Kaser Net'sPC2 YF810-8G Review: $100 For An Android Nettop?

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What’s the cheapest computer you can buy today? And we're not talking Raspberry Pi. We still need enough horsepower to email, browse the Web, or play a movie. Kaser claims to have the answer with its $100 Android-based nettop. But is it up to the task?

Test System Specs And Benchmark Suite

Test System Specs

Starting at the lowest end of the price ladder, we have a fellow Android-based device. While it recently disappeared from the market, just last month you could purchase LG's Optimus Slider for only $50. Though this entry-level burner sports slightly lower system specs than the Kaser, along with an older version of Android (v2.3, or “Gingerbread”), it does come with a screen. Plus, you could purchase two for the price of one Net'sPC2. 

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LG Optimus Slider System Specs
Operating SystemGoogle Android 2.3 "Gingerbread"
SoCQualcomm Snapdragon S1
CPU CoreQualcomm MSM7627 (single-core) @ 800 MHz
GPU CoreQualcomm Adreno 200
Memory512 MB RAM
Storage512 MB (<256 MB usable)
Display3.2" Capacitive LCD @ 320x480
Price$50 (recently discontinued)

Moving up the price ladder, we have a circa-2007 Athlon X2-based office PC. This system is indicative of the lowliest PCs in operation today that are still capable of running modern benchmarks. As far as price goes, you could purchase an entire setup from this era for around $100, give or take, so it’s about the same cost as the Kaser Net'sPC2 YF810-8G...that is, if you don’t already own a similar system.

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Vista-era Home/Office PC System Specs
Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit)
CPUAMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ @ 2.0 GHz (dual-core)
MotherboardBiostar NF61S-M2 TE
Memory2 GB DDR2 @ 800 MHz (1 x 2 GB)
GraphicsNvidia GeForce 6100 (integrated)
StorageSeagate Barracuda 7200.12 500 GB SATA 3Gb/s, 7200 RPM, 16 MB Cache
Price~$100 (used)

Also at $100, we have the Kaser Net'sPC2 YF810-8G. Keep in mind that the Kaser does not include a display, so tack on the cost of a monitor or TV to connect it to.

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Kaser Net's2PC YF810-8G System Specs
Operating SystemGoogle Android 4.0.4 "Ice Cream Sandwich"
SoCAllwinner A10
CPU CoreARM Cortex-A8 @ 1.0 GHz (single-core)
GPU CoreARM Mali-400 MP
Memory512 MB DDR3 @ 800 MHz
Storage8 GB 25nm Asynchronous NAND Flash
Price$100

We have two complete systems at the $200 price point: another Android-based device and a first-gen netbook. Doubling down on the Kaser’s $100 price tag gets you either the award-winning Google Nexus 7 or a used Dell Mini 10v. While early netbooks can be had for cheaper, due to the fact that this model is uniquely capable of running OS X, the first-gen Dell Mini 10v is holding its value quite well on the used market.

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Google Nexus 7
Operating SystemGoogle Android 4.2.2 "Jelly Bean"
SoCNvidia Tegra 3 T30L
CPU CoreARM Cortex-A9 @ 1.2 GHz (quad-core)
GPU CoreNvidia ULP GeForce @ 416 MHz
Memory1 GB DDR3 @ 1333 MHz
Storage8 GB
Display7" Capacitive IPS LCD @ 1280x800
Price$200

Once again, keep in mind that, unlike the Kaser, both the Nexus 7 and Dell Mini 10v include a screen in their price tags.

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Dell Inspiron Mini 10v (1011) System Specs
Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows 7 Starter (32-bit)
CPUIntel Atom N270 @ 1.6 GHz (single-core)
Memory1 GB DDR2 @ 533 MHz
GraphicsIntel GMA 950 (integrated)
Storage160 GB 5,400 RPM HDD
Display10.1" LCD @ 1024x600
Price~$200 (used)

Apple’s iconic iPad also makes an appearance in order to provide a common frame of reference. We chose the iPad 2 because its performance numbers are nearly identical to the iPad 3 and iPad Mini, leaving even more room for comparison.

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Apple iPad 2 System Specs
Operating SystemApple iOS 6.1.3
SoCApple A5
CPU CoreARM Cortex-A9 @ 1.0 GHz (dual-core)
GPU CorePowerVR SGX545MP2 (dual-core)
Memory512 MB LP-DDR2 @ 1066 MHz
Storage16 GB
Display9.7" XGA LCD @ 1024x768
Price$400

Finally, at the high-end of the price spectrum we have a roughly $1,000 mid-high range enthusiast PC. At ten times the cost of the Kaser, our Web Browser Grand Prix test system will serve to show the real performance divide between the traditional PC and its would-be usurpers on common ground: Web browsing.

