CompuLab FIT-PC2 Linux Nettop PC
The CompuLab FIT-PC2 Linux Nettop PC is perfect for those who are on the go. Equipped with an Intel ATOM Z530 processor, 1GB of DDR2 memory, and a 160GB hard drive, this tiny PC comes pre-loaded with the Ubuntu Linux operating system; a community developed operating system that’s perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. Whether you use it at home, at school or at work Ubuntu contains all the applications you’ll ever need, from word processing and email applications, to web server software and programming tools.
I’m really happy with this little thing, but only rated it 3 stars because it didn’t live up to its claims for being a HTPC (Home Theater PC). The HDMI output was high quality in terms of resolution, but stuttered and jerked. The onboard graphics just doesn’t have what it needs to drive video streaming. But…that’s not what I bought it for, so that didn’t bother me much, other than the fact that this is supposed to be one of the prime usages for this PC.
I wanted something small (it is REALLY small) with WiFi that I could put out of the way in my house. I use it as a monitor and controller of my other machines. Though it is advertised as having wireless “g”, mine came with full-blown wireless “n”, and it works very well. Maybe this is a late upgrade to the product, but it was an unexpected bonus. It runs hot, but it’s supposed to (passive cooling with a cast aluminum case — no fan). I installed Windows 7 on it and it runs like a champ with only 1GB of RAM.
Other things…
For some reason, it doesn’t support wakeup after hibernation. Creating scheduled tasks and marking them as “Wake the computer to run this task” doesn’t work. It supports hibernation, but you can’t wake it up (like I can any other PC I have). I like to set up all of my PCs to hibernate at night and wake up in the morning. Can’t do it with this one.
Because this is a custom board, RAM is soldered on and not upgradeable. Don’t buy one thinking you will upgrade RAM to 2GB. With Windows 7, however, 1GB is plenty…but keep this in mind. You can upgrade the hard drive, however. I didn’t need to, but if you want more than 160GB, you can.
The last thing I wanted to mention are the two mini-USB ports on the front. They are a little weird. Of course, no device plugs into a PC with a mini-USB plug, they all have USB-A. You can buy adapters (I bought the two official ones available on Amazon) but you may have a surprise if you expect to use these two front ports for a USB mouse and keyboard. One of the ports supports USB 1.1/2.0, and the other only supports USB 2.0. This means that only one of your two devices (USB keyboards and mice are USB 1.1) will be detected. Lastly, there’s not a lot of current in these ports, so you may need a double-headed USB cable if you want to hook up an external USB hard drive.
So there you have it. I guess it sounds like I’m not happy with it, but that’s not true: I love it. If nothing else, you can amaze your friends with it — they won’t believe it’s really a PC. It’s not without it’s quirks and limitations, but with something this small, there are tradeoffs. Just don’t buy it as a HTPC.
The Fit PC came with Ubuntu 8.04 and RTlinux on it. Really spunky machine. Out of the box the Wifi and ethernet worked with no problems. The only gotcha was the video interface HDMI->Digital, the only spare monitor I had was the old VGA Analog. I bought an adapter and all is well. Don’t forget to keep this little machine well ventilated because it creates some heat. For a small box, it does a good job.
This machine is the final result of two years of searching for the right machine:
I wanted a low-cost, low-consumption pc able to work as file server and music box. I got even more: Running Linux I can use it as a music player (running mpd and some remote clients on my iPhone and Laptop for controlling), a media center (connecting it to a HD-TV) and a file server. I can control almost everything with an IR-remote control. With its hardware acceleration i can even play 1080p videos! Next step will probably be to get myself an USB-DVB tuner to turn the machine into a digital video recorder – just everything.
In Fact, i just threw out my desktop pc. Only laptop and fit pc here.
Also: No fans, no mechanical parts except for the hard drive. And the quality seems perfect, too.