Maxtang MTN-ALN50 mini PC review: Very economical office PC with good performance thanks to Intel Core i3-N305 and 8 cores
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As a Chinese system manufacturer, Maxtang concentrates primarily on special industrial solutions, although some mini PCs in the current portfolio also have the potential to serve as an everyday office companion. With the recently tested Maxtang MTN-FP750, the manufacturer was not quite able to fulfill the expectations that one had after looking at the technical data. With the Maxtang MTN-ALN50, expectations are somewhat lower anyway due to the built-in hardware. Nevertheless, the Maxtang MTN-ALN50 has an Intel Core i3-N305 with 8 physical cores, which should actually promise excellent performance. The Intel Core i3-N305 should easily outperform Intel N95 and Intel N100 SoCs, which are frequently used in such devices. Incidentally, Maxtang also offers the MTN-ALN50 with the Intel N100. As a barebone system, prices start at 115 US dollars, while the Core i3 model would cost at least 276 US dollars. Our test sample with 16 GB RAM and a 512 GB SSD costs 348 US dollars. That may sound a bit much, but compared to the Zotac Zbox Pico PI430AJ this is a bargain. We can also overlook the fact that no operating system is included in the scope of delivery.
You can find the Maxtang MTN-ALN50's rivals in the following table.
Possible competitors in comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Price |
---|---|---|---|---|
73 % v7 (old) | 02 / 2024 | Maxtang MTN-ALN50 i3-N305, UHD Graphics 32EUs | 685 g | 348 USD |
74.1 % v7 (old) | 11 / 2023 | Acemagic S1 N95, UHD Graphics 24EUs (Alder Lake-N) | 440 g | 239 EUR |
73.5 % v7 (old) | 09 / 2023 | Blackview MP80 N95, UHD Graphics 24EUs (Alder Lake-N) | 214 g | 250 EUR |
73.2 % v7 (old) | 01 / 2024 | Asus ExpertCenter PN42-BBN200MV N200, UHD Graphics Xe 750 32EUs | 828 g | 299 EUR |
71.1 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2023 | BOSGAME N95 N95, UHD Graphics 24EUs (Alder Lake-N) | 392 g | 179 EUR |
70.1 % v7 (old) | 11 / 2023 | Trigkey G4 N100, UHD Graphics 24EUs (Alder Lake-N) | 272 g | 189 EUR |
69.9 % v7 (old) | 01 / 2024 | Zotac ZBOX PI430AJ i3-N300, UHD Graphics 32EUs | 318 g | 560 EUR |
68.2 % v7 (old) | 03 / 2023 | Minipc Union NiPoGi GK3PLUS - N95 N95, UHD Graphics 24EUs (Alder Lake-N) | 381 g | 399 EUR |
Maxtang MTN-ALN50 in detail
Case - Lots of metal and plastic with a high-gloss finish
Many parts of the Maxtang MTN-ALN50, including the base plate, are made of metal, which gives the device very good stability. Only the top of the housing is covered with a black plastic cover with a high-gloss finish. This literally attracts fingerprints, and micro-scratches are inevitable. Due to its solid construction, the Maxtang MTN-ALN50 weighs 685 grams, which makes it the second heaviest device in comparison. Only the Asus ExpertCenter PN42 is slightly heavier at 828 grams. Our test sample does not stand out negatively in terms of space requirements on the desk at around 13 x 13 centimeters. However, the competitors are somewhat more economical. Despite its weight, the Maxtang MTN-ALN50 can be attached to a monitor using a VESA mount.
In terms of build quality, we would have liked to see a little more attention to detail. The edges are somewhat sharp-edged. Beveled or chamfered edges should be the standard here and would improve this somewhat. Furthermore, our test sample was delivered without feet. This is not a technical disadvantage, as there are no ventilation slots on the underside to draw in fresh air. After consultation with the manufacturer, we were assured that this circumstance is not the rule. In principle, all Maxtang MTN-ALN50s should be supplied with feet.
