NiPoGi E1 - A compact mini PC with Intel N150 review

Packaging contents

NiPoGi supplies a power cable, a VESA adapter and an HDMI cable with the E1 Mini PC.

Technical data

The mini PC that NiPoGi provided us with for testing has the following technical data:

• Processor : Intel Processor N150, 4 cores, 3.6GHz max. (15W TDP)
• RAM : 16GB 2666MHz DDR4 ( KINSOTIN16GB2666MHZ )
• SATA SSD : Netac G537N 512GB
• Power supply : 12V 2.5A (AD0301-1202500GB)
• Network: Realtek RTL8111/8168 Gigabit LAN
• Wi-Fi adapter: Realtek RTL8821CE WiFi 5 802.11ac (433 Mbps)
• USB: 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 2 x USB 2.0
• GPU: Intel® UHD Graphics (24 EU - 1.0 GHz)
• Monitor ports : 1 x HDMI 2.0, 1 x DisplayPort 1.4
• Audio connections : Headphone jack
• Expansion : 1 x M.2 2280 compatible with NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 or SATA (occupied) M.2 WiF 2230 (occupied)

First impression

The NiPoGi E1 is primarily intended to be used as an office PC, but is aimed more at programs with medium to low system requirements.

The Intel N150 processor is current and can be seen as the successor to the Intel N95, N97, N100 and N200 generations.

With 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD, the system is well equipped for all office tasks.

The mini PC comes with Windows 11 Pro, which is unusual and very commendable in this price range.

Case and Build Quality

The housing is significantly smaller than comparable mini PC housings. This makes the mini PC even easier to store and requires less space on the desk.

The mini PC is made mostly of plastic. The copper-colored cooling fins that shine through underneath the lid are just design elements and are made of painted plastic. The workmanship is still good and well thought out.

The case looks stylish and inconspicuous. However, I would be happy if all of these unsightly stickers were attached to the back of the case. Since the stickers cannot be removed directly without leaving residue, there is a risk of scratching the case when removing the stickers.

The base plate is also used as an air inlet. The attached rubber pads effectively dampen mechanical vibrations, e.g. from the fan. The warm air is discharged via two side air outlets.

The most important connections for daily use are located on the front of the case. Additional connections can be found discreetly on the back.

Pre-installed software

The NiPoGi E1 comes with Windows 11 Pro 64-bit, an upgrade over previous NiPoGi mini PCs that only came with the Home Edition.

There are no drivers available for download directly from NiPoGi. There is also no support page. Apart from the driver for the Intel Serial IO GPIO Host Controller, everything else is provided by Windows Update.

Cooling system and noise

The NiPoGi E1 can be described as silent when under low load. The fan can only be heard with your ear on the case.

At higher or maximum load, the mini PC is barely noticeable from a distance and is one of the quietest mini PCs.

NiPoGi uses a relatively large heat sink for the cooling system for the case. A fan is installed in the middle of the heat sink, which sucks in air from the bottom of the case, then directs it through the heat sink and blows it out the side of the case.

In our test, the temperature of the CPU never rose above 80 °C.

The M.2 SSD is not taken into account in the cooling concept.

Maintenance

Vacuuming the side air outlets and the lower air inlets should be sufficient maintenance.

If you want to clean the mini PC more thoroughly, you can disassemble it relatively easily. All you have to do is loosen the screws under the rubber pads. Then you have to loosen another screw that connects the case to the mainboard.

To change the SSD or RAM, you only need to loosen the four screws under the rubber pads on the bottom.

Office performance

Even though the Intel N150 processor is not one of the fastest, its performance is perfectly sufficient for most office applications.

The Intel N150 processor is generally suitable for less CPU-intensive office applications. These can be used without any problems and the loading times of the applications are also OK. Limitations caused by the processor occur when intensive processes such as a Windows update are running in the background. This is noticeable because Windows can no longer be used as smoothly.

The RAM is well dimensioned at 16 GB for intensive work with several applications at the same time.

Even a multi-monitor setup with several applications open at the same time can be operated easily and smoothly.

Video streaming, YouTube, Netflix and Co.

Since Intel's iGPU supports all common video formats, playing multiple videos with a resolution of up to 8K is easy and smooth.

Geekbench

SSD benchmark

Creative performance

Programs such as Photoshop, Lightroom, Blender or video editing programs can be used without any problems.

When exporting photos, rendering images or transcoding videos, you must expect longer waiting times and slight stuttering if the hardware support of the Intel iGPU is not used.

Gaming performance

The integrated graphics of the Intel N150 processor are slightly more powerful than those of the N100 and N200 while maintaining the same TDP.

Gaming performance is generally very low with the Intel N series, as this does not correspond to the intended use of the Intel N processors. The graphics card is severely limited and the single-core performance is often too low.

