ASRock iBOX-R1000 Mini PC is Powered by AMD Ryzen Embedded R1000 Processor

ASRock iBOX-R1000 AMD Embedded

Announced earlier this week, AMD Ryzen Embedded R1000 series processors will be found in digital signage, storage & networking, and casino & gaming applications including the upcoming Atari VCS gaming console, and ASRock will also launch a mini PC based on the new dual-core Ryzen Embedded processor. ASRock iBOX-R1000 is equipped with a choice of AMD Ryzen R1505G, or the slightly faster Ryzen R1606G processor, supports up to 32GB memory & 2.5″ SATA drives, and is able to drive up to 3 independent displays thanks to HDMI & DisplayPort video outputs.   ASRock iBOX-R1000 specifications: SoC (one of the other) AMD Ryzen Embedded R1606G dual core/quad thread processor @ 2.6/3.5GHz + AMD Radeon Vega Graphics; 12-25W configurable TDP AMD Ryzen Embedded R1505G dual core/quad thread processor @ 2.4/3.3GHz + AMD Radeon Vega Graphics; 12-25W configurable TDP System Memory – 2x DDR4 3200MHz up to 32GB Storage – 1x 2.5″ HDD/SSD, […]

MINIX NEO Z83-4U Review – Ubuntu 18.04, Kodi 18, and Xibo Digital Signage

MINIX NEO Z83-4U Review

MINIX NEO Z83-4U is a Cherry Trail mini PC pre-loaded with Ubuntu 18.04. I received a sample a little while ago, and in the first part of NEO Z83-4U review I checked out the specifications and hardware that appears to be exactly the same a MINIX NEO Z83-4 Pro mini PC, except for the eMMC flash capacity that has increased from 32GB to 64GB. Since the mini PC comes with an older Atom X5-Z8350 processor, and is designed for commercial applications, I’ve decided to make a slightly different review. We already now how the system is supposed to perform thanks to benchmarks with NEO Z83-4 mini PC running Windows 10 Pro, so I’ll just check the main features are working as expected in Ubuntu 18.04, test audio & video support in Kodi 18.1, and try out Xibo Linux open source digital signage CMS and player on the mini PC. MINIX […]

T-bao T15A 15.6″ Portable Display Works with Phones, Computers and Game Consoles

T-bao T15A Portable Display

In recent months we’ve seen several lightweight portable displays that works with phones or computers such as the 12.5″ ultra-lightweight LAPSCREEN display or TAIHE Gemini 15.6″ Full HD / 4K portable display. But AFAIK, the former is not available for purchase just yet, and the latter was launched via a crowdfunding campaign and shipping appears to be scheduled for May 2019. If you want something similar that ships today, T-bao T15A 15.6″ portable display may be an options. It comes with two USB-C ports one for power, one to connect USB-C devices like smartphones, and a mini HDMI port for laptops, computers, game consoles and so on. T-bao T15A display specifications: Screen – 15.6″ IPS display with 1920×1080 resolution, W-LED backlight, 178-degree viewing angle Ports 1x mini HDMI 2x USB type-C ports including one for host device input, one for power 1x micro USB port to connect keyboard and mouse […]

NexDock 2 Laptop Shell Gets a Full HD Display, a USB type-C Port (Crowdfunding)

NexDock 2

NexDock 14″ laptop shell was first introduced in 2016 to help people convert their smartphones or single board computers into a laptop with a display, a keyboard and battery. The crowdfunding campaign was successful with over $360,000 raised for the projects, and the first NexDock has been shipped to 2,600+ backers. The following year, the company – now called Nex Computer – announced plan to develop NexDock 2 with support for Intel Compute Cards. This did not quite work out as expected since Intel decided to stop further development of Compute Cards, but not all is lost as Nex Computer has now launched NexDock 2 with an aluminum body, a slightly smaller but higher resolution Full HD display, an edge to edge keyboard, and a USB type-C input port. NexDock 2 specifications: Display – 13.3” IPS LCD display with 1920×1080 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio Video Input – Full-size HDMI input […]

