mini pc News - Page 6 of 151 - CNX Software

December 5, 2024December 28, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

GEEKOM GT1 Mega review with Ubuntu 24.10 – Part 3: Linux on an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H “Meteor Lake” mini PC

GEEKOM GT1 Mega Ubuntu 24.10 Linux review

We’ve already had a look at GEEKOM GT1 Mega’s hardware with an unboxing and a teardown before following up with a thorough review of the Intel Core 9 Ultra 185H mini PC with Windows 11 Pro. After being interrupted by some Raspberry Pi reviews, I finally had the time to test the GEEKOM GT1 Mega with Ubuntu 24.10 to check out how well (or not) it works with a recent Linux distribution. I’ve tested the features of the Meteor Lake mini PC in Linux, ran some benchmarks, evaluated storage and network performance, played 4K and 8K videos on YouTube at various frame rates, went through a stress test to check its thermal design, and finally measured the mini PC’s fan noise and power consumption. Ubuntu 24.10 installation I would usually review mini PCs with the latest Ubuntu LTS version which would currently be Ubuntu 24.04.1. However, since the Intel Core […]

November 28, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Barebone Intel Celeron 2955U or Pentium 3805U fanless industrial mini PC goes for $60 (Promo)

Low-cost Intel Celeron 2955U fanless mini PC

If you’re in need of a low-end, cheap x86 platform you’re in luck since XCY is selling the X46G industrial fanless mini PC powered by an Intel Celeron 2955U Haswell processor or a Pentium 3805U Broadwell CPU for just about $60 as a barebone system, or around $74 with 4GB of RAM, a 64GB SSD, and a WiFi module as part of a Black Friday 2024’s promotion. It’s even cheaper in some other shops, as we’ll see below. Both CPUs have been discontinued since 2021, and nobody should use those in a desktop system unless you are of the very patient type. However, if you want to run some lightweight Windows or Linux application(s), make use of RS232 ports for industrial control, set up a Full HD HTPC, configure a dual GbE server, or need to run FreeDOS or similar x86-only operating systems, those ultra-cheap Intel mini PCs might prove […]

November 26, 2024November 27, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

GEEKOM Mini Air12 Lite Review – Part 3: Ubuntu 24.04 on a low-cost mini PC

GEEKOM Mini Air12 Lite Ubuntu 24.04 review

We have already checked the hardware of the GEEKOM Mini Air12 Lite mini PC in the first part of the review, before testing the low-cost Intel Processor N100 mini PC with its 8GB RAM and 256GB SATA SSD running Windows 11 Pro in detail in the second part. We’ve now had time to test the GEEKOM Mini Air12 Lite with Ubuntu 24.04 in the third and final part of the review. We’ll test the features in Linux, run some benchmarks, evaluate storage and network performance, play some 4K and 8K videos in YouTube playback, perform a stress test to check its thermal design, and finally measure the mini PC’s fan noise and power consumption. We’ll also compare the results in Linux to the earlier GEEKOM Mini Air12 mini PC with the same CPU, but better specs and a higher price. A challenging Windows 11 / Ubuntu 24.04.1 dual boot installation […]

November 25, 2024December 1, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Beelink EQ14 mini PC features Intel N150 quad-core “Twin Lake” processor, built-in power supply

Last month we noted the Intel Processor N150, Processor N250, and Core i3-N355 Alder Lake-N Refresh CPUs were found in the upcoming ASUS NUC 14 Essential mini PC family, but availability was unclear. The Beelink EQ14 is the first Intel N150 mini PC which can be purchased today on either AliExpress (with EU plug) or Amazon for $182 and up for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024. Beelink calls the CPU family “Twin Lake” instead of “Alder Lake-N Refresh”, but we can’t confirm that since the N150 has not been officially launched yet and it’s not listed on Intel Ark. The computer is equipped with 16GB DDR4 memory, a 512GB NVMe SSD, two HDMI ports, two gigabit Ethernet ports, WiFi 6, etc… It also comes with a more unusual feature: a built-in AC power supply, something we previously saw in the Beelink EQ13 with an Intel N200/N100 CPU. Beelink EQ14 […]

