Mini PC

The Mele PCG02 is a compact PC stick that has plenty of connectivity despite its size. The device connects to external monitors and TVs via an HDMI 2.0 port, and is based on the Intel Celeron J4105 Gemini Lake processor. The Mele PCG02 also has 4 GB of LPDDR4 RAM, a 64 GB eMMC drive, Gigabit Ethernet and Windows 10 Pro.

The Odyssey Blue is a mini-PC that Seeedstudio has based on the ODYSSEY-X86J4105800. The device is equipped with an Intel Celeron processor and an Arduino-compatible coprocessor for added flexibility.

The XCY X51 is a mini-PC and an incredibly small one at that. Based on the Intel Celeron N4100, the X51 features 8 GB of RAM, a 128 GB M.2 2242 SSD and a host of ports. The 62 x 62 x 42 mm device weighs 121 g and can be purchased for US$179.

Tipster @momomo_us leaked what appears to be a picture of ASRock’s refreshed X300 DeskMini small form-factor PC, set to feature an AMD Renoir Ryzen 4000 APU. This potentially offers workstation users better value for money, with Ryzen 4000 performance in the sub-US$500 range.

The NucBox will be one of the smallest 4K-cable mini PCs you can find when it hopefully launches later this year. Specs-wise, it's looking to be an upgrade from the Chuwi Larkbox in terms of CPU performance, WLAN, and RAM.

Intel's own Phantom Canyon NUCs will most likely be targeting budget gamers, so if you are looking for more affordable mini PCs powered by the upcoming Tiger Lake CPUs for IoT and HTPC applications, you could check out the single-board computers offered by Aaeon, Kontron and Advantech.

While Intel is yet again postponing the launch of its 7 nm processors, Chinese chip makers like Phytium are rising with big dreams of providing decent competition for AMD in the next few years. Phytium currently specializes in server-grade CPUs with 64 cores, but, by the end of 2021, the Chinese company intends to ready 128-core server chips built on TSMC's 5 nm nodes, along with 14 nm desktop and embedded CPUs.

The 4x4-V2000 single-board computer has not yet been officially announced by ASRock, but it appears to be powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 4600U APU coupled with 16 GB of DDR4 RAM. This new version seems like a solid upgrade over the older V1000 model powered by a Ryzen Embedded V1650B processor.

Lenovo has also added new tower-form PCs to its new Legion gaming line-up. Its Tower 5 variant can have up to the Ryzen 9 3950X as a processor, as well as RTX 2070 SUPER graphics. The IdeaCentre Gaming 5 is a Ryzen 7 3700X/RTX 2060 machine with improved thermals.

The MINISFORUM S40 keeps the dream of the Intel Compute Stick alive. Featuring a Gemini Lake processor, active cooling and 64 GB of storage, the S40 is available for under US$150. Its manufacturer claims that it can output to two 4K monitors simultaneously at 60 Hz too.

The Kingdel NC980 is compact yet still manages to include a 45 W Core i7 processor and a dedicated GPU. The Mini-PC is available in multiple configurations and features nine USB ports among other ports.

The Beelink GT-R comes with premium features like a fingerprint scanner, magnesium alloy case and triple heatpipe silent cooling system. Besides the Ryzen 5 3550H APU with Vega 8 iGPU, there is support for up to 32 GB of RAM, and the storage solutions can include PCIe 3.0 4x NVMe and SATA 3 SSDs, along with a 2.5-inch HDD. There is support for four video outputs, as well.

The NH-L12 is a cooler that, according to its maker Austria-based Noctua, offers many advantages for compact PC builds. However, it did not completely fit in the Ghost S1 case by the Swedish company Louqe. Therefore, the 2 firms have collaborated on a new variant for self-building fans of both PC-component brands.

The first Geekbench 5 results of the Apple Mac Mini Developer Transition Kit (DTK) powered by the A12Z Bionic running macOS 11 Big Sur Developer Beta 1 have surfaced despite Apple's developer NDA being in force. The benchmark is running under a Rosetta 2 emulation and the performance deficit, though significant compared to the Core i5 MacBook Air 2020 and the iPad Pro, is understandable and in many ways, encouraging.

More compact than the GPD Win Max, One-Notebook's OneGx1 is now up for pre-order in both 4G and 5G variants, but it doesn't come cheap: the US$839 model only sports WiFi, 8 GB of memory, and 256 GB of internal storage, and the price goes as high as US$1,318 for the 5G + 16 GB + 512 GB model.

