MeLE Quieter2 Review – Windows 10, Ubuntu 20.04, and eGPU

Mele Quieter2 review

MeLE has recently released a passive mini PC called the Quieter2. What is particularly interesting is that whilst it only has a low-powered Intel Celeron CPU it also supports an M.2 2280 NVMe SSD drive which theoretically makes using an eGPU possible. MeLE provided a 99% discount coupon so that I could purchase one for review and the results from various testing are detailed below. Hardware Overview The Quieter2 physically consists of a 131 x 81 x 18.3mm (5.16 x 3.19 x 0.72 inches) rectangular plastic case with a metal base plate. The top half of the case is finely grooved to mimic the fins of a heat spreader but is made of plastic rather than metal to allow reception to the WiFi antennas as one is directly connected to it. As a passively cooled mini PC, it uses Intel’s 14 nm J4125 Gemini Lake Refresh processor which is a […]

How to get Windows 10 cheaply & legally at $6.84 per PC!!! (Sponsored)

GODEAL24 Summer Sale

Windows and Office have become part of our career and digital life. Windows 10 and Office 2019 are commonly used but considered their hefty price, some free alternatives like pirated copies and activator software have become alternative choices to consumers. For many years, manufacturers have been allowed to sell their equipment without Windows 10 OS, and the difference of price between a laptop or desktop with Windows 10 or with FreeDOS is approximately 100 Euros. However, there are also inevitable weaknesses of these free solutions: the lack of support, potential malware in activator software, and security problems. Actually, there is a safe way to get a Windows 10 key at a much cheaper price, which takes into account both safety and budget. So let’s get into the further step and show you how to get Windows 10 Key economically. Types of Windows product keys The keys can be classified by […]

Snapdragon QC710 Developer Kit targets Windows 10 on Arm app development

QC-710 Snapdragon Developer Kit

In order to encourage developers to port their apps to Windows 10 on Arm, Qualcomm and Microsoft have announced the Snapdragon Developer Kit based on a Snapdragon Compute platform and aiming to provide a cost-efficient platform that will be less costly than a laptop. The development kit looks like a mini PC, and while the full specs have not been announced, it could well be powered by the just-announced Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 processor, itself a cheaper version of Snapdragon 7c. Qualcomm did not share photos of all the ports from the developer kit, but the photos we’ve got come with “QC710” file name, and reveal a power button on the top, an LED on one corner, two USB ports, a MicroSD card slot, and a SIM card socket. I’d assume at least one HDMI or DisplayPort at the back, and possibly an Ethernet port, but we just don’t know […]

Qualcomm unveils Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 SoC for laptops and Chromebooks

Snapdragon 7c Gen 2

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 SoC for entry-level laptops and Chromebooks follows the steps of the Snapdragon 7c processor with a slightly higher frequency for the Kryo 468 cores, leading to a 6% performance improvements. As we’ll see below, most of the specifications are exactly the same, except the built-in Snapdragon X15 LTE modem is now listed as supporting LTE Cat 14 up to 600 Mbps, instead of LTE Cat 15 up to 800 Mbps, and UFS downgraded to UFS 2.1 from UFS 3.0. Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 specifications: CPU – Octa-core Kryo 468 (Cortex-A76) processor up to 2.55 GHz GPU – Unnamed Qualcomm Adreno GPU (Note: Snapdragon 7c had Qualcomm Adreno 618 GPU) DSP – Qualcomm Hexagon 692 DSP Memory – 2x 16-bit LPDDR4x-4266 Storage – eMMC 5.1, UFS 2.1 Display On-device display up to QXGA (2048 x 1536) @ 60 Hz External display up to QHD (2560×1440) @ […]

