mini pc News - Page 2 of 155 - CNX Software

November 11, 2025November 11, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

$500+ MINISFORUM MS-R1 Arm Linux AI mini PC features CIX CP8180 12-core SoC, up to 64GB LPDDR5x

MINISFORUM MS-R1 is an AI mini PC running Debian 12 Linux that’s powered by a CIX P1 (CP8180) 12-core Arm Cortex-A720/A520 processor with up to 45 TOPS of AI performance. The mini PC supports up to 64GB of soldered-on LPDDR5 memory, M.2 storage, and provides HDMI, USB-C DP, and eDP display interfaces, two 10GbE ports and WiFi 6E, a total of nine USB ports, a PCIe Gen x16 slot for a graphics card, U.2 storage, or networking expansion, a 40-pin internal GPIO header, and more. MINISFORUM MS-R101 specifications: SoC – Cix CP8180 (P1) 12-core DynamIQ processor 4x Cortex‑A720 big cores @ up to 2.6 GHz 4x Cortex‑A720 medium cores 4x Cortex‑A520 LITTLE cores Cache – 12MB shared L3 cache GPU – Arm Immortalis G720 MC10 with hardware ray-tracing support, graphics APIs: Vulkan 1.3, OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 3.0 VPU Video Decoder – Up to 8Kp60 AV1, H.265, H.264, VP9, VP8, H.263, […]

October 23, 2025October 23, 2025 by Debashis Das - 18 Comments

GIGABYTE AI TOP ATOM – An NVIDIA GB10 desktop AI supercomputer with 1 petaFLOP AI, 10GbE, 128GB RAM

GIGABYTE AI TOP ATOM, NVIDIA Grace Blackwell GB10 Superchip

GIGABYTE has introduced the AI TOP ATOM, a compact desktop AI supercomputer with 1 petaFLOP of AI performance, which is very similar to NVIDIA DGX Spark. That’s because it’s also built around the NVIDIA Grace Blackwell GB10 Superchip. Housed in a 1-liter chassis, it’s designed for generative AI, large language models, and machine learning workloads directly on the desktop. The AI TOP ATOM features 128 GB of LPDDR5x unified memory, supports up to 4 TB PCIe Gen5 SSD storage. The 1,000 TOPS (1 petaFLOP) FP4 of AI compute enables it to handle models with up to 200 billion parameters, or 405 billion in a dual-system configuration. Connectivity includes 10GbE networking, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, HDMI 2.1a, and multiple USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C ports. GIGABYTE AI TOP ATOM specifications: SoC – NVIDIA GB10 CPU – 20-core Armv9 processor with 10x Cortex-X925 cores and 10x Cortex-A725 cores Architecture – NVIDIA Grace […]

October 10, 2025October 9, 2025 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

Avalue EPC-ASL Intel N97 fanless industrial mini PC is designed for 24/7 operation

Avalue EPC ASL Intel N97 Fanless Compact System

Avalue Technology’s EPC-ASL is a rugged fanless industrial mini PC built around the Intel Processor N97. Designed for 24/7 operation and edge computing, the mini PC is suitable for industrial environments, such as smart manufacturing, retail, logistics, and surveillance. The PC supports up to 16GB DDR5 memory, dual 2.5GbE, and various I/O options, including six USB ports, dual RS-232, HDMI 2.0, and DisplayPort 1.4a for multi-display setups. Storage and expansion are supported by M.2 Key-B/E slots, which accommodate Wi-Fi 6E, LTE, 5G, or SSD modules for enhanced connectivity and storage. The system also includes TPM 2.0 security, +12V/24V DC input, and wall-mount support. Avalue EPC-ASL specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N97 quad-core processor up to 3.6 GHz with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD Graphics Gen 12 @ 1.2 GHz; TDP: 12W System Memory – Up to 16GB DDR5 4800MHz via 1x SO-DIMM socket (Up to 64GB DDR5 is likely supported, but Avalue […]

October 3, 2025October 2, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

M5Stack LLM-8850 card – An M.2 M-Key AI accelerator module based on Axera AX8850 24 TOPS SoC

M5Stack LLM‑8850 card is an M.2 M-Key 2242 AI acceleration module powered by an Axera AX8850 SoC delivering 24 TOPS ( INT8) of performance, and suitable for host devices such as Raspberry Pi 5, Rockchip RK3588 SBCs, and even x86 PCs like mini PCs with a spare M.2 Key-M socket. The card ships with 8GB RAM, a 32Mbit SPI NOR flash, and also supports H.265/H.264 8Kp30 video encoding and 8Kp60 video decoding, with up to 16 channels for 1080p videos. It is also equipped with an active cooling system to maintain stable temperatures and prevent thermal degradation inside enclosures. M5Stack LLM‑8850 card specifications: SoC – Axera AX8850 CPU – Octa-core Cortex‑A55 processor at 1.7 GHz NPU – 24 TOPS @ INT8 VPU Video Encoder – 8K @ 30 fps H.264/H.265 encoding, supports scaling / cropping Video Decoder – 8K @ 60 fps H.264/H.265 decoding, supports 16 channels 1080p parallel decoding, supports scaling / cropping Memory – 8GB 64‑bit LPDDR4x @ 4266 Mbps Storage – 32Mbit QSPI NOR […]

