Mini PC

Apple's latest iMac is effectively a monitor with an entire computer packed into it, and thus technically only needs a keyboard to work. Now, the Cupertino giant has patented a new device that is effectively the other way around. Therefore, it may soon pitch this Mac/Magic Keyboard as a new bring-your-own-display device that could be marketed as the most retro revolution in portable desktop technology ever.

Intel has finally launched its most powerful NUC yet, the NUC 12 Extreme. Codenamed 'Dragon Canyon', the NUC 12 Extreme comes with a compact design, powerful Alder Lake processors, and space for a powerful graphics card like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti.

Details about the NUC 12 Extreme have leaked, Intel’s next flagship mini-PC. The NUC 12 Extreme will include a PCIe x16 Gen 5 slot for next-gen graphics cards, and dual-slot ones to boot. The NUC 12 Extreme will be upgradeable, but it may also be rather expensive.

Apple is gearing toward launching seven new Mac computers over the coming months, with potential releases occurring in March and either May or June. Highlights include the keenly awaited 2022 MacBook Air with M2 chip and the intriguing MacBook Pro 13 that may or may not carry over the design language of its 14-inch and 16-inch Pro stablemates.

The diminutive and deceptively powerful Apple Mac mini has been given a lick of paint in a new artistic concept rendering. The device design in the image is based on leaks concerning the 2022 Mac mini, which is expected to sport a slimmer profile. A Mac mini Pro model may be released featuring Apple M1 Pro or M1 Max chips.

MINISFORUM has revealed how its B550 mini-PC will work with full-sized GPUs. However, the company now states that the machine will only support up to 65 W processors, taking the Ryzen 7 5800X and Ryzen 9 5900X off the table.

The Beelink SER4 is a 126 x 113 x 40 mm mini-PC that packs a powerful AMD Renoir APU. Along with a Ryzen 7 4800U, the SER4 has 32 GB of RAM, a 500 GB NVMe SSD and numerous ports. The Beelink can power three displays simultaneously and costs US$699.99.

Beelink has started selling the GTR4 mini-PC globally. The Ryzen 9 4900H machine runs to US$799.99 with 16 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and 500 GB of NVMe storage. The Beelink GTR4 is approximately 10% slower than the GTR5, which has a Ryzen 9 5900HX APU.

Chuwi has brought a new mini-PC to market, albeit one that relies on an older AMD Ryzen APU. The LarkBox X has plenty of ports, upgradeable memory and is available for US$399. The mini-PC comes with RAM, an SSD, and a Windows 10 Home licence pre-installed too.

Intel's Atlas Canyon mini-PCs are finally orderable, having been unveiled last month as the NUC 11 Essential series. NUC 11 Essential mini-PCs start at US$299 with the Celeron N4505, but they are also available with Celeron N5105 or Pentium Silver N6005 processors.

XDO Tech's Pantera Pico PC has become a crowdfunding darling due to its relatively tiny size and budget price. Now, the start-up has contacted its fans to assure them that it is in production, and has made some progress despite the upcoming Chinese New Year break at its factory. Meanwhile, the OEM has come down to the last few units it will sell at early bird prices.

The Ryzen 9 5900HX is leaving its mark not only on high-performance laptops, but also on upcoming high-performance mini PCs as well. The lesser-known Beelink GTR5 will be one of the fastest NUC-sized mini PCs in terms of processor performance when it becomes available later this quarter.

MINISFORUM has started selling the DeskMini UM700 with Manjaro Linux. The mini-PC runs on an AMD Ryzen 7 3750H APU, up to 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD. The DeskMini UM700 is upgradeable too and start at US$499.

According to reports, Apple is planning on releasing up to four products at its spring 2022 hardware event. Reputedly, a next-generation Mac mini and an iPad Air 5 could join the already rumoured iPhone SE 5G, along with an iMac Pro and even an SoC more powerful than the current M1 Max.

The ASUS PL63 is another mini-PC by the company, following in the footsteps of the PN52 and the PN64. The PL63 is available as a barebones system or with RAM, storage and an OS installed. All configurations come with an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor.

Intel has launched the NUC 11 Essential series, which leaked last year as Atlas Canyon. The budget mini-PCs have Intel Jasper Lake processors and plenty of ports, plus optional eMMC flash storage. The NUC 11 Essential series also supports Linux, Windows 10 and Windows 11.

The Ayn Odin handheld gaming console is finally set to ship on Monday, January 17. However, only the first 200 backers will be shipped a device at this time. While production is ongoing, closures due to the celebration of Chinese New Year are sure to delay future shipments.

With a starting price of just US$269 (barebone version) and an attractive US$429 deal available for the 16/512 GB version, the Ryzen 5 3550H-powered MINISFORUM UM350 will start shipping before the end of February. This mini PC comes with Windows 10 Pro preinstalled, except for the barebone version.

Reportedly, Intel has no plans to release the NUC 12 Performance. NUC 12 Enthusiast, NUC 12 Extreme, and NUC 12 Pro editions could still be on their way though, all with Intel Alder Lake processors.

The quad-core mini PC comes pre-installed with Windows 11 Pro and can support up to three displays simultaneously. The manufacturer expects the NucBox 4 to begin shipping this month.