Equipment - Simple standard without WLAN
In terms of connectivity, the Maxtang MTN-ALN50 offers everything you need at first glance. Five USB ports are more than sufficient in this class. In addition, the USB Type-C port on the front can also be used for image output, which, together with the two HDMI outputs on the rear, means that three screens can be used simultaneously. There are also two LAN sockets at the rear, each offering network speeds of up to 2.5 GBit/s. That's all we have to say about networking and the Maxtang MTN-ALN50: yes, a WLAN module is not installed in our test sample. Even a quick upgrade is not possible without the prior installation of WLAN antennas. However, there is a free slot for a WLAN module. Anyone buying the mini PC should be aware of this. The simplest and quickest solution is certainly to use a USB WLAN stick if a wireless connection is absolutely necessary. To make things a little more user-friendly, however, we would have liked to see pre-installed WLAN antennas.
Accessories
The scope of delivery of the Maxtang MTN-ALN50 includes everything necessary for operation. In addition to the device itself, the box also contains the 60-watt power supply unit (12 V; 5 A) and a mounting plate for VESA mounting. An HDMI cable and a quick start guide are also included with the device.
Maintenance
Opening the Maxtang MTN-ALN50 is very unspectacular. There are four screws on the underside that secure the base plate to the chassis. The base plate also serves as a mounting tray for an additional 2.5-inch data carrier. The pre-installed RAM and the M.2 SSD can also be accessed without difficulty. Overall, the Maxtang MTN-ALN50 has a very simple design and can be disassembled even further without any problems.
Performance - Intel Core i3-N305 with 8 cores
The mini PC is equipped with the Intel Core i3-N305 - an economical SoC that offers eight physical computing cores. The processor's power limits are defined at a level of 15 to 35 watts. The SoC is supported by 16 GB DDR4 RAM, which is installed as an SO-DIMM module. In total, the Maxtang MTN-ALN50 can be equipped with up to 32 GB of RAM. However, only one RAM module can be installed. The Intel Core i3-N305 does not support dual-channel mode anyway. The SSD is a model with 512 GB of storage space, which works at SATA speed, which is appropriate for simple office use.
Test conditions
We carried out all performance tests with the maximum performance
energy profile. Other energy-saving plans were only used for the energy consumption measurements and the noise measurements. Further details on our test criteria can be found here.
Processor
The Intel Core i3-N305 provides the necessary working speed in the Maxtang MTN-ALN50. With its 8 cores, the SoC clearly outperforms its competitors. Even compared to the Zotac Zbox pico PI430AJ, which is equipped with the Intel Core i3-N300, our test sample has an easy game due to the higher TDP limits. Under continuous load, the Intel Core i3-N305 in the Maxtang MTN-ALN50 has up to 15 watts available, although up to 35 watts are possible in the short term. We can also see these limits again and again during our tests, which means that the built-in cooling is well-dimensioned.
You can find more benchmarks for the processors here.
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
Maxtang MTN-ALN50 vs. Cinebench R15 multi-loop
The Cinebench R15 continuous loop shows us at this point how well the built-in cooling system performs under continuous load. During the first run, the Intel Core i3-N305 can benefit a little more from its Turbo clock. Later on, we only see a very short peak before the SoC continues to operate at 15 watts. With a few exceptions, which are not significant, our test sample was able to complete the test with an excellent result and achieved an average of 796 points.
System performance
Good CPU performance also ensures excellent results in the system performance benchmarks. Only in the RAM tests does our test sample have to admit defeat to Zotac Zbox pico PI430AJ. If Maxtang had also used DDR5 RAM here, this would probably have improved the overall performance of the Intel Core i3-N305 even more. Nevertheless, the Maxtang MTN-ALN50 coped well with everyday use.
* ... smaller is better
DPC latencies
We achieved the DPC value documented here while surfing the Internet (opening several websites in the Edge browser). This did not change during the playback of our 4K test video or the stress test with Prime95. In principle, the Maxtang MTN-ALN50 can therefore be used for streaming, but you have to be satisfied with somewhat lower resolutions. Unfortunately, the 4K playback could not be completed without dropped frames. The iGPU was utilized at around 31 percent.
* ... smaller is better
Mass storage
A simple 512 GB SSD from Foresee is installed in the test sample of the Maxtang MTN-ALN50. However, the installed model only works at SATA speed, which is also clearly reflected in the benchmarks. However, the transfer rates are still sufficient for everyday use. We did not notice any temperature problems during the stress test. The Maxtang MTN-ALN50 can also be equipped with a second mass storage device. The necessary connection adapter and socket are included in the scope of delivery.
For more comparisons and benchmarks, please refer to our Comparison table.