Fanless 8-core mini PC arrives with up to 16 GB RAM and four 2.5G Ethernet ports

OnLogic has introduced a brand-new mini PC aimed at industrial and enterprise workloads, dubbed the Helix 320. The mini PC is powered primarily by Intel CPUs from the Twin Lake family.

To be more precise, the Helix 320 mini PC can be equipped with either a 4-core Intel N250 CPU paired with 8 GB of LPDDR5 RAM, or an 8-core Intel Core 3 N355 CPU paired with 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM. Clearly, the memory is soldered and not upgradable.

Helix 320: Fanless mini PC with Twin Lake CPUs and plenty of ports

The N250 chip, as mentioned earlier, sports a 4-core setup consisting solely of Gracemont efficiency cores with a peak clock speed of 3.8 GHz. In multicore benchmarks, the CPU should be about as powerful as a Core i7-10710U found in lightweight laptops from around 7 years ago. 

The 8-core Core 3 N355 chip, on the other hand, is an 8-core setup with a peak clock speed of 3.9 GHz. Unsurprisingly, this chip is a lot faster and can easily keep up with a Core Ultra 5 115U "Meteor Lake" chip launched around two years ago.

In simpler terms, the Core N250-powered variant of the mini PC will only be good enough for lightweight workloads, whereas the Core N355-equipped variant should be capable of handling more intensive workloads. However, neither of them can keep up with modern mid-range CPUs from Intel or AMD found in most mini PCs.

Considering the fanless nature of the OnLogic Helix 320 mini PC, the lack of more powerful CPU options can be forgiven. Unlike the RAM, the storage is upgradable, courtesy of a single M.2 2280 slot.

Being targeted primarily at industrial and enterprise workloads, the I/O on offer is quite impressive, as mentioned below:

• Dual USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C with DisplayPort 1.4
• 4x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
• Dual DisplayPort
• 4x 2.5 G Ethernet
• 14-pin COM (Dual RS-232/422/485)
• 3.5 mm audio jack

Cellular support is also present, made possible through an M.2 B-key slot. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity can be added via the system's M.2 2230 E-key slot.

The OnLogic Helix 320 mini PC measures in at roughly 180 by 120 by 32 mm or roughly 7 by 4.7 by 1.26 inches. The enclosure is made from aluminum and supports several mounting options. Prices start at $1,243 for the base variant with the N250 CPU, 8 GB of RAM, and a 128 GB SATA 3 M.2 SSD. more details and configuration options, customers can refer to OnLogic's official website for the same.

Normal consumers who do not require a fanless design or COM ports, can check out something like the M6-powered Apple Mac mini currently available for $780 on Amazon.