Asus' VivoStick [1] would be a better choice since it is uses Intel's new "Cherry Trail" SoC rather than the slow "Bay Trail" SoC found in Intel's own Compute Stick.

[1] https://www.asus.com/Stick-PCs/VivoStick-PC-TS10/

I heard it wasnt that great (http://gizmodo.com/intel-compute-stick-review-don-t-buy-it-1...) any personal experience?

I have one, no complaints whatsoever for streaming 1080p hi10p over wifi-n with kodi or MPC-HC.

I would agree with the article when it complains that (A) streaming requires good wifi, and (B) an Atom isn't as powerful a desktop workstation as an i3/i5. They seem self-evident to me and as an HTPC i'm quite happy with it.

Steam streaming was my specific use case, so now that the Steam Link is out, i might have purchased a cheaper arm device and attempted to port or RE its software.

Cool, thanks.

I was thinking about buying one for parents but the whole bluetooth/wifi at the same time having problems spooked me, I will probably pick one up!

I also have one, and it's great for office tasks. Nice to be able to fit a functional PC in your pocket. Windows 10 runs decently on it. The Gizmodo review was negative because you couldn't play games on it. It's definitely not a games machine, although I have been able to play World of Warcraft on it.

IIRC it has two SKUs, one with windows bundled and more RAM; one with Ubuntu bundled and less RAM.