The PN64 can be equipped with Alder Lake-P processors up to an i7-1280P or Alder Lake-H ones up to an i7-12700H coupled with DDR5-4800 RAM. No Ryzen 6000 processors for the AMD models this year, but the Ryzen 5000H APUs should still make for a decent upgrade over last year's Lucienne Ryzen 5000U options.

ASRock has announced the DeskMeet, a mini-PC that will be available with AMD and Intel processors. The DeskMeet comes with stacks of ports too, plus four DDR4 DIMM slots for up to 128 GB of RAM. ASRock will offer the DeskMeet with AMD X300 and Intel B660 chipsets.

At just 210 x 203 x 62.2 mm, the GeForce RTX 3080-powered mini PC is almost 70 percent smaller than the Asus ROG Strix RTX 3080 OC that's meant for desktop form factors.

When configured with the exact same Core i5-1135G7 CPU, 16 GB of RAM, 500 GB NVMe SSD, and a registered copy Windows 10 Pro, the Beelink GTI 11 will come in at least $100 USD cheaper than the Intel NUC 11 Panther Canyon.

MINISFORUM's Christmas Sale discounts campaign has begun yesterday and is scheduled to last until January 10, 2022. The list of discounts includes generous price cuts for existing models such as the U820 and UM700, pre-sale discounts for the EliteMini HM90 and HX90, as well as flash sales.

With a starting pre-order price of US$529 (16 GB, no SSD), the Intel Core i5-11320H-powered MINISFORUM EliteMini TH50 will only begin shipping at the end of February 2022. The other configurations available are 16/256 GB (US$569) and 16/512 GB (US$599). For all three, the regular prices will be US$120 higher.

MSI is now selling the Creator P50, a mini-PC that starts at US$1,799. The Creator P50 is available with 32 GB or 64 GB of RAM and up to an Intel Core i7-11700 that MSI has paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU.

Gigabyte has confirmed that it will be launching BRIX Extreme mini-PCs soon, likely in early 2022. Up to an AMD Ryzen 7 5700U APU will be available, complemented by a host of ports and dual-channel SO-DIMM RAM.

The JK01 is one of the cheapest Jasper Lake-based mini-PCs around. The mini-PC relies on a Celeron N5095 and has up to 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage. The JK01 starts at US$140 as a barebones system.

Intel has started axing Panther Canyon mini-PCs, having announced them in January 2021. Other SKUs remain, but only one short model is still available.

MSI still intends to release the MAG Trident S, nearly a year after its announcement. The 2-litre desktop PC has been upgraded from a Ryzen 7 4700G to the newer Ryzen 7 5700G, but its release is still a way off.

The ECS Liva Z3 and Liva Z3E are two new mini-PCs based on Intel's Jasper Lake architecture. The pair will be available with a choice of three processors and feature numerous ports.

Beelink has reduced the GTi8, a mini-PC based on Intel's Coffee Lake architecture. The GTi8 also has SO-DIMM RAM, an M.2 SSD and numerous ports. Currently, the GTi8 retails for US$449, reduced from US$599.

Minisforum recently launched a new Tiger Lake-based Mini PC. The TH50 Mini features an i5-11320H, a higher TDP H-series processor, alongside 16GB of RAM and ample storage options. It will likely retail in the US$500 price range, and could be a good option for low-profile media center builds.

The $369 USD NucBox mini PC is a good alternative to the much more expensive Intel NUC models while the $269 to $399 Xpanel portable monitors can offer full sRGB or AdobeRGB coverage depending on the model.

Despite its single PCIe 2.0 lane support, the Raspberry Pi can easily identify up to 20 PCIe devices through the Broadcom PCIe switcher provided on the Seaberry carrier board. This setup enables the use of multiple Tensor Processing Units or Wi-Fi and Ethernet interfaces.

It also features an AMD RX 550 GPU, 16 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM plus a 512 GB SSD and can run emulated Windows apps and games, including Crysis. Users can replace the SSD and GPU to boost performance.

Chinese OEM Maxsun released a desktop motherboard featuring one of Intel's mobile Tiger Lake chips built in. The HM570 is a standard Micro-ATX motherboard, but has its Tiger Lake i7-11800H soldered on. With low-end Alder Lake parts set to hit the market soon, though, it's unclear exactly who the HM570 is made for.

Beelink has revealed the GTR5, a Ryzen 9 5900HX-based mini-PC. The company sells the GTR5 with up to 64 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD, but all memory components are replaceable. The GTR5 starts at US$619 as a barebones system.

The HaxMini is now available to order on Kickstarter. The machine features an Intel Core i5-8305G processor and comes in two configurations, starting at US$499. HaxMini expects to ship its eponymous mini-PC in February 2022.

MSI has started selling the Pro DP20Z series, mini-PCs with Ryzen 5000 APUs. The Pro DP20Z can be purchased with up to a Ryzen 7 5700G, which MSI has packed within a 2.6-litre case.

Chrome OS devices can be the path of least resistance to productivity on a budget or within space constraints. However, those potential advantages are not a lot of good to those who still need Windows apps such as those of MS Office for work. CTL may have solved this problem with a new SKU of its Chromebox CBx2 with Parallels Desktop.