MSI MS-C903: Passively cooled mini PC with many ports and Core i7 processor

MSI not only offers products for end customers, but has also introduced a new product for professionals with the MS-C903. These are systems for industrial use, which are available on the market in different models, one as an embedded SKU and the other as an industrial SKU. Both systems measure 215 x 115 x 65 mm; the industrial SKUs can be used in a temperature range of between -20 and 70 °C. However, these specifications only apply with a certain airflow, which must be at least 0.7 m/s since these are passively cooled models. Depending on the model version selected, an Intel Core i3-1115G4E/GRE, Intel Core i5-1145G7E/GRE or Intel Core i7-1185G7E is installed. 

Users have access to two DDR4 slots for up to 64 GB of 3200 MHz RAM. Four PCIe 4 lanes are available for M.2 2280 SSD drives and an SSD in 2.5-inch format can also be installed. There are also two additional M.2 slots for various expansion cards such as a mobile radio modem or for retrofitting a CAN bus. Four RS-232/422/485 ports are on board as well as GPIO connections. Screens can be connected via HDMI and DisplayPort, with 7680 x 4320 and 60 frames per second via DisplayPort.

The industrial SKUs have two Ethernet ports at 2.5 Gbit/s, while the embedded SKU also has two, but only at Gigabit speed. MSI has not provided any direct information on price or availability, which is not unusual for commercial systems.