Long live the optical drive

Despite what Sony might think, optical drives aren't dead yet. Quiet PC launches two systems (Intel or AMD-powered) built around the Streacom FC8 heatsink case. The front panel features a sleek, integrated slot-loading optical drive bay, which can be configured with a DVD or Blu-ray drive for media playback and archiving. The systems feature CPUs up to the Core Ultra 9 285T or Ryzen 7 9700X, up to 64GB of RAM and 20TB of SSD storage.

3D-printed chimney PC

Source: stand_up_g4m3r

Two faithful companions

We always loved this picture of a cat on a Streacom DB4. Well, we finally found her. Meet Chi (from the Konami Kanata manga) in 2019 (picture 1) and in 2026 (picture 2 and 3). The PC itself is still going strong and went from a Ryzen 7 1700 and Radeon RX 550 combo, to a Ryzen 7 5700X paired with a GeForce RTX 3050. Here’s to many more years for both!

Budget fanless RTX 4060

This DIY masterpiece features a GeForce RTX 4060 strapped to a 2.5kg (5.5 lbs) heatsink that looks like a brutalist architectural model. The towering block of extruded aluminum fins completely dominates the tiny RTX 4060 PCB. The fins are wide apart, designed to let natural convection do the heavy lifting. It is completely impractical, beautifully excessive, and we love it. 

Source: bilibili

Storage-friendly Akasa Euler

Unlike their previous Mini-ITX case, the Euler CMX which only supports M.2 SSDs, the Euler MX2 supports two additional 2.5-inch SATA drive bays. The thicker chassis (272.6 x 205 x 92.6 mm) also comes with an internal 220W DC-to-DC converter designed to maintain stable performance under temperatures ranging from -25°C to 70°C. The Euler MX2 is designed for Intel's 35W processors (8th-15th Gen) up to the Core Ultra 9 285T.

Source: Akasa

N150 QuieterDL launched

The dual 2.5G LAN iteration of the popular MeLE mini PC is now available for $599.99. The system comes with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB PCIe 3.0×4 SSD. Please note that while a SO-DIMM module is pictured, we believe that the memory is soldered, and not upgradable. With triple 4K display support via HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB-C, alongside out-of-the-box compatibility with Windows 11 Pro and Linux (this unit is sold OS-free) it can serve as a versatile, energy-efficient and minimalist desktop setup.

DIY fanless gaming from scratch

GigaIPC QS-N150A available

The GigaIPC (GIGABYTE) QS-N150A is an ultra-slim, fanless industrial mini PC powered by an Intel Processor N150 quad-core CPU with a power-sipping 6W TDP. Its compact, ribbed aluminum chassis is fully passively cooled and can house up to 16GB of DDR5 memory alongside an M.2 PCIe Gen3/SATA SSD. Despite its tiny footprint, it packs impressive connectivity, including triple HDMI 2.0 outputs, dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, an RS-232 COM port, and support for 4G LTE expansion. The QS-N150A available from $329.95.

One power adapter to rule them all

Power is crucial for any build. Power is more important than cooling. We're officially campaigning for a Seasonic power adapter for the NUC and Thin mini-ITX motherboards. Here's what it could look like. It's wild that you still can't easily buy a NUC or Thin mini-ITX power brick from a reputable brand. If yours gets lost or breaks, you're pretty much forced to roll the dice on dodgy, no-name generic options. Who's with us? 

Built for temps, not for shows

Built by John J. Motzi for image processing, this custom-made PC features an open, framework-style case constructed from aluminum extrusions salvaged from a mining rig. It is fully passively cooled by utilizing large DIYAudio.com heatsinks and Streacom DB4 cooling units to dissipate heat from its 65W Intel i7-8700 CPU and 47W Nvidia Quadro P1000 graphics card. This design looks a bit rough, but it absolutely shreds. Performance over aesthetics any day.