Even though it comes in a palm-size case, the DeskMini DMAF5 still packs some serious Ryzen power. It ships with a Ryzen 5 3550H APU that integrates a Vega 8 GPU, but users can further upgrade the processor to models with 45+ W TDP. It also supports up to 32 GB of DDR4-2400, plus NVMe / SATA storage combos, and it comes with a pre-installed Wi-Fi 6 card.

The ZBOX Cl622 nano mini PC barebones come with CPU options such as the Core i3-10110U and i7-10510U models from the laptop-grade Comet Lake-U family and also offer a fanless design, making these systems ideal for HTPC setups.

Need a supercharged AMD-based small form factor PC? Corsair has got you covered with the new One a100 mini tower system that resembles an Xbox Series X console. The One a100 systems feature high-end AMD Ryzen 9 3900X/3950X CPUs, RTX 2080 Ti / Super GPUs, plus Asus ROG Strix X570-I Gaming motherboards with 32 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and 1 TB Corsair Force MP600 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD + 2 TB Seagate Barracuda HDD storage combos.

The upcoming Asus PN50 mini PCs will offer four APU options: Ryzen 3 4300U, Ryzen 5 4500U, Ryzen 7 4700U, and Ryzen 7 4800U. As always, these are barebones models so users still need to provide RAM and storage. That said, the included motherboard offers support for up to 64 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and an M.2 slot along with a 2.5-inch bay for storage.

The Kaby Lake G platform is unique in that it combines an 8th-gen Intel Core CPU with Radeon Vega M graphics. Attractive a proposition as this - and some of the PCs on which it is based - sounds, it quickly ran into support issues. Now, it seems it has a new one: it can't install newer drivers, which are normally supplied by AMD.

Intel has announced that a raft of processors based on the Coffee Lake architecture have reached the end of their life. This new notice encompasses Core i3-, i5- and i7-8xxx CPUs. It also extends to certain Pentium Gold and Celeron desktop chipsets.

Along with the recent launch of the new 8 GB variant of the Raspberry Pi 4, the Raspberry Pi foundation also decided to give its customized Linux variant a new name. Raspbian is now known as Raspberry Pi OS going forward and brings with it a new 64-bit beta variant designed to take full advantage of the RAM upgrade.

This mini PC is designed for industrial or commercial applications that require rapid prototyping, as well as for entertainment and DIY projects like arcade-style video game systems, as it comes with the latest Arduino programmable coprocessor.

An Intel Phantom Canyon NUC 11 Extreme powered by a Tiger Lake-U CPU and the GTX 1660 Ti has made its appearance on the 3DMark Time Spy database. The CPU score and clock speeds indicate that this NUC 11 Extreme engineering sample could be powered by a 28 W Core i5 Tiger Lake-U part. The Phantom Canyon NUC 11 is also expected to available in an RTX 2070 Super Max-Q configuration.

HP has announced its 2020 commercial desktop lines. It consists of 400- and 600 G6-series mini-PCs, small form-factors, microtowers and all-in-ones (AiO). They boast advantages such as military-grade durability, up to 10th generation Intel Core i7 processors and user-upgradable memory.

Unlike the GPD Win Max models that come with Intel Ice Lake CPUs, One-Netbook's One-GX1 mini laptops are supposed to be powered by Tiger Lake-Y CPUs, but these chips do not have a clear release date as of now, so, even though the One-GX1 is scheduled to go up for pre-orders on May 30, we might not get to see it in action until late Q3 at best.

A new and ultra-compact mini PC combines two Ethernet connections, four DisplayPorts, eight USB ports and a quad-core AMD Ryzen Embedded V16505B processor. The mini-PC can be configured with up to 16 GB of DDR4 RAM and a 512 GB M.2 SSD.

Gole Technology has introduced the Gole11 all-in-one PC, which is also known as the HiGole F11APL. According to the company, the Gole11 is “the world’s cheapest all-in-one”, and it features an Intel Celeron N3450 processor and an 11.6-inch touchscreen with a 1920x1080 resolution. The device has been offered for as little as US$99 to early-bird crowdfunding backers.

MSI is updating the high-end Trident X lineup of slim gaming desktops with CPU options like the i7-10700K(F) and i9-10900K. Users can also choose among RTX 2070 Super and RTX 2080 Ti GPUs, 32 and 64 GB of RAM and may opt for a 1 TB NVMe SSD or an 1 TB NVMe SSD + 1 TB HDD combo storage solution. Other noteworthy features include 2.5 GbE + Wi-Fi 6 and Thunderbolt 3.

The roadmap leaked by a trusted source close to GamersNexus shows how AMD may skip 2021 entirely and launch the Zen 4 desktop CPUs along with the Zen 3 APUs in 2022 with support for DDR5 RAM and USB 4.0, citing the current uncertain economic climate brought upon by the global pandemic.

