physalis (GPD MicroPC)
Table of Contents
Summary
A neat handheld machine with some faults that make it a questionable purchase.
Notes
- GPD seems to ship beta firmware, and then not make those versions available for redownload. 4.18 that I received was built in June 2020, but still yet to be available for download. 4.15 seems to have been pulled from their main download page. Ended up downgrading blindly because the device just wasn't reliable.
- Hinge design is a weak point according to several posts on r/gpdmicropc. I'm trying to treat it gently when opening/closing so I can avoid reinforcing the plastics with epoxy.
- Really like the overall form factor. Keyboard layout could stand to be improved. Sometimes wish for a touchscreen for convenience, but the little touchpad is pretty serviceable.
Hardware
| Make | GPD |
| Year | 2019 |
| Model | Micro PC |
| Chassis | Micro PC |
| Processor | Intel Celeron N4100 |
| Memory | 8GB LPDDR4 |
| Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics 600 |
| Storage | Kingspec 256GB SSD NT-256 |
| Display | 6" 720x1280 (requires soft rotation) |
| Ports | 3x USB A 3.0 |
| USB C 3.0 | |
| HDMI 2.0 | |
| Micro SD | |
| RJ-45 LAN | |
| DB-9 Serial | |
| 3.5mm Headset | |
| Int. Peripherals | Intel Wireless AC 7265 |
| Realtek Gigabit Ethernet RTL8168h | |
| Realtek Audio ALC269VC | |
| Ext. Peripherals | - |
| Dimensions | |
| Length/Depth | 11.3 cm |
| Width | 15.3 cm |
| Height/Thickness | 2.4 cm |
| Weight | 0.44 kg (16 oz) |
Software
| Operating System | Windows 10 Pro |
| Debian Testing (bullseye) | |
| Unique applications | - |
Log
A new palmtop
Bought from AliExpress (GPD Official Store) for $312 before tax due to some coupon code that was available.
SSD swap
Swapped Biwin 128GB SSD for a used Lite-On 256GB SATA SSD from ebay.
Startup issues
Device has had ongoing boot, and minor stability issues.
Frequently had to retry booting several times. Did things like hold down power until the blue LED blinked repeatedly. The device would sometimes leave the display off, but other times it would just give a blank backlit screen. Possible it was booting, but without display.
It wasn't unusual for it to crash after that first boot when I started using applications. After getting it to boot the second time I could usually run it for long periods without issue.
Another SSD swap
Swapped the SSD for a new Kingspec NT-256. New SSD and fresh installs didn't resolve boot issues.
Old BIOS mostly fixes the issues
Downgraded BIOS firmware to 4.13. I was reluctant to downgrade because the 4.18 it was shipped with isn't available for download. This older BIOS seems to resolve a lot of the boot issues. It can still get into weird states, but generally cold booting has just worked. I don't forgive GPD for it, but maybe it won't become a device that is never used.