Thin mini-ITX & fanless

An interesting motherboard launches in Japan today: Giada MI-J1900SL. The
170 x 170mm board is not only passively cooled, but is 20mm in height and supports AC adapters. The MI-J1900SL retails for ¥13,000, about $128 / 94€ (Giada motherboards are hard, but not impossible to find in the West).

✓ Celeron J1900 (4 cores (@ 2,00 GHz, up to 2.42 GHz)
✓ 2 x 1.35V DDR3L SO-DIMM slots
✓ 1 x PCI Express x1 slot
✓ 1 x Mini-PCI-E (mSATA)
✓ 2 x SATA3
✓ 4 x USB 2.0 ports
✓ 1 x HDMI
✓ 1 x VGA
✓ 1 x Gigabit Ethernet

Source: dirac.co.jp

Shuttle XS35V4 available for $210

Building a PC is not for everybody. Selecting components and assembling them can be seriously time-consuming. Not to mention that the final result is never as small as something like the XS35V4, now available on Amazon. Just add memory and a SSD, and you're good to go!

✓ Quad-core Bay Trail @ 2GHz
✓ Optical DVD or Blu-ray slim-line drive bay
✓ 1 x SO-DIMM up to 8GB DDR3 1333 MHz
✓ 1 x 2.5" HDD/SSD bay
✓ 4-in-1 card reader
✓ 1 x USB 3.0
✓ 4 x USB 2.0
✓ 1 x D-Sub
✓ 1 x HDMI
✓ 1 x DisplayPort
✓ 1 x Gigabit Ethernet (Realtek RTL8411)
✓ 802.11b/g/n WLAN
✓ 40W Adapter
✓ 2.1 kg
✓ 252 x 162 x 38 mm (1.5 liter)
✓ Approved for 24/7 operation

Update: Now available in France, Germany, Poland, Australia, Japan, and the UK.

Overclock3D reviews Nofan CR-80EH

The reviewer doesn't believe in complete passive cooling, and used it with a blazing hot 100W APU despite Nofan's 80W limit, but the brave little cooler still passed the test.

"The CR-80EH is something the others aren't, it is truly silent. If you're planning on buying this for a low power dorm room, bedroom, HTPC or home server build you're going to have to be very selective about which case and hardware you pair it with, but in doing so, and if chosen well you could very well end up building yourself one of the quietest systems around. The market is niche, but it is there, and the CR-80EH slots in nicely. Silence may well be Golden, but it's also Copper."

Source: Overclock3D

E1-2100 Vs C-60

On the market for a cheap HTPC? Kabini might be an option. Hermitage Akihabara just reviewed GIGABYTE's GA-E2100N, and while graphics enjoy a healthy 35% boost over previous generation, CPU performance remains the same, unfortunately.

Source: gdm.or.jp (Japanese)

Copper & Wood

When the CPU cooler becomes an ornament. A very clean design featuring the unreal Nofan CR-95C.

Source: forum.hardware.fr

Streacom teases Computex line-up

Steam Box, groundbreaking NUC case, and Kabini compatibility coming soon...

"Streacom will unveil their first gaming case with powerful cooling capabilities for standard sized components at Computex 2014 in Taipei, from 3rd to 7th of June. On booth J0505 at the Ground Floor in the Nangang exhibition hall, Streacom will also show a new chassis for Intel’s NUC which brings a whole new meaning to the idea of customization.

The F12C is an elegant, yet powerful chassis for the living room, which suits perfectly to an existent HiFi environment. The case has been designed to take standard sized PC components, such as video cards with 30cm length, ATX motherboards, ATX power supplies, up to four 3.5” HDDs and two 2.5” SSDs and radiators for CPU and GPU cooling. For a full list of specifications, visit our booth at Computex or if you cannot attend the exhibition, take a look at our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/streacom.

The Streacom F12C Steam Box is not the only new product at Computex 2014. Streacom will also be showing a next generation chassis for Intel’s NUC platform, which offers superb, fanless cooling capabilities and re-defines the meaning of the idea of customization. You might never need another NUC chassis after the NC3 – more details during Computex. Of course you will be able to take a close look at our existing product line-up at Computex, with live demonstrations of the new F12C, the fanless FC8 Evo running AMD’s new AM1 platform, new power supplies and a new, easy to use remote solution."

Battle of the Silver Arrows

Thermalright's Silver Arrow IB-E offers not only increased compatibility (first PCI-E slot is now avaialble, reduced height from 166mm to 162mm) but slightly better thermal results too (2°C). With such massive 8 heat pipes dual towers, who needs $200+ passive cases?