Vnopn K1 Fanless AMD Mini PC Sells for $134 and Up

Vnopn K1 AMD Mini PC

There are plenty of sub-$200 Intel powered fanless mini PCs, but if you’re looking for AMD models it’s more of a struggle. Vnopn K1 is one of the rare low cost fanless AMD mini PCs, and the good news is that it’s sold for just $133.68 on Aliexpress plus a few extra dollars for shipping. There are few tricks to achieve this low price. First that’s a barebone model, and if you want memory, storage, and WiFi, the cost climbs to $168.67 with 2GB RAM, and a 32GB SSD. The 8W AMD A6-1450 quad core processor APU found in the mini PC is rather old as well since it was launched in 2013, or almost 6 years ago. Vnopn K1 specifications: APU – AMD A6-1450 quad core “Jaguar” processor @ 1.0 / 1.4 GHz (Turbo) with 2MB L2 cache, Radeon HD 8250 GPU; 8W TDP System Memory -2GB, 4GB, or […]

KODLIX GN41 Gemini Lake Ubuntu Mini PC Sells for $215

Most Intel mini PC ships with Windows 10, so when we see models shipping with a Linux distribution such as Ubuntu we like to point those out. Recently we covered MINIX NEO-Z83-4U Ubuntu 18.04 mini PC that comes in a well designed and passively cooled enclosure, but also a relatively underpowered Intel Atom x5 processor, and geared towards business use cases such as digital signage player or thin client. KODLIX GN41 is another Ubuntu mini PC that would make a decent entry-level desktop thanks to an Intel Celeron N4100 Gemini Lake processor, 8GB RAM, and 64GB eMMC flash that can be complemented with your own 2.5″ hard drive or SSD. KODLIX GN41 specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N4100 quad core processor @  1.10/2.40 GHz with Intel UHD Graphics 600; 6W TDP; 4.8W SDP System Memory – 8GB DDR4L RAM Storage – 64 GB eMMC flash flash; 2.5″ SATA slot for […]

Acute Angle AA is a Triangle Shaped Mini PC with a Wooden Finish

Acute Angle AA

Most mini PCs are boring black boxes, and maybe that’s the way it should be, but if you are looking for something a bit fancier Acute Angle AA is an Apollo Lake mini PC with a triangular shaped enclosure made of aluminum and something that looks like wood… The mini PC is equipped with an Intel Celeron N3450 quad core processor, 8GB RAM, 64GB eMMC flash, 128GB SSD, and is currently sold for $199.99 shipped on GearBest. Acute Angle AA was apparently launched at CES 2018 riding the cryptocurrency wave, and selling for $600 as a dual use machine: a standard mini PC and an Ethereum mining machine during idle time working together with other Acute Angle AA mini PCs as part of the Acute Angle Cloud. None of the Ethereum / cryptocurrency mining / cloud options are mentioned in the specifications, but you still get a uniquely designed machine […]

MINIX NEO Z83-4U Review – Part 1: Unboxing and Teardown

MINIX NEO Z83-4U Package

MINIX NEO Z83-4U Ubuntu mini PC was unveiled just a few days ago as the first mini PC from MINIX HK running a Linux operating systems, namely Ubuntu 18.04. The company has sent me a sample for evaluation, so as usual, I’ll first have a look at the hardware in the first part of the review, before reporting my experience with the mini PC in a few weeks. MINIX NEO Z83-4U Unboxing The company has done away with the black and green package for their Android TV boxes and Windows mini PC, and instead went with a purple and (Ubuntu) orange package. I already wrote the specifications in the announcement post, but here they are again on the back of the package. The main difference, in terms of terms, against MINIX NEO Z83-4 Pro (Windows 10 Pro) mini PC is that the storage has been upgraded to 64GB flash since […]