Systems
The introduction of the Intel NUC in the early 2010s kickstarted the ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) trend for desktop systems. Processors with TDPs ranging from 6 - 15W formed the backbone of this segment in the initial years. The emergence of configurable TDPs for notebook processors has prompted some vendors to introduce UCFF systems with regular 45W TDP processors (albeit, in cTDP-down mode). GEEKOM, the private label brand of Shenzhen Jiteng Network Technology Co., has emerged as a popular UCFF system vendor in the last couple of years. After starting off with systems based on older processors, the company has moved on to introducing units carrying the latest and greatest from both AMD and Intel. The company has also been innovating on the form-factor side with...
ASUS NUC14RVHv7 and ASRock Industrial NUC BOX-155H Review: Meteor Lake Brings Accelerated AI to UCFF PCs
Intel's Meteor Lake series of processors has had a drawn-out launch since its details were officially presented in September 2023. The series marks Intel's foray into the consumer market...
14 by Ganesh T S on 5/23/2024
Supermicro E102-13R-H Review: A Raptor Lake-P 3.5-inch SBC System for Embedded Applications
Single-board computers in the 3.5-inch form-factor have become extremely popular for embedded applications involving a mix of high performance requirements as well as extended peripherals support. Typical use-case scenarios...
1 by Ganesh T S on 5/14/2024
Minisforum Unveils V3: A 2-in-1 Tablet with Ryzen 7 8840U and Windows 11 Pro
Minisforum has formally announced its V3, one of the industry's first AMD Ryzen 7 8840U-based hybrid PCs that can serve as a tablet, a laptop, and an external display...
33 by Anton Shilov on 2/8/2024
Asus Unveils Dual-Screen Laptop: Zenbook Duo with two 14-inch OLED Displays
Modern higher-end 14 and 16-inch-class notebooks offer performance that is enough for the vast majority of productivity and even content creation workloads. As a result, the main limitation of...
9 by Anton Shilov on 1/12/2024
ASUS Unveils NUC 14 Pro and Pro Plus Meteor Lake Mini-PCs
As part of its 2024 CES announcements, ASUS officially unveiled a number of NUCs based on Intel's Meteor Lake platform. The company had earlier released the NUC 13 Rugged...
8 by Ganesh T S on 1/10/2024
ASRock Industrial 4X4 BOX-7840U mini-PC Review: AMD Phoenix in an UCFF Avatar
AMD's Phoenix line of low-power processors for the notebook market has been lapped up by various second and third-tier mini-PC vendors in the Asian market. The platform's value proposition...
15 by Ganesh T S on 12/28/2023
ASRock Industrial 4X4 BOX 8040 and NUC(S) Ultra 100 BOX Series Bring Accelerated AI to Mini-PCs
ASRock Industrial maintains a lineup of ultra-compact form-factor machines in the NUC BOX (Intel-based) and 4X4 BOX (AMD-based) series. These systems have gained significant market acceptance (evidenced by the...
10 by Ganesh T S on 12/23/2023
HP Z6 G5 A Workstation Review: 96-Core AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 7995WX Impresses
With AMD's recent launch of their Zen 4 architecture-based Threadripper 7000 series CPUs, the company and its OEM partners have unleashed a new wave of high-end PCs and workstations...
23 by Gavin Bonshor on 12/13/2023
GEEKOM A5 mini-PC Review: Affordable Cezanne Zen 3 at 35W
Ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) desktops have gained significant market share over the last decade. Processors with TDPs ranging from 6 - 15W formed the backbone of this segment in the...
35 by Ganesh T S on 12/8/2023
GEEKOM Mini IT13 Review: Core i9-13900H in a 4x4 Package
The performance of ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) desktops has improved significantly over the years, thanks to advancements in semiconductor fabrication and processor architecture. Thermal solutions suitable for these 4in. x...
9 by Ganesh T S on 10/16/2023
ASRock Industrial NUC BOX-N97 and GMKtec NucBox G2 Review: Contrasting Compact ADL-N Options
Intel has been maintaining a low-power / low-cost x86 microarchitecture since the introduction of the Silverthorne Atom processors in 2008. Its latest iteration, Gracemont, made its debut in the...
20 by Ganesh T S on 10/6/2023
ECS LIVA Q3D and ACEMAGIC T8 Plus micro-PCs Review: Jasper Lake and Alder Lake-N in a Smaller-than-UCFF Package
Compact computing systems have gained significant market share over the last decade. Improvements in the performance per watt metric of processors have enabled the replacement of bulky desktop PCs...
9 by Ganesh T S on 9/21/2023
Khadas Mind Premium Review: Raptor Lake-P in a Modular Portable Workstation
Khadas is a well-known vendor in the ARM-based single-board computer (SBC) circles. Recently, the company made its first foray into the small form-factor x86 PC space with a rather...
20 by Ganesh T S on 9/14/2023
Beelink GTR7 mini-PC Review: A Complete AMD Phoenix Package at 65W
The increasing popularity of small form-factor (SFF) PCs has allowed a number of second and third tier vendors to market their wares. While the trend was kickstarted by the...
56 by Ganesh T S on 8/24/2023
GEEKOM AS 6 (ASUS PN53) Review: Ryzen 9 6900HX Packs Punches in a Petite Package
The market demand for small form-factor (SFF) PCs was kickstarted by the Intel NUC in the early 2010s. Since then, many vendors have come out with their own take...
15 by Ganesh T S on 7/31/2023
ASRock Industrial NUC BOX-1360P/D5 Review: Raptor Lake-P on the Leading Edge
ASRock Industrial has been a key player in the ultra-compact form-factor PC space over the last few years. They have managed to release 4"x4" systems based on the latest...
21 by Ganesh T S on 7/18/2023
Palm-Sized Minisforum EM680 Desktop PC Packs AMD's Ryzen 7 6800U and USB4
We've seen AMD's Ryzen Mobile 6000 series chips show up in several mini-PC devices thus far, and now a recently-released mini-desktop from Minisforum is the smallest yet. The Mini-PC...
19 by Anton Shilov on 6/8/2023
Topgro's $499 Fanless PC Packs Core i7-1255U 'Alder Lake' CPU
One of the perks of modern mobile CPUs is that, being designed for laptops and their very limited cooling capacity, they can be placed in a NUC-sized (or smaller...
10 by Anton Shilov on 5/5/2023
Minisforum Unveils UM773 Lite: A Cheap Compact PC with Ryzen 7 7735HS
Minisforum has quietly started selling its Venus Series UM773 Lite, a compact system that packs AMD's eight-core Ryzen 7 7735HS processor. While this ultra-compact form-factor PC is rather powerful...
18 by Anton Shilov on 4/18/2023
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