UCFF
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...
ASRock 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 10/6/2023
ASRock 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 7/18/2023
Intel Set to Exit NUC PC Business - Pushes Partners to Develop More SFF PCs
Intel has disclosed today that it will halt further development of its small form factor Next Unit of Compute (NUC) PCs. The tech giant expects its partners to take...
39 by Anton Shilov on 7/11/2023
Palm-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 6/8/2023
Topgro'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 5/5/2023
Zotac’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 4/14/2023
ASRock Industrial 4X4 BOX-7735U UCFF PC Review: Zen 3+, RDNA2, and USB4 in a Potent Platform
ASRock Industrial is one of the few vendors with a lineup of ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) computing systems based on the latest Intel and AMD platforms. Their lineup of NUC...
36 by Ganesh T S on 4/6/2023
Intel 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 3/27/2023
ASRock Industrial's 4X4 BOX 7000/D5 Series Brings Zen 3+ and USB4 40Gbps to UCFF Systems
ASRock Industrial's lineup of ultra-compact form-factor machines in the NUC BOX (Intel-based) and 4X4 BOX (AMD-based) series has gained popularity over the last couple of years. Being the first...
40 by Ganesh T S on 2/10/2023
ASRock 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 1/29/2023
Intel 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
ASRock Industrial's NUC(S) 1300 BOX Series Brings Raptor Lake to UCFF Systems
Intel recently updated their low-power processors lineup with the Raptor Lake U- and P- Series 13th Gen Core mobile SKUs. Supporting a range of TDPs up to 28W, these...
1 by Ganesh T S on 1/4/2023
ASRock Industrial NUC BOX-1260P and 4X4 BOX-5800U Review: Alder Lake-P and Cezanne UCFF Faceoff
The past few years have seen Intel and AMD delivering new processors in a staggered manner. In the sub-45W category, Intel's incumbency has allowed it to deliver products for...
34 by Ganesh T S on 8/5/2022
Intel NUC11TNBi5 and Akasa Newton TN Fanless Case Review: Silencing the Tiger
Intel's Tiger Lake-based NUCs have been shipping for well over a year now. Supply chain challenges have been impacting availability of different models in different regions, but that has...
18 by Ganesh T S on 7/22/2022
Intel Atlas Canyon (NUC11ATKPE) and GEEKOM MiniAir 11 UCFF PCs Review: Desktop Jasper Lake Impresses
Intel's low-power Tremont microarchitecture has powered a range of products - from the short-lived Lakefield, to Elkhart Lake in the embedded space, and finally, Jasper Lake in the client...
23 by Ganesh T S on 7/14/2022
Jasper Lake Fanless Showdown: ECS LIVA Z3 and ZOTAC ZBOX CI331 nano UCFF PCs Review
Intel's Jasper Lake series of products based on the Tremont microarchitecture was launched in early 2021. Since then, we have seen a steady stream of notebooks and motherboards /...
52 by Ganesh T S on 7/8/2022
ASRock Industrial's NUC1200 BOX Series Brings Alder Lake to UCFF Systems
Intel recently updated their low-power processors lineup with the Alder Lake U and P Series 12th Gen Core mobile SKUs. With support for a range of TDPs up to...
22 by Ganesh T S on 3/3/2022
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
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
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