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Web Browser Grand Prix Test System Specs
Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows 8 (64-bit)
CPUIntel Core i5-2500K @ 3.3 GHz (quad-core)
MotherboardGigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 (F10 BIOS)
Memory8 GB Crucial DDR3 @ 1,333 MT/s (2 x 4 GB)
GraphicsAsus GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1 GB GDDR5 (PCIe 2.0 x16)
StorageSeagate Barracuda 7200.12 500 GB SATA 3Gb/s, 7,200 RPM, 16 MB Cache
Price~$1,000

So, that’s an Android burner at half the cost of the Kaser, a PC that you likely already own valued at ~$100, the Nexus 7 and a first-gen netbook at twice the price, the iPad 2/3/Mini between three and five times the cost, and a $1,000 modern desktop PC.

Benchmark Suite

As somewhat of a cross-over device, we had to go with fully cross-platform tests in order to compare the Kaser to that x86 box already attached to your desktop monitor.

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System BenchmarksPrimate Labs Geekbench v2.4.3
Graphics BenchmarksFutureMark 3DMark v1.0
Kishonti GFXBench v2.7
Web BenchmarksEEMBC BrowsingBench
Rightware BrowserMark v2.0
Futuremark Peacekeeper v2.0
Principled Technologies WebXPRT 2013
Impact HTML5 Benchmark

Without further ado, let’s get testing!

Andrew Ku
26 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Matsushima
    Seriously? Another slow ARM processor with a bloated phone OS on a desktop. Tragic.
    Reply
  • Matsushima
    I have something like that, a bloated Android HTPC that looks a bit like Raspberry Pi.
    Reply
  • dingo07
    How about adding it to the NAV system in a 2006 Acura TL that has a 7" touchscreen?
    Reply
  • Firion87
    Now AMD's APU is incredibly cheap, add 1g of ram a hdd lying around your home and your way better off with a x86 than this underpowered NO FLASH compatible no nothing system. Why are they even talking about such systems? I'm an Intel fanboy but got a AMD e350 system for my parents. I am amazed how well that little thing works for pretty much anything you encounter in daily use for little money (hdd 120g second hand, case and psu can be purchased for as little as 35$, mb+ram 65$ brand new)
    Reply
  • ET3D
    Wow, this is really overpriced or underspecced or both. The Allwinner A10 is simply a crappy chip. Single core Cortex A8, 16-bit RAM interface, 512MB limitation, that's pretty crap. I bought a Chinese tablet (Onda V712) for $125 with a quad core A7, 2GB of RAM and an 1280x800 IPS screen, so if you drop the screen I imagine this could all be put into $100, and provide much better performance. (It's about as powerful as the Nexus 7, a little slower on the CPU side and faster on the GPU side.)
    As for Android, it should also be possible to make it more usable. A better specced device would have 1080p native, and allowing to change DPI settings on the fly is likely to do wonders to usability on a bit screen (i.e., scale the UI instead of blowing it up).
    Android also has some limited windows. It's a hack, but there are apps which support it, such as Tiny Apps, which provides a notes app, calculator, paint, music player and music recorder all running in their own small windows. There are also floating video players ("floating" is the Android app way of saying "windowed") and floating web browsers.
    I think that an Android PC could be made usable (though not great). This one isn't it, and I feel that testing was too limited, but I won't fault you for it because any A10 device is not really worth a second look.
    Reply
  • ET3D
    I checked out some Chinese stores, and indeed it's possible to buy something specced link my tablet (Allwinner A31, 2GB RAM, ...) for $90, and some dual core A9 1GB devices in the $80-$100 range. These should be much better than this particular piece of crap.
    Reply
  • Aljhon Pobar
    "armed with a single Cortex-A8 core running at 1.0 GHz. For a little perspective, that's about half of the processing power wielded by the original iPad. "
    How come? 1st Gen iPad is powered by Apple A4 SoC which uses a 1GHz Cortex A8. And this Allwiner A10 is powered by the same Cortex A8.
    This is very disappointing for a well known techsite.
    Reply
  • obarthelemy
    how did you manage to select such a crappy representative of Android PCs, when for example the similarly priced Minix Neo X5 is several times more powerful and has an excellent, frequently updated OS ?
    Reply
  • ET3D
    G-Box Midnight MX2 is another good choice you might want to review. Serves as a good XBMC player out of the box, but can be used as an Android mini PC.
    Reply
  • joebob2000
    About 6 months ago I picked up a dual CPU/quad GPU android PC stick, for $50 shipped. It lacks hardware ethernet or the plethora of USB ports, but it is pretty darn fast for how cheap it is. I suspect Kaser was the first of the "android pc" vendors to submit something to Tom's but is it too hard to hit up Aliexpress for comparable priced units?
    Reply