J4125 vs N5105

First things first. You need to understand what this is and is not.

It is a fully functioning PC that can run 2 monitors, has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 4k video capability, and a full version of Windows 11 Pro. It will run programs like Office and Photoshop. Play Netflix, YouTube and whatever browser you like. You can also add an internal and whatever size external drive you like via two USB 2.0 and 2 USB 3.0 ports. I attached a 1tb Samsung SSD and it worked....okay.....not at the speeds my regular PC does, but....it techincally worked. So...onwards.

It is not a gaming PC. It will not run memory, GPU or CPU intensive programs like higher end video editing software, graphic intensive games etc. It has no USB C ports, and it has a very small, 256 Gig SSD. .

That being said, the idea of having a fully functioning PC about the size of a sandwich that has a full version of Windows 11 Pro....that‘s pretty impressive.

Now, it has an Intel branded motherboard with integrated CPU and graphics using a quad core Intel N5105 processor that is far superior to previous versions. It will do the majority of things you would normally do on your PC that are not intensive on the CPU/GPU.

Windows 11 Pro is fine but you will have to download all the updates to make it current. Total setup time was about half an hour which is pretty good considering you‘re starting from scratch. All my peripherals hooked up without problem. I have used Bluetooth keyboards, headphones, mouse etc. with no problems. Also wireless 2.4ghz keyboard/mouse combinations, my Wi-Fi security camera, and both a 1080p and 4k webcam. The 4k is too demanding a on the CPU but you‘re never going to stream in 4k so not a huge deal. I attempted to use a capture card to stream gameplay from my Alienware but it was too much as well. This is where knowing what you‘re getting and managing your expectations is very important.

Things to consider: Yes, you can carry it around in a larger coat pocket but remember you also need a monitor, mouse/keyboard and related cables, and whatever external HDD/SDD you want to use. So it‘s technically portable, but not very practical unless you‘re going somewhere that has all those things provided.

You cannot do any real gaming as it‘s not designed for it. The SDD is too small and the CPU/GPU will not handle it. I ran a test via iRacing to see if that would work on it and it unsurprisingly failed. So it is not a good gift idea for anyone who wants to game on it but again, that‘s not its purpose.

It is (if you follow the unusual instructions) easy to set up, easy to use, and will do pretty much everything the average user would use it for. It‘s only limited by the CPU/GPU and storage capacity. Throw multiple tasks at it and it will have trouble but the average user will be fine.

For the price, it‘s competitive with others of similar specifications and I have no problem recommending it as long as you understand what it is and is not. Also, you can find entry level laptops at that price so it‘s really a matter of what you want/need. I am ok with it but when you consider the peripherals you have to have to make it work....it‘s pretty "Meh!"