Systems
The performance of ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) desktops has improved significantly over the years, thanks to advancements in semiconductor fabrication and processor architecture. Thermal solutions suitable for these 4in. x 4in. machines have also been evolving simultaneously. As a result, vendors have been able to configure higher sustained power limits for the processors in these systems. With Intel and AMD allowing configurable TDPs for their notebook segment offerings, UCFF systems with regular 45W TDP processors (albeit, in cTDP-down mode) are now being introduced into the market. GEEKOM became one of the first vendors to release a Core i9-based UCFF machines with the launch of the Mini IT13. Based on paper specifications, this high-end Raptor Lake-H (RPL-H) UCFF desktop is meant to give the mainstream RPL-P NUCs...
ASUS PN50 mini-PC Review: A Zen 2 Business NUC
Ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) machines have been one of the major drivers in the resurgence of the PC market. The trend was kickstarted by Intel's NUCs in the early 2010s...
32 by Ganesh T S on 10/1/2021
The OnLogic Helix HX500 Review: A Rugged Fanless 35W mini-PC
The emergence of edge computing as a paradigm has expanded the market for industrial PCs over the last few years. Traditionally an 'industrial PC' was built with a focus...
32 by Ganesh T S on 9/17/2021
ASRock Industrial NUC BOX-1165G7 Mini-PC Review: An Ultra-Compact Tiger Lake Desktop
Intel introduced the Willow Cove micro-architecture with their Tiger Lake processors in the latter part of 2020. These were designed to span a wide range of performance levels and...
33 by Ganesh T S on 8/26/2021
Zotac ZBOX MAGNUS ONE SFF Gaming PC Review: Desktop Comet Lake Charges Up with Ampere
Zotac has been a pioneer in bringing compact small form-factor (SFF) machines to the market right since the ION days. A few years back, they also got into the...
19 by Ganesh T S on 8/13/2021
MinisForum Unveils Cezanne EliteMini HX90 and Tiger Lake EliteMini TL50 mini-PCs
MinisForum, a Shenzhen based manufacturer of compact computing platforms, has been steadily bringing both AMD and Intel-based systems into the market. While the mix has mostly involved platforms that...
42 by Ganesh T S on 8/4/2021
Intel Beast Canyon NUC Review: Desktop Tiger Lake Debuts in SFF Gaming Powerhouse
Intel kick-started a form-factor revolution in the early 2010s with the introduction of the ultra-compact NUCs. The systems were meant to be an alternative to the tower desktops used...
84 by Ganesh T S on 7/29/2021
Computex 2021: ASRock Announces Mars 5000U Series Mini PC
During Computex 2021, ASRock unveiled the latest series in its Mars mini-PC range, the Mars 5000U. ASRock claims it's the thinnest AMD mini PC globally and comes equipped with...
21 by Gavin Bonshor on 6/4/2021
Computex 2021: MSI MPG Gaming Maverik Bundle with i7-11700K
At an all-digital rendition of Computex 2021, MSI has unveiled a new bundle designed for gamers looking for a comprehensive and optimized gaming system. Based on its performance gaming...
4 by Gavin Bonshor on 6/3/2021
Qualcomm Shows Off Snapdragon Dev Kit for Windows on Arm Development
Alongside today’s Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 SoC announcement, Qualcomm is also unveiling a new Windows 10-focused development kit. Collaborating with Microsoft, the two companies have put together the Snapdragon...
27 by Ryan Smith on 5/24/2021
Intel's Tiger Lake NUC11: Panther Canyon for Asia Alone
The electronics industry supply chain is facing a number of issues due to the ongoing pandemic. Companies are unable to meet product demand, and are being forced to fine-tune...
27 by Ganesh T S on 2/4/2021
OnLogic’s New Fanless Systems Contain Intel's Elkhart Lake (10nm Atom)
Earlier this year Intel indicated that it was launching its new Jasper Lake platform very soon, built on a foundation of 10nm manufacturing with the latest Tremont Atom cores...
18 by Dr. Ian Cutress on 2/1/2021
Intel Announces Phantom Canyon: Tiger Lake and Turing Tango in 3rd Gen Enthusiast NUC
As part of its CES 2021 announcements, Intel officially unveiled a number of NUCs based on their Tiger Lake SoCs. The NUC11 Performance lineup was covered earlier. This piece...
33 by Ganesh T S on 1/20/2021
Intel Unveils Panther Canyon NUC11 Family: Tiger Lake Comes to NUCs
As part of its CES 2021 announcements, Intel officially unveiled a number of NUCs based on their Tiger Lake SoCs. Intel's initial NUCs were all based on 100mm x...
43 by Ganesh T S on 1/18/2021
CES 2021: Zotac MAGNUS ONE Gaming mini-PC Flagship Charges Up Comet Lake with Ampere
Zotac's mini-PC lineup received a new flagship as part of its CES 2021 announcements - the MAGNUS ONE. It features a Comet Lake CPU (Core i7-10700) along with NVIDIA's...
13 by Ganesh T S on 1/14/2021
Zotac ZBOX CI662 nano Fanless mini-PC Review: Second Stab at Silencing Succeeds
Zotac is one of the major players in the SFF PC space, having marketed ultra-compact form-factor machines even before the NUCs took off. The growth in that segment has...
16 by Ganesh T S on 1/5/2021
ASRock DeskMini H470 Review: A No-Frills LGA 1200 mini-PC Platform
The mini-STX form-factor was introduced by Intel in 2015 to provide additional options in the burgeoning small form-factor (SFF) PC space. Since then, vendors such as ASRock, ECS, and...
26 by Ganesh T S on 12/29/2020
ECS LIVA Z3 Plus Review: Compact Comet Lake NUC Clone Cuts Corners
ECS is a well-known OEM in computing circles, known for building motherboards, computers, and industrial / embedded systems for other vendors. Some of their motherboards and small form-factor PCs...
15 by Ganesh T S on 12/22/2020
Hands On: ASRock 4X4 BOX-4800U Out-of-Band Management using Realtek DASH
Many computing use-cases require out-of-band management. For example, rack-mounted servers have dedicated LAN ports that connect to a baseboard management controller (BMC) chip for this purpose. PCs used in...
9 by Ganesh T S on 12/16/2020
Razer's First Modular PC, The Tomahawk: A Fully Custom NUC 9 Extreme
Razer, a company that styles itself as 'by gamers, for gamers', has today unveiled its latest product, a modular NUC dubbed the Tomahawk. Available as both a barebones package...
61 by Gavin Bonshor on 12/3/2020
ASRock Brings Zen 2 NUC : 4X4 BOX-4800U Renoir Mini-PC Reviewed
AMD-based ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) systems are slowly gaining market acceptance, with the Zen architecture slowly catching up with Intel on both the performance as well as power consumption front...
53 by Ganesh T S on 11/25/2020
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