ASUS VivoMini VC66 Mini PC

General Specs

 * Model Number:VC66-CB5018ZN
 * Processor: Intel i5-8400 - 6-core
 * Memory:
 * Graphics:
 * Chipset Type:
 * Release Year: 2017

General Comments
This is a really nice machine. It's rare to find a mini-PC with a full-power CPU (rather than a mobile CPU), let alone two 2.5" SATA drive bays, Intel UHD graphics and an Intel GbE NIC. (It even has a serial port.)  FWIW, the i5-8400 is 6-core and does _not_ have hyperthreading. :)
 * Report by Alex Taylor

The pre-installed HDD (Win 10 Home) is GPT, obviously, but I added a brand new 2.5" SSD (Crucial MX-500) in the second bay. It was necessary to add /!U to OS2AHCI from preboot to get it recognized, then wipe it using the Disk Utility.  After that there were no issues installing ArcaOS.  NIC driver (E1000B), USBXHCD and UniAud were all detected and preselected.

Post install, video works perfectly at 1920x1200 on my monitor, DVI and HDMI are both working (DP testing is pending). USB mouse, keyboard, USB stick are all recognized and work flawlessly so far. ArcaMapper connects to the other PCs on my local LAN. I plugged an external USB 3 HDD into one of the Superspeed ports. I have no way of knowing if it was running at SS speed; I didn't do any large-scale test copies, but I used MiniLVM to create a partition and formatted it JFS, and everything works smoothly. (FWIW, USBXHCD x1 is the only HC driver used.)

DOS window and fullscreen both work.

Other than the expected issues with switching between the GPT and MBR hard disks, I have only two caveats to note so far.

This machine has 3.5mm jack on the front. I plugged in speakers and sound works just fine. UniAUD works and system sounds play just fine. However, the MMPM volume controls don't appear to have any effect on volume, probably due to mixer channel configuration.

Second, for reboot and auto-poweroff to work, I had to created OS2LDR.CFG in the root directory with the line "ACPIRESET=1".

BTW, this machine does have a CSM, but I haven't bothered enabling it (why, when UEFI seems to work so well?) 

Actually, I'd almost be tempted to say this is a machine that vendors might want to consider offering as an ArcaOS solution. With more rigorous long-term testing, of course. (Although, it hasn't been refreshed since 2018.)

Hardware Information

 * ASUS VivoMini VC66 Mini PC Hardware Information

Links

 * Asus WebPage
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