What will you do with this machine? If you're going to play yesterday's bigger games, or today's moderate ones, then this computer has everything you need. (Hopefully) No one is trying to get a gaming computer for under 300 that's serious about gaming (because they know what price point it takes). At most I might do some light video and audio editing, as well as VTTRPG (Roll 20), and though these might take *some* juice to run, they don't take a lot.Pros (+) and Cons (-)++ Firepower: As long as you're not pushing for high end gaming, this thing is a powerhouse. Civ 6 (with an end game save - full world revealed and tons of units) ran so smoothly, it was impressive. A/V processing is going to be easy with this thing.++ Size: It's not a laptop but it's HIGHLY portable, easy to take to a friend's house or some friendly environment where you may have access to a display and electricity.+ Easy to upgrade: I haven't tried it yet, but one reviewer's vid definitely makes it something I'll attempt within the next month or two. I'm adding a 1 or 2 TB SSD.= One reviewer said Windows 11 wasn't the real deal, but when I clicked activate, it did just that. I was already signed into Microsoft, so that *may* have had something to do with it, but I just verified that (as far as Windows is reporting) it's legit.- Port layout: It's not worth a deduction, but the Type C output is on the front and things are a little cramped; and some of us prefer an audio output on the back, but those are small knocks.=== UPDATE: I've had this machine for 3 months now. ===++ I dropped in a 2TB SSD, it was even easier than I thought it'd be. There's a couple of reviews on YouTube and one of them showed how easy it was to upgrade.+ Bluetooth is relatively flawless.I stand by my original assessment of its firepower. I regularly run this thing with a total of 15+ Chrome tabs open, at least one playing a video for music in the background, Google Chat + Meeting, recording the meeting with a third party app and playing Roll20 with its own, and this thing ain't sweating.= I no longer let Apps control the "Game Mode" Power option as it did some wonky stuff with the video if you have dual display. Once I tweaked it and told it to stop switching power on and off, it was less irritating. It would ramp up the power output, turning on the fan. The fan is somewhat quiet, but since I was used to no noise, even under a moderate workload, it was a little disconcerting.So far, this machine has exceeded my expectations, especially for the price point. I'll come back later on and let you know what happens.