With an estimated price of only US$185, the NANOTE mini laptop offers modest specs like an Intel Atom x5-Z8350 quad-core CPU, 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of eMMC storage. Unlike the more expensive models from GPD and One-netbook, however, the NANOTE comes in a convertible form-factor with a 1920 x 1200 touchscreen.

Unlike GPD's Win Max mini laptop, the OneGX1 from One-Netbook is a bit more compact since it does not integrate game controller buttons, but it may also prove a bit faster as it is supposed to integrate Intel's Tiger Lake CPUs. The design appears inspired by Dell's Alienware Area-51m, and this is also said to be the first mini laptop to offer 5G support.

The CPU and GPU clocks appear to be quite low compared to mobility models like the Ryzen 7 4700U, but the "Artic" chip proves to be faster, at least in CPU-related tests, and the DDR4-3200 support certainly helped. On the iGPU side, however, the performance is not that great, as it turned out to be slower than a Vega 6 model.

Aimed at those who need an ultra-compact mini-PC with some computing power, Eglobal is offering its units with up to 64 GB of DDR4 RAM, a 2 TB SSD and a Core i7-10710U processor. Others configurations with different Core i7 processors are available, too.

First teased last month, the GPD Win Max handheld gaming PC is now official. The device is a remarkable hybrid of laptop and hand-held gaming console rolled into one with some pretty decent specs to back it up.

There have been a lot of unexpected side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and we can add another to the list. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has revealed that March saw its second highest number of sales since it launched in 2012.

Microsoft’s next major update to Windows 10 will land in May. The new update brings some useful features to users including Cloud reset as well as the much anticipated DirectX 12 Ultimate with improved raytracing support.

The first Ryzen 3000 Picasso APUs have just been added to mini PC offerings from ASRock and Zotac and it may take up to one year for the freshly released Ryzen 4000 Renoir processors to make it into small form-factor PCs. Prominent OEMs like Dell, Asus and MSI do not even offer any AMD-based mini PCs.

With the B13 and B16, Partaker has created two particularly compact PCs based on Intel Core processors. Specifically, the devices are available with Core i5 and Core i7 processors, which should offer good performance at a competitive price.

The first DDR5 modules will be aimed at the server market, with consumer variants expected to hit the market in late 2021. Initial frequencies will be limited to 4,800 MHz, but, as the technology matures, frequencies will be hitting 6,400 MHz and even 8,400 MHz, while densities could reach 64 GB per single DIMM.

After being left in the lurch for nearly 12 months, owners of the ill-fated Intel Kaby Lake-G platform finally get some respite not from Intel but from AMD. AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 drivers can now be used to update Kaby Lake-G graphics drivers. At last, Kaby Lake-G owners can now have access to day 0 game support and critical bug fixes, which they have been deprived of all these months.

Amid all the fuss surrounding the launch of the new iPad Pro range and MacBook Air, Apple also gave the Mac mini a surprise boost. Although the CPUs and RAM configurations remain the same, it has doubled the standard storage at no additional cost (at least in the US).

Purism has launched its Librem Mini small form-factor mini PC, with preorders for the device now being taken. The tiny computer comes with a Whiskey Lake Intel Core i7-8565U processor and can be configured with up to 64 GB RAM. PureOS is offered as the operating system, with PureBoot and Librem Key support included for extra privacy and security.

The GHF51 from DFI is a new single-board computer powered by a Ryzen Embedded R1000 APU. Boasting a 12 Watt TDP and integrated Vega graphics, the GHF51 will likely be scores more powerful than the similarly-sized Raspberry Pi. All that power will likely come at a cost, though.

The A9-9820 APU with Radeon R7 350 iGPU is probably not based on the Zen architecture since it only supports DDR3 memory. The test results provided by Chuwi speak for themselves, although the OEM claims that there should be enough processing power for current AAA games and 4K video editing.

The French manufacturer Linutop has presented several new PC systems. Based on a Raspberry Pi 4 or an Intel Atom x5-Z8350, the Linutop XS3 and Linutop 6 should suit those looking for a new all-in-one mini PC. All run Linutop OS, a Xubuntu or Raspbian-based OS.

Leaked by FanlessTech earlier this year, a new internal roadmap has confirmed that Phantom Canyon and Panther Canyon NUCs, also known as NUC 11 Performance and NUC 11 Extreme respectively, will arrive later this year. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 may have delayed their release. The NUC 9 Extreme appears to be sticking around until at least 2021, too.