Question Help with non-brand Chinese nuc-clone.

[essc]

Hello, I am not sure if this is the best place to post this -- but given that NUC/NUC-clone hardware is pretty much just laptop hardware in a mini-desktop form-factor I figured this is probably where I'll get the most help.

I ordered a Chinese no-brand NUC clone off of Aliexpress. When I tried to turn it on for the first time two days ago I hadn't realized that the seller included a Chinese -> U.S travel adapter (I live in the U.S) for the power brick that they provided. I have a branded NUC that had an AC adapter with the same voltage output (although a higher max current) and polarity, so I figured it would be okay to use since the output voltage was the same (19v) and the port was the same. When I plugged it in, the orange LED turned on and flashed twice, and then after that no LED response again. I messaged the seller, and they mentioned there was a travel adapter for the included power brick. I plugged it in with their included AC Adapter, and still no response. In the past I have resolved this same problem on NUCs by resetting the CMOS battery so I figured I'd open it up and try. I tried that to no avail. Sometimes when I plug in the power adapter (without pressing the power button) the CPU fan will spin slowly for about 3 seconds and then it won't for the next few times. I also tried switching the SSD into another m.2 slot, and the red lights come on the SSD, which hints that some power is getting to the SSD. Power doesn't go to any ports though, I attempted USB devices that use the USB for power. I also measured the provided power adapter with a multi-meter and it is supplying the correct 19V of output.

The seller is accepting a return but it costs about $60 - $70 to return it from the U.S to China, and I was wondering if I could resolve this myself so that both the seller and I are happy.
Attached are some pictures of the motherboard, and the two different power bricks. Also attached is a picture of their traveler adapter.
Is it possible that all I need to do is get a new CMOS battery, or solder a new power port? Any other ideas?

(This is the power supply they provided)

(This is the power supply from my name-branded Nuc)

 

[punkncat]

Based on looking at the labels, it appears that the power brick you utilized from the "branded" machine should have worked on the knockoff NUC. They both are putting out the 19V that the machine was looking for. The additional amperage (on the branded unit) rating should not matter if the machine didn't need it.
The bad part about a situation such as this is that if you relayed to the seller that you utilized a different power supply they could just call it your fault and refuse refund. The item may never have worked at all, damaged in shipping, anything.

I would consider the cost of the item against the return shipping cost and the likelyhood that once you send it you may never hear anything else in regard to it. Balance that against possibly having a mom and pop shop look at it with a meter to see if there is some issue with power across the motherboard.

 

[essc]

Based on looking at the labels, it appears that the power brick you utilized from the "branded" machine should have worked on the knockoff NUC. They both are putting out the 19V that the machine was looking for. The additional amperage (on the branded unit) rating should not matter if the machine didn't need it.
The bad part about a situation such as this is that if you relayed to the seller that you utilized a different power supply they could just call it your fault and refuse refund. The item may never have worked at all, damaged in shipping, anything.

I would consider the cost of the item against the return shipping cost and the likelyhood that once you send it you may never hear anything else in regard to it. Balance that against possibly having a mom and pop shop look at it with a meter to see if there is some issue with power across the motherboard.

Fortunately I didn't mention the second power supply, and they accepted the return (albeit with me paying for the shipping.) I have about 9 days to provide a shipping label to AliExpress. Right now it is mostly a cost-risk assessment with the expensive Chinese return shipping and whether or not they'll go through with the refund. I also filed a chargeback on my credit card so that I can hopefully get refunded through that in the worst case scenario. Things would be simpler though if I could get it to work myself, and I figured I had some time to tinker if it is an easy fix. The item was about $511, so $50-$70 for return shipping isn't too bad, but I'd rather avoid that.

 

[USAFRet]

Right now, the seller has 100% of your money.
They are betting on your reluctance to cough up $70 to ship it back, for a maybe refund.

One of the many drawbacks of buying junk from AliEx.

 

[punkncat]

The item was about $511, so $50-$70 for return shipping isn't too bad, but I'd rather avoid that.

OUCH!

Admittedly, I don't know what this current machine is outfitted with, but that price realm is right in the ballpark of retailers with good track record...

Given it being that much I would take the chance on the additional 10% and hope like heck you see a refund or a replacement. Refund preferred. GL

 

[essc]

OUCH!

Admittedly, I don't know what this current machine is outfitted with, but that price realm is right in the ballpark of retailers with good track record...

