The Rikomagic MK36S is Rikomagic’s latest Windows 10 PC and their first using Intel’s new X5-X8300 Cherry Trail processor. It also features 2GB RAM, 32GB of storage, dual band Wifi and fast Ethernet. I’ve gone hands-on to test it out and see how it performs.
I want to say thanks to Rikomagic for sending me a sample to review
Check Price at AliExpressRikomagic MK36S Technical Specifications
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What’s Inside The Box?
Inside the box, you get:
- 1x Rikomagic MK36S unit
- 1x HDMI cable
- 1x Power Adapter
- 1x Instruction Manual
Rikomagic MK36S Impressions
The Rikomagic MK36S looks identical to its predecessor, the Rikomagic MK36. The unit’s faceted design and “brushed metal”-style top plate looks fantastic.
In terms of ports, they’re all located on the right and back of the unit. On the back, there’s a Kensington lock port, micro SD card slot, 2 fullsize USB 2.0 ports, HDMI out, Ethernet and DC In.
The right side houses the power button, USB 3.0 port, another USB 2.0 port and a headphone jack.
The Rikomagic MK36S is powered up via the power button. A cold boot takes around 13 seconds whilst waking from standby is essentially instant.
The Rikomagic MK36S comes with Windows 10 Home. It’s activated and completely stock. There’s a single 28.6GB C:/ drive that had 19.6GB free out of the box.
As with the Tronsmart Ara X5, the Intel X5-Z8300 handles Windows 10 really well. Navigating through Windows was great and opening up a few apps and browser windows were fine.
I installed Kodi 15.2 to quickly test out video playback. Both my 1080p H.264 and HEVC samples played back well thanks to the improved codec support in Intel’s Cherry Trail processors. Automatic framerate switching also worked fine, switching when I tried to play back 24Hz videos.
Streaming via Wifi was fine, with 1080p and 4K H.264 videos streaming from my server’s NFS share without any noticeable buffering.
Gaming performance was quickly tested using Beach Buggy Racing at 1080p on Maximum settings. Gameplay was typically around the 25-30fps, sitting under 30fps most of the time. I’ll need to check if there’s new graphics drivers available to see if they’ll improve the performance.
Thermal performance seems to be solid so far. After 30 minutes of stress testing using HeavyLoad, HWiNFO reported that the SoC temperature levelled out at 81°C with no signs of thermal throttling. Ambient temperature was 20.5°C.
Verdict So Far
The Rikomagic MK36S is definitely showing a lot of promise. It handles Windows 10 well, Kodi performance seems to be good and there didn’t appear to be any thermal throttling during my stress testing. At $140, it’s shaping up to be a solid Windows mini PC.
Getting One
The Rikomagic MK36S is available from Rikomagic for around $140.
Check Price at AliExpressAlternatively, it’s also available from GearBest and Amazon.