Mini PCs with NPU for AI, many display connections and fanless operation
The focus on AI at the current Computex IT trade fair does not stop at mini PCs. MSI has developed an intelligent power-on concept.
XPC slim DN11H mit Neural Processing Unit.
(Image: c't / chh)
Taiwanese PC manufacturers ECS, MSI and Shuttle have brought a number of mini PCs to the Computex IT trade fair. Thanks to their extensive range of interfaces, they are replacing classic tower PCs in more and more areas of application. A good six months after the first notebooks with Intel's "Meteor Lake" Core Ultra 100 processors went on sale, mini PCs with these CPUs, which include an AI unit or Neural Processing Unit (NPU), are now following suit.
The Asus NUC 14 Pro, which has already been tested by c't, is followed by the ECS Liva Z7 Plus, which accommodates another more compact M.2-2242 SSD in addition to an M.2 SSD in 2280 format. It offers 2.5 and 1 Gbit/s Ethernet and controls four displays (2 × USB4 with DisplayPort and 2 × HDMI).
(Image: c't / chh)
Compact computer with AI CPUs from AMD and Intel
Shuttle, a manufacturer primarily geared towards business customers, offers two Mini PCs with NPUs for the higher price segment, but with CPUs from different manufacturers. The XPC slim NA10H is equipped with the mobile eight-core Ryzen 9 8945HS and Ryzen 7 8845HS. It provides two 2.5 Gbit/s Ethernet ports and RS/232 for legacy hardware.
(Image: / chhc't)
A Core Ultra 9 185H, Core Ultra 7 155H or Core Ultra 5 125H work in the slightly flatter XPC slim DN11H. As a special feature, it can be connected to four 2.5 Gbit/s networks. Both computers can operate four monitors via HDMI and DisplayPort.
Silent dwarf with dual Ethernet
The fanless XPC Fanless DS50U with predecessor processors of the 13th Core i generation up to the Core i7-1355U with 2P+8E cores is recommended for those who are sensitive to noise. It accommodates a 2.5-inch data carrier, drives two digital displays and comes with 2.5 and 1 Gbit/s Ethernet.
(Image: c't / chh)
Similar technology can be found in the MSI Cubi NUC 13MQG and Cubi NUC 1MG with Core i7-1365U or the newly launched and therefore technically closely related Core 7 150U. As a special feature, one of the two PowerDelivery-capable Thunderbolt ports also serves as a power supply with up to 100 watts. Together with the MSI Power Link technology, this results in a sophisticated power-on option in conjunction with the MSI Pro MP252 E2 and Pro MP271AP E2 monitors.
(Image: c't / chh)
Mini-PCs can be attached to the back of the monitor using a Vesa mount to save space. With MSI Power Link, the Mini-PC starts automatically when the display is switched on and also receives power from it via PowerDelivery, which saves a power supply unit.
External graphics box with AI accelerator
The EGB-AD3500 external GPU box from Zotac is not a compact computer, but a retrofit option for AI computing power in mini PCs and notebooks. It contains a mobile graphics card in MXM format with the Nvidia RTX 3500 Ada chip and 12 GB of GDDR6 RAM. It is connected via Thunderbolt 3 and provides three DisplayPort outputs.
(Image: c't)
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(chh)
