How I found a mini-PC at a flea market: a surprise that came in handy for daily work. What kind of device is this?

At first, I didn't believe it was a mini-PC, but after I picked it up, I realized — it was! The seller gave it to me for a ridiculous price: about 5 US dollars, so I had nothing to lose. I wouldn't have been upset even if it was empty or filled with water inside. But reality turned out to be much more interesting.

Getting to know the device

I realized that the mini-PC I rescued from the flea market is assembled based on standard (not quite, more on that later) components. Various Chinese companies produce devices with more or less similar configurations based on these components. On the internet, you can find similar, but not identical computers from different manufacturers by searching for "Z83 mini-PC".

My device had no special features. Just a black box. The only thing indicated on the case is the inscription Z83 on the front and Z83 Mini PC on the back.

Here are the model specifications:

• CPU: Intel® Atom™ x5-Z8300 (2M Cache, up to 1.84 GHz);

• GPU: Intel® HD Graphics;

• RAM: 2 GB DDR3;

• ROM: 32 GB eMMC;

• LAN: 10/100/1000;

• Wi-Fi: 2.4G + 5.8G;

• USB: 1 × USB 3.0, 2 × USB 2.0;

• Audio/Video: HDMI, Headphone Jack, SD card (up to 128 GB);

• Other: Bluetooth 4.0;

• OS: Windows 10.

As we can see, it's not much. The processor, although weak, is not the worst:

• architecture: Cherry Trail (14 nm);

• cores and threads: 4 cores, 4 threads;

• clock speed: 1.44 GHz (base), up to 1.84 GHz (turbo);

• L2 cache: 2 MB;

• TDP (thermal design power): 2 W;

• memory support: LPDDR3-1600, up to 2 GB;

• graphics core: Intel HD Graphics (Gen8-LP), up to 500 MHz;

• maximum display resolution: 2560 × 1600 at 60 Hz;

• instruction support: Intel 64, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, NX, VT-x, AES-NI;

• socket: BGA 592;

• release year: 2015.

The device supports dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4G and 5G), Bluetooth 4.0, and is equipped with Gigabit Ethernet for fast wired networking. For peripheral connections, there is one USB 3.0 port and two USB 2.0 ports. The Z83 supports 4K video output via the HDMI port, making it useful for home theaters and multimedia applications. Inside the case is a passive cooling system, making the device completely silent.

My mini-PC was also inserted into a VESA mount. This is a standard for monitors and TVs that allows them to be mounted on the wall or special brackets. Size — 12.7 × 12.7 cm.

And this is how the device looks inside — minimal modules. And it all works — and works well, I'll tell you about it below.

Z83, we have a problem!

When I brought it and connected it (of course, after opening the case and checking if it was flooded inside, if there were any signs of burnt components), the mini-PC gave an image. This surprised me: to be honest, I didn't expect the device to be working.

However, it loaded the previous owner's account. I couldn't reset the password, so I decided to reinstall Windows. Everything went well, Windows automatically loaded almost all the drivers except for audio and WiFi. I had to search for them by module ID on the network. Similarly, I did for audio, on the third attempt I found the correct option. But even without sound, I wouldn't be upset, since I wasn't going to listen to music. I needed my Z83 for other purposes — purely practical.

Missions are possible!

We figured out the connection — it's time to come up with tasks for the device. My hobby is electronics repair, until I got the mini-PC I used a weak laptop to connect a USB oscilloscope and a station for soldering large chips — processors and graphics cards.

The oscilloscope model is Hantek 6022be, nothing special, just basic functions. But I don't need any super advanced device. I use it to determine the presence of a signal in different parts of the board, that's all. It helps a lot, here is this beauty:

The laptop took up space on the desk, and I was happy to free it up by connecting all this to a new mini-PC. There were no problems with it, the USB oscilloscope was recognized, the driver was installed. The software worked as it should. You can scale parameters, switch modes, and so on. Here is a screenshot:

Connected the BGA station without any problems. Now I use it autonomously, placing it far from the mini-PC, so there is no screenshot of the interface.

Here are a few more tasks that my device can handle:

• Office: working with documents, email, browser. Through Mozilla Firefox, I searched for audio drivers, watched a video about the oscilloscope for testing. Everything works without any problems. Also loaded Google Docs — no lag.

• Home server: using it as a network storage (NAS) or file storage.

• Thin client: connecting to remote servers or workstations for corporate tasks.

• Light games: for simple games and emulators thanks to the built-in Intel HD graphics.

• Smart home management: as a hub for controlling IoT modules.

For all this, I am currently using a work laptop, but I plan to test these tasks on the Z83 as well — I might share the results in the next post.

Such surprises are sometimes found at flea markets. What electronic devices have you found at flea markets? Share in the comments, interesting!