Ultra-slim fanless mini PC goes official with 10-core CPU and up to 96 GB DDR5 RAM

MSI has introduced a new mini PC with an interesting ultra-slim design, dubbed the MS-C936. Spotted by LinuxGizmos, the C936 sports a fanless chassis for silent operation with a robust I/O setup.

The MSI C936 mini PC is powered by the Intel Core 5 120U processor, featuring 10 cores and 12 threads. Multicore performance should be quite respectable, with synthetic benchmarks revealing Apple M1-level performance. Modern offerings, such as the AMD Ryzen AI 5 340, are over 50% faster in multicore performance, which is to be expected. For most lightweight to moderately intensive tasks, the mini PC should do just fine.

MSI MS-C936: Silent mini PC with 10-core Intel CPU

Of course, being a fanless system, the MS-C936 mini PC relies on passive cooling to keep the 15-watt CPU going. Clearly, real-world performance of the mini PC will rely heavily on how MSI's passive cooling setup functions under heavy loads. Memory requirements are taken care of by up to 96 GB of DDR5-5200 RAM.

There is no discrete GPU, which is hardly a surprise. The Iris Xe G7 iGPU with 80 EUs should only be enough for video output and lightweight acceleration.

Storage requirements will be handled by an M.2 2280 (PCIe Gen4 x4) as well as a 2.5" SATA slot. As mentioned earlier, the mini PC is extremely slim, coming in at just 2.9 cm or 1.14 inches of thickness. The 7.7 x 11.2 inch system can also be VESA mounted pretty easily, with its thin frame allowing it to fit in tight spaces..

The I/O on offer is pretty impressive, as is to be expected from an industrial mini PC:

• Dual USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, six USB 2.0 Type-A
• Dual USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C
• Dual 2.5G Ethernet
• Dual COM (RS-232/422/485) ports
• Dual HDMI 2.0

M.2 2230 and M.2 2242/3042 slots are also present, the latter of which can be used to add nano SIM support to the system. The MS-C936 mini PC is also IEC 60068-2 compliant, courtesy of an anti-vibration and shockproof design, thanks to the lack of moving parts.

Pricing and availability details are unclear as of this writing. Aimed at industrial use, interested customers can know more about the MSI MS-C936 mini by getting in touch with the manufacturer directly. For consumers, a typical mini PC like the Beeline EQI12 (currently $430 on Amazon) might be a much better option with similar performance