November 20, 2024November 23, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024 – International deals and coupons

While Black Friday and Cyber Monday used to be a US-only event, it changed many years ago, and we’ve been writing about international Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals and coupon codes since 2014, since a large portion of our audience cannot benefit from promotions on Amazon’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday events that will take place from November 21 until December 2 this year. So I’ve gathered some international Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024 deals and discount coupon codes from relevant manufacturers and popular online stores such as Aliexpress, Banggood, and others. Aliexpress Black Friday and Cyber Monday event Aliexpress’ Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024 event has already started. There are three periods: Nov 19-21 PST – Warm Up event where users can find and add items to the cart before purchasing during the main event. Nov 22-30 PST – “On Sale” event with discounts up to […]

November 17, 2024November 26, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

GEEKOM Mini Air12 Lite review – A low-cost Intel Processor N100 mini PC tested with Windows 11 Pro

GEEKOM Mini Air12 Lite mini PC review windows 11

We’ve already checked the hardware of the GEEKOM Mini Air12 Lite mini PC with an unboxing and teardown in the first part of the review. It is a low-cost mini PC based on an Intel Processor N100 CPU, coupled with 8GB DDR4-3200 memory, a 256GB M.2 SATA SSD, dual Display output through HDMI and DisplayPort connector, GbE, WiFi 6E, and a 9-pin expansion header port – as found in some NUC model – to access an external power button, reset button, and LEDs when housed in a cabinet or kiosk. You’ll find the full Mini Air 12 Lite specifications in our previous article about it. We’ve now had more time to test the mini PC, so we’ll report our experience with the Mini Air12 Lite running Windows 11 Pro operating system in the second part of the review. We’ll go through a software overview, test most of the features, run […]

November 15, 2024November 15, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

BIOSTAR MT-N97 fanless Intel N97 industrial mini PC supports 9V-24V DC input, features RS232/RS485 COM port

BIOSTAR MT-N97 is a fanless not-so-mini PC powered by an Intel Processor N97 quad-core Alder Lake-N CPU and designed for industrial applications with features such as a wide DC input (9V to 24V), an optional RS232/RS422/RS485 COM port, as well as dual GbE, and support for M.2 wireless and 4G/5G cellular modules. The mini PC supports up to 16GB DDR4 SO-DIMM memory, M.2 NVMe SSD and SATA storage, and triple display setups through two HDMI interfaces and a USB-C port. It also comes with Line-out and earphones audio jacks, and a total of seven USB ports including one with 100W USB PD support. BIOSTAR MT-N97 specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N97 quad-core Alder Lake N-series 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 DDR4-3200 SO-DIMM memory (Note: Some companies have tested SO-DIMM modules […]

November 15, 2024November 14, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

DC-ROMA RISC-V Mainboard is designed for the Framework Laptop 13 modular laptop

DeepComputing’s DC-ROMA RISC-V Mainboard is designed for the modular Framework Laptop 13 and powered by a StarFive JH7110 quad-core RISC-V processor running either Ubuntu 24.04 Desktop or Fedora 41 Linux distribution. The Framework Laptop 13 was initially offered with Intel Core i5-1135G7, Core i7-1165G7, or Core i7-1185G7 processor, but the advantage of a modular laptop is that you can replace components, and that’s exactly what the “DC-ROMA RISC-V Mainboard” does by allowing users/developers to do by switching to a less powerful RISC-V processor for software development. Framework Laptop 13 specifications with DC-ROMA RISC-V Mainboard: SoC – StarFive JH7110 CPU Quad-core 64-bit RISC-V SiFive U74 (RV64GC) processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with 32KB D-Cache, 32KB I-cache Single-core 64-bit RISC-V SiFive S7 (RV64IMAC) monitor core with 16KB I-cache, 8KB DTIM Single-core 32-bit RISC-V SiFive E24 (RV32IMFC) real-time control core with 16KB I-cache Up to 2MB L2 cache GPU – Imagination BXE-4-32 […]