iOTA BASE Desktop PC
£299.99
Pros
- Looks Great
Cons
- Slow
- Slow
- Slow
- Slow
- Urm...Slow
Today’s review is for the iOTA BASE Desktop PC. The All-In-One desktop PC that I owned for less than a day before returning to Amazon. Yes, that’s right not even 24 hours!
I’ll go onto to explain more below as to why I needed to return this product.
Firstly, I needed a new computer of some sorts. I did have a Lenovo G580 laptop that I’ve used since around 2012. It worked brilliantly until a recent Windows security update corrupted the whole thing. The result was a complete factory reset, which was OK for a few days. I decided to disable automatic updates as my concern of the same situation again would cause the same problem. Despite disabling this feature, Windows went ahead and updated my laptop again, and again my laptop became unusable.
So, I needed a new computer, as without a PC I was unable to write my honest product reviews that you see before you today. I investigated the iOTA BASE Desktop PC as it was firstly cheap, looked great and could be delivered the very next day via my Amazon Prime subscription. Great! I also went for the All-In-One version as over the last few years I haven’t used my laptop as a laptop as such, it’s statically stationed in one area, just like a PC anyway.
Delivery and Setting UP.
The next day the iOTA BASE Desktop PC was delivered to me, Amazon rang the doorbell and handed me my new PC. I was over the moon. It looked beautiful and came packed perfectly in a strong cardboard box.
Inside this box there’s a massive All-In-One screen, a wireless mouse and keyboard, a build-it-yourself bracket, a UK power plug pack, and a set of user instructions.
The assembly of the bracket was simple enough and within a matter of minutes you’re set up and ready.
Now I just needed to plug in the power pack, and I was all set to go.
So, I pressed the power button. My new PC sprang into life taking me through the different Microsoft setting up pages. It took around 2 hours to complete this step, I didn’t think anything of the time that had elapsed, mostly because I was too mesmerised by the large and clear screen. But this was sign of things to come.
Once the desktop area had loaded, I was totally impressed by how the PC looked in front of me, it was large, clear and easy to navigate. It felt like a control station before me.
On the back of the iOTA BASE Desktop PC there’s were 3x USB 2.0 ports and 2x USB 3.0 ports. Plenty of spare ports for my everyday use, and some extra too! I was certainly impressed by this.
The screen is a massive 21.5″ Full HD with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It also looked more neater on my desk and less obtrusive, despite the very large screen.
Downloading Google Chrome.
Next, I decided to download Google Chrome, this is a personal choice for me as I like how my passwords are automatically saved, and, I like the way Chrome performs. Everyone has their own preference of search engine, mine is Google Chrome.
Anyway, you need to use the option of Microsoft Edge to search and then download Chrome. Upon opening the Edge browser, I was taken back by how long it took to load the page. But I thought as the PC was new it could be running background updates and of course this would make it run slower. So, I gave it a chance and put it down to that.
After 5 minutes of waiting for the search page to load (yes, I’m not joking with you) I casually typed into the bar ‘download Google Chrome’. Another 5 minutes passed before I could see the link I needed. Again, I put this time down to the PC being new.
It’s worth noting at this point my home internet is Sky Fibre Unlimited internet, and never been slow enough to cause me any concerns, so it wasn’t my internet connection.
So, the downloading began. And after 1.5 hours it the download progress bar finally got near the end, and then… It stopped as it had timed out and the download was postponed.
So, I tried again, again 1.5 hours passed and the same thing happened. So, I took to Google using my iPhone 7 to see what possible reason could be behind this.
Possible Solution.
I saw forums suggesting that the PC might be running on Windows 10 Home S edition, this S mode means you can’t download non-Microsoft apps and programmes. I checked for this as this could be the answer, but the iOTA BASE Desktop PC was running Windows 10 Home. So that wasn’t it.
Next information being thrown around was that the firewall could be blocking the installation and to temporary remove this and try again. I did this, and it did in fact download Google Chrome, again after 1.5 hours.
I now had Google Chrome installed, despite the desperate pleas from Microsoft that they’re much better than Chrome and I’d be a fool to think otherwise. After confirmation that I didn’t want to use Edge as my preferred choice of browser, and I accepted the massive consequences of my actions of choosing another browser I did what anyone else would do. I tried out my new PC.
I clicked the Google Chrome icon that I pinned on the task bar, waited, waited some more, and after 2 minutes up pooped Google Chrome. Again, I put the slow loading down to me using a new browser so would need some sort of update of sorts.
