2019-08-21T09:59:51
Rated 5 out of 5
4.5 stars, tremendous value, solid product
I wanted a small desktop and this thing fit the bill the best. It's got all the power-user components I was looking, 9th gen i7, m.2 SSD, with room for expansion to boot.
The size is similar to a couple of stacked laptops and the included stand is very handy so that it takes up very little space on the desk. The GPU fan is about half the size of the side panel, which allows good airflow with minimal noise.
There's included software to control the light on the box and it's very nifty; it can cycle through colors or stay on one.
I added a stick of RAM on my own and it was as easy as on a tower. Another SSD requires more fiddling but there are good guides on youtube.
Couple things I'd like to see for a future generation:
- add a memory card reader (at least SD and MicroSD) built-in; even NUC's have that!
- please ditch Intel for WiFi and BT for Broadcom or just about any other vendor; Intel's wireless chips have always been unreliable for me. My BT mouse goes to sleep after only a few seconds away so I ended up using the non-BT wireless adapter that came with the mouse. Troubleshooting did reveal it's the Intel chip that's faulty and not the mouse.
- add an option to sell without the mouse and keyboard. They're pretty basic and increased the cost by more it seems because it also increases shipping size significantly.
- add a USB port closer to the bottom when stood up, for those devices with short cords such as many USB hubs.
Overall, this is a neglected segment and the Trident hits a home run. It's a much more efficient use of space than the balloon-like towers and IMHO most consumer desktops should be in this form factor.
Chengyu W.
