i7-9700T confirmed

While the i9-9900T remains unconfirmed, an i7-9700T is definitely happening. Also coming this spring, a large batch of 35W desktop processors including : Celeron G4930T (3.00GHz) Pentium G5420T (3.20GHz) Pentium G5600T (3.30GHz) i3-9100T (3.10GHz) i3-9300T (3.20GHz) i5-9400T (1.80GHz) i5-9500T (2.20GHz) and i5-9600T (2.30GHz).

Sources: Intel, @momomo_us

TWO passive CPU coolers?

We just stumbled upon this crazy concept, and while it may be tempting to pair two heat sinks, mounting them would be tricky. In fact, it's been done before and it's not very practical. Achieve better results by simply using a single quality cooler and a low (35W) TDP processor.

Noctua's NT-H2 is available

Thermal compound is absolutely crucial in any fanless build, and Noctua's original NT-H1 was always a favorite of passive cooling aficionados. Improving upon the first generation the NT-H2 is available in 3.5g and 10g.

"Further improving the award-winning NT-H1, NT-H2 uses a new, fine-tuned mixture of metal oxide microparticles for even lower thermal resistance and reduced bond-line thickness at typical mounting pressures. This allows it to achieve an even better performance in most application scenarios. In Noctua’s standardised internal testing at various platforms and heat loads, up to 2°C lower temperatures were attained."

Source: Noctua, Amazon

FIRST LOOK: Akasa's Turing

Akasa's upcoming Turing case is out of this world. Apparently designed to work horizontally or vertically, this Art Deco monolith handles the 28W of TDP from the i3, i5, or i7 iteration of Intel's Coffee Lake NUC (AKA "Bean Canyon"). Final specs, price and availability are coming soon.

If money isn't an issue

Got a flexible budget? The Cincoze Coffee Lake PC is a stunner. This incredibly rugged computer is fully configurable and is able to run pretty much everything you throw at it. Featuring a PCI/PCIe expansion slot and rich I/O capabilities, the DS-1201 is also 4G LTE capable. Starting at $1,383.

Source: Logic Supply

Introducing the ZBOX PRO family

ZOTAC is looking to grab a slice of the profitable embedded market with several boxes. The rugged mini PCs will debut at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 5-8 February 2019.

"The embedded solutions of ZBOX PRO accelerate and boost efficiency in resource and data intensive applications. Professionals can optimize their workflows in a variety of scenarios; digital signage, scientific calculation, digital art creation and production, CAD rendering, CAM Engineering, retail & finance, casino and gaming, medical and healthcare, IoT gateways, AI & deep learning, video analytics, robotics and industrial control, and so much more."

One of the devices looks very much like their own PI335 Pico with a larger heat sink. It's unfortunate that the consumer version gets only "good enough" cooling.

Source: TechPowerUp

Update: ZBOX PRO PI335, ZBOX PRO CI329, ZBOX PRO CI330

Update#2: ZOTAC tells us that "the ZBOX PRO series won't be sold on etail or retail".

SimplyNUC's fanless Dawson Canyon review

Announced almost 2 years ago, SimplyNUC's in-house Dawson Canyon NUC is finally available. Thankfully, it looks like the wait was worth it : "SimplyNUC’s new case has a lot going for it. Performance-wise, it does the job and then some. It seems to do a better job of cooling the CPU than the typical NUC. It’s also a nice looking case, even cute in its “pokiness”. It’s much bulkier than the standard NUC package, but the designers have done a great job of giving the case some personality. The external antennae add even more size, but they also improve the WiFi range.

In the i3 model at least, the Porcoolpine case seems to do a much better job of cooling than the standard NUC fan, so it may give you an edge against heat-related failures, and may even prolong the life of the hardware."

Source: Techster's Blog

Akasa's Bean Canyon solution

The Akasa Plato X8 is the second fanless chassis for Intel's Coffee Lake NUC AKA "Bean Canyon". The slim 247 x 240 x 38.5mm case features one 2.5" bay, supports IR remote function, and handles the 28W of TDP from the i3-8109U, i5-8259U, or i7-8559U. Due to the increased power consumption, the optional power adapter is now a 120W brick.

Source: Akasa

Update: A second "super cool" Bean Canyon case is in the works at Akasa.

Blast from the past: Sonic Tower

2005 saw the release of the Thermaltake Sonic Tower passive CPU cooler. The dual tower featured 6 heat pipes and a solid copper base. At 112 x 112 x 150 mm, the Sonic Tower was pretty large yet not that heavy at 692g. A reminder that any quality dual tower makes a great passive cooler.

Images credit: pclab.pl

Inside the ASUS PB40