I performed a search using the Google search bar, pressed enter, and after another 2 minutes the search results became visible.
Still Trying.
I’m not one to give up, besides I really wanted the iOTA BASE Desktop PC to be good, it looked the part and I was longing for it to be a good performer.
I then decided to search for any Windows updates, the devil updates that killed my Lenovo laptop, but as this PC was new it should be OK. A quick search revealed around 20 essential (although probably not really) updates were needed. I sat through 4 hours’ worth of updates. The progress of each updated was painfully slow. After the 4 hours was up, I decided to power off the PC and power i back on again, if there’s one way to fix anything electrical it’s to turn it off and back on again!
The desktop loaded. I left it a little while and searched again on Google. The same time duration of a search happened. I was starting to think maybe it’s just my PC, but a quick Google search (using my phone as I would’ve been celebrating another Birthday before the search page had loaded) revealed that the iOTA BASE Desktop PC is basically a piece of crap.
Despite its devilishly handsome good looks, it’s main brain and internal parts is slow, I mean dreadfully slow. I’m pretty sure the slowest you can buy. It has a 1.6 GHz processor speed, 4 GB RAM size, and 32GB of internal storage (EMMC). If you’re not up on your tech, or these things sound confusing, basically what I’ve learnt is that these are no good if you want a decent working PC.
Decision Time.
We decided to initiate an Amazon return, I’ve returned some items to Amazon before in the past, but never a PC. What Amazon didn’t say is that the PC would need to be factory reset before they’re able to refund you. Luckily, I searched (again on my phone) as to the process of returning a PC to Amazon, and it came up there. Not in the actual returns section of Amazon, which is worrying.
Basically, you must perform a factory reset, taking it back to the Microsoft loading pages at the very beginning and thus removing your personal details. This process took another 2 hours to complete.
After the Blue screen appeared from Microsoft, I wanted to power the iOTA BASE Desktop PC as I didn’t want to put in my details, there was no option for this. I had to manually power it off by pressing and holding the power button.
I then had to carefully package up everything and decided to use Amazon’s label-less returns process. A returns label would be generated at my local Royal Mail Delivery Office after they scanned a 2D barcode from my smartphone. Within 10 minutes I had an alert on my phone to say my refund had been processed. Funds would be returned to my in a few days. Great!
So now I was without a PC again, but not anymore. I have purchased a HP laptop (review coming soon) as I decided it was best to purchase a well-known branded PC over a cheaper branded version. Lesson learnt.
Technical Specifications.
- Brand: iOTA
- Model: BASE Desktop PC
- Manufacturer Code: iOTA Base 2520
- Manufacturer Reference: N/A
- EAN: N/A
- ASIN: B07VFJMBX2
- CPU: Intel® Celeron® J3455 1.50GHz Quad Core Processor
- Operating System: Windows 10 Home
- DDR: 4GB
- Internal Memory: EMMC – 32GB
- Expandable Memory: MicroSD card Up to 64GB (Sold separately)
- Expandable Storage: 2.5 inch HDD with SATA 3 interface connector
- Interfaces: USB 3.0 high speed, USB 2.0, MicroSD card, HDMI, 3.5mm headphone, Microphone
- Connections: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 & Ethernet
- Bluetooth: Supported
- Display: Resolution: 1920*1080, 21.5 inch HD LCD
- Compliance: CE
Conclusion.
The iOTA BASE Desktop PC is a dreadful piece of kit. It’s so slow, honestly, you’ll not believe just how slow it is until you experience it for yourself. It’s basically useless for anyone who wants to even carry out basic computer functions. Even your dear old Nan would be pissed off how slow the iOTA BASE Desktop PC is.
It was a shame as it looked fantastic, stylish and modern looking, just has antique parts inside.
Familiar with the phrase ‘polishing a turd’? that’s the iOTA BASE Desktop PC. It’s a pile of crap that looks good from the outside.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely no chance, if you already own one and unable to return it, I feel sorry for you.
If you want the iOTA BASE Desktop PC for yourself, it’s available for purchase only on Amazon. The RRP for this product is £299.99.
I purchased this product myself and decided to write a review. iOTA didn’t send me the product or know about this review until published.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post. If you’d like to add a comment or thought on this post, please use the section below. I can also be contacted via the online contact form. Please subscribe for the latest reviews, news, and discounts. Please follow My Helpful Hints on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook too!