BLACK FRIDAY 2019

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Passive Noctua NH-L9?

Who knew the Noctua NH-L9i had passive cooling potential? According to this redditor, Noctua's smallest CPU cooler handles the 54W Pentium G5600 like a champ. The low-profile heat sink is able to keep temperatures under 60°C during light office tasks.

Thanks, but we'll stick to this one.

Shuttle DS10U review

The DS10U is another winner for Shuttle. Powered by the Whiskey Lake Celeron 4205U the barebone also boasts impressive connectivity options. As always with Shuttle, thermals are excellent. Performance is adequate, though the Core-based 4205U is surprisingly close to the aging Pentium J5005, proving once again how solid Gemini Lake is.

Source: AndroidpcTV

The N-FRAME-ITX

Proudly made in Japan, the N-FRAME-ITX is a simple yet genius little case / benchtable. Featuring a removable handle the 210 × 150 × 315mm structure is ideal for open air and passive builds. According to the manufacturer's site, micro-ATX, ATX, and even E-ATX versions are coming soon.

Source: akiba-pc

Frankenstein's PC

It's certainly not the prettiest, but this experimental build seems to be working. Featuring the SilverStone HE02 and the Raijintek Morpheus II it handles a 65W CPU and a 75W GPU without any fan. We don't recommend the use of the Morpheus II in passive mode though, especially since Raijintek is working on something.

Source: Twitter

NUC 10 launched

The Comet Lake-powered NUC is finally here:

"Featuring the power of 10th generation Intel® Core processors, the Intel® NUC 10 Performance has the power to create content as well as consume it. Record and mix music, add animation effects to your video edits, or over-binge your favorite shows in stunning ultra high-def 4K. Whatever it is, this Mini PC brings full-size PC performance at a size small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.

Available with a choice of hard drive configurations to meet your speed and storage needs, the NUC 10 Performance has the ports to connect every last peripheral and keep your data moving at top speed. And with triple display support, you can multitask across multiple screens and give your brilliance room to spread out."

✓ 10th generation Intel Core processors
✓ HDMI 2.0
✓ ThunderboltTM 3
✓ Support for three 4K60 displays
✓ Four USB 3.1 ports
✓ Intel WiFi 6
✓ Bluetooth
✓ Intel Gigabit LAN
✓ SDXC slot with UHS-II support
✓ 3-year limited warranty

Source: Intel

Third time's a charm for MINIX

MINIX seems to have finally put some thought behind their cooling system. Their latest Celeron N4100 mini PC features 4GB RAM, 64GB eMMC, Windows 10 and a size-appropriate but most importantly functional heat sink. Nice promo video, too. The MINIX G41V is available for $275.

Passively Cooling a CPU – Never Again!

This video is so unfair and infuriating. Passive cooling is still viewed as a train wreck or a laughing matter when it's the most reliable cooling solution possible. It's also unfair to this particular cooler, the Alpine AM4 Passive is an entry-level product designed for 35W processors only.

Pre-order Shuttle's DS10U

Powered by the Whiskey Lake Celeron 4205U Shuttle's mini barebone can be yours for $430. The DS10U is definitely on the pricey side but connectivity is superb and the system is approved for 24/7 operation. Note that vertical position is required to ensure optimal cooling.

✓ 2 x SO-DIMM slots (32GB max)
✓ M.2 slot / 2.5" bay
✓ SD card reader
✓ 4 x USB 3.1 Gen2 ports
✓ 4 x USB 2.0 ports
✓ 1 x HDMI 2.0a
✓ 1 x DisplayPort 1.4
✓ 1 x VGA port
✓ 1 x COM port
✓ 2 x Gigabit Ethernet (Intel)
✓ 200 x 39.5 x 165 mm

Akasa launches the Cypher MX3

Akasa's new Thin mini-ITX case measures only 208 x 203 x 45mm (2L volume). It features 4 front USB ports and a 2.5" bay. Sold as an active chassis the Cypher MX3 features enough mesh for fanless motherboards like the MiTAC PD10AI or the Jetway NF692G6-420.

The Cypher MX3 is available today in the US, Germany, France, Finland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Portugal, and Dubai.

Source: Akasa

ZBOX on clearance

The most powerful fanless ZBOXes are now available at a substantially lower price. The CI620 (i3-8130U) is now $430, the CI640 (i5-8250U) is $520, while the flagship CI660 (i7-8550U) is now $620. Initially sold as barebone systems, these particular units are OS-free mini PCs featuring 4GB RAM and a 120GB SSD.

✓ 2 x DDR4 SO-DIMM slots (up to 32GB)
✓ 1 x 2.5-inch SATA 6Gbps HDD / SSD slot
✓ 3-in-1 card reader (SD / SDHC / SDXC)
✓ 2 x USB 3.1 Type-C (Front)
✓ 4 x USB 3.1 (Rear)
✓ 1 x USB 3.0 (Front)
✓ 2 x Ethernet ports
✓ 1 x HDMI 2.0 (up to 3840x2160@60Hz)
✓ 1 x DisplayPort 1.2 (up to 4096X2160@60Hz)
✓ WiFi 802.11ac / Bluetooth 5.0
✓ 204mm x 129mm x 68mm

Frost Canyon early review

We had doubts about whether Frost Canyon would be able to outperform last year's Bean Canyon. But according to this review of a pre-production sample, things look pretty darn good. By raising TDP and the processor frequency (Configurable TDP-up) performance is very impressive. The 6-core i7-10710U is a desktop-class processor and can handle everything you throw at it.

