We’ve previously checked out the hardware of the GEEKOM AS 6 mini PC, the retail version of the ASUS PN53, using an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX CPU with unboxing, teardown, and the first boot in the first part of the review. We’ve now spent more time with Windows 11 Pro on GEEKOM AS 6 for a thorough review, it’s one of the fastest mini PCs we’ve tested so far, and there are only a few downsides as we’ll see in the second part of the review. Software overview and features testing Our GEEKOM AS 6 sample shipped with Windows 11 Pro 21H2 build 22000.1281, and Windows system information confirms we have a system with a 3.3 GHz AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX CPU and 32GB RAM. If we look at more details, we can confirm the reported specifications match the advertised ones with an 8-core/16-thread CPU, an ASUS PN53 motherboard, etc… […]
Beelink EQ12 Review – An Intel Processor N100 mini PC tested with Windows 11, TrueNAS, pfSense, Ubuntu, and more
Beelink’s new EQ series of mini PCs form their base product range and feature low-powered Jasper Lake and Alder Lake-N processors with relatively basic port and memory/storage configurations. Perhaps more importantly, they are also the cheapest mini PCs they offer. Having recently announced the EQ12 mini PC featuring an Intel Processor N100 ‘Alder Lake-N’ CPU with up to 16GB RAM, Beelink have now sent one for review. Whilst I’ll cover the basic Windows operation and performance, I’ll also explore how this new mini PC performs when used as an integrated router and NAS. Beelink EQ12 specifications Beelink list the EQ12 specifications as: It is worth noting that the Processor N100 processor only supports a single memory channel and that according to Intel’s specification for the processor, the maximum memory supported is only 16 GB. Intel’s specification for the number of graphical execution units (EUs) also states 24 however software such […]
Beelink SER6 Pro 7735HS Review – Windows 11 benchmarks, USB4 port tested with NVIDIA RTX 3050 eGPU’s
Previously I reviewed Beelink’s SER6 Pro mini PC when it was released with an AMD Ryzen 7 6800H processor, mentioning that a ‘refreshed’ model had since been released. Beelink have kindly sent me this updated model which now uses an AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS. Given this is virtually an identical processor with just a 50 MHz improvement to the boost frequency, this review will look at confirming that the Windows performance is just as good as before and also revisiting the issues faced previously with the USB4 port. Spoiler alert: the USB4 now works perfectly! Beelink SER6 Pro 7735S specification Beelink list the SER6 Pro 7735HS specifications as: with the only differences to the original SER6 Pro being firstly the AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS processor which has a Max Turbo Frequency of 4.75GHz, and secondly that two variations are also available: one with ports exactly the same as the original […]
PicoMQTT – An MQTT Client/Broker library for ESP8266 and ESP32
PicoMQTT is a lightweight MQTT library for Arduino/PlatformIO optimized for ESP8266 and ESP32. It not only supports the MQTT Client mode like most existing solutions but also the MQTT Broker mode which transforms an ESP8266 or ESP32 board into an MQTT gateway replacing a Raspberry Pi board or an IoT gateway typically used for this task.
The library follows MQTT 3.1.1 specification, supports the publishing and consuming of arbitrary-sized messages, can deliver thousands of messages per second, and supports easy integration with the ArduinoJson library to publish and consume JSON messages.
Cytron CM4 Maker Board review – Part 2: NVMe SSD, RTC, Buzzer, Grove modules, ChatGPT…
We’ve already checked out Cytron’s CM4 Maker Board kit with a Raspberry Pi CM4 system-on-module and booted the system with the included 32GB “MAKERDISK” Class 10 microSD card preloaded Raspberry Pi OS in the first part of the review. For the second part of the CM4 Maker review, I’ve mostly used the 128GB NVMe SSD provided by the company and played with other features of the board including the RTC, the buzzer, some Seeed Studio grove modules, and even got help from ChatGPT for one of the Python programs I used. Booting Cytron CM4 Maker Board with the “MAKERDISK” NVMe SSD I connected several Grove modules with GPIO and I2C interfaces, a Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3, an Ethernet cable, two RF dongles for a wireless keyboard and mouse, an HDMI cable to a monitor, and finally inserted the provided 5V/3.5A USB-C power adapter. The MAKERDISK SSD comes with Raspberry […]
iKOOLCORE R1 review – A quad 2.5GbE mini PC tested with Windows 11, Ubuntu 22.04, Proxmox
When I first saw the iKOOLCORE R1 I was fascinated that a mini PC of similar size to the smallest fully functional ones available (think Chuwi LarkBox, GMK NucBox or ECS LIVA Q Series) could be equipped with four 2.5 gigabit Ethernet (2.5GbE) ports. I approached iKOOLCORE who kindly provided an R1 for review and I’ve looked at performance running both Windows 11 and Ubuntu 22.04 and dabbled with using hypervisors on this mini PC through Proxmox virtual environment. iKOOLCORE R1 specifications iKOOLCORE list the R1 specifications on their website as: Of note are the ‘EC, FCC, RoHS’ certifications indicating both European conformity and approval for use in the US. Technically ‘EC’ refers to an ‘EC declaration of conformity’ which is not a certificate, however, the ‘EC declaration of conformity’ is called a ‘CE statement’ or ‘CE certificate’ which is why you often see this abbreviated as ‘CE’. The rest […]
Weibu N10 Core i3-N305 mini PC review with Windows 11 and Ubuntu 22.04
I’ve previously reviewed Weibu’s N10 mini PC, however, they have now extended the range of CPUs available to the N10 through the addition of Alder Lake-N processors. As a reminder, Weibu is a B2B company that offers total solutions and OEM/ODM services and they don’t sell directly to end users as their target clients are computer manufacturers like Acer and Hisense. Weibu have sent a pre-production sample of their latest N10 based on a Core i3-N305 Alder Lake N-Series processor to showcase its capabilities in this review. I will revisit the specification of the N10 and briefly look at the performance running both Windows 11 Pro and Ubuntu 22.04. Weibu N10 product specifications Weibu list the N10 specifications on their website as: However this probably needs qualifying as ‘Memory Capacity’ states ‘2*SO-DIMM’ which is correct for many processors, but Intel’s Core i3-N305 processor in the mini PC sample I received […]
Beelink SER6 Pro mini PC review – Windows 11, Ubuntu 22.04, and USB4
Beelink upgraded their earlier SER6, which used an AMD Ryzen 5 6600H processor with integrated AMD Radeon 660M graphics, and released the SER6 Pro which has a faster AMD Ryzen 7 6800H processor with much more powerful integrated AMD Radeon 680M graphics. Beelink kindly sent a SER6 Pro unit for review however since receiving the mini PC, Beelink have ‘refreshed’ the processor to use an AMD Ryzen 7 7735H also with AMD Radeon 680M graphics, and called it the SER6 Pro Refresh. As a result, this review looks at Windows performance which should be indicative for both versions, together with a quick look at running Ubuntu and also a more detailed look at the USB4 port which is a new inclusion to Beelink’s mini PCs. Update: you may be interested in the review of the Beelink SER6 Pro 7735HS – in Windows 11 only – as we’ve also received it […]