Hardware comparison

"The biggest surprise was how much cooler the N100 ran, very impressive considering the environment it's in and compared with the N5105. The graphs for the N100 are on days with slightly lower max and min temps, but only by a few degrees. I had thought the smaller size/mass of the N100 box would mean it could transfer heat slower, but it really surprised me. I'd say it would be even more effective if the case was the same as the N5105.

I did re-paste the N5105 when it arrived, but I didn't bother with the N100. Neither had any gaps I could see. In terms of power usage, I measured 14.5 watts for the N5105 and 11.3 watts for the N100 when in production.

Yes I know both chips are massive overkill for pfSense, but I recommend the N100 given the thermal and power gains, unless price is the most important factor for you."

Source: reddit 

Less is more

Previously available featuring various Gemini Lake CPUs and the ever popular N100 processor, this cute development board is now shipping with the latest N150 CPU for $179.99. For those who favor simplicity and minimalism, this tiny system could be an option. Its no-frills design still includes dual 2.5GbE ports and M.2 slot. Please note that this barebone unit doesn't include memory and storage.

The Atom returns

Intel retired the Atom branding for consumer-level devices like netbooks, laptops, and tablets around 2017, shifting those low-power segments to the Celeron and Pentium Silver brands instead. However, the Atom brand was retained and continues to be actively used for non-consumer markets, including embedded systems and industrial systems. This Thin mini-ITX motherboard from Mitac, powered by the 12W Atom x7425E (Alder Lake-N, 4C up to 3.40GHz), is now available in the US (MITXPC) and Europe (miniPC.de).

A strange specimen

What's the name for a fanless PC with an integrated display and battery? This $289.99 hybrid PC features a 10.1-inch screen and runs on an aging Celeron N5095 processor. The device comes with 8GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, and is pre-installed with Windows 11 Pro. This weird little machine features HDMI, Ethernet, dual RS232 ports, WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.2, and USB 3.0 ports. It also has a full-featured Type-C port that supports video output, data transfer, and power delivery.

MINIX gets it

Courtesy of Elevated Systems

Unique copper case

Introducing the world's first copper fanless PC case. It's a truly unique design, but there's one catch: It's currently only available in China, and it's limited to 10 units. This case is crafted mostly from pure copper, with all four sides covered in cooling fins. It features an impressive ten dedicated heat pipes for the CPU and can passively cool a discrete graphics card for a total thermal design power (TDP) of up to 250W. Hopefully, this case will spur competitors to make something similar, and more readily available. Bring on copper!

Source: Taobao 

The Twin Lake Chromebox

The new Acer Chromebox Mini CXM2 is powered by Intel's Twin Lake processors, with options including the Intel Core 3 Processor N350, Intel N250, and Intel N150. The device supports up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 128 GB of eMMC storage, with an M.2 expansion slot available. Despite its small size, the CXM2 offers a wide range of ports, including five USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, and two HDMI 2.1 ports, allowing it to support up to three independent monitors. It also features Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and a Gigabit Ethernet port. The mini PC runs Google's Chrome OS only.

Source: Liliputing 

Wait, plastic heat sinks work?

MeLE stands firm: plastic heat sink cases are a good idea. The Chinese company launches the Cyber X1, a beefed up version of their popular Quieter series. The case features hundreds of plastic spikes and we'll admit that it does look cool. The N150-powered mini PC features 16GB of soldered DDR5 memory and a 512 GB PCIe 3.0 NVMe storage drive. For connectivity, the Cyber X1 offers dual HDMI 2.0 outputs, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, two USB 3.2 Type-A ports, a USB 2.0 Type-A port, and a Gigabit Ethernet port. It also supports Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.1 and has a microSD card reader. We're happy to see MeLE plastic PCs selling well, but we'll probably stick to good old aluminum cases.

Source: AndroidPC via Liliputing 

Rugged to the extreme: Karbon 525

The OnLogic Karbon 525 is a rugged, fanless industrial computer engineered for the most demanding edge environments, particularly those requiring intensive AI or advanced graphics processing in extreme conditions. This system leverages powerful Intel® Core™ Ultra processing and features a unique isolated expansion compartment configurable with an NVIDIA MXM AI GPU, delivering unwavering performance and accelerated AI at the extreme edge.

https://www.onlogic.com/store/k525/

Rugged to the extreme: Karbon 524

The OnLogic Karbon 524 is a rugged, fanless industrial computer engineered for the most demanding edge environments requiring significant processing and accelerated graphical capabilities via PCIe expansion. This system leverages powerful Intel® Core™ Ultra processing and provides a robust platform for discrete GPUs or other PCIe-based expansion, delivering unwavering performance in extreme conditions, including those requiring automotive power.

https://www.onlogic.com/store/k524/