Given it being that much I would take the chance on the additional 10% and hope like heck you see a refund or a replacement. Refund preferred. GL

It has an 11th Generation Intel chipset and an i7 1165G7 for about $460 ($511 was after taxes and shipping), so it was a good price but not totally unrealistically low that it seemed to be scam.

I had never bought anything from AliExpress before, but thought the most I was risking was a small return shipping fee. Hopefully it won't be a $500 lesson learned and at most a $60 one.

 

[USAFRet]

$511??
WOW

For comparison:
https://www.bee-link.com/collections/computer

https://www.bee-link.com/collections/computer/products/ser-37580h
https://www.bee-link.com/collection...reat-gaming-mini-pc-powed-by-amd-ryzen9-4900h
https://www.bee-link.com/collections/computer/products/beelink-gti-1005g1

 

[essc]

$511??
WOW

For comparison:
https://www.bee-link.com/collections/computer

https://www.bee-link.com/collections/computer/products/ser-37580h
https://www.bee-link.com/collection...reat-gaming-mini-pc-powed-by-amd-ryzen9-4900h
https://www.bee-link.com/collections/computer/products/beelink-gti-1005g1

I needed thunderbolt 4 for this particular system.

 

[USAFRet]

I get where you're coming from, but AliEx is a bad way to go.

 

[essc]

I get where you're coming from, but AliEx is a bad way to go.

Yeah, definitely feeling that now! At this point just trying to mitigate the loss/risk. Was pretty impulsive because genuine Panther Canyon/Tiger Canyon NUCs with thunderbolt 4 were out of stock/on back-order, and I needed 4-cores/8-threads for the workload. Saw positive reviews of some mini-pcs people bought on AliExpress and figured I'd give it a try since all I cared about was the chipset really -- was planning to use a custom chassis.

Anyway, I am confident that at the end of it all my credit card company will give a chargeback if I don't get the refund, they're pretty good about that. Just wanted to know if it was something simple like the CMOS battery or something before I pay $60 for return shipping.

 

[USAFRet]

Saw positive reviews of some mini-pcs people bought on AliExpress

Reviews are easily/usually faked on a platform like that.

From Beelink, I have a GTR Pro. Was planning to shuck the innards for a major casemod.
But the thing is so well built I'm leaving it as is.
A variant of this - https://www.bee-link.com/collections/computer/products/gtr-pro

 

[essc]

Reviews are easily/usually faked on a platform like that.

From Beelink, I have a GTR Pro. Was planning to shuck the innards for a major casemod.
But the thing is so well built I'm leaving it as is.
A variant of this - https://www.bee-link.com/collections/computer/products/gtr-pro

I was more talking about reviews on YouTube. Stuff like this.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzDgXO6ScZ4

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOdRTwplOkM&ab_channel=ETAPRIME


So I thought AliExpress was a safe enough platform given that it kept popping up in those YouTube review pages, the price seemed about right (not too cheap to be unprofitable, but reasonable given the low build quality), there were negative reviews on some damaged products sold by the company with pictures and a mention about getting a replacement, etc.

I wish I could've gone with AMD -- I have a Ryzen 5 5600H + RTX 3060 laptop that I got recently for $880 (before tax) which works great for gaming, but thunderbolt 3 or 4 was a hard requirement for this particular build.

 

[essc]

Did some troubleshooting yesterday.

Used a power meter to measure how much power is coming from the outlet. It seems to be at the idle rating of 4 Watts.

Checked the CMOS battery with a multimeter, at the expected 3 Volts, but not sure if the connection is making contact with motherboard.

I am able to get the LEDs to light up by shorting the front header pins. The red LED lights up very brightly, the green LED dimly.

When I hold in the power switch or short the front header's power switch pins and push in the power port I can hear a high pitched sound as if it is attempting to turn on. The power measurement from the wall drops from 4 Watts to 2.8 Watts. If I unhold the power switch unshort the power switch header this stops and the power pull goes back to 4 Watts.

I took off the fan and heatsink and reapplied the thermal paste on the cpu (the cpu looks like it is a genuine i7 1165G7.) That didn't seem to do anything.

I also connected a different fan to the fan header to see if that is the problem. Also didn't do anything.

My only final idea is to wait until Tuesday when I should get a new CMOS battery/wire connector and see if it is the contact between it and the MB that isn't working.

Hopefully before the end of the shipping period I can hear back about my credit card chargeback. From what I gather VISA's rules require that for faulty products the merchant pays return shipping, but my credit card company (Citibank) might not strictly follow those rules.