Source: CoolingTechnique (Italian)

FIRST LOOK: Maczon TUC2

Renders are nice, but actual pictures are better. Maczon is planning a second NUC case, the TUC2. This 141 x 113 x 45mm aluminum case should provide some competition for Akasa and Streacom.

Lubuntu and OpenELEC on the Atom NUC

The NUC blog did a great job at reviewing the single core DE3815TYKHE and it seems that, despite the lack of real horsepower, everything works just fine.

"I booted a Lubuntu 14.04 installer from a USB stick and successfully installed Lubuntu on the internal eMMC storage that is built-in to the NUC. Booting up the system is not lightning fast, but not slow either. The window manager works nicely and surfing the net with Firefox was fine. Overall I was surprised how snappy the system was keeping in mind that it's powered by a meager single core Atom CPU.

The DE3815TYKHE surprised me with its lively performance in the menus and good performance when playing full HD videos. It is totally silent and you do not need to add any storage media as there's an intenal eMMC storage built in. It's significantly faster than a Raspberry Pi for example (but that's an unfair comparison) and OpenELEC works smoothly out of the box on it"

 Source: The NUC blog (2)

Last chance to grab the CR-100A

PC-Cooling.de is offering, for a limited time, Nofan's enormous and now discontinued CR-100A. The supercooler is available in kits also featuring a PC case and a 400W fanless power supply, for 275 or 300 euros.

EXCLUSIVE: The Bay Trail BRIX will be fanless

Our friends over at CNXSoft and Liliputing spotted it first. We can now exclusively confirm that GIGABYTE's low power BRIX (GB-BXBT-2807) sports a 10cm wide heat sink, and will be totally silent.

"Challenging the essence of how we define a desktop PC, GIGABYTE engineers have developed an ultra compact PC with a stylish design based around an anthracite aluminum frame and glass surface chassis. Ideal for a broad range of computing applications at home or in the office, the BRIX expounds sheer simplicity and convenience, sets a new standard for desktop miniaturization that makes it perfect as a discreet HTPC / multimedia hub, an ultra-low power PC for the family, an office PC or as a digital signage unit.

The BRIX is an ultra compact, versatile DIY PC kit that redefines the desktop PC in terms of miniaturization with a form factor that is small enough (56mm x 107mm x 114mm) to sit in the palm of your hand."

✓ Intel Celeron N2807 (2 cores @ 1.57GHz up to 2.17GHz, 4.3W TDP)
✓ 1 x SO-DIMM DDR3L 1.35V slot (up to 8GB)
✓ 1 x Half-size mini-PCIe slot (WiFi+BT card)
✓ 1 x 2.5" bay
✓ 1 x USB 3.0
✓ 2 x USB 2.0
✓ 1 x HDMI
✓ 1 x VGA
✓ 1 x Audio-out / Mic-In
✓ 1 x Gigabit LAN (Realtek RTL8111G)
✓ 1 x Kensington lock slot
✓ VESA mountable
✓ 56 mm x 107 mm x 114 mm (2.21" x 4.24" x 4.5")

Update: The Bay Trail BRIX will be showcased at Computex, and will retail for about 120 euros in Europe.

Zalman FX70 readily available

Zalman's latest passive CPU cooler appears on Amazon for $77. Zalman went for a more conservative limit of 80W TDP, and a new fin design which looks amazing (and slightly dangerous).

✓ Intel 1150 / 1155 / 1156 / 2011 / 1366 / 775
✓ AMD AM3(+) / AM2(+) / FM2 / FM1
✓ 110(L) x 140(W) x 158(H)mm
✓ 530g

Update: 41 euros in France.

CoolTechPC.com launched

CoolTechPC.com is a new destination spot for fanless aficionados. The site features an impressive selection of ready-to-use premium builds from Nofan, Streacom, and HFX. All the very best guys!

"Our goal at Cool Tech PC is to build the most reliable, powerful, and silent (if desired) PCs possible, so that you never have a single issue,. Our entire company is based on your repeat business, and it is extremely important to us that you are 100% satisfied until you are ready to buy a new PC 5+ years down the road."

Morex mini-ITX collection

We're getting requests for mini-ITX cases designed for Bay Trail and Kabini motherboards. The mesh-laden T3200, T3410, and T3460 from Morex, or similar vertical chassis, could be a good start.

EXCLUSIVE: Akasa Euler S

Akasa's Euler has proven to be the fastest, simplest way to build a fanless desktop PC (within minutes actually).