September 30, 2025October 2, 2025 by Leo Zachary - 8 Comments

Orange Pi AI Studio Pro – A Huawei Ascend 310 AI box with up to 352 TOPS, 192GB RAM

Orange Pi AI Studio is a USB4 box designed for artificial intelligence applications, equipped with up to two Huawei Ascend 310 AI octa-core ARM 64-bit processors, delivering up to 176 TOPS per chip, as well as up to 192GB RAM. This follows the Orange Pi AIPro introduced last year, with an unnamed Huawei Ascend SoC delivering up to 20 TOPS NPU. The basic version of AI Studio has up to 96GB of LPDDR4X memory and 32MB of SPI Flash. The interface of the device is very simple, featuring a 12V 10A DC power interface, a USB 4.0 Type-C port, a power switch, and an indicator light. The only disadvantage is the limited number of ports provided, even do not include an HDMI port or an Ethernet port. Orange Pi AI Studio and AI Studio Pro specifications: SoC AI Studio – Huawei Ascend 310 octa-core 64-bit processor delivering up to 176 TOPS AI […]

September 25, 2025September 24, 2025 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

BIOSTAR MU-N150 – A Twin Lake fanless Industrial PC with 2.5GbE, triple 4K video output

BIOSTAR EdgeComp MU N150 fanless industrial PC

BIOSTAR has launched the EdgeComp MU-N150, a compact 0.6L fanless industrial PC built around the Intel Processor N150 ” Twin Lake” SoC for edge computing, automation, HMI, POS/kiosk, and more. Some other N150 systems, like the HUNSN RJ42/RJ43 and Protectli VP2430, are for networking with four 2.5GbE ports, while the MU-N150 uses dual LAN but adds industrial-grade durability. The PC supports up to 16GB DDR5 4800MHz memory, triple 4K video output, and dual 2.5GbE. Expansion option includes M.2 Key-M slot for NVMe storage and an M.2 Key-E slot for Wi-Fi/BT modules. Other features include 2x USB 3.2, 2x USB 2.0, an RS232 COM port, an audio jack, and an input voltage range of 12–19V DC. It’s fanless, ventless, and compatible with various operating systems for industrial and commercial applications. BIOSTAR EdgeComp MU-N150 specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N150 quad-core “Twin Lake” processor @ up to 3.6 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, […]

September 17, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

MeLE Cyber X1 is a fanless Intel N150 Mini PC with a cleverly designed plastic heatsink

MeLE Cyber X1 fanless mini PC plastic heatsink

MeLE Cyber X1 is an Intel Processor N100 fanless mini PC relying on a plastic heatsink made of many spikes for cooling instead of a more traditional metal enclosure with fins. Other features include 16GB LPDDR5 memory, an M.2 2280 NVMe or SATA socket fitted with a 512GB NVMe SSD, support for three 4K monitors through HDMI and USB-C ports, an audio jack, Gigabit Ethernet and WiFi 5, and four USB ports for expansion. MeLE Cyber X1 “F5V” specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N150 Quad-core “Twin Lake” processor @ up to 3.6 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache GPU – 24EU Intel UHD graphics @ 1000 MHz TDP: 6W; The X1 mini PC appears to be configured with PL1 = 10W for higher performance. (Note that the default PL1 power limit varies a lot from 6W to 20W on Intel N100/N150 mini PCs) Memory – 16GB LPDDR5 @ 4800 MHz […]

September 7, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Beelink EQi13 Pro Review – Part 3: Ubuntu 24.04 on an Intel Core i5-13500H mini PC

Beelink EQi13 Pro mini PC review Ubuntu 24.04

We’ve already checked out the hardware of the Beelink EQi13 Pro in the first part of the review, and followed up with a detailed review of the Intel Core i5-13500H mini PC running Windows 11 Pro. We’ve now taken the time to test the Beelink EQi13 Pro with Ubuntu 24.04 to find out how well (or not) it performs on Linux. We will specifically report our experience testing features, running benchmarks, checking out the SSD and USB ports, evaluating Gigabit Ethernet and WiFi 6 networking performance, and finally stress testing the mini PC, before measuring the fan noise and power consumption of the mini PC under Linux. Ubuntu 24.04 installation Since the plan is to install Ubuntu 24.04 LTS alongside Windows 11 in a dual-boot configuration, we shrank the Windows 11 partition to about half its size before inserting a USB drive prepared with the Ubuntu 24.04 ISO to start […]