When comparing Wintel CX-W8 vs Tronsmart Ara X5 Plus, the Slant community recommends Tronsmart Ara X5 Plus for most people. In the question“What are the best HTPCs under $100?” Tronsmart Ara X5 Plus is ranked 1st while Wintel CX-W8 is ranked 4th. The most important reason people chose Tronsmart Ara X5 Plus is:
This box delivers 50 Mbps of download speed and 20 Mbps of upload speed over Wi-Fi. To extend its Wi-Fi coverage, it comes with an attachable Wi-Fi antenna.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Pre-installed with two operating systems
Wintel W8 gives you the ability to have Android and Windows operating systems at the same time. You can play games on the Windows OS or switch to the Android to run Android apps.
Pro Storage can be expanded
This unit comes with a 32 GB internal storage which can be extended using a microSD card.
Pro You can play games on it
While you won’t be able to run newer, more demanding games, this machine is powerful enough to run less resource-challenging games like Team Fortress 2, Minecraft, League of Legends, etc.
Pro Good performance
This unit has no problems with playing HD videos, whether it’s on YouTube, Netflix, VLC, or Windows Media Player.
Pro Decent Wi-Fi performance
This box delivers 50 Mbps of download speed and 20 Mbps of upload speed over Wi-Fi. To extend its Wi-Fi coverage, it comes with an attachable Wi-Fi antenna.
Pro Built-in Cortana app works as your personal assistant
By using the Cortana application you can set reminders and get answer to simple questions using voice commands. You can even ask it to tell you a joke.
Pro Comes pre-installed with a fully licensed Windows 10 OS
You won't have to go trough the process of buying a Windows license and setting up an OS to use this device.
Pro The box is silent
Since there's no fan for this device, it doesn't make any noise.
Pro Can add more storage
This unit has a microSD slot and a USB port, so you can add more storage to the already existing 32GB of internal storage.
Pro Great media quality
This unit has no problem with playing 1080p and Blu-Ray videos at 60 frames per second.
Cons
Con Poor Wi-Fi connectivity
You may lose the Wi-Fi connection if the box is about 30 feet away from your router.
Con Windows OS isn’t activated
You must purchase a license in order to activate the Windows OS. It costs $119.99 at the Windows store.
Con The big antenna is unattractive
This unit has a tall and bulky Wi-Fi antenna. This also makes it harder to hide this unit behind your TV.
Con Memory can’t be upgraded
Since RAM is hard-wired to the motherboard, it is not possible to add more memory.
Con Slow when multitasking
This is mainly because it has only 2GBs of RAM. It will still handle a dozen web browser tabs, but you should avoid doing other demanding tasks simultaneously.