ASUS J1900I-C

The sibling of the J1800I-C retains the same amazing heatsink and features a quad-core SoC this time. Next, a Bay Trail motherboard with on-board DC power input?

✓ Celeron J1900 (4 cores (@ 2,00 GHz, up to 2.42 GHz)
✓ 2 x 1.35V DDR3L SO-DIMM slots
✓ 1 x PCI Express x1 slot
✓ 1 x Mini PCI Express x1 slot
✓ 2 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors
✓ 1 x USB 3.0 port
✓ 4 x USB 2.0 ports
✓ 1 x HDMI
✓ 1 x VGA
✓ 1 x COM
✓ 1 x PS/2 Mouse / Keyboard
✓ 1 x Gigabit Ethernet (Realtek RTL8111G)

Source: ASUS

FIRST LOOK: Maczon lineup

Newcomer Maczon is about to rock the fanless world with a wide range of cases, including HTPC, mini-tower, and NUC solutions. We're impressed with the designs, and can't wait for more specs and prices.

Intel quietly updates the Bay Trail NUC

Since the launch of the DN2820FYKH several minor drivers and usb problems have been reported (including by our friends over at XBMC forums). And Intel is listening. The original Celeron N2820 is now replaced by a Celeron N2830 with upgrated stepping (C0), clock speed (2.16 GHz, Turbo @ 2.41 GHz) and memory support (now DDR3L-1333).

The DN2820FYKH is not fanless but cases are coming, and with a 7.5W TDP some run it passively without any case at all (Raspberry Pi-style).

Source: Intel (PDF)

A duo of Kabini motherboards

Finally some AMD action with the mini-ITX GA-E2100N and A68N-5000. The sub-$60 GIGABYTE board features an E1-2100 (for an anemic 614 CPU Mark), while BIOSTAR opts for a significantly more capable A4-5000 (1917 CPU Mark).

BIOSTAR A68N-5000

✓ AMD A4-5000 (4 cores @ 1.5 GHz)
✓ AMD Radeon HD 8330 Graphics
✓ 2 x DDR3 DIMM slots
✓ 1 x PCI Express slot
✓ 2 x SATA 3 connectors
✓ 2 x USB 3.0 port
✓ 2 x USB 2.0 ports
✓ 1 x HDMI
✓ 1 x VGA
✓ 1 x PS/2 Mouse / Keyboard
✓ 1 x Gigabit Ethernet (Realtek)

GIGABYTE GA-E2100N

✓ AMD E1-2100 (2 cores @ 1.0 GHz)
✓ AMD Radeon HD 8210 graphics
✓ 2 x DDR3 DIMM slots
✓ 1 x PCI Express slot
✓ 2 x SATA 3 connectors
✓ 2 x USB 3.0 port
✓ 4 x USB 2.0 ports
✓ 1 x HDMI
✓ 1 x VGA
✓ 1 x PS/2 Mouse / Keyboard
✓ 1 x Gigabit Ethernet (Realtek)

Thanks to the one and only Ian Cutress for the tip.

Shuttle announces consumer-friendly DS437T

On the heels of the successful DS47 and DS437 - and by popular demand - Shuttle is launching a slim PC without any COM port and with two additional USB 3.0 ports. Access to memory and storage is still as easy as ever, and the DS437T is still ready for 24/7 operation. Available for $250 on Amazon.

✓ Intel Celeron 1037U
✓ Intel HD graphic
✓ Storage interface: SATA 6G
✓ 1 x Mini-PCI-E (half-size)
✓ 2 x SO-DIMM slots (Max. 16GB)
✓ 4-in-1 card reader
✓ 4 x USB 3.0 ports
✓ 2 x USB 2.0 ports
✓ 1 x Gigabit Ethernet
✓ 1 x DVI
✓ 1 x HDMI
✓ 200 x 39.5 x 165 mm
✓ Kensington lock
✓ VESA mountable
✓ 65W adapter

Intel releases its fanless NUC

Intel just unveiled a very elegant, and seriously underpowered mini PC. The long rumored fanless NUC is aimed at professionnals but should be available everywhere for $129. What Intel calls a "pint-sized powerhouse" is actually powered by a single core, single thread, 1.46 GHz Atom, and features a single memory channel and a single USB 3.0 port. It's certainly a powerhouse, just not in this dimension.

Interestingly, the aluminum fins design is all plastic, and suggests an internal CPU cooler (we do prefer this solution anyway). A Trusted Platform Module device for hardware-based data encryption could be nice too. Please Intel, pretty please, the same (or cube-like) box with your best Bay Trail chip, and you have a winner.

✓ Intel NUC Kit DE3815TYKHE
✓ Intel Atom E3815 (5W TDP)
✓ 1 x DDR3L SO-DIMM slot (8GB maximum)
✓ Intel HD Graphics (up to 400 MHz)
✓ 1 x HDMI 1.4a
✓ 1 x Embedded DisplayPort
✓ 1 x VGA
✓ Multi-channel digital audio via HDMI interface
✓ Back panel headphone / microphone jack
✓ 1 x USB 3.0
✓ 2 x USB 2.0
✓ 3 x internal USB 2.0
✓ 4GB eMMC storage device built in
✓ Internal support for 2.5-inch HDD / SSD
✓ 10 / 100 / 1000Mbps Ethernet port
✓ Half-length PCIe mini-card slot and wireless antennas pre-assembled
✓ 12V, 36W wall-mount AC-DC power adapter
✓ 190mm x 116mm x 40mm
✓ 3-year Advanced Warranty Replacement

Update: Now available on Amazon!

Update 2: First unboxing at Minimachines.

Update 3: Details of the chassis and motherboard, courtesy of Intel.

Pentium J2900, where art thou?

Intel's most exciting Bay Trail SoC is still nowhere to be seen. The quad-core processor features a humble 10W TDP for a healthy 2166 CPU Mark, but looks more and more like vaporware.

Unfortunate naming scheme, unexpected Jxx50 series discontinuation, drivers issues, several steppings and spotty availability, the Bay Trail launch has been rather bumpy on the desktop side. Fingers crossed for Braswell.

Update: We'd love to see how the J2900 fares against AMD's Kabini.

GIGABYTE GA-J1800N-D2H in motion

LowPowPC takes a look at GIGABYTE entry-level Bay Trail motherboard. The Celeron J1800-based mini-ITX board features two 1.35V DDR3L DIMM slots, one PCI Express slot, one Mini PCI Express slot, two SATA 3Gb/s connectors, one USB 3.0 port, four USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, VGA and Gigabit Ethernet.

The GA-J1800N-D2H is availble for $82 on Amazon, while the quad-core version retails for $95. Both should make "good-enough" (and quickly assembled) multimedia PCs.

Nofan CR-80EH unboxing

Here's a closer look at Nofan CR-80EH and its bundle. The unusual CPU cooler features a 13 cm circular heatpipe, and a single 19 meters (62 feet!) ICEPIPE. This 155mm wide beauty will passively cool CPUs up to 80W TDP. Available for £41,30 at QuietPC.