Would you buy a plastic fanless PC?

MeLE's Cyber X1 mini PC gained attention and controversy for its fanless design utilizing a unique, spiky top cover made of "high thermal-conductivity" engineering plastic instead of traditional metal. This "Micro-Pillar Array Cooling Technology" expands the heat dissipation surface area, allowing the Intel N150 CPU to run at a slightly higher performance limit (10W) compared to MeLE's Quieter 4C model.
Courtesy of OSReviews

Bring your product to life

This is what fanless PC cases look before machining. From CAD design and thermal simulation, to prototyping, branding and CNC machining, our friends over at Tranquil IT can manufacture your rugged edge system. Do check them out.

Meanwhile in China

The crazy Chinese case we spotted back in September is now in prototype phase. The chassis is absolutely massive, featuring 10 heatpipes and 10 kg of aluminum. It uses sheer size and brute force, not subtlety, to manage the heat of the Core Ultra 7 265K and the GeForce RTX 5060 even under heavy load. We like that.

Source: bilibili

DeSalvo Pi case up close

Source: eBay 

Looking for super quiet?

"I’ve been using the MINIX Z150‑0dB Fanless Mini PC in my home office for a few weeks now, and I’m impressed by how quietly capable this little box is. From a technical user’s perspective, here’s how it stacks up. Right away, the passive cooling (i.e. no fan) is a big win. The system hums along at a whisper—no fan noise even when pushing heavier loads like compiling code or running multiple virtual machines. It manages heat by conducting through its chassis, and I didn’t see any thermal throttling under sustained use.

Performance feels like a modest step up from older N100-based systems. For daily tasks—web browsing, spreadsheets, remote desktop, light photo editing—it handles everything smoothly. The jump to N150 gives you a slight bump in clock and iGPU headroom compared to N100 models, so you feel less constrained when multitasking. That said, it doesn’t replace a high-end desktop or gaming rig—it’s designed for quiet efficiency, not raw horsepower.

Connectivity is solid: dual HDMI (so you can run two 4K displays), a 2.5GbE port, Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5.2 (with external antennas), and a mix of USB-C and USB-A ports. In my usage, the Ethernet link has been rock solid, and Wi-Fi range is decent (I’m two rooms away from the router). Just be mindful that the USB-C is data-only (i.e. no video out or charging) in this model.

If I had to nitpick: when pushing it close to its limits (e.g. compiling large projects, transcoding video), it can lag a bit, particularly if multiple cores are pinned. Also, upgrading memory or SSD involves opening the chassis, which isn’t hard—but it’s not completely tool-free. And support/firmware updates from smaller brands always carry a bit of uncertainty. In fact, in community forums some users contrast support between brands when choosing between similar mini PCs.

All in all, for a technically minded home user like me who wants a quiet, compact workstation or media box, the Z150-0dB delivers. It won’t replace high-end machines, but for everyday workloads, development, streaming, and dual monitors, it does the job with no fuss and zero fan noise."

Source: Amazon 

Core Ultra 9 285T case

Akasa launches the Euler TX3 its latest Thin mini-ITX fanless case. The compact 262.6 x 215 x 68.5 mm chassis (about 3.9L) supports LGA1851 / LGA1700 / LGA1200 / LGA115X Thin mini-ITX motherboards and 35W CPUs up to the Core Ultra 9 285T. The Euler TX3 is pure anodized aluminum and weighs about 2.5 kg, equivalent to two Noctua NH-P1 CPU coolers. It's already available in Germany for €149.95. 

Update: Akasa's booth at Embedded World North America!

Core Ultra 9 285T board

Launched this summer the ASUS Pro H810T-CSM is now available globally, including in Italy, Germany, the UK, Denmark, Poland, France, and more. The Thin mini-ITX motherboard features two SO-DIMM slots for up to 128GB of DDR5-6400. It offers a PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot and connectivity options like DisplayPort, HDMI, four USB ports, and Gigabit Ethernet. We're partial to ASUS and this board is our choice for a reliable Core Ultra 9 285T build.

Core Ultra 9 285T available

The Intel Core Ultra 9 285T is a desktop processor from the Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) family, codenamed Arrow Lake-S. It features a hybrid architecture with a total of 24 cores and 24 threads. 8 Performance-cores (P-cores), based on the Lion Cove design, and 16 Efficient-cores (E-cores), using the Skymont design. Its maximum turbo frequency is an impressive 5.4 GHz. This beast of a processor is currently the most powerful option for a fanless build, thanks to its low 35W thermal envelope. The 285T is now available from Quiet PC (shipping worldwide) and from various retailers in France, Belgium, Germany and more. 

The Linux stick

The AZULLE Access Pro is a highly compact, plug-and-play computing solution designed for various applications such as digital signage, remote work, and home theater use. It plugs directly into a monitor of TV via its male HDMI 2.0 connector, and it comes with Linux! The diminutive PC features the Intel N100 processor, 8GB of soldered RAM, and 128GB of soldered storage (micro-SD card slot available). For connectivity, the Access Pro includes both Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2, alongside a Gigabit Ethernet port. The Access Pro is available for $309.99.

Final Alder Lake-N offering

The ASRock IMB-1012J-WV is an industrial-grade Mini-ITX motherboard powered by the 12W Intel N97 processor. The motherboard features a single SO-DIMM slot for DDR5 4800 MHz memory (up to 32GB). Storage options include one M.2 slot for SSDs using PCIe Gen3 x1 or SATA3, one M.2 (Key E) slot for wireless modules, and one SATA3 (6Gb/s) connector. The IMB-1012J-WV supports a triple display configuration, including two HDMI 2.0b ports, LVDS, and eDP 1.4b. Connectivity includes dual Realtek Gigabit LAN ports, three USB 3.2 Gen2 ports and one USB 2.0 port on the rear I/O, plus additional internal USB headers. Last year's N97 offering, the IMB-1007J, was priced at $279.95. Coming soon: Intel's Wildcat Lake range of low-power CPUs, with up to 16-core models.

Source: ASRock