Mini-PC
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...
ZOTAC to Offer Small Form-Factor PC with NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 980 GPU
Various kinds of small form-factor PCs are on a roll these days. Mini-ITX systems have been offering performance of full-size desktops for several years now and even smaller systems...
17 by Anton Shilov on 3/11/2016Voyo V3 Review - A Fanless Intel Atom x7-Z8700 (Cherry Trail) mini-PC
Intel transitioned their Bay Trail-T Atom lineup (targeting affordable 2-in-1s, tablets and Compute Stick form factors) to 14nm with the introduction of Cherry Trail-T. The Atom x5 and x7...
69 by Ganesh T S on 3/1/2016ECS Goes Skylake with LIVA One
At CES 2016, ECS displayed their consumer-focused as well as OEM products to the press and business customers. On the direct-to-consumer side, ECS had some 100-series chipset boards on...
13 by Ganesh T S on 1/19/2016Zotac Updates ZBOX mini-PC Lineup at CES
Zotac had announcements in multiple segments at CES. Obviously, the SSD entry was the big talking point with the PCIe variant boasting good performance numbers. Zotac also had a...
14 by Ganesh T S on 1/16/2016CES 2016: MSI’s Vortex Gaming PC on Display and It Looks Almost Like a Mac Pro
One of the most interesting PC designs to come out in recent years was that of the Mac Pro. Sure, it looked like a cylinder into which one might...
28 by Ian Cutress on 1/14/2016CES 2016: GIGABYTE’s Double Length Gaming BRIX
The BRIX mini-PC line from GIGABYTE is an odd internal mashup within the company whereby the server business unit designs it, but the consumer arm does the marketing and...
12 by Ian Cutress on 1/12/2016Intel Expands Compute Stick Family with Cherry Trail and Core M Models
The desktop PC market is seeing growth only in two areas - the gaming high-end and the mini-PCs (in the NUC form factor). Intel has been strengthening its offerings...
34 by Ganesh T S on 1/11/2016Zotac ZBOX MAGNUS EN970 Review - A Gaming mini-PC Done Right
In the course of our coverage of mini-PCs, we have seen offerings from vendors such as ASRock, GIGABYTE and Zotac targeting the gaming market. Usually, 'mini' doesn't fit the...
88 by Ganesh T S on 9/28/2015ECS LIVA x2 Review: A Compact & Fanless Braswell PC
The popularity of the NUC form factor has led to a resurgence in the nettop category. Thankfully, the core computing performance of the new systems have been miles ahead...
30 by Ganesh T S on 8/24/2015Intel Launches New Socketed 5x5 mini-PC Motherboards
Over the last couple of years, the ultra-compact form factor (UCFF) has emerged as one of the bright spots in the troubled PC market. Kickstarted by Intel's NUC (Next...
44 by Ganesh T S on 8/24/2015ASRock Beebox Review: A Fanless Braswell UCFF PC
ASRock had taken an early lead in serving the mini-PC market, thanks to its Core / Vision series units. Based on motherboards meant for the notebook market (smaller than...
45 by Ganesh T S on 7/14/2015The MSI Gaming Booth Tour with dGPUs in AIOs and Notebooks plus Motherboards
It has been held as fact that for the past couple of years, gaming is helping to prop up a slowly decreasing desktop PC market. While many casual PC...
50 by Ian Cutress on 6/29/2015ASUS GR Series Goes Broadwell i5-5200U: The GR6
At Computex last year ASUS formally announced its mini-PC platform in the shape of the GR8. It was designed to fit within a bookcase on a shelf and act...
25 by Ian Cutress on 4/15/2015GIGABYTE GB-BXi7H-5500 Broadwell BRIX Review
Over the last couple of years, the ultra-compact form factor (UCFF) has emerged as one of the bright spots in the troubled PC market. Intel's NUC and GIGABYTE's BRIX...
53 by Ganesh T S on 1/29/2015ASRock VisionX 471D Review - Evolutionary Upgrades for a Powerful mini-PC
ASRock has been one of the few motherboard vendors to focus on mini-PCs targeting the HTPC and portable gaming markets. Starting from the ION-based nettop days, they have consistently...
30 by Ganesh T S on 1/26/2015ECS LIVA X Review: A Fanless Bay Trail-M mini-PC
Over the last couple of years, mini-PCs in the ultra-compact form factor (UCFF) have emerged as one of the bright spots in the troubled PC market. ECS first took...
35 by Ganesh T S on 1/16/2015Zotac Updates ZBOX mini-PC Lineup at CES 2015
Zotac's ZBOX series of mini-PCs has been receiving lots of updates over the last year or so. In addition to the traditional ZBOX (which, in itself, was small enough...
12 by Ganesh T S on 1/14/2015Intel Updates the NUC at CES 2015 with Broadwell-U
The big topic going in to CES was the launch of Broadwell-U, Intel’s 14 nanometer 5th generation Core products for laptops, mini-PCs and all-in-ones, with rated TDPs of 15W...
32 by Ian Cutress on 1/12/2015GIGABYTE BRIX Gaming BXi5G-760 mini-PC Review
GIGABYTE's BRIX Pro (using an Intel Iris Pro part) has made a big splash in the market, particularly as a Steam machine. Enthused by its success, GIGABYTE has introduced...
36 by Ganesh T S on 9/15/2014ECS Reveals LIVA Product Roadmap
The PC market is warming up to the ECS LIVA 'nettop' that we reviewed back in July. The fanless nature and low cost, as well as 'good-enough' performance serve...
3 by Ganesh T S on 9/4/2014