Mini PC

The dual-core / dual-thread R1102G and dual-core / quad-thread R1305G CPU models are 14 nm chips based on the original Zen architecture featuring the lowest TDPs in AMD's Ryzen Embedded roster. These will be featured in Simply NUC's new Red Oak and Post Oak mini PC systems along with Sapphire's latest NUC motherboards.

The new Zbox Pro CA622 nano is an industrial-grade embedded mini PC with a fanless case. This barebones solution includes a Ryzen R1505G dual-core CPU with 15 W TDP and support for up to 32 GB of RAM. There also is a more expensive QC7T3000 version with an actively cooled case integrating an Intel Core i7-9750H and a professional Quadro RTX 3000 GPU.

The Kaleido concept mini PC is not really that small, but it sure packs everything you need from a computer. First of all, you do not need a display, since the elongated prism-shaped device integrates a projector, plus it also comes with a foldable keyboard and a sound bar.

The upcoming KaiXian KX-6780A octa-core CPUs should be launched this March, but they will only be available as part of pre-built budget gaming systems, as the chips themselves are soldered and require special motherboards. Preliminary performance tests prove that the Chinese CPUs still lag behind Intel's i5-7400 models.

2019 brought the highest revenues in six years for AMD and the red team expects increased 7 nm CPU adoption for 2020 together with increased demand for custom embedded solutions via the release of the next gen consoles. CEO Lisa Su confirmed that the RDNA architecture is getting a refresh and the second half of 2020 should also bring new data center GPUs.

The official AMD site does not provide exact specs for the new Pro 500 chipsets, but it looks like Lenovo already plans to release some IdeaCentre ThinkCentre models that integrate a Pro 560 chipset. According to the Lenovo spec sheet, the Pro 560 chipset appears to support up to 32 GB DDR4-2666 RAM and is only compatible with the PCIe 3.0 standard.

Chuwi may be best-known for its Microsoft Surface clones; however, it has decided that it will also do HTPCs now. This Herobox has a Gemini Lake chipset with the Intel UHD Graphics 600 necessary for 4K video playback. It also has 8GB of RAM, a 180GB SSD and it runs Windows 10.

Comet Lake is the code-name for a possibly imminent series of upcoming Intel CPUs. Accord to some leaks, they will then be followed by Rocket Lake. A leaker claims to have uncovered a reference to a new ATX motherboard that may pertain to some of these chipsets.

The latest PN62 models come equipped with business-grade features like optional Thunderbolt 3 ports and WiFi6 connectivity. Powered by Intel's Comet Lake CPUs up to the i7-10710U hexa-core, the slightly bulkier devices also support up to 64 GB DDR4-2666 RAM and up to 1.5 TB of HDD + SSD storage combos.

For only $15 you get a compact mini PC powered by a quad-core Amlogic S905W ARM-based processor that can handle 4K HDR decoding, which is coupled with 1 GB of DDR3 RAM and 8 GB storage. The package also includes an HDMI cable and a dedicated remote control, recommending this device as the most affordable streaming system.

ASRock has a new mini-PC board ready to go. As it appears to be designed for the Intel Pentium Silver J5040 chipset, it may be pitched at the lower end of this market. It can drive up to 3 displays and has an HDMI port that supports 4K at 60 fps, but no USB type-C ports.

According to a new leak, Intel has a replacement for the NUC 10 Performance mini-PCs in the works. It apparently goes under the heretofore-unknown code-name Panther Canyon, and will be powered by Tiger Lake-U processors with Xe graphics. This new rumor also covers the "NUC 11 Extreme" line, also known as Phantom Canyon.

Once, long ago, Blu-ray was touted as the gold standard in media playback. Now, however, it has sunk into obscurity among a world's worth of streaming services compatible with high-res displays. The format's market value is now thought to fall considerably until 2025.

The Lenovo ThinkCentre M90n-1 Nano IoT is a rugged but silent mini PC suited for IT deployments and enterprise use. Unfortunately, the little desktop's performance suffers under load, primarily because of thermal throttling.

Zotac is the latest company to join AMD's mini PC initiative. For now, there is only a ZBOX Nano barebones model that is powered by the Ryzen 3 3200U APU with integrated Vega 3 graphics and support for up to 32 GB of DDR4-2400 RAM, but models powered by the new Ryzen 4000 APUs are also expected to launch later this year.

The Smarter Camera platform is an AI-powered solution for the future of industries such as security, logistics and retail. It has been developed by the company AnyConnect, which has just announced a partnership with Asus to deliver it to the market. This will be done using the Taiwanese OEM's Tinker Edge hardware.

Surprisingly enough, Samsung was not among the first companies to introduce the PCIe 4.0 standard for its popular 900-series NVMe SSDs last year. However, this year, with the announcement of the 980 Pro models, the South Korean giant finally acknowledges the real market demand for speedier storage solutions.

