Some mini PCs and firewall/network appliances are starting to show up with the Intel Processor U300/U300E penta-core CPU on Aliexpress and Amazon. It looks to be a 15W entry-level part for the 13th Gen Raptor Lake processor that may provide a more powerful and slightly more expensive alternative to the popular Alder Lake-N Processor and Core i3-N305 SoCs. The Processor U300 offers one Performance core clocked at 1.10 GHz to 4.30 GHz (Turbo) and four Efficiency cores clocked at up to 3.20 GHz, with the embedded part (U300E) handling slightly lower max frequencies for a wider operating temperature range. As usual, the Performance core supports multi-threading, so the Processor U300 supports six threads. Intel Ark shows it can support up to 96GB DDR5-5200 RAM, embeds a 48EU Intel UHD Graphics capable of driving up to four independent displays, and offers 20 lanes of PCIe Gen4 (vs 9-lane for Alder Lake-N), […]
Review of GEEKOM XT12 Pro (Intel Core i9-12900H) Mini PC – Part 1: Specs, unboxing, and teardown
GEEKOM XT12 Pro is a Windows 11 Pro mini PC powered by a 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900H 14-core Alder Lake processor clocked up to 5 GHz with support for 8K video output, up to four 4K displays, 2.5Gbps Ethernet, and a WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 wireless module. The mini PC supports up to 64GB DDR4 memory, 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD, and 1TB M.2 SATA SSD, and also comes with multiple USB ports (USB4, USB 3.2, and USB 2.0), a 3.5mm stereo audio headset jack, and a Kensington lock slot. GEEKOM has sent us an XT12 Pro mini PC with 32GB RAM and a 1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD for review. Today, we’ll go through the GEEKOM XT12 Pro specifications, do an unboxing to check the mini PC’s ports and accessories, perform a teardown to understand the hardware design better, and finally give it a try with Windows 11 […]
5% discount for Intel NUC 11 with Core i7-1165G7 CPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD (Sponsored)
Intel decided to pull the plug on its NUC business in 2023, but that does not mean those are not available for sale anymore, and the Intel NUC 11 (NUC11PAHi7) powered by an Intel Core i7-1165G7 SoC with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD is now offered on Amazon with a 5% discount when using the coupon code A5QFKRCQ. Introduced in 2021, the Intel NUC11PAHi7 supports up to four 4K displays through HDMI, Mini DP, and Thunderbolt interfaces, offers 2.5GbE and WiFi 6 connectivity, three USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, and even a CIR (Consumer InfraRed) port. Intel NUC11PAHi7 specifications: SoC – Intel Core i7-1165G7 quad-core/octa-thread Tiger Lake UP3 processor @ up to 2.8 GHz / 4.7 GHz (Turbo) with 96EU Iris Xe Graphics; 15W TDP (configurable between 12 and 28W) System Memory – 16GB DDR4-2666 via SO-DIMM sockets expandable up to 64GB RAM Storage 512GB M.2 NVMe (PCIe Gen4) […]
Maxtang MTN-FP750 (Ryzen 7 7735HS) mini PC review – Part1: Specs, unboxing, teardown, and first boot
Maxtang MTN-FP750, also known as NUC-7735HS-A16, is a mini PC powered by AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS (or Ryzen 5 6600H) CPU with up to 64GB of memory, up to 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD, and ports such as HDMI 2.0, USB4, 2.5GbE, etc… It also optionally supports WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, takes a 2.5-inch SSD via an FPC connector, and optionally comes with Windows 11 Pro operating system with the company saying the mini PC is ideal for office retail and digital signage. Maxtang sent us an MTN-FP750 mini PC sample for review with an AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS, 32GB DDR5, and a 512GB M.2 SSD preloaded with Windows 11 Pro. Today we will look at the specifications, go through an unboxing, teardown the device to check out the hardware design and boot it up to make sure it works as expected. We will then review Windows 11 Pro and […]
