BOSGAME E4 Air

Starry Hope Rating
3.0

Published on

BOSGAME E4 Air lifestyle

The BOSGAME E4 Air is a budget desk box with a pair of gigabit Ethernet jacks. That makes it a fit for a small business desk or a soft-router and home-lab role where two wired ports matter more than raw speed. The chip is a 2019 AMD Ryzen 5 3500U, and BOSGAME’s own newer E5 is faster.

Pros and Cons

ProsCons
Two gigabit RJ45 jacks for routing or dual networksRyzen 5 3500U is a 2019 Zen+ part
Socketed DDR4 memory with a 32GB ceilingShips with 8GB, the smallest useful amount
A second M.2 2280 slot ships emptyThe drive it ships with is M.2 SATA, not NVMe
Three of the four USB-A ports run at 10GbpsUSB-C tops out at 1080p, so only two outputs do 4K
Radeon Vega 8 is well ahead of Intel N-series graphicsWi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0, a generation behind
VESA mount, HDMI cable, and adapter in the boxBoth LAN ports are gigabit, not 2.5GbE

BOSGAME E4 Air Comparison Chart

BOSGAME E4 Air

BOSGAME E4 Air

Price

List Price:

Amazon Prices:

Loading prices...

Version8GB/256GB
Performance Rating4.6
Operating SystemWindows 11
ProcessorQuad-core 2.10 Ghz (max 3.70 Ghz) AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
GPUIntegrated Radeon RX Vega8 Graphics
RAM8 GB DDR4 (SO-DIMM DDR4, up to 32GB)
Internal Storage256 GB M.2 SATA SSD
Dimensions
width x length x thickness
5.1 x 5 x 1.8 inches
(129.54 x 127 x 45.72 mm)
Weight1.2 lbs (0.55 kg)
WiFiWi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
BluetoothBluetooth 5.0
Ethernet2 Ethernet ports at 1 Gbps
HDMI1 Full-Size HDMI Port
DisplayPort1 DisplayPort (HDMI 2.0 and DP at 4K60; USB-C at 1080p60)
VGANo VGA Ports
USB Ports1 USB 2.0, 3 USB 3, 1 USB-C
3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps), 1x USB 2.0, 1x USB-C
Thunderbolt PortsNo
OCuLinkNo
Internal SATA PortsNo SATA ports
Card ReaderNo Card Reader
Headphone Jackcombo
FanlessNo
VESA MountYes
In the BoxMini PC, power adapter, HDMI cable, VESA mount with screws, manual
ExpandabilitySocketed DDR4 SO-DIMM memory to 32GB. Two M.2 2280 slots, one holding the shipped SATA drive and one free.

Related Mini PCs

The Ryzen 5 3500U against current budget silicon

PassMark rates the Ryzen 5 3500U at 6,831. The Intel N100 in most budget mini PCs scores 5,320 and the newer N150 scores 5,478, so the four-core, eight-thread AMD part is roughly a quarter faster on CPU work. Its Radeon Vega 8 graphics score 1,514 on PassMark’s G3D test against 760 for the N100 and 850 for the N150. That margin covers a browser with a dozen tabs, office documents, and 4K video playback.

It is still a 2019 chip. BOSGAME’s own E5 uses a Ryzen 3 5300U that PassMark scores at 9,460, about 38 percent above the 3500U, and adds 2.5-gigabit LAN. The related BOSGAME E4 runs the higher-power Ryzen 5 3550H at 7,760 with a 2.5-inch drive bay the Air does not have. Anyone shopping this chassis should price all three before settling on the Air.

Three video outputs, two of which do 4K

HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort each drive a 4K display at 60Hz. The front USB-C port also carries video, but at 1080p60, so a three-monitor setup means two 4K panels and one 1080p panel rather than three 4K panels. The third screen suits a chat window or a dashboard rather than detailed work.

The rest of the port layout is generous for the size. The front face carries two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports at 10Gbps, the USB-C port, a 3.5mm combo audio jack, and the power button. The back adds a third 10Gbps USB-A port, a USB 2.0 port, DisplayPort, HDMI, the two RJ45 jacks, a Kensington lock slot, and the barrel power input. Wireless is Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0, which works but sits behind the Wi-Fi 6 radios now common in this price range.

Two memory slots and a second M.2 slot

The 8GB it ships with is the floor for Windows 11, and socketed DDR4 SO-DIMM memory takes it to 32GB with a screwdriver rather than leaving it soldered, which is the main advantage over the LPDDR4 budget boxes it competes with.

The Air drops the 2.5-inch drive bay that the standard E4 carries and uses a second M.2 slot in its place. Both slots are 2280 and the shipped 256GB drive is an M.2 SATA SSD; BOSGAME does not state the interface the second slot runs. A second drive for bulk storage is the first upgrade either way.

BOSGAME lists Windows 11, Ubuntu, and Linux as supported

A Ryzen 3000-series mobile part with Vega graphics is well covered by current Linux kernels and Mesa drivers, so a lightweight desktop distribution is a reasonable choice on this hardware, particularly for the soft-router and home-server uses the dual LAN invites.

Who the E4 Air suits

Two gigabit ports, socketed memory, and a second M.2 slot are a fair trade if the wired networking is the point. A pfSense or OPNsense box, a small file server, or a second office machine that needs to sit on two networks all make sense here. Anyone who just wants a fast, quiet desktop should spend the extra on a Zen 2 or Zen 3 chip instead. Starry Hope’s Mini PC Comparison Chart lines the E4 Air up against other models spec by spec.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the BOSGAME E4 Air run three 4K monitors?

No. HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort each run a 4K display at 60Hz, but the USB-C output is limited to 1080p at 60Hz. Three screens work; only two of them reach 4K.

How much RAM can the E4 Air take?

Up to 32GB of DDR4 SO-DIMM memory. It ships with 8GB, so there is room to upgrade without discarding the machine.

Does the E4 Air have a 2.5-inch drive bay?

No. It has two M.2 2280 slots instead. One holds the shipped 256GB M.2 SATA SSD and the other ships empty. The standard BOSGAME E4 is the model with the 2.5-inch bay.

Why does the E4 Air have two Ethernet ports?

Two ports let the machine sit on two networks at once, which is what a software router, a firewall appliance, or a network bridge needs. Both run at 1Gbps.

How does the Ryzen 5 3500U compare with an Intel N150?

PassMark rates the Ryzen 5 3500U at 6,831 and the Intel N150 at 5,478, so the AMD chip is roughly a quarter faster. Its Radeon Vega 8 graphics score 1,514 on PassMark’s G3D test against 850 for the N150.

Can it run Linux?

BOSGAME lists Ubuntu and Linux alongside Windows 11 as supported. Ryzen 3000-series mobile silicon with Vega graphics has mature open-source driver support.

What is in the box?

The mini PC, a power adapter, an HDMI cable, a VESA mounting bracket with screws, and a manual. Keyboard, mouse, and monitor are not included.