ZOTAC PI225-GK Ultrathin Mini PC Gets a Gemini Lake Upgrade for $230

Zotac PI225 mini PC was launched last year with an Intel Celeron N3350 dual core “Apollo Lake” processors, and its main feature was its form factor, as the computer is about the size and thickness of a standard 2.5″ SSD. Linuxium reviewed Zotac ultrathin mini PC with both Windows 10 and Ubuntu, and found out Turbo mode was disabled by default in BIOS in order to keep temperature in check. So the form factor did cost some performance to the system compared to similar specced but thicker computers. The company showcased the similar Pi226 mini PC at CES 2018 last January with a faster Celeron N4000 dual core Gemini Lake processor, and finally it’s now available as Pico Pi225-GK (ZBOX-PI225-GK-W2B) on Tiger Direct and some other resellers for about $230 plus shipping. Pico Pi225-GK specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N4000 dual core “Gemini Lake” processor @ 1.1 / 2.6 GHz […]

QNAP HS-453DX Fanless NAS Features Gemini Lake Processor, 10GbE, HDMI 2.0

QNAP HS-453DX

Intel Gemini Lake processors are usually found in consumer products such as motherboards, mini PCs, tablets, and laptops, but QNAP has just announced a fanless NAS – QNAP HS-453DX – targeting home users,  and equipped with an Intel Celeron J4105 Gemini Lake processor, the same chip as found in the recently launched ODROID-H2 SBC. The NAS comes with 4 to 8GB RAM, supports two 3.5″ hard drives, two M.2 SSD, and includes interfaces like HDMI 2.0 outputs and 10Gb Ethernet, making it not only suitable as a high-speed NAS,  but also as a 4K media player. Two versions of the NAS are available: QNAP HS-453DX-4G and HS-453DX-8GB only differing by the amount of RAM. Specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J4105 quad-core processor @  1.5 GHz / 2.5 GHz with Intel UHD Graphics 600 System Memory – 4 or 8GB via 2x SO-DIMM DDR4 sockets Storage 4GB eMMC flash for firmware […]

Alfawise T1 Gemini Lake Mini PC Offered for $150 (Promo)

Alfawise T1 mini PC

Gemini Lake mini PCs have been around for a while, but not quite at the price most expected, that is roughly the same as Apollo Lake, possibly due to shortages of Intel’s entry level processors. So for example, I had yet to see any Gemini Lake computers for under $150, with with Black Friday taking place now, GearBest decided to offer Alfawise T1 mini PC powered by an  Intel Celeron N4100 quad core processor for just $149.99 with coupon GBJEAN. Alfawise T1 specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N4100 quad core Gemini Lake processor up to 2.4 GHz with Intel UHD Graphics 600; 6W TDP System Memory – 4GB DDR4 Storage – 64GB eMMC flash, 2.5″ SATA bay, M.2 SSD slot, micro SD card Video Output – 2x HDMI 2.0 ports up to 4K @ 60 Hz Audio – Via HDMI, built-in microphone, 3.5mm audio jack Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual […]

ODROID-H2 Intel Celeron J4105 Single Board Computer to Launch in November

ODROID-H2

There were talks about Hardkernel working on an ODROID x86 board since last year, as the CEO expected to launch such board later in 2017 in an interview published in ODROID magazine. Finally, it took them several iterations and processors considerations before being ready for launch, and ODROID-H2 should become available next month as the first ODROID x86 board. ODROID-H2 will feature an Intel Celeron J4105 Gemini Lake processor, two SO-DIMM slots for memory, two SATA ports and M.2 NVMe slot for storage, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, a mix of USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports, and more. ODROID-H2 board specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J4105 quad core processor @ up to 2.3 GHz (real frequency) with 12EU Intel UHD Graphics 600 System Memory – Dual-channel Memory DDR4-PC19200 (2400MT/s) supporting up to 32GiB RAM in total Storage – M.2 PCIe 2.0 x4 slot for one NVMe storage, 2x SATA 3.0 ports, […]

TopJoy Falcon Review – A Windows 10 Mini Laptop (Prototype)

The Topjoy Falcon is a mini laptop reminiscent of netbooks and similar to the recent GPD Pocket 2 or One Mix Yoga devices. Marketed as an 8 inch (203mm) pocket-sized computer with the following specification: Intel Pentium Silver N5000 CPU 8G RAM 256G SSD disk 1920*1200 FHD IPS touch screen 6000 mAh battery for up to 8 hours working time 1 x USB A 3.0, 1 x USB Type-C 1 x 3.5mm headphone jack 1 x Mini HDMI port Active cooling 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 Backlit keyboard Windows 10 Home Weight 550g (1lb 3oz) Fits easily in your pocket Although you would need a large pocket as whilst It is physically small consisting of an approximately 8″ by 5.2” and about 0.7” thick (203mm x 132mm x 18mm) when closed it is in reality too big for the average pocket. It will soon be available on Kickstarter with an early bird price of $399 and an expected retail price of […]

Beelink X55 Review – Part 2, Take 2: New Drivers and BIOS

Beelink-X55-UEFI

When I reviewed the Beelink X55 earlier, I encountered poor graphics performance when testing the device with its ‘Out-Of-The-Box’ configuration. As a quick reminder the Beelink X55 is a NUC-style mini PC powered with an Intel Pentium Silver J5005 processor and comes with a 128GB mSATA SSD with pre-installed Windows 10 Home together with 8GB DDR4 RAM (soldered and is non-expandable) and space plus a connector for an SSD. In an attempt to address the poor graphics performance I reinstalled Windows using Microsoft’s ISO however I then found I had missing drivers: Having contacted Beelink through the support email enclosed with the device they replied with a link to a full driver pack. So having downloaded and unzipped the file I updated the first driver: followed by the second: resulting in additional entries to the Intel Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework (DPTF). Having fixed the driver issue I then reran […]

Beelink X55 Review – An Intel Gemini Lake mini PC Tested with Windows 10 and Linux

Beelink X55 board

The Beelink X55 is very similar in style to Intel’s NUC7PJYH NUC reviewed earlier except that it is not a kit but a fully functional Windows mini PC. It is physically small consisting of an approximately 4.5″ by 4” case about 1¾” tall with a front panel that includes the power button and a couple of USB ports and a headphone jack with the rest of the ports including two HDMI (2.0) ones at the rear: The specifications include: The key highlights are that the Beelink X55 comes a 128GB mSATA SSD with pre-installed Windows 10 Home together with 8GB DDR4 RAM (soldered and is non-expandable) and space plus a connector for an SSD. Starting with a quick look at the hardware information shows it is mostly aligned to the specification but see the note below about the memory: As usual I ran my standard set of benchmarking tools to […]

Beelink X45 Mini PC Review with Windows 10 and Ubuntu 16.04/18.04

Beelink X45 Board

The Beelink X45 mini PC is now available, and Lightinthebox.com have provided a unit for review. It is very similar in style to Intel’s latest NUC Windows mini PC, the NUC7CJYSAL reviewed earlier. However it contains an Intel Celeron Processor J4105 SoC which is a quad core processor bursting up to 2.50 GHz together with the Intel UHD Graphics 600 processor that is capable of 4K support at 60Hz. It is physically small consisting of an approximately 4.5″ by 4” case about 1¾” tall with a front panel that includes the power button and a couple of USB ports and a headphone jack with the rest of the ports including two HDMI (2.0) ones at the rear: The specifications include: A key point to note is the Beelink X45 comes with 64GB eMMC with pre-installed Windows 10 Home together with 4GB DDR4 RAM (soldered and is non-expandable) with space and […]