Tiny computer maker Minix is launching a new miniature desktop PC featuring an Intel Pentium Silver J5005 processor.
It’s called the Minix Neo J50C-4 and it should be on display at the IFA show in Berlin this week, before making its way to stores later this year.
Update: Minix says the Neo J50C-4 should be available in the fourth quarter of 2018 for $299.
The computer measures about 5.4″ x 5.4″ x 1.2″ and it can be attached to the back of a TV or monitor using a VESA mount.
Under the hood, it’s powered by a Pentium Silver J5005 chip, which is a 10 watt, quad-core processor with Intel UHD 605 graphics. It’s the most powerful “Gemini Lake” chip Intel has released to date… although that’s all relative, since Gemini Lake chips emphasize low cost and low power consumption over bleeding edge performance.
The Minix Neo J50C-4 ships with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of eMMC 5.1 storage, but it has 2 SODIMM slots with support for up to 16GB of DDR4 memory and an M.2 2280 M.2 SATA III slot for up to 512GB of solid state storage.
Minix says the computer can support up to three 4K 60 Hz displays at once if you connect one to the computer’s USB Type-C port, one to its mini DisplayPort, and one to its HDMI 2.0 port.
Other ports include a 3.5mm headset jack, an optical S/PDIF port, and three USB 3.0 Type-A ports. There’s also a gigabit Ethernet jack and the computer supports 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1.
While the computer isn’t fanless, Minix says there’s a large surface area for ventilation in order to help dissipate heat and reduce fan noise.
Minix is also introducing a new multimedia remote with a $35 backlit QWERTY keyboard called the Minix Neo W2. It can be used with the Minix Neo J50C-4 or any other Windows computer thanks to a small USB receiver.
Can it boot Linux from the M.2 storage instead of the eMMC storage?
NUC7PJYH is more worth, intel just need to fix dual channel RAM problem.
If you want it fanless, go for Akasa Newton JC case.
Is it really up to 16GB RAM? Intel says it’s only 8GB.
“Max Memory Size (dependent on memory type): 8 GB”
https://ark.intel.com/products/128984/Intel-Pentium-Silver-J5005-Processor-4M-Cache-up-to-2_80-GHz
This is a common thing with small form-factor PCs that have Intel chips. Intel officially says they only support up to 8GB, but I’ve never had problems installing and using 16GB on such devices.