Systems
Intel's Meteor Lake series of processors was launched in September 2023 with a focus on mobile platforms. Multiple mini-PC vendors have utilized these processors to market offerings in the SFF / UCFF desktop market. ACEMAGIC is an Asian manufacturer with products in multiple categories including micro-PCs, UCFF (ultra-compact form-factor) and SFF (small form-factor) PCs, and notebooks. They were one of the first to market with Meteor Lake-based desktop systems. The ACEMAGIC F2A 125H is the entry-level version of the F2A line, equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 5 125H processor. It is a bit larger than the traditional NUCs, slotting it in the SFF category. However, that allows for the processor to be operated at 65W (compared to the 28 - 40W adopted in the...
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 6/8/2023Topgro'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 5/5/2023Minisforum 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 4/18/2023Zotac’s Zbox Edge MI351 Packs Alder Lake-N and Offers Upgradeability
Introduced back at CES 2023, Intel’s Alder Lake-N platform is the company's newest and latest budget platform for entry-level PCs. With the hardware now shipping, Zotac is among the...
16 by Anton Shilov on 4/14/2023ASRock Industrial 4X4 BOX-7735U UCFF PC Review: Zen 3+, RDNA2, and USB4 in a Potent Platform
ASRock Industrial is one of the few vendors with a lineup of ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) computing systems based on the latest Intel and AMD platforms. Their lineup of NUC...
36 by Ganesh T S on 4/6/2023MinisForum Launches NAB6 mini-PC With Dual 2.5G Ethernet Ports
MinisForum is a well-known manufacturer from Shenzhen, China, specializing in compact systems. The company recently added the NAB6 to its diverse portfolio of mini-PCs powered by Intel processors. The...
5 by Zhiye Liu on 3/27/2023Intel NUC 13 Pro Arena Canyon Review: Raptor Lake Brings Incremental Gains
Ultra-compact form-factor PCs have emerged as bright spots in the PC market over the last decade after Intel introduced the NUC. The company celebrated the 10-year anniversary of its...
48 by Ganesh T S on 3/27/2023Lenovo Launches LOQ Tower 17IRB8: An Affordable Pre-Built With Intel 13th Gen
While many components used to build a new system have and are coming down in price (except graphics), it's an excellent time to build that new gaming PC. Going...
11 by Gavin Bonshor on 3/24/2023LG's 2023 Gram Style Series Laptops Are Now Available, Starting At $1,499
The latest Gram Style series laptops, which LG announced at CES, are available as of today at the company's website or select authorized retailers. The LG Gram Style series...
12 by Zhiye Liu on 3/20/2023Supermicro SYS-E302-12E Fanless Industrial PC Review: Elkhart Lake for IoT Applications
Passively-cooled systems find application in a wide variety of industrial use-cases including automation, IoT gateways, medical systems, surveillance, and digital signage. In addition to avoiding moving parts, systems meant...
17 by Ganesh T S on 3/10/2023ASRock Industrial's 4X4 BOX 7000/D5 Series Brings Zen 3+ and USB4 40Gbps to UCFF Systems
ASRock Industrial's lineup of ultra-compact form-factor machines in the NUC BOX (Intel-based) and 4X4 BOX (AMD-based) series has gained popularity over the last couple of years. Being the first...
40 by Ganesh T S on 2/10/2023ASRock Industrial NUCS BOX-1360P/D4 Review: Raptor Lake-P Impresses, plus Surprise ECC
Low-power processors have traditionally been geared towards notebooks and other portable platforms. However, the continued popularity of ultra-compact form-factor desktop systems has resulted in UCFF PCs also serving as...
31 by Ganesh T S on 1/29/2023Intel NUC 12 Pro Wall Street Canyon Kits Review: Alder Lake in UCFF Avatar
Intel introduced the ultra-compact form-factor in 2012 to reinvigorate the PC market. The incredible success of the product line has now resulted in the brand name propagating to other...
26 by Ganesh T S on 1/26/2023ASRock DeskMeet B660 Review: An Affordable NUC Extreme?
ASRock was one of the earliest vendors to cater to the small-form factor (SFF) PC market with a host of custom-sized motherboards based on notebook platforms. Despite missing the...
27 by Ganesh T S on 1/23/2023CES 2023: Akasa Introduces Fanless Cases for Wall Street Canyon NUCs
Akasa is one of the very few vendors to carry a portfolio of passively-cooled chassis solutions for the Intel NUCs. We had reviewed their Turing solution with the Bean...
1 by Ganesh T S on 1/6/2023ASRock Industrial's NUC(S) 1300 BOX Series Brings Raptor Lake to UCFF Systems
Intel recently updated their low-power processors lineup with the Raptor Lake U- and P- Series 13th Gen Core mobile SKUs. Supporting a range of TDPs up to 28W, these...
1 by Ganesh T S on 1/4/2023Intel NUC13 Extreme Raptor Canyon Review: Sizzling SFF Performance Powerhouse
Intel officially unveiled the details of their Raptor Lake-based NUC13 Extreme last month. Based on the desktop Raptor Lake processors, the 13.7L NUC13 Extreme is Intel's biggest NUC yet...
27 by Ganesh T S on 12/14/2022Intel Launches Raptor Canyon: Desktop Raptor Lake Sizzles in NUC13 Extreme
Intel is officially taking the wraps off the first member of their Raptor Lake-based NUC13 family today. The NUC13 Extreme (like the three previous Extreme NUCs) caters to the...
27 by Ganesh T S on 11/8/2022Intel Announces Serpent Canyon: Alder Lake and Arc Amalgamate in NUC12 Enthusiast
Intel officially unveiled the final member of their Alder Lake-based NUC12 family earlier this week. The NUC12 Enthusiast (like the three previous Enthusiast NUCs) caters to the gaming /...
13 by Ganesh T S on 9/22/2022ASRock Industrial NUC BOX-1260P and 4X4 BOX-5800U Review: Alder Lake-P and Cezanne UCFF Faceoff
The past few years have seen Intel and AMD delivering new processors in a staggered manner. In the sub-45W category, Intel's incumbency has allowed it to deliver products for...
34 by Ganesh T S on 8/5/2022