[section_title title=”Performance”]Performance
The Nano is really quite a strong performer across all of our tests compared to last year’s models and even the Sphere. In terms of performance relative to the Sphere, it’s clear the clock speed handicap rears its head in most tests although the OpenGL test in CB11.5 is a rather strange outlier. Both systems were using the same drivers so it isn’t clear why this gap – in favour of the ‘slower’ Nano – is present. The disk benchmarks were obviously someway behind the Sphere and its outrageous configuration, but when paired with an SSD it’s clear the Nano can truly stretch its legs.
As per the claims on the packaging of the Nano, the system is (virtually) silent. I didn’t hear any audible hisses or whines of any sort, and for me, it was silent. Temperatures were perhaps a touch on the high-side for me personally but it is summer and anyone looking to do work that loads up the system similar to our temperature testing would be looking at a different system anyway.
Away from the synthetics, the other aspects of the Nano were rock solid. The on board Intel networking is, as expected, superb. On the 2.4GHz radio the Nano maintained five bars when moved away from the router and downstairs and three bars on 5GHz. This is inline with other high-end devices in the house such as a Samsung S3 and Xbox One.
I also threw some high bit-rate video at the Nano and the iGPU seemed to deal with it flawlessly even with some custom shaders active within MPC. If you’re looking for a behind the TV/monitor media box, the Nano could be an ideal solution thanks to the VESA capability and 4K support.
Moving on to some light gaming, the Nano didn’t perform as well as the Sphere did in League of Legends, requiring the shadow setting to be turned off to maintain a solid 60FPS at 1080p. The Sphere did well here but shadows tend to be more CPU reliant so perhaps this is why the Sphere is noticeably better than the Nano and its slower CPU.