A good use for the NiPoGi E1 is streaming or cloud gaming, as even streams in 4K are easily supported.

It is therefore recommended to use it as a device for Steam in-home streaming or cloud gaming services such as GeForce Now if you want to play graphically demanding games.

To compare the graphics performance, here are the values from the GFXBench benchmark.

Networking capabilities

The mini PC from our test was equipped with a Realtek Gigabit Ethernet adapter and a Realtek RTL8821CE Wi-Fi 5 adapter.

The performance of the Wi-Fi adapter was tested with a Wi-Fi 6 access point. At a distance of 5 meters, the mini PC achieved a maximum data transfer rate of 310 Mbit/s in the speed test.

When using a network share, a constant transfer rate of an average of 37 MB/s was achieved.

The Realtek Gigabit Ethernet adapter consistently achieves maximum speed.

Expandability and connection options

The RAM and the M.2 NVMe SATA SSD, which can also be replaced by an M.2 NVMe SSD (PCIe 3.0 x4), are replaceable or expandable.

The maximum speed of such a PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD is then approximately 4 GB/s.

Power consumption

We tested the power consumption of the NiPoGi E1 under both Windows and Linux with desktop interface.

From most mini PC tests with the Intel N series, we had a bad impression of the power consumption in various scenarios. But NiPoGi has done a good job here in combination with the Intel N150 processor: The power consumption in the application scenarios is low and can be compared to that of the slightly slower Geekom Air12 Lite.

Energy efficiency

To measure the energy efficiency of the CPU, we rendered the classroom scene in Blender.

As with the power consumption, the Intel N150 in the NiPoGi E1 also surprises with its energy efficiency. Although the energy efficiency is worse than that of the more powerful models, the NiPoGi E1 can still push itself to the top compared to other Intel N processors. NiPoGi has optimized the system well here.

Selection of components

The SSD is from Netac and the RAM is from Kinsotin. There are few details available, so you can only judge them by testing them.

The Gigabit Ethernet adapter and the Wi-Fi 5 adapter are from Realtek.

The Realtek Wi-Fi adapter supports all major standards, but is only compatible with Wi-Fi 5. With a maximum speed of 433 Mbit/s, this is sufficient for most office applications, but is generally slower than modern Internet connections.

Evaluation of the individual areas

Pros and cons

This category highlights areas that stand out in the mini PC for its price, both positively and negatively, or that deviate from what is expected of a mini PC. Only those features that are relevant in the context of the intended use are rated as negative. For example, poor gaming performance on a mini PC/SOC that is not designed for gaming is not considered a negative criticism.

Pros

• Quiet operation : Inaudible at low and high loads.
• Expandability : Allows you to swap the NVMe SSD/SATA SSD and memory
• Versatile : Suitable for content creation, office applications, streaming and multimedia
• Design and housing: Small and inconspicuous
• Windows: Ships with Windows 11 Pro
• Energy consumption: The idle energy consumption is low, the energy efficiency is very good for an Intel N-series processor
• SATA SSD: Generously equipped with 512 GB.
• RAM: 16 GB is optimal for most office tasks.
• Network adapters: Realtek LAN and Wi-Fi adapters work with the included operating system drivers in current Windows/Linux versions.

Cons

• Cooling: M.2 hard drives were not taken into account in the cooling concept
• Drivers and BIOS updates: There is no NiPoGi support website
• Wi-Fi adapter: Could be better with more than just 433 Mbps
• Stickers: Affects the aesthetics and is difficult to remove.

Conclusion

The Mini-PC in Use

The NiPoGi E1 is impressive when it comes to office applications. Multimedia applications, games and video streaming are all possible without any problems, and the mini PC remains almost silent.

Creative tasks in Photoshop, Lightroom or similar programs are possible with slight delays.

Gaming, on the other hand, is less recommended on the mini PC.

What makes the mini PC interesting is its generous RAM and hard drive configuration as well as its very compact housing.

Use with Linux/Proxmox is only recommended with Linux kernel 6.11.x/6.12.x or higher, as the integrated graphics card otherwise runs without a driver. This leads to poor performance and high power consumption.

Accessories and expandability

The NiPoGi E1 can be easily expanded for use as an office PC. Almost any M.2 NVMe or M.2 SATA SSD can be installed in the M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 slot (occupied by M.2 SATA).

Additional hard drives can be connected via the existing fast USB 3 ports.

Price and purchase recommendation

At the time of testing, the NiPoGi E1 was available on Amazon for 229 euros with a voucher. With our voucher SV5YAQPK (8% extra discount) it even costs less than 200 euros, which represents very good value for money.

Without a voucher, it is a bit too expensive at 389 euros. Since vouchers are often available, you should consider buying it for under 250 euros.

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Information about the offer

The offer is limited and the price is subject to change at any time.