If current top-of-the-line PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSDs reach peak sequential read/write speeds of around 3,500 MB/s do not cut it for you, maybe save up for the upcoming XPG Sage from Adata that promises to deliver double the performance, at least for read speeds. The included Innogrit Rainier controller is also the first to break the 1 million mark for sequential write IOPs.

Intel teased about the upcoming 10th gen Comet Lake-H CPUs at CES 2020 but did not divulge many details. Intel also showed off the Ghost Canyon NUC that will bring support for Core i9 H-series and discrete GPUs. Intel's early sneak peek points to the company being wary of AMD's announcements tomorrow.

PoE Texas has announced the GBT-NUC, a new type of lid for certain Intel mini PCs that enables them to access power and data through just 1 Ethernet cable. Therefore, the devices can function independently of a conventional wall-plug, and may make them into more versatile office computers, display controllers or media-centers.

AZIO has a new RGB mechanical keyboard up for crowdfunding on Indiegogo. This one has a less retro appearance, yet is still touted to be high-end in terms of its materials and build quality. It also has the OEM's new FOKAL spinning control, which can be used for a variety of sliding-value options and also acts as a 360-degree joystick.

Magewell is a company that makes the components that connect video and audio output with the applicable software. Its latest M.2 video capture card is of its 'Eco' line-up, and is capable of single-channel operation at up to 4096x2160 at 60 frames per second over 12G-SDI. It will be launched in 2020 at the ISE exhibition.

AMD wants to build a mini PC ecosystem around its embedded R1000 and V1000 CPUs, but some OEMs like Maxtang want to offer more performance through laptop-grade CPU implementation. In spite of the more powerful Ryzen 5 2500U CPU, the Maxtang VHFP30 comes in a slim fanless case that can accommodate up to 8 GB of DDR4 RAM, up to a 512 GB SSD plus a 2.5-inch HDD.

The list of partners who are already offering Ryzen-powered mini PCs include ASRock, Simply NUC, EEPD, OnLogic and Tranquil PC, with more OEMs expected to join throughout 2020. For now, the mini PCs are powered by the R1000 and V1000 embedded CPUs based on the Zen+ microarchitecture, but AMD plans to release improved 7 nm CPUs with Navi iGPUs next year.

The rugged "Austin Beach" NUCs will be Intel's first fanless models to integrate 15 W Whiskey Lake CPUs. As far as the modular design goes, the upcoming NUCs will come with a special motherboard that can connect to replaceable Compute Element modules, which feature soldered CPU / RAM / eMMC storage components.

Rumors about a possible collaboration between Intel and Samsung started making the rounds this summer, and the latest reports from Korea now confirm that Samsung's foundries will help Intel alleviate the 14 nm CPU shortage problems, as the Korean giant has managed to lock in a significant number of CPU orders for the beginning of 2020.

LG has unveiled what it calls the "best prices of the year" on its OLED TVs sold through its site and authorized dealers in the US. It includes no less than US$2000 off one 77-inch model, and a 55-inch SKU that now goes for just $1199. These deals take effect today (November 27, 2019) and last until December 2.

Intel has released its latest Next-Unit Computing- (NUC) form-factor PCs. They are powered by 10th-generation Core processors, and have i3, i5 and i7 variants. This applies to the kits and the mini PCs in this series, which also have Thunderbolt 3, Wi-Fi 6 and 4 USB 3.1 ports, 1 of which is type C.

AT&T now maintains specific bands for internet of things (IoT) devices and other low-power 4G/LTE applications. To this end, the carrier has just validated the new 9205 modem for these kinds of networks and ecosystems. This Qualcomm SoC is designed to be half as big as its predecessor, while using 70% less power and 40% fewer resources.

Simply NUC just announced the Sequoia, a small form-factor NUC-like device with AMD internals. It can be configured with either a Ryzen Embedded V1807B or V1605B and is designed for industrial use cases. But with prices starting at £445, it might just be a good fit for your HTPC setup, too.

Fujitsu has announced the latest 3 additions to its FUTRO line of thin clients. They also have freshly-launched Intel chipsets: Gemini Lake Refresh processors named as the Pentium Silver J5040, Celeron J4125 and Celeron J4025. The highest-end of these new clients also has PalmSecure authentication.

The hand-sized Cubi 5 mini PCs from MSI now come with Intel's 10th gen Comet Lake CPUs up to a Core i7 U-series. This can be coupled with up to 64 GB of DDR4-2666 RAM and a storage solution that combines an M.2 NVMe SSD with a 2.5-inch SATA SSD/HDD.

Machine learning is already making its way into IoT devices, as Google and Asus are now collaborating to release single board computers the size of credit cards. Even though they are small, these devices are powerful enough to enable AI-assisted applications for image recognition and upscaling.

