GMK released their diminutive mini PC called the NucBox a while ago however they have recently updated the BOM with a new fan and WiFi module together with changing their logo from GMK to GMK TEC. GMK sent the new NucBox for review and the results from various testing are detailed below. Hardware Overview The NucBox physically consists of a 62 x 62 x 42mm (2.44 x 2.44 x 1.65 inches) rectangular metal case with a plastic top and base plate. As an actively cooled mini PC, it uses Intel’s 14 nm J4125 Gemini Lake Refresh processor which is a quad-core 4-thread 2.00 GHz processor boosting to 2.70 GHz with Intel’s UHD Graphics 600. The front has just the power button whilst the rear includes two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port, and a Type-C USB port for power. The left side has a microSD card slot and a headphone […]
GMK NucBox2 Review – Windows 10, Unraid OS on a Coffee Lake mini PC
Karl here. Today we are going to look at a mini PC. It is by GMK. GMK’s first foray looks to be the NucBox, a super tiny mini pc. I would call the NucBox2 its older, bigger, more capable brother. What stood out to me was the M.2 4x NVMe slot. I don’t anticipate a superfast SSD to come with the NucBox2 but we will see. The NucBox2 only had one 8 GB stick of memory and I had an extra stick laying around so I installed it to get dual-channel support. I think they are doing this mini PC a disservice using memory in single-channel mode. A quick Google search shows an 8GB stick is about $50 and I would highly recommend this upgrade. Notable Specs Processor – Intel Core i5-8259U 4-core/8-thread Coffee Lake processor 802.11 AC WiFI M.2 NVMe 256 GB SSD (Netac) 8GB memory single-channel Gig Ethernet […]
Intel Core i7-1165G7 barebone mini PC sells for $455
Intel Core i7-1165G7 is one of the most popular Tiger Lake UP3 processors. It’s found in ASRock NUC 1100 BOX Series as well as Intel NUC 11 Enthusiast Phantom Canyon NUC11PHKi7C which Ian (Linuxium) reviewed for us both with Windows 10 and Linux (Ubuntu 20.04). If you’d like a cheaper mini PC with the processor, TOPTON has just launched an Intel Core i7-1165G7 “Mini PC Box”, model number V320, that’s sold for $454.67 with free shipping in barebone configuration. TOPTON V320 mini PC specifications: SoC – Intel Core i7-1165G7 quad-core/octa-thread Tiger Lake UP3 processor @ up to 2.8 GHz / 4.7 GHz (Turbo) with 96EU Iris Xe Graphics; 15W TDP (Configurable between 12 and 28W) System Memory – 2x DDR4-2666 SO-DIMM sockets for up to 64GB RAM Storage – 2x M.2 2280 sockets for two SSD’s, including one PCIe 3.0 x4, and the other with SATA? Video Output HDMI 1.4 […]
Aetina DeviceEdge Mini Edge AI computers support NVIDIA Jetson SO-DIMM modules
NVIDIA Jetson modules offer a wide range of AI performance starting from the entry-level 492 GFLOPS Jetson Nano module up to the 32 TOPS Jetson AGX Xavier platform. That’s probably Aetina decided to offer its DeviceEdge Mini AI edge solution with either Jetson Xavier NX, Jetson Nano, or Jetson TX2 NX pin-compatible SO-DIMM modules designed for applications in smart transportation, factories, retail, healthcare, AIoT, robotics, etc… The three models M1, M2, and M3 can all take the Jetson modules listed above, and come in a very similar form factor with the following key features: Common features: Storage – 128GB M.2 NVMe SSD (default) Video Output – Micro HDMI 1.4 connector Networking – Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port, optional WiFi/Bluetooth M.2 module USB – 1x USB Type-C OTG only port Expansion 1x M.2 2242 M-key socket fitted with NVMe SSD 1x M.2 2230 E-key socket for optional Wifi/BT function 1x DB15 male […]
Low-cost AMD Mini PC offered with AMD 3020e APU or Ryzen R1305 embedded processor
While there’s a fair amount of AMD mini PC’s, few target the low-cost segment of the market. Maxtang MTN-FP50 offers a cheaper option with either AMD 3020e dual-core APU or AMD Ryzen Embedded R1305 dual-core processor, and pricing starting at around $250 shipped with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. The mini PC is equipped with two HDMI ports for dual 4K monitor setups, Gigabit Ethernet, five USB 3.0/2.0 ports, and can be upgraded in various ways thanks to SO-DIMM sockets for up to 64GB RAM, M.2 socket for SSD, SATA port for a 2.5-inch drive, and another M.2 slot for the wireless module. Maxtang MTN-FP50 specifications: SoC Mobile processor – AMD 3020E APU with 2-core/2-thread processor @ 1.2GHz / 2.6 GHz (Max Boost frequency, 3x CU Radeon Vega 3 graphics @ 1.0 GHz ; 6W TDP (The manufacturer offers optional AMD 2500U or 3500U 15W processor) Embedded processor – AMD […]
AMD Ryzen 5000U mini PCs coming soon from ASRock and GIGABYTE
Last year, AMD introduced the Ryzen 4000-U Series mobile processors for laptops but we soon got news of mini PCs based on the processor with devices such as MINISFORUM DeskMini HM50 or ASRock Mars 4000U. So it should not be surprising that we got some updates at Computex 2021 with companies announcing AMD Ryzen 5000U powered mini PCs with the likes of new GIGABYTE BRIX models and ASRock Mars 5000U which are expected to become available in the second half of the year. GIGABYTE BRIX Ryzen 5000U mini PCs Preliminary specifications: SoC -Up to a 15-watt Ryzen 5000U “Cezanne” processor with 8x Zen 3 CPU cores, 16 threads, and Radeon Vega graphics. System Memory – Up to 64GB of DDR4-3200 via two SODIMM slots Storage – M.2 2280 slot for PCIe 3.0 x4 (NVMe) or SATA SSD. The high-profile model will also include an internal 2.5-inch drive bay. Video Outputs […]
MeLE Quieter2 Review – Windows 10, Ubuntu 20.04, and eGPU
MeLE has recently released a passive mini PC called the Quieter2. What is particularly interesting is that whilst it only has a low-powered Intel Celeron CPU it also supports an M.2 2280 NVMe SSD drive which theoretically makes using an eGPU possible. MeLE provided a 99% discount coupon so that I could purchase one for review and the results from various testing are detailed below. Hardware Overview The Quieter2 physically consists of a 131 x 81 x 18.3mm (5.16 x 3.19 x 0.72 inches) rectangular plastic case with a metal base plate. The top half of the case is finely grooved to mimic the fins of a heat spreader but is made of plastic rather than metal to allow reception to the WiFi antennas as one is directly connected to it. As a passively cooled mini PC, it uses Intel’s 14 nm J4125 Gemini Lake Refresh processor which is a […]
Snapdragon QC710 Developer Kit targets Windows 10 on Arm app development
In order to encourage developers to port their apps to Windows 10 on Arm, Qualcomm and Microsoft have announced the Snapdragon Developer Kit based on a Snapdragon Compute platform and aiming to provide a cost-efficient platform that will be less costly than a laptop. The development kit looks like a mini PC, and while the full specs have not been announced, it could well be powered by the just-announced Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 processor, itself a cheaper version of Snapdragon 7c. Qualcomm did not share photos of all the ports from the developer kit, but the photos we’ve got come with “QC710” file name, and reveal a power button on the top, an LED on one corner, two USB ports, a MicroSD card slot, and a SIM card socket. I’d assume at least one HDMI or DisplayPort at the back, and possibly an Ethernet port, but we just don’t know […]