i7 PC with a $200 discount

Powered by an Intel Core i7-10510U processor and featuring 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, this mini PC delivers efficient, low-power performance for industrial applications, or for home use. Connectivity includes HDMI, DisplayPort, dual Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports alongside multiple USB and serial COM ports. It's not the prettiest PC, but it's dead silent and will handle anything you throw at it, except heavy gaming, of course. It's available today with a $200 discount.

Thermalright HSC-100

The Thermalright HSC-100 was an experimental, and frankly a little crazy, fully passive computer chassis showcased at Computex 2007. Designed during the height of Thermalright's dominance in high-end air cooling, the prototype turned the chassis exterior into a massive CPU cooler. Thermalright claimed the passive side-panel could handle CPUs up to 100W TDP without fan assistance. Despite a planned August 2007 launch with a projected price of $500, the HSC-100 never hit the shelves. 

Built-in fans make planned obsolescence a guarantee

Planned obsolescence is a reality. Planned obsolescence is an ecological disaster. Planned obsolescence is a grift, and fans are not helping. Small moving parts are often the primary point of failure in ultra-compact systems. Fans into a mini PC create specific mechanical and thermal trade-offs that directly limit the device's lifespan. Cleaning or replacing a fan in such a tiny chassis often requires a complete teardown, including removing delicate ribbon cables, wireless antennas, and motherboard screws. Most people aren't doing that. PCs are simply being tossed out and replaced.

Image: reddit

Pure enthusiast fun

Pairing a massive desktop CPU cooler with a NUC for passive cooling is completely impractical, utterly ridiculous to look at, and yet mathematically and thermally brilliant. We'd love to see a manufacturer turn this concept into an official, widely available adapter.

The plastic PC faces doubts

"I found a way to reduce the CPU temperature of about 25 degres (tested at room ambiant temperature of 23 degrees), but I expect the difference can be even more when used at a higher ambiant temperature. The test were conducted by running a Perf software that is testing CPU performance.

Without cooling: CPU reaches more than 68 degrees

With cooling: CPU reaches 42 degrees and I get more than 33%  perf for the benchmark test: PerformanceTest app gave 3000 before cooling and 4300 with fan + coolers.

The Noctua 80mm USB only is placed in extraction mode. To improve the cooling, we can put some Black Shark Funcooler Pro (coolers for phones)..."

Source: Cloudy Nights 

MeLE Quieter 4C SE Grade launched

Following the Business grade Quieter 4C featuring DDR5 and premium SSD, MeLE launches a more affordable Standard / Essential grade version featuring DDR4 and "good-enough" storage. If you don't absolutely need high-endurance storage built for intense 24/7 commercial write loads, the Quieter 4C SE Grade delivers the exact same performance and triple-display hardware for $309.99. Same old plastic case, though.

Shuttle's NE10N disappoints

"The NE10N is a huge performance step up from the old Asrock Celeron CPU. No problem using the web browsers and stream video in Full HD / 1080p 1920 x 1080 (that is the highest our old TV can handle).

I started to measure the CPU core temps with HWMonitor in different configurations. Each ”setup” was used at least 24 hours with the same room temp. I never got an idle temp below 67C… Also note the max temp numbers at 95C…

I had a Noctua NF-P12 Redux-1300 fan at home. It is a 120 mm 12 volt fan that will run from 5 volt USB at a low RPM. It is impossible to hear any fan noise from this fan at 5v. What a difference! The idle temp drops to 49C and high load to 74C. That is -20C from normal use!"

Source: Lars Thunberg 

The power of copper

Source: reddit (2)

Building with a slim 1U fanless case

Learn more about the Akasa Galileo TU2 Plus MKII here.

Kubb available in Germany

The tiny yet powerful Kubb Fanless is now shipping from MediaMarkt. Three colors are available: graphite, bronze, and blue. The units are sold as Windows 11 Pro machines featuring 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. The Core Ultra 5 225H versions are priced at €1689 while the Core Ultra X7 358H Kubbs are €2229.

https://www.mediamarkt.de/kubb fanless