Leaked information about the Comet Lake-U powered Intel Frost Canyon NUC indicates that it will be an incremental update over the Coffee Lake-U-based Bean Canyon with the only changes being the availability of a USB Type-C port in the front panel and internal CPU upgrades. Frost Canyon will be available in both ultra-thin and standard form factors and is expected to launch on December 12.

NVIDIA has announced the Jetson Xavier NX that can deliver up to 21 TOPS of computing power for AI applications on the edge. The Jetson Xavier NX is powered by a 384 CUDA and 48 Tensor core Volta GPU and a 6-core Carmel ARM CPU. The entire computer is no bigger than a credit card and will be available in March 2020 for just US$399.

Home theaters brought in a total of US$7.7 billion last year. However, this market value is thought to be capable of growing by up to $5.7 billion more over the next 6 years. The sound bar sector may grow at the greatest rate over this period.

Google provides hardware that runs its own OS with automatic updates for a fixed period of time after their release. This software policy applies to a range of devices, from Chromebooks to Chromebits, the end-of-life (EOL) of which is known as Auto Update Expiration (or AUE). 140 of these products have had their AUEs amended by 6 months to a year each.

AOPEN calls its new Chrome OS PC the "Commercial 2" as it asserts it is ready for demanding business environments. Besides its fanless, solid-state design, it is rated to withstand temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius. It can run 2 4K displays and is powered by the Intel Celeron 3865U.

These would be the fastest dual-cores in Intel's entry-level ULV offer to date, but do not expect anything too crazy, since they are using the old 14 nm manufacturing process. The Pentium Gold 6405U comes with 4 threads and is clocked at 2.4 GHz, while the Celeron 5205U does not support hyperthreading and is clocked at 1.9 GHz.

Early test samples for the 2020 Renoir APUs based on the 7 nm Zen 2 architecture may have been spotted on 3DMark11 running on a Celadon-RN platform with default CPU clocks ranging between 1.7 and 2 GHz. One of the test setups includes a 1.5 GHZ iGPU, so we could be looking at Vega 10 or even low-tier Navi variants.

The latest pico-ITX motherboard from Gigabyte comes with an embedded Celeron N3350 dual-core SoC that is powerful enough for video decoding loads. Users have the possibility to add up to 8 GB of LPDDR3-1866 RAM, a SATA HDD and an mSATA PCIe SSD, plus an m.2 Wi-Fi module. The diminutive motherboard is smaller than a high-end smartphone.

Previously thought to be launched in early-2020, the Gemini Lake Refresh CPUs are now expected to release in late-2020 with higher clocks and possibly upgraded iGPUs. New leaks unveil the specs for three new 10 W TDP J-series and three new 6 W TDP N-series processors designed for mini PCs and budget laptops.

In order to house the new modular platform, Intel's upcoming Ghost Canyon mini PCs will feature the largest NUC enclosures yet. This also allows for improved cooling, and it looks like Intel has also modified the layout to include a small backplane that houses the "Element" module and can support a discrete GPU and an NVMe SSD. The "Element" module itself can be powered by laptop-grade CPUs like the Core i9-9980HK, Core i7-9750H or Core i5-9300H models.

The industrial-grade rugged enclosure made of aluminum featured with the Mini Multi Display PC does not come with any active cooling in order to protect against dust, debris and moisture. The system is powered by AMD's Ryzen Embedded V1605B APU with integrated Vega 8 GPU that supports four 4K video connections, and can be equipped with up to 32 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and up to 2 TB M.2 SSD storage.

Codenamed "the Element," Intel's modular concept is based on PCIe boards that integrate CPU, RAM, SSD and a variety of connectors. These boards use 16 PCIe lanes and can be combined with other accelerators like GPUs, compute units etc. Furthermore, the CPU, RAM and SSD can be upgraded separately, or the entire module can be swapped for an upgraded one.

TSMC strikes back with a "retaliatory litigation", claiming that GlobalFoundries infringed on 25 of its patents that include FinFET designs for the 40 through 12 nm nodes. Unlike GlobalFoundries who sued TSMC's fab-less companies like Apple and Nvidia, TSMC is looking to halt all GlobalFoundries production and sale processes for the infringed nodes.

The new 495 chipset only brings a faster OPI COU interface that is capable of 4.2 GT/s data transfer speeds, Wi-Fi 6 and expanded Intel Optane memory support. Nothing new on the port selection and PCIe lanes side, unfortunately. Even though Ice Lake was supposed to introduce support for USB 4.0, there is no mention of this feature, either.

Minix presented its new small NEO G41V-4 at IFA 2019 in Berlin, a fanless mini PC that fits in one hand. The G41V-4 incorporates an Intel Celeron N4100 processor, UHD Graphics 600 and 4 GB of DDR4 RAM among other components. The G41V-4 succeeds the Neo N42C-4 and will sell for US$270.