TOPTON D3 mini desktop features AMD Ryzen 5 4500U mobile processor

TOPTON D3

TOPTON D3 is an AMD Ryzen 5 4500U mini (desktop) PC that adds to the list of compact computers such as ASRock Mars 4000U or ASRock 4×4 BOX-4800U based on 15W AMD Ryzen 4000-series mobile processors. The mini PC offers two DDR4 SODIMM sockets, NVMe SSD storage, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, WiFI 6, as well as three 4K video outputs through HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB-C ports. TOPTON D3 (tentative) specifications: SoC – AMD Ryzen 5 4500U hexa-core/hexa-thread processor @ 2.3 GHz / 4.0 GHz (Turbo) with 11MB cache, Radeon Vega 6 Graphics ; 15W TDP System Memory – 2x SODIMM DDR4 sockets for up to 32GB RAM Storage – M.2 socket for up to to 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD, 2.5-inch SATA bay for up to 2TB SATA HDD (as per default configuration options) Video Output HDMI 2.0 up to 4Kp60 DisplayPort up to 4Kp60 USB-C up to 4Kp60 using […]

Beelink GKmini Review – An Intel Celeron J4125 mini PC reviewed with Windows 10 Pro, Ubuntu 20.04

Beelink GKmini Review

Beelink have recently released another small form factor (SFF) design similar to the traditional Intel ‘NUC’ called the GKmini which they have provided for review. Available as a fully configured Windows 10 Pro mini PC means it can be up and running straight out of the box. Hardware Overview The Beelink GKmini physically consists of a 115mm x 102mm x 43mm (4.53 x 4.02 x 1.69 inches) rectangular plastic case. It is an actively cooled mini PC and uses Intel’s 14 nm J4125 Gemini Lake Refresh processor which is a quad-core 4-thread 2.00 GHz processor boosting to 2.70 GHz with Intel’s UHD Graphics 600. The front panel has a power button, a headphone jack, two USB 3.0 ports, and a ‘CLR CMOS’ pinhole that leads to a button which when pressed clears the CMOS. The rear panel includes the power jack, dual HDMI ports, a gigabit Ethernet port, a further […]

Framework Laptop upgradable, repairable & modular laptop pre-orders opened for $799 and up

framework modular laptop

Most laptops are not made to be serviced by the end-users or expanded. In the part of the world where I live, I still have a “warranty void” sticker if I open my laptop to add an M.2 SSD. There are very few laptops with full documentation and whose companies encourage users to update and modify the hardware. Olimex TERES-I and MNT Reform 2 open-source hardware laptops do offer modularity, customization, and repairability, but they are based on low-power Arm processors and cater to a rather niche market. However, a new company called Framework is preparing to launch a modular laptop that is easily upgradeable and repairable with a more powerful set of features. The Framework laptop is offered with a choice of 11th generation Intel Tiger Lake Core processor, up to 64GB RAM, up to 4TB SSD storage, a 13.5-inch display, a Full HD webcam, a 55Wh battery, and […]

$300 NANOTE P8 is a 7-inch mini laptop with an Apollo Lake processor

NANOTE P8

NANOTE P8 is an affordable mini laptop powered by an Intel Pentium N4200 Apollo Lake processor coupled with 8GB RAM, 64GB storage, and equipped with a 7-inch Full HD display. While there are now plenty of mini laptops from companies like GPD or One Netbook they tend to be relatively pricey as they offer hardware with specifications suitable for gaming. Nanote mini laptop launched last year offered a low-cost option for $185, but with an Atom x5 Cherry Trail processor performance was really on the low-side, and the new Nanote P8 offers a mid-range option so-to-speak. NANOTE P8 (UMPC-02-SR) specifications: SoC – Intel Pentium N4200 quad-core Apollo Lake processor @ 1.1 / 2.5 GHz (Turbo) with 2MB cache, Intel HD 505 graphics; 6W TDP System Memory – 8GB RAM Storage – 64GB eMMC flash, MicroSD card slot Display – 7-inch touchscreen display with 1920×1200 resolution, 360-degree hinge Video Output – […]

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