Now it's time to deprecate my ancient C2D desktop with something more decent. I'm not a gamer by any stretch of imagination, so generic desktops, Intel NUCs, their derivatives and Chromeboxes with Core i3 and faster processors would be an overkill and above my natural expense limit of about $150 for this particular Insignia TV.
On the other hand, I don't believe Android/ARM boxes/HDMI sticks will have any part in desktop environment for a long time. At least, not in mine. Those who just need to make their TV into some sort of HTPC fast may get one of those Android HDMI sticks for about $40 (like MK808B; I don't see any reason to pay more than twice for all those new Tronsmarts. MINIXes, etc., if you feed them into $149 1920x1080 television instead of 4K capable displays). MK808B with Finless ROM 2.1, plus some (powered) USB hub, plus some BT (mini) keyboard or RF/BT air mouse/keyboard will do just fine for many. However this 2-year old Rockchip RK3066-based stick will struggle very hard to output native (not upscaled) 1080p video even with custom ROMs, and once you start to look for more capable Android sticks or TV boxes you searches bring you into $100...$150 territory where $99 Google's Nexus Player and/or Amazon Fire TV are your best choices. But this investment level is also where cheap Windows 8.1 devices (boxes and sticks) come into a picture.
With no cheap offers of devices with Core M, this leaves me to look for a half-decent Windows 8.1 Atom Bay Trail box. This Pipo X7 looks very interesting:
RAM: 2 GB DDR3
Storage: 32 GB eMMC + micro SD slot up to 32GB
Video & Audio Output: HDMI 1.4, 3.5mm Audio
Connectivity: 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, Ethernet
USB: 4x USB 2.0 ports
Other Features: Power button
OS: Windows 8.1 with Bing
It can be had (or pre-ordered) for about $90...$100. As alternative, for about $120, you can also find this Meego T01 stick with the same specs (no Ethernet though but you can save on HDMI cable):
All is missing from this picture is some decent BT keyboard and mouse combo. My favorite alternative would be this $20 Rii mini i8 toy:
An interesting alternative to these "all-in-one" designs would be using the WinBook TW801 Windows 8.1 tablet for about $139. Here you could even find 1GB RAM 7" model of the same tablet for as low as $59. Open boxes were sold for ridiculous prices of $42 to $111. Keep in mind that these tablets include MS Office 365 1-year license which is worth at least $40. The problem with this Microcenter "shop" brand is lack of QC: faulty touch, banding on WinBook models is reported everywhere. Then, it's only in-store buy, and a closest shop to me is in 352 miles. And as of now, they are out of any and all WinBook units.
Pipo W2F is reported as more reliable model of the same basic design of among those WinBooks, and other tablets like Onda V820w, etc. You can order it here for about $120...$130.
More of decent, half-decent and outrageously bad (Vulcan something) cheap Windows 8.1 tablets can be found here generally available in US retail. Just remember to check that the particular model you're after has micro HDMI (several models haven't), charges with stock charger (couple models won't and need a third party 5V, 2.25A power adapter), and has IPS touch-responsive screens, like this Insignia 8 (Flex) tablet:
Best Buy has sold out these fine tablets though. If you don't mind pretty bad TN display instead of IPS, your nearest Walmart will sell you an otherwise decent Nextbook
Tablets with 1GB RAM should be debloated, e.g., this guide is quite practical. Tablets with 2 GB RAM like this Winbook TW802 can be debloated and otherwise optimized, too.
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