’d be extremely disappointing.

The million-dollar question is how much horsepower could one shoehorn into a thumb-sized computer? And storage? You need a lot of it for Windows 8.1. Most Android-based dongles barely carry dual-core, low-power ARM chips, 512MB or 1GB RAM, and 8GB internal space.

Meanwhile, the Fire TV Stick and Chromecast are even more rudimentary, acting squarely as pee-wee media streaming players with little brains or muscle of their own. Bottom line, we applaud Intel’s initiative, but perhaps you should keep your expectations low. It seems unlikely a 4.0 × 1.5 × 0.5 inch drive will completely replace your primary PC anytime soon.

Adrian Diaconescu
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Adrian is a mobile aficionado since the days of the Nokia 3310, and a PC enthusiast since Windows 98. Later, he discovered…
Intel Battlemage GPU: everything we know so far
Intel Arc A770 GPU installed in a test bench.

Despite a rocky start, Intel's Arc GPUs are now among the best graphics cards you can buy. Targeting budget PC gamers, Intel has established itself as a major player in gaming graphics cards, and all eyes are on Team Blue with its next generation of GPUs, codenamed Battlemage.

We know Battlemage GPUs are coming, and Intel has slowly been dropping hints about the graphics cards over the past year. Although we're still waiting on an official release date, specs, and pricing details for Battlemage GPUs, there's a lot we can piece together already.
Intel Battlemage: specs

Read more
Spotify vs. Pandora: which streaming service should you choose?
spotify vs pandora on iphone

Let's settle a musical debate: which music streaming platform should you use: Spotify or Pandora?

Both services have their unique strengths and weaknesses. Spotify boasts a more extensive music catalog, robust social features for sharing and discovering music with friends, and a more polished user experience across devices.

Read more
Ryzen AI nearly hits 60 fps in Black Myth: Wukong, but it’s not that simple
OneXFly F1 Pro gamig handheld.

Although AMD APUs appear in some of the best gaming handhelds, the latest Strix Point chips are still hard to find in new releases. However, the new OneXFly F1 Pro gamin handheld is making its debut with the Ryzen AI HX 370 chip in tow, and according to a benchmark in Black Myth: Wukong, it managed to average an impressive 58 frames per second (fps) at a 15-watt thermal design power (TDP). That's an impressive result, but digging deeper reveals that AAA gaming on the go is still not without any sacrifice.

The OneXFly F1 Pro comes with the Ryzen AI HX 370, which sports a total of 12 cores -- four Zen 5 and eight Zen 5c -- as well as 24 threads. The maximum boost clock on the Zen 5 cores reaches 5.1GHz, but the smaller Zen 5c maxes out at 3.3GHz. The default TDP was rated at 28 watts, but it can be configured between 15W and 54W. For an APU, the AI HX 370 delivers solid graphics capabilities, as it's equipped with the AMD Radeon 890M. It also sports a 7-inch OLED screen with a refresh rate of 144Hz.

Read more