Acting not only as a case but as a CPU cooler as well, the Euler requires a Thin mini-ITX motherboard, and one of Intel's 35W processors. The new design will offer two front USB 3.0, and a diamond finish on the edge for a premium look.

The Euler S will be available at the end of June at a similar price as the previous model.

Akasa Newton X

X for Xtra cooling? The already efficient Newton is about to get better with the Newton X. Same width, just a little longer. At 1270g it's even heavier than Akasa's top NUC case, the Tesla. Performance could be stellar.

The Newton X also features a diamond edge finish around the edge, a very nice touch.

✓ Compatible with Intel's D54250WYB and D34010WYB boards
✓ 1 x 2.5" bays
✓ 2 x front USB 3.0
✓ Front Audio in/out
✓ Infrared receiver
✓ 2 x antenna holes
✓ Kensington lock
✓ VESA mountable
✓ 150 x 185 x 47mm

Source: Akasa

Would this work for a PC?

Some massive LED coolers. Nevermind Noctua and Thermalright.

Source: 1688.com (2)

Linux PC under $200

A quick, painless, and affordable build by Piotr Maliński, based on ASRock Q1900B-ITX, inside a mesh-laden case. Excellent work.

"The processor is good for multimedia, general work and less demanding games, entertainment. It's not designed for very demanding PCs with powerful graphics."

"The install went smoothly and no problems were encountered. After install Xubuntu booted and everything worked as it should."

Pentium J2900 Alert

The long-awaited and highly-coveted Pentium J2900 is finally available on ECS BAT-I(1.0)/J2900, for $120 at Newegg (Update: $115 on Amazon).

The top-of-the-line quad-core Bay Trail (2166 CPU Mark) compares favorably to the Haswell Y-series (i3-4010Y) and even to some desktop Ivy Bridge (Pentium G2030T).

✓ Pentium J2900 (4 cores @ 2,41 GHz, up to 2.67 GHz)
✓ 1 x DDR3 SO-DIMM slot
✓ 1 x PCI Express x1 slot
✓ 1 x Mini PCI Express x1 slot
✓ 2 x SATA3
✓ 1 x USB 3.0 port
✓ 4 x USB 2.0 ports
✓ 1 x HDMI
✓ 1 x VGA
✓ 1 x PS/2 Mouse / Keyboard
✓ 1 x Gigabit Ethernet (Realtek)

Celeron NUC Vs Atom NUC

Both the DN2820FYKH (Celeron N2820, N2830 soon) and the DE3815TYKHE (Atom E3815) retail under $140. Both are based on the same architecture (Silvermont / 22nm).

The Atom NUC is fanless and is of course our favorite, but with about half the performance of its Celeron cousin, the DE3815TYKHE will be restricted to specific applications, including thin-client computing.

Let's keep our hope up, more passive Bay Trail solutions will be unveiled at Computex Taipei (June 3 - 7).

Source: Bodnara (Korea)

Update: The Atom NUC is now available for $140.

Build small with ASRock Q1900DC-ITX

The sheer size of ATX power supplies often prevent PCs from being truly small. Introducing the Q1900DC-ITX with DC-In (and a solid quad-core Celeron J1900), a very handy solution for a 10W SoC. ASUS and GIGABYTE please take note.

✓ Celeron J1900 (4 cores @ 2,00 GHz, up to 2.42 GHz)
✓ 2 x DDR3/DDR3L SO-DIMM slots
✓ 1 x PCI Express x1 slot
✓ 1 x Mini PCI Express x1 slot
✓ 2 x SATA3
✓ 2 x SATA2
✓ 2 x USB 3.0 ports
✓ 2 x USB 2.0 ports
✓ 1 x HDMI
✓ 1 x DVI
✓ 1 x VGA
✓ 1 x PS/2 Mouse / Keyboard
✓ 1 x Gigabit Ethernet (Realtek)

Source: ASRock

eTeknix reviews Nofan CR-80EH

eTeknix just tested Nofan's most affordable CPU cooler and the results look pretty good, even with a powerful Core i5 3570K.

"The NoFan is budget friendly and completely silent, but also offers reliable performance for those who have no intention of overclocking. If you’re wanting to build a high end gaming rig, forget it, this isn’t the CPU cooler for you. If you’re planning on building a NAS box, workstation, recording studio rig, HTPC or anything else that you would rather be seen and not heard, then you’ll be very happy with the CR-80EH."

The CR-80EH is available for £41 at QuietPC. We went for a Nofan cooler in our personnal rig and couldn't recommend them more.