The downsides are high temperatures (a nail-biting 100°C during stress test, fanless cases will have to be top-notch) and a larger 120W power adapter. Note that according to our sources, the i3 and i5 iterations will ship with a smaller 90W unit.

Source: KoolShare via @momomo_us

The ThinkCentre Mystery

Now this is bizarre. Why does the ThinkCentre M90n nano IoT look different? It looks like the original heat sink from promo pictures and launch units is now a plastic cover with a much less capable cooler beneath it. Pretty troubling considering the 15W processor inside. We have reached out to Lenovo and will update this post as we learn more.

Image credit: nikkeibp.co.jp

PrimeMini 4 thermals

Temperature test
The burn-in test shows you how the temperature of the PrimeMini 4 behaves under maximum CPU load.
But why does the case get warm at all?
Our devices do not need a fan. This means that the heat from the processor is dissipated through the aluminum case. #Testing pic.twitter.com/c7cEvojPFP

— Prime Computer AG (@PrimeComputerCH) November 15, 2019

Fanless SilverStone PC build

Courstesy of Fully Silent PCs

Crucial's 32GB modules

Just in time for Frost Canyon. According to our sources, Intel's upcoming Comet Lake mini desktop is the first 4x4-inch NUC to officially support 64GB RAM. The i7 iteration will even ship with a 120W power adapter to ensure smooth performance. Crucial's unbuffered 32GB DDR4 module is available for a reasonable $160.

Update: The regular 288-pin DIMM module is also available for $162.

First Gemini Lake Refresh systems

FUJITSU's S9010, S7010, and S5010 thin clients are getting Intel's Gemini Lake Refresh desktop processors first. The flagship S9010 rocks the 10W Pentium Silver J5040, while the S7010 and S5010 feature the 10W Celeron J4125 and J4025. The passively-cooled thin clients also feature six USB ports, SO-DIMM slots, M.2 storage, Ethernet, two DisplayPorts, and run eLux or Windows 10 IoT Entreprise. We expect Gemini Lake Refresh mini desktops from mainstream brands (including brand new designs) early 2020. Stay tuned.

Source: FUJITSU

OnLogic Karbon 700 review

"Throughout all of these different workloads tested, the Karbon 700 was doing an excellent job at keeping the processor and other components operating efficiently to the extent that any thermal throttling was at a minimum while operating at normal room temperatures.

"In addition to having tested Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and Ubuntu 19.10, a variety of other Linux distributions were also benchmarked on the OnLogic Karbon 700 without issue. Coming up in the next week or so will be those results of a multi-distribution comparison from the Karbon 700 for those curious. But long story short, with none of the modern Linux distributions tested were there any compatibility woes or problems.

"Over the weeks of testing thus far and continuing to run the Karbon 700 in our labs, there haven't been any technical shortcomings encountered. As with industrial-grade PCs, the only downside to report with the Karbon 700 is the price."

Source: Phoronix

Silentmaxx TwinBlock on the cheap

Planning to passively cool the 127W i9-9900KS? The humongous and extremely rare Silentmaxx TwinBlock is available on eBay for $77. Manufactured by Deepcool for German PC builder Silentmaxx, the TwinBlock is usually exclusively available in their high-end Kenko range. The Twinblock is a 1.3kg dual-tower featuring 10 heat pipes.

Update: It's really, really big.

OnLogic's CL210G-10 now $238

"The front I/O includes two USB 3.0 ports, two Gb LAN port, two mini-DisplayPorts. The bottom includes one USB 2.0 port, and a 9 pin RS-232 box connector COM port. For future customizations, the top has four antenna holes for Wi-Fi or LTE via the system’s two mPCIe slots (one full-height, one half-height).

Equipped with the efficient Intel Celeron N3350 processor and 4GB of dual channel LPDDR4 memory, the AWS-CL210G-10 brings stable operation with Intel Platform Trust Technology (PTT).

This industrial fanless gateway brings the ease of x86 architecture to the Ultra Small Form Factor with dual LAN and dual Mini Display Ports. Storage temperature range: -20°C to 70°C.

The industrial-grade Hardshell Fanless Technology found on the AWS-CL210G-10 not only looks good, but also protects the system from dust, debris, chemical, and moisture ingress. Its unique cast aluminum chassis efficiently dissipates heat while allowing for space-saving mounting with a DIN rail mounting kit included.

An mSATA slot (shared with the full-height mPCIe) or microSD card slot on the back can accommodate additional storage if more than the 32 GB of eMMC storage is needed."

Source: Amazon

Swan song for Noctua's NH-D14

Last chance to own the legendary Noctua CPU cooler. The dual-tower heat sink is still available in very small quantities for $79.95 in regular box or in easy-to-open packaging. The 900g premium cooler performs well in passive mode for 35W processors and even 65W i3s. Definitely a better option than the flimsy and clearly overpriced Nofan CR-80EH.

Frost Canyon NUC leaks

The next gen 4x4-inch NUC is upon us. Frost Canyon features Intel's Comet Lake U processors but is extremely similar to the Coffee Lake-powered Bean Canyon, only trading one of its front USB Type A port for a USB Type C port.

As usual, expect slim (M.2 storage only) and regular models (M.2 and 2.5" bay). It will be interesting to see how the new 15W Comet Lake chips with UHD Graphics compare to last year's 28W processors with eDRAM-infused Iris Plus Graphics. We can confirm that at least two third-party fanless cases are in the works.

Frost Canyon has a tentative release date set for December 12.

via @momomo_us

Update (EXCLUSIVE) : Frost Canyon WILL be 25W (cTDP).

Update #2 : Frost Canyon is the first 4x4-inch NUC to officially support 64GB RAM.