GEEKOM Mini IT13 Review – Part 2: An Intel Core i9-13900H mini PC tested with Windows 11 Pro
Earlier this month, we had a look at GEEKOM Mini IT13 hardware, a mini PC powered by an Intel Core i9-13900H Raptor Lake processor and equipped with 32GB RAM, a 2TB NVMe SSD, 8K capable HDMI and USB-C video outputs, and several high-speed ports such as 2.5GbE and Thunderbolt 4. We’ve now had time to test the powerful mini PC with the preinstalled Windows 11 Pro operating system, in the second part of the GEEKOM Mini IT13 review, we’ll report our experience with the device with features testing, various benchmarks, power consumption number, and thermal performance under load. Software overview and features testing GEEKOM Mini IT13 ships with Windows 11 Pro 22H2 build 22621.23.61 and the System->About window confirms we have a mini PC powered by an Intel Core i9-13900H and equipped with 32GB RAM. HWiNFO64 provides more details about the Intel Core i9-13900H 14-core/20-thread Raptor Lake processor, the motherboard, […]
Intel Lunar Lake hybrid mobile processors to integrate on-chip LPDDR5X memory (MoP)
While Intel Meteor Lake mobile processors are yet to become available, we already have a leak that provides quite a lot of details about the next-generation Lunar Lake hybrid mobile processor family (LNL MX) with supports for 8W to 30W base power designs and 16GB or 32GB on-chip LPDDR5x memory (Memory-on-Package, or MoP) to deliver higher memory bandwidth at reduced footprint and power. Developed in collaboration with Microsoft, the new Lunar Lake processor will come with four P-cores and four low-power E-cores, a new generation NPU and GPU architecture for AI workloads, and improved power management for lower power consumption (40% scenario power reduction) and improved battery life. Four SKUs are currently planned with either 16GB or 32GB dual-channel LPDDR5X memory: Core 7 MS3 (+ MoP) – Octa-core “12M” processor with 4x P-cores, 4x E-Cores, 8-core Xe2-LPG GPU, and 6-tile (12K9M) NPU Core 5 MS1 (+MoP) – Octa-core “8M” processor […]
ADATA SE920 USB4 external SSD offers up to 2TB capacity, supports up to 3,800 MB/s data transfers
ADATA SE920 is a small USB4 external SSD with 1TB or 2TB storage capacity that leverages the 40 Gbps connection enabled by USB4 and delivers up to 3,800 MB/s sequential read speed. The storage device supports Thunderbolt 3 & 4 and is backward compatible with USB 3.2 and USB 2.0 standards. The USB-C port makes it suitable for mini PCs, laptops, SBCs, and even smartphones, but one potential downside of the small form factor is that it integrates a fan to cool the SSD although the user can enable/disable it by extending/retracting the telescopic case. ADATA SE920 specifications: Capacity – 1TB / 2TB Host interface – USB4 up to 40Gbps, backward compatible with USB 3.2/2.0 Performance Sequential Read – Up to 3,800 MB/s, or in other a 10GB file can be transferred in about 3 seconds Sequential Write – Up to 3,700 MB/s (USB4) or up to 3,200 MB/s (Thunderbolt […]
COM-HPC 1.2 specification released with COM-HPC Mini 95x70mm form factor
PICMG has announced the release of the COM-HPC 1.2 specification adding the COM-HPC Mini form factor that’s about the size of a credit card (90x75mm) or half the size of the next-smallest COM-HPC form factor but still provides access to high-speed interfaces such as PCIe Gen5, USB4, and 10GbE. The COM-HPC “High-Performance Computing” form factor was introduced a few years ago for more powerful CPUs (higher TDP) with support for PCIe Gen4 (the COM Express form factor can’t handle PCIe Gen 4 clock speeds and throughputs well), and until now four sizes were available with COM-HPC Client Type modules measuring 95 x 120mm (Size A) to 160 x 120mm (Size C) and Server Type modules having either 160 x 160mm (Size D) or 200 x 160mm (Size E) dimensions. The COM-HPC Mini brings a smaller (95 x 60 mm) credit card-sized form factor to the COM-HPC standard for applications such […]