Mini-PC
Zotac has introduced the industry's first compact PC featuring Frore's AirJet solid-state cooling system. Zotac's ultra-compact Zbox Pico PI430AJ is powered by Intel's Core i3 processor is designed primarily for everyday home and office computing, as well as applications like digital signage. As far as specifications are concerned, Zotac's Zbox Pico PI430AJ is a fairly sophisticated machine featuring Intel's eight-core Core i3-N300 CPU, 8 GB of LPDDR5 memory, and an M.2 SSD. For connectivity the PC offers a Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5.2 adapter, a single GbE port, a USB Type-C port, two USB 3.2 Type-A connectors, and two display outputs (DisplayPort and HDMI). The Zbox Pico PI430AJ has two major selling points: it is as small as modern smartphones, and it is passively cooled using...
GEEKOM Mini IT13 Review: Core i9-13900H in a 4x4 Package
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...
7 by Ganesh T S 4 days agoASRock Industrial NUC BOX-N97 and GMKtec NucBox G2 Review: Contrasting Compact ADL-N Options
Intel has been maintaining a low-power / low-cost x86 microarchitecture since the introduction of the Silverthorne Atom processors in 2008. Its latest iteration, Gracemont, made its debut in the...
20 by Ganesh T S on 10/6/2023Asus Formally Completes Acquisition of Intel's NUC Business
ASUS has formally acquired Intel's Next Unit of Computing (NUC) products based on Intel's 10th to 13th Generation Core processors. Asus is set to continue building and supporting Intel's...
9 by Anton Shilov on 10/2/2023Khadas Mind Premium Review: Raptor Lake-P in a Modular Portable Workstation
Khadas is a well-known vendor in the ARM-based single-board computer (SBC) circles. Recently, the company made its first foray into the small form-factor x86 PC space with a rather...
20 by Ganesh T S on 9/14/2023Minisforum Unveils Mini-ITX Motherboard with MXM Slot for… SSDs
Minisforum continues to diversify its business beyond compact PCs and this week it introduced a rather unusual Mini-ITX motherboard with an MXM slot. Typically used for graphics cards, Minisforum's...
15 by Anton Shilov on 9/8/2023ASRock Reveals 4x4 Box 7040 Series: SFF PCs with AMD Phoenix and USB4
ASRock Industrial has introduced a new lineup of NUC-like systems based on AMD's Ryzen 7040-series 'Phoenix' processors for laptops and compact desktops. The new 4x4 Box 7040 series compact...
9 by Anton Shilov on 9/5/2023GEEKOM Mini IT13 Packs Core i9 into 4x4 NUC Chassis: 14-Cores NUC
While Intel's classic 4x4 NUCs have been pretty powerful systems capable of handling demanding workloads, the company never cared to install its top-of-the-range CPUs into its compact PCs. GEEKOM...
21 by Anton Shilov on 8/25/2023Beelink GTR7 mini-PC Review: A Complete AMD Phoenix Package at 65W
The increasing popularity of small form-factor (SFF) PCs has allowed a number of second and third tier vendors to market their wares. While the trend was kickstarted by the...
56 by Ganesh T S on 8/24/2023Zotac Taps Desktop and Laptop GeForce RTX 4070s For New SFF Zbox PCs
Zotac this week introduced two new compact desktops, both packing versions of NVIDIA's higher-end GeForce RTX 4070-series graphics processors. The Zbox Magnus One is an upgradable, desktop-style SFF machine...
17 by Anton Shilov on 8/18/2023GEEKOM AS 6 (ASUS PN53) Review: Ryzen 9 6900HX Packs Punches in a Petite Package
The market demand for small form-factor (SFF) PCs was kickstarted by the Intel NUC in the early 2010s. Since then, many vendors have come out with their own take...
15 by Ganesh T S on 7/31/2023ASUS Signs Agreement to Continue Development and Support of Intel's NUC Business
ASUS and Intel late on Tuesday announced that they had agreed to a term sheet involving Intel's NUC business, ensuring the continued support of existing NUC hardware as well...
6 by Ganesh T S & Anton Shilov on 7/19/2023ASRock Industrial NUC BOX-1360P/D5 Review: Raptor Lake-P on the Leading Edge
ASRock Industrial has been a key player in the ultra-compact form-factor PC space over the last few years. They have managed to release 4"x4" systems based on the latest...
21 by Ganesh T S on 7/18/2023Palm-Sized Minisforum EM680 Desktop PC Packs AMD's Ryzen 7 6800U and USB4
We've seen AMD's Ryzen Mobile 6000 series chips show up in several mini-PC devices thus far, and now a recently-released mini-desktop from Minisforum is the smallest yet. The Mini-PC...
19 by Anton Shilov on 6/8/2023Topgro's $499 Fanless PC Packs Core i7-1255U 'Alder Lake' CPU
One of the perks of modern mobile CPUs is that, being designed for laptops and their very limited cooling capacity, they can be placed in a NUC-sized (or smaller...
10 by Anton Shilov on 5/5/2023Zotac’s Zbox Edge MI351 Packs Alder Lake-N and Offers Upgradeability
Introduced back at CES 2023, Intel’s Alder Lake-N platform is the company's newest and latest budget platform for entry-level PCs. With the hardware now shipping, Zotac is among the...
16 by Anton Shilov on 4/14/2023MinisForum Launches NAB6 mini-PC With Dual 2.5G Ethernet Ports
MinisForum is a well-known manufacturer from Shenzhen, China, specializing in compact systems. The company recently added the NAB6 to its diverse portfolio of mini-PCs powered by Intel processors. The...
5 by Zhiye Liu on 3/27/2023Intel NUC 13 Pro Arena Canyon Review: Raptor Lake Brings Incremental Gains
Ultra-compact form-factor PCs have emerged as bright spots in the PC market over the last decade after Intel introduced the NUC. The company celebrated the 10-year anniversary of its...
48 by Ganesh T S on 3/27/2023ASRock Industrial NUCS BOX-1360P/D4 Review: Raptor Lake-P Impresses, plus Surprise ECC
Low-power processors have traditionally been geared towards notebooks and other portable platforms. However, the continued popularity of ultra-compact form-factor desktop systems has resulted in UCFF PCs also serving as...
31 by Ganesh T S on 1/29/2023Intel NUC 12 Pro Wall Street Canyon Kits Review: Alder Lake in UCFF Avatar
Intel introduced the ultra-compact form-factor in 2012 to reinvigorate the PC market. The incredible success of the product line has now resulted in the brand name propagating to other...
26 by Ganesh T S on 1/26/2023